The chefs had made a name for themselves at the culinary conference, and with the rewards from Lin Beifan, they had both fame and fortune. Naturally, they considered expanding their businesses.
Consequently, numerous gourmet shops sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a rain.
“This is the rice noodle roll namednamed by His Majesty himself, come and have a taste!”
“Here we have chicken wing dumplings, with rice wrapped in chicken wings~ so delicious!”
“And there’s this golden siu mai, I love it!”
Business boomed with a broad and abundant source of wealth flowing in.
After all, these were delicacies that had made it into the grand food festival, delicacies that His Majesty himself had approved!
Some of these gourmet dishes had even been graced with names bestowed by His Majesty!
Who wouldn’t want to try something that even the Emperor had endorsed?
As a result, business naturally picked up speed, and long lines formed in front of many shops.
Many onlookers were envious; this was clearly a visible and attractive road to riches!
As long as one could make it into the grand food festival and gain the Emperor’s approval, they could open their doors for business and make a fortune.
If one performs even better, they might gain His Majesty’s favor and be summoned to the palace to take up an official post.
Everyone secretly made up their mind, rubbing their hands in anticipation, determined to participate in next year’s gourmet festival!
The food shops gathered a huge amount of popularity, with people coming and going every day in search of delicacies. After eating at one place, they would try another and then casually stroll through the streets, enlivening the entire market with a festive atmosphere, bustling and full of life.
……
“Your Majesty, the chefs who made a name for themselves at the gourmet festival have, without prior agreement, set up shops on North Capital Street, creating a food street that has attracted a large crowd! Now, North Capital Street is bustling and thriving with noise and excitement!”
This was no small achievement, and the opportunistic and enterprising Governor of the capital city immediately sought to claim credit from Lin Beifan.
Lin Beifan’s face lit up with great pleasure: “Minister, you have done very well, I am extremely satisfied! When is the food street most lively? I will make time to join in the fun and share the joy with the people!”
The Governor of the capital city hastily said, “Your Majesty, the city is most lively during the hour of You (酉) (17:00~19:00)!”
“The hour of You, that seems to be when everyone finishes work and heads home!”
“Your Majesty is absolutely right!”
The Governor of the capital city said with a smile: “That’s precisely when the common people finish their work, go home, and have dinner! However, the streets become less crowded once the curfew begins.”
Lin Beifan waved his hand grandly: “This is too rushed. Let’s just lift the curfew so that everyone can also enjoy themselves and do business at night!”
The Governor of the capital city was shocked: “Lift the curfew? This could lead to security issues, Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
History has proven that trouble is more likely to occur at night, especially when there are crowds.
Particularly in this martial arts world, many people possess martial arts skills, and once they start drinking and go crazy, they are unstoppable.
Therefore, many countries, for the sake of convenient management, often take a one-size-fits-all approach and implement curfews.
At night, if you are still wandering the streets, at the very least you might be persuaded to go back home, and at the worst, you could be thrown into jail for a few days.
Lin Beifan smiled calmly and said, “Indeed, there could be problems at night, but why not just hire more people to maintain public order? By doing so, we can also solve some employment issues—it’s a win-win situation!”
The Governor of the capital city became anxious; this sounded really good.
But if something went wrong, it would be a big deal!
This is right under the Emperor’s nose; if a major incident occurs, it would be the responsibility of him, the gGovernor of the capital city!
You can’t run away from it!
Adhering to the principle that less is more, the Governor of the capital city spoke up, “Your Majesty…”
“Say no more, let’s happily decide this!”
Lin Beifan clapped his hands and declared, “The curfew is lifted, allowing everyone to do business, to go out and stroll, but public order must not be disturbed! You are in charge of the details. Do well and there will be generous rewards, fail and you’ll have to see to the consequences!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” The face of the Governor of the capital city contorted into a bitter gourd.
This was indeed a troublesome and thankless task!
But since the Emperor had decreed it, he had no choice but to pinch his nose and accept it.
Thus, the curfew in the capital city was lifted.
The number of people coming out to stroll the streets at night increased, business improved, and the capital city became even more bustling and lively.
This scene filled many Emperors from neighboring kingdoms with envy.
“This foolish emperor, with all his haphazard efforts, has actually revitalized the market and improved the economy!”
“If the foolish emperor can do it, there’s no reason why I can’t!”
“I will definitely do better than him!”
And so, many Emperors began to follow suit.
