Facing the inquiry of the King of Zhao, Wei Yuan said, "Looking across the history books, what common folk seek is truly just to survive. If they can eat their fill and wear warm clothes, they consider it an age of peace and prosperity rarely seen. Some rulers, merely by preventing their subjects from starving to death en masse and ensuring they have chaff and thin porridge to eat, dare to proclaim an age of prosperity.
"To the common people, only when they truly have no way to survive will they take up arms in rebellion. Thus, providing relief to the destitute eliminates the root of unrest. That is the first point."
The King of Zhao was also well-read in history, and so said, "This is something even We can agree on. But at present, Zhao has enjoyed peace for twenty years. Before crossing paths with you, Our lands had never suffered the ravages of war. Under an age of good governance, among these poor folk there are many idlers, slackers, rogues, and bullies. Are We to grant relief to every last one of them as well?"
Wei Yuan said, "You said a phrase earlier: treacherous mountains and wild waters breed unruly folk. That is precisely the reason they ought to be given relief. First come the barren mountains and harsh waters, where life is hard and people must haggle over every scrap just to survive; only then do you get such 'unruly folk.'"
The King of Zhao said, "Being born amid treacherous mountains and wild waters is also a form of karmic retribution. That is their heaven-ordained fate, and it is only right that they are left to fend for themselves. From the Buddhist perspective, cause in a past life yields effect in this one. Perhaps these people committed too much evil in their previous lives, and this life is merely their retribution."
Wei Yuan replied, "Fate and reincarnation certainly exist, and barren mountains and harsh waters are likewise part of heaven and earth. Among mortals, some are reborn into houses of kings and nobles, while others are born in perilous mountains and impoverished lands. That is indeed their own destiny, and no one else can be blamed for it.
"As a mere commoner, I can afford to think that way. But as a sovereign of men, you cannot. Either you transform those barren mountains and harsh waters into clear streams and fertile fields, or you relocate their people to prosperous, hospitable lands. That is the duty of a ruler of men. Once that is done, if someone still suffers hardship through indolence and gluttony, only then is it their own fault, their own doing."
The King of Zhao pondered for a long while before saying, "What you say does make sense. Yet transforming barren mountains and harsh waters into hospitable lands is no different from altering heaven and earth. How difficult must that be!"
"Precisely because the local populace cannot accomplish it by their own strength alone, it becomes the responsibility of a sovereign of men. In such places, you cannot teach a man to fish; you can only give him fish."
The King of Zhao said, "Even if it is merely extending a helping hand to the poorest of the poor—ah, this 'welfare' you speak of—few have achieved it since antiquity, and no emperor of a great realm has ever done so. Why then should We do this?"
Wei Yuan said, "Precisely because this has never been done before, you can be called an emperor for the ages!"
The King of Zhao's breath hitched slightly. After a moment, he regained his composure and gave a self-deprecating smile. "That would be usurpation. Only the ruler of Tang may be called emperor."
"A king for the ages, then?"
"That does not sound nearly as grand."
The King of Zhao rose, pacing back and forth in his study, lost in thought. A moment later, he said, "Regarding this welfare of yours, there is one more matter We cannot fathom. We made some rough calculations just now, and if that scope is expanded even slightly, the state treasury's annual revenues will instantly fall into deficit. No matter how We raise taxes, the arithmetic simply does not balance."
Wei Yuan said, "Why must the scope be expanded? Welfare at this stage requires only two things: first, eradicate the poorest tier of people; second, make all citizens literate. This will not cost much, yet it will win immense popular support. So long as Zhao plants more cotton, mulberry, and spiritual wood, there will be ample tax revenue to cover it."
"Enlightening the common folk... is that not courting trouble?"
Wei Yuan asked, "You have no intention of acting against the natural order, so why fear it? Whether the people are enlightened or not, justice resides naturally in the human heart."
The King of Zhao sighed and said, "We do not worry about Ourself. But what if Our descendants prove incompetent and overbearing? What if they wish to indulge in pleasure, or occasionally place themselves above the law?
"So long as the people remain unenlightened, they are like scattered grains of sand. When the time comes, before Our death, We could casually divide them into factions and set them against each other in mutual slaughter. Then Our sons and grandsons could sit securely upon the throne. For instance, pitting north and south of the mountains against each other, setting east and west of the river at odds, or even dividing them by skin color and custom. Just as those who eat pork can be made irreconcilable enemies with those who eat beef."
"This..." Wei Yuan was at a loss for words.
The King of Zhao said, "We wish to be a monarch for the ages, but even more do We wish for Our realm to remain unshakable for ten thousand generations, so that throughout the millennia to come, every ruler across this land bears the surname Li! We are no sage. We too have Our selfish desires."
