The next morning, after finishing a sumptuous breakfast specially provided in the feudal lords' compound, Gongzi Xi eagerly summoned all the diners and inner officials.
Then, everyone disregarded the chairs and benches on the side and knelt in their proper places in the warm chamber.
They waited for Gongzi Xi to speak first.
"What I saw and heard yesterday has overturned my imagination. The rumors from outside are not exaggerated, and the feudal lords' compound is full of ingenious ideas and remarkable convenience. Perhaps even Emperor Zhou of Shang in his prime did not enjoy more than half of this comfort.
The pool of wine and forest of meat were merely abundant in wine and meat.
Far inferior to the various delicacies and fine wines here.
But to say it's extravagant and decadent, it's not quite so. It can only be said that much meticulous effort has been invested. The inventions of various tools are so numerous, they can almost rival those of the ancient Yellow Emperor. Have we, in our pursuit of governance and benevolence, gone astray?
The actions of Madam Xiyun seem to be solely related to craftsmanship and techniques. While measures of benevolent governance and encouraging agriculture and sericulture are far surpassed by the changes brought about by Madam Xiyun's improvements to a single craft. The invention of the curved-shaft plow alone is enough to enable the common people throughout the land to cultivate more than twice the land with simpler and more effortless methods, which is equivalent to a de facto doubling of the entire nation's grain output.
This can support many, many more people.
This is something that no amount of benevolent governance can achieve, isn't it?
My mind is somewhat troubled now. Each of you, speak freely about your thoughts, and I will consider them."
This was still the early stage of the Hundred Schools of Thought contending. Everyone had their own views on how to govern and how to strengthen the nation. At the same time, they placed greater trust in practice. A scholarly theory was only convincing if it was truly useful and genuinely made the nation stronger; otherwise, it was nonsense.
Therefore, there was no disdain for artisans.
At this time, Ding Yun, through her various measures, had made the Zhou country's Luoyang so prosperous and thriving. In Gongzi Xi's view, this undoubtedly meant that Ding Yun's actions were correct and were indeed measures that could strengthen the nation.
This made him begin to reflect on himself.
Reflecting on whether his past understanding was mistaken.
"My Lord, please do not be blinded by the illusion of Luoyang city's current prosperity. The prosperity of Luoyang city is too narrow and too special.
Merchants value profit and slight separation.
If a country prioritizes commerce everywhere, it is likely that in a short time, the people will speak of profit everywhere, discuss money in everything, and even trample on laws for wealth!
Most importantly, prioritizing commerce and neglecting agriculture will cause the people to abandon farming and turn to labor and business. Once natural disasters occur, countless people will likely starve.
Luoyang city appears prosperous and thriving now, but crises have long been lurking. To my knowledge, there are almost no farmlands left for growing grain within the entire Zhou country.
Those farmlands have either been converted into factories, planted with fruits and vegetables, or used for raising livestock.
To supply the consumption within Luoyang city.
And grain relies entirely on purchasing from other countries.
Now that transportation is smooth, the Zhou country can smoothly purchase grain from neighboring countries, and there are naturally no problems. But once the surrounding feudal states also experience natural disasters and can no longer sell grain to the Zhou country, their currently sold glass, soap, and other goods will not be able to fill their stomachs!"
As soon as he sensed Gongzi Xi's intention to imitate the Zhou country's governance measures, someone among the diners immediately bowed and advised. The other diners on the side also actively spoke up.
"My Lord, great countries are different from small countries. Countries with millions of people are different from countries with tens of thousands. Countries with hundreds of cities are different from countries with only one city. They cannot be compared.
For a small and sparsely populated country, even if it truly encounters natural disasters, it is relatively easy to find enough food to survive for tens of thousands of people. But for millions or even tens of millions, it would be a huge disaster.
No country can generously sell such a large amount of grain. Moreover, the competition between great countries is like a life-or-death struggle. If something happens, they are more likely to add insult to injury.
Therefore, I implore you to reconsider.
We must not imitate Luoyang's policies.
Purchasing tools that benefit agriculture and the nation, and then using or imitating them back home, is the best way to strengthen the country!"
Gongzi Xi saw that the remaining diners all wanted to continue speaking, so he quickly coughed and said:
"Please hold on for a moment, everyone.
I did not say that I advocate for encouraging commerce. I simply believe that the improvement of craftsmanship, the reform of some tools, and even their creation are very beneficial for strengthening the nation.
Therefore, my intention is to encourage invention, raise the status of artisans, and even appropriately poach more artisans and craftsmen from Luoyang. I believe that in the long run, this will inevitably lead to many inventions, ingenious ideas, and tools that benefit the country and the people in our Zhao country.
Ultimately, speaking of benevolence and morality is somewhat abstract.
The improvement of craftsmanship is more practical."
In the competition between the various states, each country placed greater emphasis on pragmatism. This was also the main reason for the flourishing development of culture and technology in this era. The social atmosphere was completely different from the centuries later "talk leading to the downfall of the nation."
Gongzi Xi had, to some extent, grasped the key point.
The diners and inner officials present could not refute this and could only express their agreement and offer some supplementary suggestions, such as which crafts must be learned and which were unnecessary, or what treatment should be given to artisans after they were poached. Before anything had even begun, a group of people were happily envisioning future achievements, unaware that their living quarters were already being monitored by Ding Yun, who knew their every word and action.
There were not too many people with similar ideas.
However, in reality, no one succeeded.
It wasn't that no one could succeed in poaching people, but rather that no one could successfully replicate the items Ding Yun sold after poaching them. Even if they replicated them, the quality was far inferior to the products Ding Yun sold. Take soap as an example. The soap sold by Ding Yun was clean, beautiful, and fragrant. However, the soap manufactured by the poached artisans was not only unsightly but also smelled terrible.
It was no exaggeration to call it stinky soap.
Seriously, industrialized production and soap with artificial fragrances were not easily replicated. They didn't even know where to find artificial fragrances. Using spices would cause the cost to skyrocket.
The scent was also not as long-lasting or pleasant as artificial fragrances.
Other items were similar.
Many people had successfully stolen the secret formulas and replicated them, but the quality of the replicated products could not compare to those sold by Ding Yun, leading many to suspect that the secret formulas they had stolen were fake or incomplete.
Ding Yun was also happy to watch the show.
However, Ding Yun had other matters to attend to recently. After watching the surveillance video from Gongzi Xi's side, she casually instructed a few ministers in charge of the workshops and then put Gongzi Xi and his entourage out of her mind, continuing her preparations to attack the Chu country under the guise of restoring the Song country.
(End of this chapter)