"Ninth sister, France has fallen. Although it is still the first in Europe and the second in the world, it will fall to the fourth place in the world in a few decades. Moreover, this fourth is not mainly industrial power, but financial capital is lent out of money, so the Gauls will have the reputation of 'usury imperialism'. ”

......

"In this Spain, the land is almost all mountains, and there is no possibility of forming a large industrial area. It's just that hundreds of years ago, he made a fortune by taking the lead in navigation and robbing the Americas, but he quickly squandered it, and now it has become the tears of the times, and he can't even keep the name of the great powers, and there is no such number in the future Eight-Nation Alliance. ”

......

"The Apennine Peninsula is still fragmented, and it will take more than twenty years to be a unified country. Even if it is reunified, it is the weakest and lowest imperialism, and basically has no ability to seize colonies. More than 1,000 years ago, the Roman Empire, which used the Mediterranean Sea as an inland lake, has nothing to do with it. ”

......

"Greece is even more wasted, it has been an Ottoman colony for hundreds of years, and it has only been liberated for less than 20 years, and the gap with ancient Greece is worse than that of Italy. Moreover, the Mediterranean has long been no longer the economic center of the West, and the Balkans are a powder keg of chaotic ethnic, racial, religious, and sectarian relations. ”

......

After hopping on a train to Spain to see the southernmost Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlas Mountains in North Africa on the other side, Ji Lingxing and his brother set off from the Iberian Peninsula along the route of Hannibal's march to Rome. It crossed the Alps into the Po Plain in northern Italy, then across the Strait of Otranto to the Pindus Mountains in the Balkans. Travel from Olympos to Athens and visit the ruins of ancient temples.

"Little sword. Why do you say that every time we go to a region, you say it's useless?"

The ninth sister sat on the broken stone staircase, pinching a stone and slowly turning it in the palm of her hand.

"Because these places are really useless. ”

Ji Aojian said very sincerely, "Industrialization will inevitably bring about an era of globalization, and countries with world-class geopolitical plates are qualified to become players who determine the global order." However, there are countless states in Europe, and the size of a single person is not commendable, but it relies on the first-mover advantage. Only a few of the larger countries have temporarily become world powers, but this is not the norm, and when the other great tectonic plates on the planet catch up, no single European country will be enough to become a player on the global stage. ”

"So what are the great geopolitical plates on Earth?"

"North America, East Asia, and Europe, these three continents, are the most potential regions, and there will be no rivals of the same level other than that. ”

The ninth sister thought for a while, "Why can't Russia, didn't you say last time that it can also become a world power?"

"It's too cold in Russia. If the population cannot break through the bottleneck, there will be an upper limit to the scale of national strength, and if we seize the opportunity, we may become a big country for a time, or even become a challenger to the hegemon. But after all, it can't be destiny, and it doesn't have the qualifications to reach the top. ”

"As for India, the population is also very large. and sub-Saharan black Africa. The population is also quite small. ”

"India, Black Africa. South America, as well as the Arab and Ottoman empires in their heyday. Although they are also very large geopolitical plates, there is also a common problem, that is, it is too hot. ”

"What's the reason it's too hot?" Sister Jiu frowned, "Do you believe in the views of Enlightenment thinkers, geographical determinism?"

"Because it's too hot, it's not good for industrial production. Ji Aojian said unhurriedly, "You think, in our country, when the summer is hot, people can hardly do outdoor activities. And in those hot areas, almost half a year is the hot season, even if you are reluctant to do things, how competitive is this kind of work efficiency?"

"Uh......"

"Areas that are too cold and too hot can only be secondary at most on the upper limit of comprehensive strength. ”

Ji Aojian emphasized, "Therefore, the East Asian continent, the North American continent, and the European continent, these three vast regions located in the north temperate zone, are the essence of the earth made in heaven. As long as any region is integrated into the same country, with a population of more than 30,000, and then completes industrialization, it is an irresistible and invincible force. ”

Ji Lingxing thought for a while, "So that means that for our country, Europe and North America, it is better not to reunify?"

"Exactly. If Europe's fragmentation continues, regional powers here will inevitably be marginalized from the global power charts in the future, despite their global influence today. Ji Aojian smiled and nodded, "The national policy that the British have always adhered to is to maintain the division of Europe, so the Kingdom of Great Britain is our natural ally at this level." ”

"I see. The little girl thoughtfully said, "You are supporting Mexico in North America and fighting the Americans just to keep that region from the same owner?"

"The terrain of North America is high in the west and low in the east, and our western region has a natural geographical advantage that can not be annexed by the United States. Ji Aojian further explained, "Moreover, the economic structure of the United States presents a dualistic opposition, as long as in this civil war, the large estate economy of the south defeats the industrial economy of the north, the entire America from the south to the north will be covered by the most basic agriculture and mining, and there will be no chance to turn over in the future." ”

With a click, the small stone that had been dried for thousands of years was finally crushed in Ji Lingxing's hands.

"Xiaojian, you said that Europe, North America, and East Asia are the three most important geopolitical plates, and you are also deliberately trying to interrupt the strong prospects of Europe and North America. The ninth sister said in a deep voice, "This also means that although it is a region with potential, it may not have a chance to realize its potential at all, right?"

"That's right. ”

"Then how can you be sure that our China can easily enter the era of industrialization, and there is no force that will hinder our road to becoming a strong country?"

"Napoleon once famously said that Westerners are very aware of China's potential and that they do not want China to transition to industrialization. Achieve prosperity and strength. Ji Aojian's words turned, "But." Now is an important window period for China. ”

"What window?"

