The Choice of Divine Office

In terms of the world's current flow, Yin Yunze has been in this world for more than half a year.

After so much time, Yin Yunze was ready to solidify his divine status in the eyes of the people.

After all, although the Power of Incense Offerings on Yin Yunze is not yet significant, Yin Yunze cannot be blindly optimistic that he is special.

As the number of believers increases and they become more deeply involved in the world of Incense God and deities, Yin Yunze may inevitably be corrupted by the Power of Incense Offerings.

Being mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace, Yin Yunze understands that he can no longer afford to dabble in things he doesn't want to do and needs to find a stable anchor to maintain his purity.

The best way for Incense God to solidify its anchor point is to define its own divine role.

Although both in the real world and in this world.

The common people generally don't care what God can do; they only care about what they want.

However, it is still necessary for Yin Yunze to limit himself to one main divine position.

Although Yin Yunze initially established himself by relying on Qingnü, the God of Frost and Snow, Yin Yunze does not intend to continue to rely on this divine position as his main focus in the future.

After all, not to mention that this divine position is inextricably linked to the Azure Heavens Jade Maiden, there's a possibility that someone might come knocking on their door to settle scores.

The fact that he is not approachable enough makes him an unsuitable candidate for the chief priesthood.

After all, snow and rain are two different things.

Summer is alright; the weather is hot, and the snow turns into water very quickly after it falls.

However, if the weather is not so hot, a snowfall could actually turn into a disaster.

Therefore, the position of God of Frost and Snow is not conducive to Yin Yunze's future development.

Similarly, the Authority over Lightning is too far removed from ordinary people.

The god of thunder may inspire awe, but he is certainly not someone who easily attracts believers.

These two powers can be held by Yin Yunze, but they are not suitable as true divine authority.

After so much time, Yin Yunze had come up with the most suitable and original power she wanted: the Agricultural God who controlled the weather.

After all, agriculture was a vital pillar in ancient times and had a large base of believers.

Of course, Yin Yunze had also considered other divine positions.

With Yin Yunze's current foundation, he does have a surplus in terms of selection.

Yin Yunze also considered whether to use something related to academics, or the God of Wealth?

In comparison, while the God of Learning and the God of Wealth may have a larger following, these two divine positions are too closely linked to desires, and often lead to irreconcilable conflicts among believers.

For example, there were only a limited number of places available for those who passed the imperial examinations, so there were always some who wouldn't be able to pass.

For example, in the same type of store, if you sell one more item, the other store might have to sell one less.

In matters that threaten their own interests, there will be people who pray that bad things happen to the other party.

This is something Grandfather Huang Three once said: if you agree to something, and the victim suffers hardship, resentment will arise.

If you don't agree, the worshippers will feel that you're just taking the offerings without doing anything in return, and they will resent you.

A single thread has become blocked at both ends; that's a problem.

Faced with this situation, even Yin Yunze's appearance to rebuke and punish him was of no use.

Even if a person with bad intentions is reprimanded, they may not necessarily change their ways; instead, they might feel that Yin Yunze is biased towards the other side.

After all, they've prayed to an Orthodox God for evil; you can't really expect them to be thinking straight.

If he blindly chooses these two religious positions to expand his followers, who knows, within two months, Yin Yunze might be corrupted and degraded by the toxic Power of Incense Offerings.

Yin Yunze chose a divine position to stabilize his own condition.

Choosing either of these is putting the cart before the horse.

The fact that the County City God's spirit altar was covered in dust before his death served as a good warning to Yin Yunze!

In comparison, the requests of the clergy of the Agricultural God are relatively simple. Most people only pray for good weather and a good harvest, and they are more concerned about ensuring a good harvest for their crops.

The kind of miracle that happens when someone has a conflict with their neighbor and comes to the god of agriculture to make sure the other party has no harvest is extremely rare.

Yin Yunze, possessing two spiritual treasures born of the Innate Holy Spirit, can also solve most agricultural problems.

As for Anshun, peace and prosperity are even less likely to be a mistake in the clergy's domain.

For Yin Yunze right now, avoiding problems is more important than anything else.

When Liu Zhengyuan heard Yin Yunze say that he was the agricultural god in charge of abundant harvests in Anshun, Liu Zhengyuan was overjoyed.

After all, what an official hopes for most is a bountiful harvest in agriculture and a peaceful and prosperous reign!

Moreover, since Yin Yunze claims to be an agricultural god, wouldn't the credibility of her claims about superior seeds be even higher?

"Your Majesty, I understand!" Liu Zhengyuan nodded and immediately replied, "I will have someone write it as soon as I return, and I will make sure Your Majesty is satisfied!"

"They should be resting, right? Maybe we should make them get up early tomorrow morning."

Yin Yunze still felt a little embarrassed about making others get up and work overtime because of his own business.

"It's alright! In this hot weather, they probably haven't fallen asleep yet!"

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's words, Liu Zhengyuan assumed Yin Yunze was merely being polite and quickly assured him, "If I write it tomorrow morning, I'm afraid there won't be enough time, and I won't be able to write something that satisfies Her Majesty—"

Seeing Liu Zhengyuan's attitude, Yin Yunze naturally couldn't say it directly, because she didn't really care about the quality of the prayer.

