Base Area
"We're finally out!"
Xiao Wu plopped down on the hillside, gazing at the bustling scene in Holy Soul Village below, stuffing the gifts from the villagers into her Waist Pouch. "The villagers are so hospitable."
"Isn't it good?" Zhou Qing asked with a smile.
"Of course!"
Xiao Wu didn't hesitate.
Compared to the residents of Falling Star City, the villagers of Holy Soul Village are far too perfect.
As for the language being a bit rough...
That's simplicity!
Tang San asked, "Qing Ge, if we want to change this world, we need our own team. The villagers of Holy Soul Village and the surrounding towns are all people who will join the change in the future, right?"
"That's possible," Zhou Qing said.
What do you mean by "maybe"?
Yes, that's right.
No, it's not.
It could be... somewhat ambiguous, right?
But Zhou Qing's eyes remained firm, without the slightest hesitation, which made Tang San a little puzzled. He tentatively said, "Is it because they are not strong enough? It doesn't matter. In Falling Star City, You Hui has become the city lord. Cooperating with her should allow us to obtain a lot of materials. In addition, I have also taught the villagers forging skills. In the future, we may be able to mass-produce Soul Conductor Godly Zhuge Crossbow."
Even the second version of the previous Soul Conductor Godly Zhuge Crossbow required Soul Master to use.
Because condensing Soul Power into arrows requires Soul Power.
However, nowadays, Falling Star City has a lot of Soul Crystal that can be used to create devices for storing Soul Power. In the future, these devices can be placed on the Soul Conductor Godly Zhuge Crossbow. As long as ordinary people are physically strong enough to withstand the reaction force when Soul Power arrow is fired, they can also use it even if they do not have Soul Power themselves.
The power of the Soul Conductor Godly Zhuge Crossbow is such that even Soul Elder cannot withstand it, Soul Ancestor will perish, and even Soul King would be riddled with holes if hit by a series of volleys.
"That's not the key point."
Weapons and Soul Tool are not the main basis for change, Zhou Qing believes. Although developing Soul Guidance Weapon can achieve technological superiority, once the enemy realizes the power of Soul Tool, they will naturally start developing them as well.
What truly matters is a change in thinking.
The key is to ensure that, after the transformation is completed, one's own people and those who follow one's lead do not become the new aristocracy.
Otherwise--
What kind of reforms is he trying to implement?
Why not focus on cultivation and enter the existing class system? That would be the easiest, most carefree, and most comfortable way to live.
However, he has now realized what he truly wants and no longer wants to bleed the blood of countless ordinary people.
Now, he has never gone to the Spirit Hall to collect subsidies again.
The subsidies were obtained by the Spirit Hall from the Two Great Empires and distributed to Commoner Soul Master.
To put it nicely, it is taken from the people and used for the people.
But in reality, it was only used on commoners who were qualified to become Soul Master.
Therefore, from the perspective of "using it for the benefit of the people", this matter is a fallacy!
Most Commoner Soul Master receive subsidies, which is essentially an indirect way of exploiting the hard-earned money of other commoners, because if a commoner embarks on the path of Soul Master, they rarely return to their village, let alone return to their hometown to develop their career.
At most, it would be like in Holy Soul Village, where the Soul Saint returns at the last moment and reports to the local Spirit Hall and City Lord's Mansion.
As a result, the village changed its name, gained a unique quota for work-study students, and also reduced its tax revenue.
This approach, to some extent, did benefit Holy Soul Village, but it also made the other villages willingly oppressed and exploited.
Because they are trapped in this system and cannot break free, they can only envy the fact that a talented Soul Master has emerged from Holy Soul Village. But in reality, the tax revenue of the Heaven Dou Empire cannot be reduced. If Holy Soul Village pays less tax, who will make up the difference?
Naturally, the average tax revenue of other villages will be increased slightly.
If the lord of Nuoding City takes pity on the rural residents and is unwilling to be greedy, maintaining the current tax rate, that would be fine. But if the lord is greedy and unwilling to earn less for himself, the other villages will suffer!
Therefore, Zhou Qing stopped collecting the subsidy.
In the future, the wealthy and powerful can seize or steal all the money they have, because it was originally obtained by exploiting the common people and belongs to them.
Theft or robbery?
No!
In response to such actions by the powerful and wealthy, it is only right to return the property to its rightful owner!
Therefore--
Innocent!
Accepting the subsidies they provide, whether from the Two Great Empires or obtained through the efforts of the Spirit Hall, is essentially the same: it makes Commoner Soul Master unknowingly become part of the oppressive system they have built for the common people.
Commoner Soul Master, unless they hide in the deep mountains and forests to cultivate in seclusion, even if they do not join any faction, are already included in the game rules constructed by the three major forces on the continent as long as they accept the benefits given by the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and the Spirit Hall.
"So, we can't receive subsidies anymore?" During this time, Xiao Wu also listened to Zhou Qing's lectures and learned a lot.
"You can still receive the subsidy, as long as it is used for reform."
Zhou Qing wasn't so rigid; as long as it wasn't used for personal purposes, it was fine.
Their personal cultivation and living expenses can be earned through their own work or obtained from the legacy left behind by various Soul Master predecessors, but they must never accept gifts from the Two Great Empires and the Spirit Hall from the bottom of their hearts.
This requires drawing clear lines.
Xiao Wu found it troublesome, but when she thought that even the subsidies that the Spirit Hall had obtained from the Two Great Empires came from the blood and sweat of the people of the entire continent, she couldn't help but tremble.
The villagers of Holy Soul Village are relatively strong and capable, but the villagers of other villages are much shorter and thinner than those of Holy Soul Village.
The thought that all the subsidies she had received from the Spirit Hall had come from these people filled Xiao Wu with a sense of guilt.
They've suffered so much, and the money I used to live on was ultimately squeezed out of them... It's outrageous!
"At the ideological level?"
Tang San also realized that although he had learned some of the methods by which the upper class oppressed and exploited the lower class in Holy Soul Village and the surrounding villages, it was not enough to get them to follow him in rebellion... no, to follow him in creating a completely new world.
Their resolve is not yet firm.
This needs a catalyst.
In Zhou Qing's view, the so-called opportunity is not far off, and will likely occur within the next twenty or thirty years. Even if the Spirit Hall does not take action, war will probably break out between the Two Great Empires.
Especially in the Star Luo Empire, isn't the competition between the two Hell White Tiger all about determining a true king to unify the world?
The exact time will need to be determined by observing the various high-ranking officials of the Two Great Empires and the Spirit Hall, as well as their attitudes towards each other, at the Continental Elite Tournament.
During this time, what he had to do was quite simple—
They conveyed their ideas, built their own team, gathered workers and farmers, and made rural areas their primary base.
Why rural areas?
The reason is simple!
Although the Two Great Empires exploited the laborers and peasants, they did not care about their lives. Using the countryside as a base would not attract the attention of the high-ranking officials of the Two Great Empires.
Conversely, if they were to directly attack the towns—
Without a doubt, they will send troops to punish them.
Although this border area Two Great Empires is mostly hills and basins, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is not suitable for a Protracted War.
However, if we use this four-hundred-mile border as a base, continuously expanding outwards, gathering villagers, and gradually encompassing the surrounding cities, it wouldn't be impossible...