Chapter 449: Ancestors and Unworthy Descendants (Part 2)
Nasus is very efficient.
Every time his dozens-meter-tall body swung the giant axe, it could shovel out tons of sand from the river that had been blocked for thousands of years.
One shovel, two shovels, three shovels...
The excavated sand and soil soon piled up into a mountain, and the river channel that was filled with yellow sand was soon cleared to form a gully several dozen meters long.
This canal, built during the glorious days of Shurima, has finally regained some of its original appearance.
The ordinary people looked at this scene in amazement, standing by and watching, not daring to move.
“Everyone, please don’t just stand there.” At this time, Nasus stopped his hoe and turned to the workers and said, “Let’s work together.”
"Work?" The mortals couldn't believe it.
As Shurimans grew up listening to the legend of Nasus, they could not imagine that this great Ascended One would bend down and work in the fields with mortals.
Even though Nasus had already started working on his own, they all suspected that this was some special opening ceremony from ancient Shurima.
"You, you... work with us?" the workers asked in surprise and caution.
“Yes.” Nasus said calmly, “Don’t be surprised.”
"When I was a general in the Shurima Empire, wasn't the army I led also composed of mortals? When fighting, mortals charged on the front lines. Didn't the Ascended never leave the battlefield?"
"No. On the battlefield, we live and die together, without distinction."
"And what we are facing now is just another war, a war to seize human living space from the desert, a war to eliminate drought, hunger and death."
“So, children of Shurima—let us work together to make Shurima great again!”
"Yes!!" After a brief silence, Nasus' words caused cheers at the scene.
People looked at Nasus' hard-working back with admiration, and their enthusiasm was high.
The construction site quickly turned into a bustling battlefield, with everyone working hard towards the same great goal.
"This..." Only Azir was stunned and speechless.
“Grand Maester Nasus, how could he…”
What Nasus said was correct. Ascended beings did not enjoy any privileges on the battlefield. Their privilege was to rush forward than mortals and to the front line where the fighting was most intense.
But……
Can this be confused with digging the ground?
In ancient Shurima, combat was glorious and great, but labor was menial and lowly.
It is precisely because the ascenders always rush to the front on the battlefield that they should be superior to others and should be worshipped and served by mortals!
Otherwise, I will be at the front in war and in peacetime...
What have the Ascendants become? Slaves of the common people?
"How shameful!"
It's simply a breakdown of rituals and music.
Azir could tell that Nasus was using the ancient system to reform the system, unknowingly tampering with the imperial spirit of ancient Shurima, optimizing it into something more...
"Janna." Yes, this is a version that has been optimized to be closer to Janna's main character.
After a month of communication and interaction, Azir had already felt that Nasus was somewhat different from the Imperial Grand Secretary in his impression.
Now it's ok...
The enlightenment teacher who taught him etiquette and hierarchy is now taking the lead in destroying the sacred rules set by the Ascendant Cult, and he has disregarded his status and is digging the ground!
Ascendant, digging the ground, is this reasonable? !
You are the desert god of death, not a desert excavator!
“…” Azir didn’t know what to say to Nasus, so he could only criticize Sivir bitterly: “You are simply deeply poisoned!”
"Poison?" Sivir raised her eyebrows and stared back without flinching: "Tell me, how can this be called 'poisoning'?"
"Janna's theory of thought, our beliefs, what else is wrong?"
Over the past month, Azir has also learned a lot about the Leader's thoughts and theories.
After all, he also wanted to know who on earth was the one who forced him to cooperate, and why the former heretic god Janna had made a comeback.
And when he understood this...
As expected, Janna's theory had a huge impact on this old antique whose brain was still stuck in the past 3,000 years.
As a rigid ancient and arrogant emperor, Azir almost instinctively rejected the Leader's theory of eliminating exploitation and pursuing equality.
He also raised many questions about this.
But the questions raised by Azr had already been raised by Sivir when she was studying Janna theory with Taliyah.
