Two choices!
Faced with this group of white pigs, Chen Qing remained calm. He still didn't understand why some people had such a sense of superiority over skin color.
Chen Qing felt that since they cared so much about their skin color, they should be given another option.
"As you can see, the people here in the Central Plains all have black hair and yellow skin. If someone were to be born with blue eyes and white skin, it might cause disharmony in the family and gossip from the neighbors. So if you were to be born in Jiangnan, you would have to have the skin color of someone from the Central Plains, and you would most likely not retain those cat-like green eyes."
"The second option is to keep your skin color, but..."
"But what?" many Westerners couldn't help but ask. Losing their proud white skin and becoming a person of color, whom they once despised, and having to acknowledge that person of color as their parent—it was all too difficult to accept.
"Here, the barbarians from beyond the island do meet your requirements. White skin and green-blue eyes, and various hair colors are all normal. However, many people died or were injured in the West Sea Kingdoms back then, and very few survived. They are a minority group outside the island. If you wish, you can be reborn among them and keep the skin color you care about!"
"Oh?" This suggestion immediately caught the attention of the group of Westerners; preserving skin color would certainly be the best option.
"Can overseas ethnic minorities also retain their civil rights?" one of the blonde women asked hastily.
"That depends on what rights you're talking about," Chen Qing explained patiently. " In Jiangnan today, the people of the prefecture enjoy the best resources. Whether it's the educational environment or their exposure to the world, it's all better than in the districts and counties. Moreover, citizens of the prefecture also have the right to vote and are more respected. The people of the districts and counties are slightly worse off, but they are well-fed and clothed, and because of various reforms, they have more opportunities to rise in society."
"As for the islanders," Chen Qing smiled, "They're far beyond the West Sea. Very few scholars are willing to go there, especially those specializing in science and engineering. If they want to enter the academy in Liuzhou, they need to have sufficient self-study ability. Moreover, the minority groups outside the island have just gone through a great disaster and are still rebuilding their homes. They basically can't choose from wealthy families."
Hearing this, the group of Westerners were unimpressed. With their own foundation in Neo-Confucianism, how could these ancient people compare? Could those so-called Confucian scholars possibly teach them?
As for their family background, that didn't matter. They believed that with their abilities, as long as they survived, they could live a life of luxury. They came here to become elites, and even to seize resources for their country. Why would they care about such paltry sums?
Soon, a large group of Westerners gave their answer: except for two or three who were still hesitant, almost all the rest chose to become descendants of overseas minorities.
This result made Chen Qing laugh.
It meets my expectations, but I don't know if it will meet the other party's expectations.
He still doesn't understand why the Federation has such confidence.
Indeed, the people of the Federation have received modern education and their scientific foundation far surpasses that of the people here, but... this is a game!
How could they possibly believe that orthodox STEM knowledge is universally applicable throughout the world?
When this world was designed, the system of techniques based on science and engineering was all made up by us, okay?
Now that it's become a reality in this world, it's completely different from the political theories of the original world, okay?
Of course, there are still advantages. Mathematics and some basic sciences are basically the same as in the previous life. But in these two aspects, Chen Qing doesn't think outsiders can have much of an advantage.
Those white pigs who think Confucian education is unimportant will understand later.
More importantly, there's the environment. Their own policies don't include any policies to care for ethnic minorities. The ethnic minorities from the West Sea and the relocated northerners frequently clash. If asked which side they're on, obviously, they're on their own side.
The kingdoms of the West Sea now belong to their own territory, and the Underworld can function normally. However, those minority groups do not accept this. They have always been dissatisfied and unwilling to worship Tian Heng, the God of the West Sea. They prefer to worship their own local gods, which Chen Qing considers heretical. How could he possibly give in to them?
They didn't do what the America did to Native Americans back then, which shows they've already set a bottom line.
As for what will happen after they are reborn as their descendants, well, that's quite interesting.
