Chapter 172 The people of Yangzhou are very easy to control
Li Nian finished talking about the Roman Republic. There were many things that he could not talk about, but he also made everyone realize that there was a country called "Rome" in the west that was rising. Starting from now on, if Da Qin wants to show off its power overseas in the future, there is a high probability that it will encounter it.
After talking about Zhuzhou, Li Nian moved the wooden stick to Yangzhou (India), which is closest to the Qin Dynasty. There is also a country there called "Maurque Dynasty".
Li Niandao: "When I talked about Alexander just now, Alexander once marched eastward to Yangzhou and occupied the northwest area of Yangzhou. There were also states and people there. Although some people surrendered to Alexander, some people did not. I wish to surrender."
"The founder of this 'Peacock Kingdom' was the latter. When he saw Alexander invading the northwest of Yangzhou, he took the opportunity to raise an army and fight against Alexander's army."
"After Alexander's army retreated and its power was established, he proclaimed himself king, destroyed the Nanda dynasty in the north of Yangzhou at that time, and established the Maurya dynasty. It has been more than a hundred years since the Maurya Kingdom came into being in the hands of his grandson Ashoka. "
Everyone looked at the map and never imagined that there would be such a big country not far from Da Qin. They had never heard of this country, and they should not have been discovered in this country.
There must be some barrier between the two that makes two such large lands unknown to each other.
This is just not far away from the map, but in fact it is still far away. And in this era, even the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau does not belong to the Qin Dynasty, so it is even further away.
Li Nian continued: "As mentioned before, the climate here in Yangzhou is hot, with obvious dry and rainy seasons. This makes the environment in Yangzhou very superior. Wherever the environment is too good and survival is easier, The local people are generally docile. ”
This is easy to understand. If you live without worries, it will be difficult to be wary of crises. If things go on like this, if you have no ambition to compete with others, you are not docile.
"More than a thousand years ago, there was an ancient nomadic people in this area..."
Li Nian used a stick to point at a place that was probably the Ural Mountains of Russia in later generations.
“They went south from the original grazing land, entered Yangzhou, fought a war with the local people of Yangzhou, and defeated the original people of Yangzhou. In order to facilitate their governance and reduce the resistance of the local people, they A special system was established. "
"This system is called the 'caste system', which divides people into several castes: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudra, and Dalit. Brahmin is the highest caste.”
"Yangzhou is full of great immortals and there are many gods. Therefore, it is particularly important to master the meaning of the gods and be responsible for the sacrifices to the gods. The Brahmins who have this right are naturally the highest caste, and their people are mainly for sacrifices."
Li Nian's words It's extremely offensive. What does it mean that "immortals are everywhere and there are many gods"? How many gods can there be in Xiaoyangzhou?
"The next are the Kshatriyas, who are mainly kings, officials, and warriors. They are in charge of military affairs, have the power to collect taxes, and are responsible for protecting Brahmins."
A minister asked curiously : "This Yangzhou Lord The king is not the first caste, but the second caste, and he has to protect the Brahmin?”
It is simply contrary to Tiangang. The king is not the highest caste, but a group of witches, gods, and ministers. And protect them.
The world is absolutely turned upside down!
This Yangzhou is also in a terrible state. Their kings are not dissatisfied and are willing to let a group of witches and goddesses ride on their heads?
Li Nian nodded and said: "That's right! The people of Yangzhou respect the gods very much, and the priests in charge of this aspect naturally have a lot of power."
"For me again. Vaisya, this caste is farmers, herdsmen, craftsmen, merchants People; the next ones are Sudras, and the others are slaves. ""Among the major castes, not only the status is strictly divided, but the things they can do are also strictly divided. For example, Vaishyas can almost only be farmers, craftsmen, and leaders. Dhara is a slave forever”
This kind of division determines status and future from birth. This caste system is obviously aimed at the locals in Yangzhou, but will the locals accept this system?
Thinking of what Li Nian said, "Wherever the environment is too good and survival is easy, the local people are often more docile." Everyone suddenly figured it out. This Yangzhou native probably really accepted it. .
Thinking about it, everyone’s expressions couldn’t help but be weird. The locals in Yangzhou are really good at... governance. If Great Qin invades Yangzhou in the future, it will only need to kill the person who established the caste system. Anyway, The natives of Yangzhou are as docile as lambs.
No, someone realized that Li Niancai talked about four castes. Didn't he also mention a "Dalit"?
So, someone reminded: "Li Shangshu has not yet spoken about the Dalit caste!"
Li Nian smiled and said: "Dalits are not actually counted among the four major castes, because they are not regarded as human beings at all. If Sudras are considered human beings, they are not human beings."
"Li once heard a rumor that Dalits should avoid people when walking and not let their shadow fall on others. , and even more so, bring a broom and sweep away your own footprints while walking."
This is really outrageous, sweeping away your own footprints while walking...
But what is even more outrageous is Yangzhou. The local people can still endure it, but they don’t have any temper, so they won’t rise up and resist?
This is too tame!
Wouldn’t the group of outsiders who rule such a group of people and establish the caste system feel guilty?
High-caste Aryans: Hehe, not only do we not feel guilty, we are also quite happy. It is so enjoyable for the locals in Yangzhou to rule. They even look down on themselves and actively protect their caste. system.
According to the statistics of later generations of scholars, although Yangzhou has a long history and a large population, there have been almost no peasant uprisings, let alone peasant uprisings that relied on uprisings to establish political power.
In other words, the local people in Yangzhou had little resistance and endured the caste system for thousands of years!
After listening to Li Nian's introduction, everyone first sighed at how big the world is and how many wonders there are. Then they thought that this place might not be too strong.
The outsiders have tamed the people of Yangzhou so well. This can stabilize the domestic rule to a certain extent, but it also makes them bloodless. If a strong enemy comes from outside, it is almost impossible to rely on these people to defeat them. resistance.
Those outsiders may have very bloody ancestors, but in such a comfortable and comfortable environment all year round, I am afraid they will be exhausted, right?
And how many outsiders can there be?
Thinking about it this way, although the Peacock Kingdom is large and almost occupies an entire continent, it is a weak country. As long as the high castes can be defeated, they can easily occupy this place, and they may not even need to send many troops. The army, this is obviously a huge piece of fat.
The only problem is what separates Yangzhou and Daqin so that each other cannot detect the other. This barrier is most likely high mountains or dense forests...
Li Nian added at this time: "Yangzhou is rich in products, and there are many kinds of things that are useful to our country, Qin. One of them is called 'cotton'. The clothes and fur made from it can keep people as warm as ever in a cold environment. If we can get it, the people of Great Qin will no longer be afraid of the cold weather.”
(End of this chapter)