Luo Qi understood one thing: the scholars of All Under Heaven would not agree.
Wang Mang himself had no choice. He had to carry out unprecedented reforms to soothe the hearts of All Under Heaven. He had risen through the immense power of Confucianism; now he had to bear its backlash.
Countless people were pushing him forward from below. It was like an election promise: having spoken so grandly before taking power, he could certainly try doing nothing afterward.
But Wang Mang reconsidered what Luo Qi had just said in his concern.
Luo Qi still held tremendous influence over Wang Mang. In Wang Mang's plans, Luo Qi was his foremost ally, because Luo Qi possessed both virtue and ability, someone he could trust completely.
Wang Mang pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "But what you just said made a great deal of sense, Wenqi.
"If we cannot bring about obvious changes for a long time, people will feel deceived.
"The most crucial part of our institutional reform is changing the land system, and that is the hardest thing to accomplish.
"We should let the people of All Under Heaven see a new world with results as immediate as a pole casting its shadow. Calling upon the dukes, ministers, and officials to embrace frugality and abolishing slavery may be the easiest measures among them.
"In years past, Emperor Xiaohui and Emperor Xiaowen personally practiced frugality, and All Under Heaven readily followed. Today, extravagance prevails among the nobility, and their debauchery knows no bounds. A single day's food can cost what an ordinary household spends in an entire year.
"There is only so much money and wealth in All Under Heaven. Every portion the powerful gain is a portion the common people lose. When the powerful swallow everything into their bellies,