At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 591: The Han's Threat

Facing the request of the nobles of Ptolemy, Zhang Pijiang said: "I can introduce you to the manager of the Industrial and Commercial Bank. As long as the bank of our Han Dynasty can enter your country, they will be responsible for helping you buy our goods. With their connections in the Han Dynasty, let alone a 30% reduction, even a 40% or 50% reduction in price is possible."

Theodos's face changed drastically. As the Han Dynasty arrived at the Mediterranean Sea, it was followed by the Han Dynasty's major banks. They provided financial guarantees to the Mediterranean nobles and had become financial advisors to many nobles.

But in the Ptolemaic Empire, the Han Dynasty's money house is only in the Yanzhou Governor's Office. The reason is very simple. For hundreds of years, the king has been claiming that he is a god. As a result, the theocracy of the Ptolemaic Empire is the most powerful among the first-tier Mediterranean countries, almost comparable to India. Almost all temples are involved in finance, and it can even be said that they are the first generation of financiers in all civilizations.

Relying on their huge power, they dared not only to lend money at high interest rates to the common people, but also to lend money at high interest rates to noble kings. There were more than one or two noble kings who dared not to repay their loans and were killed by them.

The financial system of the Ptolemaic Empire was controlled by these temples. They basically compounded interest on ordinary people, eventually turning free people into their slaves, and gave back 13% of the money to the noble king. The 25% interest rate of the Han Bank was too advantageous, so the monks of these temples joined forces with the queen to ban the Han Bank system from entering the Ptolemaic Empire.

If Theodos dared to agree to the condition of opening up the financial system, it was unknown whether he could save his life, so he could only return home with disappointment.

While the nobles of the Ptolemaic Empire were indulging in extravagance and debauchery, in Rome, also in the Mediterranean region, a heated debate was taking place in the Senate.

"The land of the Han Dynasty belongs to the state. The Han Dynasty will distribute these lands to the farmers of the Han Dynasty in portions of 100 mu. In order to protect the interests of these farmers, the Han Dynasty court has set a minimum purchase price for grain. When the grain price of the Han Dynasty is good in a certain year, as long as it is lower than their minimum purchase price, the Han Dynasty court will use the money belonging to the state to buy these low-priced grains to maintain the stability of grain prices.

The Han court then used the state-owned flour mill to grind the grain into flour for sale. The stable prices also benefited the citizens of the Han Dynasty. According to someone in the Han Dynasty, their prices have been stable for more than 30 years. In 30 years, the price of grain has increased by less than %. However, the prices in Rome are like mountains, fluctuating up and down, making the citizens of Rome wail and complain. We should learn from the advanced system of the Han Dynasty to solve this problem. "

"My fellow elders, the Han Dynasty not only protects the interests of farmers in this way, but also protects the interests of urban citizens, and even benefits the interests of millers. It is a very efficient means of stabilizing agricultural production. The millers in the Han Dynasty can get a stable source of food. The extremely stable supply of food effectively protects the country's economy."

"Now Rome has built a steel mill. Not to mention the iron ingots transported by the Han Dynasty, even the iron ingots produced by Rome are enough to make farm tools. What Rome lacks now is not farm tools, but citizens with property. Now Rome only needs to provide farms and wasteland to civilians and slaves. It won't be long before Rome will have hundreds of thousands or even millions of citizens who can fight for Rome. With such a large number of citizens, Rome should be invincible in the Mediterranean region."

The Roman senators present had different expressions when facing Appatius's "Land Law". Some listened carefully, some were careless, and some were dismissive. Especially those senators whose families owned large amounts of land and those who controlled grain interests, they all sneered. Appatius's "Land Law" was good for the civilians and citizens of Rome, but it was not only of no benefit to them, but also harmed their interests. If there was no fluctuation in grain, how could they lend money at high interest rates, how could they annex the citizens' land, and how could they obtain excess profits from grain? Would they let the grain in their granaries go moldy? This country did not belong to the Roman citizens, but to them, the Roman senators. The citizens of Rome should pay for them, the senators, not the other way around. Appatius on the opposite side was probably infected by the Han people and could no longer tell whether this was the Han or Rome.

However, some military veterans and veterans of the handicraft interest groups listened carefully to the words, thinking about the superiority of this policy, the impact on their family wealth, and the impact on the Roman Republic. The Age of Exploration began, and the East-West communication was smooth. The entire Mediterranean was swept by a wave of learning Han culture. Laozi's "Tao Te Ching", Confucius' "Analects", Mohist "New Mohist Classics", Shang Yang's "Shangjunshu", Nongjia's "Nongjing" and Xu Fan's "Saint Words" and other classics have become the objects of study for Mediterranean students. This Enlightenment Movement began in Daqinzhou two thousand years in advance.

It is impossible for the Romans to say that they were not under pressure when faced with a huge empire that occupied four continents and had a population of tens of millions. The more ambitious the regime, the greater the pressure. On the contrary, countries like Ptolemy did not care about these things. No matter how powerful the Han Dynasty was, it was far away and the emperor had become their ally.

