Chapter 7167 The Foundation of Civilization

Chapter 7167 The Foundation of Civilization

“Yes, because when a city-state lord is absorbed, it’s impossible to completely strip them of their power, and there’s no consideration for complete management, since it’s never happened before.” Cyprian nodded, clearly recognizing Zhuge Liang’s keen insight.

"Similarly, the tax farming system was born under this logic. From the beginning, they were the administrators of this city-state. After being incorporated into Rome, they became Roman senators. This place still needed to be managed, so it was handed over to these people. Rome was a loose family, which is why there are records of three hundred patriarchs in the books." After confirming that Zhuge Liang had this understanding, Cyprian naturally skipped a long paragraph and went straight to the reality of the Roman Empire.

“Indeed, if it was like this from the beginning, then there was really no way to change it later.” Zhuge Liang nodded, agreeing with Cyprian’s statement. “In the end, it was never a unified whole from the beginning. Everyone lived in a scattered manner, so from city-state to kingdom, and even empire, there was really no way to achieve centralization.”

When Zhuge Liang said this, he did not notice that Cyprian gave him a deep look.

"That's pretty much it. In fact, the Roman Empire once had the opportunity to move from its original system to centralization. After all, the country was too big, and centralization would be more conducive to management. The central government would be stronger and more effective in managing the country. However, Augustus abandoned this plan and chose to coexist with the Senate. I've thought about it countless times, and in the end, I think that this choice was the right one," Cyprian said with a touch of nostalgia and admiration.

"Is that so? So you've given up?" Zhuge Liang said with some surprise.

“It was possible, but they gave up. However, I estimate that given the historical currents of Rome back then, even if it had been done in a short time, it would have been repeated, and Rome itself would have been the one to suffer. If the dictator and the parliament had started killing each other, the whole of Rome would have fallen into civil war. Therefore, Augustus, with his far-sighted vision, chose coexistence and averted the crisis of turmoil in Rome.” Cyprian, who had always been somewhat sarcastic and mocking towards Rome, showed admiration at this moment.

At the same time, Sima Yi finally realized, through the conversation between Zhuge Liang and Cyprian, what these two were talking about. It wasn't about any system, but rather the underlying nature of two civilizations. Compared to the underlying nature of civilization, such lofty things as systems were nothing but skin and bones.

“Then there is the Han Dynasty.” Cyprian looked at Zhuge Liang. “Will you tell me, or should I? I’ve heard your Lord Chen talk about it, and I’ve also looked up some ancient books to learn more about it. I should be able to explain it clearly.”

"Come on, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Chinese civilization." Zhuge Liang nodded. The other party was able to explain the essence of Rome, and Zhuge Liang also wanted to see what the other party thought about the essence of China. After all, the essence of a civilization determines many things, and the way one understands the essence of a civilization determines one's level of understanding of that civilization.

"Because I haven't found the oldest texts, I can only analyze the existing records. In my opinion, there is no difference between the early Chinese civilization and the Greek civilization in the Aegean Sea. Both relied on fertile land and favorable climate to allow the early people to gather together and form early tribes." Cyprian recalled the content described in his book.

“Yes, it was like that in the early days too.” Zhuge Liang nodded, while Sima Yi’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat. He had completely understood the level of these two in front of him. This was a level he had never considered before. What system? These two bastards were thinking of embedding something into civilization, making it an indelible and unavoidable mark, and then letting it continue naturally with the continuation of civilization.

The system may be destroyed, disintegrated, or even completely abandoned.

But as long as civilization hasn't died out, no matter how much it's eliminated or modified, it will eventually rise again. Take Confucianism as an example. No matter how much it's suppressed, it will eventually rise again because the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness at the foundation of Confucianism have built public order and good customs, and the proper relationships between ruler and subject, father and son, have constructed the framework of society.

So much so that no matter how you destroy it, as long as this understanding still exists, it will eventually have to return to its former state. This is what is called civilization.

It is quite obvious that Zhuge Liang and Cyprian were not discussing systems at all, but rather civilization.

“Yes, in the early days they were all city-states and tribes, with no centralized power. Both sides probably had a few hundred or a thousand people, at most ten or twenty thousand, who gathered together to form a city,” Cyprian said with a touch of emotion. “So in the early days, there shouldn’t have been much difference between the two sides. The real difference was probably caused by the Great Flood.”

Zhuge Liang nodded silently; this was exactly the same conclusion as Chen Xi's.

“Greece is close to the Mediterranean Sea. Even if it's flooded, it will recover after a while. At worst, people can relocate. Because it's close to the sea, the floodwaters will eventually flow back to the sea, so even if there's a major flood, the danger won't be too high,” Cyprian said calmly, then his expression gradually became serious. “Next is the Central Plains. It's too far from the sea. After the flood, the secondary disasters can't be eliminated; they must be dealt with manually. Then we need to consider the situation of the Yellow River…”

Cyprian could only say that the people of the Central Plains were indeed outrageous.

