The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 284 Enlightenment from the East

"This is a free and prosperous country, and a great country!"

January 1732, 1, was the traditional Eastern New Year's Eve. As the imperial capital of Chang'an, it was naturally brightly lit, with various unique shapes and candle-burning lanterns along the road, complementing countless kerosene street lamps.

From far and near the midnight streets, the sounds of carriages and horses, the roaring steam streetcars, various human-powered carts, unicorn-wheeled carts, and the surging flow of people could be heard one after another.

People's footsteps seem to have slowed down on this day. They bring their families and friends to wander in the noisy and lively night market, tasting street food one after another.

Walking in the crowded streets, in addition to the colorful lights, you can also hear the sound of thunderous firecrackers nearby from time to time, one after another, from the majestic Taichu Palace to the elegant and quiet suburban manor. , this sound of saying goodbye to the old year goes on all night long.

Because it was New Year's Eve, the streets and alleys were noisy as before. There were jugglers, people playing and singing, people selling melon seeds and peanuts, and storytellers and talk shows for fun. If you feel hungry, there are some selling pure glutinous rice brewed liquor and sauced meat, which look tempting.

Of course, beautiful girls are also indispensable. The sweet-scented osmanthus hair oil and various jewelry decals that young wives like are also included. The peddlers hawking along the street and the clerks in the street shops were like chicken blood, and their shouts could be heard for several blocks.

Food, food, cheers, accompanied by the sound of firecrackers, good guys! The scene was really colorful and lively, a noisy scene that had never been seen in Europe.

On New Year's Eve, the teachers and students in the university hall would fast and bathe, and put on traditional Han clothing, including exquisite jade pendants and belts. Such solemn clothing was not only for worshiping ancestors and remembering the dead, but also to set off the rare noisy festive atmosphere of the year.

Ordinary people would put a plate full of red pepper seeds on the dining table, pour cypress wine to ward off evil spirits and cure diseases, and enjoy delicious steamed cakes and rice soup together.

In addition to staying home to celebrate the New Year, you also have to go out to celebrate the new year. First, go to the Yaowang Temple to ensure good health and no ailments in the coming year. Then go to the family ancestral hall to pay homage to your ancestors, and then write New Year greetings.

If you meet relatives and friends on the road, both parties will bow solemnly and salute, and recite the congratulatory message: "Congratulations on the new year and good luck." Of course, New Year's Day is also indispensable for guests to enjoy a drink, usually with tea, fruit plates, pastries, and a set of assorted hotpots.

The base soup is goose fat tonic soup, the snacks are pork steamed buns, glutinous rice cakes, yellow millet pancakes, and the snacks are capon bacon, dried duck fish, beef platter, grilled lamb skewers, braised chicken feet, kangaroo meat jerky and Rabbit jerky.

The fruits include pine nuts, hazelnuts and lotus seeds, peaches, apricots and melon seeds, roasted chestnuts, red dates and dried longans, hawthorn cakes, as well as grapes, pomegranates, autumn pears, apples, citrus, and even pickled orange slices and poplars. prune.

Coupled with some rare delicacies from the mountains and seas, ready-made cooked food bought at the market, and fish and meat products processed by the family, this large table is really dazzling. Even if you are not a relative or an ordinary friend, you must be treated with affection and wine. Three cups, it’s hard to refuse such hospitality.

If you are a close relative or close friend, in the presence of such sumptuous food and wine, you will definitely have to drink so much that you will never come back until you are drunk.

As the old saying goes, it is better to sit in one home than to visit thousands of homes during the New Year. The lanterns in Chang'an on New Year's Eve are bright. Even though it is midnight, there are still noisy carriages and horses and thunderous cheers. The residents of the city seem to have forgotten all the worries of the old year and are enjoying the arrival of the new year.

François-Marie Arouet (aka Voltaire), a writer and philosopher from France, was sitting in a carriage marked by the French Legation. He looked slightly drunk and looked through the window on one side. Looking greedily at the lively scene on the side of the street, I felt an inexplicable excitement and joy.

Three months ago, he set foot on the territory of Qi at Jianye Port. The first impression presented to him was that this was a passionate country.

At that time, it coincided with the Oriental Commodity Expo held in Jianye, and Jianye Bay was almost filled with ships and countless sails. Several majestic ironclad ships exuded a powerful and iron-blooded aura at the berth, with flags and colorful streamers fluttering in the wind.

On the shore, noble gentlemen and beautiful ladies greeted the visiting guests politely, proudly and excitedly.

Groups of beautiful girls dressed in gorgeous oriental costumes for holidays moved in lotus steps. Their slim and elegant figures, dignified and quiet demeanor and healthy and rosy cheeks made the 37-year-old Voltaire somewhat unable to help himself. , and was deeply fascinated by it.

