Because the Queen Mother took the lead in the turmoil, the scene could not be maintained. Cao Jian also gave up on himself again, and went out to personally urge people to serve refreshments.

Seeing the performance of the Queen Mother and Cao Jian's reaction, Theodora glanced at Guo Kang with tears and laughter.

"He's treating an informal gathering as a diplomatic occasion." Guo Kang whispered: "Actually, I don't think there is any need to engage in such complicated rituals and rules......

"Is that so?" Theodora asked rhetorically: "Etiquette establishes majesty and order." Without this distinction, there would be no habit of following the rules, and society would be chaotic. Grandma, she is used to being idle, but the system itself is still necessary. ”

"Order itself is indeed necessary, but our goal is order, and etiquette is only a means." Guo Kang reminded her not to confuse the concept: "Our majesty comes from victory, and order comes from military discipline." ”

Theodora tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"I thought you'd be like him, at least superficially." She said: "I think Zhu Wenkui is a petty official, and he likes to put up this kind of shelf on weekdays - the character of the Seris people, don't they like concepts like etiquette and righteousness very much?" ”

"The character of the Seris is that they like everything practical." He corrected: "Zhu Wenkui likes to put up a fight in front of strangers, and the reason is not because he likes it, but as an exile, this way can maximize the value of their only 'prestige'." ”

"If he really cared, he wouldn't have run to strike iron himself. I didn't see him put up a fight when he was tinkering with those things......"

"And etiquette is just a tool that is more practical on certain occasions."

"I read some of Confucius's books, and I thought they were the most elaborate part of them...... "Theodora muttered.

"That means you haven't looked carefully enough and don't know deeply enough." Guo Kang disagreed: "Let's go and see the "Rites and Fortunes" chapter. Confucius himself believed that this kind of 'etiquette', which focuses on the discipline between monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives, and emphasizes the respect and humility of the upper and lower levels, is an inferior alternative tool that appeared after the loss of the Great Dao. If he had a choice, he wouldn't have wanted it himself. ”

"Well......" Theodora admitted, realizing that he was at a loss, "I am not surprised that you would say that." It's no wonder that everyone says that you have always been approachable, but I am afraid that you don't care about these rules at all. ”

Guo Kang thought about it, nodded, and admitted it directly.

He actually knows this kind of performance, but he really doesn't care. This is not because he has to show "the unique excellent culture of the traverser", claiming to pursue equality for all, in order to show that he is different from ordinary people, but the result of his observation and thinking.

"You see, since etiquette is just a tool, we have to see how profitable it is." He analyzed: "In our case, although it should be somewhat useful, I think that it is enough to maintain the most basic needs, and there is no need to strengthen them. Because it's easy to overdo it, and if it's excessive, it's a scourge. For us, this threshold for excess, is much lower than that of the Central Plains. ”

"Why do you say that?" Theodora was curious.

"Han Fei, a philosopher of Seris in ancient times, told a story that the king of the Shang Dynasty made chopsticks out of ivory, and the minister was very frightened." Guo Kang recounted the fable: "He thought that with ivory chopsticks, he would not use clay tableware, but would make rhinoceros horn and jade cups; With this set of utensils, you will not be satisfied with ordinary meals, but will pursue high-end food; With delicacies, you will not be satisfied with coarse cloth clothes and thatched houses, but will pursue brocade clothes and luxurious palace rooms. ”

"If he is an ordinary person, he may only stop at a certain step, but he is a monarch, and he does have talent and military exploits, which is even more dangerous." Guo Kang said: "Think about it, if he thinks that as a Shang king, his power is unlimited and he can do whatever he wants, what will happen." ”

"It's the same on our side." He compared: "The regime of Seris is very large. As long as you keep yourself from getting messy, you can easily crush your surroundings. Therefore, they pay more attention to internal stability and order. These strict etiquette and grand ceremonies help to deter potential enemies, so they are respected by people. ”

"But with our current size, even if we put up a shelf, who can we deter? Do you think the barbarians here will eat this? ”

Theodora was stunned, and finally shook her head unconfidently.

On the contrary, if you place too much emphasis on etiquette, you will inevitably pursue the corresponding material conditions, and seek to distinguish yourself from other classes of people with all kinds of luxuries and luxury services. Do you think we can withstand this kind of toss now? Guo Kang asked again.

Theodora shook his head again.

"You see, if this continues, we will soon put ourselves in an even more dangerous situation because of our extravagance. Don't forget, we may not be in a good position as the king. Guo Kang reminded.

"The expenses of the court and the upper nobility can be very outrageous. When the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu, it cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars to get out of the fortress, which looked very expensive. However, military spending is not the largest. ”

"Every year, the cost of eating and drinking in the palace alone is 200 million yuan; To make clothing, you have to spend hundreds of millions. That's enough to sustain several wars at once. On top of this, there is also the most expensive palace: a new palace of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is enough for a decisive battle at the level of Monan; And the money he used to expand Shanglin Yuan, if he used it as military expenses for Huo Quai, it would be enough to beat the Huns more than a dozen times......"

This is indeed not deliberately sensational, because in ancient times, the expenses of the court were so outrageous. Moreover, this phenomenon is far from being unique to Seris.

In Suleiman's time, the Ottomans in their heyday, the annual cost of eating and drinking in the court was equal to the country's salt tax revenue, which was the second largest source of tax for the Ottomans. In the case of the Purple Horde, it is always possible to refer to this.

So, frugality isn't just a slogan. This conclusion may seem counterintuitive, but in this era of underdeveloped production, the thrift of the upper classes really has a huge impact.

"Don't say anything else, look at your dress." Guo Kang gave an example: "This one piece alone is enough for Zhu Wenkui to have a workshop." ”

"If we save that money, we can give a lot of people more time to work for themselves rather than for us. They have enough to eat and drink so that they can help us win the battle and keep us from being wiped out by the neighbors around us. ”

"So you see, why should we pay attention to these excessive etiquette, and create an unnecessary sense of excessive difference?" He spread his hands: "Even if you don't say so far, if this set is given to me, it will make Brother Steam's progress faster." You see, right? ”

After he said this, Theodora fell silent. Guo Kang felt that she probably listened to it, and he was also relieved.

(End of chapter)