Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 588: Pursuing free love?

Tuo Huan was obviously still not confident about this plan. However, Guo Kang had some hope for it and thought it was worth a try.

"We now need to paint a little more of a rosy picture for everyone and attract more people to participate in our cause." He explained: "As for whether it can be realized...sometimes as long as we attract enough people, we can achieve most of it."

"If we want more people to recognize us, the easiest way is to find a common goal that everyone can accept. We are not like the Central Plains, and things are sometimes that simple."

"If you think it's okay, then give it a try." Tuo Huan finally said, "There won't be any consequences anyway..."

"This kind of thing can be done on the way. It won't take up any resources. You can even make a profit and get some manpower and material resources for free." Guo Kang explained: "I said it before. The reason why Egypt is always in turmoil is actually because there is an excess of Mamluks."

"What do you mean?" Tuohuan asked.

"For example, in the Central Plains, officials and ministers are always fighting and criticizing each other, not because of their nature, but because there are too many people who want to make progress. Factional fighting is just a means to eliminate too many competitors, not the goal." Guo Kang gave an example, "And the European nobility does not have 'a new emperor, new ministers'. Some positions are still hereditary. Because even if the king changes, the nobles who can help rule are very limited, and there is no good choice. So, this situation is not very common here."

"Before France was crippled, it was the most powerful and most centralized country in Europe and even in the entire Mediterranean world outside of us. Over there, the king often trusted 'villains' and recruited those unemployed and wandering noble second sons to form a trusted army. He also liked to promote some people around him who were in important positions but not of high status, and even used servants and women to build a network of contacts and recruit talents. This method of ruling, if you study it carefully, does it look familiar?"

"Look, isn't this the level of the Shang and Zhou dynasties? This kind of method was seen at the end of the Shang Dynasty. It's been so many years." He spread his hands: "So, the situation on both sides is too different to be directly compared. On their side, the competition among ministers is also the annexation and counter-annexation of princes, not this model."

"If that's the case..." Tuo Huan thought for a moment, "I'm not good at history, and I'm not familiar with such a long time ago. But it feels like there is indeed a big gap. So what does this situation have to do with our current situation?"

"This situation shows that it is difficult for us to directly recruit high-level talents who can manage the country. At least, it is difficult to get them directly from the people." Guo Kang said: "You see, the old King Wu was able to gather a lot of talented people from the people. Although Xiao Zhu was modest every day and said that they were all thieves, in fact, I think there are quite a few capable fighters among them. But on the other hand, it is quite difficult to find talents to govern the country here."

"This is also the norm in Europe," Tuo Huan said, "To be honest, they are not without capable fighters. Warriors who are good at fighting often emerge and achieve amazing exchange ratios. Sometimes, there are also embryos of famous generals who fight battles that will amaze people. If these people are given an environment to grow, they may not be weaker than those in the Central Plains. However, do you see anyone here who has become famous for his outstanding governing ability?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. For military matters, people at the bottom can practice. Although only a few can survive, there are always lucky ones who can climb up. But for administration, there aren't many platforms to practice if you want to learn. Compared to the perfect bureaucratic system and school system in the East, the opportunities that the church can provide are better than nothing." Guo Kang thought for a moment and said:
"The European battlefield is not complicated. Those on the front line only need to think about fighting. As for the personnel in the rear... well, they just robbed them directly, and it seems that there are not many personnel in the rear..."

"Don't talk about them. We are the same. You know world history. It is easy to promote veterans and generals here, but it is difficult to promote outstanding officials. In the entire Mediterranean world, how many people can be called 'famous prime ministers'?" He shook his head: "Look, we are not much better here. Otherwise, why are they all trying to fight for you?"

"Ah? Robbing me?" Guo Kang was a little surprised.

"Yes, I heard Master Wang complaining a few days ago." Tuohuan nodded, "He said that when you were a child, he had taken a fancy to you and felt that you were the one who could inherit his mantle and carry on the tradition of our church. If you work hard, you will definitely be greater than him, or even his master, Taoist Yin, and can be on par with the founder, Patriarch Zhang. Therefore, he has been intentionally training you and trying his best to help you with whatever you want to do."

"As a result, after investing for so long, he was stuck at the last step. He doesn't even dare to say in public that he wants you to take over." He smiled and told Guo Kang: "It's easy to talk to the Guo family. They have prepared a solution. But my sister keeps an eye on him every day, and she gets angry every time he mentions it."

