BXBX NOVEL Chapter 121 - Superficial Knowledge!
However, if these words came out of someone else’s mouth, the three envoys would just ignore it. After all, this was the national policy that they had spent two months formulating.
However, the problem was that Lorne did indeed have a deep understanding of the history and heritage of Fusang. He even knew about their traditions and customs, as if he had really lived in Fusang.
In addition, from their conversation, it was clear that this... tavern boss was also a person with real cultural knowledge.
Perhaps from his words, they would be able to understand more objectively and comprehensively what aspects of the Lolan Empire they should learn before going back to Fusang.
Therefore, the envoy immediately looked a little solemn, and then asked, “Sir Lorne, I don’t know why you have such a saying.
“In the eyes of the entire Fusang Empire, it’s already quite remarkable to be able to learn all kinds of advanced technologies, the political system of the imperial court, the etiquette culture, and even commercial farming.
“To be honest, these are already considered the most important things. Is there anything more important than learning these?”
Lorne shook his head for a while as if he was serious. Then, he raised a finger and gestured in a left and right motion.
“Of course, what you said is important. It’s the essence that makes our Lolan Empire strong.
“But you forgot the root, the most important foundation of the Lolan Empire. If you miss that, no matter how much you learn, it’ll be all for nothing.
The shock on the envoys was even more apparent. Hearing Lorne’s words, they could not help but feel flustered.
Inagumi quickly sat down on the side, as if he wanted to hear it more clearly.
“May I ask, what is the foundation and source of the Lolan Empire’s strength?”
Lorne’s index finger heavily wrote two words on the table.
“Population!”
The three Fusang envoys understood what this meant very clearly.
Hishiro, the deputy, could not help but frown. Then, he asked with some doubt, “Sir Lorne, where does this population come from?
“The Central Plains has a vast territory and a large population. This is something that has happened since ancient times, and it is not a situation that occurs in a day or two.
“If you, Fusang, want to learn, shouldn’t you first learn those advanced technologies and cultures after? What’s the matter with learning if you don’t have enough manpower to carry it out?
Lorne immediately assumed the posture of a great liar and analyzed solemnly.
“You’re trapped in a situation where you don’t know what the root is, but you’re obsessed with improvement.
“The reason why our Lolan Empire is so powerful is that we now have a grand scene where we control thousands of miles of land and come from all over the world to Lolan City to celebrate.
“The advanced knowledge, culture, technology, and agricultural business indeed take a part of the credit, but in the end, it’s because of out large population.
“It’s because of the large population that no matter what we do, we have enough manpower. That’s why we have enough labor force to cultivate the vast farmland and crops, and that’s why we have abundant food.
“It’s precisely because of the large population that we can make full use of so many advanced technologies, and that’s why we can develop many businesses to the extreme.
“Otherwise, if the population is poor and there aren’t many people in a large area, then even if we have advanced technologies, who can we use them for?
“That’s why the population is the root, and everything else is just secondary.”
When Lorne said this, the Inagumi could not help but ponder. Thinking about it, it seemed to make sense.
Why were the countries in Lolan’s territory so powerful throughout the past dynasties? Why did Fusang submit to Lolan’s territory dynasty even after hundreds of years?
It was because the Lolan Empire had a large population and strong combat strength. They could easily convert hundreds of thousands of soldiers, which was something that even Fusang could not catch up to.
In that case, the population was indeed the most fundamental factor for a country’s prosperity and development.
Looking at the thoughtful expressions of these three guys, Lorne continued to bluff, “With the strength of my Lolan Empire, you can compare the changes brought about by Fusang’s denser population.”
The three of them immediately turned their eyes to Lorne, waiting for Lorne to describe their vision.
Lorne gestured with his hands and said in a seductive tone, “If you have a large population in Fusang.
“Even if you don’t expand the existing land, you can easily fill up all the arable land in the country. At least, as far as I know, the current state of Fusang hasn’t reached the stage where all the land has been reclaimed.
“If the population expands, then farming will become much more efficient and faster, and we can be divided into several rounds of farming.
“In this way, not only will we have a large amount of food, but we can also free up a large portion of heavy labor to form an army, build engineering buildings, and even more things!
“When the time comes, we will have as much food as we want. If we want to build an army, we can have more than a hundred thousand of people at any time. If we want to build a palace, we can easily recruit tens of thousands of people.
“This is the fundamental national policy. If we develop the population, it will be equivalent to learning the excellent technology and knowledge of our Lolan Empire.
So, is it better to develop the population, or is it more important to learn some superficial knowledge?”
Lorne’s analysis was not long-winded, and he did not talk about the principles and knowledge. He was trying to draw a big picture for the three envoys of Fusang.
He described the grand scene that would appear after Fusang had a large population out of thin air.
Of course, this description was pure nonsense, because even if Fusang really had such a large population, there was not that much land to accommodate it.
Moreover, developing the population was not something that could be accomplished with just a few words. Lolan’s territory was so vast, yet it was able to produce such a dense population.
For a small place like Fusang, even if it were to develop to its maximum point, it would not matter even if it were to collapse, as it would not be able to produce many people.
Therefore, this so-called national policy was actually a bunch of nonsense. Any minister of the Lolan Empire who heard this would feel that it was nonsense.
However, the three Fusang people were different. They actually did not have that much knowledge. Instead, they were completely dazed by Lorne’s personal statement and were somewhat immersed in it.