In the An Kingdom, the Emperor expressed with great enthusiasm in the court, “I wish to emulate the Great Xia Emperor by holding a grand culinary festival to stimulate the market and revitalize the economy! What say you, my ministers?”
“Your Majesty, this must not be done!” the officials protested in alarm.
Puzzled, the An Kingdom Emperor asked, “Why not?”
The Prime Minister was the first to stand up and say, “Your Majesty, your humble servant has learned that the Great Xia Emperor’s culinary festival was mainly to satisfy the appetite. For this, he spent over a hundred thousand taels of silver, which is too burdensome and costly for the people! Our treasury is limited, and we should spend on more important matters. Please reconsider your command!”
The An Kingdom Emperor argued, “But if the economy improves, our national treasury’s income will also increase!”
The Minister of Revenue stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, while it is true that an improved economy would increase the national treasury’s income, our income mainly comes from agricultural taxes, court monopolies, and so on. The portion from commercial taxes is very small! Therefore, even with an improved economy, the increase in income would be limited. It might be better not to proceed with the festival.”
An Kingdom Emperor continued to argue, “Nothing is absolute, we must always try. What if it succeeds?”
Another veteran minister stood up and said, “Your Majesty, as your humble servant understands, the Great Xia Emperor not only hosted a grand food festival but also lifted the curfew, which is why such an effect was achieved! The real key lies in lifting the curfew! However, once the curfew is lifted, the consequences that will arise are well known to all, without the need for your servant to elaborate.”
At this point, other officials began to speak up.
“Your Majesty, we really cannot set this precedent! Once you get used to indulging in pleasure, there’s no turning back!”
“Your Majesty, he is a foolish emperor, you must not follow in his footsteps!”
“Otherwise, you will bear an eternal stigma!”
Finally, the officials unanimously pleaded, “We beseech Your Majesty to reconsider and rescind the order!”
The Emperor of An Kingdom was both angry and helpless. He just wanted to do something; why was it so difficult?
Yet, he couldn’t dismiss all the officials and enforce the policy.
After all, the state still needed its officials.
Without the support of these officials, his position as Emperor would be unstable.
Moreover, their influence was deeply entrenched and complexly intertwined; with his power alone, he couldn’t possibly eradicate them.
At this moment, he envied Lin Beifan immensely.
Do whatever you want, without any hesitation, without any prohibitions, the entire court is dominated by his sole decree.
The entire nation abides by his word—that’s what it looks like to be an Emperor.
Of course, there are still some bold Emperors who forcefully implement such policies.
Take, for example, the Peng Kingdom.
They held a grand culinary festival, gathering fine wines and delicacies from all over.
However, they were too stingy—the entire budget for the festival was less than 20,000 taels of silver, which was quite meager.
Moreover, the rewards offered were too little, lacking appeal.
In the end, they couldn’t even muster up 100 dishes.
After the gourmet festival ended, they finally managed to get the food street up and running.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the business was very poor, with very few customers.
Even after the curfew was lifted, the situation remained the same.
The other Emperors also ended up with a sloppy finish, becoming a joke.
Everyone couldn’t understand it; they all held a gourmet festival, so why could the foolish Emperor make it work, but they couldn’t?
Upon hearing this, Lin Beifan secretly smiled.
This is purely an example of imitating Dong Shi’s frown; without solving the fundamental issues, that approach is futile.
To stimulate the market and revitalize the economy through a gourmet food festival, you first need to ensure that the common people have money. Without money, the public cannot consume, and whatever you do will be in vain.
At this moment, a voice echoed in Lin Beifan’s mind.
“Ding! Due to the increase in strength of the Great Xia Kingdom, the player’s power has been synchronously enhanced, awarding the Mysterious Sword Technique!”
“The Mysterious Sword Technique was created by a Sword God, comprising a total of 10 moves: One Sword to Fame, Unfathomably Mysterious, Renowned for a Moment…”
A set of incredibly profound sword techniques merged into Lin Beifan’s mind.
“Another reward for swordsmanship, they really want to cultivate me into a sword immortal!” Lin Beifan laughed.
He opened Empire Sandbox and saw that An Lushan’s recruitment had ended, with the total military strength increasing to 800,000, thereby boosting his national power as well.
“This Emperor likes those with ambition the most, keep up the good work! The harder you work, the stronger I become!”
Lin Beifan smiled slyly, his mind evidently brewing some plans.
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