Aboard the flying vessel, Bi Xuanji gazed at Lin Su for a long time.
She watched Lin Su drink a cup of tea, watched his handsome brows slowly ease open.
She watched him look at her and smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Bi Xuanji was slightly startled and gathered her thoughts.
"I'm thinking about something very serious."
"What?"
Bi Xuanji said, "When you discussed benevolence in Jizhou, you slipped in some private goods and explained Tax System Reform. At Ten Thousand Plum Manor, you discussed righteousness and again slipped in private goods, explaining legal reform. Aren't you worried that Great Yu Kingdom will learn the methods you used to reform Great Cang Kingdom?"
Lin Su smiled. "National policy is public in the first place. Could it possibly be kept secret? What difference does it make whether I say it or not?"
Bi Xuanji frowned. "You mean that if Great Yu wants to learn, they can indeed learn?"
"No! They can know every step and every key point of our reforms, yet they still won't be able to make it work!"
"Why?"
"Because their national circumstances differ! Great Cang Kingdom's New Dynasty was newly established. His Majesty the Emperor had absolutely no ties to the old court or the old powers, and the new administration was almost entirely new as well, with no deep connections to the various factions. Therefore, we need not care about the backlash from the great powers. But in other nations, the foundation of imperial authority lies in their Aristocratic Clans and major powers. The fundamental aim of reform is to break those powers' exploitation of the common people. Would they dare reform? The moment they dared to move, they would be destroying their own foundations!"
Bi Xuanji sighed in admiration.
The same