People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 175 The Emperor hesitated for hundreds of years

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"The pros and cons of 'rule by man' and 'rule by God'?"

Ganyu originally thought that she only needed to evaluate the results of the gods' governance from the perspective of the people.

After suddenly hearing such a grand question from the Emperor, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After thinking for a moment, she did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked at Zhongli in front of her and asked in a consulting manner:
"I'm sorry, Emperor, this question is too big for me to answer immediately. Can I ask your definition of these two governance methods?"

"… Of course, it's fine. It was my fault for not explaining the problem clearly."

Zhongli nodded and responded.

“Even I am still thinking about the complete rule of man. It is indeed difficult to compare them.”

"For now, Ganyu, you can compare Liyue's current administrative model of the Seven Star Council with Xumi's governance method of the gods ruling the country personally. I want to hear your opinion on the differences between them."

“What makes it different.”

Ganyu thought for a moment, then spoke:
"——If I were to look at it, the biggest difference would probably be in the efficiency of policy implementation and the way the problem is solved, right?"

"Oh? You answered very quickly. I guess you have thought about this before."

"So where does this conclusion come from?"

Zhongli asked.

"Well if the Emperor wants to ask how I came to my conclusion, it's probably a summary of the various policies that the Seven Stars have implemented over the years, right?"

Faced with this scene that was like the year-end performance review, Ganyu, who had already written countless performance reports, gradually got into the state.

"Let's talk about the efficiency of policy implementation first. Judging from the changes in Xumi over the past period of time, once a policy is promulgated by the gods, it is immediately implemented without any delay."

"——Such efficiency cannot be achieved in Liyue. Any decision with a huge impact, even if it is within the scope of the Seven Stars' own authority, must be voted on by others before it can be passed."

"The approval of the decree is only the first step. The subsequent mobilization of materials is also a process that requires coordination among multiple parties."

"For example, the previous policy regulating the travel of bridal sedan chairs in Liyue Harbor was not properly coordinated. Some people's applications for bridal sedan chair registration have not been approved even though they have been submitted for several years. However, if we only talk about the procedures, there is really no problem."

"There are many more things like this. Unless you, the Emperor, directly issue an oracle like you did hundreds of years ago, Liyue cannot compare with the current Xumi in terms of the efficiency of implementing any decree."

Ganyu recalled the increasingly standardized yet cumbersome meeting procedures in recent years and answered truthfully.

"That's true. When power is distributed among more people, strictness and proceduralization of the process are inevitable. This is especially true for Liyue, which adheres to the Way of Contract.

Avoiding the concentration and abuse of power will naturally restrict the exercise of power in disguise. In this way, the decision-making and consultation process will be more complicated, which is inevitable. "

"The shortcomings of the Seven Stars Deliberation System in terms of efficiency do exist objectively. In your opinion, does this system have any merits?"

Zhongli nodded and frankly admitted the flaws of the Seven Star System under his rule, but he also raised a new question to Ganyu.

"Of course there are advantages, and they are very significant. So even if there are disadvantages, I have always believed that such a system, on the whole, has more advantages than disadvantages..."

"——The most significant advantage is its response to and integration of public opinion."

Ganyu paused, noticing the Emperor's interested look, and then continued.

"In my opinion, the tenure of each of the Seven Stars is actually very short."

"Often before I can react, the young man full of vigor and vitality has become old and it is time to choose the next successor."

As an expression of true feelings, when Ganyu talked about this topic, he thought of the Seven Stars that had been rotated dozens or even hundreds of times during his term, and he unconsciously showed a sense of loneliness.

But she soon recovered from this emotion and continued:

"In the beginning, I thought that such frequent personnel changes were a sign of instability for Liyue. After all, the experience and abilities of each person cannot be perfectly inherited by the next person, and every change of leadership often brings a certain degree of chaos."

Recalling that every time the Seven Stars election came, Yue Haiting's workload would suddenly increase.

And after the election, there were many problems that needed to be dealt with due to the new Seven Stars' lack of familiarity with government affairs. Ganyu felt that her original idea was not unreasonable even now.

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"——But as the number of rotations increased, I gradually discovered the deep meaning behind your actions, Emperor."

After a pause, Ganyu, who originally seemed to be complaining, now had a hint of admiration in her tone.

"Although the tenure of each of the Seven Stars is short, they always find some areas that their predecessors have not noticed during their tenure and try to improve the imperfections therein."

“Even an inexperienced newcomer can, after a period of growth, surpass his predecessors in certain areas and achieve achievements that no one has ever achieved before.”

"——The reason for this is precisely because the life span of ordinary people is extremely short in the eyes of immortals."

"...This is a novel perspective. Why do you think that the short life span of ordinary people can reflect public opinion?"

After hearing Ganyu's answer, Zhongli was obviously in a good mood and continued to ask.

"——Because their lives are short, they often become the epitome of the people's needs of that era. In my opinion, every election of the Seven Stars is actually a natural manifestation of public opinion."

Ganyu gave a general answer.

"Times are changing so fast that it often seems to me that I've just worked overtime for a while, but the shops, decorations and buildings I often visit have disappeared completely without me noticing."

“So I think that even if we, who are not ordinary people, want to integrate into such a group, we may be naturally insensitive to the changes of the times and the needs of the people because of our insensitivity to time.”

Ganyu looked a little lonely, as if she had come to this result after some unsuccessful attempts.

"——And this is the significance of the Seven Star System."