“According to the records in your ancient books, I estimate that several thousand years ago, the emperor known as Yu gathered hundreds of thousands of people to do the task of returning the floodwaters to the sea,” Cyprian said with a solemn expression.

Although Cyprian had considered the influence of the essence of heaven and earth, and that a superhuman like Yu the Great certainly had other methods, Cyprian still had some doubts about the essence of heaven and earth. Or to put it more directly, whether the essence of heaven and earth existed in the earliest and most primitive times, and how humans survived, were questions that needed to be addressed.

Therefore, in the earliest times, the project of repairing the Yellow River in China probably involved hundreds of thousands of people. Considering the actual situation of the Yellow River and the Yellow River after such a super flood, even if these hundreds of thousands of people were disbanded, there would probably still be about 10,000 people stationed there to be ready to take over at any time, just like the Han Dynasty, which had 10,000 water officials!

“It’s impossible for you not to choose this path,” Cyprian concluded. “If you don’t choose this path, you will die. But if you choose this path, repairing the river will not be easy. It requires a very high level of organizational ability. In that era, it was only natural for someone who could organize hundreds of thousands of people to repair the river to become the leader of the country. Moreover, his achievements would certainly be recognized by everyone.”

"As a result, the two sides, after experiencing the great flood, have taken completely different paths. Greece, since it was not greatly affected, will continue on its previous path, while China will have to concentrate its manpower and resources to combat the natural disaster. Conversely, how to allocate these concentrated manpower and resources will inevitably lead to the subsequent centralization of power." Cyprian said with a somewhat matter-of-fact tone.

It wasn't that the people of the Central Plains wanted to do this, but that was just how the environment was here. If you didn't do it, you would die. After all, there was a major flood, and to carry out disaster relief, you couldn't think about wasting time. You had to get to the scene as soon as possible. So this team of about 10,000 people had to have strong organizational capabilities.

In other words, if others can be free and undisciplined, but this team needs to be mobilized the moment something happens, then what will this team become? It will become an army.

"In other words, the first centralized army in China was not used for fighting, but for combating natural disasters. So you can understand why your history books record the army's disaster relief efforts. To put it bluntly, from the very beginning, centralized armies were designed for disaster relief, and in terms of efficiency, this was the most effective method," Cyprian said solemnly to Zhuge Liang.

From this perspective, Cyprian was more aligned with the Han dynasty because ancient Greece did not have this mechanism, and the resulting army naturally did not bear this responsibility, so there was no such thing as an army for disaster relief from the beginning.

But in China, ever since Emperor Yu established the paramount ruler and truly became the paramount ruler, possessing a centralized army, this thing has been used for disaster relief.

Therefore, in China, using the army for disaster relief has been the orthodox practice since ancient times. That's why Sima Qian praised Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) in his book "The Book of Rivers and Canals" for personally climbing the dike on his way back from the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai and ordering his officials to carry firewood. The practice of using the army for disaster relief was an old story of Emperor Yu, because it was indeed something that Emperor Yu should have done.

“That makes sense. I hadn’t really considered that aspect, but thinking about it, it is indeed the case. However, at that time, it was more like a disaster relief group with sufficient organization than an army. Later, in order to combat secondary disasters, this team was preserved.” Zhuge Liang nodded. He had indeed not considered that aspect, but he felt that what Cyprian said might be true.

After all, Emperor Yu was the one who truly began to centralize power. Before that, they were basically tribal chiefs and did not have the ability to manage the Huaxia tribes. It was only when Emperor Yu began to provide disaster relief and mobilized everyone to help with disaster relief that a foundation for unification was laid. Those tribes that later submitted to Emperor Yu and began to build the concept of Huaxia were probably not only in awe of Emperor Yu's achievements, but also because of that power.

Whether it was submission to power or reverence for morality, the ancient Chinese people were successfully united because of the intractable external force of natural disasters.

Only after reaching this point can the foundation for centralized power be laid. And centralized power, as long as it is not interrupted, will continue. This is inevitable. Similarly, teams originally created for disaster relief will also undergo different changes due to changes in the nature of those in power.

No matter how things change, as a fundamental element of civilization, as long as those in power do not deviate from their path and the system and ideology remain pure, this group, which has experienced various forms of alienation, will continue to shoulder the responsibility of protecting its race.

"This is actually the beginning of the divergence. From here, the armies of the Chinese civilization had the obligation to protect their race, while the civilization of the Aegean Sea, as the source of another civilization, served the purpose of plunder. So you can see the difference in the records of writing and mythology. The two sides originally had similar development paths, but in the end, they changed differently due to geography," Cyprian explained calmly.

