Faced with Aya's sincere inquiry, Wang Lu rarely put down his usual calm expression and instead became somewhat embarrassed.
"In fact, it's not like I can give you pointers. I have never been omniscient and omnipotent, but it just so happens that your situation … I have personally witnessed a similar situation, so I can use it as a reference. What I say may not be right, but it should have some reference value."
Aya listened carefully.
Wang Lu said, "Right now, Brettonia does not need you. The reason is the same as when your kingdom fell apart. A country's society is a complicated whole, composed of many different people and different classes. As a ruler, you can't directly influence every single person. You have led troops to war, so you should know that no matter how wonderful a strategy is, it can only be implemented through subtle tactics. In war, it is the officers who carry out your intentions, but in governing a country, it is the bureaucrats who carry out your intentions. What you really need to face is not every person in Brettonia, but the bureaucrats closest to your class. "
Aya could not help but retort, "People should not have such a clear distinction between superior and inferior …"
Wang Lu said, "I know that you are the founder of the Knights of the Round Table system, and you have always advocated equality. But even in the heyday of the Knights of the Round Table, how many people were there? There are tens of thousands of qualified Knights in Brettonia. How big of a table do you have to put all of them down? In the end, you only have direct contact with the hundred or so people in front of the Round Table. They are your right-hand men to rule this country, but you don't care about their interests. "
"The human heart pursues benefits. The Knights follow you because of their faith, but they are not Gods. They cannot live by faith alone. They also have to live and enjoy. In addition, as professionals, they needed a huge amount of resources to make themselves stronger. This was the instinct of being human. Of course, I know that you are a king with an almost perfect personality, but you can't ask everyone to be like you — otherwise, there would be nothing to eat in this world. "
It was rare for Aya not to respond to this burden, but to silently and earnestly listen.
Wang Lu continued, "The Knights follow you because they hope to get benefits from following you. They are eager for honor, eager to make contributions, and at the same time, eager to be treated in accordance with their achievements."
Aya interrupted, "I have never obstructed them from pursuing appropriate benefits, and I have never demanded that they lead an ascetic life."
"Yes, you didn't force it, so your regime can persist until the first unification of Brettonia. Otherwise, you can't even pull up the most basic troops." Wang Lu said, "Your problem is that you didn't set an example. You are the Knight King, the king who stands at the peak of billions of people. If you live a poor life, what do you want the people below you to do? You, as the king, get a thousand silver coins a month. Can those ministers get ten thousand a month? They could only grit their teeth and take out 800, 500! But it's not even enough to live! "
Aya laughed. "Do you want me to be extravagant because of this?"
Wang Lu said, "Apart from a few exceptions, have you ever seen a ruler who is not extravagant? Those poor monarchs were either overthrown by their subordinates, or they were about to become the monarchs of a subjugated kingdom. Poor monarchs meant that the entire bureaucratic system had gone haywire. "
"So, according to your inference, there is no virtuous king in this world?"
Wang Lu said, "To be precise, virtuous people are not suitable to be monarchs, because the concept of morality is not applicable to different classes. At the same time, the spirit of chivalry is not suitable to guide the monarch to rule the country. "
Aya had actually been moved by Wang Lu a lot, but when she heard him mention the spirit of chivalry, the girl was immediately dissatisfied. "Do you want to reject the spirit of chivalry?"
"Not reject, but put the spirit of chivalry in the right position. If something is in the wrong position, even if it has no defects, it will only have the opposite effect. Just like when you make a fish head pancake to look up at the starry sky, that is a naked tragedy. "
Using such an example to illustrate, Aya found it slightly easier to accept. "So, where do you think the position of the spirit of chivalry should be?"
Wang Lu said, "It's very simple, put it on the altar. The spirit of chivalry emphasizes fairness, dedication, bravery, and so on. These are all good qualities, and when it comes to educating and guiding people, it is nothing more than that. But idols are idols, and reality is reality. "
Aya said, "Do you mean to deceive everyone? You say fair and just on the mouth, but in fact, you are selfish and insatiable? "
"Deceive?" Wang Lu smiled. "No promise is not deceiving. As long as you don't claim that the spirit of chivalry has been fully popularized in Brettonia, and the people can use the spirit of chivalry to strictly demand all the ruling classes, it is not deceiving. It should be said that the spirit of chivalry does not exist in reality, and has already been realized. It is a goal that we need to constantly strive for. Isn't that enough to explain it? In fact, we are indeed working hard for it. Although the reality is still far from the ideal, a unified Brettonia is always closer to the ideal than a Brettonia that is exploited and broken down by the church, isn't it? "
Seeing Aya was silent, Wang Lu added, "Using the military analogy that you are good at, let's say that you now encounter an enemy that you can't defeat. Do you want to directly rush forward and fight to the death, or do you want to step by step and accumulate advantages little by little until the final decisive battle? During this period, you may win or lose, and compromise and retreat are inevitable. "
Aya somewhat tiredly asked, "But, how long will it take to truly realize the prosperity of the spirit of chivalry?"
