"But I don't really know how to get the most bang for my buck." Joanna complained, "I've thought about this and talked to them about it. The last time I met Guo Gongzi, I also asked him about it. ”

However, he was clearly not interested. Didn't you tell me that oriental allusion? I told him that I was actually a wandering princess, and if he had the heart to support him, he would have a great future. As a result, he was not interested at all. ”

"Moreover, it's not that he doesn't have the consciousness of 'strange goods', he really thinks I'm not worthy." Joanna spread her hands: "When I went to ask for a meeting before, I happened to meet him and Prince Tuhuan and others to discuss in the conference room of Sophia Cathedral. They made a big map of the whole Mediterranean world, and then they took a color palette of different colors and made a comparison there. Later, they told me that they were thinking about the future strategy and geopolitical direction, and those color palettes were the different provinces they planned. ”

"From ancient Rome to the Eastern Empire, whose capital was Byzantium, all dynasties accepted the existence of various small vassal states in the frontier regions, but the Roman Khanate was even more severe than them. As far as I feel, their ideas are very simple, and there is not much difference between foreign countries near and far in their eyes, they are all of the same kind. Other places with the right conditions should be classified as provinces and directly administered ......"

"It's history." Eudosia explains: "In their eyes, they are not conquerors, but reviversers. The expansion of the Mediterranean world is not an invasion, but a reconquista. Therefore, they naturally felt that there should be no independent state in the Roman homeland. As long as there are conditions, we will definitely work in this direction. ”

"yes. And these Romans don't talk about customs at all. The tricks I learned with great difficulty, Konstantin completely ignored! Joanna poured bitter water: "Shouldn't this be a very romantic encounter?" This is the story of the general and the princess in distress. But you see, they're not interested in saving the princess at all - these guys know all day long how to color that map! ”

"Uh......" Odosia smiled awkwardly, "Reality is reality after all, and it is impossible to get the desired result for everything." It's better to look for opportunities in the future. ”

"After the rus' gang is gone, the city will not be empty. The vacated positions they have vacated will definitely be filled by other forces. She told Joanna, "Unlike the Jewish community, the Ross community was not formed because of religion. They gather simply for their livelihood. The organization can also be formed because no one has been in charge for a long time, and someone needs to organize them to work and make a living, and at the same time provide appropriate shelter. Therefore, if you want to replace them and fill the vacancy, you can do a good job in managing daily life and providing livelihood. ”

"The management ability of the Rus' upper echelons, we also see it. Maybe that's enough in their hometown, but here, so to speak, it's very bad. What's worse is that these people are not self-aware and do things without moderation. She shook her head: "It's not hard to perform better than them." ”

"So, if you want to make a fortune while the Rus are finished, then you shouldn't think about how to control the neighborhood and expand the thugs like the mafia grabbing territory, but you should cooperate with the government."

"Their power is also limited. No matter how rotten or brutal the Rus gangs are, they are also the most basic order, and when they are just eliminated, there will definitely be a transition period here. You don't have to worry about anything else, just hire them to do the work in the name of recruiting craftsmen, and you're good to go. She laid out a plan for Joanna:

"There are a lot of them, and most of them are working in the city. Didn't you rent a wharf to the west before? They can all be gathered there, and they can be paid extra to build the unfinished embankment and dock facilities as soon as possible. ”

"This is a small half of the city's people, even if it is just to select the strong, it will cost a lot of money." Joanna immediately calculated: "I don't know if the funds I can mobilize urgently are enough." ”

"If it's not enough, you owe it first, and you can coax them for a while. Let other merchants and craftsmen believe that you have enough money. Odosia said without hesitation: "The Medici family is now considered a business giant, and with their prestige in the banking world, it is still enough to do this kind of thing." ”

"What is money? Isn't it just a tool to drive the flow of goods? The problem at this time was not that there were no people in the city who made and operated goods, but that the groups that organized them to produce and operate had disappeared. If you try to keep your money moving, you're rich. As long as the results are normal, it's okay to hold on. ”

"This is indeed a lot of extra expenses and a lot of risks, but this is what I told you before, the opportunity for the so-called 'strange goods' of the Oriental businessman - not to forcibly run away and have some kind of love story with Guo Gongzi."

