The revival of Shu Han

Chapter 395 Confluence of Civilizations ([-])
"Your Majesty, Augustus, the virtuous men of all men. My name is Matthews of the Library of Alexandria, Egypt, the Roman Empire. Today, entrusted by Guan Augustus, I will give you a brief introduction to Rome. The history of this country. After I met diplomat Li Mi in Byzantium, I worked hard to learn the language of your country. But the time is too short, so when necessary, I still need the help of a translator."

In the era of the Three Kingdoms at the end of Han Dynasty, due to the limitation of transportation means.Communication between people and countries is very difficult.It is precisely because of this that once there is an opportunity to communicate, both parties and even multiple parties involved in the exchange will burst out with great enthusiasm.Therefore, after the Great Court Meeting on the 21th, on the [-]st, in the lecture hall of Longshouyuan College, scholars of the Three Kingdoms began to lecture on the history of their countries.

On this day, the auditorium originally designed to accommodate a thousand people was overcrowded like never before.In the Jihan Dynasty Hall, all the clans, senior officials who can spare time to come, the professors, scholars and all students of Longshouyuan and Wuzhangyuan Colleges, plus some representatives of aristocratic families in or near Chang'an City.The entire lecture hall was filled with water.

"...The above is the era of my Roman king. After that, we Romans no longer need the rule of the king, and the consuls are elected by the citizens' assembly to govern. From this, we Rome has entered the era of the republic."

When Eastern and Western civilizations talk about their origins, they often have a bit of myths and legends.So, when Matthews talks about the origins of Rome, the mother of Romulus and Remus got impregnated by the God of War, was raised by a she-wolf after being discarded by their uncle or something.The Han people in the hall didn't think there was anything absurd: Looking at the historical records, the ancestors of China ate bird eggs and became pregnant, and those who stepped on the footprints of giants were not uncommon.Needless to say, it’s so far away, let’s just talk about Emperor Gao, the great ancestor of our great Han Dynasty. Didn’t he also claim that his old lady was conceived by a dragon?
But what happened next divided the audience below.

Aristocratic family: Oh, yes, if the king is too disrespectful, everyone can indeed swarm him and drive him away. Let us elect an agent to govern the country.And the Citizens' Assembly and the Senate are very interesting.How about we do one in the future?
Emperor: Absurd!The monarch is shameless, although you drive him away, it is a big treason.But it's not like I don't have such things in Huaxia.This is still tolerable.But if you drive away an outrageous person, someone else should be the king.How can you completely abandon the king and set up a consul or something?
"...As I said just now, with the continuous expansion of our Roman territory, the previous consul system is becoming less and less suitable for the current situation of this country. The centrifugal tendency in various places is getting bigger and bigger, and the country has fallen into civil strife many times. At this time , you need a strong figure to rule the country for a long time. So, the empire came into being."

Just when the aristocratic family and the emperor had their own thoughts because of the history of the Republic.Matthews spoke of the crisis of the late republic, and of Rome's reluctance to turn again to the imperial system.And openly demonstrated the benefits of long-term dictatorship by political strongmen.All of a sudden, the mood of the family and the emperor had a complete reversal.

But the emperor's mood was not much better.Because, the throne of the Roman Empire is not entirely inherited from the father.More often, it is the emperor who deliberately cultivates powerful officials and lets them take over his throne.Moreover, there is almost no blood relationship between the two.

Doesn't this make it clear that Guan Zifeng can take over as the emperor?Sure enough, this Guan Zifeng really harbored evil intentions!
"...Because our emperor, His Majesty Valerian, was defeated and captured in the Battle of Edessa, the succession of the throne was out of order. Therefore, for a whole ten years, the empire fell into division and civil war. Until His Majesty Aurelian turned out to be born Only then did the country's internal strife be gradually quelled, and the divided country returned to unity. That is, when His Majesty Aurelian was about to ascend the throne of the empire, the envoys of the Han came to our Byzantium in Rome. I saw that it was still an empire at that time Your Majesty Aurelian, Commander-in-Chief of the Cavalry. So, this is really a wonderful journey, a wonderful fate... Ladies and gentlemen, I have just introduced the history of our country to you as concisely as possible. Due to time constraints, it is very general This time, our mission has brought you five sets of Chinese history books, which are currently being translated and written by scholars from your country. If you are interested in the future, you can conduct in-depth discussions with us..."

