I'm the boss because I have a harem of anime characters.

Page 25

This is not surprising. It turns out to be a collective clique of clans, capital, bureaucrats, and compradors. At a time like this, they still want to enter the city on the mountaintop and join hands and hearts with American capital at the Temple of Heaven. Hahaha.

"Those who reap what they sow will not live. Let's see what the higher-ups will do first."

"What does the Admiral think we should do?"

"At the very least, they should be dismissed from office, exiled, and never be employed again."

"What if we can't do that?"

"Is it strange that the Dragon of Desire chose several heavyweight faction leaders to become Fallen Ones?"

Section 55: The List is Full

People often wonder why certain things were permissible in the early days of the nation's founding but not later. Is it really because those in power have forgotten their original aspirations?

Actually, that's not the case. Many times, the people we think have great power are not actually so all-powerful. In fact, they themselves are just nodes in the spider web of power that cannot move. Why could the founding leaders have such great power? It's because their authority was earned through battle, and it was extremely valuable, so much so that it could, to a certain extent, defy fate.

But what about those who came after? Those who had never been through real bloodshed and only killed to cover up their crimes in political struggles cannot be compared to true battlefield veterans. The former have the resolve to smash everything and start over if necessary, but the latter, even if they do, may not have the ability, or even if they do have the ability, they may not have the environment.

Let's not forget that the founding heroes were forged from the sacrifices of 35 million people. Can the current environment afford to pay a price equivalent to one-tenth, or even one-ninth, of the total population to forge such a group of people?

Of course not. In fact, even if you asked Qin Shan to retrace his steps from his previous life, he wouldn't be able to guarantee that he could reach the other side.

The process of natural selection is brutal; only those with great wisdom, great fortune, great enlightenment, and great perseverance can reach the end. Lacking any one of these four qualities is unacceptable. This is the ultimate test of civilization.

So when Saratoga presented the list to Qin Shan, Qin Shan's mind had already shifted. The chances of this matter being resolved internally by the Celestial Empire were less than 10%. Even if the quotas were ultimately secured, the other factions wouldn't be punished. At most, they'd be given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.

If you really try to wipe out the other factions, they will fight back to the death. The authority of the current leader is not enough to be a formidable force. The founding leader could make any army in the country surrender on the spot just by standing there, but the current leader does not have that ability or charisma.

So Liu and Zhang were executed, but the corrupt officials who followed could only be arrested instead of having their ammunition emptied.

This is the helplessness of reality. Politics is the art of compromise. This statement is not entirely true. To be precise, politics is the art that people who have to compromise are forced to play. It is called art, but in reality it is power politics.

"I can't blame them. If I didn't have the strength I have now, I might have joined them in their corruption."

Qin Shan, in his previous life, also had times of frustration. Faced with the privileges of officials, he even considered going on a killing spree and leaving. But these were not the attitudes to solve problems. Sometimes, even if you know it's a cesspool, you still have to jump in. Otherwise, you won't even have the chance to stir up the cesspool, let alone leave it, because it's blocking your way forward. It's your only choice, and you have no other choice.

Saratoga nodded: "So we still have to take action in the end, that's the gist of it, Admiral."

"We need to make a move, but not all at once. Create some opportunities and see how the higher-ups react. If they can't even seize such obvious opportunities, and even try to manipulate power, then they're completely hopeless and should prepare to replace them."

Qin Shan did not take drastic measures in order to ensure a peaceful transition and avoid harming innocent people. However, if things really develop to the point of no return, there is no problem that cannot be solved by changing personnel. If there is, then another batch of people will be replaced.

In the past, in order to save the nation from peril, 400 million compatriots paid a price of 35 million. After the abyss descended, in order to preserve human civilization, billions of human compatriots entered the altar, and even Qin Shan himself was one of the sacrifices.

Even if we start a new life, no matter how much it costs to change the status quo, it will never be worse than the extinction of human civilization in the previous life.

Since some people don't want to forge ahead, then let the blood flow.

Let their blood flow!

A farm

This is a seemingly ordinary farmhouse, but it actually has top-notch chefs and top-notch ingredients. This is because China has zero tolerance for corruption. The privileged class cannot turn their corrupt practices into legitimate income like the US government does, so they can only enjoy them in the shadows.

They truly envied the luxurious lifestyle of their American counterparts, but at the same time, they understood that if they really indulged in such revelry, the only result would be national ruin and the destruction of their homes. The tragic state of the Soviet Union was a stark reminder of this. Before the United States truly collapsed, many things could not be made public. After the United States fell, there would be a massive outflow of benefits, with everyone raking in the profits. A little bit of sustenance would be given to the common people to ease social tensions, thus guaranteeing at least half a century of prosperity. Only then could they truly indulge in their luxuries. For now, they would keep their wealth hidden, for as long as the common people couldn't see it, they would be the all-powerful rulers.

