Apart from the material spoils of war, his biggest gain was the 220 merit points.
Xiao Jing discovered that at some point, without him noticing, the system had introduced a merit leaderboard.
There were two leaderboards: an overall merit leaderboard and a player-only merit leaderboard.
The player merit leaderboard was self-explanatory. It only tracked player merit points, excluding the native factions, who also couldn't view it.
Xiao Jing's 220 merit points were displayed high at the top of the list. The player in second place had only 5 merit points, and third place had 4.5...
To put it another way, the merit points of everyone from second place down to one-hundredth on the player leaderboard, when added together, still didn't surpass Xiao Jing's total.
Naturally, this once again caused a huge uproar among the players...
However, while Xiao Jing's 220 merit points might put him leagues ahead of other players, on the overall leaderboard, he didn't even crack the top 100.
After all, the overall leaderboard didn't just track players; it also included the native factions.
1st: The Yuan family of Bohai, 13,566
2nd: Qin Jie, Governor of Nanyang, 12,888
3rd: Xu Qiu, Inspector of Jing Province, 8,999
...
99th: The Cao family of Pei, 1,221
100th: The Zhen family of Zhongshan, 1,189
In other words, while Xiao Jing's 220 merit points seemed like a lot, it wasn't even a rounding error compared to the totals on the overall leaderboard.
And this was with the major families and powerful court officials not even trying yet. If they were to...
At this thought, a bitter smile appeared on Xiao Jing's face.
'The gap is just too wide!'
'The revolution isn't over yet, and I've still got work to do!'
Sighing to himself, Xiao Jing put the matter aside.
However, the vast difference between the overall and player merit leaderboards did not escape the notice of the other players.
「Yizhou, a small mountain village.」
Zhenguan Xiong Bing stared at the massive gap on the player merit leaderboard.
"Barren Hill Village, indeed!"
Though his words sounded like praise, his fists were clenched so tight it betrayed his inner turmoil.
Ever since they entered this world, Xiao Jing and Barren Hill Village had been like a great mountain looming over all the other players, crushing them to the point where they could barely breathe.
Even though he had now obtained a Village Creation Order and established his own village, he didn't dare let his guard down when it came to Xiao Jing.
His own development had only reached the point where he had a few dozen militia; dealing with just a few dozen Yellow Turbans was already a major struggle. But according to the leaderboard, Barren Hill Village's 220 merit points meant they had dealt with at least 400 Yellow Turbans.
This level of military might was the source of all his pressure.
After all, he was aiming to build the 'Number One Town Under Heaven.' The sheer power of Barren Hill Village's military was a clear reflection of its prosperity.
'No, I can't let this continue. If things go on like this, I'll have no chance at the reward for the Number One Town Under Heaven!'
Taking a deep breath, Zhenguan Xiong Bing calmed himself.
Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the great families and powerful officials ranked high on the overall leaderboard.
'It looks like this is the only way...'
After careful consideration, he finally made his decision.
After entrusting village affairs to his deputy, he took some silver coins, went into town, and after a few teleports, arrived in Luoyang, the capital of the Great Han.
After navigating his way through the capital of Luoyang, he arrived before a grand residence. The plaque above the door prominently displayed two words: "Lu Residence."
That's right. He planned to pledge his allegiance to Lu Zhi, the great general who would soon be tasked with suppressing the rebellion.
...
Of course, quite a few other players made the same choice as Zhenguan Xiong Bing.
In fact, many were even more decisive than him, since they weren't tied down by the responsibilities of managing a village territory.
...
The players in the Great Han faction were in an uproar over the merit leaderboards.
Meanwhile, players who had chosen the Yellow Turban faction also began to stir, tempted by the faction's rich rewards. They started fervently promoting the benefits of joining the Yellow Turbans on the forums.
Seeing how lucrative the Yellow Turban rewards were, many players were instantly swayed. It wasn't that they were unaware of the severe consequences they would face if the Yellow Turbans were defeated.
But everyone is susceptible to wishful thinking.
Moreover, just by joining, they could become a minor Yellow Turban captain and command a squad of about twenty Yellow Turban Soldiers. For players who had been struggling just to get by, the temptation was simply too great.
"Screw it! I'm sick and tired of starving all the time. If I join the Yellow Turbans, at least I'll get a full meal!"
"Exactly! And with us players helping this time, it's still anyone's game. It'll be up to us to help the Great Teacher turn the world upside down!"
"Let's go! Other Yellow Turban players have let it slip that if you just show you've got some brains, you can command a squad of Yellow Turban Soldiers right after joining. This is a chance for a meteoric rise!"
"Too bad I'm located in Yizhou. There are almost no Yellow Turbans here, or else I'd seriously consider joining their faction..."
...
Xiao Jing was vaguely aware of the commotion on the forums, but he had no time to pay it any mind.
The nearly 1,000 Yellow Turban captives who had just joined—a group almost equal in size to the entire original population of Barren Hill Village—brought with them a host of problems.
Public order, housing, ration distribution... Even with Guo Yun's assistance, Xiao Jing had to personally handle most of these issues.
For the past two days, aside from dispatching a few scouts to gather information on the outside world, Xiao Jing had focused all his energy on settling in the population converted from the Yellow Turban ranks.
"Old Guo, are the commoners converted from the Yellow Turbans behaving themselves?"
Lifting his head from his desk, Xiao Jing rubbed his sore neck and asked Guo Yun.
Guo Yun rubbed his swollen eyes, a result of many sleepless nights. Though his face showed signs of fatigue, his spirit was high as he replied energetically.
"Rest assured, Chief. I personally arranged to integrate the former Yellow Turbans among our original villagers. With our own people keeping an eye on them, they wouldn't dare cause any trouble! They're as honest as can be."
Xiao Jing nodded. "And the villagers? Do they have any objections?"
Guo Yun smiled and said,
"Chief, you command great respect. As soon as the villagers heard they could help you and the village, they not only had no objections, they were actually delighted!"
"The people's hearts are with us!"
Xiao Jing smiled as well. A surge of pride washed over him as he looked at the Public Support score on his panel, which had reached a high of 76 points.
A Public Support score of 76 might not seem very high, but it was actually an exceptional figure, representing the immense approval the villagers of Barren Hill Village had for Xiao Jing.
Generally speaking, with Public Support over 50, the people could get by and wouldn't easily revolt. Above 60 meant life was stable. Above 70, the populace would live and work in peace and contentment, developing loyalty and cohesion toward their territory, and would not easily abandon their Lord. Above 80, it was a golden age of peace and prosperity. Not only would the residents' confidence and the efficiency of activities like construction and trade soar, but the territory's appeal to outsiders and refugees would skyrocket, making it a veritable 'Peach Blossom Spring' that all yearned for.
However, the higher the Public Support, the more difficult it became to raise...
"Still, even with things as they are, we can't let our guard down!"
"Coincidentally, the prison was completed today. It's time for our village to establish some laws to regulate the villagers' behavior," Xiao Jing said after a moment of thought.
'Laws?!'
Hearing this, an idea sparked in Guo Yun's mind, and he cautiously proposed,
"Chief, could we perhaps take this opportunity to introduce tax laws...?"
Xiao Jing was tempted, but after a moment's thought, he rejected the idea.
"Barren Hill Village's foundation is still too weak. We can't support a tax system yet. We'll have to wait until every villager has some spare money in their pockets..."