"But to be precise, just the day before, the rainforest under our feet was as dry and dead as the yellow sand beyond the huge wall in the distance."

"It won't take long before everything that happened here will be reported to the Liyue General Affairs Department. We are just a step ahead."

Zhongli smiled and explained.

"Ah? Can the gods here even do something like this?"

"But, I remember you said that if you interfere too much with the environment of the world, even gods will have to pay the price? Just like the wind god of Mondstadt."

Ganyu looked at the environment in front of her, which had nothing to do with the word "desert", and wondered what price the gods had paid in this process.

"Price? If it is accomplished by an individual within the rules, then the consequences symbolized by these two words cannot be ignored."

"——But the rules of this world are not applicable to certain transcendent beings. They only need to act according to their own will."

"So it is with the Heaven, so it is with the Abyss, and so it is with my little friend."

In the face of Ganyu's puzzled expression, Zhongli said something that made her confused.

Noticing the confusion of the junior beside him, Zhongli shook his head and changed the topic to the purpose of this trip:

"The change in the environment is only superficial after all. The purpose of my friend's action is fundamentally to eliminate the conflict between the people of the two places."

"It is difficult to see the specific results in this mountainous area. Let's go to the village here to rest for a while. It would be better to answer some of your questions there."

After saying that, Zhongli waved his hand and took Ganyu beside him to the nearest village - Aru Village, the "Pearl of the Desert".

"Don't crowd, don't crowd. With proof of residence in a nearby village, everyone can get a share of the rainforest daily necessities distributed by the Order House—"

"Seeds! Seeds! All residents who own land, please come here with the certificate issued by the village to receive various seeds and fertility benefits for free. If you have any questions about planting, please contact the nearby religious officer in charge of guidance!"

"."

Amid the bustling crowd, the dispatched personnel of the House of Lords came to this former desert with the same quota of support materials as the residents of the rainforest area.

After the various illegal mercenary groups that plundered and provoked confrontation were wiped out, due to the influence of many policies issued by the First Sage, the superficial confrontation between the desert residents and the rainforest people had already been minimal.

In today's world where even the desert environment has been changed, there is no need for the two to be in conflict with each other.

After the uniformity of clothing and education was completed, except for some scattered settlements deep in the desert, there was no difference between the children in the two regions.

Perhaps one day in the future, the desert and rainforest people, who originally had no racial distinction, will be completely integrated under the leadership of the gods.

Seeing these desert people who were not much different from the residents in the rainforest area, the scholar in charge of distributing supplies thought secretly in his heart.

In the corner of the crowd receiving supplies,

With a faint flash of yellow light, two figures dressed in Liyue costumes appeared at the edge of the village without anyone noticing.

Ganyu looked at the people in front of her who were mixed together and showed no signs of opposition at all as recorded in the General Affairs Department. She was a little confused for a moment.

"Have they really been in conflict before?"

“Can a few months of governance really eliminate the barriers to this extent?”

Having worked in Yuehai Pavilion for a thousand years, Ganyu is very clear about the stubbornness of the differences caused by beliefs.

Those residents who were incorporated into Liyue Harbor from under the rule of other demon gods gradually completed their integration and assimilation over a period of time that ranged from several decades to several hundred years.

The most stubborn of the Salt God's descendants, even after thousands of years, still do not recognize their identity as the Emperor's subjects.

However, these people who previously lived in extremely bad conditions now seemed to have little barriers between them.

There are even some signs of integration in terms of life and faith.

How could the newly appointed god gain the approval of these people in such a short time? Ganyu was puzzled.

Seeing Ganyu's doubts, Zhongli sensed the remaining mixed divine power in the earth and explained:

"Under the leadership of the previous demon god, the people who had been living and working in peace and contentment naturally found it difficult to be assimilated into the new order."

"But the living environment of the residents here was once so bad that it was difficult to survive. The gods who came to power made them see real changes in the shortest time.

