Landed Xumi: There is no problem with my numbers!

Avoiding the concentration and abuse of power will naturally restrict the exercise of power in disguise. In this way, the decision-making and consultation process will be more complicated, which is inevitable. "

"The shortcomings of the Seven Stars Deliberation System in terms of efficiency do exist objectively. In your opinion, does this system have any merits?"

Zhongli nodded and frankly admitted the flaws of the Seven Star System under his rule, but he also raised a new question to Ganyu.

"Of course there are advantages, and they are very significant. So even if there are disadvantages, I have always believed that such a system, on the whole, has more advantages than disadvantages..."

"——The most significant advantage is its response to and integration of public opinion."

Ganyu paused, noticing the Emperor's interested look, and then continued.

"In my opinion, the tenure of each of the Seven Stars is actually very short."

"Often before I can react, the young man full of vigor and vitality has become old and it is time to choose the next successor."

As an expression of true feelings, when Ganyu talked about this topic, he thought of the Seven Stars that had been rotated dozens or even hundreds of times during his term, and he unconsciously showed a sense of loneliness.

But she soon recovered from this emotion and continued:

"In the beginning, I thought that such frequent personnel changes were a sign of instability for Liyue. After all, the experience and abilities of each person cannot be perfectly inherited by the next person, and every change of leadership often brings a certain degree of chaos."

Recalling that every time the Seven Stars election came, Yue Haiting's workload would suddenly increase.

And after the election, there were many problems that needed to be dealt with due to the new Seven Stars' lack of familiarity with government affairs. Ganyu felt that her original idea was not unreasonable even now.

"."

"——But as the number of rotations increased, I gradually discovered the deep meaning behind your actions, Emperor."

After a pause, Ganyu, who originally seemed to be complaining, now had a hint of admiration in her tone.

"Although the tenure of each of the Seven Stars is short, they always find some areas that their predecessors have not noticed during their tenure and try to improve the imperfections therein."

“Even an inexperienced newcomer can, after a period of growth, surpass his predecessors in certain areas and achieve achievements that no one has ever achieved before.”

"——The reason for this is precisely because the life span of ordinary people is extremely short in the eyes of immortals."

"...This is a novel perspective. Why do you think that the short life span of ordinary people can reflect public opinion?"

After hearing Ganyu's answer, Zhongli was obviously in a good mood and continued to ask.

"——Because their lives are short, they often become the epitome of the people's needs of that era. In my opinion, every election of the Seven Stars is actually a natural manifestation of public opinion."

Ganyu gave a general answer.

"Times are changing so fast that it often seems to me that I've just worked overtime for a while, but the shops, decorations and buildings I often visit have disappeared completely without me noticing."

“So I think that even if we, who are not ordinary people, want to integrate into such a group, we may be naturally insensitive to the changes of the times and the needs of the people because of our insensitivity to time.”

Ganyu looked a little lonely, as if she had come to this result after some unsuccessful attempts.

"——And this is the significance of the Seven Star System."

"Each of the Seven Stars has a naturally different stance and identity. Some come from wealthy and prominent families, some from academic institutions, and still others have worked their way up step by step in the marketplace before ultimately striving to reach this position."

"Such complex differences in identity also lead to very different emphases for each of them in policy implementation."

"Except for some Seven Stars who are not suitable for public selection, in most cases, their Liyue development plans can gain public support and be selected, which is itself a reflection of public opinion."

"And considering the age gap between the seven stars, there will be an opportunity to collect public opinion on a large scale every ten years or even several years.

...Although it may not mean much to you, the Emperor, but for someone like me who is a little slow, it is a good opportunity to understand the current situation of Liyue."

With the end of this long speech like a performance report, Ganyu's answer to the "pros and cons of the Seven Star System" also came to an end.

This answer covers many angles, most of which come from personal experience during the long tenure, and can be said to be well-founded.

But while Zhongli was satisfied, he also keenly discovered another difference that Ganyu had not mentioned.

With some curiosity, he asked:

"I understand your views on administrative efficiency, but why didn't you mention the way to solve the problem?"

Although two differences were raised at the beginning, Ganyu only answered one of them. Judging from the rigor of her previous answer, this was obviously not an unintentional mistake.

"Ah, this question?"

