"Are there many people playing Cuju?" Zhao Kuo glanced at the ring. When the two students saw Zhao Kuo coming, they became even more excited. Their combat effectiveness soared to 120%. They quoted classics and made witty remarks. They were having a great time fighting, but Zhao Kuo didn't even listen to what they were saying.
"Especially. The simple confrontational form of Cuju is very popular among everyone. After being introduced to the Qi State, it quickly spread in the Zhao State. Both nobles and commoners like it very much. There are even nobles who specially form Cuju teams to compete with each other." Zhao Sheng said.
Linzi, the capital of the State of Qi, was once the most prosperous city in the Central Plains. Not only the nobles were wealthy, but the common people were also very wealthy. Its people all played the sheng and drums, walked their dogs and fought cocks. Many entertainment projects were introduced from Linzi.
Of course, after certain entertainment items spread, they will naturally cause people to gamble and fight. The loser has to pay a certain amount of wealth to the winner. This wealth can be anything agreed upon.
Zhao Sheng's so-called competition is just a more civilized way of saying it.
"Do other countries also like to play Cuju?" Zhao Kuo's heart moved.
"Qi used to be the best, but now it's about the same as Zhao. Han, Wei, Lu, Wei and other countries were second, Chu and Yan were second, and Qin was second." Zhao Sheng said.
礳
"Linzi is no longer as prosperous as it used to be." Zhan He sighed. When Linzi was most prosperous, there were more than 70,000 households living in the city, which even Handan could not compare with now.
However, everything is like smoke in the past. After the building collapsed, there was no day for reconstruction.
"It's a pity that I couldn't see Linzi back then." Zhao Kuo also lamented, but what he was thinking in his heart was, if Linzi was the same as before, how could the Zhao country get along, and how could Handan be as prosperous as it is now?
Only when powerful cities like Linzi and Daliang fail to recover can Handan develop rapidly and surpass them.
"Tell them that they can standardize the Cuju competition, set up certain prizes, and invite private Cuju teams to participate in the competition. When there are more teams participating, I will build a venue for them specifically for them to compete." Zhao Kuo said.
He originally wanted to invite Cuju teams from various countries to compete in Handan, but he thought that Zhao State was still undergoing reforms and too many outsiders would cause unrest and reduce public security, so he put his mind aside.
Make this money later when the time is right.礳
"I don't recommend this. After all, Cuju is just a plaything and cannot be put on the stage. Large-scale promotion will only make everyone lose interest in playing with the plaything, and it will also be bad for the reputation of the king." Zhan He said.
"There are millions of people in Zhao State, but only a few people actually play Cuju? How can we lose our morale by playing with things? Moreover, excessive entertainment will lead to losing our morale by playing with things. Proper entertainment will not only prevent you from playing Cuju, but can also improve everyone's living standards." Zhao Kuo said.
Of course, there is one more thing he didn’t say: make money! Ticket money, advertising fees, clothing, other consumption, and gambling... the banker will not lose under any circumstances.
Zhao Kuo's goal has always been simple, to make money! Without making money, how could Zhao State develop rapidly? If you don't make money, how can Zhao support an army of more than 100,000 people?
Without making money, how could Zhao provide benefits to officials and craftsmen? As long as you make enough money, many problems will be solved.
"It's good that the king has an idea, but I still think it should be controlled within a certain range. And...I think that the common people should not be treated so favorably. The king is too friendly to them. Lord Shang once said, 'If the government does what the people want, the people will do it.' Weak; if the government is pleasing to the people, the people will be strong. If the people are weak and the country is strong, if the people are strong and the country is weak.' Although I don't agree with it, it still makes sense." Zhan He lowered his head and said.
Although it is not stated explicitly, the meaning is already obvious. Only by allowing the leaders of Guizhou to always struggle on the line of food and clothing and busy every day for their livelihood can they honestly contribute to the country.
If they are fed enough, they will think about other things when they have nothing to do, which is not conducive to the government's rule.
Zhao Kuo didn't speak, just stared at Zhan He. Zhan He didn't even raise his head, nor did he even raise his head. After a few breaths, he hurriedly said: "I am guilty."
"If I am right, to me, you are also a citizen, right? What you mean is that I have been too good to you?" Zhao Kuo asked coldly.
"..." Zhan He was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to refute. Did he say that he was not a citizen? Then what is he if he is not a citizen?
Do you still want to be a king? If you say that you are a citizen, that means you are admitting that Zhao Kuo is too good to you. Everyone knows that the current King Zhao is different from those in the past. He is too kind to the common people. He was a little unbelievable before, but today he realizes that he is so difficult to deal with.
"That's not what I meant... Your Majesty, you need to know that when you win a favor, you lose a favor. Excessive kindness will not bring you gratitude, but hatred. When the welfare is distributed for the second time, everyone will take it for granted. When one day these things Welfare is no longer implemented, and what they think about is not the benefits they have enjoyed for so long, but why these policies are no longer available." Zhan He said with his hand.
Zhao Sheng nodded repeatedly, these situations exist objectively.礳
"Mr. Zhan He said two things. One is that it is too good to be too good. But in fact, our country, Zhao, did not treat the common people too well. It only canceled the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes that originally exploited them, and only retained agricultural taxes and oral taxes to let them To be able to support oneself, one will not be forced to have his family destroyed.”
"Those exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes should not have existed in the first place. Now they are just restoring the past. How can we talk about excessiveness? As for some benefits, there are indeed some, but they are irrelevant. Since they have been implemented now? Why should they be canceled in the future?" Zhao Kuo asked .
"Your Majesty, our Zhao country is always in trouble and has no choice but to..." Zhan He said.
"Difficult? No matter how difficult it is, can it be as difficult as now? You can raise it now, but will you not be able to raise it in the future? Unless the monarch is incompetent and everyone in the court is corrupt, otherwise it will never happen that even this little money is available. It’s a phenomenon that I can’t afford it.” Zhao Kuo said loudly.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Zhan He has lived in the academy for a long time and doesn't know much about the affairs of the court. Just now, he was concerned and confused." Zhao Sheng smoothed things over for Zhan He.
In fact, Zhao Sheng is on Zhan He's side, because what Zhan He said is the reality. Any dynasty that has passed the initial stage of fastest development will face class solidification, reduced administrative efficiency, frequent corruption, financial shortages, etc. etc. various situations.
In terms of national power, the national power at the end of the dynasty is far greater than the national power at the beginning of the dynasty. But if the two fight, the early dynasty can beat the late dynasty.
The reason lies here. Of course, it is true that Zhao Kuo said that the king is incompetent and that the court is full of corrupt officials.
The problem is correct and there is no way to solve it. No matter how good the system is, it relies on people to implement it. If the people change, how can the system remain exactly the same as before?
It's not that Zhao Kuo didn't know this, but cutting expenditures or cutting expenditures from the beginning to extend the life of the dynasty was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst, and it was impossible for him to use this method.
