Chapter 533 - 46: Great Development, the Province-Commandery System?

One medium-sized Tier Three mine vein: a Qingtian Jade mine. This is an excellent material for Array Formation, and something the clan is desperately short on. According to past records, the clan has been spending thousands of Spirit Stones a year just to purchase Qingtian Jade.

With this mine, we can fully meet the clan’s needs and save a large sum of Spirit Stones annually.

One small Tier Three mine vein: a Glazed Sand mine. While the clan has no current need for Glazed Sand, the Huansha Sect has been consistently purchasing it at a high price.

Based on the currently confirmed reserves, the annual yield could exceed one hundred pounds, generating at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stones in income for the clan.

Furthermore, Five Elements Peak itself possesses a Tier Three mine of Five Spirit Stones. Though its yield is not high, it can still generate an income of several thousand Spirit Stones each year.

That concludes the list of all the Tier Three mine veins."

As she finished speaking, looks of irrepressible joy spread across everyone’s faces. These resources alone were enough to bring the clan an annual income of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones!

"Damn, this is fantastic! Changsheng, with all this, our stipends have got to go up, right?" Song Lutong boomed, his voice loud.

Song Changsheng, his face wreathed in smiles, nodded. "Of course. The Elder Council will draft a formal proposal."

"Quiet, you two. I haven’t finished reading," Xia Yunxue said, shooting them a chiding glare.

Song Lutong and Song Changsheng immediately fell silent, their gazes fixed on Xia Yunxue in anticipation.

"Beyond the mines, there are even more Spiritual Veins. There is only one Tier Three Spirit Vein—the very Five Elements Peak we stand on—but there are sixteen Tier Two Spirit Veins!"

An uproar swept through the room at her words. Song Xianyun was so excited he shot to his feet.

These sixteen Spiritual Veins were not to be underestimated. All of them were undeveloped. In theory, they were enough to support sixteen small Foundation Establishment Families.

And with so many Tier Two Spirit Veins, it was anyone’s guess how many Tier One veins there were.

"In addition, we’ve also discovered two large Gathering Spirit Lands, one medium one, and seven small ones." Xia Yunxue dropped another bombshell, leaving everyone utterly stunned.

A Gathering Spirit Land was a location where, for some unique reason, Spiritual Power would pool together, creating fertile ground with a high concentration of energy, perfect for growing Spirit Plants.

If the Gathering Spirit Lands Xia Yunxue mentioned could be developed, the Song Clan could make a fortune just by planting Spirit Rice, to say nothing of cultivating Spirit Medicines and other valuable items.

However, the amount of manpower required would be staggering. With the Song Clan’s current scale, it would be extremely difficult to develop them all fully.

Still, it was clear that these lands would one day bring a handsome fortune to the Song Clan.

"Additionally, there are twelve Spiritual Springs, eighteen Tier Three Spirit Plants..."

Xia Yunxue read the list from top to bottom. It took her nearly a full hour, and by the end, everyone present was left in stunned silence.

Everyone had always said the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a treasure trove, but no one had expected it to be this bountiful.

"This is almost as much as half of Ling Province... What kind of miserable lives have we been living until now?" Song Lutong remarked, smacking his lips at the thought.

"Have you considered how many years that land has been developed? When Ling Province was first opened up, it too was a land of plenty. It only ended up in its current state because of destructive exploitation."

Song Luzhou glanced at Song Lutong, then rose to his feet. "This is a virgin territory, a true treasure land. We must take the long view and develop it according to a plan."

"Fifth Uncle is right. This matter will be your joint responsibility, along with the Foreign Affairs Elder and the Hundred Arts Elder," Song Changsheng said, nodding in agreement. Sustainable development was the only path forward; draining the lake to catch all the fish was an act of irresponsibility toward future generations. As the clan’s leaders, they had to maintain a long-term vision.

"I get the principle, I do. Plan what needs planning. But we also have to start developing, don’t we? Changsheng, my dear Great Clan Leader, you have to get the manpower sorted out for me, and fast!

"Without people, all these resources are useless! We can do nothing but stare at them," Song Lutong yelled, growing impatient.

