Chapter 255: Make Noxus Great Again?
Swain discussed many issues with the snack bar owner and got to know more about the Leader.
He discovered that the Windleader was actually very similar to Noxus in some ways.
For example, fairness.
Yes , Noxus is fair too—only to the extraordinary.
Noxus always respects the strong and advocates strength. Here, every capable person will not be buried and will not be dragged down by his original background, race, bloodline and class.
As long as a person is strong, he can prosper in Noxus. Compared with other places in Runeterra, such as Demacia where magic is forbidden, this is really fair.
But the Leader is far stronger than Noxus in this regard.
Leaders not only create fairness for the strong, but also bring fairness to good people.
This is what makes the leader most different.
In other countries and other social environments, being a good person is often seen as a stupid thing.
Because the reality is that killing people and setting fires brings gold belts, while building bridges and paving roads leaves no corpses. Doing good things often does not bring good rewards, but often causes oneself to suffer because of the ugliness of human nature.
Therefore, being a good person became a foolish thing, and an honest person became a derogatory term. A selfless hero could only be despised and ridiculed by "smart people", while a greedy and shameless villain could be admired by everyone.
This is the trend among the people, and it is even more so in the imperial court. Not being greedy and not seeking profit will not bring any rewards, but will only lead to the cold shoulder and exclusion of the interest groups. Working diligently will not lead to promotion, and only by learning to make friends and cling to the powerful can one rise to the top.
Over time, Noxus will naturally rot.
But the leaders are different.
Goddess Gana has created an absolutely fair and just positive environment for good people, where being a good person will definitely be recognized and doing good things will definitely be rewarded.
When society no longer strikes hard at idealists, but instead embraces them warmly——
Naturally, there will be more and more idealists, and more and more "saints" who seem to only exist in mainstream stories, actually appearing in this world.
"Noxus... is in danger." Swain suddenly felt a chill.
What the empire is about to face is a true God, a group of living saints, and an immortal great idea that can create countless saints.
What should he do?
Should we go with the flow and give up trying to save the empire, or should we go against the tide of history in order to save the empire?
The problem is back again.
Swain was conflicted.
"Do you have any other questions?" The snack bar owner had been chatting excitedly before, and now seeing that he was thinking with his head down again, he started talking enthusiastically.
Swain glanced up.
He didn't feel that the talkative but limited-minded snack bar owner could understand his situation or answer his questions.
But despite his dilemma, Swain was still somewhat curious about what advice this ordinary person could give him.
So he carefully asked: "Boss, let me ask you a question——"
"What if, I mean what if, what if Levi, Victor and the others were all genuine Piltover people, the Wind Leader Association was originally a completely Piltover people's association."
"Then when the Wind Leader Association rules Zaun and announces that Zaun will be incorporated into Piltover, the people of Zaun will become people of Piltover, and the name 'Zaun' will become history forever..."
"Will you still support the leader so much?"
"This..." This really stumped the snack bar owner.
He stood there in a daze for a moment, and couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Because the gap between Zaun and Piltover is so huge, and the hatred is so deep, almost every Zaun person has experienced the painful experience of being discriminated against, excluded, and even beaten and abused by the people of Upper City.
This hatred that has lasted for hundreds of years cannot be resolved overnight.
If the Wind Leader Association was an association of Piltover people, the people of Zaun would definitely subconsciously reject it in their hearts.
If a Guild of Piltover, which is composed entirely of people from Piltover, comes to Zaun, the people of Zaun will definitely have reason to suspect - are these people from Piltover just changing their skins and coming to invade them again?
"This..." The snack bar owner had never imagined such a situation before.
After being asked this by Swain, he was really confused.
However, after some hesitation, the snack bar owner's eyes became firm again: "If those ' Leaders of Piltover' are really leaders, they will not discriminate between people from Piltover and Zaun."
"And if everyone is treated equally, then there will naturally be no difference between people from Zaun and people from Piltover."