Actually, ordinary people don't have high expectations of officials. It's fine if you eat and drink a little, but at least you should get things done. If you do nothing but still ask for benefits and exploit people, then everyone's opinion of you will be that you died too late.

Those present today are all important figures, the kind who aren't in the first three rows, but are in reserve below them.

Their factions are diverse, but they can be summarized by one region—the Southern faction.

Why does this happen?

The reason is simple: the War of Liberation could not be delayed. The unification of the country had to be completed as soon as possible. After the country was liberated, the Korean War followed immediately. Domestically, the priority was to resolve major contradictions. Many problems that did not seem serious and were not brought to the forefront were temporarily put aside. However, these problems lived up to expectations and soon began to grow wildly, forcing the teacher to choose a second revolution during the blank decade. Many people thought it was a failure, but in fact it was a success while he was alive.

And how can you say that the predecessors failed when their successors didn't uphold the tradition after he left? You can't expect the predecessors to solve all the problems. If they didn't even struggle, how can you expect them to achieve fairness and justice directly? That's not a dream, that's just wishful thinking.

The Southern faction subsequently revived and spread rapidly by relying on clan blood ties, forming the situation we see today. In contrast, the North, which fought the fiercest battles and suffered the most devastation but was also the most thoroughly revolutionary, had far fewer problems caused by clan ties. Of course, there were also many problems caused by bureaucratic corruption, but they were much simpler than the problems caused by clan ties, bureaucrats, compradors, and capital.

Yes, there was a big commotion in the North back then, but please remember, the problems that can be brought to the surface and made public are not the biggest problems. The real problems are those that are exposed but then suppressed and silenced in no time.

Don't forget, the body doesn't show any signs of cancer before it spreads.

Now, looking at the North and South, which side has a bigger problem?

In any case, Qin Shan has to deal with them all, but if he has to prioritize, he should deal with the Southern faction first.

While these people were drinking and making merry in what they considered a safe enough farm, a pair of eyes were secretly watching them, silently adding names to the list.

A few minutes later, the list was full.

Section 56: Inside and outside the house, gunfire raged.

In the information age, competition and confrontation between nations often begin on the internet. If you find a certain topic experiencing explosive growth around you for a period of time, followed by a large number of similar statements, then war has begun again.

However, please note that sometimes, internal acquaintances will also use the same methods to attack the opposition, and since internal acquaintances often know each other best, the damage they cause is often the greatest.

Here's a joke: the most capable intelligence agents in the Kuomintang back then were all defectors from our party.

They were taught by the same master, inside and out. It's darkly humorous.

The press conference held by Fairy Yunmeng acted as a stabilizing force. With the endorsement of the powerful superhumans of the Divine Continent civilization, the four countries on Earth gained recognition that transcended the universe and even the world. Although the speech could not even fill two pages of A4 paper in size 5 font, it was of great significance. The United States, China, Russia, and France are destined to become the leading nations on Earth for a considerable period of time, and they will have the legal basis to regulate their respective cultural circles.

This is the influence that the strong have on the weak; to break this influence, one must find someone even stronger.

It is clear that there is currently no power on Earth stronger than Qin Shan's, so the Shenzhou civilization is the supporter behind the new era power system on Earth, because the Shenzhou civilization only recognizes these four countries.

Whether other countries are willing to admit it or not, for the foreseeable future, they will only be playing supporting roles.

Those who are used to playing supporting roles are naturally fine, since they were minor characters in supporting roles before. But those who feel they can be the main character are very uncomfortable, such as those from India and South Korea.

The difference is that in India, the entire nation believes it can do it, and they will take action to prove themselves, even if it's through bizarre means. In South Korea, there's just a group of people who are stubbornly defiant, but when it comes to actually getting them to act, holy crap! Look at the monsters and freaks around me! This Korean doesn't want to be broken.

But every country has its share of oddballs, or rather, their stance isn't necessarily on the side of their own people. Perhaps due to factional reasons, they have no choice but to take sides. But if they choose the wrong side, they will inevitably be added to Qin Shan's kill list. Anyway, there are plenty of ways to kill them. Not only will they be killed, but their reputations will also be ruined.

To put it bluntly, if there were strict scrutiny, how many truly clean officials are there in the world?

When a system begins to loosen its grip, it only proves that the law can be applied too easily to punish the masses, making it easy to overstep the bounds.

Then why can't corrupt officials be executed? Why? That's strange, America, please answer that.

What? You've legalized corruption and called it political donations?

