Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 144 The Songs Are Unsatisfactory (6)

The oil lamp on the desk emits bright light. It was bought by Zhao Xingde at the market in Theodosius Square. It is said that it was produced in the old Lumei period. There are exquisite patterns on the side. There is an oil and gas hole on the lamp panel. It is a scene of two gladiators fighting, one wearing a helmet decorated with feathers, holding a shield in his left hand and a dagger in his right, attacking his opponent, while the other is throwing a fish and a harpoon. , trying to cover the sword and shield gladiator.

Lumei's wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the nobles in the city, and many people rely on helpers and alms to make a living, which is centrifugal from top to bottom, which greatly erodes Lumei's national strength.Whenever foreign enemies invaded, there were very few sons of nobles who could not sit still, broke their families for the country, and sacrificed their lives for righteousness.And ordinary people can't sacrifice their lives for the illusory imperial honor.Except for a few people, everyone is just muddling along in nostalgia for the glorious past.During this period of time, Zhao Xingde searched for the cause of Lumei's decline, and it was exactly the same as that of Zhongtu in terms of the collapse of the military system and land system.

At the third watch, the sergeants had already fallen asleep, Zhao Xingde patrolled the post, took out Chen Dong's letter, read it again, pondered for a while, and began to reply.

"...I have heard of the way of self-cultivation. It goes without saying that those who are internally strong must be externally brave. If people are like this, so is a country. If you want to strengthen a country, you must first strengthen its people." He pondered for a moment, then wrote again, "Mencius said, the way of the people is the way. Those who have a permanent property have perseverance, and those who have no permanent property have no perseverance. I look at the fertile land of the Central Plains. Most of the people lose their land, and most of the people lose their perseverance. The weak will be seized every day. The worries of the tenants are at the beck and call of the powerful gentry, just like slaves who sell themselves. The strong are turned into thieves for their own profit, and it is difficult to abide by morality. I think today is just changing the ears of the owner. This is not the establishment of the land system, and it is not the harm of annexation. If you are like a drowning person, the water will rise to the chest and then slowly reach the neck. It can be said that it is difficult to return to the accumulated weight. Discard it and let it go. Is he drowning? The remnants of the people 'disturbed' the government of the country, and the sages will not take it. Yi said, "Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman strives for self-improvement. If there are difficult things, if you don't do anything, you will definitely have no hope of success. If you do it , then there is a chance of redemption. The world is governed by the people of the world. I secretly think that the prosperity of China should start with the land system. The people's spirit is vigorous, and once foreign enemies cannot invade. Now we don't establish the land system, just sit back and watch the people's morale weaken, and hope that the country will be strong In Siyi, it's like building a castle in the air..."

He wrote thousands of words eloquently, before he stretched out his stiff fingers, breathed a sigh of relief, put the letter into an envelope, and sealed it with beeswax.Tired and sleepy, I blew out the oil lamp and went to bed.The three thick white folded clothes sent by Li Ruoxue were placed beside the pillow, Zhao Xingde sniffed the unique and pleasant smell of the new clothes, and unconsciously fell into a deep sleep.

The next day after returning to Lumei City, most of the sergeants in Ming Hongdu who had completed their military duties asked for leave to leave the camp.Jian Cheng and Chen Yongqi invited a group of sergeants to play in the grand arena that can accommodate tens of thousands of people. There are not only horse racing and carriage competitions, but also performances by troupes such as Xiyi acrobatics and circus dances. Every victory Countless audiences cheered, and it was the most lively.

Du Chuijiao took a dozen soldiers to the largest market in the city near Theodosius Square. He walked from the pot and blacksmith shop at the easternmost end to the spice shop at the westernmost end. He stopped for a long time in front of the gold and silver shop in the middle, but It's always just greedy, see more and buy less, everyone jokes that he is about to hold back Lumei's gold coins to make a few sons.There are the best wine, meat, fish and shrimp in Lumei City, vegetables, fruits and honey, cheese cakes and other food, silk jewelry, leather glass, perfumes and spices, etc. There are bustling crowds all day long, and their ears are full of bargaining sound.Some rare Western specialties, if brought back to Chang'an, the price will be more than ten times higher.

