Most people who have studied history for many years have heard the saying “geography and history are inseparable”.
Nothing in the world exists in isolation. If you expand on anything, you can always find clues that connect it. Interconnected, influencing each other, cause and effect cycle.
Based on this concept. If you lay out the map of the Rigal continent on a long table and carefully look for the bottom of the branch on the right side of this slingshot-shaped continent, and carefully check the terrain, the rise of the Lamani civilization seems to have been destined from early times. of.
Although the Padrosi always claim to be of the great Lamanite heritage, they are indeed closer to the original territory than the ethnic group that migrated westward. But the origin of the Gulamani civilization, the original "Lamani mother city", actually exists in the small divided countries in the south today.
The climate along the Mobigas Inland Sea is always mild, especially in the south. The islands that existed near the area where the Southern City-State Alliance is now are still the retreats of many philosophers and thinkers.
The resources are just right and the climate is not too harsh. The gentle and vibrant shallow sea and the fertile soil along the coast provide enough food sources. Even without farming, a small number of people can survive by fishing and picking wild fruits and shell crabs on the tidal flats.
This innate condition naturally attracted people to settle here, and the convenient waterways in the lowlands became a barrier before they had ships. To some extent, it also created a relatively isolated environment for the people who settled locally.
It is not a unified large tribe, but divided into several small settlements. After they developed and expanded, local resources began to be stretched thin, and various conflicts naturally intensified due to this situation.
Just as the White Church hates heretics within its own religion more than pagans, the early Lamani civilization, which had something in common but was life-and-death apart on some opinions, fell into eternal turmoil almost as soon as it developed to a certain scale. In the endless mutual war.
People with different Taoist views do not seek to conspire against each other. Few people will conflict or even argue with those who can be identified at a glance as having completely different values. But if the other person is 90% similar to you and only 10% is different, then most people will try to make the other person even the last 10% the same as themselves.
Therefore, people often quarrel most with people around them who speak the same language, rather than foreigners who don't even understand the language.
The strong desire for self-proof made polemics take root crazily in the early years that contemporary historians call the pre-Ramanian era, and satirical literature and various philosophies became popular. Everyone is trying to prove that they are the most superior in this similar cultural family, in order to make others fully accept their own values and way of living.
And when the quarrel does not get the desired result, people will eventually take up swords and resort to force.
In the plains, this situation will eventually evolve into a dominant culture conquering other surrounding cultures and forming a great national unity in a certain area.
But this is also the uniqueness of Lamanite civilization - due to the many waterways and islands in the south, it is extremely convenient to escape and hide. Therefore, the national unification that was a matter of course in the plains is always in a state of entanglement here.
Powerful tribes tried to conquer other tribes, but even if they captured other people's city-states, it would be difficult for them to truly eradicate them due to the numerous islands where they could hide and the extremely developed waterways.
Therefore, the foundation of the rulers of the pre-Lamanite era was always unstable. The longest monarch was overthrown after only being in power for less than 9 years.
Just having the same strength as the rulers of the plains is not enough here.
To unify such a complex and diverse region, a unique culture must evolve. This kind of culture must be extremely contagious and tolerant, able to absorb the culture of the conquered and integrate it into itself, while always maintaining a desirable superiority.
Yes.
Culture is like poison.
But culture alone is not enough.
It also needs a helmsman, a strong person with strong personal charm and ambition, and a skill that matches his own strength.
A tyrant.
————
The end of June and the beginning of July are always relatively easy days for the Lamanite people in the south.
The two busy farming seasons of sowing in early to mid-April and transplanting in May have passed. What is needed next is to take careful care and wait until the end of July and early August for harvesting. In the south, where water supply and sunlight are abundant, early rice only takes a hundred days to mature. In June, the densely packed rice fields beside the rivers and lakes, and in early August, the harvest process of farmers has become a daily sight in this area.
The Lamani farmers in the south also like the fashions of the Padrosi Empire and Suomir, but even wool cropped trousers with relatively good heat dissipation are still too stuffy here. Therefore, they often wear them as formal wear for gatherings with family and friends, and when working in the fields, they only wear loose linen underpants - which are usually matched with linen shirts, used as pajamas and as the base of an outfit.
Most farmers with limited financial resources rolled up their trouser legs to work, while a few of the wealthier ones hung the ends of their trouser legs vertically on their belts using a small belt with a delicate brass belt buckle.
Belts and leather bags are usually the only things that farmers wear that can be related to decoration. In the southern region where Laman originated, leather products are as famous as the rice here.
Rye is grown in large quantities on the cold land belonging to the empire on the Parosian Plateau to the east of the Padrosi Empire. These grains can not only be used as cheap bread ingredients, but the large leaves are also an excellent resource for harvesting as pasture.