That's alright then. That's called financial freedom in the free world. You bunch of peasants should mind your own business, lest you run into a semi-trailer truck while walking at night and it sends you to another dimension (I'm sure of it).

Zhihu question: Why should we support allocating research grants to the United States?

Topics discussed: US-China relations will reach a new level thanks to this quota-sharing event.

Big Black Book: Sisters, does anyone understand? A little girl from Xiatounan actually said that Huamei Guan's shared quota is wrong. Even I, a little fairy who doesn't talk about politics, am stunned.

As the maggots in some dark corners began to move, all sorts of cringe-worthy content quickly appeared on the Chinese internet, content that any person with a normal IQ could immediately see was problematic.

But this content is just a smokescreen to attract attention, like the "roof-lifting theory" of a certain internet celebrity. First, they show you something outrageous, then they present something relatively normal, but in reality, cooperating with the United States on time is the only way to win. People with poor political sensitivity can fall into this trap almost instantly.

Fun fact: People who enjoy history and politics and are willing to study them objectively are a very small minority in real life.

Here's another little-known fact: Ninety percent of the world's population lacks political talent.

Fun fact: People who aren't swayed by emotions when faced with big data-driven information are still a very, very small minority.

In summary: America's long-distance livestock industry is truly impressive.

Some people eat dog food and act like dogs, that's one thing, but what kind of idiot brings their own dog food and acts like a dog? How shameless!

But looking at those human progeny, well, it's not that we can't understand their eccentricities. After all, the thought process of these creatures is as unpredictable as the Indian government's way of thinking. Even Cthulhu would lose SAN if he saw them.

Under the manipulation of these individuals and the guidance of the US government's propaganda machine, the Chinese internet quickly became as lively as the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. People from different camps swiftly began to tear each other apart, and new conservatives and extremists emerged within each camp, seemingly endlessly multiplying like cells. This battle quickly spread to the live stream chat of the observers.

After all, the internet is not a lawless place. If you speak too extremely or aggressively, or even use certain organs or family trees to express your opinions, you are likely to be banned or even summoned for a talk in person. But the Observer live broadcast room is a product of a super civilization, and the governments of various countries can't control it. They can only watch helplessly or send a group of official trolls to explain.

Fortunately, currently only bullet comments are allowed, and bullet comments have a character limit, so... then the observer's live stream room opened up the forum function.

That's right, it was Qin Shan's doing. Arguing in the bullet comments is too boring, so he opened a forum, a free forum where no one deletes posts. You can say whatever you want. As long as you don't reveal your identity, even national-level forces in the real world can't do anything to you. In other words, this is a real battlefield for freedom of speech.

Absolute freedom, say whatever you want, let's begin, gentlemen, I love war.

"What a brilliant speech! It made my brain spin."

Inside the room, Qin Shan, who had just finished a naval battle, held Richelieu's delicate body in his arms and enjoyed the various awesome comments on the Observer Forum. The level of their arguments was second only to the mutual torment between Half-Face UFO and Abigail (two group members, yes, dragged out for a bit of torment, hehehe).

"The Admiral wants to see more than just this, doesn't he?"

Richelieu lay obediently in Qin Shan's arms, like a well-behaved kitten. With cat ears, she could easily pass for a catgirl.

"Truth becomes clearer through debate. When ordinary people in different countries can communicate with each other without barriers, they will soon realize in the midst of arguments that the real bastards are those at the top who occupy too many resources."

Qin Shantai understood how brainwashing the one-way propaganda strategies of Western countries were. If people from different countries could truly communicate without barriers, compare their own living conditions, and understand the local customs and traditions, it was obvious what would happen next.

Why can XXX country be so good while our country can't? It must be a systemic problem. I fell into deep thought and decided to get rid of those scoundrels for a brighter and more brilliant future!

Deceiving the public, manipulating public opinion, lying to superiors and subordinates, and colluding with each other—the power of modern media has long been misused.

Why is it that some people can "let others talk without the sky falling," while others are willing to risk everything to keep quiet?

Because if people, especially ordinary people, are allowed to speak out freely, their own sky (official positions) will collapse.

If you're an official without special privileges, what's the difference between you and being dead? I climbed to my current position not to be a subservient servant, but to enjoy myself after all these years of hard work!

The common people become disobedient if they know too much. It's better to be a good child and be a deaf and blind person who can be manipulated by others. Cats that are too curious should be killed immediately to prevent them from polluting the environment.

"Let things continue to ferment until the public sees through the true colors of certain people and begins to organize and take action on their own. That's what the Admiral thinks, right?"

"clever."

Qin Shan smiled and turned around, and Richelieu cooperated by adjusting his posture.

