Milton's fame in later generations was too big, and it was difficult for Zhao Han to think about it.

The pioneer of the democratic revolution in Europe, one of Britain's six greatest poets, and the grandfather of the freedom of speech and the press.

"See His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Give a seat."

As soon as Milton sat down, he stood up again: "On behalf of the English Republic, on behalf of the Honorable Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Cromwell, I would like to extend my highest greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of China. May the friendship between the two countries last forever! ”

Zhao Han smiled: "On my behalf, I also say hello to Mr. Cromwell." ”

Milton's words just now were not nonsense.

After the king of England was cut down, the country was ruled by Parliament, and England was indeed a republic in fact.

Milton could not have predicted that it was Cromwell, whom he had always admired and defended, who destroyed the Republic and completely betrayed the revolution. He did his best for Cromwell, but in two years, Cromwell would dispel Parliament and establish a dictatorship as a "protector".

Milton: "Your Majesty the Emperor, England and all of Europe have the story of His Majesty's great restoration. Mr. Cromwell, Commander-in-Chief of our country, has always admired His Majesty's prestige, so I have asked me to lead an envoy to China. ”

Zhao Han asked with interest: "What story am I circulating in Europe?" ”

Milton: "Your Majesty is a former imperial family that lost its country, and the Emperor of China was so brutal that the rebels captured the capital, and the Emperor was killed by the rebels. His Majesty, on the other hand, raised troops as royalty, defeated the hateful rebels, and finally restored the glory of his ancestors. ”

"It's quite good to make it up," Zhao Han couldn't help but smile, and said to him, "This sentence doesn't need to be translated, just follow him as you like." ”

The general of Honglu Temple said nonsense: "Your Majesty, the news in Europe is very well-informed. ”

Milton flattered him and added: "I was in India and heard the news of the defeat of the Dutch by the Chinese army. It's really exciting, Britain and China, they have the same enemy, and that's the damned Holland. Here, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Your Majesty and to Your Majesty's valiant army. ”

Zhao Han asked, "Britain is also at war with the Netherlands?" ”

Milton replied, "There must be a battle." The Dutch were so greedy that they had merchant ships in every part of Europe, and they wanted to monopolize all the benefits. They even controlled Britain's domestic commerce, using the threat of loan collection to force Britain to give up its rightful rights. ”

"This should not be," Zhao Han continued, "The Netherlands are also like this in Asia, even encroaching on China's territory and massacring and oppressing Chinese living in Taiwan." That's why I sent troops to drive the Dutch out of Taiwan. The Netherlands is the most despicable and shameless country! ”

Milton rejoiced: "China can go to war with the Netherlands in Europe, and China can go to war with the Netherlands in Asia. The tiny Netherlands will certainly not be able to fight on both sides. When the time comes, Your Majesty will be able to drive the Netherlands out of Asia! ”

Zhao Han said: "It's a pity that China and the Netherlands have signed a ten-year contract. As the emperor of China, I cannot break my promises, and it is despicable to tear up the contract. ”

"Teach those vile Dutchmen that it will not appear despicable by any means." Milton continued to stoke the fire.

Zhao Han said ambiguously: "That's true, but China fought before, and the naval losses were very serious." Britain can fight in Europe first, and China will respond. ”

This is, with the communication technology that came first, it is estimated that the first Anglo-Dutch war is over, and China has not yet received news.

At this moment, Cromwell had just promulgated the "Navigation Regulations", which basically stated: non-British ships were not allowed to carry goods into Britain and the colonies, and once discovered, they would be confiscated directly with the goods.

This regulation was clearly intended to be against the Dutch, because the British import trade was almost monopolized by Dutch merchants.

Two years ago, Britain also signed a treaty with Denmark that allowed British cargo ships to pass through the Sunder Strait duty-free. This is a combination of Britain and Denmark to weaken the influence of the Netherlands in the Baltic Sea, because the three Nordic countries are also choked enough by the Netherlands - the Netherlands not only monopolizes the Nordic maritime trade, but also expands its commercial power into the Nordic land, using its monopoly position to squeeze profits at crazy prices.

Cromwell dared to promulgate the Navigation Regulations because Britain and the Netherlands had just reached an arms deal.

The Dutch capital ships in active service, the best of which were all sold to the British Navy, and the money was not enough to ask Dutch merchants for loans.

The Dutch also felt that they could make more interest on the loans to the British, both by dealing with the redundant warships that had been expanded during the Thirty Years' War. It's a win-win, the Netherlands wins twice!

Milton saw that Zhao Han was fooling around, and knew that it was difficult to fool China into going to war, so he began to shift the topic to "Datong Ji". Then, he advocated his own set, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of marriage, freedom of religion, after Zhao Han heard it, he smiled and said that it was all right.

The essence of this product is the same person, and when he saw that Zhao Han agreed with his law, he suddenly became more and more energetic, and finally even talked about education.