However, soon after arriving in Jianye, he forgot about them because he found that the 30,000 franc draft he held could not be exchanged for local currency at the bank in Qi.

Yes, because of the arrogance of the Bank of France and its vigilance against the invasion of Qi's financial forces, they have not yet reached a financial interoperability agreement with Qi's local banking system, and cannot realize the payment of bills of exchange from other places at all.

Fortunately, he received relief and help from a businessman he met in England. Not only did he finance Voltaire with twenty gold yuan notes for emergency use, but he also enthusiastically took him to a Dutch import-export guarantee bank, which enabled him to use the thirty thousand franc bill of exchange he held as collateral, thus obtaining three hundred thousand francs. Travel funds worth one thousand national gold yuan coupons.

When he left Paris, he had many letters of introduction issued to him by Qi's minister in France, which enabled him to conduct an in-depth inspection of Jianye City, the largest industrial city in Qi, during his stay in Jianye City for more than a month, and also visited the local area. He visited more than a dozen universities and various academic research societies and obtained a large amount of first-hand information, which provided a solid foundation for his later creations.

With the arrival of the hot summer season, this northern city in Qi seems to be unlivable, making people sweat profusely every day. So, he took a train and left Jianye, preparing to go to the southeastern coastal areas of Qi State.

In 1726, Voltaire was insulted and falsely accused by the nobleman de Rohan, and was thrown into the Bastille again. After his release from prison, Voltaire was deported and had to live in exile in England.

However, during his stay in England, the Anglo-Qi War broke out, and he was able to witness with his own eyes how the most powerful maritime kingdom in Europe was "massacred" by the Qi Kingdom from the east.

After the Qi Expeditionary Fleet arrived in Europe, although the English Royal Navy tried its best to conceal the news of the battlefield defeat, Voltaire, who had very close relations with many English nobles, still learned from different channels that the English Navy had encountered the most powerful enemy they had encountered in hundreds of years. The enemy at sea suffered continuous losses, a large number of ships were sunk, and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were killed or injured.

This war lasted for nearly three years. In the end, the Royal Navy of England was forced to hide in the Thames River to avoid being attacked by the Qi Navy, and the entire English mainland was almost completely blocked.

In addition, the Jacobites were causing trouble in Scotland, and the rebels once invaded England. Ireland, which had been controlled by the Kingdom of England for hundreds of years, also launched a massive anti-British uprising with the strong assistance of Qi State. The War of Independence forced the English army and many immigrants to huddle in the Northeast and survive.

In the end, the unsustainable Kingdom of England had to beg for peace from Qi and end the asymmetric war with a relatively humiliating peace treaty.

A large number of steam warships, indestructible iron-clad ships, powerful explosive bombs, powerful and sustained combat capabilities, and all-out diplomatic methods gave Qi the upper hand in this war.

Although Voltaire did not know much about war, it did not prevent him from making a simple conclusion, that is, the Qi State on the Hanzhou continent was powerful enough to easily defeat a major European country.

This shocked the young Voltaire deeply, and he couldn't help but turn his attention to this big eastern country.

Since the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, the Kingdom of England has been regarded as a model of freedom and democracy throughout the European continent. It is like a light that illuminates and attracts the enthusiastic pursuit of countless people who have suffered from autocratic oppression and religious persecution.

Voltaire once wrote in his diary: Look at England's legal achievements. Everyone has restored the natural human rights that have been deprived by almost all despotic regimes. These rights include complete liberty of person and property, the freedom to write publicly, the adjudication of crimes by a jury of free men, and the decision in any case to be based solely on just laws, leaving aside employment opportunities that are limited to Anglicans Regardless of the discussion, everyone can express his or her chosen beliefs calmly.

Voltaire felt that although the English government was not immune to corruption, it gave the people a certain degree of freedom and creatively stimulated the lives of all classes.

The business environment in England is quite free, unlike France, which is subject to various domestic taxes and duties, which greatly hinders economic development. What made Voltaire even more commendable was that businessmen enjoyed an honorable and lofty position in the cabinet.

In his eyes, the Kingdom of England is a "country that loves freedom, is knowledgeable, resourceful, and despises life and death - a philosopher's ideal kingdom." However, such a promising country suffered a huge defeat in the war with the Eastern Qi State.

So, what kind of country is Qi?

In 1729, with the tacit approval of King Louis XV of France, Voltaire returned to France. While keen on business investment, he obtained a royal charter allowing him to write and publish the "Biography of Charles XII".

But soon afterwards, without a word of warning, the royal charter was revoked, and all published books except Voltaire's own copy of the Life of Charles XII were confiscated.

Because of this change in French foreign policy, the French government had to behave kindly towards Charles's "victim", the still-reigning Polish King Augustus.

But Voltaire ignored the ban, moved to Rouen in disguise, and secretly directed the printing of his historical biography.

