I am the king of the dead

"The decline of the Roman Empire is like a rolling stone falling from a cliff, and there is no possibility of restoring the decline."

After quietly listening to Nikolaoz's praise of Majorian, Hu Wei said, "In order to defeat the Vandal Kingdom, Majorian set up a navy in the port of Spain, but was surprised by the Vandal Kingdom." At the port, the entire navy was wiped out."

"Majorian's attack on the Vandal Kingdom was a military adventure. He just finished fighting the barbarians in Gaul and conquered Spain. He should make some adjustments instead of continuing to expand the territory."

"The failure of a military adventure is costly. His death was indeed the mutiny that killed him, but politically, he killed himself."

Hu Mei has translated some Roman historical materials. This Majorian was indeed ambitious, but the attack on the Vandal Kingdom and his defeat caused Majorian's prestige to plummet.

The barbarians were against him, the bureaucracy was against him, the nobles were against him, the Senate was against him, and most importantly, even the Romans were against him.

It would be unwise for him to launch a military adventure when almost everyone is against him.

Nikolaoz has an almost fanatical admiration for Majorian, which affects his objective view of this period of history.

Of course, Hu Wei is just a bystander.

If you think about it differently, this happened in Daming, he doesn't think his mentality will be stable.The master of ZTE was killed suddenly, and he would regret it.

Hu Wei didn't know that on the original historical line, the master of ZTE in his eyes was engaged in a mutiny by speculators. After the mutiny, the historical Ming Dynasty Zong, Yu Shaobao and others may have been killed in the In the Yeting, or be beheaded and abandoned the market.

At that time, Hu Wei would only be more pathetic than Nikolaoz at this time.

Hu Wei continued to speak: "In the "Majorian Law" you translated, it is stipulated that the elders of the Senate are not allowed to move without reason, which shows that some members of the Senate are secretly leaving."

"Those barbarians who were conquered were already resistant to taxes, and in the army, barbarians accounted for more than [-]% of the number, and the mutiny was completely expected."

"There are also the heads of those families who have been tortured by the bureaucratic bureaucracy. They brought the barbarians to mutiny, and they ordered their slaves to open the city gates to facilitate the barbarian mutiny."

"At that point, it's time for Majorian to wake up."

The corner of Nikolaoz's mouth twitched, and then he said helplessly, "You're right."

Hu Wei asked with a strange expression: "I'm curious about a question, what makes your Roman emperor indifferent to the Germans and Goths who have [-]% of the army?"

"It's just crazy."

Hu Yi couldn't imagine what it would be like if the number of Tatar officials and Tatar troops accounted for more than [-]% of the Beijing army, let alone [-]%, even [-]% would be too much for Hu Yi.

The debate between Hua and Barbarians in Ming Dynasty was better than that in Tang and Song Dynasties, because the slogan of Ming Dynasty for a long time was to drive out the Tartars.

Under the great defense of the Hua and Barbarians, Daming was extremely afraid of the Tartar officials and the Tartar army.

Now in the Beijing army, there are almost no Tatars and Uryanhas, except for a few horsemen.

Nikolaoz said helplessly: "If there is a way, we will not choose to let the barbarians fill the entire barracks."

"Isn't it impossible?"

"If there is a way, the emperor of Rome is not willing to have any barbarians in the military camp."

Hu Wei's complexion became even weirder, and he asked suspiciously, "Why? Could it be that there is no one in Rome?"

"That's impossible. As far as I know about Rome, the Romans are citizens and civilians in the Roman Empire, while the barbarians are just slaves."

Nikolaos nodded heavily and said: "Yes, the Romans had young men and late marriages, and finally the emperor of Rome had to let the barbarians fill the barracks."

"No one? Don't want to give birth?" Hu Yan asked with a heavy face after drinking a glass of water.

Nicolaus thought for a long time and said: "Yes, there are many reasons. The Roman emperor tried almost every means to encourage the Romans to have children. Those almost absurd policies could not restore the Romans' respect for childbearing. interest."

"In the end, the Roman Empire was transformed."

Rather than saying that the Western Roman Empire was subjugated by the barbarians, it is better to say that it was replaced by the huge population of the barbarians.

No one is also a serious problem facing East Rome.

"What's the reason? They enjoy the treatment of citizens and civilians, so why don't they want to have children?" Hu Wei asked.

This is a phenomenon that has never appeared in the Central Plains Dynasty.This strange phenomenon is a logic that the Central Plains Dynasty cannot understand.

Every time the dynasty of the Central Plains changes, the contradiction between people and land intensifies, and the population is too large, which makes the land unable to support. A little bit of natural disasters and man-made disasters will arouse the landless people in several provinces and rise up.

Not wanting to have children, having a small population, and being replaced by barbarians are completely incomprehensible ways of perishing for Hu Yan.

So weird.

Nikolaoz fell into deep thought, it was too complicated, and he didn't know how to speak for a while.

