363 Experiencing the Vicissitudes of Life Is Really Hard (1/2)

For Aya's sincere request, Wang Lu actually didn't put on his usual calm expression, but rather somewhat felt embarrassed.

”Actually, I want to mention to you that I've never been a know-it-all, it's just that… I have witnessed a similar situation like this, so I can point out one or two references. What I will say is not necessarily right, but it should be a valuable reference.”

Aya listened carefully.

Wang Lu said, ”The current Brettonia does not need you anymore, and the truth is, it's the same when your Kingdom fell apart. A country is a complex entity, which is composed of many different people and different strata. As a ruler, it is impossible for you to carry out influence to each and every specific individual. When you lead your troops into battle, you ought to not just thoroughly understand brilliant strategy, but also carry them out through subtle tactics. In the war, those who implement your intention are your military officers, while as a ruler of a country, the implementation of your intention is through your bureaucrat class. What you really need to face is not every individual in Brettonia, but the bureaucrats that are the closest to your strata.”

Aya could not help but retort, ”There should not be obvious distinctions between people…”

Wang Lu said, ”I know. You are the founder of the Knights of the Round Table, so you have always respected the equality of all. However, even in the heyday of the Knights of the Round Table, how many people were there? There are tens of thousands of qualified Knights in Brettonia, do you have a big enough round table to put all of them there? In the final analysis, only about a hundred people that were directly in contact with you in the round table. They were your right-hand men in ruling this country, but you don't care too much about their interest.”

”People tend to look for benefits. Those Knights that followed you, although they have a unified belief, they are not god. They can't live by faith alone. They want to live and enjoy their lives. In addition, as a profession, they need massive resources to make themselves stronger. All of these are basic human instinct. Of course, I know you have a personality of a near-perfect king, but you can't ask everyone to be like you—they can't stuff their hunger with that kind of thing.”

Contrary to her usual retort, this time, Aya actually listened carefully.

Wang Lu continued, ”Those knights followed you because they hope that following you will benefit them. They long for glory and thirst for achievement, but at the same time, they also want their treatment to be in accordance with their achievement.”

Aya interrupted, ”I have never obstructed them in their pursuit of proper benefits, nor have I ever asked them to live an ascetic life.”

”Yes, you didn't insist them to do that, that's why you can unify the whole Brettonia for the first time. Otherwise, you won't even be able to pull even the most basic team.” Wang Lu said, ”Your problem is that you didn't set an example. You are the Knight King, first among millions of people. If you live a poor an impoverished life, what do you want people under you to do? If you as the Knight King only pay yourself one thousand coins a month, do you think your ministers could take ten thousand coins? They can only bite their teeth and receive eight hundred or five hundred! But it's not even enough to live!”

Aya laughed in spite trying not to. ”Do I have to be extravagant?”

Wang Lu said, ”With only a few exceptions, have you ever seen a king who is not extravagant? Those poor but upright kings are either a mere figurehead or a ruler of a country that will soon be subjugated. Being a poor but upright king means that the whole bureaucratic system is broken.”

”Then, according to your reasoning, there is no morally high king in the world?”

Wang Lu said, ”More accurately, highly moral people are not suitable to be a king, simply because the concept of morality is not applicable to different strata. At the same time, the spirit of chivalry is not a suitable guide for a king to rule the country.”

Aya has in fact been persuaded a lot by Wang Lu, but hearing him mentioning about the spirit of chivalry, the woman suddenly became dissatisfied. ”Do you want to overrule even the spirit of chivalry?”

”Not overrule, but to put the spirit of chivalry in its position. If a thing is put in the wrong place, even if it itself is not defective, it would only be counterproductive. It's like when you put the fish heads on the cake looking upward to the starry sky, a naked tragedy.”

Explained with such an example, Aya found it a bit easier to swallow. ”Then where do you think the chivalry position should be?”

Wang Lu said, ”It's very simple, to be enshrined and worshipped on the stage. The spirit of chivalry emphasizes justice, devotion, bravery and so on. They are all good qualities, but they are nothing more than a setup model idol that enlightens and guide people. However, an idol is an idol, reality is reality.”

Aya said, ”Do you mean to deceive everyone? The mouth is saying justice and fair, but the heart is actually selfish and greedy?”

”Deceive?” Wang Lu chuckled. ”Without promises, there is no deceit. As long as you do not declare that the spirit of chivalry has spread extensively all over Brettonia, people can strictly demand all the ruling class with the spirit of chivalry, which is not a deceit. It should be said that the spirit of chivalry does not exist in reality, or has been achieved, but instead, it is a goal that we need to continue to strive for. Wouldn't this kind of explanation be okay?”

”In fact, we are indeed working hard for it. Despite the fact that the reality is still far from ideal, but a unified Brettonia is always better than a divided Brettonia that is being exploited by the church, right?”

Seeing that Aya was silent, Wang Lu added, ”Let's use the military analogy, which is what you're good at. Assuming now you encountered an enemy whose power you can't withstand, are you going to go straight ahead and be killed, or do you want to accumulate your advantage step by step until the decisive battle? In this period, you might have both victories defeat, but compromise and retreat are also inevitable.”

Aya somewhat wearily asked, ”But, how long will it take for the spirit of chivalry to spread extensively?”