Fang Yun said slowly, "Let me put it in the plainest terms: what can we have ordinary people do that will enable them to create more value and wealth-or, in other words, power?"
The Great Scholars present dimly grasped Fang Yun's intent, and their eyes lit up.
Fang Yun smiled. "I know the answer to that question, but I won't give it. Let us discuss the second question: new technology. New technology actually encompasses two directions. All War Poetry, military strategies, new painting methods, and so on count as new technology, but creating technology of this kind often requires inspiration, something no one can readily control. So, for now, let us set that kind aside and speak only of the new technology that currently has the greatest impact on warfare. Well, I imagine you all understand that I mean Craftsmen School technology."
Many Great Scholars nodded slightly. Like War Poetry and military strategy, Craftsmen School technology had already become one of the powerful forces through which the Human Race could sway battles.
"If we look back carefully, we will find that every leap in Craftsmen School technology came from a breakthrough by an astonishingly brilliant genius. In truth, however, before each breakthrough, the relevant technologies had been slowly accumulating at an almost imperceptible pace. Without that long accumulation, even the greatest genius could not achieve a technological breakthrough or leap. At this point, my goal is all but crying out to be revealed: we cannot control a genius's breakthroughs, but we can accelerate the accumulation of technology!"
Many Great Scholars began breathing harder.
Smiling, Fang Yun continued to explain his views.
"Let us look farther back, to the headwaters of history, and trace the lives of our ancestors. At first, our ancestors knew only how to gather food and hunt.