Chapter 720 - Reformed bandits

The stronghold managed by the artificial intelligence had actually given Jiang Xu a sense of novelty.

An amazing stronghold like this had actually emerged in the era he was living in. As a witness to this, Jiang Xu wanted to explore this strange “world” more deeply. It did not matter if this was a positive or negative phenomenon.

After a full day of touring, all the people they came across were humble and did not take things that did not belong to them. Jiang Xu even saw some people not locking the door when they went out. He stood at the entrance of this house for three hours, but no one went inside to steal things.

Passersby would at most glance at the open door before continuing on their way.

A reporter muttered, “It looks like there is indeed something unique about the Alls governance of the stronghold. When I lost my bicycle in Luoyang City last month, no one in the Public Order Division even cared to take my case report.”

“So you wrote that article to annoy the Public Order Division?” Jiang Xu said calmly, “But I ended up rejecting the draft?” The reporter was a little embarrassed. “What I wrote was also the truth. The Public Order Division in Luoyang City doesn’t care about the small matters anymore and only deals with big cases. Just look at Stronghold 61. Those bicycles on the sidewalk aren’t even locked.”

As the saying went, one would be most attentive to whatever was closest to their hearts. Jiang Xu did not pay any attention to the bicycles on the sidewalk, but the reporter who had lost his bicycle purposely went to take a look. The bicycles parked on the sidewalk truly were not locked.

It seemed like Stronghold 61 had eliminated the lock industry.

That reporter did not have the same foresight as Jiang Xu. So he felt it would not be that bad if he could live in a stronghold as safe as this.

But Jiang Xu suddenly said, “Are you all starting to feel a little envious of life here? Everyone has food to eat and a job to do, and there’s not even a need to worry about fights breaking out and theft.”

“Yeah.” The reporter nodded. “It doesn’t feel that good being monitored like this, but if the AI doesn’t interfere with daily life, it’s not that difficult to accept it. Actually, you see, the other consortiums are also monitoring their residents’ lives. It’s just that they don’t do it so obviously. How could normal residents be truly free?”

Jiang Xu nodded. Indeed, he agreed with this point. This was why he did not have a clear aversion to the surveillance cameras after noticing that they were monitoring him. Actually, it was the same everywhere.

However, Jiang Xu said, “I suddenly recall a saying: ‘Ruling a state with benevolence is impossible, but displaying benevolence while ruling is possible.”[1]

Coincidentally, the current head of the Wang Consortium was named Wang Shengzhi,[2] which was near homophonic with the word in the saying

Jiang Xu continued, “Look, there aren’t even any beggars around in Stronghold 61. Everyone has their own matters to attend to. The Wang Consortium uses the AI to analyze statistics and assign jobs to everyone to ensure they have food to eat and money to make. But have you ever thought about it? If you’re unhappy with your job at Hope Media, you can still quit and take a short break. But over here, you can’t do that.”

“Surely not, right?” The reporter was a little doubtful about that. He walked away to look for a passerby. When he came back, he muttered, “It seems like that’s really the case. You have to do whatever the consortium arranges for you. There isn’t a choice.”

“So there’s no place for something like the arts to survive here. Nobody has the time to stop and think about what they need or what suits them.” Jiang Xu sighed and said, “Because the AI does not consider things that are ‘pointless.’ Its guiding principles have a very strong sense of purpose, but that’s not how humans are.” However, a refugee who happened to pass by overheard their conversation and said with a laugh, “It’s already good enough that we can fill our bellies these days. Can art put food on the table? In the past, when we were living outside the stronghold, we never thought about something like art either.”

Jiang Xu was stunned. Then he bowed slightly to the pedestrian and said, “I’ve learned something.” The reporter let out a sigh. Perhaps this was the difference between him and the chief editor. Jiang Xu had never insisted that his thoughts were the only “correct” ones just because of his pride. He was always willing to accept his mistakes regardless of the person debating him.

Jiang Xu and the reporters had never considered whether their stomachs would get filled when they were living in Luoyang City. That was because having something to eat was so basic that they never had to worry about it. That was why they could afford to think about the arts and philosophy. But what about the refugees?

“Chief Editor, what do you think of the AI?” a reporter asked. Jiang Xu stood silently on the street for a long time. Even the reporters could feel his dilemma.

It wasn’t until night fell that Jiang Xu finally said, “Let’s go. There’s no need to continue with the visit anymore. Time will tell us the answer.”

Just as Wang Shengzhi was leaving the Northwest to return to the Central Plains, Su Lei, the leader of the bandits in the Northwest, was chewing on a goat leg outside Stronghold 144.

The business deal with the nomads made him understand for the first time that even without turning to robbery, there was joy in making money through his own efforts. The fur hides Yan Liuyuan had given him were sold for an extremely high price at Stronghold 144. It was even higher than what he was expecting to earn. Moreover, after Fortress 178 took control of the Northwest, the taxes were reduced, and daily necessities became surprisingly cheap.

This time, Su Lei made so much profit he was even willing to bring his men to eat roast goat legs! Nearby, one of his men said, “Boss, I see that the daily necessities you’ve gotten for the nomads are all quality stuff. Why did you have to buy such good ironware for them? Wouldn’t it be more profitable if we bought the cheap ones instead?”

Su Lei glanced at him. “Zhang Gong, do you know why we’re sitting here and enjoying roast goat leg?”

“Because Boss is extremely smart and talented in doing business, of course,” Zhang Gong flattered.

However, Su Lei laughed and said, “How is that my credit? This is only possible because those nomads trusted us and decided to do business with us. Do you think the nomads are stupid? That young man is obviously well-informed about the affairs in the South. If you fool them with inferior items, they can just find someone else to do business with at any time. When that happens, who are you gonna go crying to?”

Zhang Gong did not say anything more. Su Lei continued, “Look at that Wang Fugui. He’s able to get in and out of the strongholds like they’re his own homes, and everyone treats him with so much respect. Do you know why that is? It’s because he owns an exclusive lipstick business on the Northwestern trade route. And us? We have an exclusive business deal with the Northern Plains under our names now. As long as we conduct business honestly, we can also become big shots like Wang Fugui sooner or later. Do you understand? The most important thing in doing business is integrity. As long as we hold onto the business firmly with our hands, will we need to worry about not having goat leg to feast on in the future? Don’t keep thinking about taking advantage of others at every opportunity!”

“Got it, Boss,” Zhang Gong replied.

However, Su Lei’s men realized that ever since their boss had turned over a new leaf and stepped onto the right path, he had become very good at using reason to educate others. In times like these, even bandits were starting to talk about treating others with integrity.

Isn’t that really frightening when you think about it?

(1) & (Shèng) is the Chinese character for sagely. Â (Zhì) is the Chinese character for governance. Bø (Shengzhì) means to rule with benevolence.

[2] 王圣知 Wang Shengzhi