Chapter 1605 IF Scenario: What if Shen Tang woke up earlier (19)
Shen Tang was so engrossed in infrastructure construction that he had forgotten what the world was like.
This is the conclusion Wei Lou reached after observing for ten days.
Shen Tang has an inexplicable obsession with building houses, bridges, and roads; she wishes she could build her house wherever she could see.
To expedite the construction, she spared no expense, hiring Ji Sunyin's troops to work overtime. Budget wasn't an issue, as long as the project was completed on schedule. The former warlord leader, however, felt increasingly uncomfortable; he simply couldn't understand it.
“Lord Wei, do you think that our lord…” He pointed to his temple, “…is there something wrong here?”
They were practically asking Shen Tang if he was mentally ill.
I didn't dare to ask Wei Lou directly at first.
He initially thought Wei Lou was Shen Tang's chief strategist, a heavyweight confidant who could influence Shen Tang's judgment. However, after observing him secretly for some time, he realized that Wei Lou was not in Shen Tang's camp. Wei Lou was also a senior clerk hired by Shen Tang at his own expense.
If we're talking about closeness or distance—
Now that he has nominally submitted to Shen Tang, he is actually more like "one of Shen Tang's own" than Wei Lou. However, Wei Lou has known Shen Tang for longer and naturally knows him better than he does. If he has any questions, he can ask Shen Tang, and Wei Lou is unlikely to betray him.
Understanding your superiors' preferences will help you better integrate into your new workplace.
To his surprise, Wei Lou's reaction was not as indifferent as he had imagined; his eyes sharpened noticeably, which puzzled the warlord leader.
Isn't Wei Lou just an unpaid employee? How come he's so protective of Shen Tang after hearing a few words of gossip?
This guy hasn't forgotten that his real lord is someone else, has he?
Wei Lou clearly hadn't forgotten.
So he quickly suppressed his outward emotions, as if he wasn't the one who had just been irritated: "Why did you ask that?"
The warlord leader pointed to the twelve city walls that were gradually taking shape below the city walls and said, "Building so many roads, so many houses, and such high city walls... isn't that just pointless?"
Honestly, nobody wants to live in ruins.
Everyone wants to keep their doghouse clean and presentable.
The problem is that this move was completely unnecessary.
Even if countless hours of effort are spent constructing magnificent palaces, they will all turn to ruins when the enemy invades, for the invading forces will have no pity for these bricks and stones. During a city's defense, these buildings will be demolished and pawned. No matter how magnificent the architecture, how sturdy the houses, when the defenses are on the verge of collapse, their value is less than a pot of boiling molten gold. Shen Tang's actions, in his view, are futile, because the city beneath his feet will one day return to ruins, and the buildings repaired today will become spoils of war.
Is it worth it?
Wei Lou remained silent for a few moments after hearing this.
He had been asked similar questions not only by warlord leaders.
His colleagues who served under the same lord also asked him about it.
They could understand that Shen Tang was carrying out large-scale construction in the previous county, because even in a barren place there were still many living people and there were fields nearby that could be cultivated. But how many living people were left in this abandoned city?
Is it really necessary to rebuild a city for such a small number of people?
Although Mr. Shen's family is wealthy and doesn't mind such expenses, this kind of waste... is really not worth it.
With this much money, what wouldn't you do?
Even those who benefited from Shen Tang's extravagant spending felt sorry for him, and his nephew Wei Cheng even subtly suggested that he persuade Shen Tang to stop.
Somehow, these words reached Shen Tang's ears.
She was completely speechless.
"...Don't you think your logic is strange? Because the enemy will attack and cause destruction, there's no need for us to live in sturdy, good houses. They'll just get smashed anyway, so why not just live in ruins? They won't collapse much anyway. Why assume the enemy can invade and cause destruction? Why assume our military power can't protect the people under our rule? Do you really think like that?"
Wei Lou: "..."
Shen Tang felt that there were very few normal people around her.
They're all mentally unstable.
She took a deep breath: "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. If we follow your logic, everyone dies eventually, so should we commit suicide before we die of old age? No matter how much food a person eats, it will eventually turn into excrement and urine, so should we just eat excrement and drink urine instead of eating rice and vegetables?"
There's no need to do it all at once.
Shen Tang wasn't one to act impulsively; she wanted long-term stability. And since she wanted long-term stability, she naturally wanted to invest time and effort in managing her territory. Even animals in nature know that a comfortable and safe living environment is essential for reproduction.
Wei Lou: "..."
Although her words were rough but the reasoning was sound, her words were just too rough.
What does it mean to eat feces and drink urine instead of eating food?