Hu Wei waited quietly, and after a cup of tea, Nicolaus finally said: "The Romans have to bear almost all the taxes, and every child born means paying a heavy tax, and the Romans can't afford it. gift, so I would rather not give birth, even if I give birth to a child, I will drown."

"And the barbarians don't need to pay taxes, saying that they have no burden to give birth."

Hu Wei thought for a long time, and finally understood the strange situation in Rome, where the Romans needed to pay but the barbarians did not.

Rome did not have a mature bureaucracy. After the barbarians were conquered, they could not even implement the tax system. They could only acquiesce that the barbarians did not collect taxes and maintained their rule.

Daming doesn't collect taxes from the Tatars right now, but Daming has created horrific inflation in the grasslands. With the cooperation of Tatar ghosts, countless Tatars have been running to the interior to seek Daming's asylum.

Daming does not collect taxes, but collects people.

Looking at Hu Wei's face, Nikolaoz knew that this Hu Shangshu had enlightenment again, but Hu Shangshu was always so tactful, if he had enlightenment, he always kept it in his heart.

Nicolaus continued to speak: "Secondly, the Romans undertake the military service of the army. Every time they go to war, a large number of young and middle-aged people die, but these people cannot be replenished."

"Under the patriarchal system, the bureaucracy has not yet matured, which has led to the patriarchs of each family opposing the conquest, which has exacerbated the growth of the barbarians."

Hu Wei can understand that this is considered to be the prosperity of Rome's culture and military affairs. The parents of various families have many reasons for opposing the war, including the reason for the population.

This is not a problem that bureaucracy can solve.

But what Nikolaoz didn't say, Hu Wei can also imagine that the heads of these families probably have a lot of interests in the barbarians, and Hu Wei can even assert that the existence of these barbarians is the power to protect the status of the parents one.

The trick of raising bandits to respect oneself is not a unique cultural phenomenon of Ming Dynasty.

Nicolaus said painfully: "The third is the influence of religion. In the struggle for political power and theocracy, the Roman Empire finally compromised, but this compromise did not bring about a prosperous population."

"In order to restore the population, Hu Shangshu, all the emperors of Rome have thought of everything you can think of."

"For example, women under the age of 40 are not allowed to enter the monastery to be a show girl. For example, unsuitable young and old couples will be separated by the emperor. For example, every child will be rewarded with three silver coins, etc. It cannot be said that it is useless."

"It has only a small effect."

Chapter 515 Disappointment and Hope

After hearing Nikolaoz's question, Hu Wei frowned and said: "In ancient times, when people hunted, if the sacrifice was greater than the harvest, they would choose not to hunt."

"It's like ships at sea today, which rarely hunt big fish, because the gains outweigh the losses."

Nikolaoz's eyes lit up. Hu Wei's analogy is very good. Big fish have more fish oil, but among the tributes from the Ryukyu Islands, there is only 30 catties of fish oil a year.

This is not because the big fish cannot be killed now, but because the effort is much smaller than the gain.

Nikolaoz sat up straight and said, "The benefits of childbearing are far less than the cost, so why don't you have children?"

"It's not just that." Hu Wei shook his head and said, "We can easily see that some people who have no worries about food and clothing are not willing to have children, and they don't have many children."

"Prince Xiang is the most honorable prince of Ming Dynasty, but he only has three children. For King Xiang, benefits, costs, gains, and sacrifices are all nonsense. But he doesn't want to have children."

After Hu Yan finished speaking, Nikolaoz fell into silence.

Of course Nikolaoz knew that the reason King Xiang was unwilling to have a child was because the family property would be divided after birth.

If the throne is passed on, Prince Xiang loses his honorable uncle status, and Prince Xiang's lineage will lose the current grace. The more children there are, the more fights there will be.

King Xiang thinks like this, how many people in Daming think like this?

Rome also has the order of the four seasons, but in the vigorous spring and summer when everything is flourishing, the Romans are still unwilling to have children.

They hope that their children will have a better future. It is much easier to cultivate one child with the resources in their hands than to cultivate two.

Nikolaoz said helplessly: "Da Ming doesn't seem to have this problem. Although your arable land is very barren, the people of Daming are so hardworking. As long as the politics is clear and the world is stable, they seem to be very happy to live."

"Even though Hu Yuan has ruled this land for 100 years, they are still passers-by. In the end, this place still belongs to you."

It has been two years since Nikolaoz arrived in Daming. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, he saw all the five- and six-year-old children running on the street, so he was very envious.That carefree appearance moved Nikolaoz a lot.

If the Romans had such a strong desire to have children, what chance did the Gauls, Germans, Goths, Ottomans, and Russ have?

The Romans turned themselves into a small clan.

"What is a child?" Hu Wei asked a very crucial question.

Nikolaoz thought for a long time and said, "It's the future of an empire."

