Duke Huan asked，“What does drawing the wealth of the world to oneself mean?”Guanzi replied，“Previously，during the time when Jie was in power，he used to build up an ensemble of thirty thousands female dancers and singers．Music played at Duan Men (the name of a door in the palace) and the songs being sung could be heard early in the morning on all the main streets of the capital．All these entertainers used to wear special，luxurious and well-decorated clothes of the best quality．Yi Yin called together the idle women of Bo and arranged for them to weave silks with beautiful decorative patterns and then trade them for one hundred zhong of grain for each pi (the unit of fabric，the length of which is not fixed in Jie’s kingdom．As for the kingdom of Jie，it was a kingdom of the Son of Heaven．However，Jie did not worry about the problems of the world at all but was addicted to love affairs with pretty women and music played on the bells and drums，so Yi Yin could take control of the grain produced in Jie’s kingdom to intervene with the movement of commodities there．That can be regarded as drawing the wealth of the world to oneself．”
Duke Huan asked，“What does winning over people all over the world mean?” Guanzi replied，“Please appoint one chief official to each zhou and make sure that each li has five cellars’store of grain．If there are some people do not have enough money to pay taxes，grant them long-term loans．If there are people not able to afford burials for their deceased family members，render some money to help them．Make sure that hungry people are supported with food；cold ones are supported with clothes，and the dead can be buried．Those who are short of money can also be granted some loans．Thus，people all over the world will be drawn to our state like water flowing down to low-lying areas．That is regarded as winning over all the people of the world．Hence，a sage sovereign can use things not belonging to him and control people not under his supervision，and whenever orders are issued，tens of thousands of people will endear themselves to him．" Duke Huan said，“Fine．"
Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“Tang annexed the whole world controlled by Jie successfully with a base of only seventy li．What do you think the reason was?’’Guanzi replied，“Jie，in order to watch people freezing and drowning，did not allow people to build bridges over rivers in the winter or cross the water with rafts in the summer．He also put a female tiger in the market to witness the way people were terrified by it．Tang was not the same．He had vegetables cultivated and grain stored，supported the hungry people with food，rendered clothes to those who did not have enough to keep themselves warm，and helped those who were short of money．As a result，people all over the world were drawn to him like water gushing down to low-lying areas．That was why Jie lost his power over the world．"
Duke Huan asked，“How was Tang able to realize his goal of overthrowing the regime of Jie?” Guanzi said·“Nu Hua used to be the beloved of Jie and Tang presented her with one thousand jin of gold to endear himself to her．Qu Ni used to be the beloved of Jie and Tang presented him with one thousand jin of gold to endear himself to him．Thus，Nu Hua helped him secretly inside the palace of Jie，and Qu Ni helped him openly on the outside．With their cooperation，the throne of the Son of Heaven was taken．That was the secret plan of Tang．"
Duke Huan said，“Now that I have heard about methods for regulating prices and distribution according to the degree of seriousness of various issues and about the guidelines for governing the state．Would you please tell me how to manipulate the military force?”Guanzi replied，“Launch five attacks first before you resort to arms．”Duke Huan asked，“What did you mean?”Guanzi replied．“Launch an attack to keep a balance between demand and supply，launch an attack to manipulate prices of goods，launch an attack to take control of the distribution，launch an attack to popularize suitable economic policies and launch an attack to take advantage of the situation．That is the so-called launching five attacks first before you resort to arms．”Duke Huan said，“Fine．"
Duke Huan was thinking of rewarding the offspring of people who have devoted their lives for the sake of the state．He said，“Regarding conditions of our state，there are neighboring states surrounding us on all sides and we are dependent upon grain produced from other states．Moreover，our state is also the habitat of dangerous wild animals such as tigers and wolves．Many people have lost their lives during every military action we taken．Those people like orphans，great‘-grand-children of the white-haired old people and women with their husbands serving in the army，I do not have anything to support them．What shall I do?”
