Inside the Left Prime Minister's Office, Fang Yun studied the draft before him, his brows tightly knitted.
Just as even a Half-Sage could not resolve the rise and fall of dynasties or economic crises, once Jing Kingdom began promoting exchanges with the various worlds and races, all manner of problems would inevitably arise.
If these exchanges were left solely to the government, they would inevitably die under a tight grip and descend into chaos when that grip loosened. Conservatism, passivity, and slow responses were inherent to bureaucracies. Even if Fang Yun personally pressed them, the outcome would inevitably be one of two opposing extremes.
Either exchanges between races would become an empty slogan, and Jing Kingdom would close itself off once more.
Or, to improve their performance records, avoid mistakes, and escape reprimands from their superiors that might cost them their posts, Jing Kingdom's officials would cater to other races without limit. They would take pride in what should have brought them shame, until outsiders could ride roughshod over the people of Jing Kingdom.
But if the matter were left entirely to the great lineages and merchants, the outcome was already foreordained as well. To maximize their own profits, they could even sell out the entire country.
While cracking down on local tyrants and corrupt gentry a few days earlier, Fang Yun had mocked those lineages, saying, "If merchants and the great lineages really are working hard to make Jing Kingdom stronger, it is only so they can sell it for a better price."
Once the profits were high enough, merchants, whose nature was to pursue gain, would plunge Jing Kingdom into disaster.
Thus, in the end, Fang Yun could only choose to have the government take the lead while the people supplied the driving force.
The course of history