Two days later,

Early morning.

A cafeteria at Harvard University.

A student was sitting there reading the school newspaper -

The Crimson Newspaper.

He is different from the casual dress of ordinary students, his hair is combed and shiny, and the hairstyle with a big back is also very rare.

At this moment, another student sat down beside him,

"Franklin!"

Franklin D. Roosevelt turned back,

"Devon, what's wrong?"

Devin patted Franklin on the back and whispered, "I heard your uncle is back." Was you invited to speak this time? ”

In 1900, Franklin entered Harvard University, his uncle Theodore's alma mater, to study political science and history.

Soon after he entered the school, he became an assistant editor of the Crimson Newspaper, and invited Theodore, then Governor of New York, to give a speech at the school, which caused a huge response.

Of course, there is also a saying that is quite the opposite:

It was because he was able to invite Theodore that Franklin was accepted into the school newspaper.

He put the newspaper aside,

"It's none of my business."

Devin nodded,

"Yes. I heard that Mr. Vice President came with visiting scholars this time, and one of them was Chinese. ”

Franklin raised an eyebrow,

“Lu？”

Devin shrugged,

"Don't ask me. You know, for us Americans, those Chinese look pretty much the same. ”

"Tsk......"

Franklin couldn't help but speak, and reached out to pick up the "Crimson Newspaper", but suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead, and said, "By the way, is there a Harvard Magazine today?" I'll have to buy a copy and read it. ”

Although Harvard Magazine is only in its first year, the Crimson Newspaper, as the university's media, pays close attention.

Dai Wen said: "Then let's go, I'm queuing~"

Franklin:???

"Queue? Very long? ”

Dai Wen spread his hands,

"It's not long, but it's thick."

!

What a weird joke this special meow is.

Franklin gave the other a blank look, pushed the unfinished salad away, walked out of the cafeteria, and walked towards the Central Library.

Summer has arrived, and the morning breeze blows gently with the coolness of the night,

Franklin walked across the lawn,

He kicked off the dew that hung on the grass tips with his feet, and was in a good mood.

However, as soon as you get close to the library, this silence disappears.

There were very many people in line.

As Devin said, everyone was crowding inside, and the door of the bookstore was surrounded by several layers of human walls, looking down from top to bottom, like a ⊙.

Discussion abounded,

"What's the situation with Harvard Magazine today? How does it look like selling books? ”

"It's still a book about the history of the Ming Dynasty in China, and it's not interesting."

"Boring, you still buy it? Don't give it to me! ”

"Lao Tzu is used as toilet paper, can't you?"

……

Buzz buzz.

It's like a bunch of flies flying.

Franklin squeezed in and grabbed a classmate by the shoulder to ask about the situation.

The man immediately said, "I don't know what's going on. It's just that my history classmates said that the book published in Harvard Magazine today is very good, and it may be the most popular historiography work in recent years, so I will also join in the fun. ”

Franklin thought he had misheard,

"You say, there's a book in the magazine?"

The other party was just about to answer,

As a result, more people came and crowded them in the direction of the bookstore.

Franklin was slammed through the door.

In bookstores, there are more people arguing,

Among them, several people who studied history were divided into two groups, almost pointing at each other's noses and scolding,

"You fart! This "Inconsequential 1587" is crooked at first glance! When we study history, of course, we must 'write directly according to the facts', and there are many omissions in the way this book is written. ”

"What omission? Can you point that out? ”

"I ...... This is Chinese history, how can I point it out! But no matter what, you can't mess around, right? ”

"According to you, how should we analyze and summarize history based on facts? Could it be that we who study history can only sort out historical materials and have no thinking of our own? ”

"I can't tell the narrative clearly, what are you talking about your own thinking?"

"Where does the analysis come from just the narrative?"

……

The voices of the two groups are getting louder and louder.

Finally, the bookstore owner couldn't help it, slapped the table fiercely, and scolded: "If you want to discuss, go out for me to discuss!" Walk! Let me go! ”

After saying that, he blasted people out,

There was an instant silence in the bookstore.

Franklin took the opportunity to buy a magazine, checked out and left.

When he came out, he found that the people who had already bought the books had found a place to read, and some even sat on the lawn with their coats under their buttocks.

He also found an empty seat by the wall and leaned against it to read.

Read the book first to see the author,

When he found out that it was indeed the famous Lu, Franklin became more and more focused.

