84. Number Wu on the Degree of Seriousness of Various Issues

Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“How should economic policies on regulating prices according to the degree of seriousness of various issues be established and enforced then?”Guanzi replied，“Since Fu Xi was in power，no sovereign could manage to unify the world without making right economic policies to regulate prices according to the degree of seriousness of various issues.”Duke Huan asked：“What do you mean?”

Guanzi replied. “When Fu Xi ascended，he created the Six Lines of the Eight Diagrams to foresee the changes of Yin and Yang. He also created the multiplication table of the first nine positive integers to follow the rules of Heaven，and then，people all over the world were edified by him. When Shen Nong ascended，he grew all kinds of crops on the southern side of Mountain Qi，and then，people of the nine sub-continents knew how to survive with the help of grain，so that people all over the world were edified by him. When Sui Ren ascended，he created the method of building fire with a flint stone to cook raw meat. Thus，people were protected from all kinds of stomach problems，and people all over the world were edified by him. When the Yellow King was in power，he used to cut down all the trees on the mountains and drained the water out of all the lakes and swamps. When You Yu was in power，he used to burn the grasses on the wastelands and kill all kinds of formidable animals to benefit the common people. He also heaped up earth to set up a platform to hold a ceremony in worship of the God of Land and made memorial archways for the lanes. As a result，the common people started to know the rules of propriety. During these periods，none of the common people were hostile or disobedient to the ruler，so people all over the world were edified by these rulers. During the time that the first sovereign of the Xia Dynasty was in power，twenty rivers were excavated，seventeen watercourses were deepened，the three big rivers were dredged，five lakes were dug and the four rivers (the four rivers refer to the Yellow River，the Huai River，Yangtse River and the Ji River) were dredged to emphasize the height of the nine subcontinents and to control the nine big lakes. As a result，the common people started to know about things such as protective walls，doors，memorial archways and residential buildings，so people all over the world were edified by him. During the time that the first sovereign of the Yin Dynasty was in power，stalls were built up and cows and horses were tamed and raised to benefit the common people，so people all over the world were edified by him. When the first sovereign of the Zhou Dynasty was in power，he complied with the Six Lines of the Eight Diagrams to harmonize Yin and Yang，so people all over the world were edified and assimilated by him.”Duke Huan asked,“And what shall contemporary sovereigns do?”

Guanzi replied,“They should learn from the strengths of the above-mentioned rulers，but they should not copy them mechanically and disregard their specific conditions.”Duke Huan asked，“What do you mean?”Guanzi replied，“The above-mentioned measures cover all the steps that sovereigns can take，and nothing can be added to them any more. You can just choose the right measures according to the actual situation.”Duke Huan asked，”How can I choose the right measures then?”Guanzi replied，“The Son of Heaven is young and weak. Sovereigns of other states are formidable but do not pay tributes to the Zhou Dynastv. Please weaken the  formidable ones，re-establish  the demolished clans and lead sovereigns of all other states to continue the ceremonies held in worship of the ancestors of the Zhou Dynasty.”Duke . Huan said，“Fine.”

Duke Huan said，“The relationship of the states of Lu and Liang to our state is somewhat like crops on our fields or like the sting of a bee. We are closely related and mutuallv dependent like lips and teeth. Now I want to put Lu and Liang under my control. What do you think I should do to realize that goal?”Guanzi replied，“It is very common for people of Lu and Liang to weave Di (it is the name of a kind of silk) to make a living. If you wear Di and ask all people around you to wear it too，then the common people will all follow you and wear it as well. Then you issue an order to forbid the people of Qi to produce Di themselves，and make sure that all Di needed in our state is imported from Lu and Liang.  Thus，people of Lu and Liang will give up farming and concentrate on weaving Di.”Duke Huan said，“All right.”And then he had Di robes made on the southern side of Mountain Tai and wore them when they were finished，ten days later. 

After that，Guanzi told merchants of Lu and Liang，“If you can purchase one thousand pi of Di for me，you will be rewarded with three hundred jin of gold；if you can purchase ten thousand pi of Di，you will be rewarded with three thousand jin of gold.”Thus Lu and Liang had enough money to spend even though they did not levy any kind of taxes upon the common people.  When sovereigns of Lu and Liang heard that，they all asked their people to make Di.  Three months later，Guanzi sent messengers to Lu and Liang. So many people travelled in the cities of Lu and Liang that dust flew upwards and the roads were covered up. People could not manage to see each other even though they were ten steps apart. People jostled each other in crowds，wheels of carts bumped into each other，and equestrians advanced shoulder to shoulder. Guanzi said.“Lu and Liang can be taken up now.” Duke Huan said，“What shall we do then?” Guanzi replied，“You should wear Bo and lead the people to get rid of Di. Close all the tollgates and do not do any business with Lu and Liang any more.”Duke Huan said. “All right.”