This move made the French government very angry and prepared to throw him into the Bastille again.

Under the persuasion of many noble friends, Voltaire decided to go into exile again.

As for his refuge destination this time, he chose Qi, the mysterious and powerful eastern overlord thousands of miles away.

As the Jesuits continued to introduce Chinese classics to Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, and in the past fifty years, the influence of Qi State has been expanding day by day. During this period, some European scholars set off a trend of worshiping the East.

“Everyone was shocked when they discovered that most of the various trends of thought emerging in Europe can be traced back to the East. … The Jesuits translated Eastern scriptures into Western languages, and the Eastern Confucian philosophy of the inherent goodness of human nature was imported into Europe. Continental Europe The ideal of social progress in all countries can only be realized by relying on the theory of human nature with good will, and this kind of confidence has been gained from the East. "

With some expectation and some longing, Voltaire boarded a Qi sailing ship in Marseille, a port city in southern France, and embarked on a journey to Hanzhou.

Unlike in the past, Voltaire's route this time did not follow the traditional Eastern route, but went straight south along the west coast of Africa, then around the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean.

After leaving Marseille, Voltaire's sailing boat crossed most of the Mediterranean and arrived at Pingyuan Port in Egypt (today's Port Said, Egypt). Then he took a train and extended the Suez Railway to Port Suez.

Trains, an important symbol of industrial civilization, made Voltaire feel an unprecedented shock.

The emergence of railways has brought about revolutionary changes in the transportation methods of human society. It is the most prominent external manifestation of Qi's modern industrial civilization.

This is the power of steel and industrial civilization. In the ancient and declining land of Egypt, a train of the most advanced means of transportation in the world was driving at high speed, which made Voltaire feel very fantastic.

The "miracle" created by the people of Qi!
In the subsequent journey, Voltaire saw many similar "miracles": giant steel ships, huge reclamation projects, towering buildings, telegraphs that could transmit sounds thousands of miles, and factories everywhere. Chimneys with billowing smoke, majestic iron bridges across rivers...

After coming to Hanzhou, he witnessed the most civilized, open, and free country.

There are no ignorant religious superstitions, no decadent authoritarian oppression, and no endless academic censorship and speech restrictions.

Can you imagine?
Qi State actually required every family's children to receive education, and it was compulsory. Children aged 5 to 6 will study in government-funded schools for eight years and master basic writing, calculations, geography, science, history and many other knowledge.

Their higher education and disciplines are even more complex and all-encompassing, and much of their professional knowledge is the most cutting-edge and cutting-edge in the world today.

Although Qi had an emperor, there was no arbitrary monarch.

Although they do not have deism, they are tolerant of different religions, are not extreme or persistent, and seem to show a peaceful attitude towards religious beliefs.

This country does not advocate the so-called natural rights theory, but they believe in the principle of equality that "princes who break the law are equally guilty as the people". Everyone is treated equally before the law.

Although Qi is not a constitutional monarchy like England, and the emperor still has great autocratic power, their government structure has perfectly implemented a certain "power check and balance", which is enough to ensure that the country can always be ruled by an "enlightened monarch" Down.

All of this seems to be the ideal country that Voltaire pursued and expected.

France, which claims to be a model of European civilization, is simply a "bad country" that is decadent, declining, superstitious and authoritarian when compared with Qi.

In France, the growth and spread of knowledge were constantly hampered by inertia, superstition, religious persecution, censorship, and the control and obstruction of education by church organizations.

There are still thousands of remnants of superstition in French society, and Paris is crowded with illusionists and charlatans selling all kinds of power and youthful magic.

A well-born lady would tremble with fear upon hearing an ominous horoscope, or believe that if a poor woman lit a candle, let it float in a cup, and used it to set fire to a bridge over the Seine, the consequences would be terrible. Resurrecting a drowned baby.

The Duchess of Conti had promised Father Leroux that if he could find the Midas touch for her, she would pay him a lavish carriage.

The Count of Sète convinced Louis XV that France's poor finances could be improved by using a secret technique to manufacture diamonds and gold in large quantities.

In Europe, the countries with the mildest and most relaxed censorship of speech and publication are the Netherlands and England, but discussions about the king will still be severely suppressed.

But in Qi, some newspapers and books could actually accuse the emperor of his faults, criticize the mistakes of the cabinet government, and severely reprimand local officials for corruption and malfeasance.

Although reports on the emperor and cabinet will still be subject to corresponding press censorship, and will be required to modify language that blasphemes and belittles the emperor and government, this is a historical precedent and puts the monarch and government before the people. under "supervision".

It can be said that if France and the entire European continent are still in an era of ignorance and chaos, then Qi State is an extremely civilized and open new world.

Perhaps Europe's enlightenment should begin in the East.

(End of this chapter)