Chapter 210 : The Hearts of the People Unite! Three Major Impacts! A Brand-New Recruitment Plan!
Chapter 210: The Hearts of the People Unite! Three Major Impacts! A Brand-New Recruitment Plan!
Wen Pin was a famous general recorded in history.
He excelled tremendously at defense and garrison warfare.
As long as he was present, whether it was an army or a city, it would become as impregnable as a fortress and nearly impossible to breach.
He was unquestionably a top-tier talent who was difficult to find.
Any high-level Star Lord possessed vast territories.
The larger the territory, the more neighboring regions it bordered.
Under such circumstances, invaders could emerge from any direction.
Once a territory reached a certain scale.
Multi-front wars and invasions became the norm.
Such invasions did not come solely from Star Lords.
They could also originate from Abyssal forces launching counterattacks, or even from more complicated external infiltrations.
In short, these threats were extremely troublesome.
When Hang Yu studied at the Lord Academy.
He had seen countless examples in textbooks of Lords who swept through cities and conquered everything in their path, only to lose everything because of a moment of negligence when their rear base was attacked.
These cases were far from isolated.
They happened everywhere and in every era.
Each one was a painful lesson written in blood.
Because of this, an excellent defensive Hero in the Star World was incredibly valuable and highly sought after.
Hang Yu no longer needed to spend astronomical sums hiring professional Heroes from the Star World.
Because in terms of potential and cultivation value, Wen Pin was enough to leave those Star generals with annual salaries of a million Magic Crystals in the dust.
He was absolutely capable of guarding the rear lines.
Or defending an entire front by himself.
With him around, not only would the territory become safer, but he could independently resist powerful enemies at critical moments.
This would allow the Lord to focus all his attention on the main battlefield without worries.
“The overall situation has been settled. Since that's the case, it's time to distribute the rewards!”
Hang Yu took out roughly twenty million Essence, a large amount of Contribution Points, several Black Dragon Spirit Horse Bone Whistles, more than a hundred attribute pills, along with Skill Cards, Cultivation Cards, and various other items to distribute as rewards to the players who participated in the operation.
The rewards for this mission were certainly not as generous as those from the Day of Ultimate Darkness campaign.
After all, the difficulty levels of the two events were not remotely comparable.
However, injecting twenty million Essence into the Scourge Army would still significantly boost their strength.
For a moment.
The Scourge Army outside erupted into cheers.
Because mission settlement not only meant a huge amount of Essence and rewards.
It also signified that the territory had completely occupied the New Wan region.
The Fate Divine Stone had been activated.
Wen Pin had successfully joined.
Player rewards had been distributed.
So what was the next important task?
Should they absorb the army first?
Or calm the populace?
No rush.
There was something even more important.
Confiscating property.
An Azure Dragon Guard knelt before Hang Yu and reported:
“Reporting to the Lord, New Wan City's treasury has been located and is currently under the guard of the Azure Dragon Guard.”
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction.
“Let's take a look.”
Zhang Xiu had ruled New Wan for a full century.
There was no way he had remained poor and incorruptible.
His private wealth was undoubtedly considerable.
And now all of it belonged to Hang Yu.
Of course.
It wasn't just private property.
As the new ruler of the New Wan region.
Every resource stored within the city now belonged to the territory.
Not long afterward.
Hang Yu led the Azure Dragon Guard and a group of curious Scourge Army players on an inspection tour of New Wan City's major warehouses.
Excellent!
Truly excellent!
New Wan had accumulated quite a substantial reserve!
The material shortage for constructing barracks had been solved.
This land had been engulfed by the Abyss for more than two full sixty-year cycles.
New Wan City itself had existed for over a century.
After such a long period, how could it possibly have no foundation?
Although natives lacked the blessing of the Star Will and could not refine all things into essences.
The natural environment after the Abyss descended had produced countless extraordinary mineral veins, spiritual plants, and herbs.
Mining and gathering alone.
Over a hundred years.
Would inevitably accumulate enormous resources.
Moreover, New Wan also maintained extensive fields for cultivating medicinal herbs and spiritual plants.
Although it lacked the hundredfold growth rate of spiritual farmland.
