Chapter 787
Chapter 787 - 773: Seven Cities
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8 min read
Each era has its own strategies, and there is no perfect system right from the start. Truly effective rules are always formed through the "friction" between different interests.
The Nirvana Plan was crafted in haste, so even though it was well designed, it could not possibly account for all situations.
Since its promulgation, the system has undergone countless changes; some were decisions made at the local level, others were central orders.
However, if there were no "accidents" or "protests", many people would have just barely got by... Obviously, some things cannot be compromised.
At least, the original designers might not have considered the scenario where, once the exploration of the Foreign Domain encountered a "major failure", there would be the question of whether or not to impose heavy taxes on the spoils of war for the survivors..... Strict implementation of the system would be possible, but then, it would hurt the people’s morale.
Perhaps the faraway central government doesn’t care, as they constantly need new instances and special cases to refine the still-forming "Explorer System".
But can the local government, in the Four City where the ancient city is located, withstand such a "shaking of morale"?
At this point in time, no one can say for sure.
Lu Ping’an’s "declaration" ignited a flame in everyone’s hearts, filled with some expectations and some unease.
However, if one were to look a bit further into the future and then look back, the impact of the "Green Planet Tragedy" on various aspects would make the need for "tax reform" quite obvious.
Using foresight, Lu Ping’an’s actions indeed posed a difficult problem for the authorities to handle.
Is it possible to not pay taxes at all? That would undermine the existing tax system, and others would see it as a reason to resist taxes. Once authority is shaken, the entire system’s stability is at stake.
They would rather you pay taxes first, then find a reason to refund taxes to maintain the dignity and stability of the tax system ... In fact, that’s exactly what they did.
The basic legal principle is that the law does not retroactively apply; new systems can mostly only govern new events after the enactment of the law.
Even if the ancient city’s authorities wanted to not collect taxes, they had no proper grounds to do so... So, they issued tax refunds.
The reason for the tax refunds? The significant merit of "conquering the Green Planet"!
Through a series of struggles, this time, the explorers not only got full tax refunds but also received their deserved bonuses, condolence payments, and medals.
As for "troublemaker" Lu Ping’an? A Decree-level lawyer under 20 with potential to progress further in his career? How could he be a troublemaker? He’s just a young man full of vigor!
Of course, there would be consequences. At the very least, some decision-makers disapproved of him taking matters into his own hands. If he wanted to work within the system later, this would undoubtedly have a negative impact.
However, he had never intended to take this path from the beginning. On the contrary, keeping a distance from those troublesome bureaucrats and having them assign him less work would make him feel even more comfortable.
On the other hand, due to his "strong reputation" and eventually securing benefits for the majority of explorers (in the eyes of many), he naturally gained some quite valuable good reputation.
"Safe Journey" Lu Ping’an was well-known indeed.
But this time, it was completely different from his previous "negative reputation".
He stepped up in the face of despair, reversed the desperate situation, and made good on his promise by bringing back most of the victims.
He never sought fame and fortune, but after fulfilling his duties, he gave up his leadership position. However, when it was necessary for him to stand up and fight for the interests of the professionals, he did so once again.
Mysteriously, Lu Ping’an suddenly had a "good reputation" ... This inadvertently turned him into an "icon" of the ancient city, inducing a subtle shift in the ancient city authorities’ attitude toward him.
But the most direct consequence was the "official re-examination of the system" led by this "tax resistance".
That is, based on this "harvest situation", carry out a review of the actual amount and situation of tax payments to determine the final tax amount.
Complete tax exemption was always impossible, as then the cost of the official "Divine Ship" would come from nowhere. But from then on, provided enough merit was contributed to the "nation" and "society", it was really possible to get a "tax refund".
In some sense, Lu Ping’an, in his own way, influenced the transformation of the entire society.
Of course, it’s still too early to talk about these things; Lu Ping’an just vaguely sees the future and doesn’t pay too much attention to it... Well, he does care about the collections in the inventory. Some items have appeared too many times in public, and it’s only a good thing if they can reduce taxes by being included in the tax list.
"Is this the Divine Kingdom?"
This time, after entering the Boat of Deity, Lu Ping’an’s attention was attracted by the sky before him.
The area they were in was at the bottom of the "Seven Cities", a region shrouded in gray.
Obviously, the Lord of the Lantern covered this area with his power, using fog to prevent too much of his secrets from leaking.
However, it couldn’t stop Lu Ping’an’s "eyes".
In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Ping’an was just lying there looking at the sky after eating and drinking tea, but in fact, he was constantly "observing" the "Six Cities" in the sky, especially the "Library Main City".
The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed, making him feel like he had seen it before.
Finally, one day, he figured something out.
"This vibration... this connection method, isn’t it my great library?"
At that moment, Lu Ping’an vaguely felt some things passing by quickly, and he hurriedly lowered his head to avoid its gaze.
When you are watching others, you naturally attract their attention... Lu Ping’an’s prying into the "truth" triggered some reactions.
It seemed that some existence was repeatedly "scanning" this area.
Somehow, many high-ranking professionals instinctively looked up at the sky, feeling the pressure but unable to find anything.
In the end, it found nothing and left reluctantly.
"Huh, so sensitive..."
Despite saying words of hindsight, Lu Ping’an took out his "notes" and continued to record images.
He had already noticed some "essence" and was using his "clerk shorthand" method to record it.
"If the blueprint of the Seven Cities is like this, then every city is actually a rule building of it? Well, doesn’t that mean that its Divine Kingdom is built upon seven rules? Interesting, if I analyze its ’city’, can I indirectly analyze its rules, or even analyze its ’laws of the world’?"
At this point, Lu Ping’an vaguely understood why deities were so against "outsiders" ascending to the Divine Kingdom, especially those with Rule-level or above professions on "tailwind ships".
"No wonder we are always restricted to a small area when we come in, not allowed to go out... even Decree-level scholars can record some ’truth’ and hand it over to their opponents."
Their logic and rules could be leaked as a result.
"No, not just that..." At this moment, the big cat took the initiative to point out to Lu Ping’an.
"Deities are different. Some hide secrets to guard against their ’peers’, some simply refuse other ’paths’ to enter their ’bodies’, and some don’t care at all, openly allowing access to their Divine Kingdom. This has a lot to do with their divine position..."
Now, Lu Ping’an understood that deities like the God of Commerce were probably more open in their Divine Kingdom.
"... Actually, in a sense, not letting you wander around is actually to protect you, to avoid completely assimilating with the Divine Kingdom..."
As Lu Ping’an reached his current stage, the big cat became more candid in telling him the secrets of the deities.
In the following days, the "mysterious pressure and gaze" came several times, and each time Lu Ping’an pretended to be innocent... then waited for everything to calm down and continued to observe and record.
He observed the layout of the "rule buildings", the flow of the entire Divine Kingdom, and the driving method of the deity’s will.
"The Lord of the Lantern, a deity inclined to the Scholar Path..."
As a professional on the "Scholar" path, Lu Ping’an naturally gained a lot from this experience.
— End of Chapter 787 —