"Tell me, if we adapt all Siris's stories into dramas, would it be very effective?" Guo Kang suggested to Li Xuanying on the way: "I haven't thought about this issue before, but look, The allusion to 'Jiuquan' just now is obviously very popular."
"And, as you told me, stories like Zhuge Liang will be very popular even in Greece. Since we have so many familiar themes, we can definitely make use of them."
"That's true." Li Xuanying thought for a while and said, "In the past, everyone didn't pay much attention to this aspect. They just took Siris's books and threw them directly to the students. In fact, story books and dramas are the most important. It’s easy to spread.”
"In the past, the situation was special. We were busy fighting wars all year round, so it was normal not to pay attention to it." Guo Kang said, "Now that I have some free time, I think we should pay more attention to it."
"Old Ivan's circus went to the military camp to perform, and the soldiers came to watch every day. It was already a place with relatively strict training, and you can imagine how little entertainment other people had."
"Now that we have some money, we should make up for it." He judged: "Since there is this demand, no matter what we do, everyone will always take the initiative to find ways to entertain themselves. Instead of letting them drink alcohol or engage in prostitution, It’s better to offer something else.”
"These types of products cannot replace each other," Li Xuanying said.
"It doesn't have to be completely replaced, just squeeze out a little bit." Guo Kang said: "Even if it is just a small improvement, it will be a big profit for us."
"Is it so serious? Is it worth considering it seriously?" Li Xuanying felt that he was making a fuss out of a molehill.
"That is indeed too serious." Guo Kang nodded.
Everyone has seen too many dangers of alcoholism. The Purple Horde Khan himself drank himself to death. And if you look at the various Mongolian khanates, there are many people who died of alcoholism. The problems caused by drinking and getting into trouble are even more numerous. It can be said that this is already a landmark issue.
However, although it is impossible to eliminate it, it can be managed.
After the Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, Duke Zhou, the ancestor of Zhou Rites, personally formulated the "Jiu Gao" that clearly restricted drinking. The reason is that people in the Shang Dynasty liked drinking very much, which caused a series of serious problems.
Even the reason why people in the Shang Dynasty liked drinking was the same as the Romans, because they liked the taste of wine contained in lead-containing bronze vessels. With this kind of warning and ready-made etiquette requirements, at least for the upper levels, there is reason to intervene in management.
Another problem may not be easily noticed, but in the future, the impact may be even more uncontrollable.
According to Seris tradition, women should not be brought into the military camp casually. However, even in the Qin and Han Dynasties where military discipline was strict, this rule may not always be strictly observed. As for Europe... no one has this awareness at all.
In this era, in addition to combatants, the armies of various countries generally had many businessmen and civilians accompanying the camp. Since the military lacks a specialized logistics system, it must rely on these contractors and employees to complete various supplies, maintenance and other tasks. Among them, there are a large number of prostitutes or other people who work part-time as prostitutes.
Since the army always drags a long tail, its maneuverability can also be imagined.
Europeans always make a fuss, thinking that the Purple Army marches too fast, and think that nomadic factors may be at play. But Guo Kang felt that it was just that they were too slow - in his previous world, Europeans were equally fussy and felt that "Eastern armies" such as the Ottomans were running too fast.
Army order and movement speed are not the most direct issues. Because there are also various diseases in this world, including flower and willow disease.
Future generations may simply find the disease unmentionable, or simply ignore it. But in this day and age, they can have a very deadly impact on the military.
Especially in the late 15th century, syphilis, a very lethal disease, suddenly appeared.
The origin of this disease cannot be completely determined by later generations. Some people believe that this disease has existed for a long time, but during a certain period of time, its toxicity suddenly increased for unknown reasons; but more people believe that it is not a disease native to the Eurasian continent, but a disease introduced by the Native Americans to the Europeans. Return gift.
In Guo Kang's world, not long after Columbus returned, French King Charles VIII led his army to attack Naples. In order to fulfill the long-cherished wish of the French people, Charles VIII assembled the most elite army available, including 2,000 gendarme knights, 6,000 Swiss infantry, and more than 100 of the most advanced artillery pieces at the time. This army of tens of thousands of people penetrated the entire Italy from the north within a year.
