It is difficult for those who walk in Jianing City to tell the difference between the old and the new. The houses are almost all earthy red roofs, the walls are all stone primary colors, and the inlaid stone brick structure is also clear at a glance. The city exudes a strong sense of life, warm and down-to-earth, as if our ancestors have lived here for generations. The most surprising thing is that there is no idle and wandering person in the huge Jianing City, and the people's mental outlook is completely different from the outside world.

Jianing people are all radiant, holding their heads high, most of them are in a hurry, and they seem to be very busy, but none of them are worried. Being in such an environment, my mood can't help but brighten. This is a scene that is difficult to see in other parts of the Eastern Continent, and the expressions of the residents outside are somewhat depressed and humble, probably due to dissatisfaction.

"The people of Jianing look satisfied and confident," Noro said thoughtfully...... It was hard to imagine that these inhabitants were just a group of displaced refugees not long ago, and I wonder how the leader of the Forest Nation did it. Such an achievement is definitely much more difficult than expanding the territory. At least, Noro didn't think he could do that, and he was almost exhausted just thinking about the continuation of the Kingler family.

"People who have lived here for a long time tend to be more and more confident. Tiward was quite proud, and then he seemed to realize something, and suddenly explained, "This sense of confidence and satisfaction, like a water pattern, continues to expand outward, and will affect more and more people.

It's just the same as the layout of Jianing City!"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look towards the palace, and although there were many obstacles that made it impossible to reach his destination, he knew that the silent and lonely man was among them at this moment. I wonder if the significance of this water-patterned layout of the city is as he suspected? Of course, this is just a self-righteous understanding. In the adult's heart, it is unknown whether it still contains some kind of deep meaning. In short, by the time Tiward realized it, the city had a soul of its own.

"What is the purpose of that huge house at the end of this road?" asked Rhodes, pointing to the left, curious. On the exterior wall of the huge house, there was a row of large open windows, which were very bright. From a distance, you can vaguely see many figures walking inside.

"It's a craft yard over there. "Many of the daily necessities that we wear are made there. There is also a pottery yard not far behind, but it is blocked by it, and you have to go around to see it. ”

"Is it also a slave pen that is limited and centralized?" asked Kailas. In the Eastern Continent, civilians of all countries are self-sufficient. Some of the fruits of the year's labor are used to pay taxes, and the rest is basically used for their own use. Although there is an occasional swap between neighbors, commercial activities are still prohibited by law. The aristocracy, on the other hand, owned a large number of slaves who specialized in the production of food, the care of livestock, and the manufacture of utensils, providing the nobles with all the necessities of life. In other words, slaves were the instruments of production for the aristocracy.

"No, we don't have slaves here, it's just a fixed place to work. Every resident has the freedom of choice to pursue what he or she is passionate about, or who is gifted with it. "Here, people's dignity is not trampled on, and they are not sacrificed to the 'collective good.'" After all, everyone craves love and respect, and needs to feel the value of their existence. Therefore, the foundation of the system of Jianing City is to let people love and develop their strengths, so that everyone can feel their own importance. In this way, people can live and work in peace and contentment, and society will become more stable. ”

Hearing this, Gary asked in surprise and confusion, "But how can I discover my talents? I have seen many mediocre people who have no idea what they are good at or what they love, as if they are just living for food and clothing, and have worked hard all their lives, but have not achieved any surprising achievements. ”

"With us, everyone has a lot of options. So, one can slowly try a variety of things to stimulate curiosity and interest in all aspects and discover their talents. If you come across something you're passionate about, you'll naturally devote yourself to it, and even if you're doing it all day, even every day, you'll still enjoy it and work tirelessly for it. Then you'll realize that this is what you love, and it's probably where your talent lies. To you, it may mean more than any material possessions. Tiward said.

"But if everybody is only interested in what he loves, will society be biased, how will taxes be paid, and how will the state continue?" said Kelas.

Since ancient times, the aristocracy of the Eastern Continent has believed that commerce is not a necessary activity to maintain the survival of the state, and in order to avoid the outflow of resources and technology, trade between countries is generally prohibited. In this way, the civilians of the countries will have to be self-sufficient. They had to rely on agriculture for their survival and pay taxes in kind, where most of their energy was concentrated. Moreover, the types of taxes are clearly defined, and each household must pay three taxes in kind: grain, livestock, and plant filaments, in addition to indefinite forced labor.