However, the Roman upper class was very concerned about the Han Dynasty. The families of the three hundred senators all had sinology teachers. Most of them understood Chinese and Chinese characters. A few language geniuses could even read the classics of the Han Dynasty. These senators even subscribed to various weekly reports of the Han Dynasty, describing the internal situation of the Han Dynasty. Although the weekly reports were published several months later, they were already very timely information in that era.

Apatius knew the bottom line of these senators. His "Land Law" was not the "Equal Field Order". It should be compared with the "Land Reclamation Order" of the Han Dynasty. In terms of farming, the Romans were already the pinnacle of the West in the past two thousand years. If the Westerners wanted to surpass this peak, it would have to be after the Industrial Revolution. The Romans understood crop rotation, could make farmyard manure, and could build elevated canals.

However, at this peak, the level of farming was still far behind that of the Han Dynasty. The reason was very simple. Even the iron smelting level of the Han Dynasty was still dozens of times higher than that of Rome. There were not many iron farm tools, so what could the Romans use to open up wasteland? Even in the Apennine Peninsula, which was already ruled by the Romans, there were still a lot of wastelands that had not been reclaimed. The "Land Law" was aimed at these wastelands. He wanted Rome to give a certain amount of money to support the Roman civilians in reclaiming wasteland, so that these civilians could regain their property and become Roman citizens.

This was almost acceptable to the Roman elders. Without harming their land slaves, unlike the Han Dynasty, which brutally eliminated the nobles and gentry, Rome's land was expanded, the lowest grain purchase price was established, the prices of the entire Rome were stabilized, and the cost of living of Roman citizens was reduced. It can be said that this was the way to minimize the loss of interests of the Roman elders and to improve the national strength of Rome.

But there were still some senators who were dissatisfied and felt that their interests were damaged. They fought back, saying, "Apatius, you are a Han emperor. Everything you do is to benefit the Han Dynasty and harm the interests of Rome. You want to sell out Rome and become a Han Chinese."

Apatius said calmly: "I admit that I am a Han emperor, but I am also a citizen who wants to make Rome strong."

Then he called his servant, took out a picture and spread it out in front of the Roman elders, saying: "This is a map drawn by the Han people. It records the world explored by the Han people. This should be the closest to the real appearance of this world."

The world map is no longer mysterious. Compared to the originally restricted access to this world by ordinary people, Xu Fan prefers to let the primary and secondary school students of Dahan understand the face of the world. Therefore, almost every primary and secondary school has a world map and a Dahan map. There are also two sentences above the map: Look at the world and embrace the motherland (I have both these in junior high and high school).

It has spread widely, so all countries also understand the appearance of the world explored by the Han Dynasty.

Then Apatius pointed to the territory of the Han Dynasty, circled the Central Plains and said, "This is the territory that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty will destroy after the Qin Dynasty. This is already an empire more powerful than Rome. This empire has the most fertile land and more than 60 million citizens who are good at fighting. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty can raise an army of at a time."

Then Apatius circled the vast area of ​​the desert and said: "Then the Han emperor spent ten years to eliminate the powerful enemy, the Xiongnu Kingdom, and occupied a land area several times that of the Han Dynasty."

Apatius circled the vast areas of the plateau, the western regions, and Hexi and said: "The emperor of the Han Dynasty will occupy this land twice the size of the Central Plains in three years."

Then he circled the vast Nanyang area and said, "This area has been developed by the Han Dynasty for ten years. It is also one of the richest areas in the Han Dynasty. Most of the spices and sugar we like come from this area."

Then he circled the vast area of ​​Tianzhu and said, "This land originally belonged to a civilization called Tianzhu. This civilization has a history of 3,000 years and is extremely old with a large population, but it was occupied by a trading company of the Han Dynasty." Then he circled the area in the center of the World Island and said, "The Xiongnu and Dayuezhi people, who were almost destroyed by the Han people, established a huge empire here, but in order to avoid being hunted down by the Han people, they surrendered to the emperor of the Han Dynasty. To some extent, this vast area already belongs to the huge empire of the Han Dynasty."

Then he circled two pieces of land in the New World and said, "This is the New World discovered by the Han people more than a decade ago. Now there are millions of Han people in these two pieces of land. They have conquered tens of millions of natives in this New World and called it Yinzhou."

Then he brought up a piece of land in the south and said, "Three years ago, the Han people discovered another continent and named it Nanzhou."

"Then there is the continent across from the Mediterranean. Our Qinzhou civilization has lived on this continent for thousands of years, but we never thought of crossing the Sahara Desert, let alone knowing that there is a wider continent to the south of the Sahara Desert. Now this continent has been occupied by more than a dozen colonies by the Han people. If nothing unexpected happens, this continent will also be annexed by the Han people."

"Now everyone, take a look at this map again. Most of the known territories in the world are occupied by the Han Dynasty, and this is the prosperous era created by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Facing such a powerful conqueror in human history, can't I become a member of the Han Emperor faction?"

Apatius swept the whole audience with a determined look, and no one objected. Along with the Han civilization came the achievements of the Han emperor. The huge Han Dynasty made the Romans terrified, but also made them worship the emperor. In the Mediterranean region, there were quite a few aristocratic scholars who belonged to the Huang Han school. They were familiar with the "Record of the Holy Words" and could even recite large sections of its content.