Diligence could still compensate over time.
For example.
Tier-1 White-quality herbs such as Crimson Moon Grass and Blue Moon Grass.
If planted in Luoshui City's spiritual fields, they could mature and be harvested in less than three days.
Without those fields.
They could still survive in ordinary spiritually infused soil within the Abyss Plane.
It simply took longer.
New Wan's population had remained in the hundreds of thousands for generations.
Year after year.
Day after day.
Gathering, planting, and mining.
Although much of the production was consumed.
The remaining stockpile was still substantial.
Hang Yu learned from Wen Pin and several surrendered officials of New Wan.
The entire New Wan region possessed twelve major warehouses.
He instructed Xiao Ba to collect all inventory records and compile statistics.
The final conclusions were roughly as follows.
Most stored goods consisted of grain.
The total grain reserves were only enough to sustain New Wan's population for approximately two months.
Although not all food was concentrated in storage.
The fact that strategic reserves were this limited clearly showed how severe the food shortage was.
Aside from ordinary food supplies.
Xiao Ba summarized:
“The estimated extraordinary materials within New Wan are as follows: approximately 1.8 million Tier-1 White materials, 120,000 Tier-1 Green materials, 280,000 Tier-2 White materials, 11,000 Tier-2 Green materials, 30,000 Tier-3 White materials, and approximately 4,500 Tier-3 Green materials.”
This quantity was already impressive.
Although most were durable mineral-type materials.
These were not especially valuable on the market.
However, they could be directly refined into Material Essence and used for territorial development.
Hang Yu asked:
“Why are the grain reserves so low? Are agricultural taxes in New Wan particularly low?”
Wen Pin quickly replied:
“I would not dare conceal the truth from my Lord. New Wan has remained in a state of war for years and maintains a large standing army, so enormous quantities of grain are consumed. The farmers currently surrender two-thirds of their harvest as tax, which is already quite high.”
“What? Two-thirds?!”
Several players on the scene were stunned.
Little Bell asked in confusion:
“Why is everyone so shocked? Is that tax rate really high?”
“Of course it is!”
“It's ridiculously high!”
“They’re practically squeezing people to death!”
Dawn then explained:
“You need to remember that the Three Kingdoms period belonged to the Han Dynasty. During the early Han, agricultural tax was one-fifteenth. Under Emperor Wen, it became one-thirtieth. After Emperor Jing, one-thirtieth became the standard.”
“And New Wan takes two-thirds. That means for every hundred jin of grain a farmer grows, more than sixty-six jin must be handed over.”
Little Bell widened her eyes.
“That's outrageous!”
Raising Cup Toward the Moon said:
“Even under such crushing taxes, the warehouses still don't contain much grain. The people of New Wan really have been living difficult lives.”
“More than difficult!”
“They’re basically beasts of burden!”
“Fortunately they met our Lord!”
“I believe with the Lord's kindness, he'll definitely find a way to reduce the burden on the people.”
“But supporting hundreds of thousands of people can't be easy, right?”
“...”
While the players were discussing.
Before anyone could continue.
Hang Yu directly issued an order:
“Convey this Lord's decree. Effective immediately, agricultural taxes and all other harsh taxes are abolished.”
Everyone present was shocked.
Wen Pin immediately objected:
“My Lord, I'm afraid that may be inappropriate!”
Hang Yu glanced at him.
“What? Do you not wish for the people of New Wan to live better lives?”
Wen Pin hurriedly responded:
“I naturally hope the people can live better lives. But if all taxes are abolished, military provisions will become unsustainable. Should another Abyssal war erupt—”
Hang Yu smiled.
“Zhongye, you still underestimate this Lord. Such a minor problem means nothing to the territory.”
“This...”
Wen Pin hesitated.
Because from what he knew of Hang Yu.
This Lord never acted recklessly.
Nor did he make unrealistic decisions on impulse.
Yet eliminating all taxes at once seemed like far too large a step.
“Not only will this Lord abolish all taxes.”
Hang Yu paused.
“I will also open the granaries and distribute every grain reserve. Every citizen shall have enough to eat.”
After speaking.
He added:
“The Scourge Army will be responsible for carrying out this task.”
