Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

Hong San took office on the same day.

After the food price turbulence and economic crisis, Yuangang's top priority is to stabilize prices and protect people's livelihood. Accompanied by Han Zezheng, he spent several hours reading the city's economic structure and industrial distribution, and held an emergency meeting in the evening. Summons apprehensive dignitaries to come to a meeting.

In the Auditorium of Justice, and again the Auditorium of Justice, the new ruler of the Far Harbor offers a benevolent proposal to the fish on the chopping block, a chance.

Because today is the fourteenth day, the free food distribution is coming to an end, and people in Far Harbor must return to the days of exchanging labor for food and clothing, which requires sufficient jobs and stable prices.

And most of the industry in the entire Far Harbor is still in the hands of these powerful people.

Hong San's request is very simple, start work immediately, stabilize prices and maintain stability.

In view of the heavy losses of these crumbs due to the food price incident, Hong San said that he could provide a low-interest loan, suspend the recovery of the loan, and temporarily stop the calculation of the previous usury interest.

If Hong San proposed this before, he would most likely be regarded as a sign of weakness by the nobles, and he felt that the national economy and people's livelihood of the Far Harbor were still inseparable from these "pillars of the country", and then he would tremble again.

But now they have been beaten into PTSD by the iron fists of Kant's dictatorship one after another. The death sentence was unavoidable, but now it has become a reprieve. The joy after despair is beyond words. The Stockholm Syndrome broke out quickly. There was a great feeling.

Even if some people are careful and bright, this is just a double rehearsal played by this upstart from the Far Harbor and his master, but on the one hand, the family is destroyed and the blood is cut off, on the other hand, the vitality is severely damaged but still alive, two paths are in front of you. They couldn't help but shout out the fragrance.

Yes, all this is not without cost.

Because from now on, all commercial activities in the Far Harbor, including the business transactions of the nobles, will be subject to the supervision of the Price Bureau and other departments. In addition, the loans they owe must be carried out with the properties under their names. After the settlement, Sigoethe has the right of first refusal.

And, needless to say loyalty, devotion and donation, the nobles present must prove themselves worthy of His Highness Kant’s mercy with practical actions, and from now on they must actively respond to all the calls of the Aurora Dragon, such as wars, etc. Foreign and domestic actions.

In a word, Kant was their new lord, governor and king.

"Alternatively, you can choose an unyielding death, but I can guarantee that this death will never be glorious, nor will there be any regrets, this land can lack anything, but there will never be a lack of nobles, and there will never be a lack of people who want to be noble people."

"Even if you all die here today, your bloodlines are cut off, and your titles are eliminated, there will still be the same number of people tomorrow, who will gain your wealth, fame, and status, and become new nobles."

"I assure you, this must be in line with the law, the Grand Guild will grant these new nobles a formal title, and it will never take into account that they were peasants a day ago, and the Emperor of the Empire and the Phoenix King of the Dusk Moon will even congratulate them. , the honor recognized by the most orthodox and noblest kings in the world."

"In the end, this world is good, because loyalty and following the strong can obtain seemingly sacred things. I hope you can understand this truth."

"otherwise…"

Hong San's smile was gentle and kind: "The poles in front of the city hall should be erected more."

Now the nobles of Far Harbor have all their bones broken.

It's hard for them to say nothing.

Even they finally understood Hong San's subtext.

Because they looked around and looked at the familiar faces with changing expressions, more and more powerful people discovered the terrifying fact that some of the most noble, rich and prestigious adults were not present.

"Your Excellencies who agree with my proposal and are willing to apologize to His Royal Highness Kant and the people of Far Harbor, you can go forward to sign the agreement and swear an oath. In the name of the sun **** Sura, swear in front of Horus, everyone. His words will be imprinted on time and space in the form of light and electricity, forming the highest contract."

Hong San chuckled lightly: "In addition, I need the kind and righteous gentlemen of Far Harbor to draft a joint statement, spurning and condemning the war on food prices for self-interest, disrupting the provincial economy, abusing innocent civilians, and slandering His Royal Highness Kant. culprits, and uphold the new Far Harbor government's decision to try them."

