"Your Majesty, Augustus, the virtuous men of all the great men. We are Matthews of the Library of Alexandria in the Egyptian province of the Roman Empire. Today, commissioned by Augustus, I would like to give you a brief introduction to the history of Rome. After I met the diplomat Li Mi in Byzantium, I worked hard to learn the language of your country. But in the end, the time is too short, so when necessary, you still need the help of a translator. ”

In such an era as the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, due to the limitation of means of transportation. People-to-people and state-to-nation interactions are very difficult. It is precisely because of this that once there is an opportunity to communicate, both parties and even many parties involved in the exchange will burst out with great enthusiasm. Therefore, after the Great Imperial Meeting on the 20th, on the 21st, in the lecture hall of the Longshouyuan Academy, the scholars of the Three Kingdoms began to teach the history of their own countries.

On this day, the lecture hall, which was originally designed to accommodate 1,000 people, was unprecedentedly overcrowded. In the Ji Han Dynasty, all the clans and high-ranking officials who could find time, the professors, scholars, and all the students of the Longshouyuan and Wuzhangyuan Academies, plus some representatives of the clans in or near Chang'an City. The whole lecture hall was filled with water.

“…… The above is the royal era of my Rome. After that, we Romans no longer needed the rule of the king, and instead ruled by the consuls elected by the citizens' assembly. Thus, we in Rome entered the era of the Republic. ”

Eastern and Western civilizations, when it comes to their origins, often have a bit of myths and legends. So, when Matthews talks about the origins of Rome, Romulos and Lemos's mother was conceived by the god of war, and was raised by a she-wolf after being abandoned by her uncle. The Han people in the hall don't think there is anything ridiculous: when you open the historical records, it is not uncommon for the ancestors of China to get pregnant after eating bird eggs and stepping on the footprints of giants to get pregnant. Needless to say, it's so far away, let's just say that our Emperor Taizu Gao of the Han Dynasty is also known as his wife who was conceived by the dragon?

But what happened next divided the audience below.

Family: Oh, yes, if the king does something too bad, we can really rush up and drive him away, and we can elect our own agents to govern the country. And the citizens' assembly and the senate or something, it's very interesting. Why don't we do one in the future?

Emperor: It's ridiculous! The monarch does not speak to you, and it is a great rebellion for you to drive him away. But it's not like nothing like this in my Huaxia. This is still tolerable. But if you drive out a man who is not good, you should replace him with a king. How can you completely dismiss the king and make an archon or something?

“…… As I have just said, as our Roman territory has expanded, the former consulship system has become less and less suitable for the current state of the country. Centrifugal tendencies are growing in various places, and the country has repeatedly fallen into civil strife. At this time, a powerful figure is needed to exercise dictatorship over the country for a long time. So, the empire came into being. ”

Just when the family and the emperor were thinking carefully because of the history of the republic. Matthews, on the other hand, speaks of the crisis of the late Republic and the fact that Rome had to turn to the imperial system again. And openly demonstrated the benefits of a prolonged dictatorship by a political strongman. At this moment, the mood of the family and the emperor was completely reversed.

But the emperor's mood was not much better. Because, the throne of the Roman Empire is not entirely inherited by the son. More often than not, it was the emperor who deliberately cultivated his ministers and let them take over his throne. Moreover, there is almost no blood relationship between the two.

Isn't this a clear statement that Guan Zifeng can take over as emperor! Sure enough, this Guan Zifeng is really harboring evil intentions!

“…… Due to the defeat and capture of His Majesty the Emperor Valerian in the Battle of Edessa, the succession to the throne has lost order. So for a whole decade, the empire fell into division and civil war. It was not until the birth of His Majesty Aurelian that the civil strife of the country was gradually quelled and the divided country was reunited. That is, when His Majesty Aurelian was about to ascend the imperial throne, the envoys of the Han Dynasty came to our Byzantium in Rome. I met His Majesty Aurelian, who was still the commander-in-chief of the Imperial cavalry at that time. So, it's really been a wonderful journey, a magical destiny...... Ladies and gentlemen, I have just given you as concise as possible a brief introduction to the history of our country. For the sake of time, it is extremely general. This time, our mission has brought you five sets of Chinese history books, which are currently being translated and written in conjunction with scholars from your country. If you are interested in the future, you can have an in-depth discussion with us......"

