Chapter 451: Joining the Forces and Recognizing the Father (Part 1)
Azir finally signed the aid contract and accepted the "sugar-coated bullet" sent by the Leader.
Although he seemed reluctant about this, he still listened carefully when Levi discussed specific aid projects and the future development direction of Shurima.
The development problems of Shurima are actually not difficult to solve.
Because the most fatal problem of water shortage and the equally troublesome traffic problem have been solved by the sun disk plug-in and the canal water conservancy system throughout the desert left by the ancient Shurima Empire.
"Through natural and artificial water connections, the water network of the Mother of Life can connect to the North Shore Port to the north, and can flow downstream to the east to connect to the Mang River system in Ixtal, allowing materials to be shipped out to sea."
The rulers of ancient Shurima were indeed many far-sighted and wise.
Through the artificially developed river Mother of Life, they linked the two natural rivers, the meltwater from the snow-capped Mount Targon in the upper west and the rainforest river from Ishtar in the lower east.
Starting from the capital of Shurima, you can take a boat eastward through Ixtal and out to sea, all the way to Bilgewater, which is ruled by the Wind Leader.
This ensures that Shurima will not be left behind by the globalized trade system in the future era of sea power.
With water supply, shipping, various mineral resources, and various industrial projects assisted by the Leader, Shurima's economy was immediately revitalized.
Although the many warlord tribes in the desert have not yet been integrated, the shipping routes to the closed and conservative Ishtar have not been opened up.
But the Ascended Empire has been reborn, and the development of the Leader has become unshakable.
The situation is set.
Integrating the Shurima Desert and opening up Ixtal are all natural things that need no further explanation.
"It must be said that the ancient Shurima Empire left a rich legacy for future generations." Levi sighed as he spoke: "Such a magnificent and earth-shaking continental-level water conservancy project is something that even today's leaders would never be able to realize."
“Of course.” Azir raised his golden head proudly: “We belong to the sun…”
"The Shurimans, or perhaps the slaves of Shurima, built such a magnificent project thousands of years ago. The sacrifices they made deserve to be remembered by all future generations." Levi added silently.
"..." Azir choked slightly, looking a little embarrassed.
He was well aware of the price the slaves had paid for Shurima's water system.
"Don't be embarrassed." Li Wei said in a calm but ironic voice: "I will not make a simple moral criticism of a feudal ruler from 3,000 years ago."
"In fact, as feudal rulers, the previous kings of Shurima were already worthy of praise."
While they exploited the foreign slaves plundered from the wars of expansion, they also gave preferential treatment to the native Shurima citizens as much as possible. This practice, which seems extremely imperialist today, was the conscience of the industry in the feudal era.
Moreover, their exploitative behavior did produce some development results and left a huge amount of infrastructure wealth to future generations.
Unlike the comprador chem-barons in Zaun, who have been riding on the heads of Zaun people and drinking their blood for more than two hundred years, they used all the results of their blood-sucking for personal enjoyment, maintaining their rule and paying tribute to the masters of Piltover, and have not played any constructive role in Zaun.
Compared to this, ancient Shurima is indeed an outstanding representative of the feudal empire.
"..." Azir remained silent.
He could tell that "outstanding representative of the feudal empire" was not a good word in today's context.
Levi noticed his look and said at the right time: "Ancient Shurima left us such a rich legacy, allowing Shurima to keep up with the world's development in the era of globalization."
"It's a pity that after three thousand years, the water network of the Mother of Life is like the irrigation canals of the Dawn Oasis, mostly buried by endless yellow sand... "
"But now, slavery has been abolished by your Majesty. And Shurima, with its ecological degradation and drastically reduced population, cannot organize so many mortals to complete this great project."
"So..." Levi looked at Azir meaningfully.
Cleaning up the sand from all the rivers in Shurima, completely repairing the water network and opening up the waterways is a much larger project than cleaning up the Dawn Oasis.
Even if Azir's ascension magic is specialized in manipulating the yellow sand, he will probably have to work hard in the desert for many years before Shurima can truly restore its former glory.
"Can we still expect 'miracles'?" Levi asked.
"I..." Azir blushed.
But he hesitated for a moment, and answered firmly: "Of course. The God of Shurima will not abandon His subjects."
"I thank you for the Shurima people, Your Majesty." Levi said sincerely and expectantly: "I think, one day-"
"We'll become real comrades."
"This is what I should do..." Azir subconsciously wanted to agree.
Then he realized belatedly: "No! Who is your comrade?"
At this point, the emperor's arrogance came back: "Levi, we are just a temporary partnership."
"The Ascended Ones are warriors of the gods. You want the gods to believe in another god? This is impossible!"
"Belief is free," Levi said with a noncommittal smile, "No one can force you to believe in Janna. You made the change yourself. And I am just looking forward to your future choice, Your Majesty."
