Zhou Tieyi waited for everyone to digest the information he had just laid out. His logic was sound; the real challenge was funding the expansion—specifically, how to secure the initial capital.
This necessitated that local noble families voluntarily contribute their wealth. Therefore, the Baizhishan pilot zone—the special district—had to be a resounding success, even if it meant siphoning interests from elsewhere to subsidize it. People needed to see and enjoy the fruits of this reform; only then would others be willing to join in.
This had been Zhou Tieyi's plan from the start: turn a faction of local gentry willing to follow his lead into "capitalist gentry," then pit them against the traditional landed gentry. By using internal conflict within the scholarly clans to dismantle the existing power structure of the great families, he could initiate a transformation that might take decades, or even a century. At the very least, this process would wear a mask of peace, sparing the common people from being caught in the crossfire of a violent upheaval.
Chapter 348