Chapter 450 From Desert Emperor to Desert Emperor
With the dredging of the canal, Dawn Oasis finally truly came back to life.
The grass seeds sown by people a month ago have now sprouted into tender shoots on the once lifeless and barren sandy land.
The land that was once dark yellow is now green.
Although the grass is still sparse and young, life has finally reappeared in this once forbidden area.
The state of thriving vitality and flourishing of all things has already begun to emerge.
Farther away, a team of carpenters from Ionia were chanting spells, using the life magic from the New Earth to infuse this land with vitality, and thereby quickly give birth to tall poplar forests.
These poplar trees are like silent guards, shielding this slowly recovering oasis from the endless sand and dust blowing in from the desert.
"Dawn Oasis, it's really back."
Nasus leaned over and gently scooped up a handful of sand.
This handful of sand, which had been dry for thousands of years, is still very loose.
But the moist water vapor and plant roots mixed in it finally made it look like a ball of soil that could grow crops, rather than a pile of lifeless gravel.
Nasus was suddenly moved. He held the clay in his hand as if he were holding the future of Shurima.
At this moment, Shurima was truly resurrected.
"This is just the beginning." At this time, Levi's voice sounded in Nasus' ears.
He came here in person as the leader of the first aid expert group of the Leaders Association.
"This oasis has been dead for too long, and the soil has completely degraded into yellow sand." As he said this, Levi also bent down and grabbed a handful of loose gravel from the ground.
"The sandy soil is extremely loose and contains almost no organic matter, so crops cannot be grown there at all."
"Fortunately, we now have an inexhaustible source of water, alchemical fertilizers from Zaun, and a team of woodweavers from Ionia."
"In the past few years, we first planted forage grass and poplars to prevent wind and sand and lock in water and soil."
"Large areas of pasture can be developed into large-scale animal husbandry, and organic humus formed by plant residues and cattle and sheep manure can make the land fertile, slowly transforming sandy land into soil suitable for agricultural planting."
"At the same time, we will continue to support the Shurima Empire in terms of industry—"
"For example, we could build a hydroelectric dam around a massive underground water source pumped from the sun's disk."
Mortals cannot directly utilize the energy of the sun disk, so they have to use this method of building water wheels to indirectly "steal" energy from the astral realm.
"With electricity, industry can develop. We can first help build a number of textile factories, garment factories, and dye factories in Shurima to complement the animal husbandry that is being formed at the same time."
"Following the long river channel and dense water system that are gradually recovering from the Mother of Life, the goods produced here can be transported to the oasis cities of Shurima at a low price and efficiently."
"I think it won't be long before Dawn Oasis becomes the agricultural, animal husbandry and textile industry center of the entire Shurima region."
“Only then can Shurima be truly resurrected.”
Li Wei talked about his future development plans for Dawn Oasis in detail.
Nasus saw the beautiful future that he had described from the lush greenery before him and from his words.
"President Levi, thank you." He stood up and looked at Levi with respect in his eyes.
This is a rare respect from a proud ascender.
"Thank you for sending us so much grass and tree seeds, and for the support of these Ionian woodweavers."
Looking at the busy Eastern mages in the distance, Nasus' tone became even more moved.
Woodweavers are wizards unique to Ionia. They can control plant growth, ensure a good harvest, and even "weave" trees into houses for the people of Ionia to live in.
Although in Shurima, far away from the First Land, the woodweavers cannot communicate with the spirits of nature, nor can they utilize the rich magic that naturally permeates the First Land, so the effectiveness of their spells will be greatly reduced.
But... this time, the Wind Leader sent 1,000 wood weavers to support him. If the spell is not effective, then we can use the heads.
Nasus had never heard of an organization with such strong organizational and mobilization capabilities.
He had never imagined that human beings could one day cross national borders, continents, and even the oceans to come to another continent and selflessly help people they had never met in the past.
"I have to say, this is a feat that only a leader can accomplish." Nasus exclaimed.
"Cough cough!" Levi was about to respond when Azir, who had remained silent, finally couldn't help but cough.
He looked over with displeasure: "Levi, your planning for Dawn Oasis is indeed very good, and you have also provided real support."
"But..." But is this your land? Are you planning here?
Azir could see that although Levi supported the reconstruction of Dawn Oasis with all his heart, deep down he did not take him and his empire seriously at all.
Levi is basically treating this piece of land as the territory of a future leader.
Bastard!
After all, he is the emperor of the Shurima Empire.
By doing this, does Levi mean that he is certain that he will surrender to the Leader Association in the future and become the king of a fallen country once again?
"And..." And you, Nasus.
