"I understand what you mean. Even with those machines, we will still need a large population and a huge territory to support us, so we must not only control trade nodes to make money, but also increase citizens and land as much as possible." Theodora clicked nod.
"However, even in the north, this process is not expected to be too fast." She still reminded: "Can the temporary coping plans you proposed last this period of time?"
"It should be possible." Guo Kang nodded: "Steam can provide us with great help, and there are good coal mines and iron mines in the northern part of the Black Sea. Our exploration and industrial development can be carried out simultaneously."
"That's good." Theodora nodded: "We will definitely be able to obtain a lot of slaves during the development process. This should also alleviate the problem of insufficient manpower you mentioned."
"But having said that, this seems to be an extra good thing." She realized something: "We have been worried before, thinking that Slavic slaves often cannot be sold. It would also be a good thing if we can digest it ourselves."
"However, if we expand to the Ross area, we have to be careful." Guo Kang reminded: "We can't let people serve as soldiers while capturing their fellow villagers as slaves. From now on, we must strictly restrict and control the scope. .”
"It doesn't matter, we haven't had a war with the Russian countries for a generation." Theodora didn't care much: "Nowadays, a large number of Slavic slaves are basically captured from Poland and Lithuania. .”
"Before, Mrs. Cao also organized an association to fight against the merchants who secretly captured and sold her folks. Over the years, their slave trade has almost disappeared. Novgorod and Moscow also have special funds. They compete to redeem their own country’s slaves and publicize their generosity and kindness in order to increase their reputation.”
"Huh? I heard that there are quite a few from the Ross area?" Guo Kang asked curiously.
"Those people, strictly speaking, do not belong to any country." Theodora told him: "The Rus region is different from ours. It is too vast and sparsely populated. Outside the principalities, there is a vast unclaimed land. . Many people who are both civilians and bandits live here, and the princes cannot control them."
"These people will plunder everywhere from time to time and clash with our garrison. In response, various border military regions often take the initiative to arrest them. Such people are not recognized by the principalities, so we do not need to consider them. feelings.”
"Okay." Guo Kang nodded and started thinking again.
"Is there anything else to consider?" Theodora asked curiously.
"It's nothing important. It's just that I can't think clearly about the theoretical issues." Guo Kang hesitated and said, "Look, the machines I made like the Steam Sky Brother are used in places where there are few people." Which place is better, or a place with a lot of people?”
Theodora gave him a strange look: "Of course it needs to be placed where it needs to be. What does it have to do with population? And didn't you say yourself that more people are needed?"
"That refers to the stage after the industry matures. Now we have to consider the early development issues." Guo Kang told her.
"I have heard of two somewhat contradictory theories. One side believes that places with many people can support more spare hands to operate machines and allow the machine industry to develop. But the other side believes that places with few people can support the development of the machine industry. The remuneration for hiring ordinary labor is very high, so it is more conducive to promoting machine power and replacing expensive human labor."
"Both sides seem to be reasonable, and I don't know which one is right." He said, and then added: "Oh, by the way, the background of these two opinions is the environment in Western Europe."
"Where did you get these messy theories? And you asked for Western Europe..." Theodora muttered.
However, she didn't resist, and seemed to be used to Guo Kang's behavior.
"Let me think about it." It was also the first time for Theodora to come across this kind of problem. She thought for a moment and then asked: "What level of technical skills do people need to operate the machines? Do they need experienced craftsmen or just newly trained apprentices?"
"Maybe you don't even need an apprentice." Guo Kang recalled the history and replied: "Temporarily recruited homeless people, or even children of a few years old, can be trained simply for two days."
"This threshold is too low..." Theodora frowned.
Guo Kang waited for her opinion honestly: Theodora was more sensitive to many social situations than he was, so her opinion was of great value.
Especially now, when faced with an important question, he really didn't know the answer.
He does understand this period of history, and in his previous life, this period of history was the focus of education and the object of heated discussion among people. But some conclusions are actually contradictory.
For example, the first one is the rational argument for the enclosure movement. It is believed that this craze that started in the 15th century provided a large amount of cheap labor for the city. The second point was also a characteristic of Britain at that time compared to more developed areas. High labor costs were also what many people believed to be the reason for the rise of industry.
But the problem is, these two are contradictory. I don’t know which one is right.
Of course, there have always been many other arguments. For example, some people believe that the fundamental reason is the restriction on the monarch's power. This can be ruled out directly, because according to this discussion, the most developed industrial country in Europe must be Poland. How can the British compare with others... This theory that is too counter-intuitive can only prove that the person who proposed it does not even understand Europe—— If theory and reality are different, it cannot be said that the world is wrong.
Only those issues that have a great impact and are truly entangled are worthy of discussion and consideration. These outrageous theories can also be discarded without wasting any more energy.
But it didn't take him long before Theodora gave her point of view.
"If other conditions are similar, then it should be placed in a place with a lot of people," she said.
"Why?" Guo Kang asked curiously.
"Because there are few people and high labor remuneration has nothing to do with it." Theodora answered bluntly: "Among the territories we control, the most sparsely populated place is the Rus area. But the labor remuneration there is obviously not high. Boyars They often even force the residents to work without paying them at all.”
"Whether in an area with a large population or a small population, the lord can easily obtain a group of cheap or even free labor. Therefore, this theory does not make much sense in practice."
"What if they are not lords, but businessmen who recruit laborers through free employment?" Guo Kang asked.
"Don't you know how expensive the things you make yourself are?" Theodora doubted: "Businessmen who can run such workshops must be rich and powerful. They have many ways to obtain free labor. .So the idea doesn’t make sense.”
(End of chapter)
