The queen's astounding conclusion stunned Li Yao for a while before he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that it is not so simple. Even though the strength of an ordinary person is very weak, like … a 'skinny monkey', ordinary people have the greatest number after all. Many grains make a tower, and many a little makes a mickle. Don't they have the greatest value to be exploited?"
"Theoretically speaking, yes, but you have neglected one point, which is that the so-called 'exploitation' comes with a cost, too."
Li Linghai said, "When the cost of management greatly exceeds the value that can be exploited, such exploitation will be uneconomical. It's like human beings can indeed modify skinny monkeys into ferocious and strong biochemical beasts through many secret techniques, but in fact, no mine or army would do that. It is too uneconomical in terms of cost."
"Human beings are not monkeys after all," Li Yao said. "The gap between the so-called 'hominoids' and 'true human beings' is much smaller than you think. I know that the Imperium has countless cruel secret techniques that can transform human beings into all kinds of deformed and hideous appearances. It is even possible to remove the organs of human beings and replace them with artificial limbs in order to transform the ordinary people into a form that is more suitable for exploitation. Are you trying to deny that, Your Grace?"
"Do you think that this is the so-called 'exploitation'?" Li Linghai said casually.
"Is it not?" Li Yao asked.
"Even if it is," Li Linghai said, "it is for the good of the hominoids. You must know that the spiritual puppet industry of the Imperium is highly developed right now. All kinds of puppets that are not too costly can be produced on a large scale. If the hominoids cannot catch up and transform themselves into deformed and hideous forms that can work efficiently, they will only fail in the cruel competitions and end up being starved to death. Not only will they be starved to death, but even their families will not be spared.
"There are plenty of such examples in the history of the Imperium. Some of the owners of the mines were too lenient to strengthen the hominoid miners in the mines in time, resulting in a high mining cost. Unable to adapt to the intense business competition, they eventually went bankrupt and were swallowed by other people.
"After other people swallow such mines, they often ship tremendous spiritual puppets to replace the human miners. What do you think will happen to the human miners who are replaced by machines?
"Therefore, it was for the survival of the bottom-level hominoids that the specialists and scholars of the Imperium tried their best to develop all kinds of technologies of body strengthening and mechanical modification, giving the hominoids the ability to compete with the spiritual puppets and even the special abilities that the spiritual puppets did not have. Today, most of the hominoids' jobs have been saved, and they can live on after all.
"In many cases, moral codes and benevolence cannot solve any practical problems. Raising the minimum wage and working environment rashly without considering the actual situation will only worsen the living conditions of the people at the bottom level. I don't believe that you do not understand such a simple logic as a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator."
"Of course I understand."
Li Yao gnashed his teeth. "But that is not a reason why you can transform a living human being into an iron spider. Everything has its limits. It is too much for the authorities of the Imperium to be completely irresponsible and push the people at the bottom level into cruel competition!"
The queen's eyes suddenly glittered, and she took a step back. "Perhaps you are right. The Imperium is indeed responsible for the people at the bottom level, but the premise is that there must be a powerful central government capable of directly influencing the policies of every Sector, every resource planet, and every family and sect. If the decree does not come from the capital, it will be useless to talk about the spirit and ideology.
"All in all, that is not the focus of our discussion today. The focus is that, compared to the Immortal Cultivators at the bottom level, the hominoids are just skinny monkeys. The high-level Immortal Cultivators, namely the magnates and the nobles, are not interested in directly oppressing the hominoids at the bottom level.
"On the other hand, the Imperium of True Human Beings has reigned over the sea of stars for a thousand years. During the thousand years, the true path of immortality has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Even the hominoids believe in the survival of the fittest theory and consider the true path of immortality to be the law of nature.
"In such a living state, the hominoids, on the other hand, do not complain too much about their fate. It can't be helped that they are too weak. When they are used to their weakness, they will not have too many extravagant hopes. Most of the hominoids have accepted their fate.
"The happiness of human beings often does not depend on material things but on their mentality. Believe it or not, in many highly-developed Sectors in the Imperium, there are very mature and stable social rules. According to the sample surveys of the hominoids there, their happiness index is not low.
"Most hominoids feel that life is just like that, and they should be satisfied. Compared to the miserable, homeless, and precarious life in the age of war, the age of ancient Cultivators, the thirty thousand years of the Great Dark Age under the reign of the demons, or the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, their fate right now is much better. Therefore, Starlight did not raise much trouble after hundreds of years.
"Of course, you may think that it is the result of the Imperium's long-term brainwashing. I don't want to argue with you but only tell you a fact.
