Diqin Designer

Chapter 435 Changes Fusu's Perspective

Li Nian said earnestly, "Brother may think I'm exaggerating, but this is how competition between nations, ethnic groups, and peoples works. The world is like a forest, and all nations and peoples are herds of beasts struggling to survive within it. What happens if one herd is not strong enough and is discovered by other powerful herds?"

If it were the old Fusu, he would probably have refuted Li Nian's comparison of the nation to a herd of beasts, arguing that humans are moral, courteous, and wise, so how could they be compared to wild animals?
However, Fusu, who had been in the local area for more than a year, did not have this idea. Instead, he somewhat agreed with Li Nian's statement. He replied, "We will be regarded as prey by powerful herds of beasts, who will attack us, kill us, eat our flesh and blood, and take over our territory."

Li Nian nodded and said, "That's right! The world is like a forest, but the total amount of this forest is limited, at least until technology reaches a very advanced level. Relatively speaking, it is limited, just like the land in the world is limited, and the mineral resources in the world are limited..."

"Just like a vast but limited mountain forest, yet multiple herds of animals inhabit it. For these herds to grow and thrive, they naturally need more prey and a wider hunting ground. But the hunting grounds in the forest are limited, and the best hunting areas are already occupied. So what can those herds that want to grow and thrive do?"

Fusu said, "Invade other animal herds, seize their hunting grounds, and use them to supply our own needs!"

After answering, Fusu continued, "But in the world today, there is a surplus of land and mineral resources. Even if there were more states, there would still be more than enough..."

Li Nian said, “Although things are the way they are now, we cannot only look at the present. Brother, how does the population of the Xia Dynasty compare to that of the Zhou Dynasty? And how does the population of the Zhou Dynasty at its inception compare to that at its peak?”

Fusu quickly understood the meaning behind Li Nian's words. The population was constantly increasing, and unless there was a large-scale war or epidemic, it would continue to increase. The population of Qin would also be the same. As Qin became stronger and more prosperous, the population of Qin would only increase.

The population is increasing, but the land area and resources in the country are not increasing... Isn't this exactly what Li Nian meant when he said, "For a herd to grow and expand, it naturally needs more prey and a wider hunting ground"?

Establishing a presence outside of Qin and expanding overseas is not about being warlike or aggressive, but rather about proactively expanding Qin's living space.

Fusu pondered for a moment, then said, "But humans are not beasts. To encroach on the land of others is ultimately neither benevolent nor virtuous."

Fusu still held onto morality and righteousness, which was good. It would be terrible if he became a Fusu who completely disregarded morality and righteousness!
Li Nian said, “It is difficult to have morality and righteousness between countries and ethnic groups. Brother, you are willing to talk about righteousness with others, but others may not be willing. Being backward and weak will lead to being beaten. Don’t have the expectation of peaceful coexistence with other countries and ethnic groups. There are few countries in this world that will help the weak and needy. Most of them are bullies who take advantage of the situation.”

"This is the cruel reality of competition between nations and ethnic groups. Anyone who is cowardly and harbors illusions will ultimately perish because of their cowardice. Furthermore, I believe that morality and righteousness are meant to be practiced inwardly, not towards other nations. Interactions between nations are mostly based on self-interest!"

"Brother, you may be thinking that since Qin is strong, we don't need to seize overseas territories. But if Qin doesn't take them, other countries will. And if they rise to power in the future, they may not be willing to live in harmony with Qin. At that time, the descendants of Qin may have to pay a more painful price than they have now!"

Chinese civilization led the world for a thousand years, but was overtaken by others in just a few hundred years, resulting in that humiliating period of Chinese history filled with blood and tears.

Fusu felt that Li Nian's words, "Perhaps the descendants of Qin will pay an even more painful price than today!" contained a deeper meaning, not just the literal one, but the literal meaning was not simple either; it was not impossible.

The thought that Qin would not occupy those places, but instead be occupied by other countries and ethnic groups, and that these countries would then use those lands and resources to develop and rise, eventually invading Qin and causing the people of Qin to suffer humiliation, made Fusu's eyes darken.

If that's the case, then naturally it's better to die in another country than in Qin, since the people of Qin are far more valuable than those of other states and tribes.

Li Nian continued, "What you are worried about is that after implementing overseas enfeoffment, we will be unable to control the overseas regions, which will bring disaster to the Qin homeland. However, with the development of technology, the Qin's ability to control overseas regions will gradually improve, and as long as the Qin homeland remains strong, we have nothing to fear."