Whose university scholar are you?
Why do you always follow Levi and sing his praises?
The more Azir thought about it, the more he felt that Nasus's position was delicate, but he couldn't be so rude to his senior, so he had to stand in front of Levi and Nasus with a cold and arrogant face and an unhappy look.
"Your Majesty," Levi explained calmly, "You misunderstood. Our assistance comes without any conditions attached."
“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” Azir said. “I don’t believe you have no purpose.”
"If there is no benefit, would you, as the Guild Master, travel thousands of miles to visit Shurima in person?"
"Of course there is a purpose." Levi replied with a smile.
“We want better things for everyone.”
The ideal of the leaders is to bring peace to the world. That is why they are willing to travel thousands of miles to support the reconstruction of Dawn Oasis without asking for anything in return.
"Of course, there are objective rewards as well." Levi did not hide it.
The initial industrialization of Dawn Oasis will inevitably give birth to a group of mature working class in this primitive and backward land.
The working class is a natural supporter of trendsetters.
It is difficult to explain the Janna theory to those illiterate desert tribesmen.
But if these tribal people are allowed to work in factories for two years, especially in the lowest-end sweatshops, they will soon understand what Jana Theory is about.
By then, the Shurimans will more readily embrace Janna's ideas, and the Wind Leader's influence will truly reach the land.
"You?!" Azir's face darkened when he heard this: "Are you planning to deceive my subjects?"
"Haha." Li Wei smiled and said nothing: "Whether your subjects can be bewitched or not depends not on me, but on you."
"There is only one place in the world where workers oppose Janna's rule, and that is the workers of Piltover."
"If you can give your subjects welfare benefits close to those in Piltover, then they won't listen to my instigation."
"..."Azir was choked.
But he was not stupid: "Asshole! What kind of sanctimonious nonsense are you talking about!"
“Even if Dawn Oasis develops industry, it is still primary light industry at the lowest end of the industrial chain with the thinnest profit margin.”
"No matter how well I distribute the money, I can't spend as much money as Piltover did to bribe the workers and cultivate a group of worker aristocrats who unconditionally support me."
"What's more..." Azir hesitated.
What's more, it is impossible for him to distribute it properly.
The administrative officials under him were temporarily selected from the warlord tribes to make up the numbers.
Expecting these bandits who have changed their professions and come to the shore to make good use of the distribution like the leaders? Isn't this just a dream?
Even if the territory is smaller, Azir can still rely on the majesty of an ascender to suppress it and bring peace and prosperity.
But once the territory expanded, the local area became far away from the emperor, then... no matter how hard he tried to be a wise ruler or a good emperor, he could not change the overall situation.
Azir had tried something similar 3,000 years ago .
He had to be so cautious even when solving a slavery problem back then, so how could he possibly carry out universal distribution according to the standards of a leader now?
"You know clearly that we can't catch up with Zaun and the Twin Cities in such a short time, yet you're still using the difference in welfare benefits as an excuse." Azir asked angrily, "Why are you playing dumb?"
"This..." Levi was a little surprised.
Azir's level of understanding of the modern world is higher than he imagined.
The other party actually discovered that he was secretly preparing for a peaceful evolution of the Shurima Empire in the future.
People naturally yearn for a better life.
After industrialization, Shurima will surely see the two cities become highly prosperous and developed, but the actual gap in material levels will certainly make the Shurimans, who have suffered from primitive accumulation, seek a theoretical way out.
By then, everyone in Shurima believed in Janna and wanted to follow the Leader.
Azir only has two options left:
First, send out the Imperial Guards, launch the Shurima Unrestricted Free Fighting Competition, and mingle with the masses.
If Azir chooses this, it will be easy.
The Leader of the Wind can legitimately intervene by force and launch a just "Operation Desert Storm" to eradicate evil in Shurima and bring the wind of freedom of Janna to the people of Shurima.
Given the growing power gap between Janna and the Ascended, if Azir had any sense, he wouldn't have done this.
Therefore, Azir only has the second option:
Follow the will of Heaven and respond to the will of the people, put down your arms and surrender with courtesy.
Accept the reality silently and be an honest "Emperor Sha Xian".
Azir obviously realized this and realized Levi's "sinister" intentions.
So he looked very unhappy.
Li Wei was frank and not embarrassed at all. He even asked casually, "Your Majesty, have you also been reading our books?"
"Hmph..." Azir said with a cold face, which was considered as his agreement.