The preface at the beginning of the article was written by Professor Channing,

Qian Ning believes that Lu Shi took the pen as a knife, chose 1587 A.D. as the starting point, split a section of the history of the Ming Dynasty, and arranged for the six protagonists to appear on the stage.

This year seems to be unremarkable, but it can peek into the reasons for the decline of the Ming Dynasty and even the entire feudal empire.

And this way of studying history is a new concept of historiography.

Franklin couldn't help but be curious, and began to read the text.

“

'A.D. 1587, in China for the fifteenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, on the Ganzhi is Dinghai, a pig. ’

”

There are three notes at the beginning of this one.

Year name,

Chronology of the sexagenary branch,

Zodiac signs.

Anyone who lacks patience will definitely throw away the book when they read this.

And Harvard students are not ordinary people,

Franklin quickly read into it, and realized that the two groups of students were right.

Compared to other history books, this book is too plain.

Take a tome like "History of Rome" as an example, a natural paragraph may have 2,000 words, no matter how many, it can even do a whole page without segments, and it is easy to find the position just now if you are slightly distracted, and you will inevitably be dizzy when you read it.

The Inconsequential Year of 1587 has no such concerns.

Franklin perused it,

Unconsciously, he felt a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and subconsciously raised his head, only to find that it was noon, and half a day had passed.

"Whew~"

He let out a sigh of relief and went to the cafeteria again.

Unexpectedly, Devin was still sitting in the morning place, with the spread out "Harvard Magazine" in front of him,

A little further away was the unfinished breakfast, the omelette lying softly on the toast.

Franklin went over and sat down,

"Hey!"

Devin shook and looked up

"Scare the hell out of you!"

Franklin asked, "Are you watching too?" Where did the magazine come from? ”

Devin replied, "I bought it from someone." ”

Franklin looked each other up and down for a while, and said, "You're a chemistry student, and you're interested in history?" It's really the sun coming out in the west. ”

"This book is different," Devin said. I saw in it three characteristics that other liberal arts books didn't have: logic, principles, and efficiency. The author is trying to summarize, summarize, and analyze history with these three characteristics. In my opinion, this is a way of thinking that is close to engineering or even science. ”

Franklin was surprised,

"Liberal arts writings, engineering thinking?"

Devin nodded solemnly,

"Moreover, I can pack a ticket, with the emphasis on science and engineering in American higher education, this way of thinking will become more and more marketable, and may even become the mainstream of liberal arts research in the future."

Listening is clear,

Franklin didn't expect his chemistry buddy to be able to tell one, two, three, four, five.

He came interested,

"Have you finished the first chapter? What impressed you the most? ”

The first chapter is "The Wanli Emperor".

Dai Wen said: "Actually, I am not very interested in feudal imperial power, I am just surprised by the Chinese method of cultivating emperors, and I feel more tired than us college students." ”

The ten-year-old Wanli Emperor was forced to attend a banquet under the pressure of Zhang Juzheng.

The so-called sutra feast, simply put, is that the emperor sits on the throne and listens to lectures surrounded by civil ministers and military generals.

The main speaker is the Hanlin Yuan Chunfang, Guozi Jian Liquor and other officials, the content of the course is mainly classics and history, the officials on the left are mainly about the Four Books and Five Classics and other Confucian classics, and the officials on the right are talking about historical events and historical commentaries, which takes half a day.

Dai Wen substituted himself into Wanli, and couldn't help but tremble,

"This way of learning makes my scalp tingle just thinking about it."

Benjamin Franklin: "(ˉ▽ ̄~)Cut~~"

He complained: "You free and loose American. ”

The two laughed.

Devin added, "However, I think you should be more interested in the later chapters. As for the part that the Ming Dynasty couldn't collect taxes, you turned back. ”

When it comes to collecting taxes, Franklin is interested.

He flipped back as instructed, and read the text,

"Squire, landlord?"

The corners of Davin's mouth curled up and he said, "How did I think of trust?" ”

trust, a transliteration of the English trust, one of the advanced forms of monopolies,

For example, Mobil Oil is a very typical trust.

Franklin said, "Davin, if you have something to say~"

Devin chuckled,

"You'll see it when you look back."

Franklin continued to read,

In the book, it is introduced how the squires and landlords paid less taxes,

Although these people are rich and rival the country, they do not pull out a dime when they pay taxes, and often evade taxes, often saying that they will pay a part first, and then they will default on a part of it for various reasons, and they will pay it the next year after making a note.

As a result, in the second year, it was natural to draw a scoop according to the gourd.