The moment he finished.
The Scourge Army immediately received the corresponding mission notification.
Although this was only an ordinary quest.
And its rewards were not especially high.
The players were nevertheless extremely excited.
“Lord Hang Yu is incredible!”
“Long live the Lord!”
“Please rest assured, Lord! We'll make sure every grain reaches the people and that all residents of New Wan feel the warmth of the territory!”
Ye Li Meng, Little Bell, Raising Cup Toward the Moon, Chi Mei Wang Liang, Black Pupil Sharp Brother, and many others all displayed expressions of admiration after hearing Hang Yu's decision.
Wen Pin stood there with his mouth open.
For a moment, he did not know what to say.
Many people throughout New Wan still suffered from hunger.
Abolishing taxes and distributing food was certainly the fastest way to win hearts and minds.
But wasn't the cost far too great?
“General Wen!”
“There’s nothing our Lord can't accomplish!”
“What are you worried about?”
“You're part of the territory now, so you'd better get used to having a leader with miraculous abilities!”
“Exactly!”
“Our Lord descended upon this world to save all living beings. Our journey has only just begun!”
“...”
The Scourge Army soldiers puffed out their chests proudly.
They could already imagine the shock and gratitude on the faces of New Wan's citizens when the granaries were opened and food distributed freely.
No one could refuse such a perfect opportunity to show off while earning goodwill.
Especially the Legion Commanders.
They had already realized that New Wan possessed a large population filled with hidden talents.
If their legions could gain prestige throughout New Wan through this opportunity.
Recruiting high-quality NPCs later would become much easier.
Everyone was eager to begin carrying out the order.
Hang Yu added:
“Of course, the territory's grain belongs only to the territory's citizens. Therefore, only those who complete the Oath of Loyalty Ceremony and officially become citizens of the territory may receive food and enjoy the territory's services.”
Naturally.
Although the territory had already absorbed the land of New Wan.
It had not yet fully absorbed its people.
The reason Hang Yu abolished all taxes and opened the granaries.
Was to win hearts and minds.
At the same time.
He intended to have the citizens of the seven cities and twenty-four villages formally swear loyalty.
Although the Oath of Loyalty Ceremony was simple.
It was extremely important.
Because only after completing the ceremony could these people officially become citizens of the territory.
Not only would they gain the talents granted by the territory.
They would also gain access to its facilities.
For example.
The teleportation function of Blessing Points.
Or buildings such as the Skill Tower and Dao Comprehension Tower.
Hang Yu could even use Xiao Ba to customize NPC interfaces for every citizen.
Each resident would possess opportunities for growth.
Even opportunities to completely change their fate.
...
That night.
The Strange Three Kingdoms forum became flooded with photos and videos from New Wan.
Large numbers of players also posted content regarding the region.
Capturing New Wan was a major event.
Every related thread received enormous attention.
The contents were equally diverse.
Some players toured the six cities and twenty-four villages.
Some investigated New Wan's military forces.
Others researched local customs and culture.
Still others became fascinated by the Extreme Yin Sect and the various factions of New Wan.
For a time.
Many new NPCs were discovered.
Numerous new stories and elements were revealed.
Cloud players and scholars of Strange Three Kingdoms were thoroughly entertained.
The sheer volume of information in New Wan made them feel as though they were exploring an entirely new world.
Divine Feather Palace Ranger Qingchen summarized in a livestream thread:
“As of now!”
“The territory has essentially completed its conquest of the New Wan region.”
“The most noteworthy point is that after peacefully entering New Wan City, our great and benevolent Lord immediately enacted a series of astonishingly generous policies to stabilize the population!”
“For example, opening the granaries!”
“For example, abolishing various cruel punishments and eliminating harsh taxes!”
“From beginning to end, everything our Lord has done perfectly embodies what a true savior should be.”
“I believe every decent and compassionate person would applaud him!”
“The entire Scourge Army takes pride in serving such a wise and courageous hero and following his grand vision!”
“The Lord's wisdom has spread rapidly throughout New Wan and is winning the support of its people at astonishing speed!”
“In less than half a day!”
“One hundred thousand citizens have already completed the Oath Ceremony!”
