Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 187 Luxury and Steam Brother
Since the empress dowager took the lead in making disturbances, it seemed that the scene could not be maintained.Cao Jian also gave up on himself again, and went out to urge people to serve tea in person.

Seeing the Queen Mother's performance and Cao Jian's reaction, Theodora looked at Guo Kang dumbfounded.

"He is holding an informal gathering as a diplomatic occasion." Guo Kang whispered, "Actually, I think there is no need to engage in such complicated rituals and rules..."

"Is that so?" Theodora asked back: "Etiquette can establish majesty and strict order. Without this distinction, people will not be able to form the habit of following the rules, and society will be chaotic. Grandma is used to being idle, but This system itself is still necessary.”

"Order itself is indeed necessary, but our goal is order, and etiquette is just a means." Guo Kang reminded her not to confuse the concept: "Our majesty comes from victory, and order comes from military discipline."

Theodora turned her head and thought for a while.

"I thought you would be like him, at least superficially, you should pay attention to these things." She said: "I think Zhu Wenkui, a small official, also likes to put on airs on weekdays-the character of Seris people doesn't like etiquette very much. A concept like that?"

"The character of Seris people is to like all practical things." He corrected: "Zhu Wenkui likes to put on airs in front of strangers, and the reason is not because he likes it, but because he is an exile. Some of the value of 'prestige' should be maximized."

"If he really cared, he wouldn't go to forge iron by himself. I didn't see him put on airs when he was tinkering with those things..."

"Etiquette is just a more practical tool in certain occasions."

"I read some books by Confucius, and I thought this was the most important part of them..." Theodora muttered.

"That shows that you haven't read carefully enough, and don't understand deeply enough." Guo Kang disagreed: "Go and read the "Li Yun" chapter. The old master Confucius himself believed that this kind of emphasis on the discipline between the monarch and his ministers, father and son, and husband and wife, pays attention to the top and bottom. The 'ritual' of honor and inferiority is an inferior substitute tool that appeared after the Dao was lost. If there was a choice, he himself would not want this thing."

"Well..." Theodora realized that she was in the wrong, so she had to admit: "I'm not too surprised that you said that. No wonder everyone said that you have always been approachable. I'm afraid you don't care about these rules at all."

Guo Kang thought for a while, nodded, and directly admitted.

He himself knew this kind of performance, but he really didn't care.This is not because he has to show "the unique excellent culture of the traversers" and declares that everyone is equal to show that he is different from ordinary people, but it is the result of his observation and thinking.

"You see, since etiquette is just a tool, we have to see how it benefits." He analyzed: "In our case, although it should be useful, I think it is enough to maintain the most basic needs. It needs to be specially strengthened. Because this thing is easy to be excessive, and once it is excessive, it will be a disaster. For us, the threshold of this excess is much lower than that of the Central Plains."

"Why do you say that?" Theodora was curious.

"Han Fei, the philosopher of Seris in ancient times, told a story that King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty made chopsticks out of ivory, and his minister Jizi was very frightened by it." Guo Kang talked about the fable: "He thinks that there are Once you have ivory chopsticks, you will not use clay tableware, but can make rhino horn and jade cups; with this set of tableware, you will not be satisfied with ordinary meals, but pursue high-end food; Satisfied with coarse clothes and thatched houses, it is time to pursue brocade clothes and luxurious palaces."

"If it is an ordinary person, it may only stop at a certain step, but he is a king, and he does have talents and military achievements, which is even more dangerous." King Shang, power is unlimited, you can do whatever you want, what will happen."

"The situation is the same on our side." He compared: "The Serris regime is very large. As long as they keep themselves from causing trouble, they can easily crush the surroundings. Therefore, they pay more attention to internal stability and Order. These strict etiquettes and grand ceremonies help to deter potential enemies, so they are respected by people."

"But with our current size, even if we put on airs, who can we deter? Do you think the barbarians here will eat this?"

Theodora froze for a moment, and finally shook her head without confidence.

"On the contrary, if you put too much emphasis on etiquette, you will definitely pursue corresponding material conditions, and use various luxuries and luxurious services to distinguish yourself from people of other levels. Do you think we can stand this kind of toss now? " Guo Kang asked again.

Theodora could only shake her head again.

"You see, if this continues, we will soon put ourselves in a more dangerous situation because of extravagance and lust. Don't forget, our situation may not be as good as that of King Zhou." Guo Kang reminded.

"The expenses of the court and the upper class nobles can be very outrageous. When the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu, it would cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars to go out of the fortress. It seems very expensive. However, military expenditures are not the largest."

"Every year, the cost of eating and drinking in the palace is [-] million yuan; making clothes costs hundreds of millions. This is enough to support several wars at the same time. On top of this, there is the most expensive palace: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty A new palace is enough for a decisive battle at the level of Monan; and the money he spent on expanding Shanglin Garden, if used as military expenses for Huo Qubing, is enough to beat the Xiongnu more than a dozen times..."

This is indeed not his intentional sensationalism, because in ancient times, the palace's expenses were so outrageous.Moreover, this phenomenon is far from an isolated case of Serris.

In Suleiman's era, during the heyday of Ottoman, the court's annual expenditure on food and drink was equal to the country's salt tax revenue, which was Ottoman's second largest source of taxation.For the situation of the Purple Horde, it is always possible to refer to this.

So frugality is not just a slogan.This kind of conclusion may make people feel a little counterintuitive, but in this era of underdeveloped production, frugality at the top really has a huge impact.

"Not to mention anything else, look at your clothes." Guo Kang gave an example: "This one alone is enough for Zhu Wenkui's workshop."

"If we save this money, a lot of people can spend more time working for themselves instead of working for us. They can help us win the battle when they are fed and drunk, so that we will not be surrounded by these people. Neighbors who stared at each other were wiped out."

"So you see, why do we pay attention to these excessive etiquette and create an unnecessary sense of difference?" He spread his hands: "Even if you don't go so far, if you give me this set, you can make Brother Steam The progress is faster. You see, right?"

After what he said, Theodora also fell silent.Guo Kang felt that she probably listened, and he was relieved.

(End of this chapter)