A river warship carrying a British mission to China.

The British envoy group was rather shabby, with a total of more than 10 people. And he didn't come by warship, because the British mainland was planning a naval battle with the Netherlands, and there were no warships to escort the envoys.

They boarded a merchant ship of the British East India Company and resupplied in the Portuguese colonial ports along the way. After arriving in India, the British cheered when they heard that Malacca had been seized by China, and immediately went to Malacca for exchanges.

Then, British merchant ships docked in Banten to do business, and the British legation was escorted north by the Datong Navy.

The representative of the British mission, John Milton, wrote "Paradise Lost", "On the Freedom of the Press", "On Education", "On the Duties of the King and the Officials", etc.

Milton was Cromwell's mentor and was an active advocate of revolution and democracy.

After Cromwell came to power, Milton served as his secretary of foreign affairs. Milton was responsible for all the diplomatic correspondence in England, and by the way he played with the nobles who opposed Cromwell.

Britain's mission to China this time was of a somewhat personal nature, and Cromwell directly threw his foreign secretary over.

"Mr. John, the Chinese came and said that Nanjing is coming soon, let's prepare." Deputy Envoy Andrew Marville knocked on the door.

Andrew Marville, a famous English metaphysical poet and Cromwell's tutor as a teenager, is currently working as Milton's Latin secretary.

Milton put down his quill pen, hung up his glasses, and said, "Then get ready to disembark." “

Marville said with a smile: "The mission of this mission is to persuade China to go to war with the Netherlands, weaken the Netherlands' strength in Asia, and order the Dutch headquarters to send more warships to support Asia." This task ended before it began, China and the Netherlands had already fought twice, and the strength of the Netherlands in the Far East was weakened to the extreme. The two of us, all we need to do is meet the Chinese emperor, and we can focus on appreciating the exotic scenery. ”

Milton shook his head: "Our navy is still too weak, it is better to provoke another war between China and the Netherlands." “

"I'm afraid it's unrealistic," Mr. Marvell said, "that China and the Netherlands have just signed a ten-year truce, and neither side will take the risk of tearing it up." “

"Give it a try." Milton was a workaholic, and if he hadn't been sent to China, he would have lost his sight next year because of his day and night work.

The Yangtze River sailor sent the British mission to the wharf, and someone went into the city to inform the Honglu Temple, and the officials of the Honglu Temple would receive foreign envoys into the city.

Before the officials of Honglu Temple came, Milton and the others were waiting at the dock.

More than a dozen dock cranes are working, and workers pull pulleys to haul heavy loads onto the boats. There were more dock coolies in the rear, carrying boxes of goods, and there was a busy scene everywhere.

"Everyone, please wait in front of you, don't stand in the way of the dock." said the translator of the Navy.

So they went on, and there were many people carrying rods. In fact, it is a "taxi", and the "coachmen" are getting together and waiting for business.

Where to brag and laugh from time to time.

There was a sliding pole carrying passengers from the city to the docks.

The guests got off the sedan car to pay and went straight to the river to wait for the boat. The two who carried the sliding rod also got together with the other "coachmen". Due to the crowding around, they can only wait there to pick up customers, and there are fines for crossing the border to stop to entertain customers.

"Xiao Xiu is here, read the newspaper to us!"

One of the two people who lifted the pole just now was a teenager, and he immediately became the center of attention.

The boy took out a newspaper from his arms, rented it, for a penny a day. After carefully unfolding it, the young man began to shake his head and read the newspaper: "The number one news in this issue is that the second young master Yang of the young class of Chunlan Club insists on marrying the famous Kunban of his own drama club. I didn't take a concubine, I had to marry a wife. Master Yang was not happy, so Second Young Master Yang eloped with the little red heart. The two have been eloping for almost a month, and the news has only come out, and no one has found them yet. “

This teenager, who obviously belongs to the cattle herding class, is the kind of person who does not study well, and even has to guess even when reading the newspaper. Otherwise, after graduating from primary school, you will not have to carry a sliding pole to make a living.

When the "taxi drivers" heard the news, they immediately discussed:

"Master Yang is also a figure with a head and a face, and his son eloped with the singing, this time he will be embarrassed."

"Hey, then Second Young Master Yang is still a lover."

"I've heard the play of Little Heart. Last year, Li Yuanwai had a big birthday, so he invited the little red heart to sing. Liu Er and I carried Master Zhang to Li's Mansion, listened to it for a while, and sang heartily. If you scream in bed and just listen to that sound, you will lose half of a man's life. Unlike my wife, she screams like a pig. “

"Haha, Brother Zhou, do you dare to say this to your sister-in-law?"

"What don't you dare? At home, I have the final say! “

"Then who scratched your face two days ago?"

"Cat scratching."

"Hahahaha...

Milton asked the Navy interpreter, "What do they do?" “

The interpreter said, "That kind of bamboo pole is made of a sedan chair, which can carry guests on the road." Depending on the distance, the guest will pay the fare. “

Milton was amazed, and turned his head to meet Marvel's.

They were not surprised by the sliding rod, but the person who carried the sliding rod, who obviously belonged to the lowest level of society, actually had the ability to read and write newspapers.