“Like the residents of Shansang City before them, these people received blessings from the Lord and the territory the moment they swore loyalty.”
“Every one of them obtained the ‘Self-Healing’ talent!”
“Many old injuries and chronic illnesses were cured.”
“Some disabled people even recovered their health completely.”
“And that's not all!”
“They have also unlocked the permissions of friendly-faction NPCs.”
“As long as they perform their duties well, they can achieve promotions and personal growth within the territory!”
“These people now worship the Lord almost as a deity.”
“Meanwhile, those who have not yet completed the ceremony are rushing to do so!”
“I have never seen an outside conqueror gain such widespread support in such a short time!”
“Many moving and memorable events have occurred during this process.”
“All of them will become unforgettable chapters in the territory's history and monuments to its achievements!”
“We are the witnesses!”
“We are the participants!”
“We have changed the fate of hundreds of thousands of people!”
“We have saved this land!”
“And saved every citizen living upon it!”
“...”
“The conquest of New Wan will profoundly influence the future direction of the game.”
“I believe these influences fall into at least three categories:”
“First, its impact on the game's content.”
“New Wan contains hundreds of thousands of NPCs.”
“Every NPC is unique.”
“There are absolutely no duplicated character models.”
“Among them are countless ordinary people.”
“But also famous historical generals such as Wen Pin.”
“And even hidden characters like Jia Xu.”
“Once these people join the territory, they will provide enormous amounts of new story content.”
“They will also strengthen the territory and influence future plot developments.”
“Second, its impact on the Scourge Army.”
“Now that New Wan has been absorbed, I predict the Scourge Army will receive a major power boost!”
“Because New Wan possesses many talented NPCs.”
“Some will join official territorial forces.”
“Others will be recruited by the major legions.”
“Both outcomes will strengthen the major player organizations.”
“In the future, large legions will not consist solely of players.”
“Outstanding NPCs and even famous generals will inevitably become part of them!”
“Furthermore, preliminary investigations have already identified at least five or six skill systems within New Wan!”
“For example, the Extreme Yin Sect!”
“This mysterious organization founded by Jia Xu!”
“It possesses profound and unfathomable spells.”
“It also appears skilled in crafting skeletons and making talismans!”
“Now that the sect has officially joined the Lord's side, several legion leaders have already begun contacting its talents.”
“In addition, Zhang Xiu's spear techniques, the Wen Clan's shield techniques, the Deng Clan's archery techniques, and many military or faction-based skills all possess unique strengths.”
“The variety is astonishing!”
“The territory will likely gain dozens of new hidden skills!”
“Although these skills cannot be widely distributed through Skill Stones.”
“Players can still acquire them through effort by using Skill Cards earned from quests and learning directly from designated NPCs!”
“I am absolutely certain!”
“It won't be long!”
“Before the Scourge Army's skill system becomes vastly larger and more complex!”
“The overall strength of the Scourge Army will continue rising!”
“We will be able to handle more complicated battlefields.”
“And every outstanding soldier will become highly individualized!”
“Third, its impact on the game's capacity!”
“As everyone knows, the number of Strange Three Kingdoms player slots appears directly tied to the territory's size and population!”
“This time we've conquered New Wan.”
“Our territory and population have expanded dramatically.”
“I believe the developers will soon announce a new round of Third Beta recruitment!”
“The number of recruits this time!”
“May far exceed everyone's expectations!”
“This is something every prospective Scourge Soldier should look forward to!”
“...”
The thread was extremely long.
Although somewhat broad in scope.
It summarized the significance of conquering New Wan very well.
Especially its prediction regarding a massive new player recruitment campaign.
This left the cloud players on the forum extremely excited.
“Tears in my eyes!”
“A new recruitment wave is finally coming!”
“With territory this large, they have to recruit at least ten thousand players, right?”
“Ten thousand? No way!”
“I don't think that's realistic either. Can the servers even handle it?”
“There are fewer than four thousand Scourge Army players right now. Doubling the number seems more likely.”
“I hope I get selected this time!”
“I am willing to sacrifice ten pounds of body weight from every forum member in exchange for a beta slot!”
