Chapter Thirty-One

  As a successor who has been nurtured since childhood, Xiaobai is not unfamiliar with the grand principles of "ruling like water", but what I told him was so starkly and brutally true that it had a huge impact on him. It's understandable, given that he has been indoctrinated with phrases like "the mandate of heaven" and "heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs" since childhood. So I didn't expect him to accept it immediately, but rather hoped to plant the seeds for future growth. However, his mental endurance turned out to be better than I imagined.

  “。。。。。。。。。。。”

  Here is the translation:

  "As a successful ruler, both talented individuals and obedient followers are essential. Although it's a universal truth that one should favor virtuous officials over petty ones, this isn't always realistic. Petty individuals also have value; their role is to serve as foils for those in power and cater to their whims. As Emperor Taizong said, 'The country takes people as its mirror.' The existence of these petty individuals serves as a mirror reflecting the darker aspects of human nature.

  "Those in power need talented individuals to govern the country effectively, but they also require loyal followers to accomplish tasks that are inconvenient for them. A wise ruler knows how to strike a balance between the two and utilize each individual's strengths. Loyal followers may not have exceptional abilities, but their advantage lies in their obedience; they can be trusted and rewarded with wealth and glory without hesitation. However, they cannot be entrusted with power or important responsibilities due to their lack of ability.

  "If they were to participate in governance, they would inevitably become jealous of the talented individuals and try to eliminate them out of self-preservation. This would lead to disastrous consequences for everyone involved. Talented individuals often have a sense of pride and can be entrusted with significant responsibilities and power, but they should not be allowed to dominate for extended periods, as this may lead to factionalism and private interests.

  "Many people confuse the roles of talented individuals and loyal followers, treating the former like the latter and vice versa. This reversal of priorities ultimately leads to chaos in the country."

  (This is the content of "The 48 Laws of Power", and it's also something a politician must go through, whether he likes it or not. Anyway, since someone is willing to pay for it, I don't care if it's misleading.)

  “。。。。。。。。。。。”

  "To have the correct outlook on life, worldview and values"

  "Don't you understand? A powerful country cannot rely solely on one or a few capable ministers or famous generals. It is extremely dangerous to tie the prosperity of the entire nation to just a handful of people."

  "The true way to prosper the country lies in a system that constantly selects and nurtures talent, providing countless talents to continuously inject fresh blood into the nation's body, maintaining the vitality of the imperial court for generations to come. This is also the intention behind Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty's emphasis on opening up the imperial examination."

  “。。。。。。。。。。。”

  "Good governance is simple: officials are not greedy for wealth, soldiers are not afraid of death, and the world will be well-governed."

  “。。。。。。。。。。。。”

  These are old sayings that anyone who has taken junior high school history and politics classes in Liang Xiao's era would know, but the shock of him saying this to Li Shu is indescribable. Because his seniority and age are extremely mismatched, the last bit of doubt that could be produced also disappears in the midst of respectful admiration for one who has a broad mind and a strong sense of justice, feeling the good intentions of his father, and sincerely treating this older friend who is not of the same social class as a truly trustworthy teacher.

  Originally, I was supposed to be a special agent for the imperial family, but after the little girl found out about it and joined in, she even dragged along some young nobles of similar age. However, Emperor Xuanzong and Crown Prince didn't say a word, seemingly ignoring me, treating me like their free nanny! But that's okay, I can take advantage of this to collect consultation fees and training fees from them. Who knows, maybe someday someone will think I'm useless and try to settle accounts with me again. After all, even the Crown Prince has paid up, do you dare not pay? No money? No problem, gold, jade, or other valuables are fine too. If you have nothing, just sign an IOU. You're all from prominent families, princes, dukes, and whatnot, I'm not afraid you won't pay up in the future. At worst, let the little girl and Crown Prince go ask their elders for it, no one would dare to welch on the debt.

