"What you said should be quite convincing." Mrs. Elena nodded: "But I am a little curious, why are you obsessed with building this 'Pantheon'?"
"Listening to what you just said, even without this system, we can still successfully complete our goal and control several important places in Egypt."
"But if we insist on this plan and tell everyone during the attack on Egypt that the two churches must be unifiedly managed, it may cause resistance from some local Tianfang believers and increase the difficulties we need to face."
"If I want to talk about the reasons..." Guo Kang hesitated: "When I see unreasonable phenomena, I want to correct them; when I see rules that are out of order, I want to make adjustments. If I turn a blind eye, I will always feel that I am wasting my time. Your current status and identity are wasted.”
"But I can't tell why this is. I don't know if this is my personal habit or the influence of Seris's cultural environment on me... If I must say it, there are only these very subjective reasons."
"As for difficulties, I don't think we will encounter much difficulty." Guo Kang said confidently: "Other places may encounter resistance, but that is Egypt."
"Did you choose this place specifically?" The Queen Mother was also a little surprised.
"In different regions, different policies must be used." Guo Kang said: "Egypt is just right, so I have always suggested that everyone take this opportunity to consider the issue of religious management. If it is other places, other policies must be used. policy.”
"Are the Egyptians easy to deal with?" Mrs. Elena also asked.
"We have precedents to refer to." Guo Kang replied: "When Saladin entered Egypt, the area had been run by the Fatimid dynasty for more than 200 years. The Fatimid dynasty was a Shiite regime, and the Egyptian people believed Shiaism, which has existed for more than 200 years, can be said to be deeply rooted."
"Documentary records say that Saladin's emperor Nur al-Din ordered him to try to convert Egypt to Sunniism, but Saladin was worried that this would trigger a violent backlash and did not dare to come directly, so he conducted a test first."
"On September 3 of that year, a Sunni imam was first asked to pray for the Sunni Caliph in a Shiite temple in Cairo. As a result, the Egyptians present had no reaction."
"Saladin went a step further and stipulated that the name of the Shia caliph would no longer be used in future Friday prayers. As a result, the Egyptians still had no objection."
"As a result, on September 13, the last Shia caliph died of illness. Saladin deposed his son's inheritance rights and placed his family under house arrest. In this way, within 10 days, Egypt's Shia believers became Sunni.”
"Did the recorder exaggerate the data?" The Queen Mother asked curiously: "How can you say that he was suddenly converted to a heretic, just... so without hesitation?"
"This is really not an exaggeration." Cao Zhonglin seemed to understand the history there: "What Saladin did later was to replace a few imams who were unwilling to cooperate. Other than that, there were almost no conflicts. ”
"In other words, this trick is really effective?" Mrs. Elena was still a little surprised and said to herself.
"At that time, Saladin first eliminated the warlords who competed with him. After killing the Turkic and Nubian military leaders, he encountered no opposition." Guo Kang speculated: "Ordinary Egyptians, against I probably don’t feel much about the changes at the top. I think they might not care at all.”
"Then let's..." The Queen Mother looked at Guo Kang.
Guo Kang was still thinking about historical issues and did not answer her words for a while.
Theodora cleared her throat and gave him a signal, and then he reacted.
"The situation we encountered is definitely easier." Guo Kang had to analyze it carefully for them again: "The Fatimid dynasty back then was, at least in name, a theocratic regime. But today's Mamluks...if they really If you care about your faith, you won’t bother the caliphate every day.”
"As for the people, our commotion this time is not as big as that of Saladin. He explicitly asked everyone to switch to the opposite sect, but this time we are just changing the management method. At the beginning, we will only It is applicable on a small scale and will not cause too much unrest among the people."
"Trial? Is it in Alexandria?" Cao Xun asked: "I heard that it has been a special commercial port since ancient times, which is different from the hinterland of Egypt. The thinking of the local citizens is probably different from other places. Their performance will be different from that of other places. Are your expectations consistent? Do we need to prepare in advance?"