Milan and Ferrara surrendered to France, Florence and Rome were captured, and finally, the French army successfully occupied Naples in the south. Charles VIII dressed up as an Eastern Roman emperor and crowned himself in Naples. It seemed that this wish would soon come true.
However, while trying to maintain local control, syphilis broke out among the French army. The soldiers were tortured by the disease, which eventually led to the entire army being unable to fight and retreating and disintegrating. Charles VIII was also infected with this dangerous disease while enjoying himself with the people. He died unexpectedly more than a year after returning, and the direct line of the Valois dynasty was extinct.
Charles VIII's troops came from all over Europe, and in the European armies at that time, the warring parties would sometimes exchange women with them while fighting. This caused the disease to spread rapidly and spread throughout the country.
After that, the disease simply couldn't be controlled. In the 19th century, British Army statistics found that 30% of soldiers were infected with rosellow disease.
The French were the more serious victims - in Vilnius, the Russian army defeated Napoleon's Grand Army and threw tens of thousands of French corpses into mass graves and was hastily buried. Later scholars conducted excavations and found that more than 80% of the remains of French soldiers suffered from severe syphilis, so that obvious traces remained on the bones. Under such circumstances, one can imagine how much combat effectiveness the army can maintain, and this is obviously not the only time that the French army has been destroyed by "General Hualiu".
Therefore, this is not a matter of moral obsessiveness, but a real threat to the military. But Guo Kang didn't know how to remind others about this kind of thing. Tuohuan has started calling him Guo Banxian now. If this continues, he might as well learn fortune telling.
But simply ignoring it is not an option.
If the first theory goes by, he needs to be prepared now. Because for the evolution of the disease, whether it appears decades earlier or delayed is just a small error. No one can say whether this highly pathogenic strain will emerge soon.
The second one is even more troublesome. Guo Kang's long-term plan has always included starting from the North Sea and taking the old Viking route to explore America. However, due to long-term adaptation, Americans are more resistant to this disease than Europeans, so as long as it spreads in Europe, it will easily cause serious damage.
Moreover, this type of disease spreads very quickly, because European sailors definitely cannot control their lower bodies. Not even Brother Tian himself can stop them from infecting and spreading the disease.
In his world, Columbus himself may have been the earliest evangelist. Doctors at the time recorded that several cases arose once his ship reached shore. Columbus himself became insane and had hallucinations during his second voyage.
Although he himself believed that this was a manifestation of his being the chosen one and a request from Heavenly Father to spread light to the uncivilized world, according to the analysis of later doctors, this was a symptom of syphilis. Sure enough, Columbus ended up with half-body edema, quadriplegia, bone pain all over his body, and a state of mental confusion. He died in long-term pain and madness.
Of course, perhaps because of Columbus's special status, people don't often mention this issue. After all, he brought a turning point in Europe's destiny, and this action also had religious significance. It is said that people’s apocalypse is actually caused by Hualiu disease affecting the brain. I guess many people find it difficult to accept it...
In the end, all Guo Kang could think of was religious restraint and entertainment alternatives.
The knowledge from the "future" allowed Guo Kang to design many plans and want to try them one by one. But in the end, every time he struggled, his conclusions based on "science" often had to rely on the help of religion to be implemented.
Always facing this kind of situation gave him a sense of black humor, but this time, the starring role was himself.
This phenomenon can even become a big topic in philosophy and theology. With Li Xuanying's level of education, even if I told him, it would be difficult to understand, let alone help him. So Guo Kang thought about it for a long time, but he still had to think about it by himself first.
Seeing that he fell silent, Li Xuanying wisely did not ask any more questions. He has been scolded by his father since he was a child because he was much stupider than Guo Kang. When I see a smart person starting to think about a problem, in order to avoid embarrassment, I habitually stop talking...
The two bypassed the audience in groups of twos and threes and the busy staff going back and forth. Along the way, many members of the troupe seemed to know Li Xuanying, and no one came to stop him. Li Xuanying took him to the backstage with ease.