"This era. Only Britain and Tsarist Russia had a certain military advantage in East Asia, but one was limited to the sea and the other to the land. France is strong on the outside and inside and the virtue has not yet risen, so we would have had decades to innovate and strengthen ourselves, and it is true that China also has a Westernization movement to learn from the West in this era. ”

The French became a comic existence after the Napoleonic era, that is, they followed the British to seize the Old Summer Palace in the Second Opium War, collided with China alone in Vietnam, and ate the defeat on the battlefield.

"Did the Westernization Movement succeed?"

Ji Aojian shook his head.

"Why didn't it work out?"

"Ninth sister. The rise of a great power requires massive resources to complete industrialization, and the pitiful financial taxes of the Celestial Empire, as an agricultural empire, are not enough to feed its own officials, and how many modern industries can it toss?" Ji Aojian sighed, "Britain and France are the two largest colonial empires in the world, and they rely on plundering colonies to complete industrialization. The Americans were moving westward, grabbing millions of square kilometers of Indian land and completing industrialization. ”

"That's right. It was as if we had neither colonies nor any land to grab to supply us with. Ji Lingxing said sadly, "Can't you get the land?" Isn't there a way to develop modern industries?"

Ji Aojian raised two fingers, "I'll give you two examples, there were two rising powers in the second half of this century. One was Germany, which won against the French. Received a reparation of five billion francs. One is Japan, which won...... The original Manchu Qing. received an indemnity of 200 million taels of silver. But in this way, it was only the general who completed industrialization, and then because of the congenital lack of colonies, he launched a world war, and his head was broken. ”

"Well, war reparations are also a source of funding. The little girl pondered for a moment, "But other countries in Asia are much poorer than us, and no one has hundreds of millions of taels of silver for us to rob." ”

Since ancient times, China has been regarded as the Celestial Empire by its neighbors, and has established a system of tributary vassals, but much more money has been given back to smaller states than tribute. Those are naturally poor and remote areas, and there is not much oil and water.

Ji Ao said, "Even if you rob hundreds of millions of taels of silver, it is far from enough." ”

"Why isn't it enough? Aren't the two countries you just mentioned also initially industrializing?"

"China's population is more than 10 times that of Germany and Japan, so it will take more than 10 times as much money to complete industrialization!"

"Huh?" Ji Lingxing was stunned, "it takes so much." ”

"So, the Westernization Movement was nothing more than the imperial bureaucracy squeezing a little money from the people and building a few image factories, which was essentially a joke for self-amusement. Even the initiators of this movement, after losing to their neighbors, admitted that they had been working as a pastemaker for decades. ”

"Capital, where does capital come from?"

The little girl hugged her head and thought hard, and suddenly her eyes lit up, "Little sword, it turns out that it all depends on you!"

Ji Aojian was surprised, "Ninth sister, what did you say?"

"Aren't you the big boss of the capital group, and it is your mission to provide the country with funds for the development of industrialization. Ji Lingxing clapped his hands and said happily, "Sure enough, you have been in collusion with the bourgeoisie all these years is valuable, and you must be saving money for the rise of China, right?"

"Ahem. Ji Aojian smiled bitterly and said, "Ninth sister, my capital is in North America and Northeast China, and it has been put into industrial production. Although there is still some surplus that can be invested domestically, it is far from enough to support the modern industry of the whole of China. ”

"If you don't have enough funds, don't you still have a third sister?" Ji Lingxing didn't care, and still said with great interest, "As long as you sweep the European financial market and bring a huge amount of money back to China, it will be a big deal." ”

"You are too optimistic, foreigners' money is not so easy to cheat. ”

"I've heard that you've already done it in New York, and you've made a big deal in London this time. The little girl glared, "In the financial circle, is the third sister still inferior to you?"

"I don't know how the third sister operates. Ji Aojian changed his tone, "Besides, even if the third sister can take away a large amount of wealth, are you sure that it is enough to supply more than ten German industrial capital?"

"This ...... It may still not be sufficient. ”

"Moreover, even if we have the money, we can open a thousand or ten thousand large factories in one go, and produce so many industrial products, who can we sell them to?"

Ji Lingxing was stunned, "Well, can't you sell it?"

"The great powers have their own customs and trade barriers, and we don't have any colonies, and if we can't sell what we produce, we can't form an industrial cycle, and the economy can't develop anymore. ”

"Then what do you say?"

"As a late-developing country, if you don't grab the colonies, you need to expand the domestic market. ”

"The domestic market?" the little girl seemed to think was playful, and asked, "Is it to expand the purchasing power of the country?"

"That's it. Ji Aojian nodded, "Our dynasties, in the middle and late stages of development, will inevitably be polarized, forming a situation of disparity between the rich and the poor. Because social wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of people, there are too many rentier grassroots interceptions, and the domestic market is very narrow, so it is impossible to form a virtuous circle with industrial development. ”

"That's right, the rich have no land, and the poor have no place to stand......"

When Ji Lingxing said this, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind, and he said loudly, "In this situation, decisively need to launch a revolution!"

"Ninth sister, what you said is not bad at all. Ji Aojian smiled, "Since the main wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of people, then as long as we eliminate these few people and let the wealth return to the hands of the general public, the wealth resources of the entire country can be maximized and used most effectively, which is equivalent to immediately having an additional market for tens of thousands of people." ”

"Great, I've been useful when I go back to China. ”

The little girl was so excited that she stood up and threw her fist hard. (To be continued.) )