From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, this was an important period in the evolution from the first industrial revolution to the second industrial revolution. During this period, various new technologies flourished like mushrooms after a rain, which was the great revolution of science and technology. It was the explosion that opened a new chapter for Era Vehicles.
A layman just watches the fun, but the expert is a gatekeeper. The technological explosion, a rare glory in human history, does not fall out of thin air. The seeds must have been planted decades ago, and then they will take root and sprout by chance. , thrived.
Gladstone could not understand history, but Xiao Letian could. He knew very well that in the next few decades, during the First World War, Britain would no longer be able to maintain its position as the world's number one scientific and technological power.
This trend continued until after World War II, and after World War II, the United States established its absolute dominance as the global technology center.
Although Britain still maintained its title as the world's most powerful country during World War I and World War II, they had already begun to rest on their laurels. The most productive countries were not them, but Germany and the United States.
The United States has its unique advantages in becoming a technological power. Because of its geographical advantages, the United States can implement a long-term isolation policy. Its long-term peace and vast territory give them the time and space to practice internal skills.
Countless talents who immigrated to the United States due to war and poverty, coupled with the gradual spread of compulsory education in the country, allowed the United States to begin to reserve a large number of scientific researchers, which allowed them to stand at the forefront of the second industrial revolution.
But at that time, the United States was still far behind Germany. The world's first practical generator was invented by the German Siemens. The world's first four-stroke internal combustion engine was also invented by the German Otto. The second time The representative technologies of the Industrial Revolution, electricity and the internal combustion engine, were all invented by the Germans.
Not to mention that Germany also has very powerful transcendence capabilities. Many technologies pioneered by other countries can be updated and become more practical in their hands.
It can be said that during the second industrial revolution, Germany and the United States were the two locomotives that kept pace, while the United Kingdom had fallen to the third or fourth position and lost its glory.
This was only before and after the First World War. If you take into account the various black technologies developed by Germany before and after the Second World War, it further proves the technological level of the German nation at that time.
Rocket technology, nuclear research, jet engines...even flying saucers are said to be researched. God knows if someone is hacking the Germans.
The rise of Germany's science and technology definitely did not happen by chance. The origin of all credit goes to the religious leader Martin Luther. It was he who proposed the concept of compulsory education. What he considered at that time was that he hoped that the entire European people would be able to read the Bible on their own. , returning the pope’s sole right of interpretation to the people.
In fact, the most terrifying thing about the darkness of the Middle Ages was the darkness in the people's hearts. At that time, the Holy See was completely dominated by the Catholic Church, and the Holy See required that the Bible should be written in beautiful Latin.
However, Latin is a very ancient writing system that can only be mastered by a small number of scholars and professional monks within the Pope in Europe.
This actually deprives the people of their right to read the Bible. The people must go through the monks to hear the voice of God, which also strengthens the Holy See's control over the people's hearts.
The Lutheran Church founded by Martin Luther broke this unspoken rule. He proposed to write the Bible in a language that everyone can understand. It can be written in German, French, English, Russian, and Chinese. write.
Not only that, he also advocated vigorously promoting mechanical printing and compulsory education for all, improving the literacy rate of the people, so that every common person could afford a Bible and read the Bible at home.
It can be seen that from the day of its birth, Protestantism has had irreconcilable conflicts with the Pope. It can even be said that the Renaissance and the beginning of the Age of Reason were the first candle lit by Protestantism.
With the advocacy of Martin Luther, successive German kings attached great importance to the education of the people. In 1619, the Duchy of Weimar in Germany issued the world's earliest compulsory education decree. Although the promotion was not very thorough, it also led the times. before.
Compulsory education developed until the beginning of the 19th century. Prussia took the lead in completing compulsory education for all in the true sense. Children aged 6-12 must receive compulsory education.
At the time, it seemed that this policy was indeed a waste of people and money. At that time, Prussia was not a rich country in Europe. On the contrary, they were still very poor.
But William I once said that compared with the long-term benefits of compulsory education to the nation, the current hard life is nothing at all.
Decades or even hundreds of years of compulsory education finally allowed the German nation, which lagged behind the rest of the world, to successfully lead the second industrial revolution.
Although Germany did not occupy the position of the world's most powerful country due to the two military interventions of the United States, at least they successfully brought down the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets, which is no small miracle.
Of course, Xiao Letian would not talk to Gladstone in such detail. Those memories brought about by previous lives cannot be shown to others casually. Xiao Letian just picked some points that could be brought to the table to show to the other party.
But just these isolated points of analysis moved Gladstone.
Xiao Letian said earnestly, "Actually, I am not completely opposed to Benjamin's colonial policy. For the empire on which the sun never sets, colonies are indeed an indispensable and important part of the entire empire's economic circle!"
"But you should understand that we must look at the problem from a development perspective. Different historical periods must have different policies to balance..."
"When British technology is several generations ahead of other countries, when domestic internal affairs are very stable and there are countless opportunities for colonial expansion overseas, then colonial expansion should be carried out decisively..."
"Having developed your internal strength to become invincible in the world, you must switch to domineering techniques to seize rich colonies. There is nothing wrong with this strategy! There is nothing wrong at all..."
"But! When the technological gap between Britain and other nations is no longer very obvious, there are already many conflicts in domestic people's livelihood, and the colonies around the world have been almost divided..."
"At this time, if your country stubbornly adheres to the outdated policy of colonial expansion, is it still correct?"
Seeing Gladstone's eyes getting brighter and brighter, Xiao Letian understood that he had hit the point and struck while the iron was hot. "Please wake up and don't let Benjamin harm the national destiny of the British Empire like this again!"
"Do you still want to engage in colonial expansion in this era? Calculate the cost-input-output ratio!"
