"Don't get too excited, my suggestion is just the beginning." Theodora told Guo Kang: "Do you have any other ideas?"
"There is no problem with the plan." Guo Kang nodded.
"Look, why don't you just discuss it with me?" Theodora shrugged: "I heard from Tuohuan that you two have been chatting with that Joanna for a long time. Does that person have any special charm that you want to talk to her about? Special communication? Don’t waste time with this kind of person next time.”
"Uh..." Guo Kang didn't know why he suddenly turned to this topic: "You don't have to stare at us every day..."
Theodora didn't care much about his question, and obviously didn't think she had done anything wrong: "I just acted in a way that was consistent with my status. If you let it go, you two don't know what else you can do."
"You can take care of me, but don't take care of us when we have sex." Guo Kang had to give in, but after thinking about it, he still reminded: "He is the crown prince of the country, and if you take care of him every day, the impact is really bad. Don't worry about anything else, time As time goes by, I think I should give up Shi Huizhen’s nickname to you.”
"What do you mean by that?" Theodora was unhappy: "You said that about yourself..."
She paused and realized that she didn't know what the current relationship between the two should be called. They haven't even held an engagement now, but Theodora herself doesn't think it's acceptable to say they are lovers. After some hesitation, I had to skip it.
"Anyway, don't say bad things about me like that. I haven't done anything bad, so why are you burying me like this?"
"I just want to remind you." Guo Kang also felt helpless: "Many people outside regard you as the leader of the faction that is opposed to him. You are well-informed, so you should know about this. This is not a good thing."
"His faction? Yours." Theodora disagreed: "People think he is the leader of the new generation of princes, but I think you are the mastermind of this group of people. Most of the time, they Just listen to you. Just don’t take the lead and cause trouble for me, and I’ll be satisfied.”
"Of course I won't be idle and quarrel with you. What I mean is other people's reactions." After Guo Kang finished speaking, he asked: "Tell me the truth, have you ever wanted to be an emperor?"
"What's the matter?" Theodora said unconvinced: "Should things that are allowed by the rules still be taboo?"
"Ever since the Queen Mother Helena incident, there has been a real taboo." Guo Kang reminded her: "I don't care, but in the eyes of many people, it is already very dangerous for mothers and wives to govern together. Let your daughter or sister co-govern. This has never happened since the establishment of the account. Can the Zhuguo and legionnaires accept it?"
"This kind of thing, the closer the blood relationship is, the easier it is to arouse suspicion. The ancestors of Rome originally set a ban that stipulated that the empire could not be inherited by women. It was because the emperor's sister hooked up with Attila, which scared them to make up for it urgently. This rule.”
"Don't you regard me as your wife? Wife!" Theodora was anxious and didn't care about so much: "When encountering such a thing, you should support me more!"
"My father is a core figure in the Khan's court, and so are you." Guo Kang pointed out: "It is because of our close relationship that I hope you can restrain yourself. Because in this case, outsiders will assume that your status is more special. Yours Every move you make is constantly sending signals to them. You should know this kind of thing better than me."
"We in Rome are not actually a strict monarchy now, but a republic among nobles. Under normal circumstances, this structure is actually very fragile. It can be maintained until now because of the excessive pressure from enemies on all sides. As a people, we Outsiders have nowhere to turn. That’s why we have to maintain this unity.”
"There are some things that your father and Tuo Huan can take the initiative to bring up. Some powers can be transferred to you on their own initiative. But you can't be too proactive or show too much obsession. When it is really needed, let Li Xuanying and the others form a team to persuade Tuo Huan. OK, but it’s not up to you to persuade.”
"There is no shortage of careerists out there. This will give them the wrong signal and will also damage the relationship between you two. If nothing else, someone is acting without authorization in your name. How will you explain it at that time? I think those Greeks did it Come to think of it, how did Aurelian, the 'Restorer of the World' die?" he reminded.
"You may think this is unfair, but this is the reality - I also think our trade with the Ming Dynasty is unfair. What can I do?" Guo Kang spread his hands.
Theodora also felt guilty now and couldn't answer for a while.
"Let me think about it again." She had to give in: "I will be more careful in the future."
"Our goal is still far away, so it's better to be careful on the road. A country cannot be like Thales, the price is too high." Guo Kang said.
"That's true." Theodora sighed and nodded: "I'm still thinking about when I can achieve the same achievement as the Ming Dynasty of 'Qi and Qin Mutual Emperors'. Even if the goal is achieved. Isn't this very far away? ?”
"Yeah, I guess we'll have to wait a while." Guo Kang thought for a while and said, "And just relying on industry alone, I guess I won't be able to keep them away for long. While developing industry, the most important thing is to increase the size. .”
"Of course, these actions will definitely be difficult." He spread his hands and said: "How long has it been since the Central Plains were unified, and how long have we been here? This is where we are inherently disadvantaged, and there are no tricks."
"Yes, it's been five thousand years there." Theodora said with emotion.
"More than that." Guo Kang shook his head: "As far as I know, people from all over the world have begun to communicate and integrate since eight thousand years ago; starting from six thousand years ago, large-scale settlements of ancestors began to conquer each other; four thousand Since two years ago, it has been similar to the Warring States Period - roughly equivalent to a dozen civilizations as big as ancient Egypt at the same time, fighting every day in East Asia."
"So it is natural that the Central Plains region has a strong sense of unity and a high degree of integration. People were free in prehistoric times, and they have been fighting unification wars since prehistoric times. They had not yet entered the third ancient generation at that time."
"We now feel that King Qin's attack on Liuhe was a remnant of the Sixth Dynasty of Fen. In fact, I'm afraid it was a remnant of six thousand years that made their unified consciousness appear completely different from other civilizations. To put it bluntly, everyone is the same person, civilization Why is the difference so big? In fact, it is all accumulated in this way."
"Time is such a terrible thing." Theodora sighed: "Rome is really at a disadvantage in this regard."
"Yes, so we can only be more cautious." Guo Kang said: "These can only be made up for through our efforts."
"But are you sure that the Ming Dynasty will follow us in developing industry?" Theodora asked: "They don't seem to have a tradition of church research. Where do you think they will start? In this regard, will it be possible? Create a gap with us?"
"There may be a little bit in the early days, but as long as we develop practical technology, they will react immediately and catch up quickly with their strong size." Guo Kang said firmly.
"Why?" Theodora asked with interest.
"Because there are real military threats around them." Guo Kang said.
(End of chapter)
