Chapter 323 Antioch's flashback ten years ago
Antioch, the city of God, was once the largest city in the Mediterranean region.
In the Roman era, the area within the city wall alone had reached about 15 square kilometers, almost half of the Chang'an city of the same era.
Even after the Crusaders conquered Antioch in 1098, the area within the city wall shrank to 6-7 square kilometers due to population reduction and defense system adjustment.
But even so, Antioch was far superior to the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the holy city of Jerusalem.
Of course, in Garys's view, the Holy City is actually not very good, just a larger county town.
Well, the length of the city wall in Jerusalem is only about 4 kilometers, and the area inside the city wall is actually only more than 900,000 square meters.
Compared with the crowded living environment inside the walls of Jerusalem, the situation of the Antioch residents is much better.
The relatively relaxed living environment also brings relatively low pollution to humans and animals, reducing the probability of infectious diseases.
Moreover, after Gerris completed his achievements in expelling Saladin, he went to Antioch in the north, to Transjordan in the south, and on the eastern Mediterranean coast, nearly one million people were all wholesale for a round of human citizenship.
Whether it is from political legislation or religious ideas, at least everyone has begun to admit that they are human beings and should all have human rights.
Human rights are not distinguished from race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion or any other status.
Human rights include the right to life and freedom, the right to avoid enslavement and torture, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and other more. Everyone has the right to enjoy these rights without discrimination.
Even if the right to be elected in the kingdom cannot treat all faiths equally in the short term, at least people should be human, not as talking property and animal.
As early as ten years ago, after the large-scale war ended, Lance delivered a speech at the internal meeting of the Governor's Office in order to reform Antioch.
At that time, he faced many officials, former nobles, and priests in the church in the conference room.
I don't care at all whether those people on the scene are confused, puzzled, or angry or sad.
All he had to do was to implement Gerris's will into this land.
"...From now on, soldiers who have served in the army for more than one year and who have become officers for more than two years can undergo a transfer. Those who choose to transfer must sign an employment agreement for up to six years and accept the employment arrangements of the Governor's Office on the basis of respecting personal opinions."
"The first thing we need to do now is to ban all the manors of Antioch. The soldiers and officers who have been transferred are our backbone, the grassroots personnel who have been rectified this time."
"The ban on the estate is just the beginning. Considering the complexity of the Antioch region, I propose to build collective farms first, and some conditions are not mature, and first consider dividing land as a pilot project for land reform..."
The agricultural revolution is a prerequisite for the industrial revolution, and the great development of agriculture is an unavoidable path for economic development.
For a man like Reims who has certain urgent pursuits, he will not wait for everything to come naturally and will not wait for the orders from Jerusalem.
Since he is the governor, Antioch's three-point land is the final say.
At that time, he had an understanding of Yanen's work and saw many problems in the work of transferring the manor to the farm.
In general, the transfer of a manor farm is closely related to the level of the farm backbone.
The farm with technical Paladin is responsible for, based on its worldview that conforms to the truth and is separated from the conflicts and disputes of local people, it can often give priority to solving practical difficulties and quickly improve the living standards of local people.
In addition, they had certain theological attainments and were always very knowledgeable when promoting Gerris' theology.
This will enable the original Saracens serfs and the poor Franks to support the church and the kingdom.
Some veterans who have received military education work in the work of transferring to farms in the manor.
Although it may not be able to quickly improve the living standards of local people, they can do their best to do their words and be respected by local people, so they can also effectively implement some work that is beneficial to local people.
Again, because "strong people" or selfish people promoted from the local area, they are prone to do things bad. This bad thing not only affects the income of the local farm, but also affects the local people's sense of the kingdom.
When Lance was in the Transjordan, he heard Old John complain a lot.
During the reform period, many people were too selfish and were afraid of wolves and tigers when they worked. The local situation was so different from the serf manor.
With the experience accumulated in Transjordan, although the situation in Antioch was more complicated, Lance became even more drastic during the promotion of reform.
Indeed, he did not have enough Paladin to serve as a backbone to fill the grassroots.
However, because Antioch participated in the Jerusalem counterattack, there were thousands of soldiers who had received long-term military training.
After the war, these people, along with the officers, became available materials in Lance's hands.
Antioch was not very big, and the population was actually not much, at best, only more than 200,000.
Nearly four thousand Antioch mobilized troops, but in fact, one out of every ten households went to serve.
These soldiers may not be illiterate, but they fought side by side with Gerris on the battlefield and witnessed Gerris' great power to break the city by himself.
It is natural that I am filled with respect for Gerris' theology, the Taiping Order, and the Antioch Governor's House.
People have subjective initiative. Their efficiency in doing things is completely different from accepting orders from others.
In the theological education of the Taiping Order, changing the decaying society and promoting agricultural yields is a shortcut to almost heaven. Therefore, even if the soldiers are illiterate, they can shout slogans and stand up to support Antioch's agricultural reform.
And that's not all. As early as ten years ago, Lance invited teachers and students from the Alhadi School to the Antioch to establish a university and cultivate talents from all aspects. Of course, due to the times, this university is not a higher education stage, but just a school.
According to Reims' regulations, this university provides education to all those who can pass the entrance examination. Even students who cannot pass the entrance examination for a while can actually attend the university, but they cannot receive the subsidy provided by the Governor's Office.
According to the instructions made by Garys, the universities in Antioch are not only educational institutions, but also scientific research institutions.