Guanzi replied，"Those extremely wealthy and powerful families with high ranks，fiefs and who have cornered grain and assets，if you are able to restrain the expansion of their wealth with the influence of national assets，prices of things will go up．If you do not restrain the expansion of their wealth，prices will come down．If you are able to take control over their wealth，prices will go up．If you do not take action to control their wealth，prices will come down．-So，high-ranking officials，people with fiefs，wealthy merchants，people with private store of grain and savings in terms of money，those who have earned profits and kept them and those who have cornered assets are all wealthy people of our state．So，you can wear sable to the office and convene all these people who contribute to the state，with power and influence，high ranks，fiefs，savings and those who have kept profits and hoarded goods and tell them：‘If a protective wall is weak，it will be broken by the enemy．If a state does not have any savings or stores of grain，it will be besieged．It is the same all over the world．How can the state of Qi alone dare not take that into consideration? If you people have grain stored privately，make sure that you will not trade it yourselves．Please allow me to purchase it from you at the average price．’And then you can make contracts with them and make sure that the amount of grain they stored is reported accurately to prevent any fraud．Thus，when the poor people hear this news，they will come to buy grain from you．No matter how much they will buy，they will come endlessly．No matter how far they have to travel for the purchase，they will come without being impelled by others．Thus，the price of grain in our state will go up forty times easily without any sales promotion．Then you can use the huge profit to support orphans and widows，take care of the sick and the poor and thus，old people without offspring do not need to sell their labor for survival and people will not die in the wild．Hence，transporting the dying and healing the wounded，the soldiers will vie with one another to fight at the front and will devote their 1ives for the sake of the state even though more than half of them have been killed or wounded．What is the reason for that? It is not that the soldiers are addicted to fighting and don’t attach any importance to death．They act this way because they are manipulated by the right economic policies of regulating prices and supply according to the degree of seriousness of various issues．”
Duke Huan said，“The prices for goods collected by the state such as leather，ribs，veins and horns are too high，a huge amount of these things have been levied upon the common people and as a result，their prices have been driven up considerably on the market．That is not the right method for governing the state．”Guanzi said，“Please issue an order to ask people to build high bridges and dig deep ponds and make sure that people are not able to see things on the opposite side，no matter that they look from east to west or from north to south．”Duke Huan said，“Very well．’’After this advice had been taken for one year，the amount of leather，ribs，veins and horns collected by the state was reduced to one half，and the burden of taxes of the common people was reduced to one half as well．Duke Huan summoned Guanzi to the palace and asked him，“What’s the reason then?”
Guanzi replied．“During the time when the bridges and ponds were relatively even，it was very easy for a couple to draw a cart to traverse one hundred li．Now the bridges have been heightened，and the ponds have been deepened and as a result，people cannot manage to see things on the opposite side of them，whether they look from east towards west or from north towards south．When it rains，it is not possible for a cart to cross the bridges even though it might be pulled by ten people．Nor is it possible for a cart to traverse the low-lying areas even though it might be drawn by ten people．Thus，the people must resort to using cows and horses for transportation．The cows and horses will be exhausted and the corpses of these dead animals that have died on the spot are everywhere on the road．No one will take such things as leather，ribs，veins and horns even though they are presented with them．The price of cows and horses will easily go up one hundred times．When people all over the world hear that，they will come to the state of Qi along with their cows and horses like water pouring down to low-lying areas． Hence，heightening the bridges and deepening the ponds are the right methods for drawing cows and horses from all over the world to our state and for reducing the burden of taxes for our people．It is said in Dao Ruo Mi：The methods for drawing things to you should be preferred to producing these things yourself．"
Duke Huan said，“Most of the bows of our state are twisted．Even though we have levied heavy taxes from the common people to support the repairers to maintain them，most of them are still twisted．What do you think the reason is?”Guanzi replied，“Geese and ducks normally nest at some low places，and Kun Ji (the name of a wild bird which resembles a crane) ，swans and Bao (a bird resembling a wild goose) can fly very high above in the sky．Those people who have shot Kun Ji and swans，you should visit to present them with well-polished jade and ask them to work for you．’’Duke Huan said，“1 will．”After this advice had been taken for one year，the state was not short of bows any more，and there were no people idling about on the streets．Three months later，when the sheaths of bows were opened up for checking，none of them was twisted．Guanzi was summoned to the palace (by Duke Huan) and asked。“What do you think the reason is?”