Therefore, if a common family prefers livestock and abandons farming, it will be difficult for him to be self-sufficient, let alone pay taxes according to the law. In order to consolidate power and maintain the survival of the country, the rulers have amassed a large number of armies, so they will inevitably want to control and distribute all the land and resources in a unified manner, and consciously control the reproduction, education, production, wealth and life of the people, that is, the way in which the people maintain their existence. For example, what kind of productive activities people must engage in, how much taxes they pay, what kind of knowledge and skills they learn, how they serve, and so on, in order to direct national activities to the benefit of national defense. Therefore, the state's control over land resources and the mode of production is in fact equivalent to the control of the people's lives, which means "no trace" of slavery. Once the people become the means of production to maintain the existence of the state, then they can no longer decide how to live according to their own wishes, and can only operate within the limited and clichéd mode that has long been prescribed by the system, and their own cognition and pursuit will be suppressed by all kinds of invisible, and in addition to solving the most primitive needs for survival, they will be forced to do all kinds of things that they do not like but have to do.

However, this emerging forest nation is very different.

"With us, people don't have to toil for food, shelter, and taxes, and they don't have to feed a large parasitic class, and they don't have to be forced to submit to any unpaid servitude. So, people have the energy to try all kinds of things. The society we build is actually very simple, it effectively saves people's time and energy, so that everyone's talents can be maximized, and avoid causing a lot of waste of manpower. Tiward said proudly.

As a civilian who had lived in a totalitarian state, Tiward knew this all too well. In many outside countries, commoners and slaves were often forced to perform numerous unpaid labor to support a large number of parasitic classes—the nobility and the military—and the taxes paid in kind, sometimes as much as more than half of the total income, consumed a great deal of time and energy of the citizens. People live extremely hard lives, with no chance to discover their talents and talents, and some people don't even work in their favorite things in their entire lives. But Jianing City is different, because there is no parasitic class in this new country, so people don't have to sacrifice their freedom to develop in order to feed any powerful parasite, and they don't have to commit themselves to things that can neither give them happiness nor stimulate creativity. In this way, a lot of energy is saved, and there is time to learn and think slowly, so that life becomes more meaningful.

"You don't have to pay taxes, so how are your land resources distributed?" Rod was surprised.

"Everyone is a child of the earth, and a foothold is the most natural need for survival, and it is also the foundation of living and working in peace and contentment, and no one has the right to deprive people of the right to enjoy a foothold. Speaking of this, Tiward's expression was a little more solemn than his age. "So, we are not going to dominate the way people live by controlling land resources and collecting taxes, as other countries do. Every household here is provided with a place to live free of charge, free from the high rent, so that they can do what they love and dedicate their talents with peace of mind. Because the land is free, people can also exchange residences with each other without any complicated and laborious operations, as long as both parties nod their heads and agree. ”

The foundation of a peaceful society is that everyone is well fed, clothed, and able to live and work in peace and contentment. However, in the Eastern Continent, many civilians had to pay a great price for a small foothold, even the income of their lifelong labor, to rent or buy land from land grabbers and occupiers to survive. This kind of profit-making behavior of selling the people who have a foothold in the name of the state is tantamount to depriving people of their natural right to subsistence and the right to dispose of property, which is a highly unfair means of slavery. But in Jianing City, every household can get a stable place to live for free. On this basis, people can develop freely without worries. The manpower and time saved as a result are enough for people to learn and accumulate more knowledge and experience, and create more valuable surprises for this emerging country.

If people's primitive needs for survival are not met, their dignity is trampled upon, and they are dissatisfied with slavery, they will become hostile to society and, worse, war. On the contrary, when people live in peace and are generally respected, they will naturally become friendly and generous, full of love for their surroundings, and devote themselves wholeheartedly to the causes they love, and work tirelessly to use their talents to find freedom, happiness and fulfillment from them, so that society can gradually move towards peace and stability and make the future brighter.

Hearing this, Kailas was still puzzled, and continued the previous topic with the question: "If people are only interested in the things they love, how can they meet the needs of other aspects of their daily lives, and how can they deal with sudden disasters?"

"The fundamental difference between Jianing City and other outside societies is that we have developed an economic form that closely combines self-sufficiency and reciprocity - ensuring that people share the fruits of other surplus labor on the basis of self-sufficiency, and use these surplus products to meet the needs of extraordinary times, such as wars, natural disasters, collective banquets, and so on. To put it more concretely, the inhabitants share all the means of production and the fruits of their labor in the country, except for the things planted in their own yards. On this basis, we have a forging factory, a pottery factory, a handicraft field, a pasture, a farm and many other professional places, people can freely choose the profession they want to engage in, each has its own strengths, each has its own love, thus activating people's spontaneity, so that everyone enjoys it, there is no need to supervise, and the efficiency is constantly rising. We get much more than we give, and that's the value of sharing resources, a sense of satisfaction that cannot be felt in a slave society. In this freedom, people learn to create, to be grateful in sharing, and to find the value of their own existence in peace......"

