The Value of Knowledge
Someone once said this—
"Individuals or groups should not inherently have any enemies, but our enemies are everywhere. This is not because anyone is on the opposite side of us, but because we need these enemies to create an environment for us."
Whether this statement is right or wrong is not really important. It is difficult to say that such idealistic and philosophical things are absolutely correct or absolutely wrong. It is more accurate to say that they are effective only in specific time and context.
Lin Qi now has this feeling that, in fact, the existence of the Youth Party and those stubborn rulers who are unwilling to compromise with the United Development Company is not entirely harmful.
The existence of these "hostile forces" is valuable as long as the outcome can be controlled.
At least they were able to firmly attract a portion of those who opposed the United Development Company and to unite these groups closely. It was clear who the people of the United Development Company were and who the die-hards and those in opposing positions were.
He actually knew that the simplest way for the Sergeant raise the issue was to support a group of ambitious people in the local area, such as some Privileged Class in society, and give them a ladder or bridge to the Ruling Class Privileged Class that they could cross the chasm.
For this, they would be more than willing to dedicate their loyalty, and they would become the sharpest weapon in the hands of the United Development Company. In order to become the Ruling Class and seize real power, they would frantically slaughter the current Ruling Class.
But Lin Qi didn't tell the Sergeant about this simpler and more efficient method; he needed people who could work independently even without him.
Instead of having to consult him on everything, saying things like, "Mr. Lin Qi, I don't know how to do this," or "Mr. Lin Qi, what do you think of my idea?"
The Sergeant has already noticed some essential phenomena in this society. He doesn't quite know how to express them yet, nor has he seen the true essence, but Lin Qi believes he can do it.
Anyone who begins to think seriously will eventually not be blinded by the fog. This has nothing to do with how much knowledge a person possesses. Knowledge can only determine the range of things people can see, not whether they can see them at all.
For the next period of time, everything was very normal. Lin Qi sat in his office every day, enjoying a leisurely work and life. But in Nagaril, something big was happening!
The short young man had just finished his day's work. There was no further news about the hot-tempered and impulsive cadre. He was said to have confessed, but did not provide any more names. Ultimately, with the help of Federal Law, he was sentenced to 100 years in prison for "Endangering National Security Crime."
Faced with this outcome, the short young man didn't have much of a solution. He couldn't even go to the courtroom to see his companion one last time. He felt ashamed; there was nothing he could do but silently endure what had happened.
But isn't this precisely the necessary sacrifice they are making in the process of striving to realize their great ideals in life? After putting himself in their shoes, he realized that if he were the one who was arrested one day, he would never confess his superior, and he would face death with equanimity.
Because of his ideals and the pursuit of those ideals, he will not feel lonely or afraid on the road to the land of the dead. His ideals will be the torch that illuminates his path, and those who share the same pursuits will be his companions on the journey. He will not be alone, nor will he be afraid.
After realizing this, he began to seriously search for a way to realize the ideal that he had been vaguely thinking about.
At this time, the United Development Company announced to the entire Nagaril United Kingdom that, in order to improve the literacy level of workers and help Nagaril achieve a higher level of basic education, the United Development Company would build a large number of adult Literacy Class in every city, providing adults with the most basic cultural and educational knowledge free of charge.
If the emergence of Literacy Class only made people think that the people in the United Development Company were not smart and lacked ideas, then the subsequent introduction of "Advanced Technical Work" by the United Development Company made people realize how big the gap is between educated and uneducated employees.
That's roughly... twice the salary!
Ordinary literacy courses may not motivate people to attend Literacy Class voluntarily, but technical qualifications can. As long as one completes the basic literacy course and obtains a qualified graduation certificate, one can learn specialized vocational skills.
From operating machinery to repairing machinery, the astonishing changes in benefits and salaries are making every hardworking Nagaril People excited.
Higher wages, better benefits, and even the opportunity to work abroad with higher subsidies—all of this is exciting for people.
