What is the root cause of the Dragon Age's transformation from prosperity to decline?

In the first row of the podium, a young man with a golden dragon who had transformed into a human form raised his hand, and after receiving the professor's approval, he stood up and replied: "There are three main factors in the destruction of the Dragon Age, the first is the fierce conflict between the metal dragon and the colored dragon, the second is the cliff-like collapse of the population, and finally the cunning human beings provoke it and take advantage of the dragon clan's internal fighting. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

As a member of the human race, Roland was uncomfortable listening. However, he had to admit that this interpretation was basically in line with historical facts.

"That's a good answer, after the end of the Dragon Age, the arcane spellcasters in the human race replaced the dragon as the master of the world of Vares, creating a two-thousand-year-long arcane era, so why did the once glorious Arcane Empire decline?" Professor Jin Long continued to ask questions.

Someone in the audience raised their hands and replied: "The main reasons are as follows: first, the Vares native magic crystal resources are depleted, and the empire is forced to expand outward to plunder resources, and the battle line is too long to maintain rapid expansion; secondly, the Arcane lords of the overseas colonies became independent and refused to pay taxes to their overlords, which increased the financial pressure; Thirdly, it was the setback of foreign colonization that led to the failure to fulfill the promised soldiers' remuneration, and the warlords were numerous, and there were constant civil wars; And the last straw that broke the camel's back was the floating city that blocked the sun, angering the sun god Perot. ”

"Basically correct, but you have overlooked the most crucial factor, those arrogant arcanists have angered not only the gods, but also the people!" Professor Jin Long's expression was serious, "The Arcane Empire has long implemented a harsh caste system, dividing humans into two classes: 'spellcasters' and 'non-spellcasters', spellcasters enjoy many privileges, in order to maintain their special status, they have made decrees strictly prohibiting the teaching of magic knowledge to the lower classes, this system has led to serious social fragmentation, the civilian ascending channel is blocked and oppressed, and the long-accumulated anger has erupted violently under the leadership of the Holy Light Church, and finally destroyed the foundation of the Arcane Lords' rule. ”

"How do you evaluate the gains and losses of the Arcane Empire? Today, 3,500 years later, we can conclude that if we deny that it was a great era, we have no brains; If we think it was a good time, we have no conscience. ”

Roland could listen intently when footsteps came from behind him, and someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

Roland suddenly came back to his senses, and when he looked back, he saw the half-dragon guard standing behind him with a smile, still carrying a chair in his hand.

"You may be seated."

"This ...... No, it's fine for me to stand and listen to the lecture. ”

"You are welcome, please take a seat."

"Alright then, thank you."

The guard bowed to Roland and turned to leave.

Roland sat in a fluffy chair, grateful and wondering: Isn't this service too gracious?

The gaze cast around him deepened his uneasiness. Obviously, the students who had been messing around in the school for many years were also surprised by this scene, and whispered to each other about his origins, and why the chief attendant of the House of Elders was so polite to him, and brought him chairs, which was unheard of.

"It turns out that they are the attendant military attachés of the House of Elders, no wonder they have quasi-legendary strength......"

The discussion helped Roland answer a question, but at the same time, more questions emerged: why did the attendant military attache of the House of Elders act as a doorman at the door of the lecture hall, and be especially polite to him, a visitor from other places?

These doubts could not be concluded for the time being, and he did not think about it further, and continued to listen to the lecture.

"Today, in my opinion, the 'Age of Light' is also coming to an end, and there are similarities and differences between the problem and the end of the 'Arcane Age'."

On the podium, Mr. Jin Long had already talked about the reality of the world of Vares, which was also the focus of the lecture.

"Today, the religious conflicts in Vares, involving all levels of society, are becoming more and more intense, and I can responsibly tell you that the Arcane Age was not so serious even at the end of the period, when the Church of the Light was active as a peasant revolutionary organization, and the religious atmosphere was not strong, and many of the scriptures of the Church of the Light did not exist at that time, and there was only one of the most simple slogans: under the sun, all beings have an equal right to live. As for the opposing arcane classes, they are almost all unbelievers. ”

"According to credible statistics, there are now at least more than a thousand influential sects in Vares, including open orders and secret societies, those who believe in true gods, those who believe in natural spirits and philosophical ideas, and those who believe in evil gods, devils, demons, and even ancient evil things.

"It has been 1618 years since the founding of the Holy Light Empire, children, even in terms of the lifespan of our dragons, this is a long time, during which the Church of Pero has been the dominant religion in the continent of Atlas and even in the whole territory of Vares, so who can tell me what is the greatest positive role of the Church of Pero in the rule of the Empire?"

"Maintain stability." An elven scholar in the audience replied.

"Maintaining stability, very well said, this problem is too complicated to talk about, I don't expand on the limited time in class, everyone writes a paper on a related topic after class, it is regarded as homework." Professor Jin Long cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Let's move on to the second problem that the Holy Light Empire is currently facing, why is the stability maintenance function of the Church more and more out of order?" Is it the bloated and rigid system, the conflict between the self-interest of the clergy and their educational mission, the widespread corruption that leads to the bankruptcy of prestige and the gradual loss of the ability to replace the bureaucracy in rural governance? Or is it because of the rise of new ideas, and I mean nationalism here, that has had an impact on the universal values of equality and cosmopolitanism in the Holy See? ”

These factors have been discussed in depth by other scholars in their papers and monographs, and I will not repeat them here, but focus on four points: land annexation, technological stagnation, population explosion, and the involution of agricultural production. The first thing to pay attention to is the long-term stagnation of agricultural technology, which has led to a strange situation in the entire empire where the peasants make up the absolute majority of the population: no matter how hard you work on this land, the grain production will never be significantly improved, barely making ends meet, there is no surplus agricultural products to exchange goods, and the quality of life has not been improved, so the vicious circle has never been able to get rid of the threat of hunger and cold. But we must not give up cultivating the land, otherwise the family will have nothing to eat, and the rent and tithes owed will not be paid, so they will have to work tirelessly, fall into a vicious circle, and if they lose faith in religion again, they will fall into a completely hopeless situation. ”

At this time, someone in the audience raised his hand and asked: "However, we all know that the technological development of the world of Varess has not stagnated, and the magic steam technology, the elemental theory, the mechanism theory and alchemy are being popularized and applied in the industrial field, why did agricultural technology not board this tailwind ship of the industrial revolution in the first place?" ”