Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 289 The Incomprehensible Person

In Guo Kang's time, such plundering incidents can be said to be common.

Elgin's name is actually no stranger to the people of Seris.Because the Ergin who robbed the Parthenon is the father of Ergin who burned the Old Summer Palace.

——Of course, because his wife was "cared for" by an old friend, Elgin sued them publicly for adultery and demanded [-] pounds in compensation.In that era, what the decent nobles could endure, they generally expressed tolerance for it; if they couldn't bear it, they would fight each other for the sake of honor.As a result, old Ergin, as an earl passed down in his family for seven generations, asked for money when he came up, so he became famous and became the top class in the country for a while.Therefore, it may not be easy to say whether this father is his real father...

Although little Erjin didn't know where he came from, his ancestral craftsmanship has not been left behind.However, he might not be as famous as his father in England.

Old Elgin made a fortune from the looted sculptures, and even had a proper name "Elgin Marbles"-this money was as high as thirty-five thousand pounds, which was enough for three and a half wives.Little Erjin was very unlucky, and didn't have time to enjoy his "results".

In 1861, little Elgin, who ended the war and negotiations, left China and went to India to become the governor, but died in 1863.The reason was that the house he stayed in when he was traveling in the local area was accidentally hit by lightning and caught fire.

It may be a sudden shock that caused him to have a heart attack and be unable to move for a while.The servants, relatives and friends around him, for some reason, did not come forward to help.In the end, Erjin, unable to escape from the fire, was burned to death like this.

Therefore, history is actually a very interesting treasure trove of knowledge.

As for the poor Greeks, in fact, until Guo Kang's time, they often acted as scapegoats.

In his time, some people thought that "Europeans regard Greek civilization as their ancestors and brag all day long, so we deny the existence of ancient Greek civilization, and we can attack the legal system of Europeans." But in fact, look at Elgin and other British You can tell from people's performance that Western Europeans don't take Greece seriously at all.

In fact, not only Greece, but Rome as well.In the past, European monarchs really liked to rub off on the relationship with Rome, but this kind of relationship may still be useful in the early Middle Ages.As the Roman heritage fades away, it's really just a show.The name of the Roman emperor cannot even be controlled by the princes inside Shenluo, let alone the outside.

As for the common people...the common people and the illiterate lords at the grassroots level, it would be good if they could know what the former Roman Empire was.

When history continued to develop and the folks had some culture, Rome was simply abandoned.Most European countries in modern times avoided Rome when establishing their culture.

The French made Vercintoli a hero, and the Germans began to praise Arminius.The English didn't know why, and recognized the Anglo-Saxons back then.In the process of nation-state construction, Rome has long been completely abandoned.Those chosen by them to establish the myth were all local barbarians back then.Perhaps only Italy before and after World War II still insisted on cosplay.

And even these are very few people.Not to mention Rome, which may only be of interest to related enthusiasts.Therefore, for these countries, it is at most that "we barbarians have learned some ideas left over from Rome".

But if you learn some Roman elements, it will be too convenient.The largest Roman law country in the world is Seris.So who is Rome?
Therefore, the most embarrassing part of this matter is that, attacking other people's ancestors, only to find that the barbarians don't care about their ancestors at all.People don't have this weakness...

"We must know more about history, and know ourselves and our enemies." Guo Kang said with emotion to the brothers and sisters:

"I said so much, in fact, I want to tell you how big the gap between Seris civilization and other civilizations is. The gap between it and India is far greater than the gap between India and Western Europe. Because these are not two 'civilizations' in essence, but It's the gap between the two 'civilization groups'. It's just that the civilization group to the east seems to have only one member."

"So, using the Central Plains way of thinking to set other civilizations is not only a problem of poor results, but sometimes even dangerous."

Zhu Wenkui nodded, taking it for granted, probably Guo Kang's words were also in line with his cognition.Little Jeanna lowered her head and began to think.

Guo Kang is not in a hurry.She is very young, and she will see a lot of examples in the future.As long as you have enough experience, it is not difficult to understand this conclusion.

Of course, he still hopes to use his knowledge and experience to save little Jeanna from detours.In particular, she will definitely participate in various affairs in the future, and it is estimated that dealing with the Ming Dynasty will be indispensable.These are important things, and the lessons can be too painful.

Guo Kang himself was able to understand these, but also rely on the painful experience in history.

There is an example of black humor in the late Qing Dynasty.After Lin Zexu took office in Guangdong, there were rumors that the British were preparing to start a war.In this regard, Lin Zexu did not close his eyes and listen, but conducted a special investigation and research.