Zhao Xingde, together with Jin Changtai, Huang Zongdao and others, first went to the north of Augustus Square, in the area around Hagia Sophia and Constantine Square. Leisurely men wander around here, ready to cheer for the nobles.Whether it is true or not, there are some rumors about Lumei Kingdom's recent state affairs, which can be found here. The saying "Russians are Lumei's most reliable and stable allies" is very popular in this area.The news that the widowed Princess Anna is going to marry King Rose has been discussed by many people in private.Some people are worried about His Royal Highness Prince John's throne, while others think that this is a good thing for Lumei Kingdom.There are also many sighs such as "the most noble and delicate lady with Lumei will be reduced to the plaything of wild beasts".It seems that this ambitious princess still has many admirers among the nobles and commoners of Lumei.Zhao Xingde couldn't help but smile.

After getting a general understanding of the discussion topics outside the Senate, Zhao Xingde went to the Constantine Library as usual, while consulting the classics, extracting the materials of Lumei, and at the same time writing the Cheng Wen submitted to the General Xia's Mansion .He felt that the corruption of morality was particularly severe for Lumei. Ordinary Lumei people lacked a sense of responsibility for the country. For low-level nobles and ordinary people, if the rewards given by the Dashi Turkic people were high enough, they would probably Fight for the enemy.Even if the country's situation improves slightly, the emperors and famous ministers of Lumei are often obsessed with the glory of the empire in the past, and they are obsessed with restoring the western homeland that originally belonged to Lumei.However, these so-called old lands of Lumei Kingdom have long been populated by various countries, and the residents no longer regard Lumei as their mother country.Lu Mei launched campaigns again and again in vain, and eventually exhausted the national power. Often after a generation or two of recovery, they quickly fell into civil strife, and the surrounding barbarians invaded, making the country even weaker than before.

At this moment, Zhao Xingde couldn't help but think of the Song Dynasty known to later generations, and sighed slightly. When he came to this world, many things have changed.

Lumei misses and attaches great importance to the western homeland, which makes it no threat to the Xia Kingdom.If Xia Guo annexed Lumei, it would instead bleed for a long period of time to defend this land that was the target of public criticism. Judging from the increasingly difficult finances of the Lumei court, the benefits squeezed from Lumei may not be able to Offset the resulting increased costs.

While concentrating on thinking, a figure came behind, she stood behind Zhao Xingde, said in a deep voice: "Do you think our country is hopeless?" Zhao Xingde looked back, the person who had met here before The big-eyed girl was staring at the materials he had extracted from Lu Mei Wen with an angry face.These materials all imply that although Lumei still has the reputation of a great empire, there are many problems inside, and the weakening momentum is hard to return. As long as one or two major failures, it will completely collapse.

Zhao Xingde was slightly taken aback, and explained: "I just think these things are somewhat similar to my hometown."

"Really? Aren't you from the Xia Kingdom?" The merchants of the Xia Kingdom not only hold the largest silk and tea business, but also compete fiercely with the Ross people in the fur business, so most of the Lumei nobles, I am no stranger to the clothes and face shape of the Xia people, but unfortunately, none of them are devout believers, otherwise, they would be better allies than the Ross people.But Xia Guo's national power is rising rapidly, compared with Lu Mei, who is in decline, there is really nothing in common, and it is completely irrelevant to those excerpted by Zhao Xingde.

"Although I am Ms. Xia," Zhao Xingde said bravely, "my hometown is farther east, connected to the East China Sea. It is also an ancient civilized country, and is coveted by the surrounding barbarians."

"Really?" The girl was dubious, "Could it be that you are a Xia countryman stationed in the Imperial Guard barracks next to the holy palace?"

Zhao Xingde nodded affirmatively.

"I'm Natalia Brinnius." The girl whispered, secretly surprised to see Zhao Xingde's lack of response. "Hasn't he heard my name?" Natalia is Princess Anna's beloved daughter. She just had a fight with her mother and came out to relax.When I met this foreigner who studied Lumei Kingdom's political affairs with ulterior motives, I originally wanted to find trouble with him, but who expected that this person was not only an imperial guard, but also didn't know his identity.The blood of the purple-clothed nobles disdains to conceal their identities, but if the other party is still confused after the name is announced, things will become interesting.