Fusu did not fully understand Li Nian's words, because as a person of this era, he could not imagine how far technology could develop.

Fusu said, "It seems that enfeoffing overseas is inevitable. Thank you for your explanation, brother-in-law. I understand your intention. Although enfeoffing overseas may bring disaster, it can expand the resources needed for the survival of Great Qin. We cannot abandon it because of the potential disaster, otherwise the consequences will be even more severe."

Fusu then asked Li Nian, "What shortcomings does my brother-in-law think I have? How should I correct them?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "Brother, you are already quite outstanding. The main shortcomings are what I mentioned to His Majesty earlier. Brother should learn more, see more, and have your own thoughts. That is, you should see, hear, and learn more. Politics, military affairs, agriculture, diplomacy, education, finance and taxation, industry, and commerce are all important matters of national importance and are crucial to the governance of a country!"

"As for agriculture, elder brother, you should know when to sow and when to harvest, what crops are suitable for different regions, and how much the harvest will be, so as not to make the mistake of 'oranges from the south turning into trifoliate oranges in the north'; as for military affairs, 'the most important affairs of the state are sacrifice and war,' even if elder brother does not need to personally lead troops, you should know the principles of warfare so that when the country is at war, you can send out suitable generals and know the military situation and the battle situation..."

After listening to Li Nian's words, Fusu exclaimed, "My brother-in-law is truly a wise man! It is a great fortune for Qin to have such a man! His words have been like the sun breaking through the clouds, giving me a clear understanding of how to proceed from now on!"

This is because Li Nian comes from the future and knows the correct path to take, directly giving them the right direction so they don't have to fumble around and take detours like in history. Of course, they feel enlightened.

Fusu then said, "I have always had a question for my brother-in-law: why does he value 'craftsmanship' so much, even personally making so many objects? With his talent, he would surely achieve even greater things if he entered the court!"

This is something that Fusu and some others don't quite understand. Li Nian is so talented, he should be allowed to serve in the court to better showcase his abilities. Instead, his father made him do those crafts in the Six Heroes Palace. Isn't that a waste of Li Nian's talent?

Li Nian smiled and said, "Firstly, we only know our own affairs. Although I can offer some advice, it doesn't mean I can enter the court to serve. Secondly, the affairs of craftsmen are also important to the country."

Entering the imperial court means dealing with those shrewd people. In some situations, even if you don't want to scheme against them, you might not be able to help yourself. The current situation is quite good. Although he was granted some official positions by the First Emperor, he doesn't need to go to the imperial court to compete with others.

This was also a way for the First Emperor to protect Li Nian, keeping him away from the insidious and dangerous struggles in the court.

Li Nian asked with a smile, "Brother, what do you think is the reason for the country's strength?"

There could be many answers to this question, such as a wise ruler, capable ministers, or famous generals, but since his brother-in-law was asking him intentionally, the answer certainly wasn't one of those. Fusu said, "Brother-in-law, are you perhaps trying to say it's because of your craftsmanship?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "To be precise, it is productivity, but technology can enhance productivity. You can simply understand 'productivity' as the ability to produce and manufacture, such as planting crops, raising silkworms and weaving clothes, raising livestock, and making utensils."

"In ancient times, people had little clothing to cover their bodies, and the utensils they used were mainly made of wood, stone, and pottery. At that time, the production and manufacturing capabilities of ancient people were low. Low productivity meant that there were not enough materials for production and manufacturing, which could not support a large population and make the tribe stronger."

"But when someone discovered the ore and smelted metal from it, gradually replacing stone tools with metal, the production and manufacturing capacity was improved."

Fusu nodded. This was easy to understand. Metal tools were stronger, more durable, and sharper than stone tools, making them more useful in manufacturing.

“Beasts that are difficult to kill with stone tools can be killed with metal-forged swords and arrows; trees that are difficult to cut with stone axes can be cut with bronze axes; with metal tools, we can obtain more resources than before, which means we can support a larger population. And an increased population means a stronger tribe!”

"Later on, metal smelting further developed, livestock were domesticated and raised, various crops were discovered and planted, and sericulture and textile production also made progress. As productivity improved again, the tribe's population increased and it grew stronger once more."

Fusu followed Li Nian's words and thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it seemed to be true. The development from ancient times to the present was due to the progress of productivity. And this brother-in-law said that technology could improve productivity...

