Chapter 634 - 538: Differences in Missions and Governance Methods_2
Chapter 634: Chapter 538: Differences in Missions and Governance Methods_2
But it reminded Jeming of another memory.
That was a year ago, during the war, when he encountered the so-called "Saint Heir".
Although there is a difference, the words are very similar.
And now, these people use that word to refer to him and his colleagues.
Jeming suddenly understood something.
This plane once belonged to the Chaos Secret Sect.
And the governance model of the Chaos Secret Sect...
He rubbed his temples, quickly recalling the knowledge about the governance models of various forces within the Wizard Civilization.
The governance system of the Nolun Workshop is actually similar to countries in Jeming’s past life’s memories.
The workshop is the core, and the group of planes each academy leads is equivalent to a province, with a certain degree of autonomous governance, but they must comply with unified dispatching by the workshop in critical times.
On the social governance level, regardless of the technological level of the populace under any academy—some planes developed into interstellar civilizations, while others remain in the Middle Ages—in theory, ordinary people and wizards are "equal" in terms of "species" and "personality".
Of course, wizards, being extraordinarily powerful, do hold a practically higher status.
But this higher status is essentially because wizards are indeed stronger than ordinary people, not because wizards are inherently superior.
This is the same even within the internal ranks of wizards.
It’s all about survival of the fittest, strength speaks.
For example, Nolun No.13 Academy, where Jeming comes from, looks like a typical medieval world.
But in reality, when it comes to residents’ quality of life, there’s no fundamental difference with those more technologically advanced academy planes that have lower numbers.
Due to the wizards’ control, there’s always favorable weather there.
As long as you’re willing to work, you can have sufficient living resources.
Basic education and healthcare are also fully provided.
More importantly, all mid-level and high-level rulers in towns and villages are Artificial People—without selfish desires, without corruption, they only execute rules absolutely fairly.
So, the Nolun13th Plane, which "seems like medieval" world, offers its residents a lifestyle no different from those developed planes governed by AI.
One could even say the Nolun13th Plane is essentially governed by AI; it’s just that there the AI takes the form of Artificial People.
As for those wizards referred to as "nobles"...
They are more like "protectors" than rulers.
The wizards simply take on assignments from the workshop, overseeing the area for a certain period.
However, due to the long lifespan of wizards, even ordinary guarding tasks start at two hundred years.
In the short lives of mortals, it naturally seems this area has "always" been ruled by a noble family.
But in fact, those wizards stationed in the cities are quite like the "village officials who are university students" from Jeming’s past life—on a rotating system, with terms, and they leave when the term is up.
This is the model of the Nolun Workshop.
But the Chaos Secret Sect is different.
The governance model of the Chaos Secret Sect is a typical feudal theocracy, a feudal model of divine right of kings.
The church and "Divine Spirit" represented by wizards are the highest authority.
Below them, the nobles, bureaucrats, and civilians are strictly ranked in hierarchy.
Of course, with the might of High Tier Wizards, claiming the title of "Divine Spirit" is not really a problem, as after all, they can do things that mortals perceive only gods could achieve.
From the perspective of supporting population development, both models have their pros and cons, and it’s hard to say which is better.
But in terms of the specific "mode of interaction", the differences are stark.
Just like the time Jeming met that "Saint Heir" on the battlefield, the four maidservants at his side had all advanced to the Fifth Level, yet they continued to follow him in the capacity of servants.
That kind of genuinely internalizing oneself as a servant, such an attitude could absolutely never occur in the Nolun Workshop.
Jeming retracted his thoughts, looking at the "governor" kneeling before him, who dared not even raise his head, he finally fully understood what he was up against.
This plane had been under the rule of the Chaos Secret Sect for three hundred years.
To wizards, three hundred years is not long, but for mortals, it’s more than enough to form deep-rooted social structures and ways of thinking.
In the perception of its people, wizards are "Divine Spirits" or "Saints".
They are lofty, untouchable beings.
They kneel not out of fear, but because they have been taught to do so since childhood.
"Troublesome." Jeming sighed inwardly.
It’s not that dealing with this is particularly difficult.
For wizards who hold absolute power, changing the governance model of a plane is just a matter of time.
But the issue is, this time might be much longer than expected.
He glanced to the side.
Sure enough, among the dozen or so colleagues, quite a few were already showing "sighing" expressions.
Someone muttered softly, "Great, this kind of plane is the most troublesome..."
Another echoed, "Yeah, just reversing their mindset will take a good ten to twenty years..."
Jeming understood their feelings.
After all, these people already belong to the Nolun Workshop, and even if they accept a mission, the violence they can employ is limited.
Under such constraints, even if there are wizards consistently here to correct things, wanting to completely reverse a world’s governance system and ensure its stable continuation without at least ten or twenty years is impossible.
Moreover, they also have to lay various basic arrays, investigate the specifics of this plane, establish a new management system...
Just a casual four or five decades could pass.
If it were a newly conquered plane with abundant resources for extraction, taking four or five decades would be worth it.
But the valuable resources within this plane were clearly all taken by the Chaos Secret Sect before their departure.
In other words, this mission...
Even though it will take a long time, the gains will probably only be the military merits provided by the workshop.
"Pure hard labor..." Jeming thought helplessly.
Just then, his gaze swept over the dozen or so wizards around him, suddenly stopping on a familiar face among them.
It was a male wizard who seemed about his age, with brown hair, a gentle demeanor, looking at the kneeling crowd with a face full of helplessness.
"David?" Jeming blurted out.
The wizard turned at the voice, and upon seeing Jeming, he too showed an expression of surprise:
"Jeming? I didn’t expect us to be assigned together again."
Jeming stepped forward, looked him over, a look of surprise crossing his eyes.
Not because of the reunion, but because...
"You leveled up?" Jeming asked.
The aura emanating from David was more than ten times stronger than it was a year ago.
Without a doubt, he had advanced to the level of a Fifth Level Wizard.
David heard this, smiling wryly, sighed:
"The pressure on the battlefield was too great, I had to advance to the Fifth Level to protect myself."
Though his tone was casual, Jeming could hear the weight within it.
That year’s war was a life-and-death trial for every participant.
To survive it was already considered a stroke of luck.
Jeming wanted to chat more, but the kneeling populace around them had already begun to stir slightly.
Perhaps seeing that the wizards hadn’t responded for a long time, someone’s fear began to waver.
Jeming glanced at the "governor" kneeling at the forefront, sighed reluctantly:
"Let’s deal with the matter at hand first."
David nodded, fortunately, he had some experience in this area. He stepped forward and said to the governor:
"You, lift your head."
The governor trembled all over, carefully raised his head, but dared not look directly into David’s eyes, his gaze landing at his feet.
David adjusted slightly, using a slightly more serious tone, said:
"Have these people go back. Tell them, today you have nothing else, you may return."
The governor was stunned, a bewildered expression on his face: "Return, return?"
"Yes." David said, "Return. Afterwards, we will issue new orders. Until then, everything remains as it was."
The governor opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to ask something, but dared not ask.
He just nodded repeatedly, then turned to the dense crowd behind him and loudly announced the "order of the Saint Lord".
The kneeling people, upon hearing this, also showed bewildered expressions on their faces.
But they did not question, did not resist, just silently stood up and then, like receding tidewater, slowly dispersed.
Jeming watched this scene, feeling mixed emotions.
He could sense that these people weren’t acting out of fear, but genuinely believed that the words of the "Saint" were truth.
They knelt, not by compulsion, but by habit.
To change such deep-rooted perceptions truly requires a long time.