Doctor, I'm really strong!

The worst case involved an entire family who were practically dead; they even used spoons and lunchboxes to collect the bodies.

After such a tragedy, no one in the Yan Kingdom dared to say anything anymore, not even the Yan Emperor himself.

They could even enter the palace to silence witnesses, doesn't that mean...?

Oh well, it's just their cultural product. Besides, I quite enjoy watching it myself. Those blockbusters are all pretty good. There's no need to cause trouble for them over something like this. Anyway, I've tolerated similar things more than once.

In Swire's view, such a country had already been predetermined by the community, and investing in it now might just be a waste of time and effort. Therefore, she herself was not very concerned. If it just fell through like this, everyone would save themselves a lot of trouble.

Swire's lack of initiative led to very unsuccessful negotiations.

Just as the talks were about to break down, a girl in a purple dress walked in and sat down opposite Swire.

"Hello, Miss Swire, I am Keqing, who is succeeding Lord Li. I will be in charge of the negotiations from now on."

Shi Huaiya raised an eyebrow; this girl's aura was extraordinary.

Chapter 353: Ke Qing Could Not Understand

(Summoning comments, I'm sure you'll all give me some (?ω?))

Opponents of the same level can sense each other with just a glance.

Drag the guy who farms Stand users out and fuck him.

Keqing was an unexpected negotiating partner. Although she looked like a film at first glance, Swire discovered upon closer inspection that the "ears" on Keqing's head were actually part of her hair, just tied up in a way that made them look like ears.

It wasn't film, but it also lacked Tripoli's signature feathers. This girl was quite strange.

But as the negotiations began, Swire gradually began to pay attention to the girl in front of him. She looked to be about the same age as him, and even her voice was very similar. If you weren't careful, you would give onlookers the illusion that she was talking to herself.

How should I put it? It's like another version of me.

Of course, they all have the same voice actor, and they're both five-star mascots (I'm sure of it).

After several rounds, Swire found that his new opponent was exceptionally difficult to deal with. The opponent had a lot of information and had conducted extensive research on everything, so he was able to answer all of Swire's questions and offer constructive new suggestions, achieving a broad perspective of seeking common ground while reserving differences.

On the other side, Ke Qing also looked at the young lady in front of her with new respect. Although the young lady came from a prestigious family, she was not the kind of young lady who knew nothing about the common people. Because she had a very solid foundation, she could often give unexpected answers to her counterattacks and defuse her attacks.

This person is quite capable (both of their thoughts).

Swire, who originally had no interest in investing in Yan Country, is now suddenly interested. Putting everything else aside, just befriending the girl in front of her is a worthwhile deal for her.

What she didn't know was that Keqing wasn't a local at all, or even a Terran. She came from another continent called Teyvat and had come on a mission.

And it wasn't just her; other countries also sent people over.

Under the mobilization of the heavens, the seven kingdoms of Teyvat temporarily united into an alliance in order to open up a new world.

Even Keqing, one of the Seven Stars of Liyue, didn't know what the Celestials and the Seven Gods were planning, but she believed in the decision of the Geo Archon. She believed there must be a reason for doing this, and it was for the sake of the people of Liyue.

Keqing, or rather the first Teyvats to arrive here, had the primary task of investigating this world and preparing for a grand plan. As for what that grand plan was, well, all seven nations were currently expanding their armies and preparing for war, so war was inevitable.

What is happening on the continent of Terra is beyond the imagination of all outsiders.

Putting aside everything else, the fact that Yan Guo is its neighbor makes Ke Qing feel a sense of crisis.

Keqing felt a certain affinity for Yan Kingdom, as there was no language barrier and the cultures were very similar, making it practically another Liyue. However, there was no Geo Archon or the Liyue Seven Stars; instead, there was the Yan Kingdom's royal family, the Three Provinces and Six Ministries, and a vast territory of equal size.

As for why Keqing became an official in Shu, that's another coincidence.

When Shi Qing passed through here, he helped the locals solve some problems. It wasn't a big deal; he just prevented a plague that could have killed hundreds of thousands of people. In the history of Yan Kingdom, there were countless such incidents. Epidemics with fewer than a million deaths were simply not noticed by the high-ranking officials of the court.

Because of this achievement, Keqing gained the support of the locals, and then the officials of Shu recommended her to be a minor official in the county.

