After all, Basil III was Guo Kang's grandfather.
Guo Kang's teacher said that in terms of battle results, he was the Khan with the most outstanding military exploits in the history of the Purple Horde. He spent most of his life fighting, covering half of the Mediterranean from Syria to Naples. However, his most successful action was the subsequent fatal blows to the Kingdom of Hungary.
In terms of the number of wars, he even surpassed the ancestor Boyan Timur. Maybe no one will be able to catch up for a long time to come. But unlike his predecessors, he was a reserved person, looking more like a scholar than a general.
When Guo Kang was a child, he only saw him a few times: Basil was busy working all day, and even if a few children were present, they would always start talking about Khanate affairs with their grandfathers and fathers after a few words.
Due to the limited contact, Basil's impression on him was also limited. What I remember most is those steady and profound eyes.
The most talked-about time was when he, Shi Ke, and Li Xuanying were taken by their respective fathers to visit this silent and serious old man during the New Year.
At that time, his brother Alexius came back from Vienna and brought some gifts to visit him. Perhaps because there were brothers who were good at adjusting the atmosphere, Basil III spoke more. Several princes then made noises and asked him to see what their children would be suitable for in the future.
Basil asked Shi Ke a few questions first, and Shi Ke answered him loudly and steadily. Basil smiled happily and told Shi Mingyuan that the child was very energetic and would be a good officer in the future;
He chatted with Li Xuanying for a few more words, and was amused by this overly lively child. He turned to Li Huawen and said, this kid will definitely be a cavalry commander in the future;
Finally, he asked Guo Kang a few more questions. Guo Kang was a little nervous and answered his questions seriously. Basil stared at him for a moment, frowned, and said to his foster father, this kid is interesting. Maybe he can solve the problems that the two of them can't solve in the future.
The adoptive father didn't ask in detail at the time, and he didn't want to understand the meaning of these words afterwards. However, he was also big-hearted. When the Khan said that his child was capable, he was just happy and did not ask further questions.
This was the most communication Guo Kang had with him.
However, my uncle and adoptive father talked a lot with Basil. Just before the rebellion, Basil also convened a meeting. Brothers Guo Shuai, Guo Di, and Mr. Huang Lao, who had just come here at that time, as the most educated senior officials in the Khan's court, all participated in that discussion. .
The adoptive father told Guo Kang that he was also a target of training for the new generation, and his father and third uncle took him to attend.
Basil told everyone that when he was a child, his father preferred to take his eldest brother and other noble children out to travel around; his mother indulged in social banquets and discussed various matters privately with different small groups of nobles and ladies all day long. Alexios was too young, having just been born.
So, for a long time, he had no other relatives around him. Apart from tutors, maids, and servants, only Mr. Guo Gai often came to see him and told him various stories about what he had seen from all over the mainland.
However, the only advantage is that he can browse the collection of books in Dadu City, the books his mother brought from his parents' home, and Mr. Guo's collection over the years. There are a large number of historical records and even documents about other surrounding countries. The amount is very large, and he can read it for a long time with peace of mind.
The adoptive father later told Guo Kang that the Great Khan took out a lot of books and showed them to everyone. My adoptive father has a pretty good memory, so he still has some impressions of the content.
Persia was the second civilization to explore the bureaucracy after Seris, which was also the object of study for the later Roman bureaucracy. And this system was born out of a crisis.
At that time, Sasanian Persia seemed to be very large and powerful, but the dynasty was faced with the situation of having no soldiers and money all year round. Because the nobles controlled taxation and the local army, on the one hand, the common people were severely oppressed and civil unrest continued; on the other hand, the royal family was unable to collect money at all. The combat effectiveness of the kingdom's army also suffered a serious decline, and it was beaten every day by both Rome and Central Asian nomads.
Zoroastrianism, the state religion, also declined seriously. Many people, both aristocrats and civilians, lost trust in their faith, and many people turned to accept the monotheistic religion passed down by the Romans. In this case, a priest named Mazdak stood up and called for reforms in Zoroastrianism and the entire Persian society. He moved around and began to promote his new teachings.
Mazdak believes that there are two poles of light and darkness in the world. Light has given the world resources that are theoretically enough for people to enjoy, but darkness has led to inequality and oppression among people, leading to the current hardships in the world.
Therefore, he advocated the realization of equality for all, allowed intermarriage between the noble and the lowly, called for the distribution of the property of the nobles to the common people, and the realization of public ownership of land and wealth. It also requires the upper class to control desires, promote monogamy and allow men and women to choose their spouses independently.
The adoptive father said that he was deeply impressed by the information, and Guo Kang was not surprised by this: although his personality was relatively...simple, his adoptive father had a very good memory. It is estimated that all the "educated people" traits passed down from his ancestors came to this place. In addition, this set of statements has actually appeared in many other civilizations and religions, so it is not surprising that it looks familiar.
Mazdak's activities were supported by King Kavad of Persia. Kavad hoped to use these civil forces to put pressure on the nobles and help him implement reforms. He also took advantage of the contradictions among the Persian priest class to win the support of the "Mubed" group of judicial priests.
However, these actions aroused strong dissatisfaction among the nobles. In the literature, nobles described the situation at that time, saying that the people became like monsters, robbing homes and doing all kinds of evil. Order has completely broken down, slaves dare to rebel against their masters, and wives begin to give orders to their husbands.
They accused the people of sharing property and wives, destroying blood and order, ignoring the king's orders, organizing armies, and hunting down Mazdak supporters everywhere. This aroused dissatisfaction with Kavad. He declared the nobles' behavior to be rebellion and summoned troops to suppress it.
However, the king's army was too weak to fight, and at the critical moment, it was defeated by the coalition of nobles. Kavad fled in panic and ran to the Gaida people (White Huns) in Central Asia before he received shelter and settled down.
Later, Kavad persuaded the Gaida people to send troops, and with the help of these nomadic soldiers, they defeated the rebellious nobles and were restored. Kavad also compromised with the nobles and trapped and killed Mazdak and other priests, temporarily suppressing the chaos.
In this way, by constantly choosing sides and borrowing troops, the King of Persia finally accumulated the first batch of professional civil servants from the middle and lower classes.
Let’s continue offering monthly ticket rewards this month. 476, 1204, 1453, 1923, monthly ticket plus four levels.
Let’s take a look at the situation first. It suddenly increased a lot at the end of last month. I don’t know why. If there are more votes this time, we will change the rules later.
(End of chapter)