Even if there were some questions she hadn't noticed, Nasus later raised them and received adequate answers.
Having a reference answer in advance, Sivir was certainly not afraid to debate with Azir.
And this is exactly the case:
After a month of learning and "laning", Azir not only failed to persuade his "daughter" to return to the right path, but was repeatedly killed by Sivir online, leaving him speechless.
"So, what's wrong with the Wind Leader's theory?" Sivir asked rudely, "Is it bad for the Shurima people, or is it bad for you as the emperor?"
"You..." Azir choked lightly at this unworthy descendant.
He held it in for a long while, then accused stubbornly, "Haven't you figured it out yet, Sivir?"
"This so-called Lord of Janna is simply a story that the heretic god Janna made up to please his followers in order to turn things around!"
"Mortals are always a short-sighted and ignorant mob. They believe whatever is said to sound good."
"But 99% of the world's human beings are just such ignorant, low-level hooligans."
"Janna is targeting you, her audience, and she is saying nice things to earn your faith!"
Azir argued convincingly.
Temples of the Ascended once existed throughout Shurima, and they knew the benefits of the power of faith.
Otherwise, they would not have labeled Janna a heretic and forced Janna's followers to convert.
After 3,000 years of development, with the thorough development of the northern continent of Valoran and the gradual advancement of agricultural technology, the population of Runeterra has increased several times compared to the Middle Ages when Azir lived.
This makes collecting the power of faith of mortals a very profitable thing.
The other gods are still too arrogant and slow-witted, their thinking is too backward, and they are still at the stage of extensive missionary work of "the true God is here, believe it or not".
Only Janna seized this once-in-a-millennium opportunity.
She even abandoned the dignity of God and came up with a human-centered theory of Janna, which attracted the fanatical following of those mortals.
How can you, a god, advocate the elimination of exploitation and equality for all, and even personally serve the public?
In Azr's opinion, this is simply an unscrupulous act of pleasing customers, which seriously violates industry rules!
"Stop." Xiweier didn't want to listen anymore.
She glared at Azir impatiently. "Old man, aren't you trying to say that everything Janna does is to earn the power of faith?"
"Why..." Sivir said with a smile, "Since you can't refute the content, you can only question the motive?"
A gentleman judges by deeds, not by heart, but some people just like to judge by heart with gentlemen.
This is a common tactic used in sophistry.
She herself had often used this tactic unconsciously in past discussions with Taliyah and Nasus.
"I..." Azir was speechless for a moment. He realized that he had indeed fallen into such a fallacy.
And his doubts are easy to refute.
Because even if we talk about actions or heart, there is nothing that can be criticized about Janna.
"Our goddess is a god of faith who was born later in life. Her power comes entirely from faith. She is not like those innate gods who naturally possess great power."
"If Janna preaches for power, she has betrayed her faith;"
"And she can't have power if she betrays her beliefs."
"Your Majesty." Xiweier raised his chin and questioned aggressively: "Don't you think that your doubts are contradictory?"
Azir was speechless.
At this time, Sivir took advantage of the situation and continued, "You don't allow Ascendants to engage in 'lowly occupations' and are unwilling to work with mortals. Don't you still think that you are superior to others and should enjoy special privileges?"
The strong dominate the weak; this was a natural principle in the old world.
But when Janna comes, this trick doesn't work anymore.
Because the people are the real strong ones. It is their faith that condensed Janna and created this invincible god.
So even if we think according to the law of "survival of the fittest", the Shurima Empire, which is now weaker than the Leader, and Azir, who is weaker than Janna, deserve to accept the Leader's rules.
He no longer has any reason to maintain his privileges and his superior status.
In fact, Azir had debated with Sivir many times over these principles in the past month, and he always lost.
But at this moment, after thinking about it, Azir found a new reason to object:
"The Ascendants are superior to others, not only because of their strength, but also because of the contributions they have made."
