Worldly Affairs

The guards would never learn not to cause trouble at the city gates until how many of them had died?

After entering Ping City so many times, I had never once managed to get in safely.

What if I broke their bones next time without killing them? Maybe that would make a stronger warning?

As Yan Qing watched Gai Louxian approach, he wondered whether the game system allowed attacks that stopped short of causing serious harm.

Facing a Second Turn Messenger, an unclassed alt had basically no chance to resist. Still, waiting to die wasn't Yan Qing's style, so Night Four picked up the dead guard's spear.

Seeing Night Four's move, the knights behind Gai Louxian tried to rush over, but the veteran raised a hand, and the knights obediently stopped.

Gai Louxian didn't seem worried in the slightest that Night Four might attack him. He let his old horse carry him into the spear's range.

"Why did you have to kill him?" he asked, sounding somewhat curious. "Charging a little extra to enter the city hardly warranted death, did it?"

"He knew that old woman," Yan Qing replied. "I caused the trouble, so I can't drag anyone else into it."

"Fair point."

Gai Louxian nodded solemnly, pulled on the reins, and turned toward the city. "Follow me. If you dare run, they'll catch up and kill you."

Yan Qing felt like he had seen this scene somewhere before.

No way. Do all you northerners really love pulling this trick?

Gai Louxian didn't go to the barracks, however. Instead, he went to a restaurant. He took one table for himself, while the four knights took another. Yan Qing naturally sat down across from him without a care in the world. Whatever dishes came out, Night Four ate one portion and stored another in the shared warehouse—tonight's dinner was secured!

"Are you Ding Ling? Or Kusai Te?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm asking where you're from."

"I came from a village outside the city. That abandoned village. I was away from home for many years, and when I returned, I found the village was gone."

"Then what did you want to come into the city for?"

"To find a way into the barracks."

Yan Qing answered honestly, but what he meant was clearly different from what Gai Louxian thought he meant.

"I can take you into Bai Bao."

"I want to clear secret realms every day."

Gai Louxian wasn't surprised. "You want to become a Second Turn Messenger?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"Then you'd better change your temper. Bullying those beneath you is one thing, but if you treat nobles the same way, you might as well become an ordinary soldier."

"I'm not changing it. If I cause trouble later, you can kill me again." Yan Qing thought that every day he could spend running dungeons was a day gained.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I've never seen anyone as cocky as you. How did you live this long without getting beaten to death?" Gai Louxian laughed as he cursed him. "Damn, I really like your attitude! Fine. If you cause serious trouble, I'll be the first to kill you!"

"Deal."

"Deal!"

At that moment, several guards entered the restaurant and shouted for the owner to bring out the finest wine and dishes. They were obviously rough soldiers. Noticing Night Four's gaze, Gai Louxian said, "Those city gate guards don't have it easy, either. Without skimming a little off the top through their positions, they might not even be able to support their families. Go easier on them in the future."

But Yan Qing wasn't buying it. "Why don't they have it easy?"

"Because their monthly pay is low."

"Then why is their monthly pay so low? Relying on secret realms alone, Bai Bao could give everyone in the city a life of food and clothing without any problem. Bai Bao is rolling in wealth, yet it won't even share a little of it with Ping City?"

If Bai Bao's barracks were a grand mansion, Ping City was practically a latrine. Yan Qing had seen how Bai Bao "swept" secret realms. If they raided the Zheng family once a day, that would be three hundred and sixty raids a year—and three hundred and sixty Zheng families were enough to equal several Ping Cities!

Even if Bai Bao had to send a great deal of its resources upward, it couldn't possibly send up all the wood, bricks, roof tiles, pigs, sheep, cattle, and grain as well. Letting just a little of those building materials and food trickle down would be enough to feed everyone in Ping City. High pay might not necessarily keep people honest, but only low pay would drive someone to cheat an old woman out of a few coins in entrance fees.

Gai Louxian paused. "You know quite a lot about secret realms. Were your parents from Bai Bao? Or Thousand Commanders?"

Yan Qing had only been probing. If Qi possessed only one or two secret realms, Gai Louxian would certainly have confidently explained where resources fell short. His attitude showed that Qi controlled quite a few secret realms, and that their output was more than enough to feed the entire country.

When Night Four remained silent, Gai Louxian thought for a moment, then sighed softly. "Few people from the kingdom think the way you do. They all wish they could hide everything about the secret realms... Do you know how great the difference is between Messengers and ordinary people?"

Yan Qing hadn't even had time to say that he did when Gai Louxian drew the dagger at his waist. As he kneaded it in his palm, he actually crushed the dagger into a tiny lump of iron.

"My token: Copper Skin Armor." Gai Louxian let him glimpse the bronze-colored inner armor he wore. "With this token, I can wipe out bandits and suppress rebel troops on my own. Even if ordinary people obtained my token, they couldn't bring out Copper Skin's effects."

"As long as there are Messengers, it doesn't matter whether the common people rebel or resist taxes. They can't cause any real upheaval."

"We collect taxes, but even if they stop farming, we can still eat rich meals."

"The government conscripts them for labor, but that's something civil officials need to worry about. Many military nobles don't care."

"Aside from serving us as servants, commoners have almost no other value to us. They're like weeds. Having them is fine, and not having them is fine too."

Yan Qing was somewhat puzzled. "If you don't care about their output, why collect taxes?"

Gai Louxian pointed at the meat, eggs, and milk on the table.

"To become a Messenger, you either need to know how to read or have a strong body." Gai Louxian spoke calmly. "We have to make sure the common people don't starve to death."

Don't starve to death.

But that was all. They could forget about eating their fill.

Changing class required honing skills, so ordinary people had to be given no time or energy to hone theirs. The common people had to be exploited, while low-ranking officials had to be made to turn on one another. Labor conscription had to keep them constantly exhausted. That way, the birth of "wild Messengers" could be reduced as much as possible.

This world clearly possessed dungeon-like instances containing nearly unlimited resources, as well as Messengers with power beyond ordinary humans. Yet ordinary people might actually live even more miserably, because those at the top possessed more absolute violence while having no need for ordinary people at all.

Yan Qing pointed at the owner, whose face was that of someone from the Central Plains. "Just because they're people from the Central Plains?"

Gai Louxian laughed. "What are you talking about? Weren't you poor once, too? Whether they're from the Central Plains or the northern frontier, any poor person has to obediently pay taxes."

"Besides, our Qi is already doing quite well. At least we still have many farming households. Look at Liang to the south. If ordinary people there don't become tenant farmers or slaves for the aristocratic clans, they don't even get land to farm. There are practically no commoners in the south, only slaves."

"If you want to change this world even a little, rein in your temper and work hard to climb upward. Like the Pengcheng King governing Cangzhou: there are no bandits in his territory, and the officials don't bully the people."

What followed was the boring period of entering the barracks and training skills. Yan Qing handed it straight over to the system to manage. He had more important things to do.

Gai Louxian's mention of Liang to the south allowed Yan Qing to seize that fleeting inspiration from earlier—

That's right. He didn't have to keep grinding away at Evernight Sky's affiliated areas. He could go to Jiangnan or Chang'an and unlock a new map.

More importantly, he could send an alt to Chang'an to gather information, and even help him steal Bingzi Jiaolin four days later!

Thanks to Dream-Seeking Piggy Cat for the Alliance Leader support!