Protect Our Chief

At the same time.

The other Elder Gu members also took action one after another, each controlling various Gu insects, joining the interception team.

Among them, Wabak, who was the earliest to submit to "Emperor’s Son An," was the most enthusiastic. He alone controlled two Tier Seven Gu insects and one Tier Eight Gu insect, easily blocking a Purple Mansion Realm commander from Southern Qin.

At the same time, he shouted loudly, "Elder Ga, you deal with the other Purple Mansion commander. All the other Elder Gu, assist Saintess Dai in taking down that Prince Shentong. The chance to achieve great feats is right before us, don’t miss this opportunity!"

Elder Ga looked dejected.

You shameless Wabak! You’re obviously trying to show off in front of the new master.

But by this time, Elder Ga knew the situation was beyond remedy, so he had no choice but to brace himself and join the fight, putting in his best effort. Otherwise, after this, if Emperor’s Son An and the new Saintess settle accounts, he would be in serious trouble.

This whole battle, while seemingly lively and bustling, was actually without suspense. The powerful from the Barbarian Gu Clan overwhelmed the fewer opponents, successfully annihilating a prince and two commanders from Southern Qin.

Throughout the process, not a single Elder Gu’s hands remained unstained by "blood."

After recording all of this with the Celestial Secret Recording Disc, Emperor’s Son An couldn’t help but say to Wang Shouzhe, "Shouzhe, by forcing the Barbarian Gu Clan folks to commit, on the surface they may not say much, but in their hearts, they probably hold a grudge against you. Why bother playing the villain yourself?"

"This kid just wants to stand out," Emperor Longchang grumbled, "Actually, it would be better if I forced them to commit, as they don’t have a good impression of me anyway."

"In the future, Luojing will be the Saintess among the Barbarian Gu Clan," Wang Shouzhe said calmly, "I want all the Elders of the Barbarian Gu Clan to remember one thing: Saintess Jing is not a lone person without foundation. Before trying to bully her, it’s best to remember that she has a ruthless brother."

"You brat..."

Emperor Longchang was utterly speechless.

Wang Shouzhe’s seemingly unintended action was not in vain?

Alright~

I have to admit, the educational guidance I’ve given Wang Shouzhe on strategy has already shown some initial results.

...

After the dust settled.

Everything naturally fell into place.

With the dual impact of the pressuring army and the commitments, no one in the entire Saint Gu Worm Race opposed Quasi-Saintess Jing taking over as the Saintess of the Saint Gu Worm Race.

As for Saintess Dai, she truly lifted the Lifebound Contract of the Saint Gu Worm Celestial Silkworm and passed on the "Saint Gu Worm True Skill" along with the Saint Gu Worm Celestial Silkworm, all to Wang Luojing.

The inheritance of the Saint Gu Worm Race is divided into two parts, one being the Gu inheritance and the other the true skill inheritance. After Wang Luojing truly takes charge of the Saint Gu Worm Race, she can rely on the Saint Gu Worm Celestial Silkworm to enter the Saint Land for the other half of the true skill inheritance.

The entire process was calm and as if it was going according to a rehearsal.

Subsequently, with the joint witness of Emperor Longchang and Former Saintess Dai, Emperor’s Son An and Saintess Jing signed an agreement for the Saint Gu Worm Race to submit to the Daqian Empire.

From drafting to finalization, this agreement took more than ten years. Many clauses in it went through numerous negotiations and revisions.

The main contents of the clauses include the following points.

First, the Southern Border Sacred Gu Race formally declares to the outside and within that from now on it submits to the Daqian Empire. The current territory will be established as the Southern Border Semi-autonomous County, with the Daqian Empire dispatching a commander and other officials to Southern Border to govern the Southern Border Semi-autonomous County’s affairs, while establishing a Elder Council from the Saint Gu Worm Race to participate in governance.

This point contains countless detailed clauses, including the scope of administrative management and solutions when laws conflict with local customs. Almost everything conceivable has been thoroughly considered.

Second, starting immediately, taxes in the Southern Border County will be collected based on other counties of the Daqian Empire, where twenty-five percent is national tax, and the remaining seventy-five percent is various local taxes.

Regarding taxation and subsequent laws, Emperor’s Son An and Wang Shouzhe originally had some differences. According to Emperor’s Son An, the Southern Border County is a newly opened county and should be exempt from some taxation, with full taxes collected a hundred years later. Moreover, the law should give some preferences to Southern Border people to quickly win their allegiance.

But Wang Shouzhe disagreed, saying that the conditions in Southern Border are much better now than decades ago. Reasonable taxation in line with Daqian laws will not make them poor.

If common people have resistance, extensive education and propaganda will do the job.

If you don’t make them get used to paying taxes from the start, over time they’ll get accustomed to not paying taxes and will consider it their natural right, making it hard for them to accept paying taxes later.

In short, the entire Daqian must have only one set of laws. Regardless of race, all must be treated equally.

Though the Southern Border County is a semi-autonomous county, it doesn’t mean the Saint Gu Worm Race can be outside the Daqian law.

Every Southern Border County person must comply with conscription if called upon, pay taxes when due, and receive protection when entitled, all in accordance with Daqian law.

Similarly, the noble family system implemented in Daqian is also applicable in Southern Border County.

If the people of the Saint Gu Worm Race wish to expand for the Daqian and open up Outer Domain territories, they can apply locally and obtain a Pioneer Order; everything will follow the normal noble family pioneering model.

In short: equal treatment for all.

It was precisely this insistence of Wang Shouzhe that once made the entire negotiation process extremely slow to progress.