"Oh, her." Guo Kang understood: "She has been saying recently that she is considering when to marry me..."

"It won't be a problem," Tuohuan said. "Our church doesn't manage things that strictly. Especially the position of Patriarch, which is more of an administrative position, not a position for religious scholars or monks. Not to mention getting married and having children at a young age, even if you have a few mistresses, no one will care. In the past Greek dynasties, there were people who became monks a few months in advance and then became Patriarchs directly. This is not a big deal."

"I don't know what she was worried about, but Lao Wang was frightened anyway. He said he couldn't even mention this matter now, for fear that my sister would be so angry that she would destroy his temple..."

"Ah?" Guo Kang was a little dumbfounded: "But many of my projects are indeed sponsored by the church..."

"Then I don't know what to do. You guys figure it out yourselves." Tuohuan looked helpless, waved his hands and said.

"..."

Seeing that he was just passing the buck, Guo Kang felt helpless. However, things about Theodora were always troublesome, and he didn't know what to say...

"What about you?" He had no choice but to ask, "You are not young anymore, what are you going to do about marriage? What kind of person are you going to find to be our Crown Princess?"

"I don't care. Just find whatever you need. I'm too lazy to think about it." Tuohuan didn't care at all: "Although it's a bit boastful, Anda, you know me: As the heir to the Khanate, the one I should really love is Rome itself, not a woman."

"You can all fall in love - even like Hyunyoung, and do something bigger. As long as you don't go too far and can take it back afterwards, there's no problem, and I'll help with the aftermath. But I can't. This is the responsibility that comes with my power, and I'm aware of this."

"And to be honest, I don't think this is interesting." He scratched his head: "You haven't seen how Hulubuhua is crazy about you... I just can't understand that state."

"She's obsessed with me?" Guo Kang was stunned when he heard the new situation. He pointed at himself and asked.

"Yeah, who else could it be?" Tuohuan nodded.

"How did it happen?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

"It's better if you don't ask..." Tuohuan waved his hand and still did not introduce Theodora's behavior.

"..." Guo Kang didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only say: "Don't be so sure now. When you really meet someone you like, don't be like Li Xuanying and get into trouble on impulse."

"It doesn't matter if I meet someone I like." Tuo Huan said, "Compared to you, my family is more free. Even if I want to marry someone of a humble origin, it doesn't matter. On the contrary, if I want to find a young lady from a certain family, I have to consider a lot of issues, which will be very troublesome."

"That's true." Guo Kang thought about it and nodded.

"When we in the Liu family marry, our first choice is not the pillar families like your Guo and Li." Tuohuan did not hide anything from him and said directly: "Otherwise, it is very likely to disrupt the stability within the Khanate, which is not good for the country. After all, an important job of my family is to serve as the coordinator for Rome. If there is an uncle from a big family, how can we coordinate it?"

"Even if you are marrying off your daughter, you have to be careful. Hulubuhua's situation is an anomaly. If you were Uncle Guo's biological son, things would probably be more troublesome, or even end up like Uncle Guo himself." He shook his head: "However, you are an adopted son, and you are likely to be the first adopted son since the establishment of the account who has the hope of inheriting the ancestral business and competing for the position of the Three Dukes. People outside will not be too sensitive and think that this is a collaboration between the Khanate and the Guo family. Instead, they tend to think that this is everyone's recognition of your identity. This is actually a bit of an advantage."

"Indeed." Guo Kang nodded: "At present, it seems that only my sister is still making trouble. I haven't seen anyone else express concern or opposition..."

"This is political common sense." Tuohuan said, "But it seems that there are people who don't know it. Xiao Zhu told me that his great grandfather Hongwu Hehan wrote a letter to the King of Goryeo, hoping to make peace with him, but he ended up asking him to marry his daughter to him. The Goryeo people didn't agree, and I guess they were all confused at the time..."

"For the common people, women are also a resource. Therefore, it is generally believed that it is a good thing to obtain the daughter of an outsider, and it is a loss to marry her off. Didn't the Romans just rob her?" Guo Kang explained: "This point is inconsistent with the considerations of the upper class, especially the national political level. Therefore, this kind of misunderstanding occurs."

"The Zhu family also came from a commoner family, but their way of thinking is quite different from that of the Liu family. I don't know what's going on..." Guo Kang himself didn't quite understand.

