Chapter 168: How Can This Be Bad?
Chapter 164 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens revealing intense scenes: As the sky darkened, Li Daoxuan returned from his parentsâ house.He had intended to grab... Keep reading!
As the sky darkened, Li Daoxuan returned from his parentsâ house.He had intended to grab the comic books and leave immediately, but his parents, hearing he was coming, had prepared a lavish feastâfar superior to his usual takeout, easily thirty-two times better, nearly matching the grandeur of a New Yearâs Eve dinner. He stayed for dinner. It was certainly enjoyable, but it ran late. By the time he returned home carrying a large bundle of Yang Family Generals comic books, the sun had already begun to sink below the western hills.
He quickly pulled out the comic books, carefully turned the pages, placed them in the scanner, scanned them, then used the printer to shrink and print tiny pagesâŚ
Of course, his so-called âtiny pageâ was still enormous to the little people and couldnât be given to them directly. It needed to be reworked using the little peopleâs printing technology.
The scanner and printer whirred and clattered away.
Li Daoxuan casually shifted his perspective to observe the little peopleâs situation.
The mess in Zhengjia Village had been cleaned up. The He Yang bandits wouldnât dare attack again anytime soon. Fang Wushang had withdrawn his troops to report the victory in a memorial. He likely wouldnât pen a nonsense memorial like Cheng Xu had.
The militia returned to the village, each one beaming with joy.
Xing Honglang was also in excellent spirits. Forest heroes relish vengeance. Having killed Erchun today to avenge her people was a great joy. She had her subordinates bring over a jar of Wu Liang Ye they were selling as goods, and the salt smugglers shared it among themselves to drink.
The result was everyone collapsed, plastered; not a single one remained standing. The modern liquor was far too potent for them; it worked better than knock-out drugs.
It was at this moment that Gao Chuwu came knocking. He had wanted to speak with Xing Honglang but found the plastic mansion filled with drunks sprawled out every which way.
Gao Chuwu could only pick up the salt smugglers one by one and carefully tuck them into bed. The chill of early spring made it easy to fall sick. He didnât dare move Xing Honglang, however. She was a girl; he didnât dare touch her recklessly. So he left her alone in the middle of the great hall.
Meanwhile, Cheng Xu, victorious in battle, returned without much joy. He sat alone on the high watchtower corner, lifted his cloth mask, and drank a small jar of wine by himself. Perhaps he still felt some attachment to his former official rank as a ninth-grade military officer of the court.
Watching the varied states of his little people, Li Daoxuan couldnât help but chuckle quietly to himself.
The sound of the printer behind him ceased. The first volume of Yang Family Generals was printed.
Li Daoxuan shifted his gaze to the watchtower.
Gao Yiye was weaving cloth under the lamp. Cotton threads crisscrossed and connected on her weaving machine, forming cotton cloth that slid out.
âYiye!â Li Daoxuan called softly.
Gao Yiye let out an âAh,â quickly stopped weaving, and jumped up. âDeity!â
Li Daoxuan smiled. âFind Thirty-Two. I wish to discuss something with him.â
Gao Yiye hurried into action. She dashed down the watchtower with pattering steps, reached the âdiscussion hallâ of the Hakka roundhouse, and beside it was the âmain well,â where Thirty-Two resided.
After knocking on his door and summoning him to the central courtyard, both stood ready to respectfully receive the Deityâs instructions.
Only then did Li Daoxuan pick up a sheet of paper and lower it down.
Thirty-Two peered closely. Descending from the heavens was a stiff sheet of paper larger than a person, emblazoned with a strange picture depicting a military man, though he couldnât tell who it was.
Li Daoxuan offered no explanation. He lowered a second page, a third, a fourthâŚ
After looking over several pages in succession, Thirty-Two finally understood. âYang Family Generals! In pictures! Only pictures!â
Li Daoxuan responded, âAfter daybreak tomorrow, find the woodcarver. Have him carve printing blocks to reproduce this.â
Thirty-Two was momentarily puzzled, not quite grasping the Deityâs intent. But after thinking it over carefully, he understood. âThe Deity wishes to tell stories to the illiterate with a book made entirely of pictures.â
âCorrect,â Li Daoxuan affirmed. âMany people are too old now to attend Mr. Wangâs lessons. Yet they still need knowledge and education. A book filled only with pictures can educate them through entertainment, conveying essential lessons.â
Thirty-Two said, âThe Deity is benevolent, caring even for the affairs of these common citizens.â
This was more than simply caring for them.
Li Daoxuan didnât voice the deeper reasonâŚ
The common citizens of that time severely lacked concepts like ânationâ or âpeople.â Many didnât even understand what patriotism meant. This wasnât unique to the Ming Dynasty; even into modern times, Mr. Lu Xun wrote the essay (âDiary of a Madmanâ / criticizing the numb common citizens) lamenting such numb fools.
Why were they numb?
Simply put, they lacked sufficient patriotic education!
When the Manchusâ iron cavalry fiercely invaded, how many were truly willing to sacrifice their lives for the nation? If not for the majority being numb and indifferent, how could the Manchus have ever seated themselves firmly on the Han peopleâs throne?
This Yang Family Generals comic book could serve as an excellent textbook for patriotic education, letting people see the stories of the loyal Yang family, shedding blood and sacrificing lives to protect the nation.
Thirty-Two bowed deeply towards the sky. âThy servant respectfully complies with the Decree of the Deity.â
Watching the Deity in the sky gradually fade away, likely returning to the heavenly realm, Gao Yiye giggled softly. âThis picture book is so fun! I was just completely absorbed in it.â
Thirty-Two thought, Oh? Has the Saint Lady never heard the story of the Yang Family Generals before? Right, Gaojia Village is remote. Few outsiders visit. The villagersâ experiences were limited. At best, they heard fragmented tales from the village elders. Hardly anyone has seen such a complete, bound story volume.
âIt seems this book will be very popular,â he said. âOnce itâs printed, we cannot give it to the villagers for free.â An idea sparked. âThe Deity has bestowed too much food freely. Many villagers are slacking off now, not working. We should set a price and sell this book once printed. Use it to draw back some of the excess money from the villagersâ hands. We can pay the woodcarver with this money, giving him more motivation. When the villagersâ money is spent, theyâll also feel more inclined to work.â
Gao Yiye exclaimed, âWow, Third Steward Thirty-Two, you are so bad!â
Thirty-Two replied, âHow can this be bad? Freely distributing resources is intrinsically an irregular practice. The Deity gives grain freely because of the great drought â the villagers themselves cannot produce any grain. If we get accustomed to enjoying things for free, and deem anything we must pay for as âbad,â then something has gone astray.â
Gao Yiye thought it over. âAh! Youâre right.â
Thirty-Two continued, âIf the villagers were starving, I would absolutely never think of such less conventional methods. But right now, the villagers living within this fortress are getting rather lazy.â
âWhen the Deity gave them grain initially, He granted far too much at once. Many villagers still store ten gigantic grains of rice in their homes, enough to last years. Where is the incentive for them to work? Sooner or later, theyâll be looked down upon by the newcomers of Short-term Workers Village.â
Gao Yiye marveled, âThird Steward really talks sense.â