"Children are the hope of parents." Hu Wei sat up straight and said.

Nikolaos frowned, and asked in a daze, "Hope?"

Hu Wei nodded and said, "When there is despair, even after birth, those babies will drown. When there is hope, they will look forward to more children and more blessings."

"Children are the hope of parents. When parents are full of expectations, they will have more children and more blessings. Parents are desperate, so naturally there will be no hope."

The pimple on Nikolaoz's brow finally relaxed. He tapped his fingers on his shoulders, forehead, and chest, bowed his head and said, "Thank you Hu Shangshu for your teaching."

In Nikolaoz's view, although Hu Wei is not a priest, he seems to have insight into the world and understand the world better than him.

Daming's etiquette laws and Taixi's religious laws are all about maintaining order and stability, but Nikolaoz thinks he doesn't understand the principles of the world, and he has learned a lot in Daming.

Hu Wei accepted Nikolaoz's etiquette without humility at all.

Elena looked at the two dully, she was very touched by this.

In the castle of Constantinople, when the crisis was at stake, she would never think about the child anyway.

But after arriving in Daming, she has expectations for her future life, and with hope, she often fantasizes about her married life.

I don't know if the heroic king will love her, or if a child of the King of Kings and the Co-Lord of Rome will be born.

When she was in Constantinople, she dared not even think about it.

Children are hope. How can there be hope when parents are desperate?

The Western Roman Empire fell to the barbarians, and the Eastern Roman Empire also fell to the barbarians.

Elena understood.

Hu Yi originally prepared a lot of topics today, such as the logic in the Roman Twelve Tables, but after he finished discussing this issue, he suddenly felt that it was boring.

"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. There will be a flower show in Tai'an Palace. Empress Wang will take the harem concubines to enjoy the flowers. Princess Elena should participate." Hu Wei stood up and ended today's conversation.

After he walked out of the Huitong Hall, he stood in front of the post gate, looking at the children running around in the street, and fell into a moment of confusion.

Did Daming really never let the world despair?

In the 14th year of orthodox, Dingkou like a pool of stagnant water, is it just a local concealment?

At least, Hu Wei has not seen for a long time that there are so many running children in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

A naughty boy obviously had a great time playing with his partner, he didn't know how to watch the road, and bumped into the leg of a Tiqi while running.

The naughty boy looked up at Tiqi, who was like a mountain to him, rubbed his head, and suddenly grinned. The light laughter echoed on the street like a mountain stream caressing a bluestone. The child's smile was very clear. , Just like a stone smashed into the ripples of a clear spring, it overflowed from the small vortex at the corner of his mouth, infecting the children around him.

Tiqi showed a slightly scary smile, touched the child's horns, and with a slightly hoarse voice, stomped his feet deliberately showing a ferocious expression, and said loudly: "Ha!"

The urchin was so frightened that he jumped on the spot, then turned around and ran away, blending into the crowd in an instant, without being seen.

Standing on the street, Hu Wei said with some emotion, "Where is Your Majesty now?"

Ti Qi came back to his senses and said: "Hu Shangshu, Your Majesty is not in the martial arts lecture hall, nor in Tai'an Palace, but in the folk house outside Chaoyang Gate."

"Going to Chaoyang Gate?" Hu Wei took a step towards Chaoyang Gate.

At this time outside Chaoyang Gate, Zhu Qiyu's silk and satin clothes appeared on the water transport pier outside Chaoyang Gate, which seemed a little out of place, like a rich man who came to hire poor coolies.

Naturally, Zhu Qiyu didn't come here to hire poor coolies.

He stood on the water transport wharf outside Chaoyang Gate, watching the water transport ships begin to unload countless grain bags and send them to the grain market entrance inside Chaoyang Gate.

After searching for a long time, he saw Liu Qi.

Liu Qi was still very strong and muscular, and he carried a bag of rice on the car.

Zhu Qiyu stepped forward, patted the rice bag, and said with a smile: "Liu Qi, long time no see."

"I'm busy, I have to wait until next month..." Liu Qiyi raised his head and saw Zhu Qiyu's specious smile, which made him startled.

Zhu Qiyu and Liu Qiyi met four times in total, the first time was outside Chaoyangmen, the second time was at the Water Transport Wharf of the folk house outside Chaoyangmen, and the third time was at Nanya, where Liu Qi was in charge of escorting Jingtai Tongbao into Nanjing City, The fourth time is now.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!" Liu Qi had already seen His Majesty outside the Chaoyang Gate the last time he was triumphant, and naturally recognized who it was.

He yelled at His Majesty twice, the last time he saw His Majesty sitting on the jade chair, he had nightmares for several nights in a row, fearing that some horse would come in and pick off his head.

After waiting for a few days, he also figured it out. It is estimated that His Majesty is too busy to talk to him, or simply forget him completely.

Zhu Qiyu stopped Liu Qi and saluted and said: "There is no need to be too polite."