Chapter 3246: A Day in the Life of Niya, Investigation of the Saville Chamber of Commerce

————It will be later~~

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"Oh? Is that really so? If there is anything, just say it. If I can solve it for you, I will solve it for you first; don't drag it out until it develops into a big problem later."

"There really isn't! Lord, ever since the old Lord appeared in the north, those voices of opposition vanished instantly. There isn't the slightest obstacle to the integration of the Territory; this is the truth."

"So that's how it is!"

Xia Duo suddenly realized; it turned out Aipusi had made a trip to the north, so this was no surprise. Previously, the people in the Saville Territory obstructing the integration of the two lands were basically all low-to-mid-level; they didn't oppose it openly, but rather used various means to delay and obstruct.

In order to appease the hearts of the people and the followers Aipusi left behind—who were actually also Niya's elders—it was impossible for Xia Duo to instruct Laidun to use overly intense methods.

It could only be ground down bit by bit, but after Aipusi stepped forward, it was different. The fundamental reason those opponents opposed the integration of the two lands was the fear of losing that little bit of meager power in their hands, yet they hid behind Aipusi's name.

For example, protecting the territory left behind by the old Lord, protecting the heritage of the Saville Family, and so on—all sorts of high-sounding reasons.

But when Aipusi, the old Lord those people spoke of, actually appeared, those people were dumbfounded. It turned out the old Lord hadn't died at all; he was still alive and well, and most crucially, the old Lord actually supported the integration of the Territory.

This scene had a rather comical sense of "The ministers were just about to fight to the death, why did Your Majesty surrender first?"

Why must one still follow the covenant?

Obviously, this would make the law more authoritative.

Other Netheril Lords also formulate laws for their subjects; some look like the real thing, but they themselves would absolutely never take those laws seriously, and firmly believe that those laws are only used to rule the subjects, not to bind themselves.

Similar to "the authority that cannot be obtained in one place must be compensated for in another."

The reason Xia Shao abides by the laws he formulated is, to a large extent, that these laws are his own code of conduct. So-called "principles," of course, refer to relatively stable and firm rules.

This also caused many Netheril Lords to copy their set of concepts onto their attitude toward the Saville Covenant, and thus they hit a wall, but this further caused them to trample on their own laws even more severely in their own territories.

Xia Shao does not think he is some kind of superman; he is just an ordinary person. He also worries that he might change his mind one day, so from the very beginning, he has been preparing for the future.

Or is it that those Lords are already so arrogant and conceited that they think the whole world must obey their orders?

Even in an era where the people's wisdom is enlightened, such an existence will likewise not damage the authority of the law. On the contrary, those Lords who do not abide by the laws they formulate will likely face the biggest fork in the road of their lives.

……

Trampling on the laws of one's own territory, when it comes down to it, is because those Lords believe that the strong are right and the weak should obey the strong. But when they face the Saville Covenant, logically shouldn't they also agree with the underlying logic that the strong are right, and then obediently submit?

Then what are they opposing?

Ruier doesn't even need to be mentioned; just looking at the Great Xia Code is enough to know that in the entire Netheril or the entire Main Plane, there is no place more Ruier than the Xia Ling.

In Netheril, many ordinary people certainly choose to believe and obey the authority of the law because of Faith. A Lord violating the law himself won't make people change their views on the law, but what if the Lord himself also follows the law?

And orderliness lies not only in constructing an order for others to follow, but also in oneself obeying that set of order. Especially the latter, which is almost unique in Netheril.

Xia Shao feels that those people are mostly not that arrogant or stupid, so there is only one answer: when those people are the strong, they believe the strong are right and the weak should obey the strong.

But Xia Shao being law-abiding does not mean Saville is law-abiding. At least in the eyes of those opponents, Seventon most likely will not care about the law, and the deterrent force is greater.

……

Actually, the reason why they had to wait for Seventon to step forward for the opponents to cease their resistance is largely because of the orderliness Xia Shao has shown from the Pioneer Territory until now.

To be indulgent all along and then suddenly become clear-headed and restrained one day—it is not that such a situation does not exist in reality, but compared to maintaining clarity and restraint from the very beginning, the latter is obviously easier to achieve.

In the vast land of the Xia Ling and the Savi Territory to the north, the authority of the Great Xia Code is beyond doubt, even though the current subjects still retain many backward concepts from the old era, such as Mages being superior.

At the same time, he also knows that although many ordinary people in Netheril currently believe in the authority of the law due to Faith, even when the Lord himself does not follow that set of rules.

Therefore, when Seventon appeared, those opponents instantly ceased their resistance, because they knew Xia Duo would indeed not do anything to them, but the old Lord would not indulge them. If they really angered the old Lord, there would be no good fruit for them to eat.

The standard is so flexible that it highlights a lack of bottom line; whatever is beneficial to oneself, one considers that to be right.

So even though Xia Shao follows the law and no one can judge him, he still abides by the constraints of the law, because that is a process of him practicing his own principles.

But facts have also proven that even Spellcasters dare not easily violate the territory's laws; this point can be seen from the proportion of cases involving Spellcasters in the Judgment Court.

This is also what Xia Shao is doing right now.

If it were the most traditional Netheril Lord, they would probably choose the former, but now is no longer when Netheril was just born. Many Lords' thoughts have changed; they believe their duty is not to protect the subjects, but that subjects naturally need to obey the Lord, support the Lord, and be beasts of burden for the Lord for generations.

If a person doesn't even have basic principles, can they still be considered a person?

Unfortunately, there isn't, and that is the fundamental reason why Xia Shao looks down on those people.

Xia Shao is very disdainful of those people, not because they trample on the law, but because those people cannot even maintain their own selves.

In such a situation, how should the Lord choose? Suppress it to maintain one's own rule? Or follow the historical trend and return power to the people?

But when they are the weak, their attitude flips instantly, believing that the strong should not be overly harsh on the weak, and that any behavior of the weak should be accommodated.

And because of this, those who oppose the integration of the Territory, as long as they have not clearly violated the law, will not worry about what the law-abiding Xia Shao will do to them, even though Xia Shao is also the "superior" Mage that many of them think he is.

If it were really like that, then Xia Shao might even look up to them a little.

If those people had always firmly believed that the strong are right and the strong dominate everything, then they should have treated the Saville Covenant as truth and not dared to have any disobedience.

But society will always continue to develop. Ordinary people will sooner or later realize that the Lord is not a necessary condition for the development of civilization, and is something that can be completely abandoned. Once the chains in their thoughts are unlocked, they will inevitably pursue the collapse of the shackles in reality.