For the people, changes in living environment and social status are catalysts that surpass any education and ideas. "

"As for the reconciliation of faith, I think you will soon see it.

——However, this is the unique advantage of my friend. Just understand it. Others cannot imitate it. "

Considering the seemingly unlimited growth and learning ability, Zhongli had anticipated the assimilation of the local people's beliefs.

- After all, if a brand new demon god is hard to accept, then it would be much easier for the inheritor of the power of past gods to gain trust.

"The statue of the First Sage has been erected!"

As people gathered together to receive supplies,

An announcement came from the center of Aru Village not far away.

The crowds that were originally rushing forward,

After hearing this, the forward momentum paused.

They turned around and started rushing to the back.

"Ah? It's ready so quickly? This was made by the craftsmen in our Aru Village. I have to go and pay my respects!"

These are the residents of Aru Village.

"Go, go, go, go quickly. You can get the supplies anytime. This is the successor of Lord Scarlet King, the great benefactor of our entire desert. We can't let those people from the rain forest get there first."

These are the desert people from the nearby villages.

"Hey, hey, take me with you. Although I'm not from Aru Village, my kid can go to school thanks to the First Sage.

It’s a pity that there are few statues of gods in the rainforest area. In the past, I could only thank the adult at home. This time, I must pay a proper visit to him.”

This is a traveling merchant from the rainforest area.

"Hey, why are they all gone? There's no rush to go after everyone has received theirs."

"."

"Forget it, forget it. Since everyone is leaving, take me with you. I might as well go with you!"

These are scholars sent here by the Council of the Churches.

"..."

"..."

"Why is this god so popular? According to the records, wasn't their reign very short?"

“Why do even people in the desert admire him so much?”

Looking at the place in front of her that was just bustling and suddenly became a little deserted, Ganyu felt a little incredible about the appeal of this god.

"The short duration of his reign has never been a problem. On the contrary, the faster and more direct the changes in various aspects are, the more the people can appreciate the efficiency and ideas of this god."

"As for why the people of the desert trust the gods of the rainforest so much, there is a reason for this. Perhaps I am the only one in the world who can do this."

After Zhongli answered Ganyu's question, he continued:

"But if it is just the convenience of status, it is far from enough to gain the love and respect that we have today."

"Throughout Xumi, people of different identities, classes, and positions all trust him so much.

This only shows that he really wants to do something for these people from the bottom of his heart, and he has also conveyed this point to the hearts of the people very well.”

Seeing the worshippers of various identities and positions in front of the statue, unlike Ganyu's surprise, Zhongli felt a sense of familiarity at this scene that he had not felt for a long time.

——Such scenes could often be seen in front of his statue thousands of years ago.

Only after he gradually moved away from the political center did people's beliefs gradually transform into a tradition.

The two gods of Xumi seemed to be walking on the same path he had taken before, except that they were more comfortable with it and had fewer concerns about certain external factors.

After seeing the people gathered in front of the statue,

In fact, he already had the answer he wanted to find on this trip.

But if an important decision is made based only on a microcosm of a certain place, it is bound to be biased.

Thinking of this, he said to Ganyu beside him:

"Let's go, we still have a lot of places to go. If there's anything you still don't understand, let's wait until we've seen every part of the country before drawing any conclusions."

"Well, follow the emperor's arrangements."

Ganyu still answered the same way as at the beginning.

But the difference is that among the two gods who discovered Xumi,

The Emperor compared the Little Auspicious Grass King, which had existed for a long time in the records,

After seeming to be more interested in this "First Sage" who suddenly appeared,

Ganyu was rarely curious about the gods outside of Liyue, and she was looking forward to the upcoming journey.

On the south side of Xumi, the port of Ormos.

As the port with the largest passenger flow in the entire Xumi, the Port of Omos has been particularly lively in the past two days.

Due to the substantial increase in water and land transport capacity, goods that were previously restricted by road conditions and could only be enjoyed in the Port of Ormos can now be transported to the port of Ormos.

