"That's what you want to do." Theodora had no objection: "This is what we need. If we can't restore the Roman homeland, then we will not be ashamed of our ancestors. ”

"Recovery alone is not enough. We have to be down-to-earth and integrate the country well. Guo Kang added: "The state of ancient Rome is definitely not good, and the current European countries are also unqualified." The surface is unified, but in reality it is scattered, and the potential cannot be brought into play. ”

"It's much harder than formal unification, and I don't know how long it will take, whether it's feasible or not. But we're definitely going to do it. ”

"I see." Theodora nodded: "This is not a contradiction, we will also consider it in the future." ”

"I now support their push for the Rus' to join the legion, and I have this in mind." Guo Kang told her: "With our current size, it is still too small. And in all directions, although there is space, the most convenient place for development is still in the Rus region. ”

That's understandable. After all, the Rus are more ...... Rustic, easy to make. Theodora agreed: "In any case, they are still relatively close to us in religion, and they are convenient for control." ”

"This kind of fringe area is actually very important." Guo Kang reminded: "The hegemonic background of the Qin State is the annexation of Xirong; The hegemonic background of the Jin State was to annex Chidi, Baidi and border princes; Qi hegemony also relied on encroaching on Dongyi's minerals and land. The Ross region is fertile and rich in minerals, but the natives are very backward, resulting in these resources not being developed. This is the cornerstone of hegemony given to us by God, and we cannot ignore it. ”

"And, there's the problem that we're still short of people. In the future, with the development of technology, the gap will definitely be even larger. ”

"How big can it be?" Theodora asked.

"With a population of less than 100 million, don't even think about maintaining your advantage." Guo Kang said succinctly.

"Ah......" Theodora began to worry again.

"But don't worry too much about that. The Rus region is now a big wilderness – of course, to put it nicely, there is a lot of potential for development. As long as you take it step by step, you will not worry about land and population. Guo Kang said: "We have been developing for two or three hundred years, and it is estimated that there will be no problem." Further back...... That is probably the next regime's business, and we don't have to care so far. ”

"How dare you say that." Theodora laughed.

"Everyone knows something, what dare not be said." Guo Kang disagreed: "Whether you say it or not, everyone knows it very well in their hearts." Our own people don't need to pay attention to face, so we don't tell the truth. ”

Theodora nodded.

Guo Kang's figure is also conservative. Not to mention the 18th century, the history before him, the South Russian region, the 21st century may not be fully developed...... Even if the Purple Horde had better technology, it would not be a problem to make this process faster and keep it for hundreds of years.

"What do you think of this strategy, how costly and feasible is it?" Theodora continued: "You also know that we have a lot of strategic directions, and the strategy of going south now is your own proposal. Is this plan compatible with the northbound direction? ”

"The main means of the two sides are not the same, and they can even be complementary." Guo Kang said: "In fact, as long as we understand the essence of our country, it is easy to understand. ”

"Our country is different from many countries in Europe and Asia. Before, my father found a Greek to give supplementary lessons to the officers, and that man had an opinion that we did not actually have the people and the legion, but the legion had the senate and the people. The ontology of the country is the army itself. ”

"That's why we often don't have a good relationship with the nobility everywhere. Because the way we expand is not to subdue an enemy, as the Europeans did, and then incorporate them as vassals. Our expansion is the expansion of the Legion culture. ”

"When we conquer a place, we do not accept the local order, but start anew and establish a new one. Legion Farms are local, a separate 'small world'. The culture and organization inside are two different systems from the outside of the farm. ”

"This method is actually quite ancient, and it was already very mature in the Western Zhou Dynasty. There are Chinese people in the farm, and wild people outside the farm. The citizens of the farm are more similar to other farms outside the farm than their neighbors outside the farm. ”

"And, after stabilizing, the farm will continue to attract 'wild people' because of its higher efficiency and better treatment. These people would be immersed in the Roman culture of the farms, enlisted in the army, and received an education in military orders based on Chinese characters. The best of them can also return to the local area, relying on the cultural qualities and management skills they have trained in the army, to become new managers, to further expand the scope of the farm, and strengthen its management ability. ”

In this way, a huge community is formed that transcends regions. And it is a substitute for the original local order. Even if the local nobles are still there, their subjects will gradually be absorbed by the farm, resulting in the hollowing out of the nobles' territories. So in the early years, the nobility rebellion continued, and there was also this reason. ”

So, there is actually no big problem with what he said. The foundation of our Rome is the organization of the army. They were not only military power, but also cultural roots, and even schools for the training of officials and ordinary citizens. ”

"So when we think about it, we can first see if it's suitable for this model." "For example, we were able to roll out this set of measures in Romania, and it went well, because there was a lot of war and people were happy to join the new order," he said. ”

"Even in Greece, it was able to push at the time. Because at that time, the borders of Greece were about to be destroyed by all kinds of people. As long as we are at a higher level of rule than the remnants of the Latin Empire on the Athenian side, they will naturally accept us. ”

"The Ross region is certainly suitable for it – or there is no order in the first place, so it is not very difficult to implement."

"But in places like Egypt and Syria, it's hard to push on a large scale. We can occupy some land in the Canal Zone or the port area for experimentation, but these places, even if they have been affected before, are very densely populated. The most important thing is that although the Mamluks at the top have been changing like a marquee, their grassroots organizations have always been there and have not suffered serious blows. ”

"It's not that it can't be implemented in this kind of place, but it's going to be slow. If it is done too quickly, it will cause the locals to revolt; But if it's too slow, it will affect our development. Therefore, it is better to use two policies on both sides. ”

"On the northern front, we mainly expanded our territory and co-opted the locals, and we put the newly granted land here. On the southern front, the main focus was to seize key points and expand trade, and not to seek rapid control of land. The two work with each other, and one complements the other, which is the best choice. ”

(End of chapter)