Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 352 - 229: Luo’s Reform (8600 words, asking for monthly votes)_4

Chapter 352: Chapter 229: Luo’s Reform (8600 words, asking for monthly votes)_4

Wang Wenchuan sincerely exclaimed, "The Luo family is indeed great, I am no match..."

This statement was clearly a conclusion Wang Wenchuan had drawn after reviewing the entirety of the Luo family’s new laws and comparing the process of his own reforms to theirs.

In terms of process, Wang Wenchuan failed to gain the support of impoverished peasants during his reform efforts and ultimately ended up with many curses from the lower classes of people.

When Wang Wenchuan formulated the Green Seed Law, his intentions were undoubtedly good, but due to issues in implementation, it led to the exploitation of the lower strata by officials, leaving them in a very miserable situation.

Although this was not Wang Wenchuan’s original intention and the problems arose during execution, Wang Wenchuan himself was clear that as a reformer, he should have anticipated these issues from the beginning.

His failure to foresee led to such consequences; to say it was unjust would be true, but ultimately, it was not unjust.

In contrast, the Luo family’s new laws were wholeheartedly welcomed by people throughout the country through fireside talks as soon as they were introduced. As the laws were implemented, their approval rating soared, with most of the legislation being carried out to the letter, achieving results that fully met their original intentions.

In Wang Wenchuan’s view, the Luo family was naturally far superior to himself in this respect.

Even in the process of their reform, the Luo family was commendable.

When Wang Wenchuan carried out his reforms, he relied on the power of his position as prime minister. Although he had the emperor’s support, he could not fully gain the emperor’s trust, nor could he win over members of the old party. Instead, he was forced to use members of the new party to implement the reforms. Over time, petty officials infiltrated the new party, leading to the degeneration of the reform efforts.

The Luo family’s reform, though somewhat similar to relying on monarchical power, was also hampered by significant obstructive forces from abroad. From wealthy merchants and capitalists to other political factions, there were many who opposed the Luo family.

Yet the Luo family was able to use their decisive power to suppress these voices, and effectively monopolize authority. In this respect, they were also superior.

When looking at the results, Wang Wenchuan’s reforms ultimately failed, whereas the Luo family’s reform became a very famous case of reform in the history of both ancient and modern times, domestic and foreign.

Naturally, Wang Wenchuan would think he was not as good as the other.

Meng Yuan consoled, "You shouldn’t be too harsh on yourself, Jinggong. Times change and the era you lived in was different. Reforms based on similar concepts might yield vastly different results.

"The success of the Luo family’s new policies indeed involved factors of the right time, place, and people. Their success was not solely due to one person, but was also a result of going with the flow.

"However, the root of their thinking still lay in the state intervention in the economy and the lives of the people, regulating the various strata of the country, thereby achieving the goals of a wealthy country and a strong military.

"And for you, Jinggong, to have conceived of this point a thousand years ago and propose similar strategies, that foresight is indeed astonishing.

"Only, at that time, Jinggong, you truly did not have such conditions. Within an economic system dominated by landlords and bureaucrats, and with the backward technological level of the time, such an attempt was ultimately too advanced.

"When the Luo family implemented their new laws, they had the support of a powerful state apparatus that could clarify the country’s economic indicators. Whether it was regulation or lending, they had all the data at hand; whereas you, Jinggong, lived a thousand years before, when even determining the repayment ability of peasant households or restricting officials from increasing green seed loans was not possible.

"In this light, although Jinggong’s methods were somewhat inferior, this pioneering spirit and unrivaled courage are certainly not less commendable than the Luo family’s."

Wang Wenchuan showed an expression of realization.

Clearly, Meng Yuan’s words were very comforting to him.

Although no one could understand him while he was alive, at this moment, a descendant a thousand years later had given him a fair assessment.

And the case of the Luo family also proved that Wang Wenchuan’s ideas were not wrong; they were just too advanced, surpassing the actual social conditions of the time.

Thus, what he was doing was in fact a task that transcended the times, impossible to complete.

The situation was pitiable, but the courage was admirable.

Wang Wenchuan might have dwelled on some details of the reform process, wondering if a different approach might have been better?

But now he had reached a level of comprehension, no longer entangled in these issues.

"So... what is the posthumous assessment of the Luo family?" Wang Wenchuan asked.

Meng Yuan paused briefly and said with emotion, "In their own time, the Luo family almost earned the admiration and agreement of the entire world.

"Domestically, one could say that the Luo family had the support of the entire populace. In a survey where people voted for ’the greatest person in the world,’ the god they worshipped could only be ranked second, with the Luo family coming in first.

"Abroad, the Luo family also received unanimous approval from all the top leaders and politicians of the time, whether it was wariness, envy, or respect."

Wang Wenchuan’s expression turned wistful: "To think that hundreds of years later, there would be such a great person, it’s truly remarkable...

"But you say that’s how it was in their time?

"Then in later times, could it be that the situation changed again?"

Meng Yuan nodded, "In subsequent eras, more and more people have suggested that the Luo family’s new laws were actually overrated. Because what really solved the great crisis was not their new policies, but a global super war that swept the world.

"Because in this world war, the nation led by the Luo family benefitted from all sides, selling arms and supplies, just like Emperor Qihuan did in the Spring and Autumn period, gaining a hegemonic position and redistributing the world’s interests. Only then did the economy take off comprehensively, completely eliminating the effects of the Great Depression."

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