Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 579: Materials Scholar Shows Off His Power
Hey, my Prime Minister, you are so naive. I have never thought about completely eliminating the government deficit. In fact, a small deficit is actually good for the country.
"Ladies and gentlemen, now that we have discussed the financial issues, let's discuss the population issue. There is no doubt that the 100 million people under the control of the Alliance are too few. For this reason, I believe that we should increase the construction and investment in public hospitals and formulate policies to encourage childbirth."
"What?" Poor Osvalles had just been happy for a moment, but when he heard Philip's words, he was stunned: Your Majesty, are you going to spend money again?
"History has proven that because Europe is located at a higher latitude, the problem of parasites affecting population growth is not as serious as in East Asia. The main factors limiting our population growth are various respiratory and digestive tract infectious diseases, war, and poverty."
"Now, peace has been achieved throughout Europe, and the impact of the war has temporarily disappeared. The penicillin production of the Asturias laboratory is increasing, and various infectious diseases can be effectively controlled. However, the poor at the bottom of the society have almost no chance to enjoy high-level medical care. Therefore, due to the limitation of poverty, the arrival of peace and the progress of medicine have not been transformed into a dividend for rapid population growth."
"Here, my opinion is that due to the limited teaching staff in the short term, we should first establish four medical schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Lisbon, with the Asturias Laboratory Medicine Department as the main teaching force, supplemented by excellent doctors from all over Europe. In addition to medicine and pharmacy, nursing should also be established. Then, relying on these four medical schools, four large hospitals will be established, and they will be given the power to manage the health administration of a region. They will unify the management and guidance of small hospitals and clinics in various places, especially requiring doctors across Europe to perform aseptic processing during surgery, and to implement the methods of preventing and treating postpartum fever on every parturient... Ultimately, the Royal Government will promote this model throughout Europe to protect the health of the people of Europe."
"In addition, there are too many extremely poor people in the country and the alliance, and compulsory education has not yet been fully popularized. This has led to many people at the bottom of society not daring to have children, or after giving birth, the children do not receive adequate care and die. In response to this, I plan to open 100 orphanages in Spain in advance, and each orphanage will have a maximum capacity of 1,000 people. All expenses will be borne by the state. And it will continue to expand as the national income grows.
In addition, for couples who are willing to have children and raise their own children, the state will set up a fertility fund to encourage them. Ah, Prime Minister, please don't look at me like that. I will transfer this fertility fund from my private property in the name of the Queen. "
"Praise your mercy, my Lord."
"Hahaha, it looks like I didn't piss off my prime minister after all." After laughing, Philip waved his hands vigorously: "In addition to encouraging fertility in Europe, we must also tap the potential of Africa and America as much as possible. I absolutely do not believe that there are only more than four million people in Africa now. Similarly, North and South America are so vast, there is no way there are only more than eight million people... We must tell the governors of the colonies to control the local population as much as possible, open plantations and develop mines on the vast wasteland there. Only in this way can our food security be guaranteed!"
"Yes, Your Majesty. We have drawn up a series of plans to promote the development of the colony. Once they are thoroughly completed in the next few days, they will be handed over to you for review."
"Very good. Then, let's end today's meeting here for now. Prime Minister, please stay for a moment."
After everyone left, Philip, who had been full of vigor and vitality just now, looked serious and his voice became low: "My Prime Minister, what is the situation in America?"
"It's very bad, Your Majesty. The rebels in America have completely changed their previous style of concentrating in one spot and actively fighting our army head-on. Instead, they have broken up into small groups and disrupted local order everywhere. Now, rebels have appeared in Buenos Aires, Lima, Quito, and even near Bogota. They never fight us head-on, but as long as our regular army is not careful, the local farmers' estates will be looted, the mines will be broken into, the roads will be destroyed... In short, the areas and populations that the governors in America can effectively control are shrinking rapidly."
"This is guerrilla warfare. I don't believe that this happened without the intervention of the Chinese emperor in the Far East."
