"200 years ago!"

Ivanova exclaimed: "How can that rebellion have anything to do with Peter the Great? ”

The salon held by Marion today invited about 20 guests, and a few couches were not enough to sit, and some chairs and benches were moved. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Everyone didn't take Zhou Hexuan seriously before, and it wasn't until he said what he thought of Picasso that he attracted a little attention, but he basically thought that Zhou Hexuan was grandstanding.

The October Revolution in Russia has been successful for nearly a decade, causing great consternation in the West, but the research on it is only superficial, because even the Soviet Union itself is still exploring.

Zhou Hexuan's entry point was completely unexpected by everyone, he actually pulled Peter the Great 200 years ago.

Linard, deputy editor-in-chief of the Beijing-Tianjin Times, asked, "Does Mr. Zhou think that Peter the Great is the bane?" ”

"Don't worry, let's take our time to analyze," Zhou Hexuan asked Pu Yi with a smile, "Mr. Pu (that's what you call you), you know Peter the Great very well, right?" ”

Pu Yi nodded and said, "That's a great monarch. ”

At the time of the Wuxu Reform, the reformers highly respected Peter the Great and Emperor Meiji, and hoped that Emperor Guangxu would follow those two monarchs as an example. Nine years ago, Zhang Xun was restored, and Pu Yi was also ready to do a big job, specializing in studying and understanding the monarchs of various countries.

"200 years ago, the young Peter the Great concealed his status as a monarch and went to the Netherlands to study shipbuilding, England to study architecture, and Sweden to learn infantry tactics...... Prussia, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, he has traveled to almost all the advanced countries of Europe," Zhou Hexuan said, "He wanted to complete the modernization of Russia on his own, and from this point of view, Peter the Great was indeed a great monarch." ”

Everyone nodded involuntarily, wanting to hear Zhou Hexuan continue.

"But," Zhou Hexuan's tone changed, "Peter the Great's reforms, like those of the former Qing Dynasty, were doomed to failure from the beginning. ”

"Why?" Pu Yi couldn't help but ask.

In the eyes of everyone's inquiring and puzzled, Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Although the territory of Russia at that time was large, the system was very backward, the domestic economy was completely dependent on agriculture, there were only dozens of handicraft workshops in the country, and even in the capital Moscow, there were no more than three literate people out of a hundred. Because of the vast land and sparsely populated land, the productivity was extremely low, and the Russian peasants were unable to cultivate enough land, resulting in a large amount of arable land being idle and barren. So the nobles came up with a way to capture the peasants as slaves and keep them in captivity, first satisfying the cultivation of their fiefdoms, and then the serfdom in Russia was born. ”

Serfdom in Russia is well known, but Zhou Hexuan's analysis is simple and thorough, which makes the eyes of Linard, Peter Pan and other people in the press shine.

Zhou Hexuan also said: "Peter the Great's industrialization and modernization reform will inevitably free a large number of serfs from the land, which touches the fundamental interests of the aristocracy. So in the process of reform, the aristocracy opposed him, the church hated him, and even his son decided to rebel. Peter the Great was very strong-handed, he suppressed the nobles, executed rebels, and even killed his own son. This kind of method, if Mr. Pu comes to be the emperor, I'm afraid you won't be able to do it, right? ”

Pu Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head, not to mention that he has no real power, even if he has power, he can't be so iron-blooded.

"Under Peter the Great's insistence, Russia's reform finally improved a little, and in order to get rid of the old strength, he did not hesitate to defeat Sweden and take the sea outlet, and moved the capital to the newly occupied land," Zhou Hexuan smiled mockingly, "But as soon as Peter the Great died, the fruits of his reform were all in vain, and everything returned to the original point." It's a pity. ”

Ivanova empathized: "It is indeed a pity that if Peter the Great's reforms had succeeded, Russia might still be under the rule of the tsar." ”

Peter Pan asked, "Mr. Zhou, what does this have to do with the October Revolution in Russia?" ”

"Don't worry, let's take our time," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "Let's talk about Catherine II and Napoleon." ”

Everyone is even more confused, Catherine II is still the Empress of Russia, but how did the French Emperor Napoleon also be involved?

Zhou Hexuan recounted slowly: "It is ridiculous to say that after the death of Peter the Great, it was actually a woman who inherited his great cause of reform, and it was a German woman, a Russian woman who was educated by the French Enlightenment ideology. She is Catherine II! ”

Empress Wanrong studied at an American mission school in Tianjin when she was a child, and she could not help but ask: "Isn't Catherine II the Empress of Russia?" How did she become a German woman again. ”

Catherine, the wife of the British consul, explained: "There is a tradition of marriage between European royal families, and Catherine II was indeed born into a German aristocracy. ”

"Yes," said Zhou Hexuan, "Catherine II was deeply influenced by the French Enlightenment when she was in Germany. Its roots lie in Napoleon, when the Emperor Napoleon swept through Europe, and every place he occupied, he passed on the ideas of the French Enlightenment, resulting in the later imperial revolutions and civil rights movements in Europe. When Catherine II married in Russia, her mind was full of freedom, equality, democracy, and the rule of law, which was incompatible with the social reality of Russia. She saw herself as the successor of Peter the Great, and when she became empress, she resolutely set off a wave of reform in Russia. ”

Lu Jingyan exclaimed: "Ye Huang is really a model for women. ”

The other women in the living room also praised Catherine II as a representative of advanced women.

Zhou Hexuan poured cold water on them: "However, Catherine II herself betrayed herself, she took the initiative to terminate the reforms, and became the leader of the conservative forces in Russia. ”

"How is that possible?" The women exclaimed in unison.

"Because Catherine II had the same problems as Peter the Great," Zhou Hexuan explained, "she found that in the process of reform, her power came from the nobility, and that reform was to reform the lives of the nobles, and eventually to reform her own lives." She was afraid, and in order to consolidate her position and transfer the contradictions at home, she resolutely set off a foreign war and expanded a large territory for Russia. And in order to rule a larger empire, she turned more civilians into serfs, and she is turning back the clock of history! ”

The women in the living room looked at each other and said that what about the heroine, how did she become a female demon?

Zhou Hexuan continued: "Although the reforms of Peter the Great and Catherine II were not successful, they also had some results: first, the territory of Russia expanded rapidly in their hands; second, the aristocracy was given more freedom, and industry was developed to a certain extent; Thirdly, the literacy rate of the Russians is increasing, and the people's minds are being emancipated to a limited extent; Fourth, a large area of land is complex in Russia, and national contradictions are intensifying day by day; Fifth, the number of serfs has increased, and the situation has become even more miserable. ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Hexuan suddenly said loudly: "These have planted the seeds for the October Revolution!" ”

Everyone looked at Zhou Hexuan in disbelief and did not interrupt him again, and the whole salon seemed to have turned into Zhou Hexuan's personal display stage.

"Why do the reforms of Peter the Great and Catherine II sow the seeds of the October Revolution, let's analyze them one by one......" Zhou Hexuan became more and more fluent, and what he said was not unusual in later generations, but for people in the early 20th century, it was particularly novel and profound, like an initiation, which made people feel stunned.