What followed was another exhilarating battle. After all, if ship girls don't practice often, their naval combat skills will become rusty. Qin Shan was seriously cultivating Richelieu's tactical and technical skills (serious face). The room was filled with the sound of gunfire, and so was the outside. The sudden change in the observer's live broadcast room caught governments around the world off guard. No one knew why things had turned out this way, but they would soon understand how deadly things could become when there was a platform where people could speak freely and without restrictions.

Soon a huge bomb was detonated.

Section 57: Do not expose to sunlight.

(Please vote for me, comrades! Consider my efforts to update! If all else fails, I'll just bring out Abigail for a persecution performance!)

Why do unspoken rules exist?

Because unspoken rules support certain vested interest groups and are the capital for their implicit double standards. Once these unspoken rules are exposed to the light of day, it's like a conspiracy being exposed, and it will backfire.

The privileges within and outside the bureaucratic system also operate in this way; this is the result of thousands of years of refinement on the land of China.

Some people think that the kind of ostentatious extravagance and debauchery that is openly displayed in Europe and America is the only kind of enjoyment. Little do they know that the literati of more than two thousand years ago set an example for them, and the consequences were very symbolic. What followed was either the Northern and Southern Dynasties or the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and successfully cultivated stereotypical and fierce men like Zhang Jiao, Huang Chao and Li Zicheng.

Modern times involve nuclear weapons. If the world descends into chaos and nuclear weapons go out of control, who do you think would be the most vulnerable to being hit by a nuclear bomb?

Anyway, my small, third-tier county town certainly doesn't deserve to waste someone else's nuclear warheads.

With the widespread use of the modern internet, it has become quite easy to expose something. After all, mobile phones, which integrate photography, video recording, and audio recording, have become commonplace for most people. However, servers are ultimately controlled by the authorities and can be subject to interference, such as suppressing trending topics or taking certain news down prematurely.

However, now that these unspoken rules and controls have been completely broken, and after the Observer Live Room expanded its functions, many things that could not be seen in the light have been brought to the surface, including information from the dark web.

It's impossible to interfere with, block, delete, or suppress it. Hiring online trolls won't help either, because the platform's identification function in the live stream is incredibly powerful. Similar posts will be folded into a comment section in no time, and they won't delete them; it's just a simple merging of similar items.

The problem is that as long as these similar items are laid out in the open, anyone can see that this is the work of online trolls.

What's even more infuriating is that the other party used some kind of technology to specifically locate and expose accounts personally operated by powerful figures, displaying their real-time information and precise location, even including their house numbers.

They don't care about ordinary people; they only target officials and the wealthy.

Huang Silang and the officials were extremely dissatisfied; this was damn targeted!

That's right, it's specifically targeted at Qin Shan's personal request. If you disagree, come at me! Hehe~

On the surface, it's the Observer Civilization causing trouble, but they won't respond. Their only and favorite activity is observation, and they'll guide the discussion to things they find interesting to broaden their observations. That's all. Please don't make any connections, don't make any connections, don't make any connections—making connections is wrong!

As for seeking help from the Divine Continent Civilization, Fairy Yunmeng simply shrugged. "We were also observed and broadcast live like that back then. There was nothing we could do. Anyway, as long as you haven't done anything shady, there's nothing to be afraid of. So what are you afraid of? Is it something that can't be seen in the light?"

Yes! That's right! It's precisely because there are so many shady things that we need privileges and double standards, that we need to cover things up and suppress the heat. Otherwise, wouldn't all the "upright officials" be exhausted? How could the common people understand the difficulties of the officials?

After realizing they had no other choice, many people could only secretly eliminate things that couldn't be brought to light, otherwise they would lose their jobs. So they endured it and waited for the right opportunity.

However, some evidence is destined to be impossible to destroy, and may even multiply on its own.

"I am filing a formal complaint against XXX of XX City because he did this to me..."

Soon, the first batch of whistleblowers in China appeared. After making a real-name report, these people could apply for their own exclusive live streaming room, which could broadcast their situation 24 hours a day. This technology is a derivative of spatial supernatural skills, which allows people to observe downwards through higher dimensions and take in everything.

However, this is a ninth-tier skill in the space system. Even if Qin Shan taught it to the other ship girls, they could only use one or two tenths of its effect at most. But it is no problem to use it as a camera for a single person. The rest of the work is handled by Bei Zhai and the server she is building, as well as the Tirpitz AI that Bei Zhai wrote herself.

This AI is essentially an extension of the North Carolina ship's equipment, expanding the original information technology functions of the North Carolina. The server, on the other hand, is quite incredible. It was taken from a spaceship on Free Earth. Three of them were taken from it, and the remaining one is a gift for researchers from various countries. If you're going to give someone a gift, give them a complete one. I'm not afraid they'll produce results; I'm just afraid they'll produce results too slowly.