Keqing saw this as a good opportunity to gather intelligence, so she agreed.

But gold shines wherever it is. In less than a month, Ke Qing turned the tables and became the de facto county magistrate. She then rose through the ranks based on her solid abilities and was noticed by higher-level officials. Thus, the scene of her coming to the rescue appeared during this negotiation.

Ultimately, Swire agreed to invest in Sichuan. Although it was only a small initial trial, it still greatly excited the local officials, whose joy was palpable.

Unfortunately, ever since the community physically severed the connection between Yan Kingdom and the Terra West continent, it has become extremely difficult to obtain external investment or do business abroad. Although the community will allow passage, the annual transaction volume is limited. If it exceeds the limit, it will be considered smuggling, and both the person and the goods will be detained.

Have a problem with that? Look at the tens of thousands of land-based ships behind me and tell me, where does your problem lie?

Over time, many countries withdrew their investments from Yan, causing Yan's domestic economy to plummet. Worker protests broke out in many places. At worst, these people could go and work for the Community after their protests. You dare to stop them? See the previous section about the withholding of goods.

The current Yan Kingdom is truly too far from heaven and too close to the common people. None of these unruly people understand the difficulties of the imperial court. So what if you eat a few dozen fewer meals a month? The real problem is that our family's ancestral legacy of eighteen generations has shrunk. Instead of doing their jobs properly, these unruly people are starving. The world is going to the dogs, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be.

But what can you do? Shoot and suppress them? Believe me, the community will punish the wicked and punish the innocent the very next day, letting you experience the iron fist of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Even your emperor won't dare to say a word for you.

For Yan State now, every investment is precious and should be cherished. A few more jobs can also keep those energetic and unruly people who are always thinking about welcoming the king's army in line.

That's all we can do. Are we going to give those Xi Jinpings different living conditions than those in the community?

How ignorant! Ordinary people need to learn to be patient. Grass roots and tree bark aren't inedible; they can even help with weight loss.

After the investment negotiations concluded, Swire invited Keqing to dinner, which she gladly accepted.

However, none of the other Yan Kingdom officials were invited; only Ke Qing was invited. The two of them enjoyed a delicious... Yan Kingdom royal meal in a luxurious private room.

What, you don't expect anything from Victoria's grotesque fried potato fusion dish, do you?

Anyway, Swire never ate her hometown food in Yan Country. In her opinion, the chefs of Victoria should all be hanged on the pillar of historical shame for "wasting food".

It's a shame that Victoria, once a colonial empire that boasted "there's nothing you can't eat anywhere in the world," produced such outdated and stubborn food as the steam knights of Victoria. Putting aside everything else, who was the genius behind that dead, starry-eyed graveyard?

Swire asked Keqing to eat these, worried that she might mistakenly think she had a problem with her, a really big one.

"Miss Swire is a Victorian, right?"

"Yes, but I grew up in Longmen, so I'm also half Yan country person."

"Longmen, that place, it belongs to the community now, right?"

Swire sighed: "Yes, it's not just Longmen, the entire northwest of Yan Kingdom is theirs now."

Ke Qing: "What kind of country do you think the Terra People's Community is?"

Swire thought for a moment and said, "It was an ideal state, a miracle that is almost impossible to replicate."

Ke Qing: "That's a very high compliment."

Swire: "Throughout history, there have been many empires ruled by kings and generals, but only one country has ever had a people who are the masters of their own destiny. And its strength is beyond imagination. If the future is full of diverse choices, then the community will surely be the best one."

Ke Qing: "You seem to have a strong affinity for the Community."

Swire: "The more you see, the more you realize they are right. Indeed, the more you understand the community, the more you hate other countries, even the place you live in."

Ke Qing: "I've heard many people talk about the community."

Swire: "What did they all say?"

Ke Qing: "The country is polarized. The common people expect the community to liberate them, while the officials fear and hate the country."

Swire: "Right now, opposing the Community is almost politically correct on Terra."

Ke Qing: "Since the community is a better choice, why be afraid of it?"

Swire stared into Keqing's eyes and asked seriously, "Did you take any money?"

"What money?"

"The filial piety of those below."

"Are you kidding me? This is illegal."

So you are safe.

