"You didn't go. Did anyone else?" Wenren Sheng continued.
"Some went, but they got beaten back! After watching from the sidelines, I knew there was no hope of suppressing the rebellion!" Luo Qi said bitterly.
"Why?"
"They cheated! Every last one of them was using filthy tricks. They used AI to play against people! What a shameless bunch! Cheating at weiqi!"
As Luo Qi spoke, he picked up a stone and said viciously, "They insulted you!"
"If they didn't cheat, exploit the map, or use hacks, could they still call themselves players?" Wenren Sheng remained quite calm about it, since he had cheated in games before as well.
But those had all been single-player games and had not affected anyone else.
"Anyway, I don't like them, so I haven't associated with them. A few even came to join my sect, probably thinking I was some high-level player and hoping to take me as their master. I threw them all out," Luo Qi said irritably.
"Mm. With the way you usually talk and behave, they only need to ask around a little to discover that something is off about you." Wenren Sheng nodded. "What have they been doing lately?"
"I heard they want to upgrade their stronghold into a town and are bribing the Prefect Magistrate. The Prefect even came specifically to ask me whether he should suppress them or appease them."
"What did you advise?"
"What advice could I give? I merely said that I was an idle wanderer who knew nothing of military and state affairs, and that he should seek someone wiser. Later, the Prefect went to Jiang Zinan—your chess piece."
"What did he advise?"
"He advocated appeasement for three reasons. First, these people are exceptionally productive; one day of work from them is worth that of ten