Among Lin Zexu's staff and local officials in Guangdong, there are already those who have taken the initiative to inquire about the situation in the West.Former Ruan Yuan's staff Xiao Lingyu, Lin Zexu's own staff Yu Zhengxie, and others all discovered the law of Westerners expanding by sea, and advocated vigilance, referring to foreigners' methods to increase force, and achieving the goal of using barbarians to control barbarians.

After Lin Zexu took office, regardless of avoiding suspicion, he summoned a group of people who are proficient in English to translate relevant information.Not only did they contact foreigners directly, but they also took advantage of the conflicts between Americans, Portuguese and the British to obtain information from them;Regardless of his advanced age, he personally learned English from scratch without textbooks.

Lin Zexu was originally a language genius. When he first went to the capital, he learned Mandarin, which shocked many people (Ming and Qing officials recognized that Fujianese’s speech was difficult to understand, and it was difficult to correct it...); Later, he took the Manchu exam and got The first result (there were few banner people who could speak Manchu in those days, and the first place in the exam was the first in the world).Even after being demoted to the Western Regions, he quickly learned Uyghur and Persian, and even incorporated these two languages ​​into his poems.You can see his talent.

As an old bureaucrat who has struggled in the imperial court for decades, his understanding of power and his ability to analyze politics are of course very solid.With his sharp vision and precise technique, before the war, he not only had a preliminary understanding of the situation in the British mainland, but also had some understanding of the colonial affairs.In addition to state affairs, even the list and salaries of female officials in the British Queen's Palace were collected by him for analysis.

Through a series of analysis, Lin Zexu came to the conclusion that the war cannot be fought in the short term.

According to intelligence, in 1837, the old King William IV had just passed away, and the British could not find a man, so the only Queen Victoria was established.At this time, the queen's uncles were still there.

In particular, Victoria's fourth uncle, Ernst, once served as an army general.Unlike the members who gradually became vases, Ernst really received training in Prussia, went to the battlefield, and fought against Napoleon, for which he was seriously injured.It is a person who really has military experience and has commanded large armies in battle.

At this time, Ernst inherited the split Kingdom of Hanover and had his own country and soldiers.Even the British themselves were rumored that he wanted to murder Victoria and usurp the throne.

So this is actually very obvious: this orphan and widow will not stay long.I'm afraid it won't be long before Victoria will face rebellion and be killed by her fourth uncle.

The people who came to Guangzhou to find work were from the East India Company.When the monarch changed, these businessmen actually wanted to start a war on the border without authorization.Since ancient times, border merchants have acted on their own, and the country has never had problems—the Qing Dynasty itself clearly knew it better.Obviously, the internal crisis in Britain has become extremely serious.

Under such circumstances, how can we start a war abroad?

On the other hand, Lin Zexu also inquired that there were also people in Britain who opposed the tobacco trade.With his understanding and judgment of national interests, Lin Zexu believed that the British court could be won.Because the tobacco trade is not a good thing for them in terms of morality and income, they can be persuaded to temporarily control the merchants and gain time.

He also specially wrote a letter to Victoria, warning the other party in the tone of an experienced elder that all the goods sold in China are beneficial to people.Let the Westerners benefit a lot, but never harm people.Now the UK is selling tobacco that is not produced in China to harm people in China. Not only is it morally unreasonable, but it is also not good for them.It's better to eradicate India's smoky soil, replant five grains, and implement benevolent government to rule for a long time.Criminals should be dealt with strictly, otherwise, in the future, someone will also sell tobacco to the UK, what should we do?
In addition to still insisting on referring to Britain as barbarians, the tone of this letter is already very gentle.Before sending it, Lin Zexu also specially found a group of British people who were rescued after falling into the water, and asked them to look at it and polish it.He also left a step, saying that he believed in Britain only because there were too many merchant ships to manage.It's better to take care of it now, it's better for everyone.

As a result, the letter was sent to London, and after it was made public, it became a famous joke at the time. The Times publishes them in full, for the amusement of their readers.Lin Zexu's desired result also failed to come true.

In the end, Lin Zexu obtained a large amount of valid information and made undeniable reasoning, but he came to a completely opposite conclusion.

Because he insisted that the war would not be possible in the short term, Lin Zexu did not choose to strengthen his defenses as soon as possible. Instead, he purchased large Western-style ships and steam steamers and began research.In the end, he was caught off guard.Although the city was defended, the loss was considerable. Even the American ship I just bought was bombed...

This incident is a very typical case: the way of thinking between different civilizations is too different, and it is very difficult to understand each other.Not to mention an old-fashioned official like Lin Zexu, even a Serisian in Guo Kang's time, who had learned a foreigner's language, might not be able to fully understand what they were thinking to be honest.

Therefore, this is a very troublesome phenomenon, but it really cannot be ignored.

(End of this chapter)