Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Zhuang Li fiddled with the firearm nonchalantly and asked, “What was the first thing that came to your mind when you suddenly got this military library?”
Zhuang Xu was stunned for a long time before he began to use his slow brain to recall the scene of that day. He opened his mouth, not knowing how to describe it.
So, Zhuang Li answered for him: “It’s the desire for power, right?”
Zhuang Xu closed his mouth and nodded barely perceptibly. Yes, it was the lust for power. He was thinking ecstatically at the time: With these military books, how high a position can I climb to, and what kind of power can I gain?
Zhuang Li lowered his eyelids and spoke in a low voice: “If you gain power, you can rule over the people, conquer the world, and climb the mountain alone. Is that all you can see?”
Zhuang Xu gritted his teeth and retorted: “Who in the world doesn’t love power, fame, and profit? What’s wrong with climbing a high mountain alone? There are jade buildings and celestial maidens up there. It’s a magnificent view you can’t even imagine!”
“Have you ever lowered your head and taken a look at the situation at the bottom?” Zhuang Li asked coldly.
Zhuang Xu naturally had never done that, so he couldn’t answer.
Zhuang Li closed his eyes and asked, “Then do you know how many people died in the war on this land after the Zhou Kingdom split?”
Zhuang Xu snorted and sneered.
Zhuang Li gave a number: “From 59 million to the current 9 million, of the remaining 9 million people, more than 5 million are soldiers, more than 3 million are monks, and the remaining civilians are less than 1 million. Are you frantically seizing power just to rule such a world?”
Zhuang Xu asked disapprovingly, “What’s wrong with this world?”
Zhuang Li opened his eyes and stared at the man with an incredulous look, “How come you still can’t see the problem? The legendary first talent of Wei State is really just a name that is in vain.”
“Let me ask you,” Zhuang Li said slowly, “In the past few months, you have been arresting civilians on the border of Wei State and forcing them to work as laborers. You have made them burn blast furnaces, operate windmills, dig ore, smelt steel, and make weapons for you.”
“It was early spring, and the border had just experienced a war. In order to avoid the war, the people had no time to plant food. In early summer, they could have planted some soybeans, sorghum, and peanuts, but you captured them all and forced them to do hard labor.”
“In the autumn, the fields are barren. What do the people in the border areas eat and drink? How can they pay the exorbitant taxes you have set?”
Zhuang Xu sneered as he listened and showed his disdain for these words.
Zhuang Li continued, “You can’t collect the exorbitant taxes, and you can’t gather the food and fodder, what will the soldiers in the barracks eat and drink then? What will the monks in the temples eat and drink? Who will feed all these mouths? The coals in the blast furnace, the cool breeze from the windmill? Eating human flesh and drinking human blood?”
“Winter is approaching, but you still haven’t realized that disaster is imminent. Without food, how many people will starve to death on the border? Without military pay, will millions of soldiers mutiny? Have you never thought about this?”
Zhuang Li asked in a resounding voice.
It was not until this moment that Zhuang Xu heard the problem, that the sneer on his face slowly twisted into a look of deep panic and embarrassment.
Zhuang Li handed the exquisite wooden box to Le Zhengming and said slowly: “So, I only made this one firearm and stopped there. It is certainly a good thing, but the premise of its existence is to protect the people of this land, not to destroy them, just as war is for peace, not killing.”
“But I didn’t expect that you would do such a stupid thing at all costs. What else can you see in your eyes except power, status, fame and fortune? Without the people, who would you rule, oppress and exploit?”
Zhuang Li stood up, slowly smoothed the wrinkles on the corners of his robe and said coldly: “Even if you get a military library, you are still short-sighted. You will destroy yourself without my help.”
“A friend once asked me, why do you make all this gunpowder? I answered: I want to blow up the world.”
Zhuang Li turned and left, saying without looking back: “But I am different from you. What I want to blow through is corruption, oppression, and injustice. I want to blow up this darkness and create a new world where everything can revive.”
Even from a distance, his voice could still be heard faintly: “If this world had a soul, it would be happy about this change. Heaven is merciful to all living things, but all you have done is to kill all the living things on this continent. Heaven has given you this opportunity, are you worthy of it?”
Zhuang Li walked further and further away, and his clear warning words disappeared into thin air. Only then did Zhuang Xu break free from the suffocating pressure and gasp for breath.
His mind was completely confused.
….
When they reached the corner of the prison, Le Zhengming suddenly grabbed his Xiao Curly, hugged him tightly in his arms, and said without thinking, “I am very happy.”
Zhuang Li was stunned for a moment before he realized that his lover was responding to his previous words – if this world had a soul, it would also be happy about this change.
His lover did not know that he was the world spirit, but he saw and heard, and therefore felt happy.
All the irritability in Zhuang Li’s heart disappeared at this moment. The feeling of protecting someone could always fill the emptiness in his heart just right.
So he said something he would never tell anyone: “Actually, I’m afraid of explosions.”
Le Zhengming was stunned for a moment, then hugged the boy even tighter.
Zhuang Li murmured, “I don’t like explosions, I don’t like war, so let’s end this quickly.”
“Okay.” Le Zhengming pushed the curly-haired boy aside, half-knelt down in front of him, put his fist against his chest, and spoke every word with a loud voice: “I will fight for you, I will offer you peace, and I will create a new world for you. I can give you anything you want.”
Zhuang Li first looked at his lover steadily, then covered his face and laughed softly, and finally stretched out a hand and said in a hoarse voice: “Then you can kiss me now.”
Le Zhengming was stunned.
Zhuang Li shook the back of his fair hand and urged, “Why don’t you show your loyalty quickly?”
Le Zhengming finally reacted. He held the slender fingers of the little curly-haired boy and gave a pious and hot kiss on the jade-white back of his hand with light blue veins.
Zhuang Li walked forward, hugged his half-kneeling lover in his arms, and lowered his head to kiss the top of his head.
“I will also give everything for you.” He made the promise very tenderly.
When these two people hugged each other, it was like hugging the whole world.
7480 asked shyly at this time: “Master, um, um, do you think of me as a friend?”
It didn’t know why, but it felt a little flattered.
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