The history of Rome, if counted from the beginning of Romulus's ascension to the throne, is equivalent to the early years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in China. Thousands of years of history, no matter how concisely it is told, takes a lot of time. So, after Matthews roughly finished the Roman history. It was already dark, and Ma Guo had already ordered the academy's support staff to light countless candles in the lecture hall.

Although the night is getting darker, for the first time, I have come into contact with a high-level civilization that is no less than that of the Han itself. The enthusiasm of the audience has not diminished at all. After the host Guan Yi said that everyone could ask questions to the speaker, countless arms suddenly stood up.

"Hehe, Your Majesty also raised his hand. Your Majesty may ask the first question. ”

"Well, Mr. Ma, I have a question, your country was in the late period of the so-called republic, because of the weakness of the central government, which led to the centrifugation of various places. As a result, you had to choose the Emperor on your own initiative. But after listening to it, it was you who chose the emperor, but the emperor of your country didn't seem to be very happy. The Senate or something, the constraints on the emperor are too great. Many times, it is clear that the emperor's decision is correct, but because of the Senate, many opportunities slip away. Haven't you thought about abolishing the Senate? ”

"Your Majesty, this question of yours has also been raised by us in Rome. There was much debate among scholars in Japan, but in the end, the prevailing opinion was that the Senate needed to be retained. He was a check and balance on the power of kings. Although in the face of a strong and excellent monarch, the Senate played a very small role. But no matter what, the emperor cannot be allowed to have outright dictatorial power. Otherwise, sooner or later, the country will fall into the absurdity and chaos of the royal era. ”

As soon as this passage came out, some people coaxed and some applauded. Of course, this applause lasted for a very short time.

"Hehehe, next question. Well, the general of the Che Cavalry? ”

"Mr. Ma, the old man, the big man, the general Zhang Yi. I just heard you talk about the Punic War. The old man has two questions, one is, how does Hannibal evaluate the history books of your country? Second, before the Third Punic War, you put forward conditions that Carthage could not agree to at all. Is there a suspicion of deliberately forcing the other side to go to war? ”

"Well, Hannibal is a great, miraculous commander in the annals of our country. Militarily no less than the great Alexander the Great and Caesar. But he was also the most ferocious and dangerous enemy of our Rome in the Republic. But no matter how good Hannibal was, he was only a commander of a corps in Carthage, not the ruler of a country. This alone doomed him to failure. It is precisely because of his lesson that China's powerful soldiers will inevitably seize the corresponding political power after taking control of the army. It can be said that the defeat of Hannibal has, in a sense, contributed to the birth of the imperial system in our country.

As for the question of forcing Carthage to war, you mentioned, General. There is no doubt that a country with potential, and in close proximity to our Rome. We certainly won't give him any chance to grow. Be sure to put it to death and hurry up! ”

“…… I see, the old man understood. Well, Your Majesty, Da Sima, my country's military academy, in the future, should find someone to sort out the thinking of Cao Mengde, Sima Zhongda, Zhang Junyi and others. The art of conducting is a thing, as long as it is useful, and it does not have to look at people. After all, we can't tolerate the existence of the Jin and Wu countries around our Han for a long time. All in all, the old man has benefited a lot today. ”

"Hehehe, the general of the Che Cavalry has a point. Gojohara Academy has such an idea, just do it. So, the next one, well, Uncle Bozhi? ”

"Mr. Ma, under the Great Han Huwei General Zhao Tong. What I want to ask is that your country has a thousand-year history and has changed many dynasties. Why hasn't this country name been changed? Not only that, but the capital has not moved? ”

"Ah, General Zhao is a good question. This is also a place where we have been puzzled since we studied the history of your country. That's right, my Rome has gone through the monarchical era, the republic period, and now it is in the imperial era. But the name of our country has always been Rome. The capital was also always in the city of Rome. But I would like to ask you, why does it have to change the name of the country when it comes to changing the dynasty? Why does a new dynasty always want to destroy the glory of the previous one? In the millennium since the founding of Rome, the people are still dominated by Romans and Latins, and the culture is still the same. So we don't think it's necessary to change the country name and capital! But your country, your country's history is longer than ours, and its culture is also in the same line. So I don't understand, what's the point of changing this country name? ”