Livi sternly rejected Nasus' request.

Because this proposal to protect the independence of the Shurima region is in serious conflict with the underlying logic of the Janna Dominion Alliance in Runeterra.

The Runeterra Janna Lord Yi Alliance aims to break the barriers between various ethnic groups and regions in the past and realize the great unity of the people of the world through the belief of Janna Lord Yi.

How could it possibly recognize a Shurima region that was established under the logic of national sovereignty and territorial sovereignty?

Nationalism, this thing can be said to be good or bad.

When countries all over the world are doing this, you'd better do it too.

Moreover, many times you can’t do it even if you want to. Just like facing the butcher knife of the Noxians, it is impossible for the Demacians not to shout "For Demacia", and it is impossible for the Ionians not to shout "Io".

Niya's high spirits will never be destroyed."

However, times have changed.

In the future, all of Runeterra will have Janna as the main force and the people of the world will unite. You, Shurima, are still here to pursue national independence and regional protection... Isn't this purely reversing the course of history?

To put it harshly:

Everyone is opening their doors to contribute to the construction of Runeterra, but you, Shurima, are keeping your doors closed to protect the region. Do you want to do nothing but want the whole world to benefit you?

"No, absolutely not." So Li Wei sternly refused: "Branch branches must obey the leadership of the General Conference, and local areas must obey the command of the Central Council. This is our discipline."

"Mr. Nasus, I can understand your thinking."

The Ascended Ones all come from feudal rulers. If they can leapfrog to modern national sovereignty in one step, if they can put aside their noble status and treat their Shurima compatriots equally, they are considered very advanced.

It is unrealistic to expect them to quickly accept the leader’s spiritual philosophy of fighting for the happiness of all mankind.

but...

"This is our belief and our bottom line. We cannot give in." Levi's tone was very serious.

The Ascended Ones must be more advanced in their thinking.

Otherwise, if you don’t change your thinking, you will have to change your people sooner or later.

"You?!" Azir heard the edge in Levi's words. He felt that his pride was hurt, but he didn't want to get angry.

So he held it in for a while and then said sarcastically: "Mr. Levi. Even the Shurima Empire, which was in its heyday, did not control vassal areas such as Icathia like the Wind Leader's attempt to control Shurima.

"

"You leaders say that the country will perish."

"But you have established an unprecedented powerful state machine that can cover the entire Rune Land, is more majestic than the ancient Shurima Empire - isn't this very contradictory?"

Azir didn't speak politely.

But Li Wei replied calmly: "First, I must repeat one point of correction. The leader is not any kind of old ruler."

"What you did to Icacia should be called colonial plunder. This is completely different from the alliance center's control of the place."

The Shurima people asked Icathia to pay tribute to slaves every day, but they also refused to allow the Icathians to enter the empire's ruling class and obtain the qualifications for ascension, and finally forced Icathia to rebel.

This means that from the very beginning, the Icathians were not regarded as one of their own, and they were only treated as slaves for the empire to suck their blood.

But do leaders have the selfish intention of benefiting themselves at the expense of others and favoring others over others? Of course not.

"Second, your grasp of Janna theory is not very good." Levi retorted tit for tat.

“We leaders believe that the ‘country’ is the product of irreconcilable class contradictions.”

"So when the harmonious society of distribution according to needs arrives, class conflicts will be completely resolved, and the state apparatus in the traditional sense will disappear."

"This does not mean that the state apparatus has to disappear now."

"Because distribution according to needs has not been achieved at all and class contradictions have not been eliminated."

"When you use this sentence to accuse us, it's like asking a person who is eating why he still holds the bowl since he can put the bowl down when he is full."

"Well..." Azir was left speechless.

But Nasus seemed to be inspired by Azir's words.

He no longer started from the perspective of nationalism and regionalism, but took a different approach and discussed institutional issues with Li Wei:

"Mr. Li Wei, you seem to admire the current centralized system of leadership."

"The public must obey the leadership of the association, the branches must obey the orders of the general meeting, and the local areas must obey the central command——"

"I admit that such a system is very efficient. It can concentrate its efforts on major tasks, coordinate the overall situation, and develop scientifically."

"I also know that Janna's faith determination ensures the purity of the Wind Leader team, allowing you to avoid all the disadvantages caused by the concentration of power."

