Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

"Suppose, just suppose, you were in charge of a city-state that had been declining for years, forced to sign numerous unequal treaties, and whose people were suffering. If war broke out, your lives would become even more difficult, but fortunately, the people were united in their hatred of the enemy and willing to fight—would you fight?"

This is clearly the current situation of Umijima Island, and even Coral Palace Ruka didn't hide it.

The answer was simple: if Ruka Sangokami chose to fight, then it was simply to fight.

"beat."

"Why?" asked Coral Palace Ryuka. "The people's shared hatred of the enemy has a time limit. They might be able to accept fighting for a year, but if food and trade are cut off continuously, they might mutiny in two or three years, and the surrender faction will become the mainstream. The most crucial point is, if you know you can't win, why fight? Is it just for dignity?"

"Of course we have to fight, not just for dignity. A city-state has not only external conflicts but also internal ones. The people are suffering and there is no solution. So we need to set up a target. War can turn internal conflicts into external ones, especially when the internal conflicts are unsolvable."

Shen Liang knew that Haiqi Island's predicament was unsolvable. An island that was completely blocked by the shogunate was essentially living off the shogunate's charity, and being exploited was absolutely unavoidable. This problem would cause the supply and demand relationship on Haiqi Island to be permanently unbalanced. When the internal conflicts accumulated to a certain extent, the Coral Palace would have to start a war, otherwise the people would revolt.

Even if they rebel against Coral Palace, things won't get better on Umijima Island, but the people don't care about that. They only care that "if I can't survive, I'll rebel."

"But what if, while we're fighting, a solution suddenly appears?" Ruka Sangokami suddenly asked.

Shen Liang was taken aback.

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Chapter Thirty-Nine: I Can't Save You, I Can't Save You

"When the war is halfway through, someone suddenly says there's no need to fight anymore, because we will no longer be oppressed, and we will never have to worry about food or clothing again." Coral Palace Liuge's voice was soft, but carried a rather chilling aura. "Because you suddenly discover that a god has come to your territory, who can turn stones into gold, and turn oceans into mulberry fields... No one will starve to death anymore, and we will no longer be afraid of unequal treaties—what will you do?"

What the hell?

Shen Liang didn't react for a moment.

The conversation just now was understandable; Sangomiya Ruka and his question-and-answer session resembled a ruler asking a wise man in the Strategies of the Warring States period—you ask a general question, I give a basic strategy, and everyone seems quite knowledgeable. But suddenly the Strategies of the Warring States period turned into Aesop's Fables, and Sangomiya Ruka's questions suddenly became childish and utterly meaningless.

--etc!

Shen Liang turned his head and saw Coral Palace Liuge staring at him with an unforgiving gaze.

—This is about me.

—I am the one who can turn stones into gold and oceans into mulberry fields!

"You doubt me!?" Shen Liang didn't notice his voice becoming hoarse; his immense fear made him almost instinctively prepare the teleportation screen.

Oh right! I hadn't thought of that!

Shen Liang's mind worked quickly. He was a very smart person. When it came to logical thinking ability, he could even surpass Bronya's during their time in the orphanage. At this moment, he instantly understood!

—In Coral Palace Ryuka's eyes, I am a person who is too perfect. It just so happens that Haiqi Island is short of food, and Haiqi Island is exhausted from the war. I just so happens to bring the most important food, food that can solve all the problems!

—What if I'm a fraud? Even though I'd stake my life on it, proving the effectiveness of seawater rice would take at least six months, enough time for the shogunate to do many things! And my life is insignificant compared to the grand project on Umijima Island! I might just be a suicide bomber sent by the shogunate!

Shen Liang broke out in a cold sweat as he frantically racked his brains for a way to break the deadlock.

Coral Palace Ryuka looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"No!" Shen Liang suddenly said, "You should trust me! My seawater rice does need time to be verified, but you can take a two-pronged approach! You continue with your war plans, just pretend there's no seawater rice, and fight as usual. I'm just a possibility! It's absolutely possible for Haiqi Island to last for half a year. If you can't even last half a year, then I can't save you!"

Coral Palace Ryuka remained silent, continuing to watch him.

“You can easily block the news about seawater rice to prevent it from affecting the morale of the people and the army. Right now, only your high-ranking officials know about seawater rice, so it's easy to keep it under wraps.” Shen Liang thought of the “morale” aspect. Indeed, the existence of seawater rice would cause the army to lose its fighting spirit to some extent, since there would be no reason for war.

"Furthermore! If I were a spy for the Shogunate, how could I possibly use such an alchemical weapon in front of you? To put it bluntly, if the Shogunate possessed such an alchemical weapon, you would have become one of its directly administered islands long ago!"

Within a minute, Shen Liang found countless reasons to prove that he was harmless, but he still dared not relax. He had almost grasped the activation of the teleportation screen. Now that he was so close to Coral Palace Liuge, he was very worried that he would not be able to react in time to a sudden attack from Coral Palace Liuge that could kill him.

For absolute safety, he should return to Earth now, but he knows that Ruka Sangomi approves of him, so even if she suspects him, she shouldn't take action. If he disappears now, Ruka Sangomi will have to be suspicious even if she doesn't already.

"Clap clap."

In the quiet courtyard, Coral Palace Ryugo clapped her hands.