The mode of subsistence that closely combines self-sufficiency and reciprocity has narrowed the property disparity of residents and tended to be equal. The decision-makers who lived in the palace did not enjoy any property above the common people, except for their functional authority.

Regardless of the profession they choose, they can receive daily necessities, tools, food, etc., directly from other professional groups through reciprocity, rather than being economically redistributed by the state in the form of taxes, and do not have to feed any aristocracy who live in poverty and luxury. As a result, people have more time, energy, and food to support more professional creation. Once the society continues to operate automatically according to this good order, the people will be able to maintain a relatively more equal standard of living, and there will be basically no huge gap between the rich and the poor, effectively eliminating the internal contradictions and conflicts caused by potential discrimination and jealousy. More importantly, living and working in peace and contentment can give people more freedom, and the spontaneous creative spirit triggered by this freedom will in turn bring richer cultural products to the society, so that the society will continue to develop in the direction of peace and stability......

After Tiward had spoken generously and proudly, he found that Gary and Titis were looking at him with eager eyes, and he couldn't help but smile and said, "Hey, don't look at me like that, these words are actually from a few adults, I just borrowed them." ”

Tiward was often at his side, closer to the adults than the others, and was usually more intellectually informed than the others. Although he used to know a little about the content of the adults' conversations, gradually, the development of Jianing City has helped him make the best explanation. Tiward was both proud and ashamed, for the longer he spent with them, the more he became aware of his limitations, just as the more he read a book, the more he understood his ignorance. And those who don't have much knowledge, on the contrary, always think that they are amazing, this is the so-called gap.

Murch asked in disbelief, "But how can we ensure that everyone will work hard without supervision? ”

"Of course, there were individual opportunistic guys at first, but shame is also human nature. People will be subtly influenced by the environment, and thus slowly change. Although people's production activities are all based on self-discipline and self-discipline, the order regulations of Jianing City are also very detailed. Every resident living here must be familiar with these regulations and hold each other accountable. Anyone who makes a mistake is punished, but those who have been punished generally do not do it again. Tiward replied.

"Oh, what kind of punishment is that, so effective?" said Murge, curious.

"Heh," said Tiward, smiling imperceptibly, "because those who don't follow the order will be sent to a special forest in the northeast to tame the beasts." If they don't train well, they won't be able to get out of that forest. Do you know Tachibanamon?"

"Tachibanamon? Is there a Tachibana in this forest? It is said that Tachibana became extinct hundreds of years ago. Noro was amazed. Even in the vast historical materials, the records of Tachibana are extremely limited, and not many people know about them.

Norro remembers as a teenager who, in the Kingler family's library, stumbled upon an old miscellaneous history that contained a short description of the legendary beast. Here's how it goes: Tachibana is very agile and can run faster than a war beast like the Cunning, and it usually feeds on leaves and grass. It has large, wet black eyes, long ears, and shiny fur with almost no variegation. However, on the top of the head, there is a pinch of pink hair that naturally twists into the shape of a flower, which looks like a wild flower stuck in the head, hence the name Tachibanamon. Tachibana is a very sensitive and intelligent beast that can sense changes in people's emotions and gradually understand human language if they get along for a long time. If you can tame it, it will be loyal to you and even willing to sacrifice its own life to save you. However, it is very difficult for people to gain their trust. Because Tachibana has an extremely sensitive and suspicious personality, even if you have the slightest intention of hurting or taking advantage of it, it will never allow you to take a step closer, and when it is trapped to the point of desperation, it would rather commit suicide than be captured by life. Unless the human heart becomes clean and transparent, it will not be allowed to capture the slightest hint of threat.

Hearing this, Kailas nodded, and seemed to know a little about the Tachibana Beast, while the rest of the people who accompanied him had never heard of it. So Kailas gave them a brief introduction to this legendary rare animal.

Tiward then added: "Perhaps because of the proximity to the volcanic complex in Herilandi, the wooded area in the north-east has a peculiar environment, not only is the fog thicker, but there are no streams passing through the woods, only a few small geysers. Even those who have lived in Jianing City for a long time will get lost in it, let alone those who are new to it. But it's usually newcomers who make mistakes and are punished......"