Milton: "Your Majesty the Emperor, I have seen many civilians in Nanjing who are also literate, and Your Majesty has also funded the construction of a public library. I have great respect for this, and I consider Your Majesty to be a great king who values education. I also have some personal insights about education. ”

"Please speak up." Zhao Han said.

Milton: "The starting point of education is the learning of the written and spoken language. Learning a language is not only about conversation, but also about understanding the deep meaning behind the words. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to master the world's languages. Education should start from the child's intelligence, and the child should not be forced to memorize and write articles, poems and speeches, which are only appropriate after the child has sufficient judgment, reading, and observation. When teaching various subjects, it is necessary to cultivate children's interest in learning first, and they should start with the simplest subjects. British education, from the very beginning, teaches logic and metaphysics, which is a serious undermining of children's habits. ”

"Your Excellency has a point." Zhao Han was not perfunctory this time, but sincerely agreed.

Milton continued: "I think there should be three parts to school activities, which are study, exercise, and diet. School education in China is doing very well, and the only regret is that the group lunch has been canceled and students can go home to eat. School lunch can enhance the relationship between students and cultivate their virtue of saving food. ”

Zhao Han asked, "How many schools are there in the capital of the United Kingdom, and how many students are there?" ”

Milton was a little embarrassed: "There are not many schools in London, but the number has been increasing, and civilians have more opportunities to study than they did a hundred years ago. ”

In the beginning, Britain was all ecclesiastical schools, and the church had a monopoly on education. The European Reformation broke the church's monopoly on education, and some wealthy people began to donate money. Now there is a fund-raising office, which is the residents of a certain block, how much money each family spends to build a school.

As for the British government, there is not a dime for education, at most the king pays for it privately.

There are two types of primary education in the UK, one is an English school, which teaches the children of ordinary people to read and write and settle accounts. One is the aristocratic grammar school, which also teaches courses such as Latin and music. As for history or something, you have to enter the university before you can learn it.

At present, 33% of Cambridge and other top students are from the aristocracy, 27% from handicraftsmen, 16% from merchants, and 15% from homesteaders. The overall number of people, very small!

Zhao Han said: "Inside and outside Nanjing, including the suburbs of the city, there are nearly one million people over the age of 12. Including the floating non-local household registration, there are more than 1.1 million people. There are a total of 12 primary schools and 4 middle schools (including private girls' schools), and the number of middle and primary school students remains at about 20,000 or 30,000 per year. In the past, there was a free lunch, but more and more children could be included, and the cost was too great. Schools in the UK can eat together, but it is difficult for China to do so. ”

This string of data made Milton stupid.

In the UK, except for the church school, the rest are all charity. For large scales, there are more than 100 people in the whole school, and for small scales, there are more than a dozen people in the whole school.

In China, only inside and outside Nanjing, the number of primary and secondary school students can be maintained at about 20,000 or 30,000 per year, which is more than the total number of students in the entire United Kingdom.

Wait, China's capital, with a population of 1.1 million, is it only for those over 12 years old?

Milton was dumbfounded, he knew that there were many people in Nanjing, and there were people everywhere when he went out shopping. But this Nima is too much!

"May I ask Your Majesty, how many people are there in China?" Milton asked.

Zhao Han said with a smile: "It should be hundreds of millions now, and I won't know until a few years of statistics." ”

Milton was so shocked that he couldn't say anything.

More than 10 years ago, he wrote an article called "On Education", proposing that the British government should pay for the garden system.

The scale of the garden should be larger, and one garden can accommodate 130 students. This was the limit of what Milton could imagine, there were dozens of people in a class in Nanjing City, and he could never have dreamed of such a scale.

After a pause, Milton said, "Your Majesty, can I visit the school in Nanjing City?" The kind of ordinary civilian school, not an aristocratic school. ”

"Absolutely." Zhao Han did not refuse.

What's the use of visiting, can you still serve the British government to pay for education?

The public school system in the UK will have to wait until the industrial age. The capitalists need literate workers, so they promote public education, and now it is still early to reach that stage.

On the way out of the Forbidden City, Milton sighed: "What kind of great country is this? With a population of hundreds of millions, there are tens of thousands of people living in the capital alone. If you take these students and form an army, as long as you train for a year, you won't be able to find an opponent in the whole world. ”

Marville: "As envoys, we should push for an alliance between China and Britain. India is the hegemon of South Asia, and we have already gained the favor of the Mughal emperors. China was the hegemon of the Far East, and if it could gain the favor of the Chinese emperor, Britain would be able to replace the Netherlands in Asia and seize all the Dutch interests in Asia. ”

"It would be very difficult to ask for an alliance directly," Milton said, "and Chinese officials could be invited to visit the UK." Let Chinese officials see that Britain is really confronting the Netherlands, and perhaps in the presence of a common enemy, it can quickly bring the two countries closer. ”

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