Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 591 Fleet Preparation
After talking to Tuohuan about various things, Guo Kang returned to his daily life of writing reports. Half a month later, the Ministry of War also called him to a meeting to discuss the preparations for the army.

Before the meeting, Guo Kang specially called a few assistants and made some preparations. On the same day, he left the palace and came to the office of the Ministry of War, where he found Qiao Feng and Luo Guanzhong were already waiting for him.

"The eldest lady came to look for you just now." Luo Guanzhong told him, "She seemed unhappy when she found you were not here, so she left on her own. We couldn't persuade her to leave."

"Where did she go?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

"I don't know." Luo Guanzhong shook his head: "She looked very anxious, and I didn't dare to ask in detail."

"Strange, why is she looking for me here?" Guo Kang was even more confused: "Where did she come from? Where is she going? What does she want to do?"

"We are not philosophers, so we may not be able to explain this problem..." Seeing him thinking about it, Qiao Feng muttered.

"Will all Western philosophers face this situation?" Luo Guanzhong asked curiously.

"It is said that philosophers' family lives are generally very...special." Qiao Feng told him: "The ancient sage Socrates said that marriage is actually good for men. Because if he marries a good wife, he will be very happy; but if he marries a bad wife, he will become a philosopher. Socrates' own wife was famous for her fierceness."

"Oh, that Confucius from the West." Luo Guanzhong understood: "But some people say that Confucius' family also had three wives in their three generations. This is probably not a surprising thing."

"Yes. If you are interested in philosophy, you will definitely learn these interesting stories - of course, they may not be interesting to Socrates himself." Qiao Feng said, and then comforted Guo Kang, "Sir, you are also a wise man. The church says you are a philosopher every day. So, being tormented by women is also an inevitable test, so don't worry too much."

"Uh……"

Guo Kang didn't know whether this was to comfort him or just to watch the fun.

Of course, purely in terms of content, this statement actually makes some sense. Since the formation of philosophy, almost all philosophers have looked down on and even hated women. Moreover, this is not just a phenomenon in the classical and medieval times when people were "backward in thought."

Philosophers still maintained this attitude after entering modern times. Enlightenment thinkers advocated human spiritual freedom, but for them, women were obviously not complete people.

Rousseau believed that women could not achieve autonomy due to their natural defects and had to live under men. This was not an inequality caused by artificial prejudice, but rather a result of natural division of labor, so it did not violate the principle of equality and freedom. He also specifically discussed women's education in Emile, believing that women lacked the fine mind and concentrated attention to do precise research, so excessive education was meaningless.

This is certainly not his own opinion. Kant, another enlightenment philosopher, also emphasized rationality and objectivity, and believed that only men have these qualities; and only under this model can they be considered complete people. Women lack independent thinking and are timid and cowardly, and are not suitable for philosophical work. Therefore, women's philosophy is not rational, but just their feelings.

However, Kant was a sociable person and was good at speaking. He also said that women are not without good qualities, but men's qualities are noble, while women's qualities are beautiful. Deep contemplation and long-term thinking are noble, but they are difficult and too harsh for women. Serious thinking will make them lose their beauty, so it is better to stay away from them. Although this statement seems to be a compliment like "good at singing and dancing", it was already very euphemistic at the time.

Later philosophers held the same view. Nietzsche believed that women could not be friends because they were cats or birds, or at most cows, and were only valuable for entertainment. Therefore, when you go to a woman, you should also bring a whip to make her obey.

Of course, this view is quite extreme. Schopenhauer's theory is much milder. He pointed out that women are still human beings, but they are very naive, frivolous, and short-sighted, so throughout their lives, they are just big children, or in a state between children and adults - in modern terms, they may be called giant babies. Therefore, they must also accept the management of their masters like children.

Schopenhauer's archenemy Hegel held a similar view in this regard. Hegel also believed that women did not act according to common standards, but acted according to their own opinions and preferences at the moment, so they should not be allowed to manage in the public sphere, otherwise it would surely bring disaster.

This tendency has always existed among philosophers until modern times. Wittgenstein did not support women's liberation because he doubted women's intelligence. However, he did not discriminate against all women. He had a female disciple whom he valued and even listed her as one of the executors of his will when he was dying. Wittgenstein respected her and called her an "honorary human being." This was after World War II.

Due to political correctness and other factors, later philosophers gradually stopped discussing this point of view publicly. However, until the 21st century, philosophy was still the major with the fewest women in British and American universities, and accusations of discrimination against women never ceased. As for the reason, whether it was really a prejudice from ancient times, or whether the problems discovered by philosophers of all ages must have some problems, there are different opinions.

Guo Kang himself didn't know how to talk about this. At least in his time, everyone's views were similar to those of the ancestors in the classical era. The relationship between women was not necessarily harmonious, but often conflicted. For example, Theodora and Meltem accused each other of being a wild cat and a cow. If you don't know, you might think it was taught by Nietzsche...

Sometimes he himself would get so annoyed that he couldn't hold back, and thought that these people really deserved to be beaten. But he couldn't beat the cow with a whip, so he could only bear it for now... After sighing for a while, Guo Kang could only give up thinking about these things temporarily. Anyway, Guo Po Nu ran away, and he couldn't stop her, so he just let her go.