Ancient times were indeed incomparable to the present. People back then wore and used things that were inferior to what we have now. This was all due to the progress in productivity and the development of technology.

Li Nian said all this so that Fusu would value craftsmanship and technology. Fusu would most likely become the second emperor of Qin. His willingness to value craftsmanship and technology would set a good example for future Qin emperors, making them dare not underestimate the development of craftsmanship and technology.

"Changes in productivity are what drive changes in the times, from ancient times to the Xia and Shang dynasties, and to the present day. If the Qin Dynasty wants to become stronger and enter the next stage, it must improve its productivity, and the improvement of productivity is closely related to the development of technology."

“Building better farm tools will allow one ox and one person to cultivate more land; making better weapons will reduce casualties among soldiers on the battlefield; making warmer clothing will allow the people of the north to better survive the winter; and building carriages that can carry more people faster and safer will make travel between different places more convenient. Do you still think these are unimportant, brother?”

Upon hearing this, Fusu replied, "These are all things that benefit the country, how can they not be important? Craftsmanship and technology must be valued by the country and cannot be neglected!"

Li Nian continued, "If Qin does not pay attention, but other countries do, even if Qin is currently stronger than other countries, it may be overtaken by them one day. If Qin wants to maintain its lead, it cannot stand still, but must move forward so that other countries cannot catch up."

Upon hearing Li Nian mention other countries once again, Fu Su became curious. Why was his brother-in-law so concerned about the threat posed by other states to Qin? What was the reason behind this?

Fusu suppressed his curiosity and asked, "My brother-in-law just said that if Qin wants to become stronger and enter the next stage, it must increase its productivity. What is this 'next stage'?"

Li Nian said, "The Great Qin is currently at this stage. Brother knows that there are other countries and tribes in the world besides the Great Qin. The Great Qin will inevitably encounter them in the future, and may either form an alliance with them or become their enemies."

"But no matter what, as long as Great Qin does not want to close itself off from the world, it must become an international power. An international power needs strong strength as support, and increasing national strength requires improving productivity and developing technology. If Great Qin wants to stand tall among the nations of the world for a long time, this is necessary!"

Li Nian did not mention that the next stage would be the Industrial Revolution or industrialization. Given the current foundation of the Great Qin Dynasty, even with his extraordinary abilities, it would take at least several decades to complete a basic level of industrialization.

After all, no matter how powerful Li Nian is, or how much support he has from the First Emperor, he is still just one person. Even if he directly provides the data and blueprints, someone still needs to transform them into something that can be used by the current Qin Dynasty. Otherwise, even the most advanced knowledge and technology he brings will be useless.

For the Qin Dynasty to industrialize, the most important step was to have a sufficient number of talented people, as talent is the mother machine of all technology.

Fusu was unaware of these things, but when Li Nian mentioned internationalization, he became very interested and said, "I have also heard the term 'internationalization' before, but I don't know what it means. Please enlighten me, brother-in-law!"

Li Nian said, "Although the Qin Dynasty was strong in the past, it could only be called a regional power. It had a great influence in one region, but its influence was insufficient for further regions. An international power is one that goes beyond the region and spreads its influence to a wider area, even the whole world. Even countries tens of thousands of miles away will be affected by the Qin Dynasty. So why should we become an international power?"

"Naturally, it is because it is beneficial to Qin! Although Qin is stronger than other countries, with Qin's current capabilities, it cannot completely destroy all the countries and unify the entire world. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt other methods to govern and control the world."

Fusu said, "Is this the way to become a major international power?"

Li Nian shook his head: "No, becoming an international power is the result, not the cause. The real method is to establish an international order with Qin at its core. You can think of it simply as establishing an alliance, with Qin as the leader, and Qin setting the rules for it, which all other countries will abide by."

"The establishment of this alliance is like creating a giant in the world with Qin as its brain and the other countries as its hands and feet. What Qin alone cannot accomplish can be accomplished by this giant, such as influencing and controlling the world."

"For this alliance to be established and for the member states to willingly submit to Qin, Qin must be strong enough and offer benefits to the allied states. In short, Qin must use its own strength to endorse the alliance and form a community of interests that is beneficial to Qin."

Fusu was not stupid; he immediately understood the meaning behind Li Nian's words. This was truly a bold design, using the various states as Qin's hands and feet, so that Qin could send other states to do whatever it wanted.

But Fusu underestimated the role of the alliance.

(End of this chapter)