Liu Chuanjin and Kong Dache stepped forward and wanted to help Du Jipeng.

"His foot may be broken, don't move just yet, let him lie down for a while." Chen Wei stared at Du Jipeng, "Go and call the doctor." ”

Liu Chuanjin answered, got up and ran out of the training room quickly, at this time Wu Yingke walked over and picked up the hidden weapon thrown by Du Jipeng that was shot down by Chen Wei with a long knife.

It was a thick "Xianfeng Tongbao" as a hundred dollars.

This kind of big copper coin is a fictitious large-denomination coin minted during the Xianfeng period of the Qianguo Kingdom due to the economic difficulties of the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion, because of its heavy body (the face value of the big coin weighs five taels), it is often used by the people in the rivers and lakes as a hidden weapon to beat people, this time Du Jipeng used it to hit Chen Wei, obviously very familiar with its additional function.

"What happened?" Jericho hurried in, and behind him was a medic on board.

When Wu Yingke saw Jericho come in, he immediately put the big copper coin into his arms, and as soon as he looked up, he met Chen Wei's gaze, and he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart.

Chen Wei quietly turned his head and faced Jericho.

"What's going on?" Jericho was taken aback when he saw Du Jipeng lying on the ground.

Du Jipeng took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and sat up, turned to Jericho, and said loudly in English: "I fell down and sprained my foot while practicing martial arts, I'm sorry!" Sir! ”

Hearing Du Jipeng's answer, the surrounding students all looked surprised, but no one spoke.

The military doctor came to Du Jipeng's side, examined his injured foot, and said to Jericho: "It may be a fractured bone." Immediate treatment is required. ”

"Carry him to the infirmary." Jellico ordered.

Two sailors helped Du Jipeng out of the "house of pain". Chen Wei's gaze swept over everyone. Sharply said, "Keep training!" ”

At night, most of the people on the "Indomitable" fell asleep, but Chen Wei did not sleep.

At this time, he was writing hard under the lamp.

"Dear Mr. Lin Yiqing: Hello."

"Thank you for asking my mother again and again about me, I was well aboard the Indomitable, and I gained a lot of insight as the Indomitable arrived at several ports in France and Spain. You last wrote to me to ask me why it was among the scattered and relatively inexperienced peoples who settled in the western part of Eurasia. What is the reason for the unstoppable economic development and technological innovation that has made it firmly a commercial and military pioneer in world affairs? I thought about this question for a long time, and I also consulted some senior experts in the Royal Navy. My answer may be sketchy, but I think it can give you some inspiration, namely: there is a mechanism that is primarily caused and driven by economic and technological progress, although this development always interacts with other variables, such as social structure, geography, and contingency; To understand the course of world politics, it is necessary to focus on the material and long-term factors at work, rather than on the change of character or short-term changes in diplomacy and politics; Strength is a relative thing that can only be described and measured through frequent comparisons between countries and societies. ”

"Mr. Lin. When you look at a map of the world's 'centers of power' from three centuries ago, there is one European feature that immediately catches the eye. This is the political division. This was not an occasional or short-lived state of affairs like that of Middle-earth in a short period of time after the collapse of an empire and before its successors were able to retighten the ropes of centralized power. Europe was always politically divided, and despite the best efforts of the Roman Empire, they failed to conquer much more than north of the Rhine and Danube; In the 1,000 years following the fall of Rome, the main units of political power were small and confined to a few places compared to the steady expansion of the Christian faith and culture. The occasional concentration of power, as in the time of Charlemagne in the West or Kievan Rus' in the East, was only temporary, and would end immediately with a change of ruler, a domestic uprising, or an external invasion. ”

"This diversity in European politics is largely due to its geography. There is no cavalry empire here that can impose its rapid power on the Great Plains; Nor are there as vast and fertile river basins as around the Ganges, Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, Yellow and Yangtze rivers that could provide food for industrious and easily conquerable peasants. The topography of Europe was more fragmented, with numerous mountains and large forests separating scattered population centers; The climate in Europe varies greatly from north to south and from west to east, which leads to many important consequences. First, it makes it difficult to unify control, even by strong, resolute warlords, which reduces the likelihood of the continent being ravaged by external forces like the Mongol nomadic tribes. On the contrary, this diversity of terrain contributed to the development and continued existence of decentralized regimes, with regional kingdoms, frontier aristocratic domains, highland clans, and lowland town federations forming the political map of Europe, and maps drawn at any time after the fall of Rome looked like a sheet patched with patches of variegated cloth, the pattern of which may have been different from century to century, but never a single color could be used to mark a unified empire. ”

