Chapter 2247 Fierce Fire Frenzy (7)

Adam Smith once wrote in "On the Suppression of Agriculture in the Old State of Europe after the Decline of the Roman Empire": Ever since the Germanic and Scythian peoples harassed the western part of the Roman Empire, major changes have taken place in Europe.

The plundering of residents forced the interruption of trade between urban and rural areas. The cities were deserted and the countryside was uncultivated. Europe, which was once extremely wealthy under the rule of the Western Roman Empire, became poor and barbaric.

During the ancient Roman period, land was only used as a means of maintaining life and enjoyment, such as growing wheat and grapes to make bread or wine. The Romans did not distinguish between men and women, and their children would all be allocated a piece of land. The "wealth" at that time

"Refers to slaves, gold, silver, and livestock. The magnificent Rome was built by slaves.

Rome was a farming nation and a nomadic herding nation. Because there were no horses, the Roman cavalry was not as numerous as the infantry, and the infantry were mainly yeoman farmers. They followed the commander out to fight, and like the heroes who attacked Troy, they plundered the citizens of the defeated countries and turned them into slaves.

, in addition, local artworks were collected to decorate their mansions and courtyards. Many artworks in ancient Rome were in Greek style, and even Roman mythology only changed the names of Greek gods.

However, when land is no longer a means of living but a means of power, it seems more appropriate to pass it to one person in its entirety, and the law of eldest son inheritance comes into being.

This did not appear suddenly, but was a rather slow process. In the Middle Ages, when the turmoil was continuous, the energy of the large landowners was spent on defending their territories or expanding their territories, while cultivating and improving the land was less important.

Neglect of care. When they enter the peaceful years and have time and energy to cultivate and improve the land, they have no idea. If he is a person with a flexible mind and good business, he will use his annual savings to buy new ones.

Real estate instead of improving the original land. After all, there was still a large amount of uncultivated land at that time, so most of the big landowners were not big reformers.

The Netherlands is low-lying and has many swamps, but as long as the water is pumped away, it can become farmland. This is also a way to improve the land. Compared with landlords, farmers improve land much slower, because for farmers, most of the land

All harvests were used to pay land rent. The British implemented the land enclosure movement and implemented rotating farming based on the fact that the income from raising sheep was higher than farming at that time, which inadvertently improved the land.

In the earliest times, the export of grains was prohibited unless a concession was obtained. The policies implemented by ancient Europe towards landowners and farmers were detrimental to land cultivation and improvement.

Adam Smith mentioned bonuses in "The Wealth of Nations". Encouraging food exports is also to avoid domestic food surpluses and cause food prices to fall. Georgiana is worried about the 1.2 billion "constant warehouse". Only when this level is reached, when

When famine occurs again in France, the Changpingcang can play a role in regulating prices and avoid the soaring food prices during the French Revolution. This is also a Napoleonic "there is a chicken in every Frenchman's pot", but farmers' incomes have increased

Only later did they have the money to improve the land, or buy more land. The soldiers of the French Republic were actually similar to the soldiers of the Roman Republic. They were mostly farmers, and most of them owned their own land.

However, the soldiers at the end of the 18th century were different from the soldiers in the ancient Roman era. As Adam Smith said, the key to victory or defeat was not so much the proficiency and skill in using weapons, but rather discipline, order and obedience to orders.

She didn’t know how long it took to train a soldier in ancient wars. Anyway, the French recruits went to the front line in three days. I heard that the scholars and college students in Cairo who went with the army only took three minutes to complete the training, and then they went to the roof with the veterans.

They fought side by side.

When disaster is approaching, the emotion that appears in our hearts is called "fear", and most people feel that they can conquer this cognition with reason.

The more rational we are, the more powerful we can perceive danger. The nature of beasts is to avoid danger, rather than to actively fight it. Therefore, conquering fear requires a kind of passion. The sound of charging horns and the sound of war drums can ignite this passion.

It makes people fearless of death and weakens their perception of danger and pain.

Georgiana once didn't understand what allowed the French to cross the Alps despite being hungry. Later Lyon told her that it was the sound of war drums. They played the war drums every time they encountered a difficult place to cross, and they were no longer afraid of avalanches.

Her new clothes are white, as white as snow, and as crystal clear as snow. If you observe the snow carefully, you can find that they sparkle in the sun, like stars in the night sky.

