"Is it eleven forty-seven? Well, it's still ten minutes away... But it doesn't matter, there's still plenty of time. Let's just sit down and wait for a while."
The gentleman pressed Zheng Qing's shoulders and pushed him to sit on the bench in the pavilion.
Zheng Qing twisted his body uneasily:
"Sir, where are we... now?"
"Of course it's at school. After all, I'm here to teach you."
"School?" Zheng Qing raised his eyebrows in surprise.
His original intention was to confirm whether he was in a dream or reality. But the answer seemed to be richer than what he wanted to ask.
The young public-funded student looked around carefully.
White mist rolled endlessly a few meters away from the pavilion, and the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror was silent in the center of the pavilion. There was not a blackboard, not a box of chalk, and not a test bench. There were no lecture notes or textbooks in the gentleman's arms.
It seems that this is not a good place to take classes.
"Of course it's school." The teacher smiled gently: "After all, you are still studying at First University... Speaking of going to school, I believe you must have a lot of feelings. After all, not every first-year student will participate in a whole year's internship.
Night patrol of Zhonghu Lake.”
Zheng Qing opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
In short, just blushing is fine.
The husband did not dwell on this embarrassing issue, but changed the topic and asked in a relaxed tone: "Speaking of which, after staying in school for so long, I wonder if you have any thoughts about school?"
"idea?"
"It's how you feel about the school."
"Well……"
This is a very complicated topic, but for now, when it comes to First University, Zheng Qing's first reaction is confusion. The wizard hesitated for a few seconds and honestly stated his first reaction: "Chaos.
"
"It's a very interesting idea." The gentleman squinted his eyes and raised his head slightly: "Can you explain it briefly?"
Zheng Qing was silent for a moment, then counted with his fingers:
"There have been conflicts between Jiuyou Academy and Alpha Academy for three days; Atlas Academy itself is a mess, with various factions attacking each other; Starry Sky Academy doesn't argue, they just take action."
"As for the students specifically... The big bosses of the Holy Will and the Blood Friendship Association just destroyed half of the streets in Beta Town a few days ago. The people from the student union will only be fighting in the middle. The school working committee is useless, except for recording files.
, apart from bullying the lone students, I don’t dare to take action against those big clubs... I reported to them the abnormal situation in the school, but there was no response for ten and a half days!"
The more Zheng Qing talked, the angrier he became:
"There are also fishmen in Linzhong Lake who have clearly disrupted the school's teaching order, but the school has no solution, as if they are the masters of the school! The professors can't find anyone every day, they are not busy, no one can
The big thing I mentioned was that I was busy in their laboratory... I had only been on night patrol for a short time, and I encountered four or five wild monsters wandering around the campus at night... The safety of the school is really worrying."
The gentleman coughed slightly.
"Well, I think the last one may be controversial." The teacher said calmly: "Except for you, there is probably no one else in the school who will encounter so many monsters on campus. I think I should explain to you the reason.
of."
Zheng Qing was speechless and didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a while, he came back to his senses, pushed his chin back, and then muttered: "Anyway... the school is in chaos."
"It's really hard to deny this." The gentleman nodded.
There was another moment of pause.
"In the final analysis, it has to do with the school's branching system." The young public-sponsored student came to the conclusion and also gave his own solution: "This is a world where magic is supreme. A wizard with power that transcends everything can completely suppress anyone.
Conflict, turn a mace full of spikes into a rolling pin. Are the fish people making trouble? If they don't obey, beat them until they are convinced."
The husband looked at the boy in surprise.
"I never knew you would have such violent thoughts." He tilted his head, thought for a while, and agreed: "This is probably an idea that every child has had. The Zen staff opens the road to life and death, and the sword kills all injustices.
Although Lu Zhishen looks old-fashioned, there is still a child living in his heart."
"But your solution also reminds me of a book I read not long ago. There is a passage in it that is very thought-provoking."
"'Almost all empires were established by force, but none of them could be sustained by force. If you want to rule the world for a long time, force must be turned into a duty. Otherwise, rulers will exhaust their energy to maintain rule, but will be unable to shape the future, and
Shaping the future is the ultimate goal pursued by politicians. If oppression gives way to consensus, empires can survive.'"
The passage quoted by the gentleman is a bit difficult to pronounce.
But it's not difficult to understand.
Regardless of the Qin, Han, Jin, Tang, or Yuan and Ming dynasties, empires were established by force. But no country is sustained by force. The Qin Dynasty established prefectures and counties, the Han Dynasty worshiped Confucianism, the Tang Dynasty expanded the imperial examinations, and the Ming Dynasty integrated them into one.
Dynasties that can last for hundreds of years will unite those elites who have a consensus and maintain their rule with obligations and order.
A counter-example is the Yuan Dynasty, which had the most powerful force in the world but was unable to shape the future. The empire lasted for a hundred years and then collapsed. To this day, the territory of the Mongols is roughly the same as before their expedition - this territory was also united by tribal consensus.
"... It is not difficult to suppress all opposition with force. But it is like a spring. If you press it tightly, after a long time, it will lose its elasticity and lose the possibility of dealing with other risks and challenges. This is not something smart people do.
thing."
"You feel confused because you are confused."
"Confused because I can't see clearly enough."
"It just so happens that the place you are going to next can be a good training for your abilities in this area." At this point, the husband stretched out his hand to grab it, and the silver pocket watch Zheng Qing put in the gray cloth bag appeared in his hand.
The gentleman lowered his head and glanced at the hands on the watch case: "Well, eleven fifty-nine minutes and forty seconds...there are still twenty seconds left. Next, we will go to a wonderful world. I hope
You will not be fooled by falsehood and illusion."
With that said, he led Zheng Qing to stand up and walk to the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror.
Outside the pavilion, the white mist rolled more and more fiercely.
As the second hand ticked toward the end, a dull silver light slowly emerged on the quiet floor-to-ceiling mirror. Zheng Qing looked at himself in the mirror, wearing a red academic robe, bright and ruddy, and the dull hair on his head was full of energy.
Originally everything was normal.
Until the reflection in the mirror grinned, revealing a mouth full of fangs.
The wizard was startled and almost fell to the ground. No one saw that his mouth was full of fangs and blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth, and he could still maintain a calm expression as if nothing had happened.