Xuanmen Prodigal Son - Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Difficult to Enter the Hall of Elegance
TL: Sungmin
“Three Benefits of Being a Prodigal…”
“First, Tactical Deception.”
Chu Tianxiao wrote.
“The battle to unify the Vast Land of Shenzhou will inevitably turn into a protracted war. To prevent various countries from forming alliances, it is necessary to divide and conquer, gradually devouring them. Therefore, the first step must involve tactical deception.”
“Your Majesty should know that a violent storm cannot last long. But if we consider the reverse, if the Great Zhou Dynasty swallows up enemy nations with the momentum of a storm, sparing no expense, the opposition will inevitably think that this war cannot be sustained. In such a scenario, they might assume this is merely an aggressive expansion to lay the foundation for unifying Shenzhou, not realizing that this very war is the war for unification!”
“This is tactical deception—misleading the enemy about our true strategic intentions to secure the initiative in a long-term war and gain the upper hand.”
“Even with the strength of Great Zhou, it is unrealistic to confront the combined forces of all opposing powers in Shenzhou. Furthermore, if the enemy does unite, it would signify failure in this war—what we seek is not a unified but desolate land with a dwindling population and ruined cities!”
“Therefore, tactical deception is the indispensable first step in unifying Shenzhou. And the simplest yet hardest-to-detect method is burning money, is being a prodigal!”
At this point, Chu Tianxiao shifted the tone of his writing.
“But… perhaps Your Majesty may ask, though this strategy might offer a strategic advantage, how can it be implemented tactically? Being a prodigal and burning money like a storm cannot be sustained; this is common sense, an unavoidable reality. How can we make this work?”
“This brings us to the second benefit of being a prodigal…”
“Waging war with war, crushing with comprehensive national strength!”
Here, Chu Tianxiao boldly introduced the new term ‘comprehensive national strength’ and provided a detailed explanation of the essence of war, before finally revealing his true intentions…
“What kind of country does Your Majesty consider Great Zhou to be? Prosperous in trade? Flourishing in national strength?”
“These are true, of course, but forgive me for being blunt—this country has not yet learned how to… spend money!”
“I am quite surprised that despite the prosperity of trade in Great Zhou, even the commercial houses have learned to lend money, yet the imperial family has still not learned to ‘spend tomorrow’s, next month’s, or even the money of the next ten or twenty years in advance’! Up until now, the empire still operates under the mindset of ‘spending today’s money today, and waiting for more money tomorrow, only expanding after saving up enough…’”
“Steady progress, following the ancient system?”
Chu Tianxiao unapologetically wrote a comment.
“Ridiculous.”
After a pause, he continued writing.
“And outdated—childish!”
“Yes… saving up money before expanding has been the norm in Great Zhou for millennia, steady progress might have been appropriate in the past. But now that there is a desire to launch a war of unification, if this strategy is not changed, the national strength of Great Zhou will never be sufficient to achieve the unification of Shenzhou!”
These words were extraordinarily bold. If written by someone else, not to mention whether they had the guts to write them, just these phrases alone would be enough to warrant a charge of ‘criticizing ancient systems, disrespecting the sovereign’… But the problem is, who is Chu Tianxiao?
The only son of the Marquis of Purple Clothes! How could he be compared to those from humble origins with no foundation?
Those from humble origins could not say such things, but he could—he had the status for it!
Of course, this also required the current Zhou Emperor to be wise and enlightened. Otherwise, the outcome of writing such words would be predictable under a foolish ruler…
At this moment, Chu Tianxiao’s thoughts flowed like a spring, and he continued to write rapidly.
“Great Zhou needs a wolfish nature! It must learn to spend money, to burn money! When it’s time to spend, there must be no hesitation! No shrinking back! No hesitation!”
Next, Chu Tianxiao introduced concepts from modern finance, such as ‘national debt’ and ‘future loans,’ and provided detailed explanations. But it didn’t end there—he once again emphasized the importance of being a prodigal, burning money, and began listing examples, starting with a simple and understandable case to illustrate his point.
“The people of Huainan are frugal by nature, while those of Huaibei are extravagant. The two regions were governed separately, without suppressing their natural tendencies. Twenty years later, what happened to the people of Huainan? They wore coarse clothes and carried bamboo baskets; and what about the people of Huaibei? They wore brocade and had multiple concubines.”
“This matter has been criticized by some ‘scholars’ to this day, but in my view, it is simply a matter of being blind to the facts.”
“Why is extravagance necessarily bad? The imperial expenses, the treasures in the palace, the ceremonial pomp… which of these is not extravagant? Yet, they display the strength and power of Great Zhou, making all surrounding nations fear us.”