He stretched out his arm and pointed to the door.

"The dissidents, you can leave now."

Although this sentence was plain, it sounded like a thunderclap.

Joint Statement.

Another joint statement.

The dignitaries looked at each other and couldn't help thinking of that afternoon more than ten days ago. Kant intended to punish those who instigated the riots in Far Harbor, and asked the nobles of Far Harbor to issue a joint statement agreeing with his punishment, which caused their resistance and disgust. , so they protested, they opposed, and it eventually turned into an economic war against Kant, which led to what it is today.

Now, with a crushing defeat, the demands of another joint statement lie ahead.

As one of the conditions for letting them go, they must become Kant's lackeys, and the first vote they paid was to issue a statement to the entire continent, agreeing to punish the Far Harbor giants who were not present today, those with the most wealth, Aristocratic leaders of power, roots and connections.

within reason.

only…

They all had bitter smiles.

If I knew this earlier, why should it be in the first place.

It's just...I can't go back.

Fifteenth day.

"That's it? That's it?"

This morning, Hong San returned to Chaosheng Manor, who had been busy for half the night, and had breakfast with Kant.

He brought a stack of land deeds and more acquisition plans. Yesterday, no one left in the fair hall. Everyone chose to compromise. Under the threat of death and bloodline, no one dared to be stubborn. Resist to the end...because any resistance is pointless.

So the only option is to compromise.

Follow Kant's orders and sell the property under his name.

The title deed that Hong San brought, Kant just turned it over a little and threw it aside.

Lily smelled the glittering money with her dragon's instinct. She took the pieces of paper that symbolized wealth and looked at them one by one. To be fair, she now regrets it a little, because these industries belong to Sigoethe Company. Agreed to Kant's hire...

Bah, bah, 50%, he thinks it's beautiful.

Long Niang turned a few times, and then she showed a look of astonishment: "This is it? This is it?"

Kant turned to look at her: "What?"

"What are you talking about? Hey, do you know how valuable the housing prices in the prime locations of Far Harbor are? Do you know how rich the wealth accumulated by the rich and powerful people in Far Harbor for hundreds of years? What is the most valuable? Land! Houses! Ah! And the Chamber of Commerce! And the fleet and hired hands!"

"Oh...here, the Magic Carver Alchemist Heraldry Scholar Mining Consultant Expedition Team...and then it's gone? Brewmaster, Great Dyeer, Top Tailor...Why don't you get some of these?"

Lily's eyes were full of hatred for iron and steel, as if she was looking at a prodigal thing, she waved the land deed in her hand to crackle: "What have you collected? Farm, farm, or farm, you should collect some vineyards And the plantation! Don't you have food? Why do you have to harvest farmland?"

Kant and Hong three looked at each other and smiled.

Lily said indifferently, "...you guys are so disgusting."

Kant raised his hand and pressed Longniang back to the chair, then flicked her forehead: "Eat."

Lily was still staring at him disapprovingly.

Although this money has nothing to do with her, she can't accept this shameful waste of seeing Kant's so bad, letting Huang Cancan's gold coins slip through his fingers, and giving up the huge gold mine to pick up stones on the ground - those shops and merchants The team is worth a thousand times more than these ragged farms!

"All right."

Kant ate the xiao long bao poked with chopsticks into his mouth and explained, "I'm not short of money, different... The value recognized by the world in the mainland and the value I think are two different things. What you think is valuable, from me It doesn’t matter from the point of view of…”

Hong San tapped the table lightly, and Lily's eyes widened: "You?"

"…them."

Kant changed his words: "They think merchant ships are valuable, but I don't think these small wooden ships with slow speed, low cargo capacity, weak risk tolerance and self-defense ability are worthless at all. They think trade routes are valuable, but I can open up more at any time. A valuable trade route that sells wonderful goods that only I have a monopoly on."