"Each of the Seven Stars has a different position and identity. Some of them come from merchants and celebrities, some come from schools and studies, and some have worked their way up in the marketplace to finally reach this position." "Such a complex identity difference has led to each of them having a very different focus on policy implementation."

"Except for some Seven Stars who are not suitable for public selection, in most cases, their Liyue development plans can gain public support and be selected, which is itself a reflection of public opinion."

"And considering the age gap between the seven stars, there will be an opportunity to collect public opinion on a large scale every ten years or even several years.
...Although it may not mean much to you, the Emperor, but for someone like me who is a little slow, it is a good opportunity to understand the current situation of Liyue."

With the end of this long speech like a performance report, Ganyu's answer to the "pros and cons of the Seven Star System" also came to an end.

This answer covers many angles, most of which come from personal experience during the long tenure, and can be said to be well-founded.

But while Zhongli was satisfied, he also keenly discovered another difference that Ganyu had not mentioned.

With some curiosity, he asked:
"I understand your views on administrative efficiency, but why didn't you mention the way to solve the problem?"

Although two differences were raised at the beginning, Ganyu only answered one of them. Judging from the rigor of her previous answer, this was obviously not an unintentional mistake.

"Ah, this question?"

Ganyu, who had just answered the questions fluently, suddenly seemed to be at a loss for words after hearing Zhongli's question.

After thinking for a while, she finally said a little embarrassedly:
"This... is mainly because the way of thinking of the two gods Xumi is too different from that of the Liyue Seven Stars, and there are also some points that conflict with the previous one, so I don't know how to answer for a while."

"It's okay, just say it directly."

Zhongli shook his head, indicating that Ganyu didn't need to worry too much and should just speak her mind.

"Then Emperor, I will speak frankly."

Ganyu glanced at Zhongli, and although she was a little hesitant, she finally decided to speak her mind frankly.

"——I think that if the gods themselves participate in the decision-making, many of the problems mentioned in the previous article will not cause them any trouble."

"On the contrary, because the gods have wisdom and power far beyond that of ordinary people, their methods of dealing with many problems may be far beyond the imagination of ordinary people."

“And the decisions made on this basis may never be reached by conventional methods.”

"Oh? ...So you are more optimistic about the governance style here in Xumi?"

Although the Seven-Star Secretary in front of him had been working in Yuehai Pavilion for a thousand years, Zhongli was still keenly aware of Ganyu's inclinations.

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"Well, I still can't forget the days when you, the Emperor, directly led the people of Liyue."

In response to Zhongli's question, Ganyu was a little hesitant, but still nodded.

"A thousand years ago, when the Seven Stars mechanism was not yet perfected, under your direct command, the immortals and the people of Liyue worked in harmony, and in just a few years, laid the foundation for today's Liyue to remain stable for a thousand years."

"But in the following hundreds of years, although you still provide some key governance strategies every year, the development speed of Liyue is actually much slower than before due to the mutual constraints among the Seven Stars."

Recalling the past years, Ganyu frankly expressed these somewhat "offensive" remarks.

"During my investigation in Xumi, I found that whether it was through the system called 'Void' to quickly obtain the opinions of the people of the country, or to move the mountains and build trade routes within the entire rainforest."

"If there is no direct intervention from your Lordship, I really can't imagine how this can be accomplished relying only on the power of the Seven Stars."

“——Perhaps at the beginning, such a time-consuming and labor-intensive project with no immediate benefits would not be approved.”

Ganyu thought of the "economic benefits" that Qixing always considered when proposing policies.
I don't think that such an outrageous decision as that made by the God Xumi to go to great lengths to open up the mountains just to connect the roads to those remote villages would be agreed upon.

——Even the "Guiliyuan Commercial Road Renovation Plan" proposed by "Yuhengxing" before, a policy that has more benefits than disadvantages no matter how you look at it, wasn't it eventually postponed again and again because it was too expensive?

"Although it is possible that I have not understood your deep meaning, but from my personal point of view, I still think that when you directly send down the oracle and participate in various decision-making like in the past, the development of the entire Liyue will be faster."

At that time, even the smiles on people's faces were full of hope and vitality, just like Sumeru now.

Ganyu did not say this out loud, but it was indeed what she really thought.

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"I understand your idea."

"What if one day in the future, I am no longer able to point the way forward for Liyue due to some unexpected events, and the immortals gradually retreat to the mountains and forests? Do you think Liyue now has the ability to go on alone?"

After hearing the thoughts of this younger generation who had spent the longest time with humans, Zhongli fell into deep thought and finally asked a question that Ganyu had not expected.

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"Please forgive my stupidity, but I really can't imagine how Liyue will move forward without the Emperor."

"If you, the Emperor, had not defeated and expelled those demon gods that were causing chaos, Liyue might not exist today."

"Your Majesty, you and your predecessors have been integrated into the history of Liyue. If this land loses you and your predecessors, I don't know what direction it will eventually go."

After hearing this question, Ganyu didn't know how to answer it for a moment.

Humans have their shining points, but their minds are more complicated than those of immortals.

Thinking of the many private conflicts that existed among previous generations of the Seven Stars, she couldn't imagine how these conflicts would affect the people of Liyue if Liyue completely lost its Emperor.

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"Yeah, I know."

"Let's go back. I already have the answer from the results of this investigation."

After noticing Ganyu's attitude, Zhongli looked up at the sky, as if thinking about something.
In the end, as if he had finally made a decision after much hesitation, he shook his head and suggested to Ganyu, who was a little confused beside him, to return.

(End of this chapter)