"I see what you mean. Even with those machines, we will still need a large population and a large territory to support us, so not only do we have to control the trade nodes to make money, but we also need to increase the number of citizens and land as much as possible. Theodora nodded.

"However, even in the north, the process is not expected to be too fast." She still reminded: "Can the temporary solutions you put forward last through this time?" ”

"It should work." Guo Kang nodded: "Steam can provide us with great help, and there are good coal mines and iron mines in the northern part of the Black Sea. Our development and industrial development can be carried out simultaneously. ”

"That's good." Theodora nodded: "We will definitely get a lot of slaves in the process of pioneering. In this way, it should also alleviate the problem of manpower shortage that you are talking about. ”

"But that said, it seems like an extra good thing." She realized something: "We used to worry that Slavic slaves often could not be sold. It's also good if you can digest it yourself. ”

"However, if we expand into the Ross region, we have to be careful." Guo Kang reminded: "You can't let people be soldiers while capturing their villagers as slaves. In the future, it must be strictly restrained and the scope of control must be achieved. ”

"It doesn't matter, we've been at war with the Rus nations for a generation." Theodora didn't care much: "Now a large number of Slavic slaves have basically been captured by Poland and Lithuania. ”

Previously, Mrs. Cao had also organized an association to fight against businessmen who privately captured and sold her fellow villagers. Over the years, the slave trade on their side had all but disappeared. Novgorod and Moscow also had special funds that vied to redeem slaves in their own countries, promoting their generosity and benevolence in order to increase their prestige. ”

"Huh? I've heard that quite a few of them came from the Ross region. Guo Kang said curiously.

"Those people, strictly speaking, do not belong to any country." Theodora told him, "The region of Rus' is not like ours, it is too vast and sparsely populated, and beyond the principalities there is a vast borderland. Many people who are also people and bandits live in it, and the grand dukes can't control them. ”

"From time to time, these people will go around looting and clashing with our garrison. In response, various border military districts also often took the initiative to arrest them. This kind of person is not recognized by the principalities, so we don't have to consider their feelings. ”

"Okay." Guo Kang nodded and thought again.

"Is there anything else to consider?" Theodora asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter, it's just that I can't figure out the theoretical issues myself." Guo Kang hesitated and said, "Look, are those machines like the Steam Heavenly Brother I made better to use in places with fewer people, or in places with many people?" ”

Theodora looked at him strangely: "Of course it needs to be placed somewhere, and what does it have to do with the population?" And didn't you say it yourself, you need more people? ”

"That's the stage after the industry matures, and now we have to think about the early development." Guo Kang told her.

"I've heard two theories that are somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, it is believed that a place with a large number of people can feed more idle manpower to operate the machine, so that the machine industry can develop. However, there are also those who believe that in places with fewer people, ordinary labor is paid well, so it is more conducive to promoting machine power and replacing expensive labor. ”

"Both sides seem to make sense, and I don't know which one is right." As he spoke, he added, "Oh, yes, the background of these two opinions is the environment on the Western European side. ”

"Where do you know all this nonsense? And ask for Western European ......," Theodora muttered.

However, she didn't resist, and it seemed that she had long been used to Guo Kang's performance.

"Think about it." Theodora was also exposed to this kind of problem for the first time. She thought for a moment and asked, "How high is the skill level of the person who operates the machine?" Do you need experienced craftsmen, or just trained apprentices? ”

"Maybe you don't even need an apprentice." Guo Kang recalled history and replied: "Temporarily recruited homeless people, and even children a few years old, can be trained for two days. ”

"That's too low...... Diodora frowned.

Guo Kang honestly waited for her opinion: Theodora was more sensitive to many social situations than he was, so her opinion was of great value.

Especially now, faced with an important question, he really doesn't know the answer.

He did know this history, and in his previous life, it was the focus of education and the object of discussion. But some of the conclusions are actually contradictory.

The first argument, for example, is the rationale for the enclosure movement, arguing that this craze, which began in the 15th century, provided the cities with a large number of cheap labor. The second one, which was also a characteristic of the more developed regions of Britain at that time, and the high labor cost was also the reason for the rise of industry that many people believed.

But the problem is that these two articles are contradictory. I don't know which one is right.

Of course, there have been many other arguments, such as the argument that the root cause is the restriction of the monarch's power. This can be directly ruled out, because according to this argument, the most developed industrial power in Europe must be Poland, and the British are not compared with others...... This kind of theory that is too contrary to common sense can only prove that the proposer does not even understand Europe - theory is different from reality, and it cannot be said that the world is wrong.

Only those issues that have a great impact and are really tangled are worth discussing and thinking about. These outrageous theories can also be thrown away directly, and there is no need to waste any more energy.

But he didn't think long before Theodora gave her opinion.

"If all else is similar, then you should release a place with a lot of people." She said.

"Why?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

"Because the lack of people has nothing to do with the high remuneration of labor." Theodora replied bluntly: "The most sparsely populated part of the territory under our control is the Rus' region. But the labor there is clearly not well paid. The boyars often even forced their subjects to work and would not pay them at all. ”

"Whether in an area with many people or few people, the lord can easily obtain a group of cheap or even non-expensive labor. Therefore, this theory does not make much sense in practice. ”

"Then if it's not a lord, it's a merchant who recruits labor by free hiring?" Guo Kang asked.

"Don't you know how expensive it is for you to make it yourself?" Theodora was skeptical: "A merchant who can run such a workshop must be rich and powerful. They have a way to get labor that doesn't need money. So the idea doesn't make much sense either. ”

(End of chapter)