Is there any analogy like that?
Wei Lou somewhat agreed, but still harbored some opposition.
As if possessed, he suddenly asked a question he thought he wouldn't ask for a long time: "Has Shen Jun thought about the future? Your ambitions certainly aren't as simple as just a county or a city; perhaps you've even considered establishing a nation..."
"...I hadn't thought about that, but it's possible."
If we were to establish a nation, what would be a good name for it?
Wei Lou's questions became increasingly sharp and provocative: "The establishment of a nation is no child's play. Has Lord Shen considered how to ensure its continuation for ten thousand years? How can this be achieved? Through the way of the king, the way of the hegemon, the way of benevolence, or... the way of the gods? The Gongxi clan worships you as a god, but you are not a god after all!"
He was discouraged and compromised at one point.
If it really is a god, it's not impossible.
Compared to a human lifespan, a god's life is far too long. God can use a tiny fraction of her life to protect generation after generation. At least these generations can enjoy a level of peace that their ancestors could never have imagined.
But his remaining rationality was pulling him back, preventing him from being easily swayed and compromising. The stability and prosperity gained through the temporary mercy of "God" would not last. These generations had been happy, but what would happen to the countless generations to come once God turned his back on them? They might fall into a hell that was even more chaotic, disorderly, and cruel than the present.
Are we really willing to be forever corrupted just for a little bit of sweetness?
Compared to Wei Lou's aggressive approach, Shen Tang's reaction seemed somewhat bewildered. She pointed to herself: "Continue... for ten thousand years? No, why would Your Excellency... have such a foolish idea that is completely inconsistent with your intelligence? Do you mean that ordinary people should live an oppressed life as inferiors forever, forever kneeling on the ground to make a living? This is so bad that I would want to call the police!"
Wei Lou: "..."
Because Wei Lou's remarks were too abstract and outrageous, Shen Tang couldn't even grasp the core of Wei Lou's words, nor did she want to get involved in the madman's thought process: "Let's solve problems one by one. First of all, the lifespan of a unified feudal dynasty is generally a little over two hundred years, at most three hundred years. You can think of a dynasty as a person. When it reaches a certain age, its organs begin to age. Land annexation will cause precious resources to be continuously concentrated in a small group of people, and most people will not be able to survive."
"People will try to save themselves when they can't survive, just like a drowning person will struggle. Ordinary people whose very means of survival are gradually being taken away will do the same. If someone wants to kill you, will you fight back? I certainly won't stand there and wait to die. At this point, it's a matter of life and death!"
"A monarch cannot guarantee that he will not father an abstract offspring, nor can he guarantee that he will not become that abstract offspring himself as he ages. The rise and fall of a dynasty is far too greatly influenced by its ruler. Have you ever seen a dynasty in history books that has lasted for ten thousand generations?"
"Even if a dynasty wants to last forever, it has to ask the common people at the bottom who suffer from exorbitant taxes whether they are willing to pay for a lifetime! Whether they are willing for their children and grandchildren to repeat their exploited lives. Besides these, there are also natural disasters, man-made calamities, and even foreign threats."
"The world is constantly in flux, with periods of division and unification."
"What is united for a long time will eventually divide, and what is divided for a long time will eventually unite."
"No matter what path it is, whether it is human or god, it cannot do what you say. The only thing it can do is to ensure that the majority of people in the world have a way to survive, and to let them control most resources and have the greatest say. After all, they are the ones who decide whether a world is in chaos or in order."
In fact, she also learned about Wei Lou's past from a few words.
The Wei Lou uncle and nephew are indeed in a very bad situation.
But Chen Tang felt that what was even worse was being a lowly person who couldn't speak out and became someone's meal. At least the Wei Lou uncle and nephew could turn their fortunes around; one became Ji Sunyin's strategist, and the other became a military general relied upon by Ji Sunyin. If they wanted to, they could have access to resources in abundance.
In contrast, for ordinary people, even living a decent life is a luxury.
"My lord, you speak of continuing for ten thousand years—whose ten thousand years are you referring to? You wouldn't be thinking of finding a reliable and benevolent ruler, letting him/her sit on a high throne, managing the world in an orderly manner, with all civil and military officials working diligently, frugally, and wholeheartedly for the public good, and then having the benevolent ruler give birth to benevolent offspring, and having the civil and military officials also give birth to the next generation of officials, would you?"
Wei Lou's idea was too naive and idealistic.
