I want to be emperor

Chapter 1105 All living beings are equal

In the summer and June of the 51st year of Chengshun, the Embassy District of Jinling City.

Halbrand was wearing a decent fine cashmere business suit, shiny black leather shoes on his feet, a silk dome hat on his bald head, and an ink peach silk in his hand. A folding fan with sixteen sections of beauty.

This look is typical of the middle- and upper-class men in the Chu Empire. In the early days, it was only circulated among the people in the workplace, and people in the officialdom still maintained the habit of wearing Hanfu for a long time. However, Later, it was gradually changed. Officials of all sizes also began to wear professional attire when working on a daily basis. However, even if they were wearing professional attire, they would also wear their rank badges on their chests.

This kind of clothing, which is derived from military uniforms, has not been promoted by anyone, not even Luo Zhixue himself. However, it has been gradually developed and improved over decades, and then relied on the widespread use of woolen materials. The simple and neat style brought by it, plus the top and bottom pants are also suitable for daily work... From this, it spreads to the whole society step by step.

At the earliest, some ordinary workers and middle- and lower-class clerical workers began to wear military uniform-like clothing modified from military uniforms for the convenience of work. Then a large number of middle-class men followed suit and promoted the development of this kind of clothing. Because this kind of clothing appears in large quantities in workplaces, this is why this type of clothing is called business attire.

Subsequently, professional attire spread further to the upper levels, and even senior managers and big bosses began to wear this kind of clothes. At the same time, some officials, nobles and other personnel began to wear professional attire in informal but not too personal occasions. And it has pushed the requirements for details, fabrics and styles of professional attire to a whole new level.

After entering the 1940s, officials began to wear professional attire even when going to work... Actually, there is no special reason!

Mainly because in the early 1940s, Luo Zhixue, who had always worn Confucian-style dragon robes in office settings, began to wear professional attire in some office settings... After Luo Zhixue started, the officials below Naturally, there are lessons to be learned.

In fact, before this, a few officials wore slim and neat professional attire during their daily work, which made it much easier to do things...

After all, the Hanfu that officials used to wear daily was not the Hanfu of the ancient working people, but the wide-sleeved robes worn by scholars and other upper-class people. It looked good, but it was still somewhat inconvenient to do some work. .

In the past, the reason why people did not wear professional attire but wore Hanfu... That was because the superior officials all wore Hanfu, and the reason why the superior officials wore Hanfu every day...

Although the Great Chu Empire actually did not force officials to wear Hanfu-style official robes in their daily work... it only stipulated that formal official robes must be worn in formal and ceremonial occasions, and this kind of The official robes stipulated in the regulations are actually not regular clothes, but formal attires... Well, for example, the big red robe worn by officials of the fourth rank and above... This thing is not ordinary clothes, but serious formal attires, even for high-ranking officials in ordinary times. Not wearing...

Because it is very troublesome to wear, there are too many rules, and there are strict regulations on styles, patterns, and even accessories...

The official uniforms that officials used to wear on a daily basis were actually blue Confucian uniforms... As for why, it was because of Luo Zhixue. Luo Zhixue himself liked the traditional scholar Confucian uniforms very much and used them as his daily uniforms all year round.

Then the officials below naturally followed suit...

And in the current era of professional attire, the officials below also followed suit... Luo Zhixue began to wear professional attire, and then the prince and other princes, as well as the ministers of counselors and co-organizers, all wore them within a few days. Wear professional attire and appear in formal occasions.

Then this trend quickly spread downwards... and then spread throughout the officialdom.

Now, when officials in the Chu Empire go to work on a daily basis, they basically wear traditional Confucian uniforms and professional attire at a 50-50 ratio...

Basically, in some less formal occasions, when there is nothing to do, or when they need to do some physical work, officials will choose to wear professional attire... Of course, only some people will dress like this, and some people still wear blue Confucian attire. Suitable for daily office wear.