"The fact is that the hominoids are not the class in the Imperium that is most dissatisfied with the current situation and most eager to change their fate. Those who are truly oppressed, most aware of the fact that they are oppressed, and who are wise, courageous, and even capable of changing the current situation are the middle-level and low-level Immortal Cultivators in the Refinement Stage, the Building Foundation Stage, and even part of the Core Formation Stage!
"It is not difficult to understand the logic, right?
"If you are a hominoid miner, the most severe 'exploitation' you will run into will be nothing more than working in the sunless mines for the rest of your life. Unless there are accidents such as the explosion of the tunnels, your life will always be saved. Unless it is absolutely necessary, nobody will ask you to go to the battlefield. Those 'skinny monkeys' will only be a burden on the battlefield.
"Besides, you will not have the opportunity to receive enough education to make you recognize your fate and pain clearly. In many cases, there will be no pain if you do not recognize it, right?
"But it is different for the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators.
"The 'exploitation' they have to endure is very likely to be in a certain world fragment, fighting against monsters that won't even appear in nightmares. They might be swallowed by monsters at any moment, and over a year and a half, they will slowly be melted by the acid in the monsters' digestive tract. They will only die in the last month.
"Yes. In the small, irregular mines in the remote worlds of the Imperium, work safety is indeed a problem. Accidents in the mines happen all the time, but however high the death rate of the miners is, it will not be higher than the death rate of the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators on the battlefield.
"On the other hand, even the Immortal Cultivators at the bottom level of the first level of the Refinement Stage who have just awakened their spiritual roots have enough wisdom to consider the society they are in, their future, and the entire world!
"You know that, in the traditional education of the Imperium, the 'Immortal Cultivators' are regarded as the supreme dominators of the country and the civilization. All the middle-level and low-level Immortal Cultivators have high expectations for themselves. They are all hot-blooded, ambitious, and ambitious. When such Immortal Cultivators realize that they are nothing more than tools to be exploited, can you expect them to be as indifferent as the hominoids?"
Li Yao was deeply attracted by Li Linghai's words.
Before, he had always regarded the Immortal Cultivators as an iron plate and the same interest group. He had never considered the problem from such a perspective before.
Thinking carefully for a moment, he still shook his head slowly and said, "That's not right. The hominoid miners toil until they die in the sunless mines without any hope at all. However, doesn't the Imperium have a very advanced 'contribution point' system, which is known as' the strong will be respected regardless of your background ', to ensure the smoothness of the channel of ascension?
"Every Immortal Cultivator has a chance to earn abundant 'contribution points' when they fight the space beasts in the world fragments. After exchanging the contribution points for contribution points, they will level up step by step and eventually become an unparalleled expert. As for those who are killed on the way, according to your theory, they can only consider themselves unlucky and cannot blame anyone else."
Li Linghai smiled. "The contribution point system that claims to be absolutely fair and smoothness of the channel of ascension? Even I don't believe such slogans. Do you? "
Li Yao blinked his eyes quickly. "I don't really believe it, either. However … please explain it in detail, Your Grace."
"If we get to the bottom of it, it is still a problem of making the cake and dividing the cake. When the cake is on the rise, it will be bigger and bigger. Naturally, it will be fine to divide it however you want. But when the cake reaches the limit and even shrinks, it will not be evenly divided."
Li Linghai sighed and said, "The thousand years of history of the Imperium of True Human Beings can actually be divided into two periods of five hundred years.
"In the first five hundred years, the Imperium occupied the center of the cosmos and expanded rapidly in all directions. A new Sector was discovered almost every year. New battles were won every year. New territories, populations, and resources were added every year. New legions of Crystal Suit and space fleets were established incessantly. Naturally, the territories, legions, and fleets were accompanied by tremendous positions and opportunities.
"At that time, the channel of ascension for the middle- and low-level Immortal Cultivators was indeed unhindered. As long as they were brave enough and had a bit of luck, the John Doe of yesterday would've had a chance to soar into the sky and become a famous big shot. With the accumulation of countless resources, they would've trained themselves into dominating experts.
"It was the golden age when the Imperium was vigorous and prosperous. The interest groups were not fixed yet, and the social mobility was very high. Just like you said, the middle- and low-level Immortal Cultivators were keen on participating in all kinds of wars to earn contribution points. Even if they died in the most painful way in the battles, they could only blame themselves for not being good enough. They would never blame anyone else or the high-level Immortal Cultivators for 'oppressing' them.
"However …
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