"The same is true for house prices and land prices. In fact, those land and storefronts are not valuable at all. What is valuable is my finger. I just need to point on the map and say that I want to build a new city here, then wealth will immediately flow into that area. Badlands, opportunities and abundance will follow, and many rich people will cry and cry and give me large sums of gold coins, just to buy a piece of wasteland that was a wasteland not so long ago."

He blinked and smiled at Lily: "You tell me, is this the truth?"

Long Niang's cheeks were flushed, and she stared at Kant blankly: "You are just so handsome..."

…Grass.

Kant said sarcastically, "Aren't you handsome now!"

Lily immediately showed a flattering smile: "Handsome!"

She stood up, thumped Kant's shoulders diligently, and flattered: "Then what, where do you plan to build a city? Do you need to invest in advance? When will you start selling land..."

Kant squinted: "I know nothing about this kind of thing, and I know that the new city I'm going to build will inevitably rise in housing prices. Why do you think I'll sell it early?"

"…cut."

Lily's face immediately turned cold, and she sat back in the chair angrily.

After a while, he couldn't hold back and asked again, "You said those things are not valuable, so you charged a lot of farmland property from these nobles-do you think those things are very valuable?"

Kant shook his head and said, "No, those aren't worth much."

"...Then what are you doing with these?"

"Because people are valuable."

"people?"

"Well, people are valuable."

Kant said: "In this world, about 80% of the farmers are still to support the remaining 20% ​​of the people, and most of the population is tied to the farmland. This is cruel exploitation and a shameful waste. , the production tools are outdated, the production efficiency is low, the farmers have a hard life, and there is always a stench in the home, farming, grazing, working all year round, and sometimes even unable to eat and eat..."

The civilization of the other world is still relatively backward.

Even with the advanced productivity of magic, it has little to do with civilians.

Druids can cultivate fine seeds, which can improve the yield and quality of food, and elemental mages can manipulate celestial phenomena and make the land more fertile, but spellcasters have always been a rare resource.

These agricultural casters will of course take care of agricultural production themselves, but because the number is extremely limited, they usually only serve the top manors of the royal family and the nobles. It can even provide consumers with more adequate nutrition, making their bodies stronger and their minds more agile.

But because of the limited production, of course, it can only be enjoyed by a very small number of privileged people.

The same goes for livestock raising.

And the reason why the elves are unparalleled in the world is that the natural magic skills are well developed and the number of druids is extremely large, which is also one of the factors.

Because he is good at farming, the grain output is excellent and the quality is good. The large number of druids means that it can be produced on a large scale and used to supply soldiers. Invincible, of course, is common sense.

But these advantages did not drive the progress of civilization as a whole.

Instead, it widened the gap between the commoners and the nobles.

The benefits that the people have gained from agricultural development are probably only the fine seeds developed by the Druids, and the output will increase to some extent. Furthermore, the earth mages of the National Civil Engineering Corps build water conservancy projects with spells according to the orders of the state. , can also increase food production.

- But these will obviously give priority to the manor of the royal family and the great nobles.

It's hard for real farts to get too much light.

Because the use of water from the national water conservancy project is to pay taxes to the lord.

"So I want to free them from the land."

"They can do things that are easier, more rewarding and more meaningful," Kant said, "from remote and poor villages, from thatched huts that stink and even share the same house with livestock, go to cities, and do more. Good things, have days off, live in bright and spacious houses, more entertainment, more pay, no more numbness, no more stupidity... no more peasants."

People should not be tied to farmland.

Both Hong San and Lily were thoughtful.

But even Hong San couldn't understand Kant's deep meaning for a while.

He just followed Kant's order to collect the land deeds of the estates and manors from the dignitaries of the Far Harbor to offset a sum of usury and apology compensation. As for the reasons, it is easy to understand. The establishment of a new city and the development of the underground world require a lot of manpower. Where is the most manpower? In rural areas.

But now it seems that, in addition to interests, His Highness acts like this, and it seems to have deep meanings.

It's just that he can't understand.

After all, we live in this era.

It is only natural for farmers to farm and produce grain. What can they do if they are not farmers?