If it is a formal occasion, such as a meeting, attending some public events, etc., then you must strictly follow the official dress code and wear formal court clothes, such as Dahongpao.

Finally, there is the most special sacrificial garment, which is rarely worn a few times a year because it is only worn on the most formal and high-level sacrificial occasions!

For example, the annual spring plowing ceremony... In the emperor's personal plowing ceremony, the emperor, princes, princes, and princes wore the royal robes and yellow robes, while the officials wore the special ceremonial robes for hundreds of officials, that is, green robes. Chishang attended...

On such occasions, this kind of clothes cannot be worn randomly, otherwise the consequences will be serious.

After all, the Dachu Empire was an imperial country, and in the early days, a large number of the founding civil servants and military generals of the empire were basically from poor backgrounds. As the saying goes, they pursued whatever they lacked...even if he didn't say it in his heart.

The high-ranking dignitaries in the early days of the empire were very concerned about all kinds of etiquette and rules. There was even a period of time when a group of dignitaries who had never read the Four Books and Five Classics would talk about Zhou Li... that is, Luo Zhixue would have stopped them. At that time, the high-ranking dignitaries of the empire had to strictly follow the so-called ancient etiquette and put restrictions on what ordinary people could wear.

But... it is worth noting that the early dignitaries of the empire pursued these etiquette and rules not because of their mentality, nor because those scholars looked down on them, and then they themselves moved closer to the scholars... This is not the case at all. .

But... for the stability of rule!

To paraphrase the ancients, the great affairs of the country depend on sacrifice and military affairs.

If we put it in modern terms: use complicated etiquette to reflect the authority of the superior!

How should an emperor reflect his special status in normal times and let everyone recognize and recognize the emperor's authority?

It's simple...different!

The emperor can wear dragon robes, but you can't.

The emperor can sit on the dragon throne, but you can't.

The emperor can use six horses to pull the cart, but you can't!

There are many aspects of things...these so-called etiquette...is actually a subtle recognition of rules...it is not once or twice, one or two points, but all-round, covering all aspects of the entire society, and then for a long time Continue, ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years...

When people agree with this set of rules, then in this set of rules, the emperor is supreme... When ordinary people see the emperor, their legs will become weak, and then they will kneel down involuntarily...

But what if you don’t agree with the rules? Then the emperor is just an ordinary man, and he can still get a headshot if shot!

Under bullets, all living beings are equal!

The Chu Empire, like all feudal monarchy countries, attached great importance to etiquette, and some regulations on dress were also an important manifestation of these etiquette and even rules.

And this set of things is not only used internally, but also with the external expansion of the Chu Empire and its dominance of the earth, it is also used externally...

For example, in terms of some titles, the Chu Empire is very strong and requires the rulers of the vassal states to no longer use titles such as emperor and king of kings... Not only can they no longer use Chinese translated words, And even the original indigenous language’s words like “Emperor” and “King of Kings” cannot be used.

Because emperor, or a title with a similar meaning, can only be used by the emperor of the Great Chu Empire. Who are you, a native, to dare to use a title with a similar meaning... If Ning is stubborn, the foreign legion will kill him in minutes and destroy the country.

There are other similar rules... For example, the emperor's rule is not only implemented in the empire, but even in the indigenous vassal states, the empire also imposes requirements on each vassal state not to exceed it, otherwise the consequences will be serious.

Then when the kings or grand dukes of each vassal state submit a letter, they must use the word "chen"... because according to the imperial strategy many years ago, the rulers of these vassal states in Europe and West Asia have accepted the Great Chu Empire of the official canonization.

Some were canonized as kings, some were canonized as grand dukes, etc.