“Without the Ascended to conquer foreign enemies and fight against the Void, Shurima would never have been an empire, and humanity might even have been exterminated by the Void more than 3,000 years ago.”
"The Ascended Ones have made such great contributions, shouldn't they be worshipped by others?"
Azir changed his mindset. He stopped talking about the power of the Ascended, after all, he couldn't win over the Leader in this regard.
He began to talk about his merits and contributions.
The contributions of the ascenders are far greater than those of mortals, so they deserve to ride on the heads of mortals.
"In terms of protecting the safety of human civilization, the Ascendants have indeed made great contributions. But..."
Similar issues have been discussed within the leadership team a long time ago.
The extraordinary people think that they have made great contributions and should be superior to others in all aspects. This question is not the first one raised by Azir.
In response, Sivir calmly replied: "For the development and progress of human civilization as a whole, have you, the Ascended Ones or the Transcendent Ones, really made as much contribution as the mortals?"
"No, the roles you play are just weapons."
"Weapons are important, but without them human civilization cannot survive, and without survival there can be no development."
"Will the social progress and civilization development after survival also be promoted by you 'humanoid weapons'?"
"No - it is the craftsmen, the scholars, the writers, the painters, the musicians, the scientists, the engineers... it is the millions of ordinary people who make civilization progress."
The premise of all history is the production and reproduction of material life.
The vast majority of producers are the creators of history and the promoters of civilization.
Runeland has its own particularity. Therefore, Levi pointed out in his article that the destructive power of the extraordinary cannot be confused with the productivity of the working people.
No matter how powerful the extraordinary people are, it does not mean that their contribution to human civilization can far exceed that of ordinary people.
It does not mean that they can use the excuse of "contribution theory" to legitimately and legally ride on the shoulders of ordinary people.
"But..." Azir did not give up.
Despite losing the debate repeatedly, he still found something to refute.
"You are right, Sivir." Azir partially agreed with the words of the unfilial daughter: "The brilliance and splendor of human civilization is inseparable from the contributions of those craftsmen and scholars."
But he added: "The problem is..."
"Most humans are just ignorant fools. They can't even read, and the work they do is just the most meaningless physical labor, not creative research and invention."
“Aren’t those few talented scholars and intellectual elites the ones who truly promote the progress of human civilization?”
"What does this have to do with the brick-carrying peasants? What contributions have they made to human civilization? Why should they enjoy equal status with the elites?"
Azir cleverly ignored the fact that the elites were born from the masses, and separated the "elite" from the "masses".
By using one faction to fight against another, there is suddenly a lot less pressure.
He felt that he had found a loophole in Jana's theory.
"Tsk!" Unexpectedly, Sivir was already prepared: "Aren't these what you are talking about just the leftovers of Piltover?"
Piltover is taking the elite route.
The Piltover tycoons and businessmen who served as the rulers cleverly pulled the middle class represented by intellectuals and cultural elites into their ruling base, thus forming a stable rule over the lower-class workers represented by the people of Zaun.
The plutocrats eat meat, and the middle-class elites can also drink soup. The lowest-level Zaun people are responsible for providing blood food to feed these Piltover people.
Because of their different butts, the elites and the lower classes naturally formed a de facto opposition.
The result is that the general public is either led astray by the crooked intellectual elites, dazzled by the beautiful appearance of this beacon of civilization, and become loyal supporters of the Piltover tycoons and the Seed Benedict;
Or they lack the support of cultural elites and theoretical guidance, and ultimately end up in vain bloodshed and failure in one blind action after another.
Even if the rebellion succeeds by chance, it will only be a gang-fight-style power change, with a new evil dragon taking the throne.
“But then, along came the leader.”
"Many of the leading cadres are also from elite backgrounds. They don't think they are superior to others, and they don't discriminate against those low-level workers who you think are ignorant."
"Because we know—"
“Civilization is driven not only by individual geniuses but also by the broad masses of working people.”
“Nonsense!” Azir retorted, “How can they push forward if they don’t even know how to read?”
