Chapter 231 The Earth is Round
According to the rules formulated by Lu Huiqing, it was very difficult for male Semu people to become citizens of the Song Dynasty, and it could even be said to be harsh.
He did not intend to allow too many Semites to come in, but only to allow some of the elites to become naturalized citizens. At the same time, he would let these people control the other Semites to form what Master Lu called the labor group and mercenary group.
Of course... he would keep a tight grip on the food, weapons and other supplies of these Semites.
Even the Song Dynasty's bandit troops had to be treated strictly, not to mention the Semites' army. Lu Huiqing would still take basic precautions.
Unlike men, it was much easier for Seljuq women to join the religious sect, and it was even easier if they were pretty.
Alice filled in some information casually, got a badge, and was able to enter the city.
Then a group of colored men nearby looked on with envy.
The Song soldier next to him was joking: "Deputy Captain, that Semu woman is so attractive. When she starts to make a living in the Jiaosifang, won't you go and patronize her?"
The young lieutenant next to him laughed and said, "If my family knew about this, they would probably break my legs. It's better for you guys to go if you want."
"I want to, but I don't have the money to enjoy it." A soldier next to him said helplessly, "She looks like an otaku. We can't get a chance to touch her. I guess only wealthy businessmen can touch her. I just don't know if those wealthy businessmen with weak bodies can withstand the madness of a perverted woman!"
At this point, a group of people burst into laughter.
Alice walked into the city and looked at the solar boat in the sky, her pretty fair face full of admiration.
She first took the sign to the Jiaosifang, and the madam received her and exclaimed in amazement: "Your face is clean and your eyes are not open. You can tell at a glance that you are a virgin. Why did you come to the Jiaosifang?"
Although Alice was a Seljuq woman, the brothel owner still felt sorry for her.
She had seen too much. In her eyes, any woman who wanted to enter the church from any direction was a miserable person and should be treated equally, regardless of status.
Although the families of criminal officials in the Northern Song Dynasty would not be thrown into the Jiaosifang to be used as prostitutes, there were always poor families who sold their daughters to the Jiaosifang.
This is also one of the meanings of the existence of Jiaosifang, at least to give those poor women who can't survive a way to survive.
Alice smiled and said without any fear: "This is the only way for me to become a Song person. There is nothing I can do about it."
The madam sighed softly and led the people into the teaching office.
About a mile east of Jiaosifang, Lu Sen received Mr. Lin in the Bitian Pavilion.
After burying his father and staying in a hut to observe mourning for a month, Mr. Lin came to Hangzhou City and asked Mr. Zhang to pass on a message for him to meet Lu Sen.
The Bitian Pavilion was temporarily cleared of outsiders. The two stood on the cloud platform, each standing in front of the railing, looking at the busy streets below.
Mr. Lin took a sip of wine, turned his head and asked, "Master Lu, I want to know what capital is."
"The word capital can be big or small." Lu Sen smiled and said, "Capital in the usual sense refers to the extra value and surplus value owned by an individual, but what I want to tell you is capital in a broad sense, a thing that can devour people."
Lu Sen's words were all words from later times, but Mr. Lin was a businessman himself and had also been educated, so he pondered for a while and vaguely understood what Lu Sen meant.
"So what Master Lu means is... that the extra value, or surplus value, of many, many people combined is the so-called capital?" Mr. Lin frowned slightly. "But this is just a lot of money. What does it have to do with the word 'devouring people'?"
Lu Sen looked into the distance, at the prosperous city of Hangzhou, where there were many people and countless goods. "My master only gave me a superficial understanding of these. I will tell you the superficial theories I understand."
Next, Lu Sen slowly talked about what capital can do and the "side effects" that capital naturally brings with it.
After hearing this, Mr. Lin broke out in a cold sweat.
In the past, he thought Hangzhou was a prosperous city, but now the whole city gave him a feeling that darkness and man-eating monsters were hidden everywhere.
He used to think that the entire Chinese nation always put merchants last, which he thought was unfair. After all, he was also a businessman.
Even skilled workers can be ranked before merchants, which doesn't make sense.
But after listening to what Lu Sen said, he really felt the horror of capital...as long as Lu Sen didn't lie to him.
"Since Master Lu thinks that capital is so terrible, why do you still want to release it?" Lin Yuanwai wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked puzzledly: "I think with your strength and reputation, it should not be difficult to seal this 'capital'."
