Zhou Ziren spread his hands helplessly and continued, "Private interests and public duty have always stood opposed. We can barely balance them, never satisfy both perfectly. Xiang Prefecture lacks the strength to decide which kingdom it belongs to. So when we belong to the Qing Kingdom, our public duty requires us to support it, at least on the surface; when we belong to the Jing Kingdom, our public duty likewise requires us to support it, at least on the surface. But whichever kingdom we support, we need one prerequisite: fairness!"
"Take a very simple example. By becoming citizens of the Jing Kingdom again, we gain the greatest possible fairness in the Imperial Examination. This is also the main reason many people in Xiang Prefecture lean toward the Jing Kingdom. Even in the past few years, when we were citizens of the Qing Kingdom, even though we lacked fairness in the Imperial Examination, we could at least eat our fill and keep warm. Our standing was only a little lower than that of Qing Kingdom natives, so we still enjoyed a considerable measure of fairness. But if Xiang Prefecture were occupied by the demon barbarians one day, what would become of us?"
Some of the young students shuddered. In the Demon Realm, members of the human race were called human slaves.
Zhou Ziren said, "I'm sure you all understand this in your hearts: those not of our race must harbor different hearts! On the Saint Origin Continent, whether southerners fight northerners or different peoples wage war, whoever wins or loses, we all share the same blood, the same culture, and the same festivals. Even our appearances differ little. Whatever the victors might do, they would at least regard us as human and would not guard against us as they would an