I only heard Xiweier answer slowly: "It's very simple-"
“The development of civilization is based on the overall prosperity and development of society, and the overall prosperity and development of society is the result of the joint efforts of countless people.”
For example: If you throw Victor into Shurima 3,000 years ago, can he still build a steam robot?
Of course not.
No matter how smart Victor is, it is impossible for him to mine mines, smelt iron, burn coal to generate electricity, and do everything by himself.
Different fields are like different mountains. Even a great scientist like him doesn't know where to look for minerals or how to develop and mine them...
Without the social foundation of industrial civilization, great scientists like Victor would never have emerged.
"You..." Azir retorted instinctively: "You are making up stories."
"Is it the parts provided by mediocre people that are more important, or is it the genius mind that is more important? How can we generalize?"
"You are the one who is changing the concept!" Sivir retorted.
“When we say that the progress of civilization is inseparable from the contribution of the masses, it does not mean to deny the leading role of heroes , but to emphasize that we must create a better society so that more people have the opportunity to become elites, give full play to their genius minds, and create greater achievements.”
“When we say that the progress of civilization is driven by genius, we are not trying to deify the so-called genius and deny the common people who create a stable and prosperous society. Similarly, we are just emphasizing that we need to create a good social environment that respects intellectuals and protects and promotes scientific ideas and creative achievements.
Some people think that since Leaders is an organization of the general public, there should be no mention of the contributions of individual geniuses. The intellectual elites should be humble and modest in front of the common people, so that the working people can completely "turn over".
This is wrong.
Similarly, some people think that since the elites play a leading role, they should be superior to the general public and should enjoy privileges.
This is also wrong.
The leader is not a diode, it is not black or white, left or right.
Leaders are dialectical.
Only seeing geniuses and ignoring the masses, or only seeing the masses and ignoring geniuses, is not the correct answer for leaders.
The elite and the masses are never separated, but integrated. The elite lead the masses, but they are also born from the masses and rely on the masses. No one is nobler than the other, and no one can do without the other.
Leaders recognize the contributions of the elites, and at this stage, they will also allow the elites to obtain more material rewards based on the principle of distribution according to work.
But apart from economic differences, the elites and the masses must be equal in terms of personal dignity, legal status and political power.
There is nothing shameful about the elites working with the masses.
"Do you understand, Azir?" Sivir raised her eyebrows and asked back.
“……”Azir was speechless.
He was silent for a long time, then looked at Sivir in surprise with an almost tacit attitude: "Did you come up with all this yourself?"
Over the past month, her debating skills and level of thinking have improved rapidly, far exceeding his perception of this "wild princess".
But in the capital of Shurima, there is no other leader except Sivir.
Could it be that she has been secretly taking remote lessons from that blue bird?
“No.” Sivir shook her head. “I have only been discussing with Grand Maester Nasus.”
Azir: “…”
Good man, Nasus, you...
I asked you to teach this child ancient classics, and you talk to her about these every day?
“Because Nasus knows that studying ancient classics cannot save Shurima.” Sivir looked at Nasus’ hard-working back : “And compared to you, he at least knows what Shurima he wants to save is—”
"Is it the old glory of the Ascended, or the people of this land?"
Azir fell into deep thought after hearing this.
"So..." Sivir looked over expectantly, "Are you willing to join the labor and help clean up the sand in the canal?"
He thought for a long time, and finally...
"How can this be disgraceful! No matter what, I am the emperor and an ascended being!"
Azir turned around angrily and left, escaping from here.
…
That night, the sea of sand was churning and the canals were dredged for hundreds of miles overnight.
Everyone told the emperor.
The emperor said, this is a miracle from heaven to Shurima. The universe is unpredictable, the laws of nature are unpredictable, and it is impossible to study it in detail.
This continued every night thereafter. The next month, the river opened and the sand disappeared.
——"The Chronicle of Emperor Shaxian"