Relying on Parnila's strong water transportation capabilities, various resources from the north can continuously reach the south. Cheap grass, furs and hides have made the local leather industry further flourish, and farmers who live near water can also buy leather products at lower prices. But like anything else, this convenience in economic exchanges brings more than just benefits.
"Eight loaves of rye bread cost one Ella coin?" Unbelievable words came out of the mouth of the young man in front of him. The man was obviously excited, but the owner of the bakery just basked in the sun listlessly and said feebly: "Yeah" - because he has become accustomed to this kind of situation these days.
The city-state called Gradala where the shop is located is one of the emerging cities in the south. It is located close to the birthplace of Gulaman and was established more than two hundred years ago. Because it is young, it is more focused on industry and commerce than the cultural ancient city. develop.
Gradara is said to be built on the remnants of the Morbigas civilization. In the past, there was a land route that led directly to Katigali in the distance. The ancient road could directly enter the Padrosi Empire from the southern countries. .
However, with the chaos and division of the southern region, the road had to pass through several different countries. These kingdoms set up border checkpoints and imposed heavy taxes for their own interests. Over time, no merchants were willing to leave, and it naturally became desolate and ruined.
Nowadays, with the development of water transportation, fewer and fewer people use land routes. As an industrial and commercial city with the focus of leather making and rice planting, Gradara has naturally become one of the important towns for commercial exchanges with the empire.
——This leads to the scene we are seeing now.
Outside the city are densely packed rice, which the people of the Rice Empire near Gradara call "fragrant rice", a unique rice with a nutty aroma. Locals are more commonly known as
Long-grain rice - true to its name, this kind of rice is about twice as long as ordinary rice, and will increase in length after being cooked. At first glance, it looks like noodles.
This kind of fragrant rice is less sticky than other regions, so it is very suitable for making fried rice. Southerners love to add various local spices to it and cook it in a casserole. In the memory of the older generation, in the past, when the early rice was harvested in late July and early August, it was common for every household to smell the aroma of rice grains. scene.
But most of the fragrant rice harvested today, together with local spices, is basically transported to the imperial people for enjoyment. The farmers who work hard to grow this rice end up eating bread made from rye thousands of miles away.
Because it's cheap.
One imperial liter unit, that is, 1.5 catties of rice costs about 7.5 small copper coins. In other words, 15 liters or about 10kg of long-grain rice costs about 112 small copper coins. Taking into account the local exchange rate, this amount can be roughly converted into one Ella silver coin.
Even if the cheap rye and barley raw materials are transported long distances from Padrosi, the final finished product price can be far lower than this level after accounting for shipping costs, packaging costs and various factors.
Most ordinary people in Gradara do not have ovens at home, so they either buy flour, knead it and ferment it themselves and then send it to bake, or they go directly to the bakery to buy it.
And although the older generation prefers to eat locally produced fragrant rice, rye bread has quickly become popular due to its low price - but this is already a thing of the past.
First, the price of fragrant rice increased to the point where the farmers who grew it could no longer afford it, and then rye bread became the replacement staple food. Eight years ago, one silver coin could buy 30 rice sticks, which could feed a family of four for at least five days. Then it became possible to buy only 28 rice sticks. Little by little, the price is now almost the same as fragrant rice before the price increase.
The farmer holding the money in his hand gnashed his teeth and heard the bakery owner's ears. However, he was still basking in the sun leisurely. After struggling for several minutes, the bakery owner finally let go of his pinched hands, which were all sweaty. of silver coins.
"...Give me 8 loaves." The back of the young farmer holding the bread and leaving looked melancholy and angry, but as a businessman, the boss had long lost his compassion.
Even if the price increases, these people still have to pay. Because they have no choice.
The lords and merchants of the South made a lot of money by selling spices, fragrant rice, and leather goods to the empire, but who would think it was too much money?
Large chambers of commerce colluded with nobles to issue purchase restrictions, and fragrant rice became a direct target of those who trafficked in state-owned assets. The only thing commoners could buy was rye. Although this was indeed unlimited, its pricing as an imported raw material was tightly controlled by nobles and large merchants.
The price of rye exported by the empire has not changed, only the local selling price has changed.
The original selling price of 30 silver coins has now more than tripled. People in related industries are making a lot of money. Although farmers and citizens are dissatisfied, one silver coin can still feed the family, so it is The patience passed.
Basking in the sun, even if you don't show any good looks to customers, the bread displayed every day can still be sold out.
In the mind of Gradara, a leisurely bakery owner, such a peaceful and happy daily life will probably last forever.