"What's the current status of our ship arrangements?" He shook his head and asked Qiao Feng first.

"I have already made the contact." Qiao Feng told him: "I can rent 20 cargo ships. Some are still in Crimea, and some are in Crete. As long as there is no objection, they will rush over and join us in Dadu."

"In addition, my sister also used her connections to find some ship owners who are willing to rent out large ships. However, they don't want to go deep into the Aegean Sea. They prefer to wait for our goods and supplies in Crete, or preferably Rhodes, and then pull them over together."

"Ah? Why is this? Are you afraid of pirates?" Guo Kang asked puzzledly.

"Those ship owners are all old sea merchants, and ordinary pirates have to be robbed by them. As for the big pirates, they all have dealings with them." Qiao Feng told him: "Without this ability, there is no way to be a sea merchant steadily for so many years."

"What they are concerned about is mainly the problem of the voyage itself. When sailing, the average speed of the ship is the slowest and the most difficult to maneuver is in the Aegean Sea. In the open sea east of Rhodes, the speed can be more than doubled." He explained:
"Because the wind direction here is not very good and there are many islands and reefs, it is more convenient for small boats to travel here. Large sailing ships don't like this place. With this time, they might as well take more orders in the south. Now Java merchants are increasing their exports. The routes from the East to the Red Sea, Egypt to Crete, North Africa and Sicily are all very busy, and there is no worry about business. Other routes are left to small boats with lower costs."

"That means we have to pay more." Guo Kang understood the core demands of the businessmen.

"Well, of course it would be best to pay more." Qiao Feng shrugged: "If you pay enough, it will be fine even if they drive all the way to the river on Ross' side..."

"However, we really don't need them to deliver it all the way to the destination. It's better to save money as much as possible." He advised: "You can contact domestic merchants. From my impression, although they are basically engaged in near-shore transportation, it is still no problem to send people to Rhodes Island or even Cyprus. Moreover, domestic merchants are easier to bargain with."

"It's because there aren't enough in the country that we're busy looking for them everywhere..." Guo Kang hesitated.

Although it claimed to be a country founded on farming and warfare, the geographical location of the Purple Tent determined that it could not be a country that truly emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce. Especially after the country gradually grew stronger and controlled the Black Sea area, trade grew very rapidly and many people invested in business.

Influenced by tradition, the Khanate itself often organized land and sea caravans. The largest source of Toghan's private treasury was the huge trade network that stretched from Novgorod in the north to Cyprus in the south, from Samarkand in the east to London in the west, and the Khanate's royal merchants who traveled back and forth all day long.

In addition, the navy also has its own transport fleet. In recent years, maintaining a standing navy has put too much financial pressure on the country, and even large countries can hardly bear it. Therefore, the navy often serves as sea merchants and pirates. When they are not fighting, they also do business. So they also have transport ships.

However, now, a large amount of transport capacity has been concentrated in the Black Sea, especially the river-sea dual-purpose boats commonly used in the local area, which are all transporting goods to Crimea. The Ministry of Revenue has mobilized part of its reserve funds and is transporting various equipment, personnel, and even agricultural tools, livestock, and seeds to the Rus region to establish several pilot areas. These boats can go north along the Dnieper River and transport supplies to the Kiev line; or first enter the Sea of ​​Azov from the eastern coast, and then go deep into the Don River and enter the vast "Great East" region.

Because the plan was so large, a lot of transport capacity directly under the Khanate was requisitioned. In addition, the Ministry of War believed that if the situation in Egypt went smoothly and it could really develop westward, it would likely attract the attention of Naples and Aragon and cause unrest. Rather than waiting for them to cause trouble, it would be better to take the initiative to attack them. Therefore, it was also necessary to gather transport capacity on the west side of the Balkan Peninsula, at least to maintain pressure on the enemy so that they would not dare to easily transfer troops.

In this case, we have to seriously consider the supply to the south. However, hiring people to transport goods is also a tradition here, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

"I'll try to find a way to ask." Guo Kang finally said, "But we still have some time, so we should be able to talk slowly. Ask your sister to find more people to ask."

"No problem." Qiao Feng said, "I think she would even be willing to help you pay part of the way. She had previously joined forces with the Venetians to kill several Jewish merchants and annex their caravans. Now she has some money again. Of course, you should not just hire one or a group of merchants, especially a powerful force like Venice, lest you end up like the Crusaders, where the ship owners kidnap the army."

"That shouldn't be the case..." Guo Kang said, "Thank you for your sister's hard work."

He was still a little surprised about this. Because in his impression, Qiao Feng's sister always seemed to have little presence, and occasionally appeared as a silly and cute character. Unexpectedly, she could rob the thieves and get rid of the Jewish profiteers. But after thinking about it carefully, she is also a member of the Medici family. After all, she probably has some confidence.

Since she wanted to help, she must have considered it carefully, so Guo Kang didn't ask any more questions and just let them do what they wanted.

(End of this chapter)