"In addition, is this kind of pilot meaningful? Will the results of the trial in this special place be special? Will it be of sufficient reference value for our future promotion?"
"I think there is no need to rush in Alexandria." Guo Kang shook his head: "It is easy for the businessmen and citizens there to accept reforms. Whether it is threats or benefits, they will be persuaded quickly."
"But conversely, after we withdraw, there will definitely be enemy counterattacks. At that time, they will easily fall to the more powerful side. Therefore, this cannot be used as a pilot area and a base for our future operations. .”
"Then where are you going to choose?" Cao Xun asked.
"Of course it's the canal construction site." Guo Kang said with a smile: "Is there anything more familiar to us than this?"
"The canal is a big project that requires a large number of strong laborers to be maintained for a long time. These people are different from local farmers and citizens. They are indeed serving directly under our hands."
"Furthermore, because we are in charge of the project, we arrange the personnel organization from scratch."
"We can directly eliminate the powerful servants inside, break up their original villages and gangs, reorganize them using military methods, and send reliable people to manage them."
"In the beginning, we will undoubtedly face conflicts in language, customs, and culture. But resolving these conflicts is also the driving force for us to implement reforms and establish management. Jointly building water conservancy projects is a good way to get along. Back then, Dayu relied on this opportunity to rise, and of course we can follow suit."
"In the final analysis, this problem is how to organize the constructors of water conservancy projects. In this regard, I think we are the best in the world. In this case, of course we must make full use of this advantage."
"Repairing water conservancy is hard work." Cao Xun reminded: "We built water conservancy here because if we didn't do it, we would really have no food. If we didn't defend our farm, we would really be robbed by other nobles. Empty."
"The land in Egypt is very fertile, and the canal was not built for them. Do these people have enough motivation to work for us?"
Guo Kang asked and smiled.
"Old General, although Egypt is rich, not everyone has fertile fields."
"The fields over Suez are incomparable to those on both sides of the Nile. Moreover, there is also a fief system. Whether the farm is rich or not has little to do with the people who cultivate it. This is completely different from our original situation. No, I’m afraid we can’t estimate it that way.”
"In addition, in recent years, the Mamluk rule can be said to be extremely bad, and Egypt's population has even decreased proportionally. In this kind of chaos, the locals really don't know who they will turn to. Let's find a reason to give them better treatment It’s not difficult to recruit people to appease and recruit people.”
"We have enough reasons." He said about his plan: "The water conservancy project is a long-term project. Especially this time, in addition to dredging the old canal that was blocked before, I also want to dig a new canal."
"This new canal will not use the Nile River to twist and turn, but will choose a more efficient river route to directly connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. In addition, I hope that the river can be wide and deep enough to accommodate new The sail-mounted ships are directly open to navigation."
"Of course, this will also make the excavation work protracted, which can even take up to ten years."
"Then this expense is really scary." Cao Xun took a sip of tea and thought about it: "Is the Italian businessman still willing to pay it?"
"My current idea is to let them exchange dividends for future dividends." Guo Kang replied: "Didn't I say before that they were willing to pay for this operation as long as we gave them the right to use the canal in the future? In fact, didn't I say that they were willing to pay for this operation? It can go further.”
"We can set up a separate company to specialize in canal management and let Italian businessmen make additional investments. Whoever gives more money will have a greater say. The company will share profits every year, and the more profits he will share. In this way, we can Convinced them to give more money.”
"So, how much money can you make from this? Will it cover the cost of digging the new canal?" Cao Xun, who was well-informed, couldn't estimate it, so he had to ask directly.
"At this point, it should still not be enough. But we can add another layer." Guo Kang said: "The current investment is only for this small canal that will be opened soon. On the new Grand Canal, we can Raise money again.”
"Aren't there no shadows on that one? Are they willing to spend money?" Cao Xun asked.
"Of course we are happy. We can even allow them to exchange their shares in the old canal for shares in the new canal." Guo Kang said: "In short, they do not want profit distribution on the old canal side. After the new canal is opened in the future, Just come back and get the right to use it. This will also make it easier for us to fully manage the areas around the two rivers before the project is completed to improve efficiency."
