After the fleet from Beihai Town left Le Havre, they did not go to Britain at the invitation of the British Ambassador to France and the Governor of Madras. Instead, they went all the way south to French West Africa.
Without him, time is too late. Especially Deng Fei, who had to rush back to Beihai Town to attend the meeting before the end of the year. In addition, he had to go to Bacheng to bring Wang Yuanfang and his wife with him.
Zhao Xin kept his promise to Mbate. After completing supplies in Port Saint-Louis, Senegal, the fleet took two days to dock in the northern Gulf of Guinea and sent ships to take the black people ashore. Everyone.
However, when the people were counted before disembarking, the black child named "Lamin Labake" was nowhere to be found. The crew of the Thor took Mbate and several other black people to search up and down, but they couldn't find it.
After a period of treatment and recuperation, little Lamin fully recovered and returned to a lively state. Although this boy is dark, he has good features and good looks. He also learned a few Chinese words from the doctor. The sailors on the ship liked him very much. As long as you don't go to those important facilities, basically no one will care.
The problem was that Zhao Xin and the others could not stay too long in the Gulf of Guinea just for a child. Mbate and others had to give up after searching for most of the day. However, before leaving, he told Deng Fei that maybe all this was God's will. The hometown of "Lamin Labake" was not in the Oyo Kingdom. None of them knew the specific location. Even if they wanted to send him back, they would not possible.
Unexpectedly, the day after the Thor set sail again, a special operations battalion soldier who was responsible for delivering meals to Louis Charles and the others accidentally discovered the "Lamin labake" hidden in the closet while delivering lunch. Damn this kid has been hiding in Louis Charles' room!
The question is how did the two little guys get together? No one on the crew could tell.
After Zhao Xin sent Louis Charles and the three of them to the Thor, they placed them in the suite cabin where he lived. He also told Mrs. Elizabeth that three meals in the morning, lunch and evening would be delivered by someone, and they must not go on the deck to avoid being caught. Spotted by nearby passing ships.
Maybe Louis couldn't stay in the room, so he met her in the poop and started playing together? You must know that Louis Charles is actually quite lonely. Since the death of his brother Joseph, he has only one sister. When he was imprisoned in the Temple Tower, because he lived downstairs with Louis XVI, he didn't spend much time with Teresa every day.
Zhao Xin and Deng Fei couldn't laugh or cry when they learned about it. However, this matter cannot be made public, because the four "Ras" and Condorcet live in the cabin upstairs. Let’s wait until we get back to Beihai Town!
Deng Fei asked the doctor on board the ship to check the bodies of Louis Charles and his brother, and found that both children had mild symptoms of tuberculosis. It is said that before streptomycin was discovered and applied clinically, tuberculosis was an incurable disease. Rich people find an environment with beautiful air, plus nutritious food and exercise to recuperate; while poor people can only wait for death after seeking various home remedies.
Louis Charles's brother Joseph died of tuberculosis three years ago. In another history of time and space, Louis Charles himself also died of tuberculosis. Considering the environment in which they lived since childhood, Zhao Xin judged that it was likely that a certain noble lady contracted the disease when she was in Versailles and Tuileries Palace, and then passed it on to her children.
After many explanations with Mrs. Elizabeth, the other party reluctantly agreed to use Beihai Town's medicine for treatment. So in the next two weeks, the little prince had to get an injection in his butt every day, which caused him to have a psychological shadow, and he felt very scared when he saw a man in a white coat.
On the way back, Zhao Xin focused mainly on the meeting held at the end of the year, or on thinking about the future political system.
The name "Republican China" was meant to fool the French. Naturally, it was impossible for Beihai Town to launch a full-scale republican system from the very beginning, otherwise it would easily lead to chaos from top to bottom.
In another time and space, the republican ideas of the Qing Dynasty only began after the Opium War. As the Qing Dynasty was forced to open its borders, the situation of "cutting off the buttocks to fatten the brains and eating one's own flesh" to the outside world gradually intensified, and the self-proclaimed gentry class finally opened their eyes to the world. The above situation is completely different from today's late Qianlong period. In other words, Beihai Town's attempt to engage in parliamentary politics is pure nonsense.
The struggle between Beihai Town and the Qing Dynasty was, to put it bluntly, a struggle for the world. Its nature was "meat rotten in the pot". For the scholar-official class, it was not a great shame or great humiliation.