Ten months later, Guanzi sent messengers to Lu and Liang again. People of these two states were suffering from hunger，and they did not have anything to pay the normal taxes，which used to be paid immediately after they were levied，to support thgir sovereigns. And the sovereigns of Lu and Liang ordered their people to stop making Di and to focus on farming instead. However，grain could not be gained within three months. People of Lu and Liang purchased grain at the price of one thousand qian for one dan，but in contrast，grain was sold at ten qian for one dan in the state of Qi. Twenty-four months later，six tenths of the people of Lu and Liang were submitted to the authority of the sovereign of Qi. And three years later，the sovereigns of Lu and Liang came over to Qi and pledged allegiance.

Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“The common people are hungry but do not have any food，they are cold but do not have any clothes，nor can they pay the taxes they normally paid immediately after they were told. Moreover，their residential buildings are leaking but they do not take any action to improve them，and their walls are damaged but thev do not take any action to repair them. What shall I do to change this situation?”
Guanzi replied，“Cut off all the branches of trees planted along the roads.” Duke Huan said，“All right.”And then he ordered the Right Bo and the Left Bo to take charge of cutting off the branches of trees planted along all roads. After the branches were cut off under the supervision of the Right Bo and the Left Bo，the trees had very few branches or leaves left. One year after this action was taken，the people all started to wear silk clothes，their countenances became rubicund，they paid the amount of some certain taxes immediately after they were told，the leaky buildings were repaired and the destroyed walls were restored. Duke Huan summoned Guanzi to the palace and asked him，“What do you think the reason is?”

Guanzi replied，“The state of Qi used to be one of the Dong Yi tribes which were addressed as Lai Yi. One hundred carts could rest under one tree while the branches of the trees were not cut off. Birds used to stay above in the trees. The robust people carried catapults and missiles under the trees and they would not go home all day long. The elders leaned against the branches to talk with each other and they would not go home all day long. People returning from the markets were usually tired and they would rest under the trees all day long rather than go home. Now that we have cut off all the branches and there is no shadow of one chi or cun at all at noon，the people walking on the roads hurry to pass quickly，the elders go back to work，and the robust ones go back to their normal undertaking. I rectified these three problems of not going back home which accounted for the poverty of these regions.”

    Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“The two states，Lai and Ju put farming and collecting firewood on a par. What shall I do to deal with them?”Guanzi replied，“The mountains of Lai and Ju produce a lot of firewood. Please lead the recruits to mint money with copper produced by Mountain Zhuang and take action to drive up the price of the firewood of Lai.”When the sovereign of Lai heard that，he told people around him，“Gold and money are things cherished by all，and firewood is the special product of our state. If we use this special product to collect the valuable things of Qi，then the state of Qi can be annexed by us.”Then the people of Lai all gave up farming to hack firewood. However，Guanzi asked Xi Peng to call the recruits back to focus on farming. Two years later，Duke Huan stopped purchasing firewood. People of Lai and Ju purchased grain at the price of three hundred and seventy qian for one dan，however，grain was sold at ten qian for one dan in the state of Qi. Seven tenths of the people of Lai and Ju were submitted to the authority of the sovereign of Qi，and twenty-eight months later，sovereigns of Lai and J u came over to Qi and pledged allegiance.

Duke Huan said to Guanzi，“Chu is a powerful state located east of the mountains. People there are familiar with the techniques of fighting. If I dispatch troops to attack them，I am afraid that we might not defeat them. If our troops are defeated in Chu and no achievement can be attained for the Zhou Dynasty，what shall I do then?”

Guanzi replied，“You can just resort to the techniques of fighting.”Duke Huan said.“What do you mean?”Guanzi replied. “You can buy deer produced there at a high price.”Duke Huan then had a garden of one hundred square li built and sent some people to Chu to buy deer there. The price of one deer from Chu was eighty thousand qian.  After that，Guanzi asked Duke Huan to exchange properties with the common people according to the degree of the seriousness of things. Thus，six tenths of the grain was stored up by the state. And Bo Gong，the Left Minister of War was ordered to lead the recruits to mint money in Mountain Zhuang. Wang Yi，the Zhong Da Fu (Zhong Da Fu is a title of court officials with secondary ranks) was ordered to carry twenty million qian to Chu to purchase deer. When the sovereign of Chu heard that，he told his prime minister，“Gold and money are things cherished by all，every state is dependent upon them for survival，and sage sovereigns use them to reward people with outstanding achievements for their states. Wild animals are harmful beings that sage sovereigns normally discard them and drive them out of their territories. Now the state of Qi is trading their valuable things for harmful animals from our state；It is nothing but good fortune for Chu. Moreover，Heaven is benefitifig Chu at the cost of Qi out of favouritism towards us. Please tell my people to hunt deer immediately so that we can exhaust all the treasure of Qi.”And then the people of Chu all gave up farming to hunt deer. Guanzi told the merchants of Chu，“If you can purchase twenty deer for me，you will be rewarded with one hundred jin of gold；if you can purchase ten times more，you will be rewarded with one thousand jin of gold.”Thus，the sovereign of Chu had enough money to spend even though he did not levy any kind of tax upon the common people. (In order to hunt deer，) the males of Chu lived in the wild and the females stayed over night on the roads. Under supervision of Xi Peng，the people (of Qi) hoarded five times more grain (compared with the average amount of the store of grain each year)，and the state of Chu saved five times more money (compared with their average amount of savings) because of selling deer.