Azir wanted to refute, but hesitated.
I don’t know whether it was this new era that changed him, or the leader’s thoughts that changed him, or both.
His style of doing things is indeed... less and less like that of a feudal emperor.
Moreover, Azir can also see the potential of Janna and Windleader.
He also knew that the wind of change would eventually blow across the world.
Should he follow Janna, or fight to the end for his own personal gain... He will have to make this decision sooner or later.
Levi only pointed this out secretly so that he could no longer deceive himself and ignore the elephant in the room.
So, how should he choose?
“……”Azir hesitated.
He didn't want to choose yet. On the one hand, he didn't want to fight against the Wind Leader and drag the Shurimans, who had suffered so much, into a war that was meaningless to them. What's more, he couldn't defeat the Wind Leader now.
On the other hand, he still couldn't let go of his pride as an emperor and an ascender. A dignified ascender serving as a younger brother to Janna...
He couldn't make a decision that went against his ancestors.
"Okay ." Levi didn't force it.
He saw that Azir still needed time, and he was willing to give him time to slowly accept the progressive ideas of the Leader.
However……
"Mr. Levi." Nasus spoke.
The Imperial University Scholar completely ignored the Emperor's angry look and asked Li Wei directly: "What if, I mean what if..."
"If Shurima abandons the imperial system and establishes a Janna-dominated regime in the future, what position will this new Shurima have in the future Janna-dominated alliance of Runeterra?"
When Levi heard this, he immediately perked up.
He knew that Nasus was discussing with him the specific conditions of the investment.
"In the future Janna-led Alliance, all member states will have equal status. The same goes for Shurima." Li Weixian gave a correct official answer.
But Nasus simply asked directly: "What is the relationship between a member country like Shurima and the future Alliance Central Council?"
"Is it similar to the relationship between a tribal leader and the leader of a tribal alliance?"
"Or is it similar to the relationship between local administrators and the imperial center?"
Nasus's question was direct.
What he wanted to know was, after they brought Shurima to Janna, was the relationship between the Shurima branch and the Zaun headquarters a strict hierarchical relationship or a loose partnership relationship?
"This..." Azir also looked over with concern.
Li Wei knew that the emperor would definitely want the latter treatment. But...
"It's the former ." Levi answered frankly: "The member states only have independent administrative powers in daily governance. In the general direction, they still have to obey the unified planning and arrangements of the alliance center."
"You want the Shurimans to be subordinate to you Zauns?" Azir asked angrily.
"No." Li Wei replied: "In the future, the members of the Alliance Central Council will be selected from the leaders with the strongest beliefs, the most solid theories, and the most outstanding achievements from the regional chapters."
"We are not a Shuriman organization, nor are we a Zaun organization. We are Jannah leaders, international leaders, and an organization that serves all of humanity. Do you understand this?"
Leaders only look at beliefs, not background.
In the Janna-dominated alliance that has unified the entire world, there is no such thing as who is the dominant ethnic group or who is the ruling base.
Power will still be concentrated in the center, but those who wield this power will not be people from a specific region or ethnic group.
They will only be the true leaders selected from all over the world.
Even as time goes by, external identity concepts such as ethnicity and nationality will gradually disappear under the rule of the leader.
"So you don't have to worry that a leader of the Central will give Shurima's land to friendly countries and give away Shurima's resources to other places for free because he cares about his hometown or other selfish interests."
"This situation is impossible in our organization."
Levi explained to Nasus and Azir how the alliance would work.
To put it bluntly, power is concentrated in the center, and then saints are chosen to rule the world.
"This is indeed an efficient and fair approach." Nasus could understand the benefits of this approach.
But as a representative of the Shurima people, he still had an opinion: "As you said, Mr. Levi, the leadership of the Alliance Center are all 'saints' who have passed the test of faith. They cannot harm the interests of a certain region out of selfishness."
"But on the contrary—"
"As long as it is for the public good, they can transfer resources from one region to another without any scruples, right?"
"Yes." Levi nodded.
Through resource sharing and transfer payments, the richest regions will drive the less rich regions forward and concentrate their efforts on major tasks.
In the eyes of this central leader, these are all the advantages of a centralized system.
But to local leaders like Nasus and Azir, it is a little hard to accept.
To the local governments, the central government is an annoying father.
If you are rich, he will ask you to support him; if you are poor, he will take care of you, but he still wants you to obey him unconditionally.
No one likes to have a father above them. This is especially true for the proud Ascendants.
“What if…” Considering the Emperor’s emotions, Nasus still used a hypothetical tone to be considerate: “What if we are willing to follow Janna, follow the Leader.”
"Then can the Leader give Shurima special treatment and guarantee the independence of the Shurima region?"
"This..." Levi hesitated for only a second.
He then responded, “No, that’s not possible.”
