paranoianovel Chapter 2980 The Transformation to Power, The True Defeat
Chapter 2980 The Transformation to Power, The True Defeat
Chapter 2980 The Transformation to Power, The True Defeat
Only then did he understand why Wenren Sheng had said that he would fall into depravity in the future.
This is the truth.
He has indeed fallen.
Why are people like this?
"At first, I was thinking of giving these people wealth and luxury."
"But they have changed, and so have I."
"That's just human nature."
He sighed.
"Whatever, whatever."
"The worst that can happen is that I'll die."
"It's all over."
After sighing, he was subsequently imprisoned.
To his surprise, the man did not execute him.
And so he watched year after year pass by.
He received the imperial newspaper every day.
He naturally knew about newspapers.
The newspapers are filled with new news every day.
"In the year of Jiazi... His Majesty established the Imperial Gazetteer."
"Report to the world, report to the world, and all the people of the world will praise it."
"Everyone should read newspapers and learn to read, so that we won't be deceived."
Hmph, making the common people learn to read and write, wouldn't that just make their minds wander?
He looked at the newspaper that day.
This is a newspaper established by the gentleman.
Every citizen can receive a newspaper free of charge.
This is naturally a significant expense.
But that's precisely why everyone wants a share.
At least they can take it home and use it as fire starter.
The newspapers then reported that the emperor had established an outlet to the sea.
Anyone can go to sea freely.
The superior couldn't help but laugh, saying that it took such great effort to enable the people to go to sea.
It seems that a new place has been found to disperse the population.
However, if this happens, the people overseas will surely declare themselves kings and eventually launch a counterattack.
Isn't this just creating trouble for ourselves?
Not only that, the superior showed great disdain for all of Mr. [Name]'s measures.
This foolish man has started spending money again to teach those guys to read.
If everyone could read, wouldn't everyone become smarter?
The foolish common people are the laborers the court needs most.
He thought this way, and that's what he had done before.
They imprisoned the people, forbidding anyone from speaking or publishing books freely.
In his opinion, it would be best if these guys were a bunch of idiots.
Then no one could threaten his court.
In his opinion, the gentleman would regret what he did not do for long.
Because this man will eventually discover that ordinary people will not remember his good deeds, but only his bad ones.
Once they learn to read and use their brains, they'll scrutinize the problems in their husbands with a magnifying glass.
At that point, you'll be caught in the middle, pleasing neither side.
He rose from the bottom himself, and he understands best the nature of these people at the bottom—they eat the meat when they pick up the bowl, and then curse the cook when they put it down.
The way to keep these people safe and sound was just as he had thought: prevent them from learning to read, make them stupid, make them work hard, and give them only a little food to fill their stomachs.
It's enough to just win over those few literate, intelligent people.
Because the imperial court only needs a small number of literate people to govern the country.
A few smart and capable people are enough to manage these people well.
As the sage said, it is better to let the people follow a path than to let them know about it.
We must not let them run around everywhere.
The gentleman's various actions, however, seemed to be aimed at preventing the other party from running away.
Upon seeing this, the superior couldn't help but sneer.
"I never imagined that you, sir, were such a fool! What a fool!"
"A moment of wisdom can lead to a lifetime of foolishness."
"They only defeated me by relying on divine power."
"Actually, I didn't lose in terms of my mind."
"No matter how well you do, if someone else takes away your world, it will be too late to cry."
Thinking about this made him feel much better.
So he began to exercise diligently, determined to live each day until he saw someone rebel and seize the throne from his master.
At that time, he would make a good laugh at the other party.
To his surprise, the entire imperial court was getting better and better.
The people enjoyed a very relaxed environment.
They began to migrate to better places to work, do business, and cultivate land.
They began to invent and create.
Because the imperial court began to protect individual inventions, granting them patents, and prohibiting officials from targeting each other.
He immediately doubted the point of doing so.
Soon, he saw in the newspaper that "some people have found it too difficult to take action."
"They began to improve horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts."
"A four-wheeled carriage has appeared."
"It used to be two-wheeled, but now it's four-wheeled, which is a huge improvement."
"The Emperor issued an edict praising the achievement, and factories were set up in various places, with people beginning to purchase patents."
"The imperial court forbids officials from taking bribes; those who do so will be beheaded."
