"I think I understand some of it now!"
After thinking it over, Teng Qingshan nodded. He had actually noticed that as living conditions improved, some of the clansmen seemed to have gradually developed certain... changes that were hard to call good or bad.
"Let's not worry about this for now. Unifying the vast Nine Provinces isn't impossible, but I have no interest in doing it!"
Gu Sheng shook his head. "As long as those people abide by the bottom line I set and don't drive the common people into a dead end, forcing the world into chaos, I can't be bothered to destroy them. But just now, you seemed to have something to say but held back. That's because there are still some problems with Moni Temple, isn't it?"
"Cousin, I've spent the past few days traveling through almost every part of the Nine Provinces. I even made a trip to the wilderness."
Teng Qingshan looked up and said, "Aren't people supposed to live better as civilization advances? But I found that the people living the best lives seem to be... those in the wilderness. Even after more than six thousand years, things there are still just as Emperor Yu described them back then. The people are united, and there's almost no oppression.
"Outside the wilderness, however, whether in the supposedly civilized Nine Provinces or the North Sea, bullying and persecution have always existed—and have even remained severe. Especially in the Rongliang Provinces, such oppression seems to happen openly without anyone condemning it. Even the victims don't seem to realize they're being persecuted. They even believe that it's their own sin..."
"Qingshan, the fact that you can ask these questions proves that you've truly grown."
Gu Sheng set down his teacup and smiled. "There's no fundamental difference between what we