Guanzi replied．“You have visited people who have shot Kun Ji and swans and honored them with jade．Therefore，people living in areas with lush grasses will traverse the plains to go to the remote areas to shoot birds．No bow can shoot a Kun Ji or a swan if it is less than ten jun (jun is an ancient Chinese unit，one j un amounts to sixty kilograms) in weight．A bow that weighs less than ten jun cannot work well if there is no Fei Qing (possibly it is the name of a small but decisive part of a huge bow) installed inside it．So，when you opened up the sheaths three months after this advice has been taken，none of the bows were twisted．And what is the reason? Well，people making them are familiar with this skill (of installing the Fei Qing into the bow)．"
Duke Huan said，“I am going to levy a tax on real estate．”Guanzi replied，“No，you should not do that．It is nothing but encouraging people to destroy their houses．" (Duke Huan said：) “I am going to collect poll-tax from tens of thousands of people．”Guanzi said，“No，you should not do that．It is nothing but pushing people to cover up the true size of the population．” (Duke Huan said:) “I am going to Levy a tax on all six kinds of livestock．”Guanzi replied，“No，you should not do that．It is nothing but pushing people to kill their livestock．”(Duke Huan said：)“I am going to levy tax on trees．”Guanzi replied，“No，you should not do that． It will lead the people to hack down the trees．” (Duke Huan asked：)“Upon what kind of things can I levy tax then?’’Guanzi replied，“Please levy taxes on deities and ghosts．” Duke Huan’s countenance changed suddenly and he said，“If no poll-tax should be collected from tens of thousands of people，and no tax should be levied upon real estate，livestock or trees either，then how can I manage to levy taxes upon the deities and ghosts?”
Guanzi replied，“If you know how to make good use of opportunities，you will benefit a lot．If you know how to take right tactics according to the situation，you can accomplish great achievement．Sovereigns supervising the whole world can conform to the situation to take action，and the sages can resort to mysterious powers，so they are all in accordance with the external things of the world．”Duke Huan asked，“What I shall do then?”Guanzi replied，“Once Yao used to have five officials of great achievements and they have not yet been worshipped．So，please ask people to hold ceremonies to worship these five officials of Yao．Offer orchids to them during the spring．Offer newly harvested grain to them during the autumn．Offer dried flesh made of fresh fish and cooked small fish to them．In this case，taxes collected upon the fishes will reach hundred times higher compared with the average price of previous times．Then you do not need to levy taxes on real estate or grain or collect poll-tax from the people any more．By doing so，you will not only be holding sacrificial worship of deities and ghosts，but also will popularize the rules of propriety．Thus，you will have enough to spend for all kinds of expenditure．Why will it be necessary for you to collect money from the common people?”
Duke Huan asked，“In the whole world，no state is more formidable than the state of Yue．Now I am going to take military actions against Gu Zhu and Li Zhi in the north．But I am afraid that people of the state of Yue might take this opportunity to attack us．Will it be possible to prevent that?”Guanzi replied，“Please dam the water pouring down from Mount Yuan．Tell the high-ranking officials to build huge swimming ponds and let people play in the water for pleasure． Will the people of the state of Yue dare to come?” Duke Huan asked，“What shall I do then?”Guanzi replied，“Please issue an order to build up dams to block the water of the three rivers，construct round ponds and dig an artificial lake which will be so big that boats can travel on it freely．And dig trenches as deep as ten ren at the bottom of this lake．Then issue an order as follows：‘Whoever is able to swim across it will be rewarded with one thousand jin of gold．’Thus the ability to swim of the people of the state of Qi will be no worse than that of Yue even before this award of one thousand jin of gold is conferred．’’Then Duke Huan attacked Gu Zhu and Li Zhi in the north，and people of Yue marched upon the state of Qi as expected．In order to inundate the territory of the state of Qi，Yue blocked the water of the tortuous parts of the Zi River．But unexpectedly，Guan Zhong was there waiting to confront them leading fifty thousands warriors good at swimming．Troops of these two states engaged in combat at Qu Zi and the troops of Yue were badly defeated．That is the so-called getting ready for military actions in aquatic areas．