In his view, whatever political system is adopted requires people who are consistent with its basic principles. For example, the family world needs to enfeoff a bunch of princes and nobles, the feudal politics of constitutional monarchy needs a group of nobles and capitalists, and the oligarchy needs to be admired and pursued. They are exploiters of money, while democratically centralized republican politics requires people with the same goals and the pursuit of equality and freedom.
We must know that the basis of modern state theory is not a natural state in which "the emperor is ordered by heaven, princes are ordered by the emperor, sons are ordered by father, ministers are ordered by kings, and wives are ordered by husbands", but an "artificial state" based on human will. . Its essence is to replace imperial power with human rights, and replace the Huayi debate with a multi-ethnic state.
In other words, the reason for the change of dynasties in feudal countries was not only the gradual decay of the rule and the deterioration of the economy, but also the most important phenomenon was that "everyone is for himself, and the emperor is for everyone." Therefore, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, even if the country's finances were in dire straits, the scholar-bureaucrats with huge wealth would not contribute money to help; but when the Manchu Qing Dynasty wanted to take action on traditional culture, the scholar-officials inspired by nationalism stood up and abandoned their families. Industry investment in the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty.
After the foreign emperors or this group were integrated into the traditional culture, and even became the spokesperson of "unity of governance" and monopolized the right to speak through the literary inquisition, the scholar-bureaucrat class returned to its previous state.
If we want to establish a republic in China in the eighteenth century, the first thing we must face is the issue of "the people." So the "people" in the political system will be the same as the people in the political system, and the "people" will be the people in the political system?
The answer is obviously different.
Different from the people-oriented thinking in traditional Chinese culture, if Beihai Town wants to establish a republic, it needs to do more than just "making property for the people, asking for orders for the people, being parents to the people, and making decisions for the people" in the feudal era, but also through education , the "people" needed to enlighten, improve and shape themselves.
We must know that once people realize freedom through education, they will look for freedom and equality and internalize it into a universal personality. Only when the people are not shy or afraid of offending imperial power or cultural authority can a republic be realized.
Zhao Xin can imagine that the New Confucians in Beihai Town, led by Wang Zhong, will definitely look for the basis for political system reform from Chinese tradition, that is, "reform based on ancient times." This was already evident from his previous chat with Jiao Xun.
No matter how it changes, their requirements for the system are nothing more than sixteen words: "People leave no talent, the land leaves no profit, the monarch and the people are not separated, and the name and reality must be fulfilled." And the so-called people and the people naturally have the right to speak. scholar.
The problem is that the purpose of "no separation between the king and the people" is only to connect the upper and lower levels and alleviate the conflicts among various internal strata. Civil rights are the key. If this barrier is not broken, the Republic of China under the rule of Beihai Town will be a freak. It will either fall apart or go back to the old ways of the world.
From this, Zhao Xin thought that the "transition period" mentioned by Yu Deli before actually had a profound meaning. It seemed that the other party considered the issue of political system far more than he did.
"This old fox! He always leaves half of what he says and insists on making me guess."
During the twenty days on the way back, Zhao Xin also had a long conversation with several French people and asked them for their views on the political system and the constitution. The result of this move was that he was taught a lesson. After that, he went to that person for advice almost every day, which made his beautiful 28-year-old wife very unhappy.
This man is Marquis de Condorcet.
To be honest, rescuing Lavoisier was purely out of Fang Hua's admiration for his idol, and Zhao Xin felt that this man's death was too unfair. The other three "Ra Gods" were too famous in later generations. Beihai Town wanted to establish its own academy. With their presence in charge, it would be able to live up to its name.
As far as Condorcet is concerned, compared to his achievements in calculus and game theory, his greatest contribution in history was to write the "Outline of the History of the Progress of the Human Spirit", and it was written in the last nine years of his life. Completed during Yue's escape.
What is the significance of this book? That is, until then no one in Europe would have thought that humans could fully understand the natural world. In other words, human beings are born with the ability to perceive and apply all kinds of knowledge, and in the process they will master the regularity of knowledge and even understand the world. Until then, only God could do this.
In addition, historically he also served as the overall drafter of the first draft of the French Republic's constitution in 1792, which shows that his ability is absolutely extraordinary - extraordinary.
However, due to the emergence of Beihai Town in this time and space, Condorcet resigned from the drafting committee; because Robespierre openly proposed after the "Temple Tower Incident" that the country can be governed by a constitution only after the arrival of peace. A government in a state of war can only be a dictatorship.