"The different climatic conditions in Europe have created different products that are suitable for exchange, which are transported from one village to another along rivers or by forest trails as market relations develop. Perhaps the most important feature of this trade was that it consisted mainly of large quantities of goods – timber, grain, wine, wool, herring, etc., which were intended to meet the needs of Europe's growing population, rather than luxuries transported by caravans from the East. Geography plays a key role here, as these commodities are much more economical to transport by water, and Europe has many navigable rivers. The surrounding sea was another stimulus to the vital shipbuilding industry, and by the end of the Middle Ages, a thriving maritime trade took place between the Baltic, the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Although this trade was partially interrupted by wars and affected by localized disasters such as poor harvests and plagues, on the whole it continued to develop, contributing to the prosperity of Europe, enriching its food and leading to the creation of new centers of wealth, such as the Hanseatic towns or the Italian city-states. Regular long-distance commodity trading will inevitably contribute to the development of bills of exchange, credit systems and banking on an international scale. The very existence of commercial credit and insurance policies indicates that the economic situation is largely predictable. Previously, merchants anywhere in the world had hardly enjoyed such conditions. ”

"In addition. Much of the trade was carried out through the rough seas of the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay. And because distant-water fisheries have become an important source of nutrition and wealth, the shipbuilding industry has been prompted to build sturdy (albeit slow and crude) ships that can carry large quantities of cargo and navigate the wind. Although at one time ships became more agile by enlarging their sails, masts and rudders, the 'small boats' of the North Sea and the ships that later replaced them may not have been as impressive as the light ships that regularly sailed to and from the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, but in the long run. They will have particular advantages. ”

"This decentralized, largely unrepressed, trade, and the political and social consequences of the development of merchants, ports, and markets are of great significance. First of all, there is no way to completely suppress this economic development. This is not to say that the rise of market power has not worried many in power. Suspecting that the city was a center of heresy and a refuge for serfs, the feudal lords often tried to curtail their privileges. As elsewhere, merchants were often robbed, their goods stolen and their property taken. The papacy's view of usury, his aversion to profitable middlemen and moneylenders, in many ways resonated with the Confucian doctrine of the Eastern Continental Empire. But the basic facts are. There is no unified regime in Europe that can effectively prevent the development of trade of one kind or another; No central government has caused the rise or decline of a particular industry because it has changed the course of development, in the context of the political division of Europe during the Christian Reformation. It would be inconceivable for everyone to admit that the Pope had divided the overseas world into Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence, and it is even harder to imagine the effect of a decree prohibiting overseas trade, such as that issued by the Middle-earth Dynasty and Japan during the Shogunate period. ”

"The truth is that even when others plundered and expelled the merchants, there were always princes and local nobles in Europe who were willing to tolerate the merchants and their ways, such as the oppressed Jewish merchants, the bankrupt Flemish textile workers, and the persecuted Huguenots, who took their know-how with them when they migrated. A Rhineland baron found out that his profits had been lost when he had overtaxed his trade routes. A debt-ridden monarch would have a hard time borrowing another loan when faced with the threat of the next war and desperately needed money to equip his army and fleet. Bankers, arms dealers, and artisans are all important members of society, not side-drumming. Gradually, unevenly, most European regimes have developed a symbiotic relationship with the market economy, providing it with a domestic order and a non-arbitrary legal system (even for foreigners) and a share of the growing commercial profits in the form of taxes. In Adam? Long before Smith coined the exact phrase, the rulers of certain societies in Western Europe had tacitly acknowledged: 'In order to develop a nation from the lowest barbarity to its maximum prosperity, nothing is needed except peace, light taxation, and a tolerant and just government...... and sometimes less discerning leaders, such as the monarch of Castile in Spain or the occasional Bourbon king in France, attempt to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, but the result is a diminishing of wealth and the consequent decline of military power. ”

"The only factor that could lead to the centralization of power is a very significant breakthrough in the technology of firearms in a country to the point that all enemies are crushed or subdued. It was impossible for the Italian Renaissance to flourish at a time when the economic and technological development of Europe was accelerating three centuries ago, the population of the continent was recovering from the blows of the Black Death. As mentioned earlier, it was during this considerable period of time that the 'Gunpowder Empire' was established elsewhere. Russia, Tokugawa Japan, and Mughal India provide good examples of how great power leaders, once in command of firearms and artillery, can force all opponents into submission, and that such leaders can indeed change the image of great powers. ”