The discussion in society has shifted from "working for foreigners" to "how to make more money".
This is a clear shift in social trends. Everything that happened in the Federal is being revived here for business. The power of capital is so great that it can not only change the future but also recreate history.
Akumali, a short young man, also enrolled in a technical class. Because he could drive, which is a skilled trade, and he was also literate, he was able to directly enroll in advanced technical training.
He chose to use engineering vehicles, such as excavators, which are highly sophisticated technologies. Before the arrival of the Federal, there were fewer than a hundred such large engineering machines in the entire Nagaril.
Back then, let alone studying, we couldn't even see anything.
But now, he can go and learn.
The school instructor told him that if he could complete the excavator driving skills training, his job would change from "ordinary worker" to "skilled worker," and his salary would increase significantly, potentially doubling! Here, it's necessary to explain that capitalists will maximize the sensory stimulation for workers, such as "doubling their income," while trying their best to minimize their own efforts. Therefore, they have created something called "wage structure," and they have many ways to make "doubling" less effective than "increase."
Overall, however, it was still very encouraging news. While attending excavator driving skills training, Akumali also saved money to buy some books on ideas from the Federal.
For example, there's "The Legal Value Theory," which was once considered the foundation for the effectiveness of Federal Law, and "The Precise Instrument," which was quite famous a few years ago.
The following book does not introduce those well-known and advanced instruments. In fact, this book compares a country and society to a sophisticated "instrument", observing the operation of the country and the necessary factors to maintain its operation from various aspects of society.
In this book, law and economics are the most important aspects. Of course, some people believe that including economics in this book is a symbol of capital invading academia. Sometimes people simply cannot understand the ideas of those scholars and experts.
In short, he is learning, and he believes this may be the path forward, learning while getting to know other Nagaril People at the school.
After his impulsive and hot-tempered cadres were arrested, he also reflected on why Nagaril Youth Party failed before it could rise again. He eventually came to a conclusion: knowledge.
The lack of knowledge was a key factor in the failure of Nagaril Youth Party. The absence of highly intelligent and educated individuals made the Youth Party's behavior more like "playing around" than a genuine awakening.
What he needs to do now is to recruit more highly educated intellectuals, people who should be able to understand some of his ideas.
To win these people over, he also started an interest group where he would get everyone together to read advanced books from the Federal and find the cornerstones that could lay the foundation for a nation's prosperity.
He arrived at his current residence and opened the door to find many people already there. These were friends who shared similar aspirations with him. Together, they studied the advanced aspects of the Federal, searched for the reasons for Nagaril's backwardness, and tried to discuss how they would change everything if they were to come to power one day.
Everything was quietly unfolding according to some unknown script. At the end of February, Lin Qi received a call from Mr. Truman, and it was about time for him to set sail.
There are two routes from Nagaril to Gefra. The first is to continue eastward, around the entire continent where Nagaril is located, across the central ocean and into the West Ocean, eventually reaching Gefra.
However, a normal person would not choose this route. Sea voyages are not entirely safe, and the longer the route, the greater the possibility of problems. Therefore, Lin Qi would only choose another route.
Heading directly west, across the East Ocean, along part of the coastline of the Amelia Region, through the Eberil Strait into the West Ocean, then turning northwest to reach Gefra.
This route is shorter and more established, so even if some problems arise, it's easy to return directly to the Federal or find a port to dock at.
The entire voyage takes about ten to twenty days, but the time may vary depending on the weather and other factors during the voyage.
Overall, it's absolutely impossible to get it done ahead of schedule; it would be great if it didn't take any longer.
After giving a brief explanation of the work here, Lin Qi took his Little Assistant and bodyguards, including Sergeant, to Gefra. He would meet the delegation at Gefra's largest port in the east, and then they would "visit" Gefra, the world's second-strongest military power.
This was Lin Qi's first trip to Gefra. His previous knowledge of Gefra was limited to some written records. He was very excited and also arranged for other people to travel to Gefra, where they would meet Gefra.