"Yes, and those families who offer up their blessed lands will directly receive the favor of heaven and earth, gaining a large amount of fortune. Their descendants' careers or life journeys will be much smoother! In addition, I remember there is a law in the imperial court that says that even if someone has committed the most heinous crimes, they can use this method to atone for their sins!"
"Offering a grotto-heaven would be enough to cover an entire county; it would surely be blessed by heaven and earth! Unfortunately, I am just a merchant; I have neither a grotto-heaven nor a blessed land."
Hearing the crowd's somewhat off-topic discussion, Lin Yang had no choice but to speak up. Otherwise, who knows where the conversation would lead!
"Indeed, a blessed land spanning tens of miles can add the territory of a township. A grotto-heaven spanning thousands of miles can add the territory of a county. So how much more would a complete Yellow-level world add after merging with the Great Han?"
"The answer is, a prefecture! A complete Xuan-level world, when integrated into the Han Dynasty, can add a province! And if a Di-level world is integrated into the Han Dynasty, it can add a continent!"
"In other words, as long as you conquer a Xuan-level world, you can add another province to the existing thirteen provinces of the Great Han Dynasty. More importantly, you will be blessed by the heavens and enjoy continuous good fortune. Your descendants will be blessed for generations to come. For specific examples, you can refer to those great families that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years," Lin Yang said earnestly.
Moreover, the one who offers up the world will definitely become a protagonist of the era, or at least someone second only to the protagonist. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he'll be at least a sixth-tier Celestial Immortal. With even better talent, becoming a seventh-tier immortal and attaining immortality isn't impossible!
Of course, there's no need to explain these things in so much detail. Those who understand will understand, and those who don't, well, that's fine with me.
The promise of countless descendants and endless good fortune seems incredibly tempting, but it's all just an illusion. Of the more than three thousand guests present, only about a hundred have homes with celestial paradises or blessed lands. The rest, let alone celestial paradises, have probably never even seen a blessed land!
Therefore, to them, what Lin Yang said was far too lofty and unrealistic—in other words, detached from reality. The improved prospects Lin Yang spoke of had nothing to do with them.
"What Duke Wu said is very good and quite good, but what does it have to do with us commoners?" a third-tier wandering swordsman asked directly.
Yes, no matter how well you speak, what does it have to do with us? In the end, the powerful families will take the lion's share, and all the benefits will go to those top tycoons. There's no benefit for us middle-level figures!
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang knew that enough grand principles had been explained, and the righteous cause of invading other worlds had already been established. Going further with endless lofty pronouncements would be somewhat empty and pretentious!
Therefore, it's time to get down to business. That is, to tear away the pretense, lay out the facts, and have a frank, open discussion.
“Very well, then let me tell you about the benefits of investing in the Wu Kingdom!” As he spoke, Lin Yang’s entire demeanor changed.
The voice carried directly to everyone's ears. It wasn't loud, at least not harsh. Nor was it quiet; it was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.
Clearly, many people were astonished by this little trick. And rightly so; in this peaceful era, where would they normally ever witness a fourth-tier expert in action?
"The ultimate goal of the Wu Kingdom is to invade other worlds and establish a powerful duchy. With the Dark Gate, the prospects are bright. Now, let's talk about the current situation."
"As of yesterday, the entire Wu Kingdom had a population of over 1.2 million. Among them, there were 6,000 people with the cultivation level of the second-tier Innate Realm and 300 people with the cultivation level of the third-tier Grandmaster Realm! In addition, as everyone knows, the entire Wu Kingdom also has a Dao Army of fourth-tier Human Immortal level!"
As he spoke, Lin Yang waved his hand, and more than thirty points of light appeared. Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, these points of light instantly expanded their size, transforming into monsters that were ten feet tall and several feet long.
"Yinglong, is this the infamous Yinglong Dao Soldier? Judging by their aura, each one is a fourth-tier warrior. With over thirty of them joining forces, even a fifth-tier expert wouldn't stand a chance for a while."
"It is said that this is because after the Duke of Wu was assassinated last year, he was trapped in the Yangtze River Grotto and obtained the inheritance of the River God. Now it seems that the rumors are true, the rumors are true!"
"Yes, even if the expansion into the Wu Kingdom and the invasion of other worlds fail, one can still hold the position of River God, a fifth-order immortal, at the very least."