"Moreover, because the new warfare techniques were more likely to take place in Europe in the late Middle Ages and early modern times than elsewhere. The difference in Europe is that every competitive force has access to new military technologies, so that no regime has a decisive advantage. For example, the Swiss army and other mercenaries are ready to serve anyone who can pay. There is no one-of-a-kind center for the production of ballistas or for the production of cannons. Whether it was an early bronze cannon or a later cheaper cast iron cannon. These weapons can be found close to mineral deposits in the forest zone. Such as Central Europe, Malaga, Milan, Liège. Later produced in Sweden. Similarly, the spread of shipbuilding technology in ports from the Baltic to the Black Sea makes it extremely difficult for a country to monopolize maritime power, which inevitably helps to prevent the conquest and elimination of the competitive centres of arms production located on the other side of the sea. ”

"Well, if Europe's decentralized state system is a huge obstacle to centralization, it is not a repetition of synonyms. Because there are many competing political entities, most of which have or can purchase military means to assert their independence, none of them can make a breakthrough in dominating the continent. The balance of military power is rapidly shifting in favor of the West. To explain this change. Once again, the decentralization of power in Europe must be illustrated. What the primitive form of the arms race, first between the city-states and the subsequent larger kingdoms, produced and, above all, what will be produced. This may have socio-economic roots to some extent. Since the warring armies of Italy were no longer made up of feudal knights and their attendants, but of spearmen, crossbowmen, and cavalrymen paid by merchants and supervised by the administrator of a particular city, it was almost inevitable that the city would demand the realization of the value of the money paid, despite the tricks of the mercenary captains so as not to become redundant; In other words, cities need the kind of weapons and tactics that can be won quickly to keep military costs down. In the same way, now that the monarchs have a 'national' army under their direct control and payment, they are anxious to see this force produce decisive results. ”

"On the same grounds. This free-market system not only forced a large number of mercenary captains to compete for contracts, but also encouraged artisans and inventors to improve their products. to strive for new orders. When cannons were first used, there was not much difference between Western and Asian countries in terms of the design and effectiveness of cannons. The huge barrels that fired the stone balls and made a loud bang clearly looked remarkable and served as the kind of cannon that the Turks had used to bombard the walls of Constantinople. However, it seems that only in Europe there is a constant incentive for technological improvements: in terms of gunpowder granules, in casting much smaller (but equally powerful) cannons from copper and tin alloys, in terms of the shape and structure of barrels and shells, in gun carriages and gun carriages. All this greatly increased the firepower and mobility of the artillery, giving the owners of such weapons the means to destroy the strongest fortresses. ”

"But that's not to say that other civilizations haven't improved their early, simple-built weapons. They were often improved by imitating European patterns or by convincing European visitors (such as Jesuits in Middle-earth) to lend their expertise. But since the government of the Sui dynasty enjoyed a monopoly on cannons, and Russia, Japan, and Mughal India soon acquired such a monopoly, now that their regimes were established, there was much less incentive to improve this monopoly. After the Central Plains and the Japanese turned to seclusion, they neglected to develop arms production. The Islamic soldiers, clinging to traditional methods of warfare, were less interested in artillery, until it was too late to catch up with the leading position in Europe. The commanders of the Russian and Mughal armies, faced with less developed peoples, did not have the urgent need to improve their weapons, since they already had armies that overwhelmed the enemy. As in the general economic sphere, Europe has achieved a decisive leading position over other civilizations and centres of power in this particular field of military technology, stimulated by a booming arms trade. ”

"Two further consequences of the spiral of this weapon, one is to ensure the pluralism of European politics, and the other is that it finally gains supremacy at sea. The impact of the 'gunpowder revolution' at sea was even wider. In an era when naval warfare was trying to imitate land warfare, the installation of cannons on sailing ships was a very natural development. Just as medieval castles were lined with archers along walls and bastions to repel besieging armies, the great merchant ships of Genoa, Venice and Aragon were armed with crossbows and guarded the 'bastions' in the bow and stern to defend themselves against Muslim pirates in the Mediterranean. This would result in heavy casualties among the crew, though it would not necessarily save the peaceful merchants, if the attackers were determined. ”

"However, once sailors had a good grasp of the advances made in the design of land cannons, they were quick to put them on board, and the development of long-range armed sailing ships heralded an important advance in Europe's place in the world. Western naval powers use these ships to put themselves in a very advantageous position: to control the Atlantic trade routes, to deter all societies that are vulnerable to maritime power. When looking back at history, it sometimes seems difficult to understand: how could a country with such a limited population and resources as Portugal have been able to sail so far and achieve so much. This is by no means impossible in the exceptional circumstances of the superiority of the European army and navy mentioned above. Once this step was taken, the empire's lucrative profits and desire for more money accelerated the process of expansion. (To be continued......)

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