One Family, One Surname
What are your thoughts?
Zi Zhenzhu asked, but then chuckled, "By the way, why am I asking? You're my boss now. What's mine is yours, and what's yours is still yours. Everything is up to you! And you can make me do whatever you want~"
Zhou Qing stared wide-eyed and gaped, truly experiencing just how fiery this Zi Zhenzhu was, who dared to ask Tang San if he wanted special services in the original story.
But he seems like a little kid?
So Zhou Qing immediately lifted his chin and began to speak earnestly about the important matter.
Besides asking Zi Zhenzhu to send them back to Vast Sea City, he also hoped that Zi Zhenzhu would strictly manage her subordinates and prevent them from engaging in robbery and plunder again.
"There's nothing I can do about it."
Seeing Zhou Qing's attitude, Zi Zhenzhu stopped joking and got down to business. "The fleet is so big that I can't possibly manage it all. Although everyone respects me, I can only turn a blind eye if they want to plunder other wealthy merchants' ships in private."
"Just do your best."
Zhou Qing did not force everyone in the Purple Pearl Pirate Group to obey Zi Zhenzhu's orders. Those who wanted a peaceful life could stay, and those who did could leave.
It's that simple.
Those Soul Master who are willing to stay with the Purple Pearl Pirate Group will need to find a long-term and stable way to make a living.
What kind of business do we do?
Zi Zhenzhu asked.
"Catching sea fish and collecting seashells," Zhou Qing said.
"How much money can you make from this?"
Zi Zhenzhu suspected that Zhou Qing was joking.
In coastal cities and villages, who is short of seafood?
What we're lacking is staple food!
Therefore, marine products are extremely cheap in these regions. They are only more expensive if they are related to Soul Beast, but even then, you can't make a lot of money.
"So, I didn't intend for you to mainly sell seafood in coastal cities." Zhou Qing's eyes turned serious.
"Inland?"
Zi Zhenzhu wasn't stupid; she knew the principle that rarity increases value.
How should we deliver it?
Not to mention the rugged roads within the Heaven Dou Empire, the transportation alone would take a lot of time, and fish and shrimp would spoil halfway there.
Saltpeter used for making ice is not cheap, and the cost of transporting it from inland areas is even more expensive.
"When we came to Vast Sea City, we traveled along the border between the Two Great Empires. We encountered many villages along the way, and I plan to build a main road that runs through this border!"
Zhou Qing adhered to the idea that to get rich, you must first build roads.
But this road is not short, and it will take more than a year or two to build. It is a huge project that requires the participation of villagers from villages within the borders of the Two Great Empires.
First and foremost, ideological education is key!
Secondly, it is about providing tangible benefits, such as hiring villagers to help repair roads, paying them wages, and providing meals.
Finally, from the coastal villages to the inland Holy Soul Village area, the villagers along the way were gradually allowed to enjoy increasingly cheaper seafood, which made them realize the importance of road construction and enabled them to spontaneously protect the constructed roads in the future to prevent them from being damaged by malicious people.
"I feel like you're not building a road, but rather trying to build a kingdom."
Zi Zhenzhu listened to Zhou Qing's description and gave him a deep look. "You're the most whimsical guy I've ever met!"
Isn't that just wishful thinking?
In this world, if others want to change the world, they either need to enter the ranks of the powerful and wealthy to advise the emperor and help the country, or they need to rebel.
How do we rebel?
He possesses great strength, talent, and potential; he wins over nobles and gentry, manipulates public opinion, and ultimately becomes king and ruler. Then a new noble family emerges, and then—
Nothing has changed.
But Zhou Qing didn't do that. Instead, he wanted to build a completely new world based on the villages on the border of the Two Great Empires.
However, Zi Zhenzhu agreed.
Reason?
Who told her to lose to Zhou Qing?
Moreover, her original intention in choosing to become a pirate was to support the common people and to make the nobles reflect on their actions.
But they failed, and later, as the Purple Pearl Pirate Group grew stronger, they gradually strayed from their original intentions...
Now, Zhou Qing seems to have the ability and hope to change this world where nobles arbitrarily oppress commoners, so how can we not support him?
For the Purple Pearl Pirate Group, it was simply a matter of getting the large ship that had veered off course back to its original route.
Furthermore, for Zi Zhenzhu, who dares to sail the Great Sea, isn't this the greatest adventure of all?
"Kingdom? No, I want to build a nation."
Zhou Qing shook his head.
Is there any difference between the two?
Zi Zhenzhu frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.
"Kingdoms and empires are nothing more than countries ruled by one family or one surname. All they want is for themselves and their descendants to sit in those positions."
Zhou Qing said, "But I don't think that way. A nation is made up of individual families. Therefore, to lead a nation, one must be the head of all the families in the country, not a slave owner. It's that simple."
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Zi Zhenzhu, Ariel, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Romantina, and others understood the implication in Zhou Qing's words: in the future new world, anyone can sit in that position; the only requirement is that they can make the entire country develop better.
Otherwise, get off!
What profound awareness this is!
Tang San was greatly shocked.
Recalling the dynasties of his past life and comparing them with Zhou Qing's thoughts, he seemed to suddenly understand the fundamental reason for the change of dynasties.
It's because those emperors weren't broad-minded enough!
Although they ruled over all the people, they did not treat them as members of their own family, or rather, they never considered themselves as the head of all the people. Their thoughts and ideas were still those of their own small family, no different in essence from the small families of ordinary people in the city.
Therefore, no matter how strict the royal family was in educating the princes, all sorts of eccentric princes and emperors would eventually emerge.
Therefore, from this perspective, dynasties ruled by a single family and surname will eventually come and go in cycles.
But how do we break through this barrier?
Zhou Qing provided the answer.
It's still one family, one surname!
But this is everyone's country! It's everyone's nation!
But this surname is—
The emperor's throne rotates, next year it'll be my turn!
Tang San, who also harbored a rebellious streak, couldn't even imagine how this world would develop, but—
At least after Holy Soul Village and the surrounding villages united, the lives of the villagers in that area are better than before.
[Therefore, my future Tang Sect will also have to undergo corresponding changes... It just so happens that I haven't thought about settling down and starting a family yet, nor do I know how to raise children. The future successor of the Tang Sect must inherit the Tang Sect's ideology; bloodline may be secondary...]
[Besides, I also have to live up to Zhou Qing's trust, keep an eye on him, and prevent him from getting lost in the allure of power... Sigh, I'd better make sure I don't get corrupted by power myself first... Qing Ge, you've really given me a tough task!]
Although that was what he thought, Tang San's eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
He will absolutely not let Zhou Qing down!
The country that Qing Ge will establish in the future...
The Tang Sect that I will establish in the future...
It will surely surpass all previous empires, courts, sects, and families, abandoning the narrowness of blood ties and ushering in the inheritance of spirit and will, so as to achieve eternal existence!