If the history of Rome is counted from when Romulus became king, it would be equivalent to the early years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in China.Thousands of years of history, no matter how concise it is, will take a lot of time.So, wait until Matthews roughly finished Roman history.The sky had turned dark, and Ma Guo had ordered the college's logistics staff to light countless candles in the auditorium.

Although the night was getting darker, it was the first time that he came into contact with a high-level civilization that was no less than that of the big man himself.The enthusiasm of the audience present has not diminished at all.After the host Guan Yi said that everyone can ask questions to the speaker, countless arms suddenly stood up.

"Hehe, Your Majesty has also raised his hand. Please ask your Majesty first."

"Well, Mr. Ma, I have a question. In the late stage of the so-called Republic of your country, because the central government was weak, the various regions were separated. As a result, you had to take the initiative to choose the emperor. But after I heard it, you chose the emperor. , but the emperor of your country doesn't seem to be very happy. The senate or something is really a big constraint on the emperor. Many times, the emperor's decision is obviously correct, but many opportunities slip away because of the senate .Well, haven't you thought about abolishing the Senate?"

"Your Majesty, some people in Rome have raised this question of yours. Scholars in our country have also argued about it, but in the end the mainstream opinion still believes that the Senate needs to be retained. It is a check and balance on the king's power. Although In the face of a strong and excellent monarch, the Senate plays a very small role. But no matter what, the emperor cannot be allowed to have complete dictatorial power. Otherwise, this country will sooner or later fall into the absurdity and chaos of the royal era."

As soon as this passage came out, some booed and applauded.Of course, the applause lasted extremely short.

"Hehehe, next question. Um, general chariot?"

"Mr. Ma, the old man is a chariot general Zhang Yi. I just heard you talk about the Punic War. I have two questions. First, what is the evaluation of Hannibal in your country's history books? Second, the third Punic War Before, you put forward conditions that Carthage could not agree to at all. Is there any suspicion of deliberately forcing the other party to go to war?"

"Well, Hannibal is a great and miraculous commander in the history books of our country. His military status is no less than that of the great Alexander and Caesar. But he is also the most vicious and dangerous enemy of our Roman Republic during the Republic. But no matter how powerful Hannibal is, he is only the commander of a legion in Carthage, not the ruler of a country. This alone is doomed to his failure. It is precisely because of his lessons that our country’s strength After the soldiers take control of the army, they will inevitably have the corresponding political power. It can be said that Hannibal's failure, in a sense, promoted the birth of our country's imperial system.

As for the question you mentioned about forcing Carthage to go to war, General.Undoubtedly, a country with potential, close to our Rome.We certainly won't give him any chance to develop and grow.Be sure to put it to death and then hurry up! "

"...I see, this old man understands. Uh, Your Majesty, Da Sima, the military academy of our country should find someone to sort out the military thinking of Cao Mengde, Sima Zhongda, Zhang Junyi and others in the future. The art of command, as long as it is useful, You don’t have to look at people. After all, we can’t tolerate Jin and Wu being around me for a long time. All in all, the old man has benefited a lot today.”

"Hehehe, General Cheqi makes sense. Wuzhangyuan Academy has such an idea, so just go ahead and do it. Then, the next one, um, Uncle Bozhi?"

"Mr. Ma, I'm the Great Han Huwei General Zhao Tong. What I want to ask is that your country has a history of thousands of years and has changed many dynasties. Why has the name of the country not been changed? Not only that, the capital has not moved either?"

"Ah, General Zhao asked a good question. This is what I have been puzzled by after studying the history of your country. That's right, Rome has experienced the period of kingship, the period of republic, and now it is in the era of empire. But our country The name of the country is always called Rome, and the capital is always in the city of Rome. But I would like to ask you, why do you have to change the name of the country when you change a dynasty? Why does the new dynasty always destroy the glory left by the previous dynasty? ?My country has been founded for thousands of years, but the people are still mainly Romans and Latins, and the culture is still in the same line. So we think there is no need to change the country name and capital! But your country has a longer history than ours, and its culture is also in the same line. So I also don't understand, what's the point of changing the name of the country?"

(End of this chapter)