As the Garrison Envoy appointed by the Clan Elder Council, Song Lutong was the man in charge of this territory. Having chosen to come here, he was naturally eager to make his mark.

"Patience, Uncle Tong. I have already mobilized one hundred thousand able-bodied youths from nine cities, including Naturalization, Mingyuan, and Dubhe. They will set out in the coming days, and Grandfather will personally escort them.

"Furthermore, I’ve decided to recruit able-bodied workers from the clan’s vassal forces. We will offer resources like Spirit Rice and Spirit Plants, and even access to the Spiritual Veins here, as payment. I estimate we can levy another two to three hundred thousand people this way," Song Changsheng added with a smile.

"Clan Leader, I’m afraid that’s not exactly proper, is it?" Song Xianyun’s brow furrowed. "Isn’t that tantamount to human trafficking? That’s a major taboo in the Daqi Cultivation World."

"You’ve misunderstood." Song Changsheng, knowing exactly what he was worried about, quickly explained, "This is paid employment. The people will still belong to their original factions; they are simply being hired to work for us. We are paying for their labor.

"Moreover, they are free to come and go as they please. We won’t interfere. And if there are any injuries or deaths, we will provide compensation."

It was, in essence, a basic employment system: I pay, you work. Work-related injuries are compensated. A win-win situation for all parties involved.

Hearing this, Song Xianyun relaxed, but a new worry soon surfaced. "I see. But will they agree? Manpower is a precious resource, after all."

Song Changsheng smiled faintly. "Able-bodied workers are indeed valuable. But for one, we are merely hiring them, not buying them outright. For another, they get to exchange the labor of mortals for scarce cultivation resources. An opportunity that good is one you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern. Do you really think they’ll refuse?"

"Refuse? As if!" Song Lutong shot up to second him. "Forget hiring! For cultivation resources, those factions would sell their own people and still come running, tripping over themselves with glee."

Song Changsheng shot him a look of approval. To the Song Clan, people were precious. But to other factions, mortals were little more than breeding stock, incapable of creating any real wealth otherwise.

Now that Song Changsheng was willing to trade cultivation resources for their labor, it was an answered prayer for those factions. Far from refusing, their only fear would be that Song Changsheng wasn’t asking for *enough* people.

Of course, Song Changsheng was no sucker. He was driving the price down so low it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it slave wages. Even so, the minor factions below were falling over themselves to accept, wishing they could cram every last person they had into the deal.

As for how many of these people were actually coming voluntarily... that was not something Song Changsheng needed to concern himself with. He advocated for the freedom to come and go; whether the factions behind these workers agreed or not was none of his business.

"You always were quick-witted. This way, manpower won’t be an issue," Xia Yunxue said, delighted. "There’s just one last thing. Now that this land belongs to us, shouldn’t we give it a name?"

Song Changsheng nodded at her words. "Mother is right. The territory our clan now controls is already considerable, and it will only expand in the future. It is time we did some planning.

I’ve decided to subdivide our territory below the ’province’ level into ’commanderies’ to make it easier to govern in the future."

"Commanderies?" The others looked puzzled.

There was a strange convention in the Cultivation Realm. Although it was divided into countless "nations," and those "nations" were in turn divided into "provinces," the subdivisions stopped there.

This was perhaps because borders in the Cultivation Realm shifted so frequently, or maybe because their predecessors simply saw no need for such fine distinctions. In any case, the tradition had persisted.

But in Song Changsheng’s view, this system was far too simplistic and crude. A single province, after all, was an enormous area.

That was why he decided to add another level of division.

The territory beneath his feet was just the beginning. In the future, he would re-divide Ling Province as well. His ideal arrangement was for a single Foundation Establishment Influence to occupy one "commandery," and such a power could be known as a "Hao."

It would be just like how a Purple Mansion Influence occupying an entire province could be called a "Wang."

The others found this theory quite novel. Song Xianyun couldn’t help but ask, "In that case, what should this place be named?"

Song Changsheng smiled faintly. "Let’s call it Zhangye."

...