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The essence of terrorism lies in the spread of fear.

Terrorism, as the name suggests, is an act meant to disseminate terror, and paradoxically, for fear to spread, the target must be alive.

A scholar once said, “Terror is a negotiation that exploits human fear. Therefore, one should never negotiate with terrorists. If negotiations are successful once, it sets a precedent that will undoubtedly be used in the future.” Most acts of terrorism can be seen as attempts to convey messages or instill fear in others to gain something.

In that sense, China was a country that found it convenient to commit acts of terror, but at the same time, it faced challenges in successfully executing them.

China’s vast territory and significant regional disparities made it easy to find vulnerabilities, yet even if a terror act succeeded, spreading fear remained difficult for that very reason.

Given the size of the land, it takes time for fear to spread.

With considerable regional disparities, it is easy to suppress the people in “less important regions.”

If necessary, the government could manipulate the internet and media to pretend “nothing happened.”

Fear spreads with recognition.

Thus, if you bury or isolate things so that they are not recognized in the first place, there is nothing to spread.

China had the know-how to monitor and control its people and was able to suppress terrorism by utilizing that knowledge generously. Even if fear spread, as in the past, the government had the power to forcibly suppress it to ensure the people’s daily lives continued. As mentioned earlier, committing terrorism was unlikely to yield significant effects.

A prime example was the events before the return.

Before the return, as China expanded its territory, it created countless enemies.

People forced into annexation, those of mixed heritage who were incorporated after forced assimilation but lived in strictly separated “classes,” external forces feeling threatened by China’s expansionism, religious individuals angered by religious repression, and countries viewing with discomfort China’s attempts to dominate the world by extending its reach even beyond the third world to the first and second.

With so many enemies, terrorism was practically inevitable.

From airplane suicide bombings, bomb terror, biological weapon attacks, to dirty bomb attacks, China had to endure numerous assaults.

Yet, surprisingly, China managed to halt the spread of fear through astonishing methods.

Terror organizations, as well as others observing China, were left in awe by their brazen tactics.

When buildings collapsed, the party declared,

“The construction company responsible for the high-rise was daring enough to commit corruption by embezzling construction materials and conducting shoddy work. The party has swiftly arrested them, and their crimes will not go unpunished.”

They sent public security to several construction firms as announced, detaining them urgently and even executing some.

For the terror organization that had directly caused the collapse of a high-rise, it was an unbelievable sight.

They flew a plane packed with explosives right into a high building, yet the government announced that it collapsed due to poor construction, and then proceeded to execute innocent people as culprits….

It was a situation that defied common sense.

And realizing that those executed were anti-war activists or people belonging to factions hostile to the currently ruling regime only added to the absurdity.

While there is a saying to turn crisis into opportunity, this was too much, wasn’t it?

A terrorist attack occurred, but rather than focusing on capturing the culprits, they thought first to exploit it politically.

An utterly ridiculous situation.

Like the saying “covering one’s ears while stealing a bell,” people mocked, saying that there was a place where common sense did not apply.

But… it was too early to be surprised.

When a biological weapon detonated in the city center, the party announced,

“A vehicle transporting dangerous chemicals was destroyed and leaked due to robbers. The party will not forgive thieves who seek to harm others during the nation’s tumultuous times, and we will do our utmost to arrest them so that the people can go about their daily lives.”

When an ability user infiltrated China from abroad and killed hundreds in the city, the party announced,

“A third-class citizen of European descent incorporated into China committed indiscriminate murder. The culprit stated, ‘I was poor while others looked happy, so I hated it,’ and the party sentenced the culprit to death.”

When dozens of dirty bombs exploded and a city was drenched in radiation, the party stated,

“Despite declaring a ceasefire with China, India secretly smuggled nuclear backpacks and dirty bombs into China, ready to detonate them in case of an emergency. The Communist heroes realized this and tried to seize the nuclear weapons from them, but unfortunately, the despicable India, even at the cost of its own life, detonated the bomb to harm China….”