"I said so much in the Senate not to publicize the great achievements of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, nor to say that I am proud of being a Han emperor. I want the elders present to open their eyes and see the world and see the true situation of this world. The civilization of the Han Dynasty is about to swallow up the whole world. The civilizations that have been absorbed and disappeared during their expansion are probably more than the countries in our Mediterranean."

"Why is the expansion of the Han Dynasty so rapid and so powerful? Why would the people of such a vast land easily submit to the Han Dynasty?"

A senator also asked curiously: "Why?" Rome also conquered many countries, but it took a very long time to assimilate them.

"Because the political system of the Han Dynasty is different from ours, every time they conquer a place, they don't advertise themselves as invaders. Instead, they advertise that they have a brotherly relationship with the locals and can make it easy for them to become citizens of the Han Dynasty."

"But we Romans regarded ourselves as conquerors and reduced the citizens of the conquered countries to slaves. Even though Rome conquered a vast territory, the number of citizens did not increase much. In fact, many citizens became poor because of the wars and fell from the citizen class."

"Now the Han has come to us. When he wants to annex the Mediterranean and Rome, what can you think of? Is there any way to stop the Han civilization from annexing us? Can the Roman army deal with the Han army of millions!"

Appatius revealed the cruel reality, and many senators were frightened by the future of Rome.

"The Han people are in the East, and their army is tens of thousands of miles away from Rome." There is also the Senate that is hoping for the best, trying to cover up its mistake. As long as it can't be seen, it doesn't exist.

Apatius said firmly: "Don't fool yourself here. The Han army has already arrived in the Mediterranean and established their Yanzhou Governorate in Ptolemy. They are also digging the Suez Canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Once this canal is dug, the Han navy can save tens of thousands of miles of sailing and enter the Mediterranean."

"One of the Han warships weighs five thousand tons, which is larger than the tonnage of ten of our warships. It is equipped with nearly two hundred steel cannons, which is more than all the artillery of the Roman navy. How can we resist such a navy of the Han? Can we, Rome, rely on our navy, which can only sail in the bathtub of the Mediterranean, to resist the navy that traverses thousands of miles?"

"If we don't find a way to strengthen Rome, not only will the Qinzhou civilization perish, but Rome will also be annexed by the Han Dynasty. This world is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak and the fittest survive. If Rome doesn't want to be eaten by the Han Dynasty, it must find a way to strengthen itself."

"The Han people have hundreds of millions of people!" Apatius said this in Chinese, and then he said coldly: "We should be ashamed. The reason why I said this number in Chinese is because we don't have such a large number in our Roman language. I can only tell you that last year's statistics showed that there were 630 million people in Rome, including slaves. The Han people are 20 times the population of our Rome."

Looking at the vast territory of the Han Dynasty, occupying the most fertile land on four continents, with hundreds of millions of people, millions of troops, and four large fleets, this together formed an extremely terrifying and huge empire.

The Roman senators originally wanted to pretend that they could not see this huge empire, or pretend that the Han people were very gentle. You see, they even provided three meals a day to the captured prisoners and only worked eight hours a day. They came to the Mediterranean to make money and did not do anything else brutal. Such a good person is the easiest to bully.

But Apatius slapped them in the face to wake them up, telling them not to be deceived by the gentle appearance of the Han people. Under this gentle appearance, the Han people had already annexed hundreds of civilizations and countries. Otherwise, the four continents they occupied were given to them by the local indigenous people. The Romans were more brutal than them and were not even worthy of carrying shoes for the Han people. Rome annexed several countries in more than 300 years since its founding, and the Han people had destroyed hundreds of countries in 30 years since its founding.

The reason why Rome has not been destroyed by the Han Dynasty is not because Rome is powerful, but because the Han Dynasty does not want to destroy Rome now. However, after the Han Dynasty has digested the New World and Austronesia, whether the Han people will let Rome go is a question that does not need to be discussed at all. Could it be that the land of Apennines was given to Rome by Jupiter?

These elders fell silent instantly, and everyone's face became extremely ugly.

Apatius said, "The Han people have a saying, God helps those who help themselves. This means that Jupiter also likes to help those who are strong. If Rome wants to change its fate of being annexed by the Han, it must expand the number of citizens. Now Rome only has 300,000 citizens, which is too few. If Rome wants to be strong, it needs 600,000 or even 6 million citizens. Only then will we have the power to resist the Han."

"Six million!" The senators exclaimed. This number was close to the national number of Rome. Without slaves to exploit them and civilians to pay taxes for them, how could they maintain a decent life for their family?
Apatius said, "A lot? Not at all. Everyone knows that the Han Dynasty has no slaves and no civilians. The emperor of the Han Dynasty divides the land equally among farmers, and the craftsmen in the city use laws to protect their property rights. In other words, the Han Dynasty is a country composed of citizens. Excluding women, the Han Dynasty has 5000 million citizens. Do you still think that six million citizens are too many when you hear this number?"

(End of this chapter)