“I hadn’t thought about it that way, but after you brought it up, I thought about it and it’s true. The heroes recorded in Roman mythology and stories would probably be evil gods to be overthrown and defeated in our country.” Zhuge Liang nodded, recalling the heroes of Greek mythology and the heroes of Chinese mythology, which were completely different in style.

"Because the underlying nature of that civilization is plunder. To be honest, I think that's correct. The more I understand what the Xun family patriarch said about the inherent evil of human nature, the more I believe it to be true. In order to survive, it's only natural for people to plunder the weak. That's how cruel this world is." Cyprian said this with utmost calmness, his spirit of "survival of the fittest, I am the strong, so I stand proudly at the pinnacle of humanity" was on full display.

To reiterate, exceptionally intelligent individuals who have had a smooth and successful childhood without experiencing hardship are prone to becoming elitist believers, because they are themselves elites, and the elite among elites, and are best able to understand themselves and other elites.

Cyprian, in official history, also entered the Christian world, a place that was a bottomless pit at the time. He truly witnessed the plight of those at the bottom of society, who, no matter how hard they tried, it was meaningless, and they were suppressed to death by the social system of the Roman Empire. Only then did he shed his arrogance and do his best to solve all the organizational and operational problems that existed in Christianity at that time.

Cyprian is very strong now, and few people in his generation can catch up with him. However, Cyprian is not perfect now, nor does he think he should become perfect. He still believes that the strong should manage everything, and it is best if the weak can follow. If they cannot keep up, they become firewood for him to use to light the way forward.

Therefore, Cyprian had good intentions, but these good intentions were like the pity that arose from his manipulation of Christian believers in the historical records. He himself was not a good person; he fully identified with and understood elitism.

Only after truly experiencing those dark times could Cyprian realize his mistakes. Now, he has kindness and compassion, and he has seen the hardships of ordinary people in the Yuan family, but these cannot dismantle his idea of ​​ruling all mankind by elites.

Even though Cyprian himself was well aware that what constituted an elite and how to define an elite were all problems, it did not prevent him from understanding the fact that the strong preyed on the weak.

“This is human nature, and it is also the way!” Cyprian concluded. “It is even the rule of reality. The fact that your current army can be used for disaster relief, and often can be used for disaster relief when you encounter an enlightened ruler, does not mean that this behavior is the norm. On the contrary, from the perspective of human nature, this is contrary to human nature.”

“The strong can pity the weak, the strong can yield to the weak, but they shouldn’t let the weak think that this is the rule. Pitying you, yielding to you, helping you, that’s the empathy of the strong, not a rule that can be abused.” Cyprian pointed out the core issue. “Therefore, the strong should severely humiliate the weak, and then after the weak realize their weakness, they should use empathy to uphold the rules. Such a society is stable, not oppressive.”

"That's too much. Once evil is exposed, without the restraint of morality and reason, it will only sink into depravity. Very few can transcend sin." Zhuge Liang shook his head, having gained a clearer understanding of Cyprian's content and a more accurate understanding of the underlying nature of the Aegean civilization.

"Anyway, I've told you what I know. How you judge it is up to you." Cyprian's face revealed obvious malice. He knew very well what he had said before, and more importantly, he knew that what he said was actually not wrong.

“Suppressing human nature will have a backlash,” Cyprian warned earnestly. “In my view, the underlying nature of Chinese civilization is to suppress human nature through various morals, rules, and systems, and to carry out so-called discipline, so as to lead everyone toward the collectively recognized good. But it’s impossible, especially after the unification under the Qin system, it’s even more impossible.”

Zhuge Liang's eyes were half-closed. He knew the reason Cyprian had mentioned, and he understood that it was indeed impossible. However, being so bluntly and without any ambiguity made Zhuge Liang somewhat unable to contain his anger.

"Then what should we do? Learn from the Aegean Sea and continue to plunder? Stop restraining the strong at the root, and pursue ultimate freedom, exploiting the weak to death?" Zhuge Liang suppressed his anger and asked with a hint of coldness.

“At least there won’t be such a change of leadership; it’s just a matter of one batch of weaklings replacing another.” Cyprian shook his head and said.

Although he felt pity, Cyprian did not think it was wrong; it was only natural that those who did not try were eliminated.

This kind of top-down plundering itself leaves room for promotion. If you don't work hard to follow this path and end up criticizing society, then in the current Cyprian view, being eliminated and exploited to the bone is a matter of course.

“The backlash from your system will be devastating, the kind that leads to total collapse. But choosing the Aegean route won’t cause a complete breakdown, because the people sitting at the table in the next round will be the same people from the previous round. And on your side, the top echelons will definitely be wiped out,” Cyprian said, shaking his head.

“The loss caused by the complete destruction of the top level is devastating for any system. It will force those who come after to block their own path to power from the very first day they take office. And the way to power must be the right path. If you keep blocking it generation after generation, you will only run out of options and die!” Cyprian said with utmost solemnity.