"As expected of the strategist Xin Hai has taken a liking to, that's a great reaction. I admire it. Smart people always think much more than others. Haiqi Island needs smart people like you." She reached out and ruffled Shen Liang's soft black hair, revealing a rather doting smile. "Don't worry, this is just a hypothetical question. I don't doubt you—really, your aunt has never been wary of handsome boys."

You're talking nonsense!

Shen Liang glanced at the lower right corner of his vision and was surprised to find that Coral Palace Liu Ge's progress had instantly surged to 30%.

【Coral Palace Ryuka dotes on you; seeing you always brightens her mood.】

Why is it that the annotations in Sangomiya Ryuka's works are always so outrageous?

"So... what does Ms. Ryuka mean?"

Coral Palace Ryuka gazed at him. "Yes, that city-state truly did turn lead into gold, truly had no shortage of resources... but then what?"

"Then……"

Shen Liang couldn't have imagined what would happen next. He had solved the food problem on Haiqi Island, so why ask what would happen next? What would happen next?

Umijima Island is now self-sufficient in food, so what's there to fear about the shogunate's exploitation? I no longer need to import from you; I have my own rice, and I can even sell it to you!

"Does doing this change the balance of power, the balance of strength, and the ability to survive on Haizhi Island?" Coral Palace Ryuka was still laughing, but her smile was full of sorrow.

Shen Liang finally understood.

--cannot.

He finally understood what Ruka Sango was thinking.

Even if seawater rice is real, so what? Even if the annual output of Haizhi Island increases tenfold, so what?

Did the shogunate exploit Haigi Island simply by blocking trade? It was because the shogunate was stronger than Haigi Island. This logic was so simplistic that Shen Liang skipped it and went straight to the next level of thought.

I'll buy half of your annual rice production now, and if you ask for ten times that amount, I'll just buy 90% of your annual rice production, isn't that fine?

You want to rebel? No problem, haven't you been rebelling all along?

Now, Kaigoshima is extremely poor. The shogunate has only sent Kujo Takayuki with tens of thousands of troops to fight a protracted war. They have been fighting for several years, but it is still dragging on and back and forth, which is not very interesting. Why can't a large-scale war break out? There is no profit to be made.

But what if Haigi Island becomes rich?

If you refuse to pay taxes and give rice, I'll send the entire Tenryo Magistrate over here. If that doesn't work, I'll bring over all the comrades of the Kansei Magistrate. The Shogunate's reserve and active-duty personnel combined are no less than the population of your Kaiji Island!

You've turned into a big piece of fat meat, so am I not going to eat you? Who knows, the three great officials might think, "Holy crap, the rice production on Umijima Island is more than the entire Inazuma Island, so they might just petition the Thunder God to subdue Umijima Island once and for all!"

It's that simple.

It's impossible for the people of Haiji Island to live well. This isn't a problem of low productivity; it's a problem of weakness.

If you are weak, you deserve to die.

And the most terrifying thing is...

Originally, the Haizhi people, who had entered a desperate situation, were determined to fight to the death.

After seeing the success of seawater rice, will they still fight with their backs against the wall?

"Even if the shogunate takes 90%, it doesn't matter. Our production has increased tenfold, and we can eat twice as much rice as before. We're full!"

War requires despair; only a desperate army can unleash the courage to overcome the strong with the weak. But Shen Liang erased all despair.

That would truly be a hopeless situation.

That island of Haiji was no different from the one it is now.

Equally weak, equally vulnerable to being slaughtered.

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Chapter 40 Rosalia misses you!

"It seems that you, sir, cannot give me the answer I want either."

After a long stare, Ruka looked at him with an expression that showed both growing understanding and growing helplessness, and her smile became even more sorrowful. "You understand now, don't you?"

What do I understand? How do I choose?

The war continued until they were beaten to a pulp, living like dogs.

Or they might be at the mercy of others, living a life of ignominy and desperation, like dogs.

"Sir, what should I do?" Coral Palace Liuge stroked Shen Liang's face and murmured, "What should I do with you...?"

Some problems are unsolvable, especially since you were born in such a sad country.

Shen Liang didn't want to explain. He wasn't from Teyvat; he was from Earth. He hadn't taken sides in this war.

Does either Umijima Island or the Shogunate represent justice? What a joke! He's heard Sango Mikoto Kokoro recount history.

Umijima Island was given to the Umiji people by Inazuma, and it was Inazuma's directly administered territory hundreds of years ago! The Umiji people should be grateful for having a piece of land to continue their race, so why are they now trying to rebel?

But is it wrong for Haizhi Island to want to survive? Is it wrong to fight against exploitation? Even just to be treated the same as other islands would be better. The people of Haizhi have already paid enough with exorbitant taxes and forced labor, yet they still can't even get enough to eat!

Shen Liang had received a modern education, which taught him to look at problems dialectically.

Since I have no stance, I shouldn't get involved. This war has nothing to do with me; I'm just a passing merchant.

—I have done everything I could to be kind and righteous.

Shen Liang calmed himself down and stopped thinking too much. He kept reiterating his identity as a "visitor from another world" in his mind and reinforcing the concept.

Suppress that heroic feeling of "maybe I can still do something".

People from other worlds should live like this. If they just want to live a peaceful life, there's no need to stir up trouble in this world.

Seeing Shen Liang avoid her gaze, Coral Palace Liuge simply smiled. She seemed to always be able to smile, a smile that was charming and alluring, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.