Guanzi said，“It is time to take up Chu.”Duke Huan asked，“What shall I do then?”Guanzi replied，“Since the state of Chu has saved five times more money，their sovereign must be pleased with himself and will turn back to farming. Since their savings have gone up five times，it can be regarded as a success of their sovereign.”Duke Huan said，“All right.”He then asked people to close all tollgates and stop doing any business with Chu. The sovereign of Chu was satisfied with himself and he turned back to farming as expected. However，grain could not be harvested within three months. People of Chu purchased grain at the price of four hundred qian for one dan. Then the state of Qi ordered some people to transport grain south to Qian (for sale). Four tenths of the people of Chu were submitted to the authority of the sovereign of Qi，and three years later，the sovereign of Chu came over to Qi and pledged allegiance. Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“What kind of special products does the state of Dai have?”Guanzi replied，“Furs of Hu Bai (a kind of fox with a piece of white fur at the junctions of the legs and the body) are produced in Dai. So，please make sure to purchase them at a high price.”

Guanzi said.“Hu Bai respond to the change of Yin and Yang and therefore appear only once every six months. If you offer a high price to purchase furs from them，the people of Dai will be attracted by the high price but forget that it is very difficult to catch Hu Bai，so they will go one after another to hunt the wild animals. In this case，even before the money of Qi is paid，the people of Dai will give up farming and go to live in the trees on the mountains. When the state of Li Zhi hears that，they will definitely attack the northern part of Dai. If Li Zhi attacks the northern part of Dai, Dai will definitely submit to the authority of Qi. Please order some people to go there with gold and money.”Duke Huan said，“All right.”And then he sent Wang Shi Bei，the Zhong Da Fu to lead some people to travel to Dai Gu with gold and money to purchase furs from Hu Bai. When the sovereign of Dai heard this，he told his prime minister，“The reason that Dai is weaker than Li Zhi is that we are short of gold and money. Now that the state of Qi is purchasing furs from Hu Bai with a huge amount of gold and money，it is nothing but a good fortune for Dai. Please order the common people to look for furs of Hu Bai immediately so that we can attract money from Qi which I will use to win over the people of Li Zhi.”The people of Dai gave up farming and went to the mountain forests to look for furs of Hu Bai as expected，and they did not find one animal even after twenty-four months had passed. When Li Zhi heard this，they invaded the northern part of Dai. When the sovereign of Dai heard this，he was very badly terrified，and he led his army to defend Dai Gu. Li Zhi took the northern part of the state of Dai as a result. The sovereign had to lead his troops to submit to the authority of the state of Qi. Qi did not spend even one qian. They just sent some diplomats there and three years later，the state of Dai came over to Qi and pledged allegiance.

Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“1 want to figure out a way to take control of the state of Heng Shan. What shall I do?”Guanzi replied，“Please just send people there to purchase their weapons and utensils at high prices and then sell these things. Yan and Dai will follow you to buy these things too. When Qin and Zhao find out，they will definitely compete with you for these things as well. Thus，the prices of weapons and utensils produced in Heng Shan will be driven up two times. When states all over the world are competing for them，their prices will definitely be driven up more than ten times.”Duke Huan said，“A1l right.”He then ordered some people to go to Heng Shan to purchase weapons and utensils，and these people who were sent there did not dare to haggle with the local merchants. After Qi had purchased weapons and utensils in Heng Shan for ten months，Yan and Dai heard about it, and they sent people to Heng Shan to buy these things as expected. After Yan and Dai had been buying for three months，the state of Qin heard about it，and Qin sent people to Heng Shan to purchase weapons and utensils as well. The sovereign of Heng Shan told his prime minister，“Now that states all over the world are competing for our weapons and utensils，please issue an order to drive up the prices of these things ten times higher.”And then the people of Heng Shan all gave up farming and focused on the skills for making weapons and utensils instead. The state of Qi then ordered Xi Peng to purchase grain in Zhao. The price of grain in Zhao was sold at fifteen qian for one dan，but Xi Peng offered to buy it at fifty qian instead. When people all over the world heard that，they all carried grain to Qi (to sell it for the sake of the high price there). After Qi had purchased weapons and utensils for seventeen months and purchased grain for five months，they closed all tollgates and stopped doing business with Heng Shan. And then Yan，Dai，Qin and Zhao all called their productions back from Heng Shan. All the weapons and utensils of Heng Shan had been sold and as a result. Lu invaded the northern part of Heng Shan and Qi invaded the southern part of it. People of Heng Shan realized that they did not have any weapons or utensils to confront these two enemies，so they came over to Qi and pledged to submit to its authority.