Souma held his hand, which had been balled into a fist once more, out for the people to see.
“Even if these things, taken individually, each seem obvious, it’s quite difficult to accomplish all of them at once. Especially in this day and age, with the appearance of the Demon Lord’s Domain throwing everything into chaos. These are hard times to do the things that ought to be done. It will take many times more power to accomplish than it would in peacetime. In fact, it will take so much power that I feel like conquering the entire continent would be relatively simple in comparison.”
Here Souma paused, taking a deep breath.
“…So, all of that said, there’s something I would very much like you, the people of this country, to do.”
The crowd gulped again.
To gain the power he’d spoken of, what did he want them to do?
The first thing that came to mind was raising taxes. If taxation was heavier, the country’s income would rise, and they could spend more on the military. It might not be the wrong move, depending on the situation, but it would make life harder for the people.
The second thing that came to mind was conscription. This country already had professional soldiers, but the people were fearing that even civilians would have to undergo basic training for conscripts.
They were thinking that the “power” Souma had spoken of was “military power.” However, this was a mistake.
Souma said, “My people, I call on you to study!”
“My people, I call on you to study!” I shouted inside the castle’s Jewel Voice Room. “Let me present you with a metaphor. Imagine two people are about to fight with swords. In most cases, the stronger one will win, or the one with the better sword. Now, when two equally strong individuals fight with equally good swords, is the result simply down to luck?
“Nay, I say to you. The one who knows the sword better will win. Even if their levels of strength were the same, and their weapons identical, if a cook and a blacksmith fought with swords, I’m fairly sure the blacksmith would win. A blacksmith sees swords every day as part of their work, and would be well acquainted with their length and their reach.”
I tapped a finger on my temple.
“If you know more than other people, that, in and of itself, can be a weapon. A great general can fight a hundred battles and win them all because he knows war; knows his own forces; and he even knows the forces of his enemy. He avoids unwinnable battles, only choosing to fight the ones he can win. The reason a mediocre general will lose at the critical juncture is because he doesn’t know war, and he doesn’t know his own forces or that of his enemy. He fights needlessly for repeated victories and loses, unable to focus on only the most important ones.
“There was a strategist in the world I came from who said, ‘Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,’ but… this is something that applies outside the domain of war, too.
“If they both deal in the same goods, but Merchant A prospers while Merchant B does not, it’s because Merchant A knows more about how to do business.
“Though they might use the same base materials, the reason a great craftsman’s works are many levels above an average craftsman’s is because he has a deep knowledge of the properties of those materials.
“Though you both grow the same thing, the produce that comes out of your neighbor’s field tastes better than what comes out of your own because the farmer next door has know-how about the proper way to raise that crop.
“Though you both cook the same thing, the reason a chef’s dish tastes better than your own is because a chef knows the good and bad traits of each ingredient, and has a deep knowledge of the ways to prepare them.
“The reason the superior hunter comes back with a kill every time he goes out is because he has a deep knowledge of the terrain, as well as the traits of the animals he hunts.
“In the world of entertainment, a famous actor is able to inspire emotion in people with each of his performances because he has a deep knowledge of people’s hearts.
“It’s the same for kings and nobles, too. The kings who have been called great were those who had a deep knowledge of how to rule a country well without facing resistance from their people. I, myself, still have a long way to go, but I am working hard to learn.”
I paused.
Yukichi Fukuzawa had said in An Encouragement of Learning, “The heavens do not create men who are above other men, nor do they create men that are beneath other men.” So why was it that, in the real world, there was such a gap between the rich and the poor?
He’d suggested that it was a question of learning. Those without learning could only do manual labor, thus their position in society would lower. Those with learning could do more difficult jobs, thus they would become more important.
I had thought it was a bit of an extreme argument, but as I’d read on, I’d found there were parts of it I could agree with.
I continued.
“The way to gain a deep knowledge of things is to learn about them. Learn from those with superior knowledge and skills. If you have knowledge and skills that are superior to those of others, then you should be the one to teach them. Those who ask to be taught must pay their respects to those who teach; and those who teach must show compassion to those who seek to learn from them. By learning from one another like this, we can give birth to even greater skills. I am confident that, no matter what your occupation, doing this will allow you to live a more prosperous life than you do now.”
Silently, I repeated: Those who ask to be taught must pay their respects to those who teach, and those who teach must show compassion to those who seek to learn from them… I had inserted that line to address the rights of both parties. As a statesman, I had to be careful that the ones doing the teaching weren’t doing so at a complete loss to themselves. Still, even if I tried to explain that to the people right now, they wouldn’t understand, so I had no desire to go in-depth about it.
“I want to raise the average standard of living for the people who live in this country,” I said. “That’s because doing so will increase this country’s ‘power.’ If you all become more wealthy, tax revenues will go up. With higher tax revenues, I should be able to divert some funds towards military equipment and the nurturing of new industries. The whole country will become prosperous and strong.
“To that end, I want you, the people, to study. I’d like you to start with reading and writing. If all you can do is read and write, that will let you communicate with people at a distance. After that, I want you to learn arithmetic. If you can do that, it vastly expands the range of subjects you can learn.”
I gave the signal, and Liscia came out from behind me and held up a piece of paper with the kanji for “Writing” written on it.
I pointed to that symbol and continued.
“I want every adult in this country to be able to read, write, and do arithmetic. We are currently working to open up education centers called training facilities in every major city, as well as simpler schools in each town. This ‘Writing’ mark will show which training facilities and schools have been approved by the state. During the day, they will only offer lessons for children, but at night, adults will be able to learn there as well. If you have the strength left to participate after work, I’d like you to come in and learn, even if it’s only a little bit at a time. By the way, this ‘Writing’ mark indicates that you can learn to read, write, and do arithmetic for free at the places that display it. We don’t intend to stop anyone from setting up their own private schools, so keep that in mind.”