But where there is pressure, there will be resistance, and where there are price restrictions, there will be smuggling.
Maritime transportation was firmly controlled by the great nobles and large trading houses, but land transportation was no longer guarded due to the pass of the road that had been abandoned for many years. The cheap grains smuggled through land transport include not only rye and barley, but also wheat and even rice that the Imperial people like to make into noodles, and the prices are very reasonable.
The small businessmen who had been suppressed and had nowhere to make a living formed a gang and began to smuggle food. After half a month when the price of rye bread increased to the point where one Ella silver coin could only buy eight loaves, more and more people joined.
Suddenly, business owners and bakery owners who were raising prices and stockpiling rye raw materials and rye bread in large quantities found that even when they raised prices in the past, the other parties had to bite the bullet and buy them.
Nothing remains.
Things cannot be sold, so they can only be sold at low prices. However, few farmers who had other ways to obtain food bought it. Large batches of moldy rye bread could only be used to feed livestock. The dissatisfaction of the businessmen and nobles whose interests had been hit eventually turned into high-speed action. At the end of August, only He hired mercenaries to guard the pass and crack down on the small smuggling merchant groups.
Hundreds of people were put on the gallows and beheading block, or simply beheaded on the spot.
The big nobles and businessmen used their usual violent methods to defend their interests, and wiped out all the small business groups who dared to touch their cakes. It seems that life is about to return to its original state, and they can live a leisurely life in which they can bask in the sun and raise prices without fear of not being able to sell their goods.
But no one expected that things would be revealed like this.
The heirs left behind by the executed merchants somehow managed to obtain the customs account books and disclosed the import prices in the square in the center of Gradara. Incited by the dissatisfied people, they picked up pitchforks and hoes and rushed directly to the customs. City Lord's Palace and Chamber of Commerce Headquarters.
The peasants' struggle against the big capitalists, known as the "Gradara Square Uprising" or the "Rye Bread Uprising" in history, thus began, and soon swept through all the surrounding merchants who had maritime commerce with the Padrosi Empire. Lamanite small country.
Chaos washed over all the countries in the southern Lamanite cultural circle, and even the southern city-state alliance was unable to survive alone.
The workers and farmers at the bottom raised their weapons and shouted loudly for more rights. In order to protect their own interests, the large chambers of commerce and the nobles hired a large number of mercenaries to carry out bloody suppression, further intensifying the contradictions.
During the harvest season that was supposed to come in August, the golden fragrant rice in the fields remained unharvested because no one was taking care of it.
Blood soaked the rice fields, and wild dogs gnawed at the corpses lying on the roadside. Many of the mercenary groups who were recruited saw the scale of the mob group and rebelled, killing their employers and seizing family property, and became a dominant bandit group. .
In just over half a month, the situation developed into an unimaginably bad situation.
It was also at this time that the Padrosi Empire and the White Church headquarters in the far north were carrying a large amount of supplies and armed personnel.
In the name of "humanitarian relief", a black naval flag marked with lilies of the valley and daisies was raised.
Came to the south in a mighty way.
On October 1, 1531 of the Lamanite New Calendar, in just one and a half months, this army, which was called the "New Imperial Army" by later generations, all wearing black armor, wiped out all the local rebel mercenaries. By the way, the intricate local nobles were wiped out in one fell swoop.
The local forces in the southern Lamanite countries suddenly ushered in a great purge, and many famous local families with hundreds of years of inheritance disappeared overnight.
But the people are not disgusted with these people.
Troubadours sang:
[The knights in black armor and the priests in white clothes punish the corrupt nobles and businessmen with the holy hammer of iron and blood, while giving the poor and hungry people as gentle and gentle treatment as nectar]
[They are the divine army of God, saving us from the fire and water]
[The Holy Army of the Empire comes to cleanse the evil, noble and gentle. 】
The Lamanite people in the south burst into tears of gratitude. When Saint Lamania, the homeland of Laman, finally raised the flag of the Padrosi Empire, the rulers in the far west knew it.
The once arrogant Laman Empire is back.
The Latin American cultural circles on the east coast have been almost unified under the banner of Lily of the Valley and Daisy, and all Latin American countries as far away as the Thoratin Highlands on the west coast have also responded to the call of the church and publicly formed a national alliance.
This is a scene that some people had expected to happen.
The "Holy White Alliance", with the emerging hawks from the Padrosi Empire and the Church as its core, merged from the east and west, putting pressure on the Southern City-State Alliance located on the southern coast of the Mobigas Inland Sea, as well as the dwarves in the mountains.
"Surrender, or perish."
The change ends here, and no one can escape.
