Wang Laowu had all the traits of an ordinary commoner: a humble man scraping out a living, with little education and no great understanding of lofty principles. But he possessed a commoner's wisdom. Wherever he saw hope, he would seize it and never let go.
He might not have had any diamonds on him, but his words were more genuine than diamonds.
Those few words exposed everyone's blind spot.
Yes, nobles and commoners alike, even the refugees, had grown accustomed to everything in Chaoge after a year of comfortable living.
But Chaoge was the center of the world, the most prosperous place under heaven. Even refugees could live better than ordinary commoners elsewhere if they put in a little effort.
This was the benefit of governance through extravagance. The spending of the upper nobility and high officials all flowed down to the refugees and commoners below.
Take the Pool of Wine and Forest of Meat alone: it supported countless brewers and hunters. In Chaoge, anyone with hands and feet could keep from starving.
Zi Shou truly could not understand what he had done. Just look at the ground-there was still a pile of sunflower seed shells he had spat everywhere!
He had even deliberately fooled around at the execution ground, throwing every prisoner into the water. His behavior had been bizarre and outrageous, so how had this crowd suddenly appeared to shower him with gratitude?
The ministers, by contrast, were deeply moved. As they enforced the law that day, their greatest concern had been that killing too many people would fail to win the refugees' heartfelt acceptance.
But now?
Who still refused to accept it?
Who still dared refuse?
The ministers immediately rallied their spirits. The nobles' pressure, the refugees' complaints, and the pointing and whispering of the spectators had