"But there is one drawback that you cannot avoid - that is, saints also make mistakes, and mistakes are inevitable."

"And the current centralized system of leadership will only amplify mistakes infinitely."

You can accomplish great things by concentrating your efforts, but if you fail, it will definitely cause greater losses.

And unlimited power means unlimited responsibility. As long as something goes wrong, the public's resentment will definitely be directed at you.

Therefore, it is better to divide the powers and responsibilities together and let each region develop freely under the laws of the market. Nasus suggested this.

"This..." Levi was a little surprised.

The Grand Maester was worthy of being a Grand Maester. He did not expect that Nasus could ask such a profound question.

This is no longer simply a discussion of the decentralization of power between local and central authorities, but a discussion of the rationality of the leader's entire centralized system.

"Actually, similar issues have also triggered discussions in the public opinion circles in the Twin Cities," Levi said.

"Oh?" Nasus raised his brows in surprise: "In the twin cities where the leader has the strongest power, there are still people who dare to question you?"

"Haha." Levi heard Nasus' implicit accusation.

He smiled and replied: "It is precisely because we are the strongest that we have absolute freedom of speech."

"..." Nasus was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh: "Indeed."

Is the Shurima Empire afraid of criticism? No. Because they have hundreds of Ascended Ones.

The leader is already too strong to be shaken.

And the thread of faith is there. No matter how many objections everyone usually has, they all know very well in their hearts who to follow and who to believe in the end.

"So I respect those who oppose it. Those who can still stand up and oppose at this time are all people with true beliefs."

"The opinions they put forward may not be correct, but they can also be used as jade from other mountains, allowing us to examine and reflect on ourselves."

Levi said in a sincere tone. He did not pretend to be generous.

He really respects those true opponents who have their own opinions, no matter how outrageous their opinions are.

And what he hates is just those pseudo-opposition people who act according to the prevailing circumstances.

For example, the literati at Piltover Daily.

Before the leader became successful, this group of people wrote articles every day to criticize the leader, describing the leader as a group of psychopaths who hate the rich and are the bottom scum of Zaun who want to get something for nothing.

But when the leader gained power, this group of people changed their attitude 180 degrees. They praised the leader in newspapers every day and did not dare to write even the slightest negative content...

"This kind of people are the real pests." Li Wei commented unceremoniously: "These people used to talk about the spirit of freedom, and then they talked about Janna's righteousness. In the final analysis, they are just the flattery of power by those who admire the strong."

He criticized this phenomenon in the Twin Cities.

Therefore, under Levi's guidance, everyone discovered that the Leader did not physically eliminate dissidents like Noxus;

It’s not like Piltover, which respects freedom of speech on the surface but secretly sends family spies to physically eliminate opponents.

Therefore, they dared to stand up and express their opinions.

"Mr. Nasus, the opinion you just raised is the key issue we have discussed."

"That is whether the current centralization of the leader is unreasonable. Is the theory of the leader as a 'vanguard' correct?"

In the Twin Cities, and even within the Leaders, there are a few voices that oppose this.

Some radical leaders believe that since the state machine will eventually die, then as believers in Janna, they should artificially accelerate this process.

As long as everyone becomes a leader and has a high degree of ideological consciousness, then the existence of a state machine is unnecessary.

"Do you think this is right?" Levi asked.

"This..." Nasus thought thoughtfully. These people's proposals seemed to be more radical than his idea of ​​decentralization.

In the end, he chose not to stand with these radicals: "No, I don't completely agree."

"Because material determines consciousness, and social existence determines social consciousness." Nasus thought of the Ionian proverb that Taliyah once mentioned: "A solid storehouse will reveal etiquette, and having enough food and clothing will reveal honor and disgrace."

"The high level of ideological consciousness that everyone can possess cannot exist alone without highly developed productive forces."

“As long as a harmonious society has not been realized and private ownership has not disappeared, there will be no situation where ‘everyone is a leader’.”

"That's right." Levi nodded.

He knew a Zaun snack bar owner who sold Demon Swamp frog meat.

That guy's theoretical foundation is extremely solid, and he is even more of a leader than a leader.

But he is just a follower of the wind with shallow beliefs and cannot be considered a true leader at all.
To be continued...