And so on, and the amount of money owed becomes astronomical.

However, in addition to having land, fame, and money, these squires and landlords also have people in the imperial court, who are either officials who have retired from the imperial court, or relatives of the emperor, and they cannot collect taxes at all.

Franklin: "......"

!

It's really a trust!

Of course, the play of the trust is much more advanced, because it is composed on the basis of financial control,

Its participants are formally independent, but in practice they are completely subordinate to the head office.

This type of head office is essentially a holding company that exercises financial control over other companies by holding their shares.

But in essence, there is still only one -

Monopoly on the means of production.

In the final analysis, it is no different from land and land.

Devin continued: "The land annexation of the feudal dynasty is a trust in our United States~ the same. After all, who hasn't received political donations from large capital groups to be elected president? ”

This is the so-called "there are people in the DPRK".

Franklin was depressed,

The United States, isn't it the Ming Dynasty?

Dai Wen diverted the topic and said, "By the way, I heard the author of this book...... I'll take a look at ......"

He flipped through the magazines.

Franklin said directly, "Lu." Or we should call him 'Professor Luk', because he is a visiting professor of economics in London and a visiting scholar at Harvard. ”

Devin scratched his head,

"What is London School of Economics and Political Science? How I haven't heard of it. ”

Franklin explained: "If you study chemistry, of course, you don't know much about this kind of university that specializes in the humanities and social sciences such as political science. Moreover, London has only been established for a long time, and you have not heard of it, which is normal. ”

Devin asked again, "Then how do you know?" ”

Franklin leaned over,

"Remember when there were global university rankings? It was Professor Lu who proposed it. ”

Devin looked shocked,

"Not the King of England?"

Franklin pursed his lips and chuckled, a "no outsiders" expression.

Dai Wen muttered: "Pretend to be a ghost!" ”

Subsequently, he continued: "I heard that this Professor Lu is going to give a speech at the school tomorrow, but I have an experiment, and I may not be able to get out of class on time. You've got to help me get my place. ”

It stands to reason that Franklin should have known about Lu Shi's speech.

But he was too obsessed with reading today to go to the newspaper, so he only heard about it from a friend now.

He bowed his head and pondered,

"Speech...... A Chinese man giving a speech in the United States......"

Devin was also silent.

They all know how hard it is, even in open, liberal Harvard.

After a while, Franklin said: "As far as I know, Professor Lu did not have a good time in London at first, but he still relied on ......"

Before he finished speaking, he heard a sound of "clang" in the distance,

The two asked.

I saw that on a dining table not far away, someone's plate was overturned.

Several students around the table stood and looked at each other like fighting cocks.

Franklin knew them, and they were all studying history.

Devin asked, "What's going on?" ”

Franklin could vaguely guess in his heart, but still shook his head,

"Let's see."

In addition to the two of them, the other students also watched the gossip with interest.

Soon, someone at the table was the first to speak:

"Look at what Lu says in the book! Isn't it a great god to want to compare the internal logic of past history with the present, and then compare the history that happened with the future, so as to explore the direction of the future society!? ”

Franklin couldn't help but sigh,

Sure enough, it's for this.

Someone over there immediately retorted: "What's wrong with looking at things with a long-term, comparative mindset?" My teacher, Professor Qian Ning, recognized it! ”

"That's why I never take Channing's classes!"

"You're ......"

"I heard that Channing was going to write 'American History'? Will you use this method as well? Hahahahaha......ha

Laughter ensued.

This is the beginning of the 20th century.

I love my teacher, and I love the truth even more.

Seeing that words could not convince the other, the two sides had to roll up their sleeves and fight to defend their view of history.

Devin secretly teased: "Look at you, the United States has become a big lighter." Does this scene resemble the partisan strife mentioned in "The Inconsequential Year of 1587"? ”

"Hiss......"

Franklin took a breath,

"When you say that, it seems really ......"

Halfway through his words, he reacted and couldn't help glaring at the other party,

"I almost got you off track. Is this also worthy of being called a party dispute? Academic disagreements are, at best, schools of thought, in order to defend the truth in their hearts. Even if there is a partisan struggle in the United States, it will have to be between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party...... Ah, this ......."

Franklin was speechless, and the words that followed were really unspeakable,

But I can't help but ask myself:

Is the United States really going to be enlightened?

For some reason, an inexplicable feeling suddenly appeared in his heart,

The United States is the Ming Dynasty!

Da Ming, it's the United States!

(End of chapter)