"You're Lu Buwei, not Zhao Ji - why do you always bring in the wrong person." She looked a little helpless, and admonished: "At this time, don't think about saving anymore." ”

"Oh, I see, did I invest in him...... This business can also be courted to the court of the Roman Khan. Joanna suddenly realized.

"Yes. And you can rest assured, I don't think you have to last long. Eudosia reassured, "The stakes are high, but everyone's preparation is seriously inadequate, so it seems to be in a hurry. The parties will soon come to their senses and come to maintain order – because maintaining order is itself a power. ”

"When the time comes, as long as it is properly handed over, the mission will be completed. This favor you did him was the 'Zhao Ji' you gave him. She reminded.

"I see." Joanna nodded: "However, you said not to expand your power...... But I do feel that there are too few people under my command this time, and it is really inconvenient. I don't know if there is any solution. ”

"I think you'd better consider something else." Eudosia said bluntly: "The Roman Khanate is what we just said, the kind of typical Qin-style state. ”

"It is said that as early as the time of Brother Tian, the people of the Central Plains called Rome at that time Qin. Because there are a lot of similarities between the two sides. As for the current Rome, it directly follows many experiences from the Central Plains, which is much more exaggerated than ancient Rome. ”

"Their system is almost entirely military-centric, and everything revolves around how to improve organizational skills and defeat the enemy. This is their most basic need. So, they naturally have an aversion to uncontrolled independent forces, unless you are also included in their military mobilization system. If you still try to run your own forces, I'm afraid you'll soon clash with them. ”

"If you don't understand it......" she thought for a moment, "don't you know more about the Jews?" They are the complete opposite way of organizing. ”

The Jews hated theocracy because every attempt at theocracy was an attempt by secular rulers to seize the theocracy of the priests. But the Central Plains-style system, especially the empires since the Qin Dynasty, was based on the integration of church and state. ”

"Perhaps the worst thing about Jewish organizations is the military. I reckon the same reason: whenever there is a strong military leader, they will also try to compete for divine power, from the legendary King David to the historical King Herod. Therefore, the priests who control this group will also deliberately suppress this aspect. ”

"Over time, the Jews, although they also have organizations engaged in fighting, have gone in a completely crooked direction. The Herod kings left them an army, but the Jews were more keen on assassination and raids. ”

"The well-known 'Assasin' and the like in later generations are actually juniors. In this regard, the earliest organization formed was the 'Dagger Party' of the Jews at that time. She told Joanna: "These people must have been the first to use assassination and organized massacres as tools to try to intimidate others through violent means in order to achieve religious and political goals." And, although nominally for the Jews, they wantonly assassinated people they considered disloyal. ”

"So, although they look fierce, these people don't have much fighting power. Later, the Romans brought in a large army and demolished Jerusalem. ”

"There are many other aspects." She goes on to give an example: "I used to think that it was in the nature of Jews to be selfish and stingy. But seeing the Qin system, I began to suspect that they might have been distorted by their own culture. You see, isn't the opposite of selfishness and miserliness valuing collectivity, discipline and justice? And these virtues, precisely to strengthen organizational skills, are the requirements brought about by a highly militarized society. ”

"So, I have a guess that the Qin system and the Jewish society may be our human society, two different extremes. As a businessman, you will certainly prefer a Jewish-style society that is more individualistic and more low-organized, because this kind of social constraint is actually less restrictive, and as long as you ostensibly comply with the needs of the lower theocracy, you can do your own thing. ”

"But our society can't be peaceful forever. All around us, there will always be natural disasters, there will be wars. If you don't want to avoid these situations, you can avoid them? She spread her hands.

"No matter how taboo you are, war will come sooner or later. A poorly organized Jewish society would be wiped out by a Qin-style military society. As long as competition between people exists, this outcome is inevitable. ”

Of course, the two do not exist alone. Among them, there are many other states that can be seen as transitions. Like your commercial colonies and city-states, you can also see them as a part. You can consider which of these two poles you might be closer to in terms of your organization. If you find that your organization is closer to the Jews and there is a Qin state next to it, you have to think about how to deal with it. ”

"How is the Jewish community coping with it now?" Joanna pondered.

