Since the Queen Mother took the lead in the chaos, it seemed that the scene could no longer be maintained. Cao Jian also gave up on himself again and went out to personally urge people to serve refreshments.
Seeing the Queen Mother's performance and Cao Jian's reaction, Theodora gave Guo Kang a dumbfounded look.
"He is treating an informal gathering as a diplomatic venue." Guo Kang whispered: "Actually, I think there is no need to have such complicated rituals and rules..."
"Is that so?" Theodora asked back: "Etiquette can establish majesty and strict order. Without this distinction, people will not be able to develop the habit of obeying the rules, and society will be chaotic. Grandma is used to being idle, but The system itself is still necessary.”
"Order itself is indeed necessary, but our goal is order, and etiquette is just a means." Guo Kang reminded her not to confuse the concepts: "Our majesty comes from victory, and order comes from military discipline."
Theodora turned her head and thought for a moment.
"I thought you would be like him, at least on the surface, you should pay attention to these things." She said: "I think Zhu Wenkui, a junior official, also likes to put on this kind of airs on weekdays - the character of Seris people is not very fond of etiquette and justice. A concept like that?"
"The character of Seris people is to like all practical things." He corrected: "Zhu Wenkui also likes to put on airs in front of strangers. The reason is not because he likes it, but because as exiles, this way can only treat them as The value of 'prestige' should be maximized."
"If he really cared, he wouldn't go to blacksmithing by himself. When he was tinkering with those things, I didn't see him putting on airs..."
"And etiquette is just a tool that is more practical in certain situations."
"I read some books by Master Kong and thought this was the most exquisite part of them..." Theodora muttered.
"That means you didn't read carefully enough and didn't understand deeply enough." Guo Kang disagreed: "Let's read the "Liyun" chapter. Master Kong himself believed that this kind of emphasis on the discipline between monarch and ministers, father and son, and husband and wife, emphasizes the importance of superiority and inferiority. The 'ritual' of respect and inferiority is an inferior substitute tool that appears after the Great Dao is lost. If he had a choice, he would not want this thing himself. "
"Okay..." Theodora realized that she was in the wrong and had to admit: "I'm not too surprised that you would say that. No wonder everyone said that you have always been approachable. I'm afraid you don't care about these rules at all."
Guo Kang thought for a while, nodded, and admitted directly.
He actually knew this behavior himself, but he really didn't care. This is not because he insists on showing "the unique excellent culture of time travellers" and claiming to pursue equality for everyone to show that he is different from ordinary people, but the result of his observation and thinking.
"You see, since etiquette is just a tool, we have to see its benefits." He analyzed: "Although it should be somewhat useful here, I think it is enough to maintain the most basic needs. It needs to be specially strengthened. Because this thing is easy to be excessive, and once it is excessive, it will be a disaster. For us, this excessive threshold is much lower than in the Central Plains."
"Why do you say that?" Theodora was curious.
"Han Fei, the ancient Serisian philosopher, told a story that King Zhou, the king of the Shang Dynasty, made chopsticks out of ivory, and the minister Jizi was very frightened because of this." Guo Kang told a fable: "He believed that there was If you have ivory chopsticks, you will not use clay tableware, but will make rhino horn and jade cups; with this set of tableware, you will not be satisfied with ordinary meals, but will pursue high-end food; with delicacies, you will not Instead of being satisfied with coarse clothes and thatched houses, we should pursue brocade clothes and luxurious palaces.”
"If he is an ordinary person, he may only stop at a certain step, but he is a monarch, and he does have talents and military exploits, which is even more dangerous." Guo Kang said: "Think about it, if he feels that he is a King Shang, your power is unlimited, you can do whatever you want, what will happen?"
"The situation is the same on our side." He compared: "Serris's regime is very large. As long as they keep themselves from chaos, they can easily crush the surroundings. Therefore, they pay more attention to internal stability and Order. These strict etiquette and grand ceremonies also help to deter potential enemies, so they are highly respected by people."
"But with our current size, even if we put on airs, who can we intimidate? Do you think the barbarians here will fall for this?"
Theodora was stunned for a moment, and finally shook her head without confidence.
"On the contrary, if you place too much emphasis on etiquette, you will definitely pursue corresponding material conditions and pursue various luxuries and luxurious services to distinguish yourself from people of other classes. Do you think we can withstand this kind of torment now? "Guo Kang asked again.
Theodora could only shake her head again.
"You see, if this continues, we will soon fall into a more dangerous situation because of our extravagance and lust. Don't forget, our situation may not be as good as King Zhou." Guo Kang reminded.
"The expenses of the palace and upper-class nobles can be very outrageous. When the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu, a single trip would cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, which seemed very expensive. However, military expenditures were not the largest."
"Every year, the palace spends 200 million yuan on food and drink alone; hundreds of millions more are spent on making clothes. This is enough to support several wars at the same time. On top of this, there is also the most expensive palace: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty A new palace is enough to fight a Monan-level decisive battle; and if the money he spent to expand Shanglin Garden was given to Huo Qubing as military expenses, it would be enough to fight the Huns a dozen times..."
This is indeed not sensational on purpose, because in ancient times, the palace's expenses were so outrageous. Moreover, this phenomenon is far from unique to Siris.
During the Suleiman era, when the Ottomans were at their peak, the palace's annual expenditure on food and drink alone was equal to the national salt tax revenue, and this was the second largest tax source for the Ottomans. Regarding the situation of the Purple Horde Khanate, it is always okay to refer to this.
Therefore, frugality is not just a slogan. This conclusion may seem counterintuitive, but in this era of underdeveloped production, the frugality of the upper class really has a huge impact.
"If nothing else, look at this dress of yours." Guo Kang gave an example: "This alone is enough for Zhu Wenkui's workshop."
"If we save this money, we can allow many people to spend more time working for themselves instead of working for us. Only when they have enough food and drink can they help us win the war and prevent us from being surrounded by these people. Eliminate the anxious neighbors.”
"So you see, why do we pay attention to these excessive etiquette and create an unnecessary sense of excess difference?" He spread his hands: "Even if you don't go so far, if you give me this set, I can make Brother Steam Sky The progress will be faster. Look, right?"
After what he said, Theodora also fell silent. Guo Kang thought she might have listened, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
(End of chapter)