"Your Majesty, you are right. Our governors in America have reported that according to the confessions of the recently captured rebel soldiers, the leaders of some of their troops have been replaced by Chinese."
"Maldita Sea!" After speaking sweetly, Philip said, "How much has the output of gold and silver mines in America decreased now?"
"According to the reports of the various governors, this year at least it needs to be reduced by 30%."
"Humph, at least they have a conscience and didn't give us 50%."
"Your Majesty, there are certainly cases where the governors took advantage of the rebels' chaos to falsely report losses and enrich themselves. But if they really dare to report 50%, I would suggest that they be removed from their positions as governors."
"So these bastards are smart. They have found the right balance."
"Your Majesty, these guys are indeed hateful, but America is unstable right now, so we can't be too harsh on them. As long as they don't go too far, we have to pretend not to see it for now."
"Hahaha, my Prime Minister who hates evil, when did you become so flexible?"
"Alas, there is no other way. According to your majesty's idea, there are too many places where the country needs to spend silver coins. I am extremely eager for the silver ingots shipped from America."
"Okay, I get it. Let's put it this way, Prime Minister. I have two opinions on the issue of America. First, we should untie the restrictions on Latin Americans and Spanish-Indian people. These people can serve in middle and low-level official positions in the colonies, and it would be best if they were appointed as public security police. We should use local people to deal with local people."
"agree."
"Second, the rebels are now waging a large-scale guerrilla war in America. This kind of tactic is very difficult and wasteful for regular troops to deal with. Therefore, apart from the Second Guards Division that is already in America, I do not plan to send any more regular troops."
"Your Majesty, do you mean to revive the European mercenary tradition?"
"Yes. After the Austro-European War a few years ago, I have seen clearly that the European coalition forces built on mercenaries are far inferior to our Spanish native army in terms of combat effectiveness. The main reason for this gap is that their sense of discipline is too poor. Facing a huge battlefield with tens of thousands of people fighting, how can they survive without strong discipline and execution? But these people went to America and found their place in the water."
"Your Majesty, I must remind you. The mercenaries who went to America may be better at dealing with guerrilla warfare than regular troops, but what about their military discipline?"
"..." After thinking for a while, Philip shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. Indians should not have human rights. They should just work honestly in plantations and mines. If you give them too much other things, it will make them think too much."
"I understand. I will go to the Duke of Alva and Count Tilly later to discuss the establishment of a new American expeditionary force."
"Later? My Prime Minister, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Osvalles pulled out a piece of cloth from his trouser pocket. "This stuff has recently flooded into our European market because of its reliable quality and low price. In just over three months, the entire Apennine Peninsula and the North African region that we have just taken over, the cloth market is almost dominated by this new cloth!"
"This, this is..." After taking the cloth from Osvalles and rubbing it repeatedly to observe it, Philip yelled out of control: "Oh my God! This, this is polyester! It's actually polyester!"
The so-called polyester, its formal chemical name is polyethylene terephthalate, abbreviated as PET in English. In the later plastic classification, PET is code-named No. 1 - it can be seen that this is one of the most basic plastics.
In later generations, PET was widely used: almost all electrical sockets and insulated handles were made of PET. When drivers drove cars, the buttons for controlling the windows were often made of PET, and the pedal for pressing the accelerator also contained PET.
In addition, the outer shells of those fat-house happy waters are basically PET.
Of course, this thing can also be used in textiles, that is, polyester. In the 1970s, after this kind of cloth entered China, it quickly won the favor of the Chinese people because of its advantages far superior to ordinary cotton cloth, such as being washable and wear-resistant, not distorted, not fading, easy to dry and cheap. It was affectionately called "Dacron" by the Chinese at that time.
The successful development and industrialization of No. 1 plastic in the historical perspective was not until the 1950s and 1960s. However, this is No. 1 plastic, and for a student majoring in materials science, this is something that must be learned almost as soon as they enter their major. Therefore, after Ibrahim survived the full force of the EU, he first concentrated the country's efforts to develop PET.
The time traveler majoring in materials science truly began to demonstrate the power of knowledge at this time.
