After that, Li Wei returned to Fog City and collected a copy of every newspaper published during his absence. After reading them carefully, he finally understood what had happened.
The conflict had begun with a rather pointless discussion.
Simply put, the Surrender Faction in the City of a Thousand Joys had announced that it would hold a grand concert as a tribute to the Empire, to demonstrate its loyalty.
They were quite proud of the idea, too. After all, the City of a Thousand Joys had always prided itself on being a city of music. Music was its calling card. Many people found the idea of dedicating a concert to the Empire rather ridiculous, but if they wanted to suck up, who was anyone else to stop them?
The problem was that every place had its own surrender faction.
And another problem was that people in the same trade were natural rivals.
Soon enough, some Francisians stepped forward and declared that their City of Flowers was the true capital of art. Who did the City of a Thousand Joys think it was?
We were the true masters of art!
In fact, the artistic dispute between the two sides had a long history. The symphonic tradition established in the City of a Thousand Joys had produced many famous composers, while opera in the City of Flowers enjoyed an enormous audience. Critics from the City of a Thousand Joys mocked the City of Flowers for its ostentatious music, accusing it of pursuing stage effects at the expense of profound structure. Critics from the City of Flowers, in turn, derided the City of a Thousand Joys' symphonies as dull and out of touch with ordinary people.
Of course, their arguments had never been this fierce before. The City of Flowers was a capital