There was a fire on the grassy marshland in the north of the state of Qi and even the court hall was lit up because of the fire．Guanzi went into the palace to say congratulations to Duke Huan，and he said，“Now that the wastelands of our state are reclaimed．the farmers can benefit at least one hundred times．’’And all the taxes were collected before the end of the ninth month of that year．Also，seeds of all kinds of grain were big and round．Duke Huan summoned Guanzi to the palace and asked him，“What do you think the reason is?”Guanzi replied．“For states of both one thousand chariots and of ten thousand chariots，food cannot be cooked there without firewood．Now that the grassy marshland has suffered from a fire and there is no supplement for firewood any more，the farmers can load the firewood they stored and sell it at a price ten times higher compared with the average price at the time before the fire took place．Accordingly，they have enough money to buy tools such as ploughshares and to facilitate weeding during the summer as well．That’s why the taxes should be collected before the end of the ninth month of the year．"
Duke Huan worried about the poverty of the common people living in Bei Guo so he summoned Guanzi to the palace and asked him，“Those people living in Bei Guo all weave straw sandals for survival and they also grow vegetables to earn some money．What shall I do to help them?”Guanzi replied，“Please issue an order to forbid families with private stores of grain of no less than one hundred zhong to make straw sandals at home．Forbid families with private stores of grain of no less than one thousand zhong to cultivate vegetable gardens and forbid people living within three hundred bu from the capital to grow vegetables themselves．Thus，people not having a job will have something to do to earn some money and the products of people living in Bei Guo can be easily sold．The rate of interest of things they made by hand and vegetables they grow will be driven up ten times．"
Guanzi said，“Three states of the world are rich in natural resources and the state of Qi is one of them．”Duke Huan asked．“Would you please explain it a bit further?” Guanzi replied，“The state of Chu owns gold produced along the Ru River and the Han River，the state of Qi owns salt produced in Zhan Qu，and the state of Yan owns steamed salt produced in Liao Dong．These states are all rich in natural resources．Moreover，even though Chu has gold，Zi Shi (it might be the name of a kind of special stone) is produced in the central part of Qi．Nevertheless，if these things cannot be well handled or used，people all over the world will not attach much importance to them．Given that 1 were the one taking control over the gold produced in Chu，I could guarantee that people of the state would have enough food to eat even though the farmers were not growing crops themselves．I could also guarantee that they would have enough clothes to wear even though the women were not spinning or weaving themselves．Now that we have salt produced in Zhan Qu，please ask people to hack firewood to steam salt and then you can store it．”Duke Huan said，“Very well．”Then the state started to collect salt in the ninth month of the year and there was thirty six thousand zhong accumulated up to the first month of the next year．The duke summoned Guanzi to the palace and asked him，“What shall I do with the salt?”
Guanzi replied．‘‘Now that the first month of the spring season has already come，the spring ploughing will start right away．If the high-ranking officials are not allowed to repair or maintain tombs，construct buildings，set up platforms or pavilions and erect walls，and the common people living near the North Sea are not allowed to hire laborers to produce salt，the price of salt will easily go up ten times．”Duke Huan said，“Fine．And what shall I do next?”Guanzi replied．“Then please issue an order to ask people to sell salt in Liang，Zhao，Song，Wei and Pu Yang．People living in these areas are all dependent upon salt imported from other states．If people of a state eat coarse food without it being salted，their bodies will swell．So，salt plays a most important role in defending the state．’’Duke Huan said，“Good．’’He then ordered the salt to be sold to those areas and therefore gained more than eleven thousand jin of gold．After that，Duke Huan summoned Guanzi to the palace and asked him．“What shall I do with the gold?”
Guanzi replied，“Please issue an order to make clear that not only all kinds of gift money should be presented in terms of gold，but also taxes should be paid with gold．Thus，the price of gold will easily go up one hundred times．Then you can use the money gained from gold to manipulate tens of thousands of other items．As a result，all the assets will become your own possessions．In this case，interest will come endlessly as if you were bailing from the Yellow River or from the sea (the water there will never dry up)，and as if you would need to import calculators to compute the profit．That is the achievement of sovereigns of states with a lot of natural resources．"
Guanzi said，“A state of ten thousand chariots must have at least one merchant whose savings are worth ten thousand jin of gold．A state of one thousand chariots must have at least one merchant whose savings are worth one thousand jin of gold．And a state of one hundred chariots must have at least one merchant whose savings are worth one hundred jin of gold．These people are in no way helpful to their sovereigns but are interfering with the authority of the throne instead．Hence，if a sovereign is not careful with his edicts，there will be two sovereigns or kings in his state．" Duke Huan asked．“What does‘there are two sovereigns or kings in one state’mean?”
