Chapter 132: Governing Council

Mo Chenxuan and Qin Wu were excited when they heard this.

They had long wanted to have their own territory.

Unfortunately, no opportunities had come up until now.

“The leaders plan to develop an additional one thousand acres.” Uncle Zhang stated, and Qin Wu gasped.

“How ambitious!” She exclaimed.

Before the apocalypse, City B occupied almost two million acres of land.

However, after the apocalypse, six hundred thousand survivors were squeezed into a land of no more than three thousand acres.

Hearing that the base leaders had finally decided to expand, Mo Chenxuan and Qin Wu were naturally excited.

On one hand, they would gain a territory, and on the other, humanity would reclaim more land from the zombies.

Thinking of this, Mo Chenxuan looked at Uncle Zhang with a thoughtful expression.

“What’s the plan?” He asked.

“Before that…” Uncle Zhang started and quickly continued.

“The base leaders have decided to reorganise the government.” He said.

“How so?” Qin Wu asked.

“After the apocalypse started, the former president, major families, and others grabbed power with the army and supplies as their support. However, everyone agrees that the base needs a more structured government.”

“Leaders need clear titles and responsibilities. That way, the base will operate more smoothly and coherently.”

“This has been necessary for a while now.” Qin Wu stated, and Mo Chenxuan nodded in agreement.

However, the apocalypse came too suddenly and too violently.

As a result, everyone was forced to react, and it wasn’t until now that they had a chance to properly reorganise.

“What’s the proposed government structure?” Mo Chenxuan asked.

“It’s a variant of the imperial system.” Uncle Zhang said and continued.

“Xuanyuan Qi, the former president, will still be the base leader but will now be referred to as the king.”

Mo Chenxuan and Qin Wu nodded when they heard this.

After all, Xuanyuan Qi had the largest army and the powerful Xuanyuan family behind him.

Most importantly, he was well-liked and had the people’s support.

“Below the king are six ministers – minister of personnel, minister of finance, minister of research, minister of war, minister of justice, and minister of works.”

“Excluding the military, the ministry of personnel will handle the base’s workforce, including appointments, promotions, and demotions.”

“Similarly, the Ministry of Finance will handle the base’s supplies, including crystal cores, food, fuel, and others. It will also handle taxation, entry fees, and lease fees.”

“The ministry of research will be in charge of all research regardless of field, the ministry of war will be in charge of base defence and expansion, ministry of justice will be in charge of law enforcement and legal proceedings while the ministry of works will be in charge of infrastructure including buildings, roads, water systems, power systems, and sewerage systems.”

“How will the six ministers be appointed?” Qin Wu asked.

“For now, they will be appointed based on experience and the king’s discretion.”

“It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.” Qin Wu muttered and Mo Chenxuan narrowed his eyes.

“Why did the four major families agree to this?” He asked.

After all, under the new system, most of the base’s power rested with Xuanyuan Qi and he could appoint whoever he wanted to powerful positions.

“Two reasons.” Uncle Zhang said and began explaining.

“One, Xuanyuan Qi is powerful but the major families are not weak. To avoid unrest, Xuanyuan Qi will have no choice but to appoint members of the major families to important positions.”

“Two, territories!”

Hearing this, Mo Chenxuan and Qin Wu immediately perked up.

“Under the six ministers is nine territory lords. These territory lords will be known as Lords.”

“The territory lords are also part of the government?” Qin Wu asked with an excited expression.

“Mmh. The king, ministers, and lords form the governing council.” Uncle Zhang said.

“Ministers rely on the king’s discretion, but lords are different. Any capable person can become a territory lord.”

After that, Uncle Zhang began explaining everything he knew about territory lords.

The base planned to reclaim one thousand acres of living space.

However, the base army would only reclaim four hundred acres while the rest was left to interested people.

That said, the qualifications for becoming a territory lord were not low.

First, one needed to own no less than fifty acres of land but the purchase price was one million crystal cores per acre.

This price was astronomical.

After all, City B only had a population of twenty million.

Even if one killed all the zombies in the city, they wouldn’t have fifty million crystal cores.

Fortunately, the base wasn’t unreasonable.

In lieu of crystal cores, supplies could also be used to purchase land.

But how many survivors could afford such an astronomical amount of crystal cores and supplies?

Additionally, territory lords were not only expected to buy land but were also required to capture the purchased land, build a standardised wall, develop the area, and receive survivors within their territory.

Considering these conditions, only the major families and some alliances could afford to become territory lords.

However, if becoming a territory lord was only a loss-making business, the major families would never have supported the government reconstruction.

On the opposite side of qualifications and obligations, territory lords had a seat in the governing council and could affect base decisions.

Most importantly, they could enact their own laws within their territories.

As long as their actions did not contradict base policies or negatively affect base interests, the territory lords could do whatever they wanted within their territories.

“How many people have shown interest?” Qin Wu asked.

Hearing this, Uncle Zhang nodded and spread a map on the study table.

The map showed the area that the base planned to reclaim.

However, at this time, some of the areas were circled and initials were written in the middle of the circles.

“This is the area that the base army plans to reclaim.” Uncle Zhang said, pointing at the largest circle.

Seeing the area, Mo Chenxuan narrowed his eyes and Qin Wu snorted.

“This area won’t have too many zombies.” Qin Wu observed, and Uncle Zhang nodded.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep