Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Xinshun Steel Century

Volume 4 Leviathan Chapter 22 Notebook

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Gillings watched Chen Zaixing gesture the bottom of his glass towards him. He already understood that this was a very popular etiquette at the Chinese wine table, proving that he had finished the wine in the glass.  He looked at the wine glass and saw that under the light, the crystal wine liquid showed a beautiful golden color, like flowing gold.  Gillings also picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. A stream of warm liquid flowed down the throat into his stomach. Soon he felt a heat seeping into his bone marrow, driving away the fatigue and numbness accumulated over the past few days.  Instead, there was a soft feeling, as if the whole person was soaked in hot water from the inside out.  "Mr. Gillings, what do you think?" Chen Zaixing said with a smile: "This is thirty-year-old Laofen wine. If you drink a few more glasses, I guarantee that you will have a good sleep tonight and go out with the army in high spirits!" Chen Zaixing said as he spoke  Pour another glass for Gillis.  The two drank a few glasses of wine. Seeing the harmonious atmosphere, Gillings raised the question that had been hidden in his heart: "Master Chen, I heard that you are one of the two top commanders of this expedition.  But on the eve of the expedition, you are drinking with a guest like me. Can I take this to mean that you are absolutely sure about this expedition?" Chen Zaixing put down the wine glass in his hand, put a chopstick on the small plate in front of him, and put it down.  Chewing carefully, there was no immediate answer.  After a while, he replied in a low voice: "Wars and wars are fierce, and things in the world are unpredictable. Since ancient times, people who have left the fortress have not known how many people have to return. How can Chen be so virtuous and capable? Do you dare to say that you are absolutely sure?" "Then what are you doing?  ¡ª¡ª?" "Mr. Gillings, I am only a nominal commander. If I talk randomly at this time, it will only hinder the real commander!" Chen Zaixing said in a low voice.  Dashun, like most other dynasties in ancient China, had civilian officials who served as supervisors to check and balance the generals who commanded the army.  However, in view of the lessons learned from the previous dynasties that "the civil servants regard the military as their slaves and the military as their enemies", the power of civilian supervisors in Dashun is relatively small. Generally speaking, as long as there are no obvious problems with the command of military generals, civilian supervisors will not  Power interferes.  Not to mention that Chen Zaixing's seniority and official position were far behind Gao Tingyu's. He was only a student, so he didn't dare to talk and interfere.  Gillings nodded in understanding. Due to the huge cultural differences, it was difficult for him to understand China's strange military command system. But perhaps it was the effect of alcohol, and the curiosity in his heart became stronger and stronger. Finally, he  He opened his mouth and asked: "Mr. Chen, what do you think of this upcoming expedition?" "Oh?" Chen Zaixing glanced at the other party with interest: "Mr. Gillings, you seem to be very curious about this expedition.  Especially strong? " "That's natural. After all, this is also related to my personal safety. If the expedition fails, I don't think those Tatars will be as generous to me as you are!" Gillings patted him calmly!  Chen Zaixing's flattery: "Besides, I still have a little selfishness. The great little Scipio also relied on Polybius's wonderful pen to be famous throughout the ages (little Scipio is the adopted son of Africa? Scipio's eldest son,  He was a famous commander in ancient Rome who captured Carthage in the Third Punic War, thus confirming Rome's dominance in the Western Mediterranean. Polybius was a famous historian in ancient Rome, originally a Greek.  Later, he went to Rome and became Scipio's disciple and secretary. He followed Scipio in many battles and left behind the immortal masterpiece "General History") Sir, don't you hope that your name will be recited in the Western world because of this expedition?  "That's it!" Chen Zaixing smiled slightly. He didn't care whether the other party's true purpose was what he said, but for him, delaying time for the men outside the door to copy Gillings's diary was the most important.  As for his prediction about the expedition, it doesn't matter even if he lets the foreigner know some of it. Anyway, he can't do any tricks in the army!  "Mr. Gillings, I have nothing to worry about militarily about this expedition!" Chen Zaixing said solemnly: "Especially in the short term, the rebels are just a group of temporarily gathered herdsmen, taking advantage of the sudden death of the Living Buddha.  With no officers or weapons, you can imagine the consequences of facing the imperial army! The only problem is-" At this point, Chen Zaixing suddenly stopped, looking like he was hesitating to speak.  "What?" "It's about time! It's true that the rebels are just a ragtag group now, but they will not always be just a ragtag group, and as time goes by, the scope of the rebellion will expand, and various uncertain factors will increase. It must be quelled  The difficulty will be much greater! And Khalkha Mongolia is really too big and too far away!" At the end, Chen Zaixing sighed in a low voice.  The room calmed down, and both of them were thinking.  Both Chen Zaixing and Gillings are very smart people. They can and know that the other can also understand the unfinished meaning of what they just said.  There is no doubt that Gillings does not want Dashun to suffer this time.The expedition can go smoothly, even if he does not consider weakening the potential enemy of the British Empire in the Far East, he also hopes to obtain as much information as possible in the process, and the more tortuous this process is, there is no doubt that Gillings can  The more information you get, the more profound it becomes.  Only now did Gillings truly understand the true meaning of what Balfour said in his reply to himself: "China is not part of the Far East. It is a world and a system in itself!"  This ancient empire is too huge and too complicated. Not long ago, it was this empire that fought to the death with me in the jungles of Burma. Now it is this empire that is fighting the Tatars in the hinterland of Asia thousands of miles away. At the same time,  , this empire also controlled hundreds of tribes and vassal states on her long frontier, and within her territory lived a population equal to that of the entire civilized world. The differences between these tribes, nationalities, and vassal states were even  The difference is even greater than that between Indians and Arabs in America.  And such an empire is not a short-lived empire relying on military conquest like the Alexander Empire and the Mongols. It has existed for hundreds of years before the time of Jesus, and has existed for more than two thousand years now, and it seems that it will continue to exist.  Continue to exist forever.  And even the most arrogant and confident imperial elites dare not say that the British Empire could still exist two thousand years after the birth of Jesus. Even today, when the empire is so prosperous, those damn Irish are still using everything they can find.  Means seek perfection, and conflicts of one kind or another between religion, ethnicity, and class are like an incurable disease, constantly devouring the vigorous vitality of the British Empire.  And what gave this ancient empire unlimited vitality?  It is really terrifying to let it gather these billions of creatures and thousands of miles of territory together.  At this time, there were two gentle knocks on the door, which woke Chen Zaixing out of his thoughts. He realized that his subordinates had completed the copying work. He stood up and said with a smile: "Mr. Gillings, when  It's getting late, I have to get up early tomorrow morning, so don't bother me anymore!" As he was talking, several servants walked in and carried out the wine, vegetables and the cold wooden barrels.  Gillings got up quickly. When he sent Chen Zaixing out the door, he looked back and saw that his diary was still in its original place on the desk. He walked to the desk, turned to the page he wrote today, and wanted to  He wanted to write something, but he didn't know what to write for a while. After a while, Gillings sighed, closed the notebook, turned off the lights and went to bed.  In the study, Chen Zaixing sat at the table, with dozens of pages of paper in front of him, which contained Gillings's diary copied by the secretary.  As Chen Zaixing continued to read page by page, his expression became more solemn.  "Compared to the south of the country, the lives of farmers in the north of China are much poorer and simpler. Even the wealthier families in the countryside mainly eat millet, corn and other coarse grains to satisfy their hunger.  They may not be able to eat meat during festivals. Their land is not as fertile as the land in the south, and the water for irrigation is quite insufficient. However, the most important reason for their poverty is not the above two, but the lack of commerce and industry;  Compared with the South, the industry and commerce in the North is even more lacking. Farmers have almost no other income except farming. Their time outside the busy farming season is almost free, while farmers in the South will carry out many more complex, longer-term and income-generating projects.  Some even go to cities and become workers. I don¡¯t think farmers in northern China are lazy. On the contrary, they are extremely hard-working people.  Active participation. The clothes they wear are made of a rough homespun cloth that they weave themselves. However, I also saw woven cloth on the farmers in some wealthier villages with more convenient transportation.  They come from the huge factories in Shanghai, Nanjing, and southern Jiangsu. I believe that as time goes by, these homespun cloths will be replaced by machine-woven cloths, just like Dhaka was replaced by Manchester.  The capital of Bangladesh was once the center of India's traditional cotton textile handicraft industry. After the British conquered India, cotton cloth produced in Manchester poured into India. India's traditional textile handicraft industry declined sharply. Dhaka's population dropped from 150,000 to 30,000.  Forty thousand, this is what Marx refers to when he said in his works that "the white bones of Indian textile workers turned the Indian plains into white.") This change will inevitably bring about huge changes in rural life, but I am not aware of it.  I don¡¯t think this will be done peacefully. ¡°The results of these two days are average. Webber hopes that everyone will continue to support. If you think there is something that needs improvement, you can spread the word in the group or discussion forum.
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report