As Marshal Xie Long took up residence in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, the remaining nobles of the former Heavenly Soul Imperial Family immediately displayed a sycophantic attitude, bowing their heads and pledging allegiance to him one after another.
However, just as Marshal Xie Long, following Huo Yuhao's instructions, announced the establishment of the People's Republic of Heavenly Soul, these nobles and various financial consortiums all expressed their protest, not recognizing the emergence of this democratic form of government.
They owned over ninety percent of the country's assets and land and would absolutely not hand these things over. Moreover, the populace was very afraid of the noble powers who had powerful soul masters at their disposal. The slave mentality inherited over tens of thousands of years was undoubtedly revealed, and for a time, they found it difficult to accept that they had obtained rights equal to those of the nobles and sects.
The princes and nobles who received the news withdrew their assets and fled at the fastest possible speed. For a time, merchants went on strike, the prices of grain and goods soared, and the country fell into a state of chaos.
Huo Yuhao had long anticipated this situation, but he had not expected it to evolve to this extent. The newly established government of the People's Republic of Heavenly Soul was suddenly caught in a dilemma.
In the eyes of these princes and nobles, although the people's government, with the Demon King Huo Yuhao at its back, possessed extreme military might for a time, it would ultimately not be recognized by this era. It was teetering and would eventually have to return to a feudal imperial system. And they, with their material and financial power, would eventually be accepted by the emerging great power, which would be forced to acknowledge their unshakeable supreme status.
It had to be said that the mess left behind by the former Heavenly Soul Imperial Family caused the group of old generals in Marshal Xie Long's army, who only knew how to fight, to be overwhelmed with sorrow and anxiety for a time. They began to question whether their initial intention of joining the army was correct.
In the early stages of a new nation's founding, what was urgently needed was not only military force but also massive financial support.
And the meaning of the noble financial consortiums that could support the country's operation was also very clear: they could support Huo Yuhao becoming a Demon King, but they could not accept Huo Yuhao's act of throwing the state power to the people.
And the common people, who had been enslaved until now, only cared about whether they could live well and survive. They were not even concerned about the changes in the empire's political power.
Ideology! This country was in urgent need of advanced democratic political ideology! Huo Yuhao finally understood the pain of the last emperor of his previous life, Di Xin. He was indeed a transmigrator with advanced civilized ideas, but the natives of this continent were not!
And how could the evolution of human thought be completed in a short period of time? Even if all the people of the Heavenly Soul Empire stood before him without any defense and let him use Kotoamatsukami, how long would that take?
He might as well give up on cultivating and dealing with the great God King Tang and spend his whole life brainwashing people on the Douluo plane.
The Sovereignty that could be used on a large group of people was just a one-time command; it was by no means an ability to twist will and thought like the one used against Du Busi.
Even the Douluo Federation, which only appeared during the Legend of the Dragon King era, had undergone ten thousand years of ideological evolution before that capitalist regime was barely born. So it had to be admitted that Huo Yuhao alone could absolutely not complete the transformation of the entire continent's ideological landscape.
At least, he couldn't do it in the decades he would stay on the Douluo Continent.
On just the third day of the republic's founding, the ruling Marshal Xie Long received news that the national treasury was running low.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but think of the Star Luo royal treasury that he had packed up and taken with him. Perhaps this could be of some use for the time being.
But a new problem arose. The funds in it might be enough for the new country to operate for a while, but without a super expert with financial skills to manage it, if he let that group of brutes from Marshal Xie Long's army use it arbitrarily, the little bit of funds he had brought would probably not last half a month. After all, he had to support an entire country!
Among the experts around him, neither Zhang Lexuan nor Marshal Xie Long were suited for this kind of work. As for the Straw Hat Brigade, it was even more out of the question. After all, Xie Huanyue had in the past suggested using this money to hold the grandest banquet, where everyone could eat meat and sing, sing, dance, and Rap...
Zhongli Yu stood behind Huo Yuhao, gently massaging his head, which had grown a size larger.
She breathed orchid-like fragrance next to Huo Yuhao's ear. While feeling extremely sorry for him, a murderous glint flashed in her beautiful eyes. "How about you let Yu'er go and handle it?"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes in exasperation. My dear Saintess, let you handle it? That would be more like massacring a city.
This is about governing a country—
At this moment, Huo Yuhao felt an unparalleled admiration for the great figures in the history of his previous life. It was truly hard to imagine how they had revitalized that besieged nation.
"Go and call Zhang Lexuan here. I need to talk to her about the operational model for my assets." Huo Yuhao ordered with a look of despair. Right now, only Zhang Lexuan, who came from a large family, understood some political tactics. He could only treat a dead horse as a living one.
"If you ask me, it would be more direct and save trouble to just slaughter all those troublemaking nobles." Zhongli Yu muttered reluctantly.
Hearing her words, Huo Yuhao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Even if those people lined up in front of you for you to kill, you might not be able to finish them all. Even if you killed the noble Zhang San, another noble Li Si would appear tomorrow. Terror tactics could never maintain a regime for long.
Huo Yuhao wrapped his arm around Zhongli Yu's slender waist and gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Be good, go quickly!"
"I know, I know..." Only then did Zhongli Yu withdraw slightly satisfied, not forgetting to mutter under her breath, "Clearly, we could just kill them all..."
Huo Yuhao knew that this woman's martial soul had just evolved, and she was worried about having strength with nowhere to use it. But with crises looming everywhere in the country and nobles raising their own troops, how could he bear to let Zhongli Yu take another risk? Even if a single hair on her head were harmed, it would be enough to drive Huo Yuhao completely mad.