Guanzi replied．“Now you are collecting taxes directly in terms of money．The price of tens of thousands of items will come down to one half (it means that in order to be able to pay the amount of tax，the common people are forced to sell their goods at very low prices) and these goods will be hoarded by the merchants．So，there are two sovereigns or kings, within one state．Hence，the merchants will take advantage of the common people’s precarious positions to make a huge amount of profits．Accordingly，the poor people will lose their possessions，and will be doubly impoverished．The farmers will lose their grain，and they will be doubly deprived．So，if a sovereign cannot manage to take control over the mountain forests，swamps and grasslands of the state，he will never be able to unify the whole world and become a Son of Heaven himself．" Duke Huan asked，“What did you mean?”
Guanzi replied，“Those mountain forests，swamps and grasslands are places where firewood is produced and livestock is raised to be used as offerings at various ceremonies．So，allow the common people to use them and levy taxes upon them，thus，both the common people and the state can be supported this way．Take care of the common people as if they were your relatives，as if you and they were older brothers and younger brothers，or sons and fathers．And then you can exchange goods with each other and help each other．So，please grant some of your surplus money to yi and li．When spring comes and the people start raising silkworms，please lend money to the common people to buy grain and utensils needed for sericuhure．If this is the case，you can reduce the tax levied on silk to one half．And if people are still not coming to you from all four directions，you can attract them with loans by taking the following six opportunities：the spring ploughing；next，reaping wheat；next，planting tuber crops；next，planting hemp plants；next，weeding wild grasses；next，getting prepared for the rainy season and finally，hoeing up weeds and earthing up the crops．If these six opportunities are taken well and loans are granted successfully，people will be constantly drawn to our capital．Those sovereigns clever at governing their states will manipulate the economy by taking suitable price policies according to the degree of seriousness of various issues，will maintain enough stores of grain and accumulate enough savings，so that there will be no chaos even though some big upheavals might take place．And then they can unify the whole world and become Sons of Heaven themselves．"
Guanzi said，“When one farmer does not grow crops，there must be some people suffering from hunger because of it．When one woman does not spin or weave，there must be some people suffering from cold because of it．If the farmers’income reaches two times higher compared with the amount of capital they invested，the people will no longer be forced to sell their children for survival．If it reaches three times higher，the people will have enough to eat and wear．If it reaches four times higher，the people will have enough money to pay all taxes levied upon them．If it reaches five times higher，the grain surplus can be transported everywhere and funeral ceremonies for the dead can also be afforded．Nevertheless，nowadays the income of a harvest cannot match the amount of capital people invest，and the sovereign is endlessly demanding money and collecting taxes from them．Thus，people will not dare to travel alone because there might be bandits and robbers on the paths and they will not feel safe if they keep money or possessions at home．If severe penalties are used to maintain order，it will be nothing but murdering people secretly．If only three of all kinds of crops can ripen well，there will be bandits robbing others for survival in each li because they do not have enough food to support themselves．If only two of all kinds of crops can ripen well，there will be bandits robbing others for survival in each li because they do not have enough food to support themselves．If only one kind of crop can ripen well，there will be bandits robbing others for survival in every family because they do not have enough food to support themselves．The income of the harvest of that year reaped by the common people cannot cover the amount they invested．They have to rely on grain bought at a price forty times higher compared with the average normal price．Therefore，it is not possible for them to settle down but have to leave for other places even though they are not asked to do so by the state．Moreover，you always order the people to pay the taxes within one day after they are told．The wealthy people will pay in cash，people without cash at hand will have to trade their clothes and shoes etc．for money．The farmers are forced to sell off grain at only three tenths of the normal price．Thus，when tax policy is carried out stringently，assets of the state will flow out to other states all over the world．When the sovereign demands endlessly，the common people will be out at the elbows and forced to leave their native places to live in the mountains．As a result，soldiers will not have a chance to see their parents，families will be broken up，the common people will go into exile within the state，and the intellectuals will take refuge in other states．If this is the case。the state wilI suffer a severe debacle even though no attack has been launched against it．"
Guanzi said，“For a sovereign who is the owner of his territory，controls authority over the state and governs the people living on his land，the most important thing is to superintend farming during all the four seasons to guarantee enough stores of grain in the national granaries．When a state is wealthy，people from remote areas will be draw there．When all the wastelands of a state are reclaimed，people will settle down there．When all granaries are full，the people will attach importance to the rules of propriety．When the people are not short of food or clothes，they will have sense of honour．Now the sovereign of our state has showed farmers how to plough，cultivate the fields and how to reclaim the wastelands in person，and crops have been grown and harvested．Regarding the food supply for the common people，everyone on average has a certain amount of fields．Nevertheless，there are still some people starving on high streets and back lanes．What is the reason for that? Because some grain is hoarded for speculation．According to the amount of money minted and put into circulation under the supervision of the sovereign，everyone should have hundreds or thousands of qian．However，some of the common people are still forced to sell their children for survival. What is the reason for that? Because some money and assets are appropriated by some people．If the sovereign is unable to spread the money and grain cornered by these people on purpose or regulate the prices of goods to redistribute the wealth of the state among his people，the common people will not have enough to support themselves. Even if the sovereign might focus on farming and urge people to work hard to cultivate their fields，and even if he might reclaim the wastelands and mint money endlessly.”
Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“Now I am going to take action to regulate the prices of commodities，redistribute the wealth appropriated by some people and spread the money and hoarded grain．Otherwise，appropriations will never stop throughout the state，grain and money will be hoarded endlessly by some people，and the poor，the menial，widows，widowers and old people without offspring will not have enough for survival．Are there any measures I can take to disperse hoardings and redistribute them again?"
Guanzi replied，“Only experts who are clever at regulating prices and supply according to the degree of seriousness of various issues are capable of doing that．So，please issue an order to invite this kind of experts．”Duke Huan said，“Very well．”Then he sent messengers travelling in five carriages to invite Gui Yi from Zhou Xia Yuan．Then Duke Huan，Gui Yi，Guanzi and Ning Qi were sitting together and talking with one another．Duke Huan said，“Please tell me some methods for regulating the prices of things．”Gui Yi said，“A sovereign who levies very heavy taxes upon his people will lose the support of the common people．And a sovereign who cheats his counterparts in other states will not have any alliance．"
Guanzi sat side by side with him and asked，“If we do not levy taxes upon the common people of our state，how can we support our army? If we do not levy taxes upon the common people of our state， how can we prepare for military actions taken by the neighbouring states against us?”Gui Yi said．“You are able to deal with these things if only you are benevolent to the people of your state．When you are benevolent，tens of thousands of items can circulate well．When tens of thousands of things are circulating well，they can be effectively manipulated．When tens of thousands of items are effectively manipulated，their prices become lower．When the prices of tens of thousands of commodities are lower，advantage can be taken from them．The sovereign who knows that he can take advantage of tens of thousands of commodities but does not react to the situation will be deprived by other states of the world．This kind of sovereign is of utmost danger to his state．”
Duke Huan said，“Please tell me something about taking advantage of tens of thousands of matters by behaving benevolently．”Gui Yi said，“If the state has surplus money but is short of chariots，ask for them from high-ranking officials and people with feudatories．If people have enough money but do not contribute money to support diplomatic affairs，ask for money from the chief officials of local areas and from high-ranking officials．Thus，tens of thousands of items will be put in circulation．When tens of thousands of things are circulating well，they can be effectively manipulated．When tens of thousands of items are effectively manipulated，their prices can become lower．When the prices of tens of thousands of items are low，advantage can be taken from them．Hence，a sovereign who realizes that all these three measures are based on the same economic policy is able to unify and maintain the whole world．Those who do not know it are not able to unify or maintain the whole world．If suitable orders can be issued and carried out with greater or lesser urgency according to the actual situation，people will be drawn to your state like water flowing down to low-lying areas．These are the methods for regulating prices according to the degree of seriousness of various issues．”
Duke Huan asked Guanzi，“Currently our state has ten thousand soldiers and they use up firewood and vegetables produced by ten square li of fields every day．If military action is taken，the savings amounting to one thousand jin of gold can be spent every day．As time passes，how am I able to manage the situation?”
Guanzi replied．“The average price of one zhong of grain is forty qian and the average price of one jin of gold is four thousand．If the price of one fu of grain is forty qian，the price of one zhong will be four hundred．Thus，ten zhong will be four thousand qian and twenty zhong will be eight thousand．If the price of one jin of gold is four thousand qian，two jin are eight thousand．Regarding the harvest of one farmer，if he cultivates one hundred mu of land，the total amount of grain produced will be no more than twenty zhong．Thus，the harvest of one farmer is only about two jin of gold．So，when the price of grain is high，that of gold will be low．And when the price of grain is low，that of gold will be high．These two factors can never be in accord with each other．Hence，a sovereign being clever at governing the state will always take action to drive up the price of grain．If the price of one fu of grain is four hundred qian，one zhong will cost forty thousand and two zhong will cost eighty thousand．If the price of one jin of gold is four thousand qian，ten jin will cost forty thousand，and twenty jin will cost eighty thousand．Hence，if the right order is issued，the income for one farmer of one year will be about twenty jin of gold．Thus，it is not dependent upon the size of the territory or on the amount of affluence a state has．It is dependent upon the sovereign being clever at issuing suitable orders and perspicacious with economic policies in regulating prices of items according to the degree of seriousness of various issues．”
Guanzi said，“When the war drums are beaten heavily，officers and soldiers will advance in anger．When the gongs are hit sonorously，officers and soldiers will stop suddenly．And when they are further encouraged with the war drums，some will fight to the death and some will be wounded，however，they will vie with one another to fight in the van．Then they will have enough food to eat and enough money to spend．It is not that they are seeking revenge for their parents，but they are motivated by heavy salaries and significant rewards offered by the state．Hence，even though the sovereign might dress up and stay at court，the court officials will not serve him loyally if they are not conferred with ranks or rewarded with salaries．Even though the chief general might be marching among the troops，the soldiers will not devote their lives for the sake of the state if they are not encouraged with rewards．Thus，high-ranking officials of a state are controlled by powers appointed to them by the court，and officers and soldiers are encouraged with rewards and promotion．Therefore，only high salaries and generous rewards can make fathers contribute their sons，older brothers contribute their younger brothers and wives contribute their husbands for the sake of the state．As a result (of high salaries and generous awards)，officers and soldiers will not mind marching long distances to attack people living in remote areas，nor will they fear advancing through precarious mountains and valleys to conquer states protected by dangerous geographical conditions．Moreover，they can march as forcefully as thunder and as swiftly as the wind and rain do．They can advance and retreat at any time they want and no one is able to stop them．”
Duke Huan said，“States along all our four borders are not obedient to me．And I am afraid that they might stir up rebellions，and cause other states of the world to act against me and impose damages upon me．I am going to take action to prevent that．Do you think there is any way to do that?’"
Guanzi replied，“If the state of Wu and the state of Yue do not submit to your authority，you can use pearls and ivory produced there as one of the currencies of our state．If the state of Fa and Korea do not submit to your authority，you can use furs with beautiful patterns and fur coats produced there as one of the currencies of our state．If the state of Yu Shi does not submit to your authority，you can use well-polished white jade produced there as one of the currencies of our state．If the states around Mount Kun Lun do not submit to your authority，you can use Miu Lin and Lang Gan (Miu Lin and Lang Gan are names of precious stones) produced there as one of the currencies of our state．Pearls are so small that they can either be held in the hand or put in the mouth without being seen or noticed by others．Nevertheless，each one is worth one thousand jin of gold．If they are used as currency，Wu and Yue, the two states located eight thousand li away from us will submit to your authority．If furs are used as currency，each piece of leopard skin can be worth thousands of jin of gold，and then Fa and Korea，the two states located eight thousand li away from us will submit to your authority．Some pieces of well polished white jade are so small that they can be carried under your clothes in front of the chest or under the armpit without being seen or noticed by the others．Nevertheless，each piece is worth one thousand jin of gold．And if they are used as currency，Yu Shi，the state located eight thousand li away from us will submit to your authority．Miu Lin and Lang Gan are things that can be made into hairpins and earrings，and each piece is worth one thousand jin of gold．If they are used as currency，states round Mount Kun Lun，which is eight thousand li away from our state，will submit to your authority．If you do not take action to control with these treasures or consort those states to improve relationships with them，the states located nearby and those distant cannot supplement one another with their assets，and the adjacent ones will not submit to your authority．"