During the conversation between the two, Condorcet briefly told Zhao Xin his many views on history, philosophy, constitution and education, which made Zhao Xin feel that he had benefited a lot. Although the other party summarizes the history of human spiritual progress through the development of Western culture, and the theory cannot escape the implications of Christian theology, Zhao Xin feels that for someone who has never understood Chinese culture and has never been to China, Already remarkable, it is no wonder that this man became a representative figure of the Enlightenment.
In fact, another important reason why Condorcet came to the East is that after he and Jiao Xun exchanged views on Eastern and Western history, he expressed his views on the use of morality to judge right and wrong, the use of human beings as the driving force of history, and the importance of harmony in Chinese history. Historiography is of great interest in serving this function for living people.
All Chinese history books tell people what they should do. By systematically summarizing experience and lessons, coupled with moral preaching, we can tell future generations what they should do this or that, that is, seek good fortune and avoid misfortune.
You must know that this is not the view of Western historiography. Westerners study successful allusions in history not to imitate them, but to learn how to overcome themselves and achieve inner success; the purpose of studying tragic allusions is not to avoid history from repeating itself, but to gain success when fate brings tragedy. Courage enough to bear it.
Zhao Xin has not studied historical philosophy, but he thinks the collision of these two ideas is really interesting. Perhaps after Condorcet saw Beihai Town and gained a deeper understanding of Confucian culture, he would write a different "Outline of the History of Human Spiritual Progress"!
During the conversation, Condorcet expressed great interest in Beihai Town's efforts to encourage women to go out of the house and join the workforce. This man had published a pamphlet entitled "On the Granting of Citizenship Rights to Women" two years ago.
"Mr. Zhao, in my opinion, either no member of the human race has any real rights, or they all have the same rights; anyone who opposes the rights of others, regardless of his religion, color, or gender, automatically loses his own s right."
If the above discussions are still metaphysical issues, after Condorcet told his famous voting paradox in later generations, Zhao Xin's heart pounded, as if he had discovered some kind of "secret weapon."
We must know that democracy and efficiency are destined to be irreconcilable contradictions. Unless specific restrictions are imposed on democratic methods and procedures, when there are more than two options, the rule of "minority obeys the majority" may lead to inconsistent voting results. Stable and not unique.
That is to say, assuming that Zhao Xin is the agenda controller of the meeting, in order to get the person he wants to be elected or the plan passed, he can completely set the agenda and make all other candidates or plans fail. Reach your goals.
Shh~~I can’t say any more...
On December 19, 1792, Beihai Town’s fleet crossed the Sunda Strait and finally returned to Bacheng. Wang Yuanfang brought his wife and members of the Bacheng City Government, including Jiang Asheng, to the port to greet him.
This was Zhao Xin's first visit to Bacheng. Although he had heard from the telegrams that Bacheng had undergone many changes and had seen the video information brought back by Deng Fei, his feelings after seeing it with his own eyes were still very different.
Now two large forts have been built on the east and west sides of Bacheng Port, equipped with two D30122 howitzers and ten 75mm coastal defense guns. In addition to a marine company transferred from Beihai Town, the current garrison also has three battalions recruited from Hoi An and locally, with a total strength of 1,800 people.
Seeing the legendary "King Zhao" for the first time, Jiang Asheng and others, who had already served as city government officials, were all trembling with fear. Although Zhao Xin spoke very kindly and had no airs, some people still couldn't help but kneel down and kowtow.
Among the people welcoming him at the port, Zhao Xin also saw He Xiwen. He had already learned through the telegram sent by Wang Yuanfang that He Xiwen had successfully obtained the two pieces of land with the help of Gu Lihuan. So when Zhao Xin walked up to He Xiwen, he patted him on the shoulder and said many words of approval, which made He Xiwen's bones brittle with excitement.
After the four "Ras" and Condorcet disembarked with their families and servants, Lady Elizabeth, who had been hiding in the cabin, appeared on the deck of the Thor with her three children. Under escort, we headed to the old governor's palace in the city.
Deng Fei and Degene have already communicated with Lady Elizabeth. Before the fleet returns to Beihai Town, they must be careful and try not to attract attention. You must know that although Chinese are the mainstream here in Bacheng, there are also many European businessmen who come here to do business. The most important thing is to guard against British eyes and ears.
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