Chapter 534: Founding the Nation

As the capital of the Great Chu Immortal Nation, Azure Void City underwent significant transformations after a year of renovation and construction, and its name was changed to King's City.

Half of the city was converted into the Royal Palace. Due to time constraints and Wang Hong's preference for modesty, the palace appeared grand and imposing, yet not overly extravagant.

The Royal Palace was divided into two parts: the inner palace, reserved for the monarch and a few low-tier Cultivators who served various roles. Since Wang Hong was currently single, the inner palace seemed rather empty, but being an Immortal Cultivator, he didn't need the trappings of mortal life.

The outer palace served as the administrative area for the city's officials, bustling with activity daily.

Surrounding the Royal Palace, a new army was formed and named the Imperial Dragon Army.

This Imperial Dragon Army consisted of five hundred carefully selected individuals from Wang Hong's ranks. Its primary responsibility was to ensure the security of the Royal Palace and Wang Hong himself, under his direct command.

Today marked the grand founding ceremony of the Great Chu Immortal Nation and the coronation of its first monarch.

Five hundred members of the Imperial Dragon Army stood in uniform attire on both sides of the long tier. Various officials wore standardized official robes as they ascended the long tier, entering a magnificent and grand exhibition hall.

Wang Hong presided over the ceremony from his elevated seat in the Great Hall, clad in a golden royal robe adorned with patterns representing the sun and moon.

In secular nations, royal robes often featured golden dragon motifs. However, for Immortal Cultivators, dragons weren't seen as particularly sacred. Some powerful Cultivators even tamed dragons to serve as their mounts. Using a dragon as a national totem only to discover it was someone else's mount would be rather embarrassing.

On this momentous day of the Great Chu Immortal Nation's founding, there were no foreign dignitaries or congratulatory messages. It was an affair attended only by those within their own ranks, a relatively simple ceremony that, despite its significance, paled in comparison to many mortal nations' celebrations.

"On this auspicious day of the founding of the Great Chu Immortal Nation, I hereby appoint Xu Lun as Minister of Personnel, Ling Shuai as Minister of Justice, Luo Zhongjie as Minister of War, Chen Xiaofeng as Minister of Works, Zhang Chunfeng as Minister of Rites, and Chu Kuang as Minister of History.

The former East Zhou Battle Team will be renamed the East Zhou Army, led by Wen Lan.

The Revival Battle Team will be renamed the Renaissance Army, led by Jia Liang.

The Demon Subduing Army will be led by Hu Jian.

The Imperial Dragon Army will be led by Yang Youwen (Skinny Monkey).

…" Wang Hong began the formal appointments of various officials, each taking their oaths of service.

"Your Majesty's benevolence is deeply appreciated!" the officials collectively bowed and expressed their gratitude.

Following this, Wang Hong detailed the tasks that each official would undertake, and discussions and arrangements were made in the Great Hall.

Once decisions were reached in the Great Hall, messengers would convey King's City's orders to various regions.

Yunxia Mountain, once managed by Wang Hong, had now transformed into a small city known as Yunxia County Capital City.

Yunxia County was one of the four counties of the Great Chu Immortal Nation, with Zhao Ning serving as its first county governor.

After being plagued by the Demon Clan in the past, the current Great Chu State had a sparse population, and the entire jurisdiction had very few inhabitants.

Despite being named one of the four counties of Great Chu, Yunxia County City was not particularly large, with a population of just over a hundred thousand residents.

This population included Zhao Ning himself, with a total of slightly over fifty Cultivators and more than three hundred martial practitioners, making up the entire Yunxia County's modest population.

Considering Wang Hong's previous followers numbered just over twenty thousand, the formation of three armies and the allocation of so many people to him was already considered a generous treatment.

Now, it was like asking a highly skilled martial artist like him to manage a group of Mortals. Zhao Ning's assignment here was a heavy responsibility, and his foremost task was to cultivate the land and increase the population.

While the Human Clan couldn't reproduce as rapidly as some Demonic Beasts, given a stable environment and enough food, Mortals could experience rapid population growth in just a few decades.

At this moment, a crowd had gathered near the county government's main gate, engaged in lively discussions, with a notice posted in front of them.

"This is great! According to this, all I have to do is cultivate some untamed land, and it will be mine. And for the first three years, there's no tax to be paid."

"That's right, this is a profitable opportunity. As long as we cultivate more land, it will benefit our descendants."

"I'm taking my whole family to clear the land tomorrow!"

While they discussed, some had already quietly departed to organize their families and prepare for the labor.

"There's also something called 'spirit fields' mentioned here. I've been farming for a lifetime, but I've never heard of spirit fields," said an elderly man who appeared to be a farmer, surprisingly recognizing some of the characters.

"I've heard of spirit fields before. In these spirit fields, you can plant Spirit Grain and Spiritual Herbs, which are of great help to both Immortal Masters and martial artists."

"Unfortunately, spirit fields can only be leased," someone lamented.

The Great Chu Immortal Nation controlled all the spirit fields within the country and rented them to citizens for planting. This important resource needed to be under their control for security.

"For a better deal, it might be more worthwhile to have more children," a middle-aged person sighed.

"Exactly! According to this notice, the county government will establish a school, and all children can study there for free."

"Most importantly, the school provides meals. With three kids at home, that's a lot of food saved."

"That's right, my little ones eat everything in sight. My family's Niu Dan devours everything."

"Look further down, the county government is recruiting soldiers. Anyone who enlists will receive one acre of spirit fields rent-free for a hundred years, along with food supplies during that time."

Under Zhao Ning's proactive policies, the situation in Yunxia County was gradually improving day by day.

Almost all of the county's youth had been enrolled in schools or the military, receiving unified and professional training and education.

Alongside their education, the county government also provided them with a large supply of top-quality Essence Core Pills for free.

After several major battles, the mountains of Demon Clan corpses provided a vast quantity of Essence Core Pills. These pills were now being used to cultivate the youth, and if this continued for a few decades, the physique of the entire Human Clan would undergo a qualitative improvement.

Once these young individuals became stronger, they could be organized to hunt down Demonic Beasts. Currently, the Great Chu Immortal Nation had more wild Demonic Beasts roaming its lands than humans. These Demonic Beasts could serve as nourishment for their growth.

Of the four counties established in the Great Chu Immortal Nation, Yunxia County, with its existing foundation and numerous spirit fields, was relatively better off than the other three. The other three county cities were even more impoverished, with each having less than a hundred thousand residents, and barren lands everywhere. The cities they built were modest at best.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay