Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

As soon as Fang Zheng finished speaking, a snort of laughter immediately came from the crowd.

“Lord Fang, isn't that a bit too cautious? That Fika is just a small country. Our Great Jing only needs to show its strength to win without a fight.”

“Right now, our country's morale is high, what's there to fear? We naturally treat civilizations with courtesy, but when facing barbarians... whoever has the stronger fist has the right to speak. Is that wrong?”

This statement immediately garnered enthusiastic support from some people.

Originally, the news of the Fika garrison being stationed had greatly boosted the morale of the military officials in the court.

They clamored to increase pressure after the garrison was stationed, to further control Fika.

Even the civil officials didn't say much. Fang Zheng's jump out to pour cold water on the situation caused some dissatisfaction.

Fang Zheng's gaze swept across the hall, and he said, “I understand everyone's thoughts, but I'm not trying to pour cold water on you all.”

“A strong fist is indeed the ultimate truth, and strength is the foundation of everything. But in the end, this is just a correct platitude. We must never use platitudes to guide our future actions.”

“Relying on force can win every battle, but it is far from enough to win a strategic victory.”

Fang Zheng sighed inwardly.

The Fika garrison's presence did indeed greatly enhance prestige. It seemed that the power of advanced weaponry had quite a shock on them.

Before he even exerted force, they knelt down first.

Currently, the court's morale was high, but as the strongest, he had to remain restrained.

Violence is the simplest and most efficient method, but it is also the least clever. Every beast in nature follows this principle.

As a half-bandit leader, he deeply understood that violence is not sustainable.

On the other hand, he had to consider the interests of Great Jing itself... The current firearms were already ahead of the times, and the potential dangers they would bring in the future had to be prevented.

In his previous life, many countries had already entered the modern era, but many black brothers in Africa were still rolling around in the tropics, using old mobile phones.

It wasn't that the black brothers were stupid, nor that knowledge couldn't reach them.

But a significant part of the reason came from the curse of resources, a naturally fertile land, full of treasures, so that development lacked motivation.

Coupled with wave after wave of aid from many countries, it undoubtedly once again dampened the enthusiasm for development.

Since I can get food by lying down, why should I kneel down to earn money?

This label of poverty cannot be removed.

However, although lying down and begging for food is very comfortable, every great civilization in the world has grown and strengthened in the long-term struggle against nature.

Now, Great Jing, because of his arrival, has led to the early appearance of practical and powerful firearms.

Firearms are too easy to use, so it is highly probable that people will become addicted to them.

This will undoubtedly become a curse of knowledge in the future.

A simple way of thinking will replace a complex way of thinking.

Using force to solve problems simply and crudely will largely replace using wisdom to solve problems, which is obviously not a long-term solution.

The lessons of the previous life are not far away. A certain country's famous Iron-Blood Prime Minister had such a style.

He never hesitated to use a cold attitude and tough methods to violently solve problems. This thought, this code of conduct, left a valuable political legacy for the country's later generations.

It is hard to say that this kind of thinking did not play a role in the two world-destroying wars.

Another major hidden danger is among the people.

If the attitude in the court is like this, the large-scale transmission of news to the people will obviously cause a new round of fanatical attitude.

The masses are always craving power. They like heroes, admire violence, and can even completely ignore the fact that they are likely to be victims of violent conflict.

Being in a powerful country, just firing a few cannons will scare the other party to their knees. The rise of national sentiment is inevitable, and may even far exceed the performance of the officials in the court.

What Great Jing needs is rational citizens with demeanor and pride, not a group of arrogant war maniacs.

If this emotion is pushed to the extreme, it will definitely force the court to change, so that in the end, it will have to bear huge pressure and use great courage to reverse it.

“Lord Fang, don't forget, since we can win every war, strategic victory is inevitable.” Someone dissatisfiedly said.

Fang Zheng replied forcefully: “Absolutely wrong! What we want to seek is actual benefit, don't forget how far the West is from our Great Jing!”

“Even the indigenous tribes on the border are difficult to manage, let alone a country tens of thousands of miles away, whose culture is vastly different from our Great Jing.”

“We are ultimately going there to do business. The prerequisite for successfully seizing benefits is to maintain good cooperative partnerships.”

“Moreover, to tell you the truth, although our Great Jing is powerful, the weak are not without means of resistance, and their weapons are not inferior to guns and cannons!”

“A weak person will not have the courage to resist the strong, nor will he have the power to defeat the strong. What can they do? They can not cooperate, fish in troubled waters, outwardly obey, and secretly spread rumors and sabotage.”

“These silent resistances, when gathered by millions of people, are enough to drag our Great Jing into the quagmire, making overseas business difficult and even suffering heavy losses.”

“How many prosperous empires in history have fallen because of this? The predecessors did not have time to grieve for themselves, and the descendants grieved for them. If the descendants grieve without learning from them, they will cause the later descendants to grieve again.”

Fang Zheng skillfully copied a sentence from the textbook, and inexplicably thought of Fang Chengyu.

For a moment, he gritted his teeth.

That little brat! Told him to make a wrong question notebook, he did make it, but never opened it to look at it!

Just like him back then...

Emperor Jing and the ministers listened attentively.

Fang Zheng came back to his senses and cheered up: "Furthermore, if we further put pressure on Fika, there is another harm."

“The Western countries are under the rule of the Church. Although the Church is greedy and unpopular, it is stronger than a strange Eastern country. If we show our strength and attitude in Fika, it will undoubtedly cause the other party to instinctively unite closely.”

“The combination of these two factors will cause serious damage to our Great Jing's overseas interests.”

“Therefore, I suggest that the court send a letter to Fika, and the two countries form a friendly alliance. We should not be strong or weak, but treat each other as equals. Fika provides convenience for our country to station troops, and our Great Jing should naturally also express something in return. This is the best policy. Other countries will inevitably be willing to be close to our Great Jing when they see this, at least they will not be hostile.”

“After the situation is stable, we will spread our Great Jing's ideas, thoughts, and image overseas. Let the people of the world know that our Great Jing is benevolent, righteous, courteous, wise, and trustworthy. This also conforms to the teachings of the sages.”

“If not... if benevolence and righteousness are not practiced, the situation of offense and defense will change!”

......