“...”
While browsing the forum.
Hang Yu also saw this thread.
By now, more than half of New Wan's residents had completed the Oath Ceremony.
The remainder would likely finish within the next day.
Only then could the conquest truly be considered complete.
As for recruiting additional Scourge Army members.
It was indeed time to place the matter on the agenda.
After all.
Some time had already passed since the last recruitment.
From Hang Yu's perspective.
The more Scourge Soldiers, the better.
More players meant more leeks.
More leeks meant more income.
However.
As both a Lord and effectively a game designer.
Hang Yu also had to consider financial pressure and territorial capacity.
Currently, only two maps were suitable as starting locations.
One was Luoshui City.
The other was White Tiger City.
Although New Wan City was also a main-city-level settlement.
And its Blessing Point could perform cross-regional teleportation like White Tiger City.
The problem was that monster levels in New Wan were too high.
The purified zones contained no monsters.
Meanwhile, monsters in the contaminated zones were generally Tier 2 and above.
The minimum entry level was around Level 9.
It was unsuitable as a beginner spawn point.
Whether Luoshui City.
Or White Tiger City.
If these two cities served as centers.
The number of monsters within beginner activity ranges was limited.
If all twelve thousand available player slots were filled immediately.
A situation could easily arise where players outnumbered monsters.
Beyond harming gameplay experience and leveling efficiency.
Recruiting twelve thousand players at once would also create considerable expenses.
Although the territory could barely afford it.
Other development projects would inevitably suffer.
After careful consideration.
Hang Yu chose a compromise.
Players definitely needed to be recruited as soon as possible.
Although he would not allocate all twelve thousand slots to the Scourge Army.
At least 11,500 players would be recruited.
Only 500 slots would be reserved for the Azure Dragon Guard.
As for recruitment methods.
They would be adjusted.
Hang Yu had no intention of recruiting everyone at once.
Instead.
He planned to spread recruitment over ten days.
After calculations.
This was the optimal solution.
Given the territory's current scale, capacity, and monster respawn rates near major cities.
One thousand new players per day was entirely manageable.
By the time later recruits arrived.
The earlier recruits would already have gained several levels.
They would then possess the ability to teleport to other Blessing Points for hunting.
In this way.
Congestion would be greatly reduced.
Financial pressure would be eased.
And players would enjoy a better gameplay experience.
Without hesitation.
Hang Yu immediately finalized the announcement and posted it on the game's official homepage.
At that moment.
Countless people were refreshing the page.
Less than a minute after publication.
The announcement was reposted across the forums.
“Massive celebration!”
“The announcement is out!”
“Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!”
“They're releasing 11,500 player slots this time!”
“No way! Absolutely impossible!”
“I told you to stop indulging yourself. Now you've hallucinated from doing it too much!”
“No!”
“I just read it myself!”
“It’s real!”
“My god, I thought I'd accidentally counted an extra zero. I checked several times before I believed it!”
“Long live the developers!”
“The odds are so much better now!”
“...”
Hang Yu did not even need to look.
He already knew the forums were exploding.
The scale of this recruitment was unprecedented.
Once this force descended upon the territory.
The Scourge Army's influence and strength would expand on an unprecedented scale.
Although new recruits still needed time before becoming mature leeks.
The seeds had already been planted.
Why worry about future harvests?
Before long.
The territory's Essence income would experience explosive growth!
Hang Yu was just about to continue reading forum discussions.
Unexpectedly.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed something.
“Something's happening!”
“It's Wolong Mountain!”
Hang Yu's expression changed slightly.
Nearly twenty hours had passed since the unknown Star Lord descended upon Wolong Mountain.
The other side had remained unusually quiet.
Even so.
Hang Yu had never relaxed his vigilance.
Star forces could sometimes be even more dangerous than Abyssal forces.
Especially when their race and foundation remained completely unknown.
Hang Yu adhered to the principle:
If the enemy does not move, neither do I.
He maintained a defensive posture.
Now the situation in New Wan was gradually stabilizing.
And Old Wan would not erupt into conflict again anytime soon.
Since that was the case.
It was time to shift his attention back.
And focus entirely on dealing with this new invader.