"This can be done layer by layer..." Mrs. Elena sighed with emotion.
"This is just the most basic. In fact, as long as you have a new project and convince everyone that it can make money in the future, some people will pay for you." Guo Kang said: "Moreover, the company's internal dividend power can also be If what is for sale becomes popular and sought after by people, so that supply exceeds demand, the price can even be artificially raised and these shares can be sold at a much higher price.”
Cao Xun and his wife looked at each other, as if they didn't understand. Cao Zhonglin, who was standing next to him, nodded and explained to his parents: "This kind of transaction does exist in Italy, and it is very popular. The Venetians have raised funds like this before when fighting wars."
"I haven't seen them do anything good. Aren't these people just bullying the Greeks? If they encounter a stronger country, they will beat them everywhere and scream for help." Cao Xun instinctively resisted this method.
"The outcome of the war is another matter. If combat effectiveness is directly linked to money, then the Song Dynasty should have marched all the way west to Baghdad." Guo Kang said helplessly.
"This method is mainly for making money. Let them invest more money and we will be satisfied, so we don't need to care about anything else."
"Moreover, we can also use some tricks. Uh... How to do it, I can't tell you in detail. I am also a layman in this aspect." He shook his head and admitted: "But it is certain that we are here We are in a very proactive position in this business. There is no problem in letting Italian businessmen add more money to support us in doing more work."
"Then do we have the expertise to do this?" Cao Xun ignored his wife, looked at his son and grandson, and asked.
"Dad, I have only seen pigs running away, but I have never killed pigs." Cao Zhonglin said she was helpless, then looked at Cao Jian, who was still nervous, and turned to Guo Kang and said: "We, father and son, probably can't help." I’m busy.”
"Well, Mr. Guo..." Cao Xun hesitated and looked at Guo Kang: "I guess you will have to work hard to organize this matter."
Guo Kang wanted to say something else, and Theodora spoke again: "Don't worry, old general, he is just doing some investigating. Now these are just us looking for various possible plans, so all plans are included. ”
"How to choose a specific plan and who will be responsible for implementing it will have to be determined at a meeting. After all, this plan is very huge, and there are many specific items in it. Even if it is to formulate a detailed plan, it is far from being completed by Brother Kang alone. "
Guo Kang reacted and quickly nodded in agreement.
Her words were, on the one hand, to explain the difficulty, so as to prevent Guo Kang's previous speech from being too smooth and giving everyone the wrong impression. On the other hand, it also comforts the Cao family.
The outline of the entire plan was written by Guo Kang. Mr. Cao only asked about the work of hosting the fund-raising, and found that his own family could not do it. In this case, telling them that there are many parts of the plan that can be intervened is also a comfort. Because essentially, the power of the Nanya family comes from these jobs.
As for which share they will get in the end, it is not something she and Guo Kang can decide directly. Just leave it to the meeting of thirteen people and let those people discuss how to distribute it.
"This part was helped by a friend I met before. Her family opened a bank in Italy, so she is familiar with this part. I wouldn't have been able to remember it myself." Thinking of this, Guo Kang also explained cooperatively. road.
"Is this person reliable?" Mrs. Elena asked.
"I find it credible. I was studying Brother Tian's miracles in the church before, and she also provided money, obviously interested in investing in our project. When investigating the Italian businessman's intentions for the expedition, she also relied on her family circle to understand "Yes." Guo Kang replied: "With the help of such knowledgeable friends, it will indeed be much easier."
"Italian businessman..." Mrs. Elena still didn't seem to trust him.
"Businessmen, whether it's investment or help, they definitely want something. But it's reasonable." Cao Xun was open-minded: "As long as it doesn't cause damage to Rome, we can do whatever we want. Give it to them. We are neither relatives nor friends, so why should we contribute to us for no reason? We should earn some money."
Mrs. Elena thought for a while and finally nodded.
Today’s mutual recommendations:
"Skill Extraction Starting from the Dragon Clan"
By the way, keep asking for votes
(End of chapter)
