Brother, just how powerful is our family?

"Ancient Rome used slaves, and what was the result? Roman citizens became increasingly lazy and decadent, and in the end, they couldn't even defend their own country, which was destroyed by barbarians."

"In ancient China, although slavery was not used on a large scale like in Rome, a system of servants did exist. And what was the result? Those nobles who relied on servants to serve them became more and more useless, and when the dynasty changed, they were all killed."

"Why? Because slaves make their masters lazy, unambitious, and only know how to enjoy themselves. When the whole society is immersed in the illusion of 'someone doing the work for me,' that society is not far from its demise."

"We currently have 3.5 million expeditionary troops fighting desperately, and hundreds of millions of citizens working hard; our entire civilization is thriving. If we were to introduce millions of slaves at this time, making them do the hardest and most arduous work while letting our citizens sit at home and enjoy themselves—it would certainly be comfortable in the short term. But what about the long term? Ten years from now, twenty years from now, a hundred years from now, will our next generation still work hard? Will they still be willing to fight?"

Qin Wentao's voice grew increasingly impassioned:

"They wouldn't. They would say, 'Since there are slaves to do the work, why should I tire myself out?'"

"By then, the Yanhuang civilization will be finished."

The council chamber was completely silent.

Qin Wenhan remained silent.

The others were also pondering Qin Wentao's words.

That's how history is written.

Slavery does indeed corrupt people.

But the problem is—if you don't kill the prisoners, and you don't make them work, what will happen to those eight million people? Will you support them?

Qin Wentao seemed to sense everyone's doubts, and he softened his tone:

"I'm not saying they can't work. I'm saying they can't occupy all the basic labor positions. Citizens must have jobs, must have the motivation to strive, and must have the pressure of 'no work, no food'—of course, we have good welfare and won't actually let them go hungry, but at least, they should have something to do."

"As for these prisoners... they can work, but their numbers and areas must be limited. For example, the most dangerous and arduous jobs that citizens are unwilling to do can be given to prisoners. But normal, dignified jobs should still be reserved for citizens."

Qin Wenhan nodded: "That makes sense. Shall we do it that way?"

"Wait a minute," Qin Wenfa spoke up. As the head of the Judicial Yuan, in charge of legal affairs, he considered issues from a more rigorous perspective.

"If we make prisoners work, what is their status? Slaves? Laborers? Prisoners of war? If this status issue isn't resolved, subsequent legal problems will be very troublesome. For example, if they are injured while working, should we provide assistance? If they resist, how should we deal with it? If they have children, what will happen to the children?"

"And—" he paused, "if we use them for work, what will the Serandians in other star systems who are still resisting think? They'll think that since surrendering means becoming slaves anyway, they might as well fight to the death. This will create even greater obstacles for our subsequent wars."

Qin Wenfa's words caused everyone present to fall into deep thought.

indeed.

The war is not over yet.

The Serantia civilization also has dozens of star systems and tens of billions of people.

If we send the prisoners to work now, what will the Serandians who are still resisting think when the news gets to other star systems?

They would definitely think: since surrendering means becoming slaves anyway, they might as well fight to the death. Killing even one Yanhuang warrior would be a win.

This will increase the difficulty of subsequent wars many times over.

"Then what should we do?" Qin Wenhan asked. "We can't just kill them all, can we?"

"Kill them all?" Qin Wenyuan frowned. "More than eight million people, kill them all? Even disregarding humanitarian issues, just imagining that scene..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But everyone understood what he meant.

With over eight million people, even if they lined up to be killed, it would take a very long time.

Moreover, the bloody scenes also placed a huge psychological burden on the soldiers who were carrying out the orders.

Moreover, the expeditionary force had just endured three months of fierce fighting, and the soldiers were resting and recuperating. What they needed was relaxation, not continued killing.

"I have a suggestion," a voice said.

All eyes turned to the source of the sound.

Qin Wenyang. Head of the School of Economics. He is usually a man of few words, but whenever he does speak, he offers unique insights.

"Tell me about it," Qin Feng finally spoke.

Qin Wenyang nodded, stood up, walked to the holographic screen, and brought up a set of images.

Those are photos of the Serandians.

Short stature, gray skin, large black eyes, and slender limbs.

They do look very different from humans.

"Look, everyone," Qin Wenyang pointed to the images, "What do the Serandians look like? They're 1.2 meters tall, with gray skin and big eyes—don't you think they look a lot like some kind of...pet?"

pet?

A slight commotion arose in the council chamber.

Qin Wenyang continued, "I'm not joking. Think about it, what if we don't make them work, and we don't kill them, but instead—we keep them like pets?"

"They are housed in designated areas, provided with basic food and shelter, and are not allowed to participate in any social labor. They don't need to work, they don't need to create value, they just need to—survive."

"Then, we can build a museum, or a theme park, called 'All Nations Paying Homage' or 'Interstellar Zoo.' We can put the Serandians there and let the citizens of Yanhuang visit to see what these 'alien creatures' look like."

"There are several advantages to doing this—"

He counted on his fingers:

"First, by not killing prisoners, we avoid the moral burden and the potential for escalating resistance. After all, surrendering means being kept as pets, not being killed or enslaved. Those who are still resisting may have their will to resist weakened."

"Secondly, it's educational. It lets our descendants see with their own eyes what the outside world is like, and what other races are like. It lets them know how powerful the Yanhuang civilization was, that it was able to capture so many 'alien creatures' and bring them back."

"Third, they're visually appealing. To be honest, the Serandians are quite cute—small, gray, with big, blinking eyes. I'm sure many people would be willing to pay to see them."

"Fourth, it can demonstrate the power of the Yanhuang civilization. Look, we have reached fifty light-years away, captured more than eight million aliens, and are keeping them in a museum—this is more convincing than any propaganda."

After Qin Wenyang finished speaking, he sat back down in his seat.

Inside the council chamber, murmurs of discussion arose.

This proposal is indeed tempting.

They don't kill or enslave, they just keep them.

Raise it like a pet.

It sounds like it's much gentler than being a slave.

But the problem is—