Listening to the discussions of the crowd, Lin Yang was quite satisfied.
"In just one year, more than five million mu of farmland have been developed, with an average yield of eleven shi per mu. At the same time, six medium-sized silver mines, one large gold mine, and twelve small iron mines have been discovered. Even a completely pristine blessed land has been discovered."
"And all of these are achievements made in the past year. Of course, the main purpose of mentioning these is not to show off, but to illustrate that the overall development prospects of the Wu Kingdom are still very promising."
"Therefore, it is profitable to exchange the population that Wu desperately needs for a rank of nobility, or even a rank of baron. Just think, by simply mobilizing the people of one's hometown, one can become a nobleman, a nobleman with a fief. What a precious opportunity this is!"
Just as Lin Yang said, becoming a nobleman means becoming a nobleman with a fief, even if the fief is very small, so small that one can only farm. But one still has a fief.
When he sees acquaintances on ordinary days, mentioning it instantly elevates his social standing by several levels. Therefore, everyone could understand Lin Yang's words.
It seems that the future of the Wu Kingdom is very promising, at least in terms of resources and agriculture. Therefore, there is no doubt that the future of the Wu Kingdom is bright!
Lin Yang is incredibly powerful, possessing a fourth-tier Yinglong Dao Weapon. He's bound to live a very long time, and a powerful founder can naturally lead the Wu Kingdom to continued prosperity. That's perfectly fine!
So, investing now, persuading fellow villagers to come, and exchanging it for a fiefdom and a noble title, becoming a person of high status, doesn't seem like a bad idea. That's still a viable option!
"The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain. Some people, when they have money, start to buy land to pass on to their families. There's nothing wrong with that, after all, buying land to pass on to future generations can at least yield several times the profit."
“Some people get rich and then want to become officials, which is not wrong. After all, from a certain perspective, becoming an official can bring at least ten times the benefits.”
"What I want to say is that investing in the Wu Kingdom at this moment is a great opportunity that can yield a hundredfold or even a thousandfold profit. Exchanging people for noble titles is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Upon hearing this, the crowd below began to discuss it. Many were no longer considering whether to invest, but rather how much to invest.
Anyway, the minimum is one thousand people. We're just doing nothing anyway. One thousand people is such a small number that we can easily come up with. Let's just consider it as making a good connection in advance and preparing for the future.
What if the Kingdom of Wu succeeds? 8
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Chapter 43: Another Way to Achieve Immortality
"The prospects are bright, the future is promising, and given time, the strength of the entire Wu Kingdom will surely grow stronger and stronger. At that time, conquering all the myriad realms will not be out of the question..."
Before long, Lin Yang had been talking for several tens of minutes straight. He talked about everything from the population to last year's total income, to many inconspicuous inventions, and to many creative ideas.
Anyway, these aren't really secrets; anyone with the inclination can find out by investigating. Even if someone intentionally tries to hide them, it won't stay hidden for long.
After all, no one knew how many spies were among the million citizens! Therefore, for the fledgling Wu Kingdom, secrecy was truly a painful matter. Ultimately, this revealed their shallow foundation!
"In short, the immediate plan for the entire Wu Kingdom is to resolve the issue of the Yue people in the mountains, expand its territory, and acquire large amounts of gold, silver, and even rare and precious materials. After all, the territory of Wu is so vast that it has never been developed before. The rare and precious materials within it are truly countless."
"As for the long-term plan, it is to use the Land of Reincarnation and the identity of the Chosen One to invade other worlds. The value of a complete Yellow-level world may not be very obvious. But a complete Profound-level world is truly a priceless treasure."
"In the future, every viscount of Wu will have his own blessed land. In the future, every earl of Wu will have his own celestial realm. In the future, anything is possible! And now, the future is in your hands!" Lin Yang deliberately tempted them.
While speaking, he even employed Confucian refinement in his words, after all, he was a scholar. How can a scholar doing this be called bewitching? It should be called propaganda.
However, to be honest, a prefecture, an undeveloped prefecture, could be carefully planned and rationally developed to support five, six, seven, or eight grotto-heavens.
Similarly, if it were a single prefecture, with proper planning, supporting three, four, five, or even six grotto-heavens wouldn't be a problem.