Just as Hong San was about to ask a question, he heard Kant recite: "It is noon on the day of hoeing the weeds, and sweat drips down the soil. Who would have known that the food on the plate is hard work..."

Aurora people moved: "Good poetry!"

"Yeah, good poem, even if the author of the poem is an arrogant and lewd, fish-flesh **** after he made his fortune, he would kill hundreds of chickens to make tongues for a meal, and even the word "common" has something to do with him... but It's still a good poem."

"But it was just good poetry of that era, and it shouldn't be good poetry now."

Why is it not good poetry?

Very simple truth.

If you go to an ordinary village in China and read these four lines of poetry, everyone who hears it will definitely say yes.

But if you go to the American countryside and tell the farmers in the United States, who knows that every piece of Chinese food is hard work, then most Yankees will roll their eyes and say that the hard work is a piece of chicken, and it is true that it costs oil.

Yes, why do you have to work hard.

Kant stirs the porridge in the bowl. Who knows, every grain of Chinese food is hard work. This is a poem that I would recite when I was a child, but it is more difficult than cherishing this grain...

He wanted to make this easier.

"A farmer uses a broken and inefficient plough, cattle, sweat and extremely low life expectancy to plant dozens of acres of land in the dark, but in the end he can't make money or even fill his stomach, just like consumables or even slaves, The numbness of seeing no hope...I want to end times like this."

He took the title deeds on the table.

"Collect the scattered farmland, use better seeds, better water conservancy, more efficient fertilizers and more powerful machinery, so that the yield per mu will be higher and higher, and more and more land can be cared for by one person. , and then continue to develop and innovate until agricultural production no longer requires human participation.”

"Machine will do everything."

"Then the countryside will disappear."

"The profession of peasants will also disappear from the history of civilization."

"There is no longer a need for someone to be rooted in the land, support others with sweat and hard work, plant a pound of wheat that can only sell a little more than one piece, and watch and imagine the city's scenery on TV and mobile phones."

"I don't like the countryside, and I'm not interested in the so-called pastoral scenery. Only urban people who are full of unrealistic fantasies will sing and praise the style and simplicity of the countryside, but no farmer is obliged to cater to these people's imagination and simplicity. Feelings stay in remote villages for a lifetime, anyone is qualified to pursue a better life, live in a modern city, and enjoy the convenience of technology..."

"Everyone in the countryside likes the simple and quiet rural life, and doesn't like the crowded and noisy big cities... Don't be kidding."

When Kant said this, he smiled apologetically to Hong San and Lily: "I'm sorry, I said too much."

Lily hesitated, shaking her head slowly.

I don't know why, although I don't understand Kant very well...

But I always thought he was more handsome than before.

Hong San smiled slightly: "You are more like a saint than yesterday."

"It's just talking, but if you can do it, you can indeed be called a saint."

"Let's set a goal then..." Kant said while stroking, "In our lifetime, eliminate the agricultural population, so that there will be no more people in this vast world and all living beings who farm for a living."

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PS1: Update... The insights about rural areas and farmers are also from these two years.

PS2: I personally think that no one is born to farm - of course, the big landowner who drives the combine harvester and sees the land as far as the eye can see is another matter.

PS3: But in fact, the vast majority of China's agricultural population still maintains an inefficient farming model. Our 2 billion mu of arable land is cultivated by hundreds of millions of people, while the US imperialist's 2.8 billion mu of arable land has only millions of people. Farmers, this kind of production efficiency is indeed rolling, and it is also a long way to go...

PS4: In fact, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country has been prosperous and now, there are countless agricultural people behind the silent sacrifice and dedication, I am very happy that the country has not forgotten them - it can be seen from the proposals of the two sessions this year.

PS5: As for me, I can only have a distant dream in the book. I am afraid there is little hope in my lifetime, but I still hope that one day, no one will have to farm for a living.

PS6: And a final pre-judgment, if someone disagrees with my point of view, then I can probably be sure that he did not go to the countryside to work.