"Safety? What safety? When the Community attacks, you won't be hung from a lamppost or sent to the guillotine."

"So the community is such a bloodthirsty country?"

"No, this process was called the purge, also known as the thorough revolution."

"A complete revolution?"

"Purge the rentier class of the old era and return power to the people."

"This is too much..." Ke Qing was shocked.

Nothing like this has ever happened in Teyvat. Although Keqing is an independent and strong-willed person and believes that human affairs should not be decided by the gods, she never thought of killing the Rock King by silencing him.

According to the community's principle of complete revolution, the Liyue Septate and its corresponding interest groups are all targets for purge. The million-strong Liyue Harbor could lose a tenth of its population in a matter of minutes.

And this scope is not limited to one or two cities, but covers the entire country. There are now more than 150 million people under the rule of the community. During the early revolution, at least one million reactionaries were killed.

This is still a conservative estimate. You should know that in the former capital of the Ursus Empire, Saint-Germain, alone, 100,000 people were executed. After the entire Ursus Liberation War, more than a million people were purged. It was truly a case of exterminating three generations of a family for every single person caught.

With such a large-scale purge, it was impossible not to have wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice. Yet Liu Jiuli still signed the presidential decree, personally demanding a thorough, complete, and clean purge. Was the heart of this founding leader made of steel?

"You find it unacceptable, don't you?" Swire asked.

"Of course! This isn't solving a problem, it's utter madness!"

“Some problems are destined to be unsolvable, so let’s deal with the people who created them,” Swire said calmly, then added, “These are Liu Jiuli’s exact words.”

Ke Qingyue was stunned: "Is this really something a leader of a country could say?"

Among the Seven Gods, there are indeed ruthless ones. After all, they fought their way out of the war between demons and gods, and none of them are innocent. However, after becoming the rulers of the mortal world, the Seven Gods will restrain their sharpness and at least will not directly issue orders to carry out such a massacre-like population cleanup.

Do you think there's a better way?

"Of course!"

"Actually, I think so too, but for that person, time doesn't allow it."

As the only red nation on the continent of Terra, the Community was formed when the international situation was almost exactly the same as that of the Soviet Union.

The problem is that the Community at that time did not have the same influence as the Soviet Union. In fact, when workers from other countries were helping the Community, they were being driven by the liberation theology led by Andorn.

Therefore, the governing policy of the community is to be tough. If you dare to attack me, then be prepared for a bloodbath. Don't think that only the lower class will die and that the bigwigs in the rear won't care. But war mainly consumes young and strong men. You don't have to kill them all. If you lose one-tenth of your country's young and strong men, the future population imbalance will be enough to make you suffer.

Don't underestimate this. After World War II, the Soviet Union, which lost a generation of young people, even faced a talent shortage at the highest levels.

The gerontocracy in the late Soviet Union was partly due to policy reasons and partly due to the realities of the situation.

Listing the birth dates of all the top Soviet officials, with gaps of at least ten years, reveals a ten-year difference in political terms—the difference between a tiger and a fly. You can't outmaneuver them with political maneuvering. Beset by internal and external troubles, with internal troubles preceding external ones, drastic measures were necessary to avoid being caught in a pincer movement.

Human nature is hard to change; it requires the patience of water dripping on stone. But Liu Jiuli had neither the time nor the patience, and he didn't want to leave these uncertainties to future generations. Anyway, you can curse me all you want after I die, but before I die, I will take all the bastards I can with me.

As for why the community remained so violent after its founding, one reason is the inertia of its policies, which are unlikely to change fundamentally in the short term. Another reason is that this approach is indeed effective, much like surgical removal. As long as the affected organ can recover, a complete overhaul is perfectly acceptable.

Moreover, any policy has a cost—time cost, resource cost, and human resource cost. The educational miracle at Gongdelin University also required material support and the tireless efforts of political workers. Clearly, Liu Jiuli lacked basic patience with the enemy, especially the more stubborn class enemies, and did not want to give them and their descendants any chance to retaliate. If Stalin had been able to eliminate all those prisoners in Siberian prisons before his death, the Soviet Union could have survived for at least another ten years.

Ke Qing fell silent. She knew too little about this world, but Liu Jiuli's way of doing things had already left an indelible shadow on her. It turned out that what those Yan officials said was true.