Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 353 - 229: Luo’s Reform (8600 words, asking for monthly votes)_5

Chapter 353: Chapter 229: Luo’s Reform (8600 words, asking for monthly votes)_5

"Even some people proposed that Luo’s new law was a complete lie, believing that it only coincidentally adopted some useless measures during a special period, taking advantage of the economic recovery," Meng Yuan said.

"These scholars believed that the economy had already been recovering, and the prosperity would have come even without Luo’s new laws. Moreover, Luo’s new laws not only failed to accelerate or promote this prosperity, instead, they caused a great deal of wasteful spending that hindered economic development. In fact, it was an unsustainable practice."

"What does Jing think about these views?"

After pondering for a while, Wang Wenchuan slightly shook his head, "I’m afraid they are trying to be original or seek attention with these words."

"Why?" Meng Yuan asked.

Wang Wenchuan smiled and explained, "Later generations often take joy in subverting conventional wisdom.

"They glorify the treacherous as having been compelled, and seek to tarnish heroes’ reputations, reducing their glorious images to ’nothing special.’"

"When I observed the foreign country performing Luo’s tricks, it was in a state where the people’s wisdom had been awakened. Even an unemployed craftsman understood three languages, which shows that the common people were superior even to the scholars of the Qi Dynasty."

"If Luo’s new laws were truly meaningless, why then did they receive unanimous support from these people?

"And according to your statement, Luo’s new law lasted only a few years, yet the changes were immediately visible, and the data was clear. Even in later generations, many countries followed suit.

"If Luo’s new law were indeed a huge scam, how could it deceive everyone in the world at that time, and even the sages of future generations?

"From this analysis, although Luo’s new laws may have had some oversights and flaws, the move achieved tremendous success, which is undoubtedly undeniable.

"To say that someone else could have done just as well is merely putting the cart before the horse."

Meng Yuan nodded, "Jing has a clear insight.

"In fact, in my junior’s view, Luo was a thorough pragmatist. All his measures were not driven by personal or class interests but were aimed at the big picture, striving to re-balance the forces in all aspects.

"This is what a top politician does. And such a top-level politician is rare in the world.

"If businessmen benefited too much, then their interests were restricted. Whether it was setting fixed working hours, minimum wages, or taxing businessmen, these were indeed measures that benefited the country and the people.

"Luo was certainly not a communist bent on overthrowing all capitalists, but by limiting the business class and seeking welfare for the lower classes, regulating the economy with state means, he had already made remarkable moves at that time.

"And most importantly, his success did not rely on military aggression or consuming future resources. Although, in hindsight, his country was the ultimate victor of this global war, in fact, at the onset of the war, the entire country was reluctant to get involved.

"Before genuinely engaging in this war, the economy had already turned around, according to various metrics. This was fundamentally different from extreme measures such as consuming future resources, staking everything on military expansion, inciting populism, and brutally exploiting the lower classes.

"Moreover, the very reason this country benefited from the global war was because of Luo’s contribution.

"He keenly seized this opportunity, persuading all social classes to actively participate in the war and determined the fate of the world with one battle, establishing a dominant position.

"And even from a perspective a thousand years later, which is more than eighty years after Luo’s reforms, descendants are still enjoying the legacy of this new policy.

"Requiring each industry to set maximum working hours and minimum wage standards; granting workers the right to unite and collectively negotiate with capitalists; reducing mortgage interest rates and extending loan periods to enable homeownership; establishing old-age pensions and unemployment insurance; imposing progressive taxes on income and assets, with inheritance taxes as high as 70%...

"These measures have genuinely improved the lives of all lower-class people, and to this day, most countries still strive to achieve these things; some have not even managed to do so."

At this point, Wang Wenchuan’s appreciation for Luo’s new laws clearly increased further.

"The measures he proposed are still the universal standards of all countries decades later, yet none have achieved them yet...

"This is enough to show Luo’s visionary foresight."

...

At this moment, the audience in front of the screen, following Wang Wenchuan and Meng Yuan’s discussion, seemed to be transported back to the foreign country decades ago, reliving Luo’s reforms.

Many people initially scoffed at Luo’s new policies, considering them trivial, but after this dialogue between Meng Yuan and Wang Wenchuan, they changed their minds.

"It seems to be true when you put it that way."

"I also thought Luo’s new policies were nothing special, but then I thought about how he had proposed minimum wage standards, granted workers the right to unite and negotiate collectively with capitalists, and ensured homeownership decades ago... I think he’s incredible..."

"There are always opinions trying to be novel, but flip through Luo’s new legislation, and you’ll know it’s indeed a great transformation."

"Successful reform is a very difficult thing; if Luo’s reforms were chalked up to just good luck, why then do other reformers have such bad luck?"

"For a reform to succeed, perhaps dozens or hundreds of major tasks need to be completed correctly; and for a reform to fail, perhaps only one mistake is necessary. Therefore, behind any successful reform, there is inevitable hardship that ordinary people can’t imagine."

"I used to think I could do it too, but after experiencing the hellish difficulty of Wang Wenchuan’s reforms, I don’t think I could handle it. I can hardly replicate a failed reform, let alone a successful one..."

"It reminds me of Emperor Taizu. People often have a tendency to put the cart before the horse; seeing a person succeed, they say it was a trend, and he just rode the wave. Emperor Taizu was like this, Luo was like this too. But the truth is, it might not work if you switch the person. Their success makes people overlook the difficulties and dangers of the process, making it seem like an easy feat."

...

The mist in front of them thickened, and the scenes of Luo’s reforms gradually moved away from Wang Wenchuan’s view.

But he was still somewhat overwhelmed, deeply impressed by the reform in this foreign land.

"My young friend, what is this third possibility?" Wang Wenchuan asked.

Clearly, his interest had been greatly piqued.

Meng Yuan smiled slightly and parted the fog with his hands, revealing a video on the screen in which players were implementing the new law on the officials’ bodies in front of Wang Wenchuan.

"Jing, please watch. This is an idealized simulation of Jing’s new law by later generations!"

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