Chapter 594: The essence of a dynasty's demise: land annexation!

Yan Wushuang found it truly hard to believe, as this matter was too inconceivable; Great Chu's provocation had been meticulously planned, even colluding with Wu Wang and the garrison commander of Longguan.

The marching route of Great Chu was absolutely covert.

The Chu army's main strategy was a swift victory to catch Great Qian off guard, but how did Gao Yang know all of this?

To be in Changan and yet predict the great events of the world—if Gao Yang truly had this ability, it would be somewhat terrifying!

In the depths of Yan Wushuang's eyes, killing intent flashed by.

Gao Yang caught this flicker of killing intent and immediately spoke calmly, "Your Highness, if I truly had such ability, would I still be an official in the imperial court? All of this was merely a prediction!"

People feel fear toward the unknown; he did not want Yan Wushuang to be wary of him, or even to eliminate him without leaving any room for maneuver.

"Oh?" Yan Wushuang's eyes held a hint of suspicion.

"Your Highness, do you still remember the condition for the Great Chu delegation to challenge me in the imperial court, the one about the old man winning?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Wushuang narrowed his eyes, as if recalling everything that happened in the court.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and said to Gao Yang, "Lord Gao, are you referring to the rice on the chessboard?"

The impression left on him by the rice on the chessboard was also extremely deep; the hidden killing intent within the art of calculation had truly brought him a sense of indescribable shock!

"Correct, it is precisely that rice on the chessboard."

"Starting from the first square and proceeding in order, the seemingly inconspicuous, even negligible grains of rice grow geometrically until they become an astronomical number."

"The reason I could predict the arrival of the war is closely related to the principle of the rice on the chessboard!"

Yan Wushuang frowned, "I ask Lord Gao to clarify."

Gao Yang said calmly: "If Your Highness considers the entire world's seven kingdoms, and even the seas, as the chessboard, and the population as the grains of rice, you will be able to understand it very clearly."

As the words fell.

Yan Wushuang's complexion began to change drastically.

The seven kingdoms of the world are the chessboard, and the common people are the grains of rice!

Seeing the shock on Yan Wushuang's face, Gao Yang knew that Yan Wushuang understood, so he said calmly.

"The harvest of the land is fixed; in other words, the total amount of food in the world does not change much, but the population on this land is a major variable!"

"For a country to be strong, its people must be numerous!"

"But the population is a huge drain on food; when the population reaches a certain level, the national treasury will become strained, not to mention that the food and wealth of this world are ultimately in the hands of a few."

"Any issue involving food is a serious matter. If the people are not fed, they will rebel, rise up, cause trouble, and expansion... is the best solution!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Wushuang's expression was shaken.

Yuan Xuanlin's eyes widened suddenly, his gaze looking at Gao Yang in horror.

This theory of Gao Yang's gave him endless shock.

"If your own food is not enough, then go and seize it; war is also the best way to consume the population. When the relationship between the two reaches a balance, it will stabilize."

"Knowing this, the seven kingdoms were stable for a long time, and the world's population, like those grains of rice, began to skyrocket with time, doubling every year or few years!"

"Once the population is too large, it will cause huge pressure on the national treasury. Since the current Emperor is a female Emperor who has ascended the throne, the government is unstable, and the vassal kings are eyeing the throne covetously, the arrival of war is a very reasonable thing."

"So, being a little more prepared is also very reasonable, but this is indeed just a guess; one can only say that all of this happened to coincide, and luck played a very large part."

Gao Yang spoke to himself and took another sip of wine.

Gao Yang spoke lightly, but these words gave Yan Wushuang a great shock.

His expression was complex, and he looked at Gao Yang, full of shock.

"Lord Gao, this is not luck."

"This is immense strength!"

Seeing this, Gao Yang just smiled lightly, "Your Highness is too kind. In fact, many strategists in the world can see this; after all, food and population are the essence of world peace. I am truly insignificant; I just happen to understand a little bit of calculation!"

"And according to my calculations, based on the current food production of the land, the upper limit of a dynasty's existence is at most three hundred years!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Wushuang's heart was shaken.

"Three hundred years?"

"How did you calculate this, Lord Gao?"

Yan Wushuang, full of curiosity, spoke up quickly.

Gao Yang said calmly, "It is very simple. First, from the essence of food and population, and second, from the laws of human nature and the development of dynasties. With time, it will definitely lead to one phenomenon!"

"That is land annexation!"

Yan Wushuang's pupils shrank suddenly, and he said in shock, "Land annexation?"

Gao Yang's expression was indifferent, his gaze seeming to pierce through space and time, crossing the ages, seeing the people working hard on the land of the world, seeing the common people of this world!

They held hoes, carrying the scorching sun, facing the yellow earth, their bronze-colored skin cracked, sweat falling like water from their bodies, digging down hoe after hoe.

Inside the city, outside the vermilion gates, the emaciated people had dry, cracked lips and starved to death on the side of the street, but just a door away, inside was another world, singing and dancing, with luxurious wine and meat on the tables, and beauties dancing, cups clinking, so happy; some wine and meat left out too long even gave off a foul stench.

A door away, yet two worlds!

"Throughout the ages, whether it be a foolish ruler or harsh government, the ultimate culprit that leads to their downfall is land annexation."

"And this land annexation is the great trend of history. Looking at the entire history books, no dynasty throughout the ages has been able to avoid it, whether it be a wise ruler or a foolish one, all are like this!"

"A wise ruler, relatively speaking, can only slow down the speed of land annexation!"

Yan Wushuang frowned and said in a deep voice, "Is this land annexation so powerful?"

"Even a wise ruler cannot curb it?"

"Gao Yang, aren't your words a bit alarmist?"