Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 44 Weak People, Strong Nation (Part Two)

Lan Ren held his breath and listened attentively.

"When people are full, they think of lust. But a country's resources are limited. If you have more, I will inevitably have less. If everyone in the country has this kind of mentality, then the country will go to war because of the unequal distribution of spoils and the lack of satisfaction of interests."

"So, in order to prevent this kind of chaos from happening, then we must 'abuse the people' and 'poor people'."

Increase taxes, make them impoverished, and leave them with no means to challenge the monarch.

"At the same time, in order to survive, these people will be busy working hard and will not have enough to eat. Naturally, they will not have time to think about other things. This is what is meant by the saying that poverty makes people lose their ambition."

"Of course, in this process, you have to be very careful to control the 'degree'—my son."

Lan Ren looked puzzled and asked, "Control of speed?"

Prince Huang Ren laughed and said, "Things will turn into their opposites when they reach an extreme. Once the oppression becomes too severe, people will lose all hope and rebel, giving up entirely. History has provided enough bloody lessons in this regard."

There's a saying, "boiling a frog in lukewarm water." If you put a frog in boiling water, it will jump out. But if you put it in cold water and slowly heat it up, it will not realize the danger and will be boiled to death.

"To properly cook the frog of the 'common people,' we cannot use boiling water, but warm water. We must keep these people's basic needs at a constant level, so that they have no surplus food and can barely make ends meet."

"As long as they don't starve to death, most people choose to make do. When they can have enough to eat, ordinary people won't choose to do something that will cost them their lives."

Upon hearing this, Lanren immediately said, "Father's words are like the clouds parting to reveal the sun; they have enlightened me."

Huang Ren smiled slightly: "You think it's over just like that? Not quite yet."

Lanren, eager to learn, said, "I would like to hear the details."

Huang Ren nodded slightly and continued, "The above is only the initial stage. At best, it can prevent most people from having rebellious thoughts, but it will not make them psychologically respect the monarch."

"Some unruly people even develop a resentment towards the rich, and are always thinking of murdering us nobles in order to seize the money that does not belong to them."

"Therefore, in order to gain their heartfelt respect, it is especially important to make these people feel insecure at this time. Only fear can generate respect."

"And if you want to create this sense of insecurity, starting a war is undoubtedly a very good way."

"Once the war is lost, the fate of becoming a subjugated people will be very tragic. At this time, the role of the monarch will be highlighted. They will 'volunteer' to form an army to resist foreign invasion."

"In this process, these protected people will feel the monarch's 'warmth' and 'greatness', and then they will be devoted to him wholeheartedly, without any disloyalty, even to the point of blind loyalty."

"There are at least the following benefits in this process."

"First: to highlight the legitimacy and rationality of the monarch."

"Secondly, it provides a legitimate excuse to plunder a large amount of money. After all, war requires a lot of money, and this money comes from the people. They cannot object to this, otherwise they will be accused of not wanting to contribute to the country and being unjust."

"This way, we can also eliminate dissidents, and the only cost we make is the lives of some lowly people. Why not?"

"Of course, that's not enough. We also need to establish a theological theory and spread it widely."

"For example: when a great name is born, there are auspicious seven-colored clouds in the sky, or there is an imperial appearance. Make up whatever you can, the more mysterious the better. Anyway, you don't have to pay for making up stories, and a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth."

"Then these ordinary people began to think that we were born extraordinary. We were able to become kings not only because of our merits in resisting foreign invasion, but also because we were chosen ones sent down by heaven to rule the earth."

……

……

Prince Huang Ren explained to his son the intricacies of how to govern the people. Lan Ren deeply admired his father's political wisdom, but at the same time, he felt a chill run down his spine. Fortunately, he was born into a noble family. If he had lived in an ordinary mule and horse family, he would probably never have a chance to rise in society, and might even have been cheated and had to be grateful and sing praises to the noble lord.

As for whether it will generate any compassion for the people, that's pure nonsense.

His father made it very clear that there are only so many resources and statuses in the world. Without the hard work and struggle of these common folk, where would the riches and honors of the noble lords come from?

He's a beneficiary of the system; he must be out of his mind to empathize.

These common people are nothing more than cattle and horses for the nobles to enjoy and arbitrarily scold.

"Hearing Father's words was like seeing the sun after the clouds had parted, and everything became clear." Although young, Lanren, full of cunning, had one question: "With Father's political wisdom, how could he willingly submit to…?"

He didn't say it explicitly, but it was already quite clear: why not just replace the daimyo of the Land of Fire? In his eyes, the daimyo of the Land of Fire was nothing but a pig who knew nothing but eating and drinking all day long, not even a fraction of his father's wisdom.

Huang Ren twitched the corner of his mouth, shook his head, and smiled.

"Father, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at your youth; you think too simply about some things."

"???"

"I now wield immense power and influence. My great name is merely a title, an empty honor."

"I won't gain any real benefit from this; on the contrary, it will completely expose me. One must be able to assess the situation and keep a clear head. Lanren, let me tell you, if I handle this matter well, it won't add points, but if I handle it poorly, it will detract from my score."

"Sometimes, being second isn't so bad. As the saying goes, if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up. And who is this tall person? I don't need to say more, do I?"

After a pause, Prince Huang Ren, with a smile on his face, asked his son, "Why do you think I rushed to the front lines?"

"I see. As expected of my father, he is meticulous and insightful."

Lanren looked at his father with admiration, but at the same time, he was getting a little sleepy: "Father, you just said that even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. May I ask what you mean by the sky falling? Is there anything in this world that can threaten you?"

Prince Huang Ren sighed helplessly, "I just told you, the first prerequisite for a strong country is a weak populace, but there is such a group among the people that keeps me up at night."

"group?"

Prince Huang Ren's expression was solemn as he mentioned the name "ninja" again.

When Lanren heard his father mention ninjas again, he felt that his father was making a big fuss over nothing. After all, in his eyes, ninjas were just guys who worked for the nobles. Was it necessary to be so wary of them?

As if facing a classroom where students were slow to understand, Prince Huang Ren's lecturing tone became a bit harsher: "Lan Ren, in our conversation just now, I emphasized to you countless times that for a country represented by nobles to become strong, it must first weaken its people. But the ninja group is by no means weak; on the contrary, they are very strong."

"They are a relatively wealthy group, and secondly, they wield considerable power. Some ninjas don't even respect the daimyo or nobles; their only loyalty is to the village. If one day these ninjas suddenly decide to rebel, they won't consult you beforehand. And at that time, we nobles will be utterly powerless to resist. The wealth we've accumulated over the years will fall into the hands of these peasants. Are you willing to accept that?"

Huang Ren remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "So, we keep waging wars, employing these ninjas ostensibly to protect our country, but in reality, we're sowing seeds of hatred in them, causing them to kill each other?"

(End of this chapter)