--
On the Federation side, after the agents sent to all regions had settled in, they all signed their respective energy agreements.
"The choices these Westerners have made are truly perplexing."
After the meeting, back in the war room, Wu Xiaoli and Zhang Zhengyuan chatted about the newly arrived players. She found it extremely foolish that those Western players, unable to bear their race, chose an island far from Liuzhou as their birthplace. But what was truly baffling was that no Westerners objected at the council meeting.
These Westerners are always driven by self-interest and love to haggle over every little thing. How could they choose such a disadvantageous starting point when faced with such an important choice?
"That's because you don't understand these guys," Zhang Zhengyuan scoffed. "Their superficial culture leads them to judge race based on skin color and color, which is ridiculous in this day and age. But this is also due to historical reasons. Back then, internal conflicts in Western countries were sharp, racism was rampant, and various political correctness measures that deliberately praised black people only strengthened the white people's sense of superiority. In the long run, the white right became the dominant force."
"They consider people of color inferior, and in the digital age, they haven't been able to express themselves much. Now that they can live in a Virtual Realm that's almost identical to reality, they naturally want to retain their most proud traits. And the most important reason is that they look down on Chen Qing."
"You look down on Chen Qing?" Wu Xiaoli was taken aback.
"Of course. I'm afraid many people look down on that kid Chen Qing now," Zhang Zhengyuan laughed. "They think he only has the advantage of having some prophetic intelligence, and in terms of personal qualities, how could he possibly compare to these specially trained agents?"
"Many people share this view of me."
"Uh..." Wu Xiaoli was taken aback and looked at Zhang Zhengyuan in surprise.
"Many people, especially those from traditional political families, believe that everything I have now is because I benefited from the system and gained a huge advantage in the virtual world before they even realized it. If they had intervened from the beginning, how could a peasant like me have gotten to occupy such a high position?"
Wu Xiaoli: "."
"How ridiculous!" Zhang Zhengyuan shook his head with a laugh, "Some people will never understand how many secret agents there have been in history? How many Chen Qing were there in history? Before Chen Qing, didn't we send enough secret agents to that world? Were the new intelligence we obtained much worse than Chen Qing's? Who succeeded?"
"A bunch of greenhorns who've only received a little training and education, yet they all think they're some kind of people who can change the world with a little effort. I really don't know where their arrogance comes from?"
Wu Xiaoli remained silent for a moment after hearing this, and finally nodded quietly. To be honest, she had thought so before, but now that she suddenly came to her senses, it seemed that she had indeed oversimplified things.
" Chen Qing is an extremely capable person!" Zhang Zhengyuan said seriously, "He has a mortal body and no demonic talents. He studied law and politics from a young age, subjects he was completely unfamiliar with, yet he was able to pass the imperial examination at a young age. He was also able to make quick adjustments after learning the truth about that world and rise rapidly. Such a person is definitely not a lucky guy who rose to power just because of a little bit of information."
"He will arrive in the Federation in ten days. Everyone must be extremely cautious. Even if his intelligence is unclear, he will not be a sitting duck!"
Wu Xiaoli was taken aback, but then asked, "Will something unexpected happen?"
"I don't know." Zhang Zhengyuan shook his head. "He's taking a risk, but aren't we taking a risk too?"
--
"Ten days later?"
Upon receiving the news, Ziyue was far away in the north, couldn't help but turn extremely dark-skinned, despite her usual composure.
"What's wrong?"
A Li, standing to the side, watched her curiously. She rarely saw Ziyue like this; Ziyue was someone who could always remain calm, and it was rare to see her so excited.
" Chen Qing must go back!" Ziyue said, her face ashen. "In ten days!"
"Go back?" A Li was taken aback. "Isn't he in Liuzhou? Or is he still in the southeast?"
"Go back outside!" Ziyue pointed to the sky.
"Outside? Beyond the heavens? Didn't you say wait?" A Li's expression changed, and being as clever as she was, she immediately realized. "Which outside are you referring to?"