Everyone looked at Jack incredulously after hearing that.
Steve, in particular, was stunned. He stroked his beard with his hand and said, "President, this won't do. Once the ownership of the property is handed over, the slaves below will have the right to make their own decisions. This will affect your rule."
"Steward Steve is right. Even ordinary farmers can't be given too much freedom, let alone slaves. We have to maintain our means of exploitation at all times, so that they have no time for anything else."
"Perhaps the President has other plans. This method can quickly make some people rich."
...
Looking at the retorts from the people below, Jack silently thought to himself. It seemed that this world was not very supportive of the individual economy!
Perhaps this was also the reason why the rulers did not spend a lot of effort to modify the basic wheat seeds.
They wanted to limit all farmers to their local area.
Furthermore, they had to work hard for food their entire lives. This way, they would not have time to do other things.
This also greatly alleviated the pressure on rulers to manage their land.
After figuring out the reason for the slow development of this world, Jack did not directly deny their actions.
After all, he still needed to control the specific details. Once the people had negative emotions, it was very likely that they would mess things up.
Furthermore, this world's mode of operation was already fixed in place.
It was the same for rulers and slaves.
Thus, he had to explain clearly so that the individual's economy could develop steadily.
In the end, societal progress could be made possible.
After all, Jack wanted to develop his own civilization in this world, and not recreate the slave society!
So Jack asked, "Steve, why do you think slaves can't have their own assets?"
Steve was stunned as his eyes looked down while pondering.
After a while, he said, "Mr. President, everything on this island, including the slaves, is your private property. All of your assets are things that they must defend with their lives and work hard for."
Jack nodded but did not say anything. Then he looked at Steve's assistant.
The assistant was a little excited that the president had noticed him. He quickly said, "Mr. President, I agree with Steward Steve. This is your private property, so there's no need to distribute it."
"Yes, like the Salt Pool Beach Sheep. If you do this, the slaves will definitely grow stronger. At that time, they will definitely have time to develop other ideas. This is very disadvantageous to your absolute rule."
Almost all the assistants agreed with Steve.
Just as Jack was about to continue asking questions, a thin man at the side struggled for a moment and could not help but speak up, "President, I support your view. Actually, there are problems with the army now. Other than some elite teams, the other people are no longer as passionate in their work as before. The production efficiency is decreasing very quickly. If you distribute the assets to them and purchase them at a reasonable price, the resulting supply will far exceed the team's current production."
When the man finished, Jack could not help but look at him a few more times.
Someone could actually understand this?
Just as Jack was about to speak, Steve, the butler at the side, shouted, "Joey, are you trying to split the President's assets?"
"No, no, no," Joey said, dropping to his knees at the sound of Steve's accusation.
"Do you know that although this may raise production, it will also greatly affect the President's prestige? Or should I assume that this is premeditated?" Steve demanded again.
Joey was young, after all. He might have some unique insights, but he had so little personal experience that he was no match for Steve.
After a few questions, Joey had already made up his mind to shut up.
Jack waved his hand and stopped Steve, he asked, "Joey, where are you from? How did you think of all these?"
Before Joey could say anything, Steve spoke again, "Mr. President, this Joey is a member of the Rebel Army. He got caught by mistake and ended up being charged as a slave."
"Rebel Army?" Jack asked.
"Right. It's a bunch of self-righteous people who want Noah Continent to abolish slavery and take the land back from the aristocrats and hand it back to the farmers," Steve said sarcastically.
"They don't know anything at all. Once this happens, Noah Continent will no longer have peaceful days!"
"Why would you think that, Steve?" Jack asked.
"Reporting to the President, the foolish people have no knowledge. Once they are free, they will definitely commit crimes for various reasons," Steve replied.
"Then we can make these fools learn and change their minds," said Jack.
He was not wasting his efforts.
Otherwise, with his status, he could do whatever he wanted in his territory.
But that would not do!
If he could not find the key point of their deeply rooted ideas, Jack's policies would most likely be offset no matter how hard he tried.
After all, Jack only held their soul contract and could not control their actions and thoughts.
"It takes a lot of energy, Mr. President, and will these people still want to keep farming once they obtain knowledge?" Steve asked.
Steve's words made Jack suddenly think of the college students who graduated in batches every year in his previous life.
Indeed, once basic education was done, there would be a large number of knowledgeable people in society.
Similarly, with the spread of basic education, the overall quality of society had also improved.
For example, his view of life ten years ago was very different from ten years later.
It was also because of these differences that society continued to improve, to satisfy the growing needs of humans.
"Have you ever thought, Steve, that for thousands of years Noah's continent has made no progress other than the change in power and influence? Those who should starve to death are still starving, and those who are slaves are still slaves. Is that a good thing for society?" Jack countered.
Jack's words stunned Steve.
He had never asked himself if this was a good thing for society.
Or rather, this was simply a way to benefit the nobles!
Thinking of this, Steve could not help but sweat.
Jack knew Steve was in a final struggle.
What he said was the basic foundation that everyone knew in his previous life.
But for this world, this was a paradox that challenged their values and knowledge.
Just like when you firmly believed that the spoon in front of you was a spoon, there would suddenly be a person who would stand out and tell you that this was wrong. A spoon was not called a spoon, but a chopstick.
This kind of answer that challenged your cognition made you instantly have the urge to doubt your life!
Steve was like this now!
...