Wei Yuan sighed. "Then let us each take a step back and announce the welfare measures first. Your prestige can rise another tier. Among the ancestral kings of Great Zhao, the only one who might surpass you is Gaozu. In the future, adding 'Zu' to your posthumous title would hardly be excessive. Hmm, King Wenzu of Zhao—how does that sound?"
The King of Zhao glared at Wei Yuan, but immediately summoned his attendants. Right in front of Wei Yuan, he drafted the decree and had it promulgated.
Once the matter was settled, the King of Zhao asked, "Use that head of yours and help Me devise a method to ensure the Li family's realm endures for ten thousand generations."
Wei Yuan offered a bitter smile and said, "Did you not just say it yourself? Divide them into factions and set them fighting amongst themselves, and the Li family can sit securely upon the throne."
"That is a measure of last resort. Is there a better way?"
Wei Yuan gave it some thought and said, "There is. Enlighten the people, and then let the monarchs strive diligently and cultivate with all their might. With the royal house's centuries of accumulation, their bloodline is bound to be superior and their resources the most abundant. Thus, so long as every generation applies itself, they can consistently suppress the wealthy clans and noble houses, and the number and tier of high-level cultivators in the royal family should remain the greatest."
With that, Wei Yuan emphasized, "So long as your descendants work hard."
The King of Zhao sighed. "Have you forgotten the Martial Ancestor? That is simply impossible."
Only then did Wei Yuan recall that for descendants of the royal families of the Nine Kingdoms, so long as they were linked to the throne, their cultivation paths essentially terminated at the dharma idol stage. Any ruler of the Nine Kingdoms who could reach Scenery Command possessed the latent talent to ascend to immortality.
At this point, Wei Yuan was out of ideas. Desiring one's descendants to rule the realm forever was, after all, the common ambition of sovereigns.
Fortunately, the grand matter of welfare had been settled. Just as Wei Yuan prepared to take his leave, the King of Zhao said, "We now enjoy widespread acclaim, but your reputation is not faring quite so well. Do you want Us to dispatch some court scholars to lend you a hand?"
Wei Yuan was never a pedantic man, and immediately replied that nothing could be better.
Leaving the Zhao Palace, Wei Yuan soared into the sky, rushing at full speed toward Western Jin. Public sentiment in Western Jin was boiling over. Numerous scholars and great Confucians denounced Wei Yuan with pen and voice, finding fault with whatever he did. Some venerable scholars even began with local chronicles, writing Wei Yuan into regional histories.
The compilation of local chronicles was far less rigorous than imperial histories, but imperial histories drew heavily from local records. In this way, they were subtly nailing Wei Yuan to a pillar of shame.
On the journey toward Jin, Wei Yuan tallied his mortal karmic luck like the most miserly scrooge. Only a few days remained before the one-month deadline, yet he was still nearly twenty million short of the hundred million karmic luck needed.
Wei Yuan had exhausted every available means; all that remained was to dispatch troops directly against the other realms. But even if he could sweep across the Nine Kingdoms and alter heaven and earth, his mortal karmic luck would initially turn negative. Warfare would rage incessantly, and he lacked the moral mandate of righteousness.
Right then, a task was completed within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, and a report was delivered before Wei Yuan. This report had been designated of paramount importance: the moment it was finished, it was to be delivered to Wei Yuan immediately, taking precedence over all other matters.
That task was to calculate the loss of mortal karmic luck caused by the attacks of all those scholars and great Confucians throughout Western Jin.
To that end, Wei Yuan had deployed nearly all of his Dao Foundation warriors and sent out every single dharma-idol-tier Dao soldier to penetrate deep into every corner of Western Jin, gathering data for twenty full days. Now, the results were finally in.
Opening the report, a murderous glint instantly flashed in Wei Yuan's eyes.
The benevolent measures Wei Yuan had implemented across the eight southern commanderies of Jin were even more generous than those in Zhao. Yet because he required the scholars and great Confucians to reduce rents, lower grain tithes, and return annexed lands, he had provoked a storm of rabid slander and attacks from them. As a result, he had reaped a mere three to four million units of azure qi.
Compared to Zhao, the mortal karmic luck azure qi Wei Yuan had lost exceeded ten million.
Wei Yuan looked at the report in silence, neither sorrowful nor joyful, his mind already formulating the next move.
What those noble clans and great scholars had failed to anticipate was that while the history books were in their hands to write as they pleased, at this moment, Wei Yuan had no desire to leave his name in history.
Chapter 997