amaotonovel Chapter 626 If I Were the King
Chapter 626 If I Were the King
Even though Jian Yong was stripped of his title of Duke of Yan, he was still the Minister of Rites, a high-ranking official, and even Marquis Guan Xing of Shence dared not neglect him.
Upon learning of Jian Yong and his son's visit, Guan Xing immediately went out of his residence to greet them, bowing respectfully and saying, "Uncle Xianhe, Brother Gongtu (Jian Huan's courtesy name), what brings you two here? Please come in."
After inviting the father and son into the mansion and exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jian Yong got straight to the point: "Anguo, your uncle has watched you grow up. We are all family, so I won't keep you in suspense. Your brother Gongtu is about to go to his fiefdom. The journey to Funan is long and arduous, so you'll have to help him out a lot."
Jian Yong was a fellow townsman of Liu Bei from Zhuojun. He had known Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei even before Guan Xing was born, and had practically watched Guan Xing grow up. Naturally, Guan Xing had to give this elder some face. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "Uncle Xianhe, don't worry. The Wushang Steel Plant recently produced another batch of farm tools, about three thousand sets. I'll give you a 10% discount. If you don't have the money, you can buy them on credit and pay me back slowly when you have the money, or you can use special products from Funan Kingdom to offset the debt. What do you think?"
The Wushang Steel Plant has now been largely converted into a civilian steel plant, producing only agricultural tools. The reason is simple: Liu Bei has bestowed it upon Guan Xing, making it the private property of the Marquis of Shence. Since it is private property, Guan Xing has given up producing weapons to avoid suspicion.
Moreover, Guanxing produces agricultural tools in complete sets, including round-headed shovels, square-headed shovels, ordinary hoes, three-pronged hoes, wide and narrow hoes, long and short-handled axes, long and short saw blades, and a curved plow. Of course, they can also be sold separately, with the main goal of meeting various needs.
These farm tools sold very well, selling out instantly as soon as they left the factory. This made Guan Xing a fortune, and he was no longer as destitute as he was last year. His financial crisis was finally over.
Given the shortage of agricultural tools, Guan Xing's willingness to sell 3,000 newly produced sets of tools to Jian Yong at a discount was not only due to the friendship between the Guan and Jian families, but more importantly, to support Liu Bei's enfeoffment.
Jian Huan, the ruler of Funan, was the first non-royal ruler enfeoffed by the Han Dynasty. This marked the first step in the Han Dynasty's global conquest and had a crucial demonstration effect on subsequent rulers. Therefore, it was essential to fully support him and help him quickly establish himself in Funan, allowing the gentry of the world to witness the glory of a ruler. Only in this way could subsequent enfeoffments proceed smoothly.
Otherwise, if Jian Huan had lived a life worse than a dog in Funan, who would have gone overseas to conquer new territories?
Jian Yong grabbed Guan Xing's hand and laughed excitedly, "An Guo is still the most reliable. I knew I hadn't spoiled you for nothing. But I'm not here to ask you for money. I just want you to give your brother Gong Tu some advice on what to do when he goes to Funan."
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Even the greatest undertaking must begin from scratch. Where do you think your brother Gongtu should start?"
"Well..." Guan Xing said hesitantly, "I've never been a ruler, so I'm afraid I can't offer you any valuable advice."
Jian Yong laughed and said, "You are the Marquis of Divine Strategy, who can calculate without error. How could you not even handle such a small matter? Tell your uncle about it, just as a casual chat."
As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized sandalwood box from his bosom, opened it, and handed it to Guan Xing. Guan Xing looked closely and saw that inside was a white jade pendant with dragon patterns, about the size of a baby's fist. It was clearly the finest Hetian jade.
After Guan Xing had seen it clearly, Jian Yong closed the lid and handed it to Guan Xing. Guan Xing subtly took it under the table and smiled, "How could I possibly accept this?"
You have to do what people do if you take their money or gifts.
Guan Xing pondered for a moment and said, "If I were the king of Funan, and I mean if..."
Now that the main topic was getting to, Jian Yong and his son Jian Huan immediately adopted a posture of listening attentively.
Guan Xing continued, “If I were the king of Funan, my first priority upon arriving in Funan would be survival. Funan is, after all, a foreign country. Even though King Fan Shiman and his ministers have been captured and brought to Jiangling, the Funan gentry behind these ministers have not been wiped out. They certainly won’t let you sit securely on the throne. At this point, some tactics will be needed. First, win over a group of people who are willing to submit to you, then carefully appease those who are willing to remain neutral, and then severely crack down on those who are determined to oppose you. In this way, you can first establish a base and take root in Funan.”
"Secondly, we need to develop and grow stronger. To develop and grow stronger, we must pay attention to agriculture. People need food as their first priority, so we must first make sure everyone has enough to eat. But that's easy. Funan is located on a flat plain with many rivers and plenty of rain. More importantly, the climate is suitable for three harvests a year. With the new agricultural tools of the Han Dynasty, as long as we don't grow crops in the grasslands like the local natives, we will not starve."
"After solving the problem of food and clothing, we should work hard to develop local characteristic industries. For example, Funan's climate is suitable for growing sugarcane. Funan's forests contain precious woods that are hundreds or thousands of years old, as well as ivory, jade, pepper, spices, and everything else waiting for you to discover. Turn these things into commodities and transport them to the Han Dynasty to turn them into money. The country will naturally become richer and more prosperous."
"Most national problems are economic problems. As long as the economy is prosperous, many contradictions can be covered up."
“But it is easy to grow grain and produce goods. However, it is not easy to transport grain and other goods to the Han Dynasty or even the Kushan Empire to exchange them for money. Transportation channels are needed. If I were the ruler, I would definitely try to build roads, open up an official road in the Ten Thousand Mountains to Jiaozhou, build ports on the coast, and open up a sea route. We should walk on two legs.”
"Reclaiming wasteland and engaging in commerce, growing grain and exchanging it for money are all necessary means of survival. Once you have money, you have to consider other things, try to win over the local natives, and completely resolve the rebellions and security risks within the territory. To solve this problem, you must achieve cultural unification and make the natives of Funan recognize you as their king and regard you as one of their own. To do this, you must make them culturally identify with you, which is to put it simply as brainwashing."
"If I were the ruler, after making money and solving the economic crisis, I would definitely establish primary schools and enroll six- or seven-year-old children in schools for unified education, teaching them the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, and all the books of the Han Dynasty. In this way, when they grow up, they will naturally form a value system in their minds that is the same as that of the Han people, and that would be the completion of the transformation."
"In short, as long as there is money, we will build primary schools and strive to build primary schools in every county town, encompassing all school-age children in the country. When the time is right, we can issue them household registration certificates (also known as household registration or household registers, equivalent to household registration books), which will indicate that they are Han Chinese. Indigenous people with Han Chinese household registration certificates can enjoy various benefits such as education and medical care. Indigenous people without Han Chinese household registration certificates can be sent to the side. This will not only create distinction and opposition, but also make the indigenous people proud to have household registration certificates and strive to obtain Han Chinese household registration certificates. When that time comes, you will have completely established yourself in Funan and become the king of Funan with the hearts of all people."
"Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. The specifics of how to proceed are up to you, Brother Gongtu."
Jian Yong and Jian Huan exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh excitedly, "Listening to An Guo's words is better than reading ten years of books! Your explanation has made my thinking much clearer, but it's still a bit incomplete. Could you help me write a detailed implementation plan?"