Wang Lu rhetorically asked, "If I say ten years is enough, will you believe it?"
"…"
"I know you can't wait to see that day, but you have to clearly realize that you have already done what you can. You have created an unprecedented foundation for Brettonia, but your role will end here. Doing more is just pulling up seedlings to help them grow."
Aya slightly nodded, as if she had accepted Wang Lu's suggestion.
Wang Lu did not urge her and quietly accompanied her to walk in the alleys on the periphery of Dragon City. The hustle and bustle of the city was isolated by layers upon layers of high walls, creating a small tranquility.
After an unknown amount of time, Aya somewhat sighed with relief and seemed to want to say something.
However, at this time, a muffled cry suddenly sounded in front of them. Aya's eyes narrowed, and then her figure flickered. In a flash, she arrived at the source of the sound.
Wang Lu sighed and quickly caught up with her. In a dilapidated house, he saw a young girl crying helplessly. The cause of the matter was very simple. They used to be merchants who provided snow mountain spring water to the church. Later, when the church was expelled, they suffered a calamity. His father and mother were judged as traitors who supported the church. Although their lives were not in danger, the family property that they had accumulated for decades was almost completely plundered. Under grief and indignation, the two made an extreme choice, leaving behind only a young daughter and a little bit of property that was barely enough for her to live. Unfortunately, the young woman was never familiar with the affairs of the world, and her parents' inheritance was quickly cheated out. Now, it was even difficult for her to survive.
"Wang Lu, is this kind of sin something that must be tolerated on the way forward?"
Wang Lu did not answer, because Aya actually did not need an answer.
"Wang Lu, I think there is always something I can do in this country. Perhaps, as you said, I am not suitable to be a king, but I am still a knight, and I can do what a knight should do. "
Wang Lu asked, "Single-handedly and chivalrously? Wandering in Brettonia, taking care of all the injustice in the world, beheading all the heartless and unjust people in the world? Relying on your identity as the Knight King, or rather, the daughter of the Knight King, to fight against the strict system? Aya, this is not the spirit of a knight, but a knight-errant who violates the law with martial arts. Once or twice is fine, but sooner or later, you will find that the sword in your hand is aimed at the huge country that you have established. And the knights who still have reverence for you will unknowingly stand on the opposite side of you. Do you … really want to see that scene? "
Aya's whole body trembled and she was extremely unwilling. "Do you want me to do nothing?"
"You can do anything, as long as you can bear the consequences. From your point of view, this is the country that you have established, so you can do whatever you want to it. But I guess no matter what you do, you will not get a satisfactory result." Wang Lu helplessly said, "So, do you understand why most of the immortal cultivators in Nine Regions are not too involved in the secular world? In Nine Regions, there are very few cultivators above the King Pill Stage who directly interfered with the affairs of the mortal world, because they couldn't afford to. The number of cultivators in Nine Regions, relative to the mortal world, is already one in ten thousand, or even less. The Wanxian League has created so many shitty things, so the mortal world could only be more chaotic by ten thousand times. A large part of the reason for the immortal cultivators to seek detachment is that the chaos of the mortal world is really unbearable. You see, I set up the Wisdom Sect, and although I am the Sect Leader, I am only remotely commanding it. The ones who are deeply involved in it are the several Deputy Sect Leaders. Because the involvement is too deep, even I, a professional adventurer, would be in a mess. "
Aya didn't speak again.
Wang Lu patted her on the shoulder and didn't say anything more. Aya was never a fool. When she became famous, she knew better than most people in the world what she wanted to do.
In fact, Wang Lu didn't think that he was much better than Aya. His biggest advantage was detachment. Aya has been deeply immersed in Brettonia, unable to extricate herself. Otherwise, with her wide knowledge, she wouldn't need others to remind her about these things. And now, what should be said has been said. Next, he could only patiently wait for Aya to figure it out.
Next, Wang Lu no longer stuck to Aya's side. Instead, he gave her enough time and space to think about it. Some things needed to be left alone. However, three days later, when Wang Lu finished his short trip and returned to the agreed inn with Aya, he found that Aya had disappeared.
Standing at the door of the inn's bedroom, Wang Lu was stunned.
"Did … she get abducted by human traffickers?"
With that, Wang Lu felt a burst of disappointment. He couldn't help but put down the travel souvenir in his hand — the honey wine that Aya loved to drink — which was added with a special elixir. This was the last resort that Wang Lu prepared for Aya. If this silly girl still couldn't figure it out, then he could only let her figure it out in other places.
Unfortunately, things were really hard to predict. Perhaps Aya really belonged to the Western Continent, so no matter what, he couldn't bring her back to Nine Regions?
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