"Presumably most of you haven't read my new book yet," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "I'll tell you a historical story first, about 400 years ago, the emperor of the Aztec Empire in the Americas sent the navigator Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic and discovered a new continent called Europe. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoOver the next two hundred years, the Aztec Empire sent colonial troops to carry out a bloody colonial massacre against Europe......"

A few words directly confused the students, and they began to reflect on whether they had learned fake history.

Finally, a student couldn't hold it back, and without waiting to raise his hand, he stood up directly and shouted, "Mr. Zhou, you made a mistake." Columbus was a European, and he discovered the New World of America, and it was Europe that carried out the colonization and slaughter of the Americas. ”

"Oh, really?"

Zhou Hexuan smiled suspiciously, and asked rhetorically: "Then why did Europeans go to the Americas to colonize, instead of Americans going to Europe to colonize?" ”

Immediately, a student replied: "Because Europe is more advanced than the Americas, when Europe was about to enter the era of industrial civilization, and the Americas were still primitive agricultural societies." ”

Zhou Hexuan didn't seem to understand this, and asked the bottom line: "In ancient times, ancient humans scattered all over the world, the starting point of civilization should not be much different. But why didn't the Americas enter industrial civilization first? ”

"Because ......" the student was speechless, not knowing how to answer.

"Then let me ask again," Zhou Hexuan continued, "if human history were to repeat itself, would it be even the slightest possibility that the Americas or Africans were the first to develop industrial civilization and colonize Europe and Asia?" ”

The student said, "Yes...... Possibly. ”

"It is absolutely impossible for Europeans or Asians to enter the industrial age and then colonize the Americas, Australia and Africa," Zhou said categorically, "and this is the main point of my new book, Guns, Bacteria and Steel." ”

A female student raised her hand and asked weakly, "Mr. Zhou, is it because Europeans and Asians are smarter?" ”

"Of course not," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "All races in the world, compared from the moment of birth, there is actually not much difference in IQ. But why did the world develop the way it is? And it is bound to develop into what it is now? Writing, system, science and technology...... These factors are irrelevant, the most important is the development of agriculture. ”

The students in the audience showed puzzled expressions and quietly listened to Zhou Hexuan.

Zhou Hexuan continued:

"If human society wants to develop and reproduce, the prerequisite is to survive. And the way to survive is by fishing, farming, hunting, and nomadism. In ancient times, humans were rarely settled, and after living and multiplying in a certain place for a period of time, they had to migrate in order to obtain a more abundant source of food. But agriculture changed all that, and the development of agriculture brought about settlement, which was a very important foundation, which greatly improved the ability of primitive humans to resist nature. In addition to settlement, it is the domestication of plants and animals, plants are domesticated into cereals, and animals are domesticated into poultry and livestock, which are the basis for the development of human society.

Why do I say that even if we go back in time, it is still the Europeans and Asians who were the first to develop industrial civilization?

Let's take a look at animals first, there are 14 species of large domesticated animals that can be known today, of which 13 species occur in Eurasia, including cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and so on. As for the Americas, it's terrible, there's only one kind, called the alpaca.

By the way, there are no horses in the Americas, and the horses in the Americas today are all descendants brought by Europeans to breed. Cattle can be cultivated, and horses can be used for warfare and transportation, which greatly increases production efficiency. And for the Americans, they did not have horses and cattle and were inherently inferior to Europeans and Asians.

The second is plants, and domesticating plants is too crucial. Nowadays, both in the East and the West, the staple food is plants, and the Americas and Africa are also terrible in this regard.

From the world map, we can see that Eurasia is a transverse continent with little difference in climate. Under primitive cultivation conditions, domesticated plants in Eurasia were able to spread very quickly. The Americas and Africa, on the other hand, are longitudinal continents with very different climates at different latitudes. Mexico and the United States are now next to each other, but it took 3,000 years for Mexican corn to spread to North America, and it was with the help of agricultural technology. In the era of primitive agriculture, it was impossible to grow corn on a large scale in North America.

From this we can conclude that Eurasia is inherently superior. The domestication of animals and plants allowed Eurasian humans to settle and develop complex social systems, freed a large number of people from primary labor and had the energy and time to develop technology, writing, guns and steel, and step by step to reach the lead.

Why do I mention bacteria in my book? It's about animals. The ancestors of Eurasian humans, due to the domestication of various animals, stayed with these animals for a long time, got used to the germs on the animals, and their resistance was greatly improved. This bacterial immunity is also inherited. The European colonists conquered the Americas not only with advanced weapons, but also with the germs they brought. These germs are insolvable to the Americans, who have never encountered them for generations, and who immediately fall ill and often die when they come into contact with them......"

Zhou Hexuan spoke for half an hour, and the students in the audience suddenly realized that they all had a feeling of seeing the sun through the clouds.

In the past, the history they read was the history of such and such a dynasty, such and such a country, and such and such a nation, but Zhou Hexuan today is talking about the history of the entire human race.

"Mr. Zhou, according to you, both Europeans and Asians have advantages, why is China lagging behind Europe now?" Suddenly, a student asked.

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "This question is a good question, the advancement of the Eurasian continent is a historical necessity, but the backwardness of the Chinese is an accident of necessity." This involves the geographical location of East Asia, as well as the influence of culture and institutions. But China will inevitably revive again, because China's heritage is very deep, and no one can be defeated in one or two hundred years. For specific discussions, you can read my new book, and I won't go into details. ”

The student stood up again and said, "Mr. Zhou, you haven't answered my question yet, why are you advocating dictatorship?" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled slightly: "This classmate, that's just my personal academic opinion, you can choose not to believe it." Moreover, I am not calling for dictatorship, I am advocating democratic centralism. As for the liberal democracy you are pursuing, if you have the opportunity, you can go to Europe and the United States to observe the people at the bottom there. When you look at their living conditions, you will know what kind of democracy democracy is in Europe and the United States today. It is the democracy of capitalists and politicians, and it has nothing to do with ordinary people. ”