Chu Tianxiao then introduced various concepts such as ‘economy,’ ‘luxury goods,’ ‘market,’ and ‘consumption returns.’ If this essay had been written in a different context, it would have been dismissed as nonsense. But in the commerce-thriving Great Zhou, the Emperor would not fail to see the golden value within these ideas…
“When spirit coins are spent, they don’t actually disappear. Pouring vast sums of money into the economy is just like placing them into the ocean of the market… Your Majesty should have a transcendent perspective and understand that spending money doesn’t mean having less money. A poor person feels pain with every coin spent, but from the perspective of a nation, money must never be hoarded—because all the money hasn’t disappeared; it circulates within the market, creating a force that returns to strengthen Great Zhou…”
“Let me give a simple example.”
“Suppose the treasury distributes over ten million spirit coins this year to reward meritorious soldiers. What would happen?”
“Please imagine, after receiving the reward, a meritorious soldier would naturally indulge in enjoyment. The first thing would be to drink and celebrate, which is unavoidable. Then, how could a large mansion be missing? And of course, he would need to buy a few decent outfits…”
“This alone already involves the brewing, textile, and construction industries. One person might not be significant, but how many soldiers does Great Zhou have? Given the prosperity of Great Zhou’s trade, if managed properly, how much tax revenue will these industries return to the treasury each year? The amount would only be terrifying!”
“In other words, a ten million spirit coin expenditure from the treasury would generate at least one hundred million spirit coins in output, simultaneously leading to a significant development in the overall national strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Which is better: letting that ten million spirit coins sit in the treasury and rot, or using them to boost the economy? The answer is obvious.”
“This is what we call the ‘consumption return.'”
“However, from the outset, arbitrarily distributing ten million spirit coins to reward soldiers does indeed seem… prodigal.”
“So, unless this concept is shifted, it will be difficult for Your Majesty to truly grasp the essence of being a prodigal. Understand that being a prodigal is not simply about wasting money. It’s an art. With Your Majesty’s sagacity, you would surely not disdain the term ‘prodigal’ at first glance. Everything in this world has both positive and negative aspects…”
Following this, Chu Tianxiao extensively modified and listed examples from future generations, such as ‘Apple’ and ‘Gold iPhones,’ introducing the concept of the ‘luxury goods effect.’ He wrote with such vigor that the ink seemed to echo, producing over a hundred lines, still brimming with enthusiasm.
“In summary, by overturning outdated systems and changing conservative mindsets, spending money and being prodigal can greatly enhance Great Zhou’s ‘comprehensive national strength’ within ten years, thereby laying the material foundation and making the ‘tactical deception’ mentioned earlier achievable…”
At this point, Chu Tianxiao suddenly shifted his tone once more.
“But this alone is not enough!”
“To unify these magnificent lands, a strong army is essential!”
“The third benefit of being a prodigal… is that it allows the creation of a truly powerful army!”
As he wrote this, Chu Tianxiao smiled slightly, knowing he had almost reached the limit. Going any further would be ‘inappropriate,’ so he didn’t delve deeper. Instead, with a touch of mischief, he added a lighthearted sentence at the end.
“To find out what happens next, please wait for the next installment.”
When the last character was written, Chu Tianxiao put down his brush and submitted his work. Qin Yun, who was feeling quite pleased with himself, and Mo Jun, who was full of resentment, both turned to look at him, ready to mock. But just as they were about to speak, they heard a loud noise. They couldn’t help but turn their heads, and then… they were horrified!
“The Sacred Page is moving!”
Someone shouted in surprise, and they saw the Sacred Page suddenly turn towards Chu Tianxiao’s essay, trembling violently! This tremor was nothing like the earlier mild shakes—it felt like the quivering of a soul, or perhaps an extreme outburst of emotion. The intense vibrations swept across the entire venue, prompting the hidden experts to reappear and quickly erect protective barriers of true essence in front of the audience.
The Sacred Page moved once!
It moved again!
And a third time!
Exclamations echoed throughout the venue, but before they could even finish, the Sacred Page moved yet again!
A fourth time!
A fifth time!
Qin Yun and Mo Jun could hardly believe their eyes. Was this really the Sacred Page? Was this the Sacred Page!?
How could it be moving so recklessly, as if it didn’t care about the cost!?
Would it ever stop?
Would it ever stop!?
But the reality left no room for doubt, and indeed… it didn’t stop!
The Sacred Page moved a sixth time!
The entire venue held its breath.
A seventh time!
The entire venue… fell into complete silence.
Seven times… it actually moved seven times…
Looking at the now finally calm Sacred Page, everyone felt a sense of unreality. What had they just witnessed…
Seven movements?
In the past thousand years, no one in Great Zhou had ever made the Sacred Page move seven times in a row!
A world-shocking essay! This had to be a world-shocking essay!
Lu Xianyuan couldn’t even suppress his excitement and, trembling with emotion, hurriedly said, “Quick! Store this essay carefully, place it in the Imperial Pavilion, and present it to the Emperor!”
As the venue descended into chaos, Chu Tianxiao, however, remained lazily indifferent. He stood up, looked at Mo Jun and the others, whose faces seemed flushed and swollen, and leisurely said, “Unable to enter the hall of elegance? Hmm, unable to enter the hall of elegance.”
Sorry for the late update. Focused on From Goblin to Goblin God right now, but this novel will still be updated!