"Why are you so familiar?" Guo Kang said in surprise: "How many plays have you sneaked out to watch?"
"Uh..." Li Xuanying was a little embarrassed: "How much? Not much."
Guo Kang thought for a while and decided not to ask further questions. He and the church are planning to use drama to promote the situation in the future. It is better to have a close friend who knows the business than to do it directly. Of course, just don't let his father know.
After the performance, everyone seemed to be relieved, and some actors were sitting in the preparation room to rest. When they entered the door, the actor from "The Sun" and the actor from "The Lady of Desire" passed by hand in hand and headed for the exit on the side of the backstage. It seems that the rumors should also be true.
Everyone should know Li Xuanying, and some people even winked at him. Seeing him nod, he said hello.
Next to him, the leader of the chorus held a script book, grabbed a singer, and kept asking him to repeat a few lines. When Li Xuanying passed by, she looked back at him. But neither of them paid attention and were still practicing there.
"What's wrong?" Guo Kang asked.
"That person made a mistake in singing, and the leader is correcting his mistake." Li Xuanying said.
Guo Kang stopped and listened. Unfortunately, with his level of understanding, he really couldn't figure out where the mistake was, so he had to give up and move on.
Finally, Li Xuanying took him to an independent office door and knocked on the door: "Is there anyone there? It's me, Alex."
"Please come in." A clear and melodious voice came from behind the door. It seemed to be a young man with a slightly higher pitch.
Li Xuanying opened the door, walked in, nodded inside, and then pulled Guo Kang in. When he entered, he turned back and closed the door carefully.
In this small office, there are two ceiling-high shelves against two walls. One of them is filled with various performance props and costumes, and the other is filled with a lot of miscellaneous items and several rows of books. In front of the shelf, there is a desk and a small cabinet. On the table were messy manuscript papers, two bottles of ink, a few worn quills, and two writing brushes. There was an oil lamp on the corner of the table.
A man wearing a complicated blue robe and a long white skirt stood up from behind the desk. Guo Kang recognized that this was the actor who had just played the goddess of deception, Apate.
"Gui'an, I am Eudoses." The actor seemed to have guessed Guo Kang's identity, bowed politely in greeting, and then looked at Li Xuanying, as if waiting for his introduction.
"You're welcome. This is my brother Guo Kang. I told you about him before." Li Xuanying looked very indifferent. As she said this, she went to pull up the chair next to her and prepared for Guo Kang to sit down first.
Taking this time, Guo Kang took a look at the other party.
Eudoxus had long, silky black hair tied into a braid at the back of his head. On her fair and round oval face, her facial features are delicate and regular, and she is delicate to the point of being somewhat beautiful.
Guo Kang couldn't help feeling that the Greeks' hobbies were quite special, and he wondered if it had something to do with the appearance of the people here. Then he looked at Li Xuanying, who was obviously very familiar with this place, and couldn't help but continue thinking.
"Sit, sit." Li Xuanying was unaware and asked the two of them to sit down: "By the way, Brother Guo Kang is also one of our own who knows everything, so there's no need to keep pretending here."
"Ah, that's it, I'm sorry." "Eudoseth" looked relieved, and his tone suddenly improved again, becoming a light girlish voice, but he still looked at Guo Kang politely and cautiously, Then apologize to him.
"Huh?" Guo Kang didn't react for a moment.
"Her name is Eudocia, she is an old friend of mine." Li Xuanying introduced her in Greek, and only then did Guo Kang fully confirm the person's gender.
"Ah..." Guo Kang nodded awkwardly.
The two men didn't seem too surprised by his reaction. Li Xuanying smiled with an expected expression on her face.
Odosia sat back at the desk, but looking at Li Xuanying's appearance, she couldn't hold back. She raised her lips and said, "Okay, what are you so proud of?"
"His expression is rare." Li Xuanying said cheerfully.
For a moment, Guo Kang next to him was even more embarrassed and even began to reflect on whether he had spent too much time with Greeks and his ideas were distorted.
(End of chapter)
