save the bachelors

Chapter 4691 [Convenience Measures]

Xiang Nan successfully suppressed the voices of opposition with the majesty of the gods and the deterrence of military force, and passed the throne of Pharaoh to Ansuna.

If Ansuna wants to secure her position as Pharaoh, it is not enough to rely on intimidation. After all, no king can rule the people by intimidation.

Just like what the ancients in the Middle-earth said, "People do not fear death, so how can they be frightened by it?" When the people can no longer endure it, they will still rise up in rebellion, so the key is to bring a better life to the people.

Therefore, Xiang Nan specifically left Ansuna with ten strategies for governing the country so that she could have something to follow.

The first strategy is to promote Egyptian culture and eliminate barriers between different ethnic groups and regions.

Ancient Egyptian culture has a long history, and because it developed early, it is relatively developed. As early as 3000 BC, ancient Egypt had changed from a tribal system to a state system.

In comparison, many barbarians in Northern Europe still existed in the form of primitive tribes at that time. Their culture was also very backward, with only their own language but no writing system.

Therefore, compared with their primitive culture, Egyptian culture is naturally more advanced, more magnificent, and more attractive.

Let them come into contact with, learn and accept ancient Egyptian culture from an early age. Over time, after one, two or three generations, they will naturally become Egyptians.

As the sage said, "If the princes use the barbarian rituals, they are barbarians; if the barbarians advance into China, they are Chinese."

If the princes accept the culture, etiquette, and system of the barbarians, then even if they are in China, they are still barbarians.

And if the barbarians accept the culture, etiquette and system of Middle-earth, then they can also be considered Middle-earth people.

Xiang Nan also knows this truth, so he plans to widely promote the culture of ancient Egypt.

Of course, there will be some obstacles in the early stages, but Egypt is now wealthy and powerful, and with him, the true god, in charge, anyone who refuses to obey will be killed directly.

Humans once conducted an experiment to domesticate a species of foxes. Those that dared to resist and could not be tamed were killed, and the more obedient foxes were used to reproduce.

Then they screened these offspring, killing the disobedient ones and letting the obedient ones continue to reproduce. As a result, within a few generations, all the foxes became tameable.

……

The second is to vigorously promote advanced technologies, such as iron smelting, iron forging, casting and the use of ironware.

Iron tools are superior to bronze tools in all aspects, and of course better than stone tools. However, in the 12th century BC, only a few regions had mastered the technology of iron smelting and forging.

Most areas were still in the Bronze Age, and even barbarians like those in Northern Europe were still using stone tools.

Therefore, although the individual combat power of these barbarians was comparable to that of Egyptian soldiers, due to their backward weapons, ten barbarians could not defeat one Egyptian soldier.

What's more, they were fighting against an army of 100,000, so they were easily defeated. It was not until they were conquered by Egypt that they began to use bronze and iron tools.

Today, Xiang Nan is vigorously promoting ironware in order to improve the efficiency of production and life, thereby improving people's livelihood.

Secondly, promote agricultural knowledge such as farming, fertilization, intercropping, breeding, and promote papermaking, compass, printing and ship handling skills.

Agricultural knowledge such as deep plowing, fertilization, intercropping, and seed breeding may sound common now, but in fact, for a long time in ancient times, these agricultural knowledge were only mastered by a few regions. Ancient Egyptian farmers relied on the mud from the flooding of the Nile River to grow crops; Europe did not master the composting technology until the Middle Ages, resulting in a large loss of fertility.

As for farmers in Northern Europe and West Asia, they do not know the benefits of deep plowing. They plant crops by scattering seeds on the ground and then letting cattle and sheep trample them into the soil. Or they use a stick to poke a hole in the ground and bury the seeds inside.

This farming method was neither efficient nor able to guarantee germination rate, so the per-acre yield in these areas was very low at the time, with only 70 to 80 kilograms per acre.

In comparison, the people of Middle-earth attach great importance to agricultural techniques such as deep plowing, intercropping, fertilization, and breeding, which have enabled the yield per unit area of ​​Middle-earth land to reach two to three hundred kilograms, a difference of nearly four times.

Therefore, although there is not much land suitable for farming in Middle-earth, it has always fed the largest population in the world.

Xiang Nan also hopes to popularize this agricultural knowledge, thereby greatly increasing the yield per unit area of ​​land and thus feeding more people.

After all, in ancient times, when medical technology was limited, it was easy for people to die early. The child mortality rate was even over 50%, and the average life expectancy was less than 35 years.

In such a situation, we should have more children to fight against natural disasters, plagues, wars, etc. Otherwise, a plague could reduce the population by half.

The promotion of papermaking and printing technology is also to better spread knowledge.

Although papyrus had already existed in ancient Egypt, and parchment had also existed in ancient Rome and ancient Greece, the cost of both types of paper was extremely high and was simply not affordable for ordinary people.

In ancient Egypt, only priests and officials were qualified to use papyrus, and the same was true in ancient Rome and ancient Greece.

As for the clay tablets from the Mesopotamian region, they are only suitable for use in the dry and rainless Mesopotamian region. If they were placed in the rainy British Isles, the clay tablets would have been broken by moisture.

Therefore, none of these "text carriers" work. In comparison, the papermaking technology of Middle-earth is much more advanced. It is made of wood, dead grass, rotten cloth, broken fishing nets and other raw materials, and the main component is fiber.

Not only are the raw materials abundant and cheap, making the price of the finished product not very high, but it is also easy to write and store.

As the saying goes, “Paper lasts a thousand years, silk lasts eight hundred years.” Good paper can last for a thousand years. But for humans, who only live for a few decades, a thousand years is like eternity.

Printing technology can bring the role of paper to its fullest potential.

Before the invention of printing, people made books by hand copying, which inevitably led to copying errors.

Moreover, hand copying takes a lot of time and energy, so at that time there were even special copyists who were responsible for copying books for others.

Therefore, at that time, only a very small number of rich and powerful people could own books. Many books were even only available in one copy in the world, and it was difficult for ordinary people to read them, thus hindering the spread of knowledge.

But things became different after the popularization of printing technology. Once the book plate was made, it could be printed repeatedly.

A book can be easily printed in thousands or tens of thousands of copies, which greatly improves efficiency and reduces costs, and is more conducive to popularizing knowledge and culture.

The compass and boat steering techniques can help people navigate better and see the world more clearly.

Egypt now occupies many areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. It is no longer an agricultural country with agriculture as the main industry, but has become a major country where agriculture, animal husbandry and maritime trade are developing in parallel.

Therefore, it is necessary not only to develop agriculture but also to develop maritime trade, which can not only accelerate the flow of people and cultural dissemination, but also create more jobs and material circulation.