Through this kind of canonization, the Great Chu Empire and these vassal states actually established a vassal system in the traditional sense... and in this system, these vassal states were actually part of the Great Chu Empire. The rule of these vassal states He is also a minister of His Majesty the Emperor of the Chu Empire. Therefore, when diplomats like Halbrand from European vassal states communicated with Chu officials, they would usually call themselves Xiaguan and call Chu officials Shangguan... The superior, subordinate and individual positions and levels It doesn't matter, it specifically refers to 'officials from the lower country and officials from the upper country'.

When Halbrand and other vassal states' envoys to the Chu Empire wrote letters of congratulations during festivals, or when writing directly to the emperor under other special circumstances, they used the title "subordinate minister".

They are not even qualified to use the term "foreign minister"... because the term "foreign minister" is usually only used when meeting the monarch of another country... However, the emperor of the Chu Empire, to officials of vassal states such as Halbrand, Not counting the monarchs of other countries...

Because legally speaking, after the Kingdom of Sweden accepted the formal canonization of the Great Chu Empire, it was also considered a part of the Great Chu Empire...

If Luo Zhixue's status as emperor is more realistic, in terms of traditional etiquette, he is not only the emperor of the Chu people, but also the emperor of the Swedes.

All the land in the world is not the land of the king, and the shores of the land are all the ministers of the king!

On the contemporary earth, except for the group of indigenous primitive people in Africa who do not belong to the civilized world, everyone else can be said to be Luo Zhixue's subjects!

This is not Luo Zhixue's self-pleasure...but this is really the case.

Because, in the entire contemporary civilized world, other indigenous civilizations have either been destroyed, or have become vassal states of the Chu Empire, becoming part of the empire... well, at least part of it in the legal sense.

The vassal and vassal system of the Great Chu Empire is not just a matter of just giving a canonization document... The Great Chu Empire will fully enter into it, and then double-suppress and bind it militarily and economically.

Although as long as the vassal states do not affect the interests of the empire, the empire will hardly interfere in the internal struggles of the vassal states, nor in the wars between vassal states... But this is not a question of whether it can, but a question of whether the empire wants to.

The fact is that many officials and even interest groups in the empire are actually too lazy to take care of these nonsense... As long as these vassal states can continuously provide labor surplus value, these vassal states areas will continue to produce various agricultural, animal husbandry, minerals, etc. Planting resources...Chu people actually don't really care about other things.

However... with near-total economic control and absolute military deterrence, these vassal states are fully affected by the empire in almost every aspect.

Even the Kingdom of Sweden did not even directly suffer a large-scale military invasion by Chu during the wave of Chu people sweeping across Europe. It was just that the Chu people landed in the capital and fought a small battle, and then fought in Finland. No country in civil war...is immune to this full impact.

This influence is not very intuitive in other aspects. The most intuitive one is nothing more than aesthetics and clothing... In the current Kingdom of Sweden, from noble officials to businessmen and gentlemen, they all have the same professional attire.

Halbrand did not wear professional attire only after he came to the Dachu Empire. In fact, he had been wearing professional attire all year round when he was in the country...

By the way, the overall large-scale popularity of professional attire from the Chu Empire to various vassal countries is also indispensable because of the promotion of the Woolen Textile Association... because the fabrics used in orthodox professional attire are mainly woolen materials, which are wool. Textile cloth.

The more people wearing professional attire, the better the wool textile industry will develop.

Halbrand used to wear professional attire every day in China. Now he has come to the Chu Empire to serve as the plenipotentiary envoy of the Kingdom of Sweden to the empire, that is, the ambassador to Chu in the traditional sense. Naturally, he also wears professional attire every day. Not only that, he also Following the example of other diplomats, he began to shave his head. At the same time, he also used some daily accessories that Chu people were accustomed to, such as jade pendants, folding fans, etc.

Among them, shaving their heads... is because the blond or red hair of these indigenous diplomats is really an eyesore among the Chu people... The people of Chu these days don't like blond hair and blue eyes. On the contrary, they think blond hair and blue eyes are very attractive. Weird, nondescript.