“You seem to have overlooked the existence of ‘human beings.’ Human beings have seven emotions and six desires, as well as selfishness. Whether it’s a ruler or an official, they all have selfishness. To do whatever it takes to achieve selfishness, that’s what ‘human beings’ are!” As Shen Tang said this, some strange and complicated thoughts inexplicably arose in her mind, flashing by and disappearing without her grasp. “However, how do you know you can’t do it if you don’t try?”
Give it a try, what if it works?
Wei Lou appeared calm, but in reality, the system had been down for a while.
His usually deep, dark eyes were filled with confusion. He had imagined countless scenarios, but none of them matched Shen Tang's reaction this time.
"and you--"
Shen Tang asked, "Then what am I?"
"Then why did you agree to come out with the Gongxi clan?"
"Because I am kind?"
Wei Lou: "..."
Shen Tang sighed: "Well, it's not entirely because I'm kind. For the vast majority of ordinary people, only a stable and unified regime can guarantee their most basic survival. If even survival becomes a problem, what's the point of talking about the future? I was just thinking that if I could manage to cobble together a more stable... well, like these newly built houses in the city, build a sturdy house that can shelter them from the wind and rain, solve their most basic survival problem, they would have more time to think about the future."
Only after solving basic survival problems can we consider continuing our lineage.
"Many animals in nature will voluntarily sterilize when faced with harsh living conditions. Once they stop reproducing, the species will naturally become extinct. So, I want to build many, many houses for people to live in, so that they can have enough to eat and wear. So that survival issues will no longer occupy their minds, and they will have extra energy to think about how to move forward in the future."
Wei Lou: "..."
At this moment, he didn't know what he was feeling.
Since he could remember, he had never seen or experienced unconditional love, and naturally could not understand Shen Tang's purity.
All the words can be summed up in one question.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"You just said that if the reign of ten thousand years is the reign of the monarch, then ordinary people will forever live oppressed lives as subservient beings, forever kneeling on the ground to make a living. Have you ever considered that the moment they stand up to make a living will be the day the monarch dies?"
What he really wanted to ask was—
If believers no longer believe in God, she is not afraid that they will kill God.
Monarch, deity.
Li Shu, a believer.
If she, as a monarch, could tolerate the day when the common people rise up and push her off her throne, could she, as a deity, tolerate believers abandoning their faith, or even killing the god? Was she not afraid?
“When it’s time to die, you should die with dignity. After all, the wheel of fortune turns.” Shen Tang looked at Wei Lou and smiled. “Have you ever thought that one day, the rulers of this world will no longer be a high and mighty monarch with absolute power, but rather the common people?”
Wei Lou: "I never expected this."
"You should have thought of that."
Wei Lou stared intently into Shen Tang's eyes: "Has Shen Jun ever considered that one day, even gods will no longer be high and mighty?"
Shen Tang: "???"
She had a question: why was Wei Lou so concerned about "gods"? Had this guy been deceived by some charlatan? Was he so traumatized? She said, "A pile of clay sculptures. When you kneel at their feet, they are high above you, but when you stand up, you can look down on them. If you want, you can even step on their heads. It all depends on where you place them."
"The identity of a god was given to this clay sculpture by you, my lord."
If Wei Lou were to strip him of this, he would no longer be a god.
Wei Lou is a person with unwavering convictions, not a clay sculpture.
Wei Lou remained silent for a long time.
Shen Tang raised her hand and gestured in front of him.
"My lord, has your system crashed again?"
At this moment, Wei Lou suddenly responded to her.
He bowed deeply to her.
Shen Tang: "???"
Can someone explain to her what Wei Lou means by this?
Not far away, Luo San overheard their conversation.
He sneered, "I hate people who pretend to be mysterious!"
Shen Tang: "Did you understand?"
Before leaving, Wei Lou mumbled something in his speech.
At this very moment, this is where He and I stand...
Shen Jun, you are truly a remarkable person.
Luo San reminded Shen Tang: "Didn't the lord just say that he is the one who gave the clay sculpture the identity of 'god'? What the clay sculpture's identity is depends on how he sees it. So, didn't he respond? This is the position of the clay sculpture and himself at this moment."
Shen Tang: "No, he molded me into a clay figure?"
This is outrageous! It's a reversal of the natural order!
Luo San didn't understand that this "clay sculpture" was not the same as that "clay sculpture," but he could tell from Shen Tang's tone that this "clay sculpture" was not something to be proud of, and he felt a little smug—Wei Lou was flirting with the blind man, and he was pleased.
"When the lord stands, he bows; when the lord is above, he bends down. Isn't the meaning obvious? Alas, the lord is truly oblivious to romance."
Shen Tang: "???"
Unromantic?
Her?
|ω`)
Ji Sunyin: I feel like someone has poached my partner.
(End of this chapter)
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