"The inventor sold the right to use the product and, following the advice, immediately bought a house and a boat at the port so he could go to sea at any time."
"And they even hired bodyguards."
"The imperial court began to issue various decrees to restrict the power of government offices and prohibit them from arbitrarily extorting merchants."
"Arbitrary apportionment is prohibited."
"The imperial court ordered the establishment of local bureaus for the people."
"Ordinary people can publish their own newspapers and provide the court with all sorts of information."
Upon seeing this, the person in charge began to laugh again.
"Hmph, letting the people invent and manufacture whatever they want, isn't that just asking for trouble?"
"What if they create something that threatens the court or the emperor?"
"One arrow could kill the emperor."
However, he soon realized that the situation had indeed changed a little.
People's wealth is increasing.
Newspapers have begun reporting on the emergence of new agricultural products.
New things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peppers were introduced from overseas.
The people created even more tools.
For example, textile machines, water turbines, and wind turbines...
The teacher has talked about these things before.
He discovered that people are now eating better and better.
This is not a lie.
Instead, he observed the petty thieves entering the cell and noticed that they were all shiny and slick.
He thought to himself, "It's nothing, it's just a prosperous era."
"A golden age always lasts for a few decades."
"As the teacher said, even in prosperous times, as the poet said, farmers can still have plenty of food and drink."
"It won't work in a few years."
Time passed by, year after year.
Fifty years have passed.
He woke up in the middle of the night and saw the newspaper, only then realizing that he hadn't gotten old.
He is still the same as before.
He was immediately taken aback.
It was only then that he realized...
"Sir, you are indeed a spirit, a spirit roaming the world."
"Who knows what the other person is thinking?"
"I see. That's why they're not afraid of losing the throne."
"As for letting people invent whatever they want, it's just to give themselves more toys."
Soon, he discovered that there were more and more new things happening throughout the government and the country.
There are more and more things he doesn't understand.
They said that their former teacher had taught them many new things.
What airplanes, trains, steam engines?
And now, the steam engine has finally begun to appear.
Next came the train.
Then he saw the fan. It was automatic, and suddenly he felt much more comfortable in the prison.
In the sweltering summer, people had to ask the jailer for cool water to cool down.
And then they started having electric lights.
This began to shock him.
After all, he had only heard his teacher talk about these things and did not believe that he could invent them.
Does that mean that once the vitality of the people is unleashed, these good things will come to us?
Suddenly he realized that the other party's actions had a deeper meaning.
Not only that.
New drugs emerged when patients in prison had colds, fevers, or toothaches.
It was a white medicine.
He remembered that in prison, people would almost always die from a cold or fever.
It's roughly a ratio of one out of three to die.
Many people cannot withstand a high fever.
Some people who survived it became mentally impaired.
After these people take the new pills, only one in ten might die, or even only one in dozens.
And the cells were also being cleaned.
The rats, cockroaches, and mosquitoes were completely eradicated by the pesticide.
The prison guards also took the initiative to clean up.
Because the newspaper said, "Rats and cockroaches can spread diseases and germs."
Germs, as the superior knows, are deadly little things.
It's so small that it's invisible to the naked eye; you need two magnifying glasses.
The prison guards, on the other hand, received orders, and of course, they wouldn't do it themselves; instead, they would make the prisoners do it.
And it has to be very clean, with no smell at all.
This was also for the sake of the prison warden himself.
Because the newspaper said that germs are contagious and can spread from one person's body to another.
When people live in the same cell, they will spread the virus to each other.
Upon seeing these medications, the person in charge understood something.
Because he is an absolutely intelligent person.
He naturally began to vaguely understand some new principles.
"So this is ah!"
"If we are willing to give up our immediate small gains, restrain our own petty interests, and give them to the public."
"So that means we can reap great long-term benefits!"
"Hehe, so that's how it is."
"It's ridiculous that it took me more than fifty years to understand this principle."
"But man, man, man is a short-lived creature."
"I was granted immortality by the Master, which is why I have such insights."
"If I were to die at sixty, I wouldn't be able to see these long-term things."
"Since I can't see it, I will only imprison the people for immediate benefits, so that they are not smart enough to rise up in rebellion."
He comforted himself with this thought.
“If humans are long-lived creatures, long-lived things, then I will think about these things.”
"I will restrain my immediate selfish desires and instead share more wealth, more space and time with more people."