Anyone who violated the rules of order was sent to that special forest area, and they were given only food for fifteen days, and if they did not leave the forest within fifteen days, they would starve to death. However, the grain was not delivered directly to them, but was carried on the back of Tachibana. So, unless the punished person has the ability to tame Tachibanamon, let them allow them to come near, take food from their backs to satisfy their hunger, and obey them to lead them out of the woods. Otherwise, the punished person will continue to suffer from hunger. The most important point is that in that special forest area in the northeast, only Tachibana and a few birds and insects inhabit it, and it is almost impossible to hunt and feed yourself, let alone the idea of fighting Tachibana. Because Tachibana is faster than Lin Cunning, it is extremely intelligent, and once it senses that someone wants to harm it, it will run away long ago. Therefore, unless the punished person eats grass and leaves like Tachibana, and drinks some spring water, he will not survive for a few days.

"Hahaha......" After hearing this, Mu Qi couldn't help but laugh, "This kind of punishment is so interesting! Could it be that your leader also came up with it?"

"Uh...... Sort of. Tiward nodded. Recalling one day last year, the adult looked at the streamer man in the forest from afar, and suddenly had a feeling: Why can the streamer and the birds and beasts live in harmony, but the Lepeilian man can't? What are we missing? He couldn't figure it out, so he went to ask the streamer for advice. The Sirven priest told him that animals are as simple and sensitive as children, and that they can easily pick up on the thoughts of others, so that they will not fear or attack you until they are clearly aware that you are harmless...... Hearing this, the lord had a flash of inspiration, and when he returned, he set this punishment. In addition, Mo Di has always believed that compared with the streamer people, the cultural rules of the Lepeilian people have made people's lifestyles cumbersome and difficult, so they always try to simplify the way of life in Jianing society to make people's lives more relaxed and meaningful, and they naturally agree with this punishment. Based on the above reasons, the laws of Jianing City are also relatively simple, and the punishment measures are relatively simple. But the purpose of the Lords is to guide people to peace, not to warn them of the terrible punishment that will be punished for breaking the law. This is because it is impossible to eradicate sin from the root of sin by formulating detailed and harsh laws, and only the soul that yearns for peace can eliminate contradictions and disputes.

Listening to Tiward's story, Noro, Muchi, Kailas, Rhodes, and Titis all exclaimed in amazement, and only Gary asked as if he didn't understand, "But can the purpose of punishment really be achieved by taming the beast?"

Tiward directly copied what Muddy once said, and explained: "In fact, the ultimate purpose of punishment is not to make people suffer, but to repair their minds, so that those who make mistakes will clearly realize that only by giving seriously and patiently can they reap the rewards, and only by learning to be kind to others can they get help from others." ”

"It has such a deep meaning!" asked Gary, "if after fifteen days it is still impossible to tame the Tachibana beast, and there is nothing to satisfy its hunger, will it really be necessary to starve to death in the forest? ”

"How so? There are quite a few people here who have tamed Tachibana Beast, and no one has ever come out more than fifteen years ago. "Actually, there were three people who tamed Tachibana Beast first, first, of course, the one who came up with this form of punishment, who had thrown himself into the forest for a few days, and then Sangwu and Yanyu. After all three of them tried it, they all decided that this punishment was feasible, and then they decided. Tiward continued, "Don't underestimate the potential that people can unleash in their desperate desire to survive. There are powers that you have to desire before you can have them. When you know clearly that being patient and friendly is the only way to live, you will find ways to change yourself. ”

Gary was shocked by Tiward's words, and he couldn't help but think of his native country of Konon. They also desperately wanted to live, but the peasants chose another extreme way -- to eat their own kind! Although everyone's goal is to survive, why are some people able to improve themselves and become better in difficult situations, while others are willing to fall and get worse?

For the Nuland emissaries, the forest nation is simply a place that challenges the traditional culture of slavery, and it boldly subverts the traditional way of life of the Lepelian world, which is shocking and contemplative.

Norro was also shocked: who would have imagined that the leader of the forest country would cultivate a group of humble and destitute refugees into good citizens with high aspirations and clean deeds in such a short period of time. As this young man said, how many people in the Eastern Continent can reach his profound meaning and foresight? Even Noro himself has never had such an awareness.

At this time, Mu Qi suddenly approached, and whispered in Noro's ear: "When I watched the battle from the edge of the battlefield, I thought that person was extraordinary, and now it seems that our trip will not be in vain." Such a person, even if he does not ally with us, should not be biased towards Herilandi. ”

"Perhaps......" Noro replied thoughtfully, and in the afterglow, he noticed that Rod was looking at him with glowing eyes, and he knew it instantly. In fact, why wasn't he worried about that matter? It's just that it's too early to discuss this, and there are too many things for them to think about, too big to be missed......