  In the following days, it was often seen that I, a thorough idler, led this group of young people to conduct social investigations among the refugees, holding meetings and recalling past hardships, which made many people shake their heads in dismay.

  And seeing that group of spoiled young nobles being ordered around by me, obediently helping me out, not even daring to fart, and some of them were so angry their eyes were about to pop out.

  Since I knew he was the future heir to the throne in history, I poured into him all sorts of things that came to mind and conducted special training on folk customs. After all, the refugees scattered all over the place were living textbooks. The little girl also joined in and incidentally pulled those imperial princes along, under my coercion and temptation, letting them experience what might be a rare and unforgettable experience for a lifetime.

  To be honest, I have no idea how much of what I've instilled in him will take effect or what kind of impact it will have on his future. It's already exhausting for me to explain modern terms like society, economy, and politics; as for how much others can understand, that's even more uncertain.

  Of course, as a seasoning for the didactic and entertaining, I also told some fantastic legends and adventures from Homer's epics, such as the enchanting mermaids, the terrifying Cyclops, and the forgetfulness-inducing lotus fruit. These incredible tales, which were beyond anyone's imagination, unexpectedly captured the hearts of these young dreamers. At first, they seemed to be forced to listen to me by Xiaoyu's coercion or temptation, but now they couldn't get enough of them. Xiaoyu herself was also having a great time, helping me collect money and recruit more people, while also taking a cut for herself, and thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.

  Although Li Shu sometimes felt that the old man's behavior was quite different from what she had learned, he didn't have any intention of teaching bad things to other people's children, and her little sister seemed to be enjoying it too, so she remained silent.

  I used a stone-roasted golden locust to coax them, saying "This is the delicacy that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty enjoyed." Or I'd pair it with a smoked and fragrant field mouse, saying "This is a rare and delicious meat, you may not have had it in your lifetime." If someone dared to show a disgusted expression, I'd use a stern lecture: "You should know that those people would eat anything to fill their bellies, including tree bark and grass roots, even dirt. You dare to be picky and waste food?" The opponent's face would turn ashen, and they'd swallow it with a life-or-death expression.

  This is one of the projects in my folk sentiment training, where I recall the bitterness and think about the sweetness. Other projects include letting them learn to dig up anything edible in the wilderness like refugees, and if they can't find any, they have to experience the taste of hunger. Of course, there are also examples of mistakenly eating poisonous plants that leave a deep impression. The beautiful name is: Wilderness Survival Training, through which one can personally experience the hardships of ordinary people's lives.

  I've been trying all sorts of ways to deal with these guys, just wanting to grind away as much as possible the habits and style of being arrogant and proud due to their noble birth and pampered upbringing. Although it's said that there won't be any effect in a short time.

  Among the refugees, he didn't notice the faint whispers "Immortal... Monster" "Just like a god descending from heaven..." "Are you dizzy with hunger? That person is..." And some hidden glances filled with surprise and strangeness.

  At that time, some of my remarks were recorded in the Imperial Household Department's diary due to my relationship with some members of the imperial family. After being edited and supplemented under certain conditions, they were published in the imperial archives and later passed on as model essays (such as "On the Superiority of Scholarly Families" and "On the Usefulness of Petty People"). The consequences that followed were not something I was aware of at the time.

  Of course, there are people who look down on me and think I'm arrogant. They say that I'm idle all day, indulging in frivolous activities, and only care about things that have no practical use or moral value. This is because the things I teach them seem to go against traditional values and morals, such as the idea that "petty people can be useful". These ideas make those self-proclaimed noble and upright old men feel indignant. But no matter how much they stir up trouble, as long as those two don't speak out, I'll just do my own thing and there's nothing they can do about it. Moreover, I have a vague feeling that the more enemies I make, the more they seem to trust me.

  Of course, the greatest gain from this special training is that after the journey ended, I, as a temporary leader, truly gained a younger brother with a prestigious identity and a thick stack of various IOUs.