Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 182: Public Lecture
Far away in the imperial capital of Wuyang, Li Xian, of course, had no idea what had happened at Mang Mountain; in fact, Li Xian was unaware of his father or the true cultivation of his steward, Yang Zhong, and didn’t know the real foundation of the Li family.
And now, Master Li was very annoyed. The Wang family’s actions were truly… underhanded!
Earlier, it had been agreed that Wang Chuan would personally seek Li Xian’s advice on the theories of industrializing and strengthening the nation, and later, the third prince was added to the mix; but the very next morning, a large group of people arrived!
In addition to Wang Chuan, Wang Ping, and the third prince, there was also the Hua Guifei—this enchanting, graceful, noble, and beautiful woman who immediately stole the spotlight as soon as she entered.
These four were indeed expected; but besides them, there were several people Li Xian didn’t recognize, including Wang Yuan, the Wang family’s chief commercial steward, as well as Wang Ming’s father, Wang Yuhe.
Wang Yuhe looked at Li Xian with the eyes of a wounded wolf staring at a rabbit. Li Xian’s initial rise to fame wasn’t because of inventing the colorful lights, but because he had literally killed Wang Ming, which made a significant impact.
Not only that, Kong Yingzhi, Zhang Quan, and Shangguan Yong had also shamelessly squeezed in. Furthermore, these three brought two people each, who clearly seemed to be trusted strategists or intellectuals.
Upon seeing this large group of people, Li Xian’s expression darkened immediately; only Li Yulong smiled and welcomed everyone inside.
Xia Qingqing took charge of the busywork, arranging for the third prince and Hua Guifei to sit in the main positions, while the rest were seated casually according to Li Yulong and Wang Chuan’s wishes, in a more relaxed manner.
Once everyone was seated, they all turned to Li Xian, waiting for him to start speaking.
Li Xian, with a dark expression, said, “Lord Wang, isn’t there a bit too many people here?”
Wang Chuan’s face turned a bit awkward. It really was a bit underhanded, but sometimes you had to be shameless. “Nephew Xian, as the saying goes, good wine doesn’t fear a deep alley. They’ve heard that you’re going to explain the theory of industrial prosperity, and all of them came rushing here. If you don’t like it, I can have the servants chase them out.”
Li Xian nearly wanted to stomp on Wang Chuan’s old face. If I really kicked all these people out today, my reputation would be ruined. Once a person’s reputation is ruined, doing anything in the future will be incredibly difficult. This old fox!
But as his anger subsided, Li Xian suddenly had an idea: one sheep can be let go, so can a group of sheep. Since the Wang family gave up on the opportunity to keep things confidential, I might as well let the whole world spread my “virtuous name.” Starting tomorrow, I’ll hold a public class!
With this thought in mind, Li Xian took his “lecture” very seriously, treating it as a rehearsal for tomorrow.
Li Xian spoke seriously, and others listened intently, occasionally asking a question or two.
After half a day of intermittent speaking, everyone gained a lot from it. When they were about to leave, the third prince even formally addressed Li Xian as “Sir.” Even Hua Guifei personally thanked Li Xian.
Once these people left, Li Xian immediately called over his bodyguards, including Song Xing. “Song Xing, go announce a piece of news right now. Tomorrow afternoon, I will be giving a public lecture on the theory of industrial prosperity at the venue of last year’s industrial expo.
You’ll say it like this…”
Wuyang City was large, so it couldn’t just rely on Song Xing, or even a few people, to handle everything. Announcements had to be made publicly. Of course, Li Xian didn’t need to worry about such trivial matters; Song Xing and the others would handle it themselves. Li Xian only needed to tell them how to announce it and how to plan it, and the rest would be taken care of by Song Xing.
In fact, Song Xing did even better than Li Xian had expected. Anyone who could become Li Xian’s trusted confidant had to possess strong administrative abilities, not just be good at flattering him.
By the evening, the entire Wuyang City was abuzz. Li Xian was going to publicly speak about his theory on industrial prosperity! Over the past year, with the rise of the Brilliant Stars Group and the streets filled with “industrial products,” people had already realized that the profits from industry and commerce were indeed very substantial.
Many people were already exploring some of the basic principles of industry and commerce, but there were still gaps in their understanding. At this moment, Li Xian, the owner of Brilliant Stars Group, was going to explain it in person, which was incredibly exciting.
As Song Xing had said, merchants of all sizes rushed to spread the word. And it wasn’t just merchants—many common folk, officials, and others were also too excited to sleep.
That night, Wuyang City spent the night in a noisy, bustling atmosphere.
The next morning, when Song Xing attempted to hire people to rebuild a structure at the site of last year’s industrial expo, he discovered that people had already spontaneously built it overnight. Of course, it was a temporary structure made using magic, but it was extremely luxurious. In the center stood a towering lotus platform, and the surrounding ground had already been leveled. Even merchants and common folk had spontaneously organized security personnel to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
Upon seeing Song Xing, many people greeted him respectfully, while others were thinking of testing Li Xian’s attitude.
However, Song Xing cleverly avoided these people and inspected the already built “lecture platform.” After confirming that everything was in order, he left directly. Before leaving, he just mentioned the specific time for the lecture—around the hour of Wei, the end of the day, meaning about 3 PM.
Upon hearing the specific time, many people chose not to leave and sat down on the spot. In the Immortal Domain, almost everyone practiced cultivation, and sitting in meditation for a few hours was nothing unusual.
As for Li Xian, he was busy preparing for his first lecture.
He organized, arranged, and checked all his ideas, even rehearsing the lecture by himself. Facing the entire imperial capital in a lecture made Li Xian both excited and nervous.
Li Xian’s anxious busywork made Li Yulong unable to watch any longer. “Xian, how did you suddenly come up with the idea to make your business theories public? I’ve thought about it for a long time and still don’t get it. I believe you’re not doing this on a whim.”
Li Xian put down the book in his hand, “Father, it’s simple, because I’ve realized two things.”
“First, if my theory can’t be accepted by the world, then the future development of the Brilliant Star Group will undoubtedly face misunderstanding and obstruction. After all, how many ideas have been labeled as cults because they were misunderstood?
Second, for business to thrive, there must be industry. The sequence cannot be reversed. Beyond business and industry, scientific research is more important. This is the foundation and core of industrial commerce.
In other words, industrial commerce actually has three layers. The bottom layer is scientific research, the middle layer is industrial production, and the outermost layer is business.
Now, I’m only revealing the business and part of the industrial aspects, which won’t harm me at all. In fact, it will benefit the development of the Brilliant Star Group and help shape my personal prestige.
I even have an idea: I want to create a new school of thought—the industrial commerce school.
If the goal of scholars and strategists is to govern a country, then industrial commerce is about making a country wealthy. Yes, that’s the theme, and I’ve confirmed the main focus of today’s lecture. Haha…”