Ganyu, who had just answered the questions fluently, suddenly seemed to be at a loss for words after hearing Zhongli's question.

After thinking for a while, she finally said a little embarrassedly:

"This... is mainly because the way of thinking of the two gods Xumi is too different from that of the Liyue Seven Stars, and there are also some points that conflict with the previous one, so I don't know how to answer for a while."

"It's okay, just say it directly."

Zhongli shook his head, indicating that Ganyu didn't need to worry too much and should just speak her mind.

"Then Emperor, I will speak frankly."

Ganyu glanced at Zhongli, and although she was a little hesitant, she finally decided to speak her mind frankly.

"——I think that if the gods themselves participate in the decision-making, many of the problems mentioned in the previous article will not cause them any trouble."

"On the contrary, because the gods have wisdom and power far beyond that of ordinary people, their methods of dealing with many problems may be far beyond the imagination of ordinary people."

“And the decisions made on this basis may never be reached by conventional methods.”

"Oh? ...So you are more optimistic about the governance style here in Xumi?"

Although the Seven-Star Secretary in front of him had been working in Yuehai Pavilion for a thousand years, Zhongli was still keenly aware of Ganyu's inclinations.

"."

"Well, I still can't forget the days when you, the Emperor, directly led the people of Liyue."

In response to Zhongli's question, Ganyu was a little hesitant, but still nodded.

"A thousand years ago, when the Seven Stars mechanism was not yet perfected, under your direct command, the immortals and the people of Liyue worked in harmony, and in just a few years, laid the foundation for today's Liyue to remain stable for a thousand years."

"But in the following hundreds of years, although you still provide some key governance strategies every year, the development speed of Liyue is actually much slower than before due to the mutual constraints among the Seven Stars."

Recalling the past years, Ganyu frankly expressed these somewhat "offensive" remarks.

"During my investigation in Xumi, I found that whether it was through the system called 'Void' to quickly obtain the opinions of the people of the country, or to move the mountains and build trade routes within the entire rainforest."

"If there is no direct intervention from your Lordship, I really can't imagine how this can be accomplished relying only on the power of the Seven Stars."

“——Perhaps at the beginning, such a time-consuming and labor-intensive project with no immediate benefits would not be approved.”

Ganyu thought of the "economic benefits" that Qixing always considered when proposing policies.

I don't think that such an outrageous decision as that made by the God Xumi to go to great lengths to open up the mountains just to connect the roads to those remote villages would be agreed upon.

——Even the "Guiliyuan Commercial Road Renovation Plan" proposed by "Yuhengxing" before, a policy that has more benefits than disadvantages no matter how you look at it, wasn't it eventually postponed again and again because it was too expensive?

"Although it is possible that I have not understood your deep meaning, but from my personal point of view, I still think that when you directly send down the oracle and participate in various decision-making like in the past, the development of the entire Liyue will be faster."

At that time, even the smiles on people's faces were full of hope and vitality, just like Sumeru now.

Ganyu did not say this out loud, but it was indeed what she really thought.

"."

"I understand your idea."

"What if one day in the future, I am no longer able to point the way forward for Liyue due to some unexpected events, and the immortals gradually retreat to the mountains and forests? Do you think Liyue now has the ability to go on alone?"

After hearing the thoughts of this younger generation who had spent the longest time with humans, Zhongli fell into deep thought and finally asked a question that Ganyu had not expected.

"."

"Please forgive my stupidity, but I really can't imagine how Liyue will move forward without the Emperor."

"If you, the Emperor, had not defeated and expelled those demon gods that were causing chaos, Liyue might not exist today."

"Your Majesty, you and your predecessors have been integrated into the history of Liyue. If this land loses you and your predecessors, I don't know what direction it will eventually go."

After hearing this question, Ganyu didn't know how to answer it for a moment.

Humans have their shining points, but their minds are more complicated than those of immortals.

Thinking of the many private conflicts that existed among previous generations of the Seven Stars, she couldn't imagine how these conflicts would affect the people of Liyue if Liyue completely lost its Emperor.

"."

"Yeah, I know."

"Let's go back. I already have the answer from the results of this investigation."

After noticing Ganyu's attitude, Zhongli looked up at the sky, as if thinking about something.

