Chapter 168: Break and Then Rebuild
Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Break and Then Rebuild
"Recruit from the countryside?"
Commander Feng frowned. "But those mud-legs have never been trained. And they’re all lazy gluttons, only ever thinking about earning copper coins or climbing the social ladder."
"If you give them an inch of an opportunity, who knows what kind of trouble they’ll stir up?"
’Mud-legs?’
Zhu Ge shook his head upon hearing this. "There’s no need to argue about this. If you are all willing to help me, we can begin training together once I’ve recruited my subordinates."
"My method is very simple..."
"Surround the cities from the villages, and seize power for the Human Race with the Martial Dao!"
’Are country folk just mud-legs?’
Zhu Ge knew there was no point in explaining or arguing these things with people whose ideas were so deeply ingrained.
After so much exploration and personal experience, Zhu Ge had discovered the root of the problem.
There was nothing new under the sun.
The core reason for the Da Sheng Dynasty’s continuous decline in this world wasn’t a lack of geniuses or a lack of power.
Although the Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters were powerful and numerous, they were fundamentally just a scattered mob.
So why was the Human Race in decline?
There were too many reasons.
The most important among them was that resources were being monopolized.
The Da Sheng Dynasty had nothing like a national college entrance exam to filter for talent.
Vast resources and superior Cultivation Techniques were all controlled by the great clans and powerful families.
Never mind the big picture, just look at the small one.
In Jianshui City, the various Martial Arts Halls, clans, and academies kept all the city’s legacies and Cultivation Techniques hidden away.
If they wanted to recruit, they did so through family connections or by opening recruitment stations within the city.
Or, like the Fish Scale Martial Arts Hall, they’d let you learn if you paid the fee.
Want to get a Cultivation Technique for free?
Not a chance!
But did these so-called "mud-legs" truly lack talent?
Not necessarily. Talent wasn’t something determined by one’s birthplace.
Zhu Ge knew that this land was dotted with countless villages and hamlets.
Back when he was in Jianshan Village, he had also wanted to live in the city, but it was simply not allowed.
In fact, most people had never even been to a single city, confined to their villages their entire lives.
These countless common people were the true foundation of the Human Race.
They were the ones who could truly form an army.
’As for this lot in the cities?’
Perhaps they were fine fighting one-on-one, but you can’t form an army with just one or two thousand people.
Besides, just as Commander Feng said, many, many common people genuinely wanted to climb higher.
The problem was that they had no connections and no opportunities.
What if the people of the Human Race in the vast countryside were given a chance?
Zhu Ge believed that many would seize the opportunity and climb up at any cost.
With the same talent and the same Cultivation Technique, different levels of effort and diligence would naturally create different kinds of people.
"Surround the cities from the villages?"
The people present didn’t have Zhu Ge’s breadth of vision; they all pondered his words.
Only the Jianshui City Lord, Mr. Langhao, said thoughtfully, "You mean, we use the power of the Human Race from the various villages to liberate the cities?"
"Exactly," Zhu Ge replied. "There are countless villages and hamlets. I myself come from a small mountain village."
"Though my village is small, it has produced three or four people at the First and Second Realms, and that’s only because my village is poor and weak."
"Some other villages I know of have ten or twenty First Realm Cultivators, and some even have three or four in the Second Realm."
"What would happen if this power were united?"
"But these mud-legs don’t have any Cultivation Techniques right now." A master from one of the Martial Arts Halls frowned. "Ordinary people can’t possibly withstand the sharp claws of a Demon Beast."
Zhu Ge said softly, "Correct. That is the key point."
"My village had a Second Realm gentleman and a First Realm Confucian Scholar, but no Martial Arts Secret Manuals. Because of that, I always thought I had no talent for cultivation, and so my progress was delayed."
"At the same time, we had to farm every day, and we also enjoyed hunting from time to time to satisfy our appetites, which wasted even more time."
"But what if we gathered everyone with talent in the Martial Dao to train and fight together, and then gathered a group with talent for the kitchen and the Agricultural Dao to handle farming and husbandry? With everyone specializing in their own field, wouldn’t our efforts be twice as effective?"
"Of course, this would require the teaching and exchange of some Cultivation Techniques. Otherwise, everything I’ve said would be meaningless."
As his voice fell, Zhu Ge quietly waited for the others to react.
"Cultivation Techniques? Secret Manuals? Those are my family’s heirlooms!"
"Sigh, how can I let outsiders learn my family’s Cultivation Technique?"
"Give the academy’s sagely classics to those mud-legs to study?"
Everyone started murmuring amongst themselves.
Zhu Ge watched this scene calmly.
His meaning was actually very simple.
Open up the recruitment requirements, don’t cling to old conventions, and generously allow knowledge to be sold and circulated like merchandise!
As long as it could circulate, everyone would be able to find a Cultivation Technique that suited them.
This was also the solution Zhu Ge had thought of when he was contemplating the foundation of a Sect.
However, he couldn’t just expect something for nothing.
Seeing the conflicted expressions on everyone’s faces, Zhu Ge spoke again. "That is my idea. Next, I will lead the Six Paths Palace to retake and assume control of the cities, one by one. All the Cultivation Techniques within them will not be shelved and forgotten, but will be made available for my subordinates to choose and use."
"To choose a Cultivation Technique, one will need to contribute a certain amount of merit to earn points."
"Raising Demon Beasts and demonic birds is a contribution, fighting on the battlefield is a contribution, reclaiming Spirit Fields is a contribution—everything will be converted into points!"
"And points can be exchanged for anything!"
"And if any of you wish to join my ranks, I will treat you all equally. Those who contribute Cultivation Techniques will also receive points."
"However..."
At this point, Zhu Ge paused before continuing, "However, it’s fine if you don’t wish to join right now."
"In the future, I will establish this system, and I will retake all the fallen cities, one by one."
"When that time comes, I will still welcome you to join."
’Points!’
This was Zhu Ge’s true plan.
These so-called points were, in reality, money.
In other words, a universal equivalent of value.
But in many places now, money wasn’t used, prices had collapsed, and exchange rates were in chaos.
Moreover, many soldiers fought out of obligation, without any salary.
Therefore, to solve this problem, Zhu Ge naturally needed to build a new system.
A system that all the "mud-legs" from the villages could see and touch.
He would merge the military contribution system, the price system, the commodity system, and so on, then introduce the concept of points to create a new, hybrid system.
In essence, Zhu Ge was actually building a new society.
But this was the best method he could think of.
One must destroy to create; creation comes after destruction.
In a world this rotten, rather than trying to reform it from the top down, it was better to start a revolution against the Da Sheng Dynasty from the bottom up.
However, as it stood, the system currently lacked an initial draw.
Only when everyone saw what they could gain and what could change by joining this system would they be willing to join.
Just like the laws of Shang Yang in the Qin Kingdom, only when everyone saw the benefits of the new system would they join of their own accord.
And now?
Zhu Ge glanced at the preoccupied crowd, smiled, and stood up. "Pardon me, everyone. I must go discuss some other matters with Shopkeeper Li."
"I hope you all will seriously consider the cooperation I’ve proposed today. I look forward to a time when my army is assembled, and you can all truly integrate into my forces, rather than it being a mere collaboration between two separate armies."
With that, Zhu Ge walked straight out the door.
But halfway out, Zhu Ge turned to the side, looked back at the crowd, and said with a smile:
"Oh, by the way, True Monarch Minmian and I are brothers."