"Make more people smarter, make their brains more efficient, and enable them to do more things and create more new products."
He thought so.
"That's right, that's exactly it. It's all because of my short life that I did what I did before!"
But he soon saw all sorts of new inventions.
In particular, inventions in medicine have been occurring at an explosive rate.
Various anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, surgical excision...
"I understand completely now."
"Enlighten the people and let them rise up to create and invent."
"Even if immortality is difficult, at least I won't be killed by a cold or falling into the water again."
"Even the emperor would benefit greatly, or rather, the emperor and the royal family would be the biggest beneficiaries."
"Because they enjoy the most, they need the best medical care and the best treatment."
Only then did those in power realize their mistake.
He finally realized that he had really been wrong before.
He himself, for the sake of his family's interests and the interests of the imperial power, seemed to have taken very strong measures.
But that's completely wrong.
Simply put, in the face of disease, the benefits of imperial power are insignificant.
For example, an emperor might have rotten teeth, be too fat to move, be lame, and be half-blind.
Now if you ask that emperor, if this situation were to continue for 30 years, could he endure it for the sake of the throne?
That's right, we're talking about the Wanli Emperor.
If someone asked him if he would be willing to give up the throne for a healthy body.
With intact teeth, a relaxed body, and no pain or disaster, one naturally doesn't have to worry about the executioner's knife falling on their head one day.
Simply put, it means being an ordinary modern person.
From the perspective of someone in a higher position, if he were the emperor, he would certainly say yes when he falls ill.
Of course, once his illness is completely cured, he will definitely regret it.
Humans are naturally good at adapting.
A flexible bottom line.
In any case, when the emperor is ill, he would certainly still be willing to exchange imperial power for it.
Anyone who has ever experienced a toothache, or a cold and fever, will understand that feeling.
When the pain of illness strikes, all rights and interests, all the good food and clothing, become meaningless.
All the luxury goods are fake.
The greatest happiness and benefit is simply to be healthy, free from pain and itching, able to sleep soundly, and eat well.
This is something more important than anything else.
And indeed, there were emperors like that in history.
In their pursuit of immortality and spiritual cultivation, some even voluntarily renounced imperial power to become monks.
Of course, it turned out that they were ultimately deceived.
However, it cannot be denied that their choice did prove that some things can transcend imperial power.
At this moment, this man who had ascended to the throne and whose mind was filled with imperial power finally came to his senses.
He began to understand.
Until one day, he saw the new drug.
"The elixir of immortality..."
"This was discovered by a commoner who found that the fruit growing on a certain tree had health benefits and could prolong the life of the elderly."
"After research, careful purification of a certain substance, combined with certain processes, can greatly extend its lifespan..."
And this day is only 60 years old.
Actually, he could have survived if he had just lived a good life.
However, if he had followed his previous methods, the people would never have noticed.
Or rather, even if they discover it, they would never use it to make money.
The other party will only carefully hide it, or even destroy it.
Because in the face of government offices and the strict imperial power, it is a scourge.
Ordinary people cannot protect such enormous interests.
However, under the current court and with the current measures in place, the other side is able to hold on.
In this way, the other party would dare to take it out and cooperate with the pharmaceutical company to obtain their own benefits, while also getting the real elixir of immortality.
Otherwise, one can only have fruit, but not live forever.
He saw this, and he felt remorse.
If he had continued with his previous actions, he would have died of old age in his sixties at the latest.
If we follow your methods, we can achieve immortality...
He lost his biggest benefit.
Immortality—that's a benefit that even ten emperors couldn't obtain!
He couldn't help but kneel on the ground and burst into tears.
He lost.
He failed.
He is indeed far inferior to his teacher.
His vision is too short-sighted!
"Sir, I was wrong!"
"That's right, I was really wrong!"
"I am an extremely selfish person, and I consider myself a smart person."
"But I'm not a really smart person."
“A truly far-sighted person should enlighten the people, limit imperial power, and give the common people the same guarantee of survival.”
"In this way, it is also for the sake of his descendants."
"For the health of our children and grandchildren, and for his own health."
“Bastards like Cao Cao, and I am a bastard too, we all deserve to die.”
"We imprison the people, we kill doctors, we disregard the people's safety..."
"We are the biggest scourge!"
(End of this chapter)