In the end, as if he had finally made a decision after much hesitation, he shook his head and suggested to Ganyu, who was a little confused beside him, to return.

Chapter 176 Return to Liyue Harbor

On the south side of Liyue Harbor, eat Tiger Rock.

At this time close to evening, many workers who were busy making a living during the day have returned from their work places and started to enjoy the rare leisure time of the day.

Among the bustling crowd, the figures of two young men stood out.

Apart from their appearance, in Liyue where clothing is generally blue and grey, the robes of these two people are a rare green and white colour scheme, making them very recognizable among the crowd.

And these are naturally Lin Feng and Wendy who came all the way from the Layered Rock Abyss.

Because it took some time to deal with the treasure-stealing groups in the Chasm, even though the two of them traveled very fast, it was still close to evening when they arrived at Liyue Harbor.

Now, Lin Feng, who had not had a proper meal for a whole day and had to share some food with Wendy from time to time, breathed a sigh of relief when he finally arrived at Liyue Harbor.

Thinking that he should go back to his home and take care of the vegetables and fruits he had planted before leaving, he looked at Wendy beside him and said:

"This is Liyue Harbor. Although it is not small in size, since you are familiar with the old man, you must have been here before, so there is no need for me to lead the way for you."

"I'm going to go back to my place here. Do you want to go around Liyue Harbor by yourself first and then move around freely, or do you want to stay by my side and go with me to see the old man?"

In Lin Feng's opinion, Venti is the ruler of Mondstadt after all. He must have his own considerations for running all the way to the border of Xumi and Liyue at such a time. It is not surprising if he chooses to act alone after seeing him.

"Eh? Although I have been here before, it was many years ago. I am not familiar with Liyue Harbor now. If no one leads the way, I will definitely get lost in some strange place, right?"

"——We agreed to go to the old man together to borrow a large sum of Mora, you must not leave me alone!"

After hearing that the two might have to separate, Wendy blinked and looked pitifully at Lin Feng beside her, making it clear that she was determined to eat and drink for free to the end.

"This isn't Mondstadt. I'm not sure if my poetry will be welcomed in Liyue. If people don't buy it, I'll be penniless and have to sleep on the streets."

"You certainly can't bear to see a poor bard like me starving and freezing in the night, right?"

A certain shameless bard had no awareness of being a god at all, and acted as if he was going to starve to death on the street if he dared to abandon him.

"."

When Lin Feng saw this strange demon, he fell silent again, and even began to doubt whether the free spirit in Mond was a little too extreme.

After thinking for a while, he was planning to leave Wendy to the old man to worry about, but when he saw that the God of Wind obviously had no intention of separating from him, he did not refuse forcefully.

After all, although Wendy often doesn't do his job properly, he is actually quite reliable at critical moments.

Besides, if a few people just go to Bubulu to eat and drink for free, then there is actually no harm.

If Bai Zhu and the employees there could take this opportunity to become familiar with Wendy, it would be something that ordinary people would wish for.

Thinking of this, he looked at the bard in front of him and said:

"Alright. Although I have doubts about the Thousand Wind God getting lost, it's not impossible if you want to come with me."

"——But I have to go home and pack my things now. There's nothing for you to do even if you come with me."

"If you want to see the old man, you can go to Bubulu on the north side of Liyue Harbor.

Because I have left a lot of high-quality ingredients there, so recently, the old man who can't stand seeing things go to waste will most likely be in charge of cooking there, so you can try your luck."

Although it felt unnecessary, he still showed poor Wendy a way.

"Hehe, I knew that someone as reliable as you would not be as unkind as the old man before."

"Bu Bulu, right? I'll be there right away, but you must come later!"

After receiving the information that the young man next to him would not leave him, the green bard breathed a sigh of relief and walked away from Lin Feng towards Bubulu with a look of relief on his face.

Because he got the news that the old man might be cooking over there, the God of Wind, who had just said that he might get lost, now didn't even bother to pretend.

Just like a local resident who had lived in Liyue Harbor for decades, he walked along the road of Feiyunpo with shining eyes and headed straight for Bubu Lu on the north side of Liyue Harbor.

"."

Lin Feng looked at the guy in front of him who was most likely more familiar with Liyue Harbor than he was, and felt that he must be a stupid idiot for wanting to show him the way just now.