Under this new situation, many inland cities have a very precious vacuum period for products such as perishable fruits, seafood, and some specialties imported from other countries.

For a time, whether it was fleets going to other countries to open up cooperation channels and obtain the right to traffic in special products, or businesses eager to seize the market and transport goods to inland or even desert areas, all made the already prosperous port of Omos even more lively.

On the high tower in the north of the port, Zhongli and Ganyu, who had already visited many places, appeared quietly in a secluded place ignored by the crowd, just like every time they teleported before.

But this time was different from the previous times. After conducting field surveys in so many areas, the Seven Star Secretary who worked at Yuehai Pavilion

Even faced with this prosperous scene that is no less prosperous than the Liyue Wharf in the "Commercial Kingdom", one would not be easily surprised.

She just looked quietly at the residents in front of her who were still smiling even in the busy life, and finally felt some empathy for their thoughts.

——If you have a tomorrow full of hope, then no matter how hard your life is in the present, you will feel a different kind of happiness as long as you think about such a future.

She hadn't seen such a feeling among the residents of Liyue for a long time.

Recalling what she had seen and heard during this period, she looked at the Emperor beside her. Under his testing gaze, she tried to summarize what she had seen and heard during this trip to Xumi:

".Emperor, you once asked me to make a judgment and conclusion on the recent changes in Xumi from the perspective of people's lives."

"Although there may still be some omissions, - but judging from the people's performance, I can already give an answer."

Ganyu, who was a little lacking in confidence, noticed Zhongli's encouraging look.

She relaxed a little and continued along her original line of thought:

"If we look at the current situation alone, the entire Xumi is still not as perfect as it was under the management of the Seven Stars in some details, such as the supplementary regulations of the law are not detailed and complete enough, and there is a lack of experience in the management of individual merchants and large caravans."

"——But considering the dire situation of the entire country, the current scene can even be described as 'unbelievable'."

Gan Yu paused, thinking of the "outdated" records about the social conditions of Xumi that she had seen in the archives.

Seeing and hearing things that seemed like two different countries, she, who was busy with government affairs all day and knew the difficulty of change best, felt a deep admiration for these two ruling gods.

"——In less than a year, the two gods of Xumi not only implemented major measures such as optimizing management systems, popularizing education, connecting trade routes, and improving people's livelihood with unimaginable efficiency."

"He even took personal action to eliminate the opposition among the people in the country with such earth-shaking means, and achieved results that I cannot understand."

"Whether from the perspective of the country or the people's lives, all the changes brought about by these two gods are undoubtedly quite positive. In terms of efficiency, this administrative system is far better than Liyue's."

Ganyu paused. Out of trust in the Emperor's decision, she did not finish her sentence.

But looking at the hopeful people in front of her, she couldn't help but start thinking in her heart, is the system in which the Emperor is increasingly moving away from the political center and almost completely delegating power to the Seven Stars of Liyue really as "perfect" as she had imagined before?

"Haha, bringing you out is indeed the right choice."

Zhongli smiled and nodded approvingly.

"Among all the immortals, you are probably the only one who can make this point."

Faced with Ganyu's remarks that were vaguely "questioning", as a promoter of the system, he was not only not unhappy, but rather felt somewhat relieved.

He looked at Ganyu beside him, paused for a moment, and stated the real purpose of his investigation in a seemingly calm tone:

"--Since you have seen the difference between the two countries' political systems, please think about this issue on my behalf that I have been weighing for a long time."

"--In your opinion, is it more appropriate for this continent to have a 'divine rule' completely led by gods, or is it more sustainable to have a 'rule of people' that delegates power to the people themselves?"

Feeling his increasingly weak state, Zhongli looked at Ganyu beside him with a bit of unspeakable melancholy.

I hope to get the most honest opinion on this matter from this Seven-Star Secretary who has dedicated a thousand years to Liyue.

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