Milton pointed to the boy and asked, "Why does he do this job when he is literate?" ”

The translator sneered: "At first glance, it is not good to study, and after finishing elementary school, it is easy to find a living." No matter how poor it is, you can also go to do an apprenticeship, and many businesses are willing to recruit primary school students as apprentices. ”

This translator spoke Latin, did not know how to translate "elementary school", and directly spoke the original Chinese pronunciation.

Milton could only inquire carefully, and learned that China has a primary school, a secondary school, and a university. As long as they reach the age of age, both boys and girls are required to attend school, and there is no tuition fee. If you want to take the county-level civil service exam, you must at least graduate from elementary school.

"If all children are allowed to study for free, how much should China spend on education every year?" Milton was shocked.

In fact, the primary school completion rate is low.

Many children are unable to read and often drop out of school after a year, in which case they cannot even read a newspaper. Dropout rates are particularly high among girls, many of whom are prevented from continuing by their parents, believing that it is enough for their daughters to be able to write their own names. The more students drop out of school, the more they can reduce the pressure on education funds.

Otherwise, all the children in Nanjing are in the school, so how many classrooms do they have to build?

In the shock of the British envoys, Honglu Temple finally sent officials to receive them and led these guys into the city in a carriage. Horses are bad horses, and good horses are sent to war.

"Dangdang, dang!"

Milton heard the sound of the gong and lifted the curtain, only to see an official shouting as he walked: "The golden building outside the southern city was completed yesterday.

It is open to the public on the 15th of this month. If you like to read and are willing to read, you can go to the Golden Building to read! Your Majesty said, you don't need money to read books, you can read whatever you want! “

Milton couldn't understand it, so he could only ask the interpreter, "What is he shouting?" “

The translator understood, but he didn't understand what the Golden Building was. Immediately jumped out of the carriage that was moving at a fast pace and ran to ask the officials of the Honglu Temple who led the team.

Soon, the interpreter came back and explained: "Your Majesty the Emperor of our country has built a collection with royal expenses. There is a large collection of books in it, which was just completed yesterday, and all civilians can read the books inside for free. His Majesty the Emperor is also responsible for the day-to-day expenses of Tibet. ”

Milton suddenly said excitedly: "This is a public library, but unfortunately there is no one in Britain, and there doesn't seem to be one in Europe." “

Marville said: "His Majesty the Emperor of China should be the legendary philosopher-king. The country he ruled was full of scholars, and commoners could study and read books for free. I wish one day, Britain would do the same. “

The people were arranged in the embassy of the domain, and there was a special interpreter in charge of contact, and they could go out at any time if they wanted to go shopping.

However, if you want to see the emperor, you have to wait slowly.

Early the next morning, Milton couldn't help himself and begged the interpreter to take them shopping.

The general of Honglu Temple is not a character official, but a first-class official, and must master at least two foreign languages. Although he is only an official, he is also a cultural person, so he naturally does not take the envoy to visit Goolan Washe, and every time he goes straight to the street of stationery.

When he returned in the evening, Milton took out a quill and wrote in his "Record of a Visit to China":

"Today, Chinese diplomats took us to Wenyi Street. It was a half-mile-long street, with shops selling all kinds of literary and art supplies. There are beautiful books, magical Chinese calligraphy and paintings, as well as paper, ink and other items..."

"There are a lot of people coming and going on the street, and they are all literate. Some people wore silk, but many more wore ordinary cotton clothes. Books here are cheap and affordable to civilians. There are many popular reading materials, and the low-level citizens also like to read them. But I've heard from Chinese diplomats that civilians prefer to rent books to read. There are rental bookstores in Nanjing, and different rents are set according to the value of the books, and the deposit will not be refunded if the damage is too serious..."

"We feel like we are in a sea of literature and art, there are books and paintings everywhere. For European scholars, this street is paradise,

They must never have dreamed of it..."

"I asked a Chinese official, and he said that the best-selling book in China, in addition to the ancient Four Books and Five Classics, is the Datong Book compiled by the current Chinese emperor. I asked my Chinese friends to translate a few articles and read them to me, so I can be sure that the Chinese emperor is a democratic revolutionary."

"The Chinese Emperor's rule of law did not come from the church, but from the 'sky'. The sky is both the sky above us and the origin of all things, which the Chinese regard as the master of everything. Heaven and earth give rise to human beings and all things, and human beings are the spirits of the world and form the country of China. The country needed a leader, and there was an emperor. The emperor, who is merciful to the people, will be recognized by heaven and become the son of heaven. The emperor who is cruel to the people will be disgusted by heaven, and he will be overthrown..."

"Everything is people-centered, what is this not democracy?"

Milton has spent his life pursuing natural human rights, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of education, and freedom of marriage. This product is completely hooked

"Datong Collection" and considered the Chinese emperor to be a revolutionary.

It's just that when he finishes reading "Datong Collection", he probably won't be so happy.

Zhao Han's theory of field division is in conflict with Milton's democracy. Because it was the landowner's land, and Milton believed that personal property was sacrosanct.

Of course, Milton can also ignore it, he has already decided to translate the "Datong Collection", and when the time comes, the theory of division of fields will be deleted.

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