It turns out they valued my skill in making bows and arrows, which is why they granted me limited freedom. William Carter suddenly understood, and continued to make requests: “I still have some old belongings left in the mountains that I’d like to bring out. Could you prepare some large bed sheets for me…”

Suddenly, William Carter realized that bed sheets didn’t exist in this era, so he quickly explained, “I mean bolts of cloth—the wider the fabric, the better!”

Ethan Brooks agreed readily: “I’ll make a trip back to the city tonight and have them delivered first thing tomorrow morning.”

When Ethan Brooks said “I’ll go back to the city tonight… have them delivered first thing tomorrow,” it meant that Carter City wasn’t far from here. But why did this place seem so desolate? No passersby ever came through, and no villagers came to snoop around.

William Carter thought about this and casually asked the question aloud.

Chapter Five: The Education a Spring and Autumn Person Gives to Modern People (Part 1)

Ethan Brooks grinned and smiled: “You forget, our The Carter Family just suffered a catastrophe of extermination. The original Carter Land fief was enjoyed by the minister Edward Grant. Although not long after, the king returned Carter City to us, our The Carter Family was already gravely weakened—before Edward Grant returned Carter City, he took away all the farmers belonging to Carter City. Fortunately, he didn’t care for our craftsmen, so we managed to retain a bit of our strength…”

After answering, Ethan Brooks, as if afraid William Carter would make any more awkward requests, quickly stood up, saluted, and took his leave. As Ethan Brooks hurried out the door, Simon Clark waved his hand and instructed a young servant to step forward and select a bamboo slip, saying, “The lord can now read without issue, but still struggles a bit with pronunciation. From now on, I’ll have the young servant read these bamboo slips aloud. Please listen patiently, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask. In this way, teaching and learning will benefit each other, and surely…”

The boy immediately unrolled a bamboo slip and read aloud: “When the Marquis of Jin first returned, he taught his people. After two years, he wished to use them. David Hill said: ‘The people do not yet know righteousness, nor are they settled in their homes’…”

The meaning of this passage is: As soon as James Allen returned to his country, he began to educate the people. After two years, he wanted to go to war. David Hill (Frank Fox) said, “Please wait a bit longer. The people still don’t know what ‘morality’ is, and they haven’t yet settled into peaceful lives”…

So, James Allen devoted himself to making life easier for the people, so they could live and work in peace. Another year passed, and he again planned to go to war. Frank Fox again said, “Please wait a bit longer. The people still don’t understand trustworthiness, nor do they fully grasp the importance of trust.”

So, James Allen required that business be conducted without seeking excessive profit, with clear and fair pricing, eliminating counterfeits and “knockoff” products, so the people could see the benefits of “trustworthiness.”

Two years later, James Allen asked again, “Is it time?” Frank Fox said, “The people still don’t know order, nor do they have the proper respect for it.” So, George Allen appointed officials to establish laws. Once the people knew and obeyed the law, only then did Frank Fox agree for the ruler to summon the people, form an army, and campaign against the surrounding states…

After reading this passage, Simon Clark explained: “The reform measures of George Allen were all devised by my The Carter Family ancestor, Charles Carter…”

It’s said that, back then, after George Allen returned to his country, Charles Carter brought a large pile of bamboo slips to see George Allen, and told him: “We’ve already discussed it. The guiding principle for Kent’s reform and opening up is four words: ‘全面齐化’ (Total Qihuaization)—our years of exile in Kingdom of Essex were not in vain. I’ve collected all of Kingdom of Essex’s institutions and systems. All we need to do is refer to John Smith’s ideas on governing the state.”

And the core of William Smith’s philosophy of governance is: “In all ways of governing a country, enriching the people must come first”—let the common people become prosperous first; “What the government does should follow the will of the people; what it abolishes should go against the will of the people”—policies must be made from the people’s perspective, to ensure their happiness, safety, and prosperity. Before implementing policies, one must widely listen to the opinions of the masses; do resolutely what benefits the people, and resolutely abolish laws that do not. One must never rely on intimidating the people, deceiving them, blocking information, or acting arbitrarily on the grounds of “representing” the people’s will.

After saying this, Simon Clark pointed outside at the blazing, shady little brick kiln and praised: “Our The Carter Family has just undergone great upheaval. How to revive the family business is a difficult problem, but our ancestors have already given us guidance—my opinion is: since our ancestors have left us a ready-made example of success, why bother searching elsewhere? Just follow the three steps of our ancestors: enrich the people—integrity—rule of law.”

William Carter was puzzled: Could it be that we already had “reform and opening up” in the Spring and Autumn period? Isn’t “reform and opening up” supposed to be the creation of the “Great Party”? How… this was 2,600 years ago!

“Reform and opening up” 2,600 years ago—what kind of world is this!

Simon Clark continued to praise: “The lord organizes pottery making, invents all kinds of tools, researches new techniques… These may seem like play, but they are useful to the common people. Once the commoners learn them, they have a way to get rich. This is the ‘enrich the people’ step, which fits perfectly with our ancestors’ statecraft, and greatly comforts me… Well, you should finish reading these bamboo slips. They also contain the laws established by generations of The Carter Family ancestors… In my opinion, for the revival of The Carter Family, these laws are enough.”

Not only were these laws enough for the Spring and Autumn period—William Carter casually picked up a roll of bamboo slips, and after reading them, he thought: even in the twenty-first century, these laws would be enough.