After getting to know more people from the Chu country and accepting some of their aesthetic values ​​and worldview, even Halbrand, who had a strong sense of patriotism and a desire to save the country, began to feel disgusted with his blond hair. ...So not long after he came to Chu State, he shaved his head.

After shaving his head, he felt much better about himself and was able to easily integrate into the circle of diplomats in Jinling City. At the same time, when he came into contact with the vassal officials of the Chu people, he finally no longer had to feel like looking at monkeys or apes. The same look... The other party started to treat him as a normal human being!

Later, when Halbrand sent a report and telegram back to Sweden, he formally recommended in the report that all officials and soldiers in the kingdom should shave their heads... Bald heads may seem strange at first glance, but they are always It's better than having messy blond hair that makes the Chu people look like monkeys or orangutans!

Bald head, after all, that is a hairstyle that belongs to the modern civilized world...

The Kingdom of Sweden does not mention getting rid of the control of the Chu people in the future. Even if it just wants to develop, it needs to shave its head... If it wants to imitate the Chu people and build a modern civilized industrialized country, it is not enough to just engage in industry and commerce on the surface. , it is not enough to rely on people from Chu to buy weapons and equipment.

You have to learn from the lowest level...in every detail.

Clothing, hairstyle, etc., that's just the most basic... Within the Kingdom of Sweden, even government-run schools have begun to be taught in Chinese, and the courses taught are the four books and five classics...

Although there are very few schools, they offer few degrees, and the students they recruit are mainly children of nobles and businessmen... But this is a beginning after all.

And when scholars are almost trained, the Kingdom of Sweden will be able to follow the example of the empire and start conducting imperial examinations... The Kingdom of Sweden has actually fallen behind. Starting several years ago, the Kingdom of England and many other European countries have begun to formally implement the imperial examination system... …These days, it is very common for the indigenous vassal states to imitate the Chu State and carry out various political, military and economic reforms.

Relatively speaking, the Kingdom of Sweden has lagged behind in this regard!

Although Halbrand was born into a noble family and was the heir to the title of Marquis...he was a firm supporter of the imperial examination system!

Only the imperial examination system can bring new life to the Kingdom of Sweden!

It's just that it's too difficult to take the imperial examination, especially in a country like the Kingdom of Sweden, which has a lot of internal conservative forces.

If you want to take the imperial examination and carry out various reforms, the people of Chu will not stop you, but they often fight among themselves. If the conservative forces are strong, they will often not be able to achieve any reforms...

To a certain extent, this is also a special situation of the Kingdom of Sweden, that is, the aristocratic system in the Kingdom of Sweden is still greatly preserved...

At that time, the Kingdom of Sweden did not undergo large-scale physical cleansing by the Chu people, resulting in a large number of conservative nobles remaining.

Of course, you can't say that this is not good... In fact, the reason why the Kingdom of Sweden can retain so many traditional nobles is because they are lucky that other European powers do not have. That is, when the Chu State swept across Europe, it did not attack Sweden. The kingdom launched a large-scale military operation, which resulted in no large-scale casualties among the people and limited economic losses. The nobles still retained their power.

Specifically, the royal family is still there, half of the big nobles have been retained, and the small and medium-sized nobles have retained more. Although the country has split into the Kingdom of Finland, it was also fought in its own civil war, not directly fought by the Chu people... Although The Chu people were behind this civil war, but at least they didn't directly sweep it away with military force.

To be honest, the situation in the Kingdom of Sweden is actually very good... Among a large number of countries in Europe, especially those traditional powers and big countries in the past, they basically suffered a full-scale military invasion by the Chu people in the early stage, and then The entire ruling class has been rotated, and the country has basically been dismembered into several countries...

This is true for Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia!

In contrast, the Kingdom of Sweden has a good ending.

But this ending, which seemed relatively good at first, has brought great troubles to the Kingdom of Sweden itself today. The conservative forces are so strong that reformists like Halbrand want to do it. It’s hard to order anything!