"The Jews themselves are aware of the problem." "Among the company's previous investors, there were Jewish businessmen. From what I've observed, Judaism is more of a culture than a religion. ”

But this creates a paradox: if they were to insist on Jewish culture, they would not be able to maintain enough organization and strength to establish a normal state, and even the armies that once existed would be quickly abandoned in civil strife, as they were then; And if they want to maintain the Jewish kingdom, they must change or even abandon Jewish culture, as the Hellenistic Jewish state did in the past, and then they will become non-Jews. ”

"This problem can be said to be unsolvable. As a result, some people simply gave up on the idea of statehood. Probably after the Common Era, the 'Messianic' faith became more and more pronounced among the Jewish community. The word Messiah gradually changed from a generic title to a special title for the only savior. ”

These people believe that before the Messiah comes along, people will be content with the status quo and not think about building a higher level of organization. Anyway, even if it is done, it will eventually collapse because it exceeds the upper limit of civilization's ability, and everyone will suffer another crime. She concluded: "I suspect it's a way to circumvent flaws." Simply abandoning unrealistic goals can reduce the negative effects. ”

Moreover, even the priests themselves were mutually exclusive with this culture. The hereditary priests did not have the ability to govern the state, but they always wanted to have the power to govern the state. She goes on to give an example: "As for the Jewish community, it was really an instrument in the hands of the Jewish priests. ”

"The priests always drove their subjects to provoke the natives for their own benefit. If the locals give in and make a profit, they themselves will eat up most of the benefit; And if the other party really fights back and begins to settle the blame, the priest will immediately abandon his subjects, flee, and then change places, using his irreplaceable bloodline, to regather a group of believers. I don't know how many rounds I've done this since time immemorial. ”

"If this continues, sooner or later, others will not be able to stand it. After the Kingdom of Judea was outlawed by the Romans, many groups took the opportunity to free themselves from the control of the priests. The central figure who maintained the religious community also became the religious scholars, the rabbi, who relied on their teachers rather than blood ties. As a result, their organization is more loosely organized – but loose, isolated organizations are actually more suited to their cultural background, so it might still be a good thing. ”

"Having said all this, I just hope you can understand the trend and see your own positioning." She sighed and said to Joanna seriously: "If you understand the trend, you will understand the general trend; If you know your position, you will know what you should do in this general trend with your own identity and situation. ”

"If you follow the trend, it will be easy to win; If you go against the tide, you will definitely fail. That's why I've always felt that Kwok would succeed this time. You see, things have reached this point, even if he is defeated this time, or even killed, the general trend is already unstoppable. She shrugged: "If you can see all this, you won't have any doubts about your future plans." ”

"I can't always help you come up with ideas, these big and small things, you must still need to judge for yourself." She finally persuaded.

"Got it, got it." Joanna nodded hurriedly: "In the past few years of dealing with you, I do feel that your opinion is still reliable, but I will try to think about it as much as possible - didn't I make my own plans." Don't worry, I'll take care of it during your absence. ”

"That's good." Odosia nodded, and said, "By the way, I moved urgently this time, and I still want to bring more necessities." You can divide the two of me to help. ”

"Okay. Need mercenaries? Joanna was very generous: "The mercenary of my family is stationed in the front of the storehouse, bring more to protect yourself." ”

"No, you can keep it for yourself, it should still be usable." Eudosia said, "I'm just moving things, and two ordinary servants are enough." ”

Joanna nodded.

The carriage came to the entrance of the alley ahead and stopped in front of a shop. It was far from the center of the unrest, and from time to time some residents poked their heads out of the door and whispered worried about the distant fires, but it was generally stable.

The attendant on horseback stepped forward and called out, and soon the men in the shop hurried up to meet him. Joanna jumped out of the car and gave them a few words.

"Don't get out of the car, just go." She turned around, greeted Odosia in the car, and then turned to shout, "John, where is John?" You bring someone who is clever and go and help this young lady. Do everything as she tells you, and don't ask too much. Got it? ”

One of the guys in the shop immediately nodded and beckoned another helper. The two jumped onto the platform behind the carriage, and the coachman immediately drove the horses, turned around, and drove away.

Although she is still a little worried, Joanna can't care about it so much. She began to shout and give orders to the guys, as she was usually doing. As the carriage reached the entrance of the alley, she glanced out of her eye and saw Odosia open the curtains and still waving goodbye to her.

"This guy is just too polite, is it necessary to be so reserved." She shook her head and laughed, then turned to the crowd and shouted, "You're welcome today." Send out all the rum! Whoever can lift a sword, come with me! ”

"Good!" Immediately the crowd shouted.

(End of chapter)