"So this is what you want to do." Theodora did not object to this: "This is what we need. If we cannot restore the old land of Rome, then our banner will not be worthy of our ancestors."
"Mere recovery is not enough. We have to be down-to-earth and integrate the country." Guo Kang added: "The state of ancient Rome is definitely not enough, and the current European countries are also unqualified. They are unified on the surface, but in fact they are scattered. It cannot reach its potential.”
"This is much more difficult than formal unification. I don't know how long it will take or whether it is feasible. But we are definitely going to do it."
"I understand." Theodora nodded: "This is not contradictory, and we must consider it in the future."
"I now support their push for Russians to join the army, and I also have this consideration." Guo Kang told her: "With our current size, we are still too small. Although there is space in all directions, the most convenient place for development is Still in the Ross area.”
"This is easy to understand. After all, the Russians are relatively... simple and easy to transform." Theodora agreed: "And after all, they are relatively close to us in religion, and it is easy to control them."
"This kind of marginal area is actually very important." Guo Kang reminded: "The basis for Qin's dominance is to annex Xirong; the basis for Jin's dominance is to annex Chidi, Baidi and border princes; Qi's dominance is also By encroaching on Dongyi's minerals and land. The Ross area is fertile and rich in minerals, but the natives are very backward, resulting in the failure to develop these resources. This is the cornerstone of our hegemony given by God, and we cannot ignore it."
"Moreover, there is another problem, that is, we are still short of people. In the future, with the development of technology, the gap will definitely be even bigger."
"How big can it be?" Theodora asked.
"If the population is less than 100 million, there is no way we can maintain our advantage." Guo Kang said succinctly.
"Ah..." Theodora began to worry again.
"But don't worry too much about this. The Ross area is now a big wilderness - of course, to put it nicely, it has huge development potential. As long as we take it step by step, we don't have to worry about land and population." Guo Kang said: "We open up a Two to three hundred years, I guess there will be no problem. After that...it will probably be a matter of the next regime, and we don’t have to worry about it so far."
"How dare you say this." Theodora smiled.
"Everyone knows something that we dare not say." Guo Kang disagreed: "Whether we say it or not, everyone knows it in their hearts. We ourselves don't need to pay attention to face, so we might as well tell the truth."
Theodora nodded.
Guo Kang's figure is also conservative. Let alone the 18th century, in his previous history, the Southern Russia region may not be fully developed in the 21st century... Even if the Purple Horde Khanate has better technology, it can make the process faster and last for hundreds of years. It's not a problem either.
"What do you think of the cost and feasibility of this strategy?" Theodora continued to ask: "You also know that we have many strategic directions, and the current southward strategy was proposed by you yourself. This plan is compatible with the northward direction. What?"
"The main means of the two sides are different, and they can even be complementary." Guo Kang said: "In fact, it is easier to understand as long as we recognize the nature of our country."
"Our country is different from many countries in Europe and Asia. Before, my father found a Greek to teach the officers. That person had a point of view, saying that it is not the Senate that owns the people and the legions, but the legions. The Senate and the people. The identity of this country is the army itself."
"This is why we often have bad relations with nobles everywhere. Because our way of expansion is not like the Europeans, who conquer an enemy and then recruit them as vassals. Our expansion is the expansion of legionary culture."
"When we conquer a place, we do not accept the local order, but start over and establish a new order. The Legion Farm is a separate 'small world' in the local area. The culture and organization inside are different from those outside the farm. A system.”
"This method is actually quite old, and was already very mature during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Inside the farm are Chinese people, and outside the farm are savages. Compared with their neighbors outside the farm, the citizens on the farm are more similar to other farms in other places. "
"Moreover, after stabilizing, the farm will continue to attract 'savages' to join because of higher efficiency and better treatment. These people will integrate into the Roman culture in the farm, join the army, and receive military order education based on Chinese characters. Among them The outstanding ones can return to their places and rely on their cultural qualities and management abilities trained in the army to become new managers, further expanding the scope of the farm and strengthening its management capabilities."
"In this way, a huge community across regions is formed. And it is a replacement for the original local order. Even if the local nobles are still there, their subjects will gradually be absorbed by the farm, resulting in the noble territory being hollowed out. So. In the early years, noble rebellions continued for this reason.”
"So, what he said is actually not a big problem. The foundation of our Rome is the military organization. They are not only a military force, but also a cultural foundation. They are even schools for training officials and ordinary citizens."
"So when we are considering the problem, we can first see if it is suitable for this model." He compared: "For example, when we promoted this set of measures in Romania, it went very smoothly because the local wars continued and people were happy to invest in new products. In order.”
"Even the Greek region could be promoted at that time. Because at that time, the borders of Greece were almost destroyed by various people. As long as we have a higher level of governance than the remnants of the Latin Empire in Athens, they will naturally accept us .”
"The Ross area is definitely suitable - or there is no order there, so it will not be difficult to implement it."
"But in places like Egypt and Syria, it is difficult to promote it on a large scale. We can occupy some land in the canal area or port area for pilot projects, but these places, even if they have been hit by disasters before, are still very densely populated. In the end, The key thing is that although the Mamluks at the top have been changing like a lantern, their grassroots organizations have always been there and have not suffered a serious blow."
"In a place like this, it's not impossible to implement, but the speed will definitely be very slow. If it is done too hastily, it will cause local resistance; but if it is done too slowly, it will affect our development. Therefore, it is better to use two policies on both sides."
"On the northern front, we mainly focus on expanding territory and recruiting local people, and put newly granted land here. On the southern front, we focus on seizing key points and expanding trade, and do not seek to quickly control the land. The two cooperate with each other, and one side acts as the other. Supplementing from one side is the best choice.”
(End of chapter)