After Zhongli Yu left, Huo Yuhao sighed and slipped into the otherworldly space, planning to bid farewell to the huge assets he had managed to acquire.
"What's wrong, is our great Demon King having some trouble?" Xian Lin'er, who had been locked up by Huo Yuhao all this time, couldn't help but mock him at the first opportunity.
Ever since Huo Yuhao had opened up the free-viewing angle of Kamui's Otherworldly Space, Xian Lin'er had been able to know almost everything that had happened to him over the past three years. It could be said that he was not hiding anything from her at all, and of course, this included the three years he was trapped in the secret room of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Was that a scene a nearly hundred-year-old virgin like her should be watching? Whenever the night was deep and quiet, Xian Lin'er's mind couldn't help but conjure up those scenes that were not suitable for children, those postures that made her face flush red...
However, since she knew so much about Huo Yuhao, it also meant that it was impossible for Huo Yuhao to let her go again. For the rest of her life, she might have to spend it in this godforsaken place where she could not see the sun but could see the sun every day. Rather than living out her life like that, it would be better to provoke this kid and get it over with.
"Yes, I've run into some trouble. Of course, Dean Xian is also a big trouble." Huo Yuhao chuckled, unabashedly sizing up Xian Lin'er's curvaceous body.
"What? Has the great Demon King taken a fancy to this old woman's stinking flesh? If you want it, just come and take it. Don't let me look down on you, Huo Yuhao. If you have the guts, then kill me." Xian Lin'er stared back at him without flinching. It didn't matter who died. In short, she didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another moment.
"Dean Xian doesn't stink at all. I've tasted every part, and it's all fragrant." Huo Yuhao said with a suggestive smile.
"Shameless little thief, I have never seen such a brazen and shameless person!" Xian Lin'er couldn't help but curse.
"Dean Xian should just stay here obediently. Even if I let you go back to Shrek Academy, would you dare to go back?" Huo Yuhao was too lazy to bother with her and was about to turn around to deal with the treasury matters.
Hearing Huo Yuhao deliberately touch on her scar, a dejected look immediately appeared on Xian Lin'er's pretty face.
She still clearly remembered the day of the hostage exchange, when Yan Shaozhe had ruthlessly pierced through her and Huo Yuhao together. Although she was a hostage, being in Huo Yuhao's hands gave her a greater sense of security than returning.
From the moment Yan Shaozhe intended to kill both her and Huo Yuhao, the Dean of Shrek's Soul Tool Department, Xian Lin'er, was already dead.
In the three years within Huo Yuhao's otherworldly space connected to his Evil Eye, every move he made was in her sight. Although this kid was a lecher, he was a real man, not hypocritical or pretentious. He was unconditionally good to the people around him. When his brother was in trouble, he would rush over immediately no matter how far. Moreover, his world-shaking ideas broke with tradition, shocking Xian Lin'er beyond words.
A democratic regime? A country belonging to the common people? If these ideas were put forth in any country on the Douluo Continent, they would probably become a laughing stock immediately.
But Huo Yuhao just went and did it. And this idea happened to be in line with the wishes of the Xie Long rebel army, and they had successfully brought down the Heavenly Soul Imperial Family. The People's Republic of Heavenly Soul had also become the first democratic country on the Douluo Continent.
And Huo Yuhao, who put this system into practice, had become a pioneer in history.
For this country that was based on the common people, he had even gone so far as to empty his own pockets.
Furthermore, he had never feared the counterattacks from the various noble and royal powers of the continent.
Should one say this kid was a fool with courage but no strategy, or a great man with the world in his heart? All of these, without exception, moved Xian Lin'er's heart.
"Humanity on the Douluo Continent has developed for over ten thousand years, and the imperial system is deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people. If you cannot fundamentally awaken their thinking, then everything you do will be in vain." Xian Lin'er seemed unable to bear seeing someone hit their head against a wall and suddenly spoke up to remind him.
"Hm?" Huo Yuhao, who was taking stock of his assets, heard her words, paused, and turned his head, as if seeing this Dean Xian in a new light.
"Your revolution is a failure, but you have indeed introduced the concept of a democratic system to the secular populace. This is your indelible great achievement. But you were born an era too early. The current continent will absolutely not allow a country where the people are the masters to stand up." Xian Lin'er seemed to have opened the floodgates, speaking eloquently about Huo Yuhao's actions.
"Continue." Huo Yuhao seemed to have discovered a new continent. His once-tired eyes rekindled with a dazzling brilliance, which made Xian Lin'er, who saw it,愣 for a moment.
Xian Lin'er took a deep breath and continued to explain to him with no lack of disdain, "You have never awakened the democratic thinking of the people living on this continent, so how can you talk about establishing a democratic country? Most of the common people under heaven are dull, even hopelessly so. But there will always be a small portion of wise people, and among these wise people, there must be a brave one who stands up to spread this unique idea to the broad masses. Only then can the people of the world truly awaken and desire change."
"Then what should I do?" Huo Yuhao was finally moved. He looked at Xian Lin'er as if he had discovered a treasure more precious than the pile of assets behind him.
Shrek's old trade is playing politics and using schemes. It's not hard to explain why Xian Lin'er has these insights. Our protagonist now has an empress, a marshal general, a military strategist, and even an assassination squad for dirty work. So he also needs a political talent, a great power in governance.