And so the party continued.

They skillfully distorted facts, gained political advantages, divided classes to prevent people from turning their anger on the powerful, and at times even manipulated evidence to create justifications for invading foreign countries.

Did people believe it?

They did.

Those who believed said they believed, and those who didn’t also claimed to believe.

And thus, all the people of China said they “believed” the party’s words.

No matter what was in their hearts.

Thus, countless acts of terror seemed to flow by as if nothing had happened, all amid mental victories and information distortions.

At least, until the terror organizations adjusted their plans.

* * *

In ancient times, Mao Zedong posed a question to Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai.

“We all know that cats don’t eat chili peppers. But is there a way to make a cat eat chili peppers?”

Liu Shaoqi responded to Mao Zedong’s question saying,

“Just hold the cat tightly and shove the chili in its mouth.”

At this, Mao Zedong shook his head in disapproval.

“You must never use force. Everything must be voluntary.”

Then Zhou Enlai replied to Mao Zedong’s question.

“Starve the cat for a few days and wrap the chili in a layer of meat. Then, the cat, being hungry, will eat it without realizing there’s chili inside, right?”

To which Mao Zedong frowned in dissatisfaction and said,

“Using trickery is not right. Never try to deceive the people.”

Then he shared his clever plan with Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai.

“The method is quite simple. Just smear chili on the cat’s back. If its back itches, won’t the cat lick it off? There’s no issue with that.”

* * *

In places where water and food are controlled, something inevitably decreases.

Hygiene.

Since water was controlled, people couldn’t wash, and because they couldn’t wash, the surrounding environment naturally became dirty. Furthermore, if one doesn’t wash their body, how can clothes remain intact? Clothes also get dirty, reeking, and stained.

Yet, it couldn’t be helped.

The rationed water had to be used for drinking.

Boiling tea and cooking.

At least, as Chinese cuisine often uses oil instead of water, the amount used in cooking wasn’t too high. But still, even with conservation, it only amounted to being able to wash one’s face or hands, so maintaining hygienic living was tough.

But even amid such circumstances, some people thought,

“This might be a decent opportunity.”

It seems that it wasn’t without reason that a Chinese merchant was counted among the top three merchants in the world, as people saw a chance to accumulate wealth even amidst this dissatisfaction with controls.

What they identified as “opportunity” was water.

They thought to trade the rationed water, which was far from enough for a satisfying day.

Rather than purifying groundwater or contaminated water to sell, they aimed to sell “rationed water.”

They approached the impoverished and said,

[ Are you interested in selling leftover water? ]

[ Of course! ]

To those who were starving daily, food was far more precious than the regularly rationed water.

People approached the poor to buy water from them in exchange for food or money, bringing it to those with some wealth.

[ Would you like to buy some water? ]

[ Is this water really good quality? ]

[ Yes. It’s rationed water. I traded it for food. ]

[ Oh, really? Then I’ll take it. ]

Of course, there was a markup in the distribution process.

But it couldn’t be avoided.

Distributing isn’t free; it involves labor and time.

It was only natural to sell it at a higher price than it was bought.

[ Oh, this isn’t bad! I might make a fortune! ]

Thus, people started “water trading” so naturally.

Not metaphorically, but actual merchants selling water.

Providing enough satisfaction to those facing unsatisfactory days due to water scarcity.

[ What? Why is the price for water so low? ]

[ There are many people selling. With a high supply, the price naturally falls, right? ]

[ But still, how can I…? ]

[ Oh, then sell more water. ]

[ What? You want me to sell more water here? ]

[ Right. Just save some water. People need to eat to have strength. What good is water if it’s just for peeing? ]

[ …Even so, that’s too hard. Just… yes, I’ll sell the same amount as before….]

Of course, some might charge a bit more or undercut the buying prices, but…

That wasn’t a significant issue.

[ Ugh… I’m so hungry… Oh? A pigeon? Ha, what a stroke of luck! ]

If it were normal times.

 

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