"I don't know about the situation in the Han Dynasty. On our side, we have the experience left behind by my grandfather Basil III," said Tuohuan.

"How did he come up with these ideas?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

"After all, he suffered in the past." Tuohuan said: "My grandfather once complained that when he was young, he had a bad impression of all women and felt that marriage was a curse, which was really unbearable. So, although people kept mentioning it, he always refused to have contact with women and would rather hide in the church library to read books every day."

"He didn't tell us about this. It was my uncle and his friends who told me. He also said that my grandfather favored you because he thought you looked like him when he was a child."

"I'm not that exaggerated..." Guo Kang shook his head: "I'm a little autistic and like to figure things out on my own, but I shouldn't hate all women..."

"The environment was different then. My great-grandmother, Queen Mother Helena, was at the height of her power. She had a strong desire for control and was bossy to her sons. My grandfather didn't like her, but he had to admit that she was very capable and sometimes he had to obey her arrangements." Tuohuan said, "Also, my great-grandmother was surrounded by a large group of palace maids and noble ladies. These people were always scheming against each other and plotting all kinds of schemes all day long, which inevitably involved him. The women introduced to him by the Queen Mother and the noble ladies were basically of this style. Several times, he was almost cheated because of his lack of experience."

"My great uncle said that over time, my grandfather felt that all women were like this, so he was completely desperate. He told my great uncle that for the future of Rome and for his own emotional stability and normal life, he must expel all women from his side. As for the issue of heirs, he can just train one himself."

"After he was promoted to the position by the legion, he actually did so for a time - his great-grandmother went to Crimea, and the noisy ladies around her were also driven away by his grandfather. If he hadn't met his grandmother, he might really have never married and lived like this for the rest of his life. After all, the influence of a mother on her son is often more profound than that of a father; and his mother left a huge shadow on him."

"Now that you mention it, the Queen Mother is so important." Guo Kang nodded and said, "Training an heir... It's easy to say, but in practice, it will probably cause a lot of instability."

"Grandfather doesn't usually say it, but we young people can actually see it." Tuohuan said with a smile: "When my father and my mother met, grandfather was also very opposed to it. My father refuted that grandfather suddenly found a candidate on his own and said he wanted to get married. Even Prime Minister Guo and others didn't know about it. Now that his son has come, why don't you agree?"

"My grandfather was stunned for a while and didn't answer. But General Cao said that my grandfather had boasted to them." He told Guo Kang: "At that time, my grandfather led two legions and traveled to Belgrade overnight. On the way, they camped in a village. The local chief entertained him and asked his daughter to dance to entertain him. My grandfather fell in love with her at the time and kept telling everyone that the girl dancing with a sword was very special and completely different from other women."

"Later, when the army marched, many mountain folks responded to his call and went out with him. My grandmother also rode a horse, wearing an old chain mail, and joined in the fun. Her family used to be a local noble called 'Rupan', which was probably the leader of the alliance of various villages and mountain tribes in a certain area. Although they declined a lot later, the family still had some wealth, so there was enough for her to play with. As a result, my grandfather took a fancy to her and told everyone about it from time to time."

"The generals were all experienced people, so they knew what he meant right away. But after discussing it, they hesitated again." Tuo Huan said with a smile, "General Cao said that everyone felt that since the situation had not been officially confirmed, it was not sure whether it was appropriate for everyone to come together; but if they did not send someone important, they felt it might be impolite. At the end of the discussion, they asked Mr. Liu, who was a cavalry captain in the army at the time - that is, Li Anning's grandfather, to bring a cart of good wine from Henan to give to my great-grandfather in exchange for their agreement that my grandmother would come along. Everyone knows what happened after that."

"Is that so?" Guo Kang understood. "However, what the Queen Mother told us herself didn't seem to be so detailed..."

"It's been so many years, are you still embarrassed?" Tuohuan muttered.

"I don't know either." Guo Kang spread his hands: "But looking at it this way, it is understandable why Theodora has been promoting the tradition of finding a partner in her family and she wants to do the same. This can also be considered free love..."

"No, my sister doesn't promote free love anymore." Tuohuan corrected.

"what?"

"Before, my father and mother did not make a public statement, so she talked about this every day, saying that she wanted to find a partner on her own." Tuohuan said: "Now that my parents agree, she has begun to oppose free love. She said that parents should have the final say and men should not be allowed to find partners on their own - and women are not allowed to do that either."

"..."

Guo Kang was speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)