This is a completely different thing from the European universities of its contemporaries.
In a sense, the concept of the Dark Middle Ages is actually a concept shaped by Europeans during the Renaissance and even after the Renaissance.
Of course, it is not said that the Middle Ages were not behind and ignorant, but it is just that it is not as stereotyped as many people think.
For example, strictly speaking, if the concept of the Dark Medieval Really exists, it should have begun to end around the 11th century AD.
Although the literacy rate in Europe is still not comparable to that in the Middle East or the Celestial Empire, the emphasis on knowledge by the aristocratic group has also begun to be highlighted after the 11th century.
The world's first modern university, the University of Bologna, was founded in 1088, eleven years before the First Crusade.
The birth of the University of Bologna is a world of difference from the university designed by Gerris. First of all, it is not the university established by the lord, the government, or the parliament.
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The birth of the University of Bologna is a wonderful connection with the unique legal system of medieval cities. Bologna, like the cities of the Old Kingdom of Jerusalem, had very strict laws and even exercised a joint position system.
That is, if A and B are both from Hungary, when A makes a mistake, B will be punished together.
In such a situation, a large number of students who came to Bologna to study formed clubs. After these clubs appeared, they chose to directly hire local scholars to teach themselves. When the plural groups of the same nature united, the original university was born.
Students formed clubs, clubs hired teachers, and when the clubs united, the original university was found. The powers possessed by such a teaching institution are completely incomparable to later generations in China.
After consultation with the local government of Bologna, the power of the University of Bologna was established.
If students are not satisfied with the professor, they can choose to strike and directly fire the professor. When universities need to make major decisions, students will vote together.
Students can enforce their requirements for course content and how much their professors are paid. The employment, dismissal and compensation of university professors is decided by an elected committee composed of two representatives from each student club that manages the institution
In this process, professors as teachers also formed their own organizations in order to fight against the power of the student body.
Professors test students' level and decide what academic achievements are needed to obtain a degree. In this way, no matter how powerful the students are, they cannot claim to be a university-educated scholar as long as they do not obtain a diploma from the professor.
Such a peculiar system has become a model for Western universities. Most educational institutions such as the University of Bologna provide theological and legal education, and then there are three arts and four arts. After Arab medicine was introduced, a special medical school was established.
The content taught by Antioch University should be far beyond these scopes.
At first, Alhadi School only taught: three categories: natural science, divine philosophy, and medicine.
But Lance has begun to be ambitious and wants to realize the comprehensive university that Gerris once mentioned.
In addition to the above three categories, branches such as agronomy, linguistics, and geography have begun to be added.
In addition to Lance's slutty and poaching people from all over the country to teach, Gerris actually taught at the university in Antioch.
At that time, Gerris gave serious lectures in the freshman school of Antioch University on the urgency of agricultural reform.
"Before speaking, I want everyone to figure out one thing first: the Lord's truth is not just about the words, but about it in life."
"Some people have heard of these principles, some people have not, and some people have vaguely felt them in their labor and transactions. Today, I will explain it clearly."
"The grace of the Lord is everywhere on the earth. He gives sunshine and rain, to allow crops to grow and to harvest the fields. But I want to ask you, since the grace of the Lord is so rich, why are there still people not enough to eat?"
"Why do some people have to work hard all year but still have to worry about their next meal in winter?"
"If a town wants to prosper, it must have enough food support. Just relying on a few rich people to pile up the granary, you cannot get blacksmiths to make irons, you cannot get craftsmen to build houses, you cannot get scholars to write books, and soldiers to defend your home."
"The scriptures say, 'If a person does not work, he will not be eaten.' But I want to tell you that if someone works hard but still cannot eat enough, it is a problem in the world."
"Some people may say, let more people go to farm, so that there will be more food?"
"But this is not the case! The fields are limited. No matter how many people there are, the land will be so large, and the harvest will not grow endlessly. What's more, the farmers who farm must also eat. If the harvest in the fields is not enough, the extra people will make everyone poorer!"
"Why is this happening? Because the land should feed everyone, but if the food is hoarded by a few people and the price is controlled by them, then the person who really puts his strength can't survive! The scriptures say, 'The land is cursed by you, and you will have to work hard for life to eat.' But I want to tell you that this curse is not created from the sky, but created by those who only care about their own pleasure and make others suffer!"
"If everyone is trapped on the land and can only barely live, then craftsmen, merchants, scholars, and soldiers cannot survive, and the city cannot develop. If you want to change all this, you must make everyone have enough food and live a good life through their own labor!"
"When will the Kingdom of Heaven come?"
"When the hungry are given food, the oppressed are given justice, and the laborers are no longer exploited, the kingdom of heaven is already among us!"
"May the Lord give you wisdom to understand that true faith is not to slogans in vain, but to allow all people on this land to live better!"
In addition to this finale, Gerris also gave some examples so that those present can understand what the future will be.
One person can cultivate ten acres of land, and two people can cultivate ten acres of land together. Although the output can be increased through careful cultivation, the actual per capita grain has decreased.
For a small peasant society, it is often fallen into the misunderstanding that in order to obtain more food, more labor is needed, and more labor requires more food. The more food it grows, the more agricultural population is growing.
But in fact, no matter how you plant the land, you will not be able to eat it. Since you don’t have enough food, how can you sell your own grain to the market to support the urban population?
Therefore, if you want to pursue the rise of urbanization, the focus should be on surplus grain, rather than the total grain output.
(This chapter ends)