"Since you understand the theory, you should be able to think clearly about a problem." Levi paused and said, "In response to the infiltration of more advanced civilizations, late-developing civilizations actually have only two choices:"
"First, we must grit our teeth and get through the painful stage of primitive accumulation of seed benzene, and develop our industry to a level of development that can rival our competitors as soon as possible, so as to achieve parity in comprehensive national strength."
When the national strength is equal, the development levels are close, and the people's living standards are improved, we will be able to withstand shocks in the ideological field.
Otherwise, if the Shurimans in the future still can’t even get enough food to eat, how can they not yearn for the Twin Cities and worship the ideology of the Twin Cities... is that possible?
Shurima is poor and backward, so Azir is a tyrant and a traitor to the people.
When Shurima prospers, Azir becomes the saint of the world.
Even though, this is the same person.
Ordinary people only look at the present moment - it is not their fault that they are short-sighted - because many people may not even survive the present moment. They cannot wait for the good days to come.
Therefore, if Azir does not want to be the "Emperor of the Sands", he must develop Shurima as quickly as possible, to a level where he no longer needs to kneel and look up at the two cities.
“But there is a problem with this approach:”
“The process of primitive accumulation is bloody and cruel, and the development of industrialization will inevitably bring pain.”
This labor pain is very painful.
Most countries simply cannot survive this period and end up killing themselves halfway through their development.
This leads to a logical paradox:
If we want to resist the impact of ideology, we must develop as quickly as possible.
However, the more Shurima catches up with the two cities and develops its industry, the more mature its working class becomes, the more intense its internal contradictions become, and the easier it is for it to self-destruct under the infiltration of the Leader.
"This stage is very difficult to endure. Your Majesty, do you have the confidence to stop the ideological impact of the leader?"
“……”Azir’s face turned pale.
The Leaders are not the Piltover tycoons. Their ideology is more advanced and their theories are so beautiful that they are almost impeccable.
The latecomer countries may be able to expose the hypocrisy of the Piltover cartel to the people, pointing out the fact that they buy off welfare at home and exploit foreign countries.
But who can point out the faults of these true leaders, these "living saints"?
Azir couldn't be singled out either.
"Then there is only the second method:"
To withstand the ideological impact of advanced civilizations, we must either develop ourselves to be extremely advanced, or...
"Embrace extreme conservatism and step on the accelerator pedal to the floor."
They don’t allow women to work, they don’t allow children to go to school, they don’t develop industry, they don’t train the working class and new intellectuals, and at the same time they use religion to anesthetize people’s spirits and undermine their progressive consciousness…
In this way, everyone cannot even understand the root cause of the problem and naturally will not seek any change.
If the wind of change blows here, it may be angrily beaten back by the Shurimans who are firmly controlled by the priest group and tribal elders.
By then, the peaceful evolution envisioned by Levi would turn into a shameful imperial invasion.
"This method is indeed useful, and I have already taught you." Levi looked straight at Azir: "Your Majesty, do you want to do this?"
"Are you willing to completely abandon the opportunity for industrial development, let the Shurima people live in poverty and ignorance forever, and realize your eternal rule?"
"I..." Azir was silent for a while.
He wouldn't. He couldn't make that choice.
Even though he was a feudal antique and a reactionary emperor, he still cared about his subjects.
"Then you have made progress," Levi said admiringly.
Although he knew that the first path was very dangerous to his position, Azir chose it without hesitation.
This shows that this emperor is at least not too reactionary and there is still hope that he can be won over.
"In that case, you have to choose the first option." Li Wei smiled: "If you take the first path, you have to develop industry."
"Shurima has development needs, and we are willing to support it. Why not?"
Azir remained silent, but his eyes showed some intention.
"Your Majesty, we have a package of industrial assistance plans for you and your empire. As long as the ecology of the Shurima region recovers in the next few years, we can start implementing them one by one."
"I have already explained the specific contents to you and Grand Maester Nasus when I came here." Levi took out a stack of documents as prepared, "Now, are you interested in signing?"
Azir hesitated.
Levi had just explained the reason clearly. So he knew:
This document is the starting engine for the development of Shurima's industry and the beginning of a better life for the Shurimans;
But at the same time, it will also be the pioneer of the Windleader ideology and the gravedigger of the Shurima Empire.
By signing this document, he was one step closer to becoming "Emperor Sha Xian".
"I..." Azir pondered for a long time.
Finally, he clenched his fists and raised his head proudly: "I am the emperor of the desert, the eagle father of the Shurima people, their god."
"I believe in my people! They will not abandon me."
"Isn't it just a sugar-coated bullet?"
“Humph!” Azir took the treaty stubbornly and signed his name heavily: “Come on!”
"Give me whatever assistance you have!"