"This is a necessary stage in the evolution of the world." Lu Sen sighed, "If we Chinese don't take the lead, then the Western Yi will have to take this path."
Now he felt more and more that what Lu Jingjing had said before, that the whales had run to the west in search of the World Tree to nourish the fortune of the Western barbarians, should be true.
Otherwise, there is no way to explain why those ignorant barbarians in the West suddenly exploded. There was the Age of Discovery, the Renaissance, the great leap in technology, and they learned how to boil water in various ways.
At this time, the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, which were most likely to give birth to the embryonic form of capitalist society, were destroyed twice by northern barbarians.
It’s incredible to think about it.
It can only be explained by the word luck.
Mr. Lin was stunned for a moment: "Did Master Lu see any ominous signs?"
Naturally, Lu Sen would not tell Lin Yuanwai about the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, nor would he tell him about the century of humiliation, because that was too unbelievable, at least in the eyes of the people of the Song Dynasty today, it was impossible.
"I don't know the details, but it's not a good thing to be rushed into the new era by the Western barbarians." Lu Sen chuckled, "So I think it's time to create some opportunities for you businessmen."
Confucian culture had reached its peak by the Northern Song Dynasty. If it did not find a new path, innovate, or create new doctrines, it would have slowly declined and then become corrupt.
"Master Lu has devoted his life to the country and the people. I admire you deeply." Lin Yuanwai clasped his fists, his eyes gradually brightened, and he even had a sense of mission in his heart: "Master Lu, please tell me what you need me to do."
Mr. Lin failed in the imperial examinations many times, so he became a businessman. However, his education and his inner thoughts were still based on Confucianism.
Serving the country, the people and the king... This is the limitation of the times and is not a big problem.
"Nanshan Society, you must control it well and try to expand it." Lu Sen put a huge map on the table and said, "These are the topography of the world that I drew based on my geomancy. Take a look."
A large color map was placed on the table, with national borders and the approximate terrain marked on it.
Lin was shocked at first, and then after a careful look, he was even more amazed. He gently stroked the labels of each country and sighed, "It turns out that the world is so big besides our Song Dynasty. I've heard before that Master Lu has the magical power of immortal shadow play, which can record the customs and landforms thousands of miles away, but I have never seen it, which is quite a pity. Now I can see this topographic map of the world, which can be regarded as a wish come true."
Lu Sen didn't say anything. He was waiting for Mr. Lin to discover the truly shocking part of this map.
Mr. Lin was not stupid and had a certain ability to recognize topographic maps. After looking at it for a while, he suddenly froze, looked repeatedly at the left and right borders of the topographic map, and his body gradually began to tremble.
Then he lay on the table again, confirming the terrain on both sides, and then raised his head and looked at Lu Sen with a pale face: "Master Lu, is there something wrong with this topographic map?"
"Oh, what's wrong?" Lu Sen asked with a smile.
Mr. Lin pointed to the left and right sides of the map. He licked his lips and said in a trembling voice, "It seems that they are drawn the same here, and they seem to be connected. Is... is it drawn wrong?"
He looked at Lu Sen cautiously.
Lu Sen chuckled : "Mr. Lin is indeed very meticulous. There is indeed something different there."
“It’s a mistake indeed…”
"There is no mistake in the drawing." Lu Sen looked at Mr. Lin and said seriously, "It is connected there."
Mr. Lin's whole body was stiff.
The sky is round and the earth is square! The sky is round and the earth is square!
This is the most simple and even self-evident concept engraved in the minds of the ancients.
But now Lu Sen told him that as long as he kept walking east or west, he would be able to return to his original place.
Lin Yuanwai's pupils widened a lot. He subconsciously took out a silk scarf, wiped the coldness on his forehead, and said, "If this is the case, then our land is not just a roll?"
reel?
Oh... Lu Sen understood. The North Pole and the South Pole on the map are not connected, and in order to make the map "rectangular", the maps near the North Pole and the South Pole are "expanded".
Lu Sen smiled and said, "It's not a roll, it's a circle. We are standing on a sphere."
"This is impossible!" Mr. Lin's eyes turned red: "Then why don't we fall?"
This question... Lu Sen also had this question when he was about six years old.
He took out the projector from his system backpack and said, "This is the immortal shadow play you've been dreaming about. I'll show you the principle behind it, and you'll understand."