In the "Iliad", Helen is still weaving when Paris is about to go to war. The fabric is not for herself to wear, but as a sacrifice to the goddess Athena, just like Hector's mother in

It was made in the temple of Athena, and there were also twelve calves. Maybe all the noble women went, except Helen, because she was the culprit who caused this war.

Athena is the protector of Troy. The poem says that she has beautiful hair. The Trojan women dedicated to her a colorful Phoenician skirt, which Paris brought home.

Helen expected that the goddess would not like it, so she instructed the slave girls to weave a new skirt and pray for Paris and Troy. The new skirt was embroidered with flowers and shone like a star in the sky.

Many skirts in ancient Greece had to be dragged to the floor. Georgiana was afraid of disturbing herself when dancing. This skirt did not drag very long. As for the star-like fragments, they were taken from diamonds. There are many diamond processing workshops in Belgium, and after cutting the gems

There were a lot of debris left behind, and Bertin collected them and sprinkled them on the merino wool cloth.

Wool is like this. It is easy to get stained with crumbs and mud. Pomona used to be dirty. Now these gemstones are sprinkled on the wool, giving off a starry effect under the refraction of the light, and the outside is covered with a transparent layer.

The tulle was embroidered with flowers. Bertin also said that a layer of feathers would be added, but Georgiana refused.

There are still some areas that need to be adjusted in this newly made skirt. In fact, Athena did not want this skirt. If she accepted Troy's gift, how could she help the Greeks come up with the Trojan horse plan and turn the rattan into a snake?

Laocoon who came to warn Troy died.

The most important thing is that Paris did not give the golden apple to Athena. Since she is not the most beautiful goddess, what is the use of wearing a beautiful dress?

Georgiana's "waste recycling" of the skirt that the goddess did not want is like those diamond scraps. The scraps are not diamonds, they are of no use. This one just looks luxurious, and the scraps are not stuck firmly and will scatter as you walk by.

Drop some diamond fragments.

Beauty is like a kind of magic. Whatever you want, you can easily get it, making it difficult for women to resist using it.

In fact, it doesn't matter if she wears jeans and a T-shirt. It's rare that she wants to "be perfect", but the "troublemaker" comes, and it is the one who feels that "the palace is a manufacturing place of evil, a source of corruption, and a den of tyrants."

Father Grégoire.

With an angry look on his face, he rushed into Georgiana's suite. Her door was not closed anyway, but what if he came in while she was changing clothes?

He was stunned when he saw Georgiana, but she was angry at his recklessness and wanted to curse him.

"You are so rude," she accused, "shouldn't you knock on the door when entering a lady's room?"

Grégoire quickly came to his senses, but he seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to say, and stood there without moving.

Bertin and her seamstresses all laughed. Now Grégoire's reason must have returned. It seemed that he was thinking hard about how to "educate" her.

"Have you ever read 'The Fable of the Bees'?" Georgiana asked before he could think of a quip to blast her with. "It was written by a Dutchman, and it was because of his influence that Adam Smith became liberal.

economics."

"So you also want to be 'free'?" Grégoire said solemnly.

"You priests like to think, maybe you forget one thing because you are so absorbed in this way."

"What's the matter?" Grégoire waited for a while, but when Georgiana didn't continue speaking, he asked.

"You live in this world, and do you fulfill your duties as a citizen?" Georgiana replied, "If you don't give up a dime, you will be called stingy. Think of Charlotte, the Merchant of Venice."

Grégoire was not in a hurry to say that she was quibbling, which made her ready to talk endlessly and eloquently, even if she could drown him.

This made her even more angry.

"We didn't spend much money, you see." Bertin wiped a little diamond powder from his skirt on his fingers. "It's just scraps that no one wants."

Grégoire looked surprised.

"Jealousy is the most unpredictable and the most trouble-making. It is a combination of love, hope and many emotions. Even goddesses are not immune, let alone women?" Georgiana said helplessly, "Thank you for the reminder.

Father, but I need a skirt to wear as my 'shirt'."

"What?" Grégoire frowned.

So Georgiana had to tell him the story of the Trojan women and Helen's beautiful dress as a sacrifice to Athena.

"This is the skirt I plan to keep at the bottom of the box. Are you men so stingy?"

Grégoire held it in for a long time without saying a word, and finally found an excuse to "escape".

Bertin laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up straight, and the seamstresses also laughed from ear to ear. When they had laughed enough, Georgiana asked them to help her change her skirt into a simpler one.

After all, I have to go to class in the afternoon, so it’s not good to offend the “teacher” too much.
Chapter completed!