As he pondered, Liu Zhengyuan quickly came up with a candidate. "Magistrate Xu is renowned for his talent and learning, and has also served the Empress—"

That's a good candidate! Perfect timing, he didn't go back to the government office today either, so let's leave this matter to him!

"Xiao Xu, this isn't my fault!"

After silently mourning for Xu Hanxian for three seconds, Yin Yunze continued, "Furthermore, I would like to request some imperial edicts for my Subordinate Deities—"

Previously, due to the unclear situation and the lack of knowledge about Prefect Liu Zhengyuan's temperament, Yin Yunze had not even considered this possibility.

But now the matter with the Qingling County City God has been settled, and Liu Zhengyuan is showing such cooperation.

It would be a waste for Yin Yunze not to ask for some benefits for the little fox girl and the others.

After all, although Yin Yunze had taken them all as his Subordinate Deity, and even though most Orthodox God dared not underestimate him because of Yin Yunze current status, they were still essentially power obtained through his dependence on Yin Yunze.

Only after being officially recognized Subordinate Deity be considered true Orthodox God.

Previously, Yin Yunze couldn't spare the energy for it, but now that things are settled, Yin Yunze naturally doesn't mind if they also obtain a position as an Orthodox God.

Although Xu Hanxian could do this kind of thing, the Liu Zhengyuan's work was definitely of higher caliber.

Since he was going to do it, Yin Yunze naturally wanted to make it look good.

"Of course! Your Majesty, which officials are you wish to bestow titles upon on behalf of?"

Liu Zhengyuan readily agreed to the request without any hesitation.

After all, for Liu Zhengyuan, this was just a matter of writing a few more documents, and he didn't even necessarily have to write them Liu Zhengyuan.

Not only does it require no effort on my part, but I can also gain Yin Yunze's favor. Why wouldn't I want that?

After thinking for a moment, Yin Yunze asked again, "Oh, right, there's something else I forgot to mention. That Qingling County City God was a corrupt and incompetent official who acted perversely, and I removed him today—now the position of City God is vacant, Lord Liu, could you perhaps fill in for me—"

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's words, Liu Zhengyuan felt a chill run down his spine.

The Qingling County City God had served three dynasties and was an old City God for hundreds of years, yet he fell silently into the hands of Yin Yunze.

Just thinking about how he had issued the decree of dismissal to Yin Yunze at noon, and that evening Yin Yunze had even scattered the City God's ashes—

For a moment, Liu Zhengyuan even began to suspect that Yin Yunze was trying to intimidate him.

Of course, if Yin Yunze knew about Liu Zhengyuan's idea, he would definitely cry foul.

In all honesty, Yin Yunze had no intention of dealing with the City God so quickly; the City God himself delivered himself to his doorstep.

Yin Yunze clearly planned to kill the City God tomorrow!

Of course, Liu Zhengyuan had no idea what Yin Yunze was really thinking.

But looking at Yin Yunze's kind appearance, Liu Zhengyuan quickly realized that he was probably overthinking things.

No, I must be overthinking it.

Putting that matter out of his mind, Liu Zhengyuan focused solely on Yin Yunze's request.

"Your Majesty, this is not an excuse for me to shirk my duty—" After a moment's thought, Liu Zhengyuan looked at Yin Yunze and said solemnly, "It's just that the position of City God is indeed quite difficult to obtain—however, I will certainly do my best!"

After all, he was different from a deity like Yin Yunze, who spoke empty words and had no rank or salary.

Even County City God City God a fourth-rank Earl of Manifest Blessings, the Earl of Xianyou, and receives a salary from the imperial court.

Each City God receives a stipend of rice from the imperial court every year, which is used to cover the cost of maintaining and repairing the City God.

Although the total amount of rice offered by the City God was not much, it was even less than the incense money donated by the people.

But no matter what, this is definitely taking money from the imperial court.

However, once it involves the expenses of the imperial court, and something like the fourth-rank Earl of Manifest Blessings, things get quite complicated.

This kind of matter can be big or small, but according to normal procedures, it is not within Liu Zhengyuan's authority to make a decision on his own.

Of course, Yin Yunze could also have Liu Zhengyuan appoint him privately.

Then, after several years or even a decade of operation, that would make it a reality, wouldn't it?

However, doing so presents a new problem: it violates the proper procedures.

If something goes against the procedures and someone brings it up, then there will be a problem.

As the saying goes, some things won't be weighed until they're weighed. But once they're on the scale, the weight isn't up to Yin Yunze and Liu Zhengyuan to decide.

Therefore, for safety's sake, it's better to follow the proper procedures.

However, if the proper procedures were followed, Liu Zhengyuan would need to report to higher authorities, and only after the imperial court did not obstruct the process could it be completed.

Although, most of the time, no one interferes with such matters.

However, if Liu Zhengyuan makes a promise now and something unexpected happens, it will be difficult to explain to Yin Yunze.

So, it wasn't that he had any other intentions; Liu Zhengyuan was just using a slightly official tone out of habit.

Having also noticed this, Yin Yunze was not very convinced of the importance of simply doing one's best.

The City God was already in Yin Yunze's hands, so naturally Yin Yunze wanted to get his hands on it before he felt at ease.

Looking at Liu Zhengyuan, Yin Yunze said in a very serious tone, "Lord Liu, I hope this matter can definitely be accomplished!"