Dragon's Origin

Chapter 390: Drawing a Grand Blueprint for the Emperor (Part 2)

"Economic and Cultural Center?" The Emperor, hearing this unfamiliar term, couldn't help but widen his eyes. "What do you mean? What is an economic and cultural center?"

"Simply put, it means that no matter where people are, the first thing they think of when they want to make money is the capital. Any large business will think of opening its main store in the capital. Anything good can be bought in the capital. That's an economic center," Wang Sheng said, finding it difficult to explain such a vast concept, so he could only describe it in the simplest terms.

Listening to Wang Sheng's description, the Emperor seemed to see a grand scene before his eyes. Carriages and horses filled the capital, people jostled shoulder to shoulder, and goods flowed in endlessly. It was like paradise!

If it really reached that point, the capital could be said to be a mountain of gold and a sea of silver! Just relying on taxes would allow the royal family to cultivate a group of loyal experts and a loyal army. When that time comes...

"What about a cultural center?" the Emperor asked again. The economic center already seemed to offer such benefits, so wouldn't a cultural center be even more tempting? The Emperor wasn't illiterate and understood the extent to which culture could influence people.

"In terms of cultivation, although the royal family also has many techniques, they can't be made public, right? So, apart from cultivation, if people think of studying, they think of the capital and want to come to the capital, then that can barely be considered a rudimentary cultural center," Wang Sheng said concisely.

"Rudimentary?" The Emperor thought for a moment. "What would a complete one be like?"

"It's about cultural export!" Wang Sheng replied without hesitation. "This culture isn't just about studying. Eating, drinking, playing, even listening to a song, all of it is popular in the capital. The people of the entire kingdom should realize that no matter which principality they're from, what they eat and wear is popular in the capital. That's the best. Make people yearn for the capital. Even if there's nothing to do, they want to stroll around the capital to see what's popular and learn from it."

As the Emperor listened to Wang Sheng, he asked with some skepticism, "Is that possible?" It would be best if it could be done, but the difficulty was too great, wasn't it?

"Think of Runzi Workshop, think of Qiansheng Yuan," Wang Sheng pointed out calmly. "You don't think only people in the capital buy them, do you?"

As soon as he mentioned these two businesses, the Emperor immediately understood Wang Sheng's meaning and how Wang Sheng did it. Weren't Runzi Workshop and Qiansheng Yuan in the situation Wang Sheng described?

Which noble lady in the world didn't want a Runzi Workshop VIP card? Who didn't want to stay in Runzi Workshop's beauty salon every day for services? Even if they couldn't come, who didn't want to get a set of Runzi Workshop's top-tier cosmetics? It was said that the top-tier cosmetic sets of Runzi Workshop had become rewards for concubines in various principalities.

Qiansheng Yuan was even more obvious. In the Yuanhun world, anyone who wanted to cultivate had to be literate, otherwise, they couldn't even read cultivation techniques. How could they cultivate?

Many people were focused on cultivation, but now many cultivation experts had discovered that using Qiansheng Yuan's stationery to practice calligraphy had great benefits for their self-cultivation, allowing them to focus on their cultivation. Who wouldn't care about something that was beneficial to their cultivation?

It wasn't just because of the array formation. Calligraphy itself was something that only people who could sit still could persevere in. Those who couldn't sit still also used it as a way to temper their minds. Even if they couldn't practice, playing with a few inkstones and paperweights every day was also a way to calm their minds.

How could ordinary things catch the eyes of these experts? Naturally, Qiansheng Yuan's top-quality products were in short supply. Now, Qiansheng Yuan's rare items were no longer commodities, but symbols of status.

If the capital could really become the economic and cultural center Wang Sheng described, it would bring more than just monetary benefits. The Emperor couldn't think of a way to describe it for a moment.

"Sense of identity, or influence," Wang Sheng helped the Emperor summarize what he wanted to say but didn't: "Let the people of the world take the capital's trends as the direction and the capital's culture as the guide. Naturally, they will enhance their sense of identity with the capital, the Emperor, the royal family, and the court. Naturally, the influence of the Emperor, the royal family, and the court will slowly penetrate. After one or two generations, I'm afraid this penetration will make the lords uneasy. Of course, it's hard to say whether there will still be large principalities after one or two generations."

Although the Emperor had thought that this would be of great benefit to him and the royal family, he had never imagined that the sense of identity Wang Sheng had just mentioned would have such a great effect. For a moment, he almost couldn't accept the concept and fell into deep thought, almost becoming petrified.

Steward Zhou was also full of horror. In the eyes of these people who had always thought that high cultivation was everything, they had never thought that there was such a way to seize the world without bloodshed.

Fortunately, the Emperor's attitude was sincere just now, and he realized his mistake and apologized directly to Wang Sheng. Otherwise, if Wang Sheng had said these words to the lord of a large principality, would the royal family still have a way out? Fortunately, Wang Sheng wasn't an enemy! If he were really an enemy, facing such a monstrous guy, even if Steward Zhou was already at the peak of the Legend realm, he now realized that if he really had to fight, he might not be confident in taking down Wang Sheng face to face.

This feeling was sudden, and it was also Steward Zhou's unique ability to predict the future. Steward Zhou knew very well that this was because Wang Sheng had really shocked him. He had never thought that a little guy who was said to be from the barbarians could shock him to this point just by chatting, without even having to lift a finger.

The Emperor finally woke up from that indescribable excitement. No matter how well Wang Sheng spoke, it was just a castle in the air, still floating in the sky. To realize it, he still had to take it one step at a time. But as long as there was a direction, there was no need to worry about not having a chance to walk all the way there. The Emperor could already foresee the revival of the royal family.

After calming down, the Emperor suddenly thought of another very serious problem, which could be said to be a matter of life and death.

"If the capital really reached that point, would those jealous lords gather together to loot the capital, then kill the royal family, and divide up the capital?" the Emperor asked worriedly. Since everyone could benefit from dividing up the principalities now, when the benefits of dividing up the capital were even greater, would anyone be able to resist taking action? If it were the Emperor himself, he would probably be tempted, right?