"What's more... I was just a poor Zaun vendor. If the 'Leader of Piltover' can really bring me a better life, why should I reject it? So even if that's the case, I will support the Leader."
“Hmm…” Swain nodded slowly.
The snack bar owner's words were somewhat inspiring to him, but not very meaningful.
Because Swain suddenly realized that the gap between his identity and experience was too big, and the other party's feelings might not be of reference value to him.
The snack bar owner suffered a lot in Zaun in the past, so his love for Zaun is certainly limited.
"What about me?" Swain suddenly thought of this question.
Why does he love Noxus? Why do Noxians love Noxus?
Swain thought carefully:
Of course, the serfs of Noxus do not love the Empire, because they are just slaves, property and objects, not even human beings. It is natural that they do not love Noxus.
The common people of Noxus, even the poorest, love Noxus. Moreover, they are the people who have the most need to love Noxus.
Because civilians are not like rich people who can escape from Noxus at any time and then continue to live freely abroad.
So their fate is passively bound to Noxus.
As Noxus rises, they will be able to get some leftovers from the bigger pie - just like the people of Piltover who are living a good life.
And if Noxus fell, they would be the first to become victims of the empire's decline - just like the residents of Trivelle, who were close to the war front and suffered from the torment of the grain collection teams.
Therefore, these lower-class civilians of Noxus have become the group of people who love the empire the most and have the most need to love the empire.
However, those rich people who live a comfortable life in Noxus above these commoners do not need to love Noxus too much.
Because even if the empire weakened, they could always move out with their wealth and bodies.
Whether they go to Piltover, Shurima, or any other country in Runeterra, they are still rich people and can continue to maintain their original affluent lives.
Above these wealthy people were the aristocratic families, whose fiefs and titles all came from the empire. When the empire was destroyed, their family fortunes would also be destroyed.
In theory, the nobles have the deepest interests tied to Noxus and should love Noxus the most.
But in reality, many nobles were doing dirty things that were constantly eating away at the empire for their own selfish desires. In their eyes, there was no empire at all, only themselves.
Only a few nobles, especially the new military nobles, still truly love Noxus and are truly working for the interests of the empire.
Swain is an exception among these exceptions.
He even has no selfish desires at all.
Yes, he has no selfish desires, does not covet the title and land of the empire, but unlike the common people, his fate is bound to the empire without any choice...
So why love Noxus?
"I love Noxus, just because... it's Noxus." Swain recognized himself.
His love for Noxus is without reason, just like a wanderer loves his hometown and a child loves his mother.
He loves the sky, land, rivers and hills of Noxus, and he loves the music, art, history and literature of Noxus.
He loved every syllable and every word of the Noxian language, as well as every poem and every story written with these words.
"I can't let it go!"
"I will make Noxus great again and make it rise again!"
Swain secretly clenched his fists, as if he had strengthened his confidence.
At this moment, the owner of the snack bar seemed to suddenly think of something: "Wait, the time is up."
“What time is it?” Swain looked over.
"The time for 'Table Talk'." The snack bar owner looked at his watch: "It's President Levi's radio speech program."
With the popularization of radio, leaders have a more advanced means of propaganda.
Levi not only established the "Zuan Radio Station" and the "Voice of Zaun" as internal and external propaganda mouthpieces, but also often personally took part in the broadcasting to convey his political ideas directly to the people of Zuan.
Because he always gave radio talks at noon, the people of Zaun were accustomed to listening to his speeches while eating at the dining table, so his radio talks were affectionately called "table talks" by the people of Zaun.
"Levi's speech?" Swain was indeed curious.
He waited quietly, and then melodious music sounded from the radio.
Then a sweet female voice was heard.
That was the voice of Miss Seraphine, the star anchorwoman of Zaun Radio.
However, she was not the main character of the show this time. She only served as the announcer: "Ladies and gentlemen, comrades, good afternoon. Welcome to Radio Zaun."
"Next, our respected President Li Wei will share his latest article with everyone——"
"We should make Zaun disappear"