Lu Sen pressed a button on the projector, and a small screen appeared on the white wall behind the pan/tilt head, and sound was heard.
The first thing that catches your eye is the jungle viewed from above, and then the camera gradually moves higher, and the terrain becomes smaller and smaller.
Finally, there is a blue sphere that is slowly rotating.
There are layers of white clouds floating on the surface of the sphere.
As the video continues to play, the entire solar system can be seen.
But Mr. Lin was already standing there in a daze, unable to receive any more information.
Just digesting the concept of 'the earth is round' has caused him to temporarily fall into a state of 'dementia'.
After a while, he suddenly shook his body and woke up.
Then he looked at the map drawn by Lu Sen again. With his extraordinary memory, he found that this map was extremely similar to the terrain in the immortal shadow play just now.
In other words, it should be true.
Besides, Master Lu did not deceive himself for the sake of this world.
Mr. Lin sat down suddenly, his thin face showing a feeling of confusion that came from being unable to imagine and think.
Lu Sen was not in a hurry. He sat aside, poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly.
About an incense stick later, Mr. Lin came back to his senses. He looked at Lu Sen and said faintly, "Master Lu, you are trying to drag me down with you."
Hahaha!
Lu Sen laughed and said, "How can you say that I'm dragging you down? This is clearly to show you what the world really looks like."
Mr. Lin took a deep breath and said, "So what does Master Lu want me to do?"
"I want your people, or you yourself, to travel from west to east until you come back to us from the east. Then write down records and bring back local specialties and information." Lu Sen smiled and said, "For this, I will support you with a treasure ship that I made myself. With the big ship to protect you and the sea chart I gave you, you can safely survive the general storms and waves."
Mr. Lin was stunned: "Master Lu wants me to become a saint?"
If he really walked from the west to the east and then back, as soon as the news got out, he would be considered to have discovered a new trend in the world, and his name would be recorded in history books from then on. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had become a "saint".
"Becoming a saint is risky. Someone might die."
"It is our duty to make our names known through the ages and to leave a name in history." Mr. Lin stood up, with a fanatical look on his face: "It's nothing to worry about such a small risk."
Orthodox Confucian disciples have always been very concerned about such things that can leave their names in history.
Although Mr. Lin was not very talented, he did learn some of the core essence of Confucianism.
"I hope you can find a way to expand the Nanshan Society, and then go on a round-the-world voyage." Lu Sen smiled and said, "You eat one bite at a time, and you walk one step at a time. You can't be impatient."
Mr. Lin suppressed his excitement and said, "It was the villain Meng Lang who was being careless."
Lu Sen put the projector back into the system backpack and said, "If you succeed in sailing around the world, I don't mind helping you change the Nanshan Club to the Taishan Club."
Mr. Lin was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"You'll understand then."
Lu Sen smiled, said nothing more, and left the Yuntai first.
He turned around and went to Zhao Mansion, Zhao Zongshi's home.
At this time, Zhao Zongshi was looking at books seriously. These books were handwritten by Lu Sen.
He was watching so seriously that he didn't even notice Lu Sen was coming.
Lu Sen never needed to inform anyone when entering the Zhao Mansion. If Lu Sen was unhappy, he could even drive Zhao Zongshi out of the Zhao Mansion and declare himself the master of the place.
All the servants in the Zhao Mansion will have no objections and will only obey orders.
That's how much the Prince of Runan believed in him.
A child about twelve years old was reading the above content with great effort.
Lu Sen's handwriting is now excellent, and in order to facilitate reading, he uses regular script when writing books.
Although cursive script looks more elegant and literary, as a book font, the squarer it is, the better.
The purpose of books is to spread content and knowledge, not to show off calligraphy "skills".
After reading for a while, Zhao Zongshi put down the book in his hand, rubbed his eyes, and sighed: "This book is so difficult to understand."
"It's not that hard to understand. Tell me and I'll explain it to you."
Zhao Zongshi was startled. He turned around and saw Lu Sen, then he breathed a sigh of relief: "When did my brother-in-law come?"
"Not long." Lu Sen smiled and said, "If you don't understand something, tell me quickly. In half an hour, I will go back to accompany your sister Lian."
Zhao Zongshi pointed to the page he was looking at just now: "Interest is the bond between people in this world. As long as the price is right, everything can be bought and sold."
"Indeed."
"What about family affection?" Zhao Zongshi pursed his lips: "Isn't it said that true love is more valuable than gold?"
