From Chief to Ball

After a long voyage, I passed the fortress built by the Dutch in Jakarta, stopped at a deserted island full of red crabs crawling everywhere, saw whales chasing in the Indian Ocean, and looked at the stars in the southern hemisphere that are different from those in the north...and turned to the west .

February was summer in the southern hemisphere, and the long and uninteresting voyage lasted for a long time, until one day the sailors on the lookout saw land.

There is a vast expanse of land, facing the fleet is a freshwater river, there is no human habitation at the mouth of the river, even in such a clear sky, there is not even a single cloud of smoke blowing up with the wind.

There is a natural shelter at the mouth of the river. The river is so clear that you can see the underwater stones. The cold river flows through a sandy beach, and the whirring sound of the windsurfing winds up the black birds that seem to have never seen anyone before. , everywhere.

There were bursts of cheers from the people on board, and several sailors who had raised their guns lowered their guns, shouted loudly, and shook their jackets or hats towards the sky.

Those flying birds are just the swans that symbolize lofty aspirations, loyal love, and mysterious and elegant swans.

The difference is that these flying swans, a symbol of good luck, are black.Black like a black bird nesting under the eaves, black like the most expensive black pearl on the seashore.

The people on the boat were excited and amazed, not just the meaning of luck brought by these swans, or the vitality they felt after seeing the boundless sea, but a mysterious shock.

Even if they have known or been popularized by science that the tilt of the earth on the ecliptic plane leads to the reversal of north-south winter and summer; even if they have seen many strange species that have never been seen in their hometown, when all these come together and show in the In front of everyone, those scarce and mechanical language explanations are still no match for the magic of the world.

It's just like the logic in a dream: the northern and southern hemispheres are reversed in winter and summer, so the colors of swans in the northern and southern hemispheres are also different.

When this seemingly logical coincidence appeared, even those who firmly believed that it was just a coincidence were stunned at the bow of the boat, admiring the magic of all things after the creation of the world.

Lin Xi, who had been a little gloomy during the voyage these days, finally joked with Chen Jian.

"If the colors of the species here are all reversed from the northern hemisphere, according to the induction method, can it be said that the colors of the species in the northern and southern hemispheres must be reversed? Or is there a logical connection between the color reversal and the northern and southern hemispheres?"

"If there are enough samples, you can say that. Induction, just find one example that can be explained, but I only need to find a few that are not, then this is not true."

"So if it is, then this is obviously unreasonable, and it must be admitted that this is science? Then guess an explainable reason from this result?"

"Yes. The world is there. We just try to explain the world with one thing. Look, how amazing this world is. Even if you spend your whole life on one thing, you may not be able to be proficient in one subject. Why put your mind on looking for trouble?"

Lin Xi understood what Chen Jian was saying, walked to Chen Jian's side, took Chen Jian's hand, looked up at the pairs of elegant and beautiful black swans flying by in the sky, knowing that these lovely birds would only be there in their lives. There will be a mate.

"Will these black swans find a white swan for a mate?"

He asked quietly, as if answering Chen Jian's question of asking for troubles. Maybe he doesn't like to think about society and people in his heart, but some people like it.I am a white swan, holding a black swan in my hand, and standing in the distance is an elegant female swan with black feathers.

Chen Jian took Lin Xi's hand lightly, and whispered, "Catch a few of them, shorten their wing feathers, and see if they are separated from those white swans after returning to their hometown, so you will know?"

Chapter 4 Heaven and Country

After spitting on Chen Jian, Lin Xi finally caught a few of them. Just like how he caught geese in Caohe many, many years ago, he shortened the black swan's wing feathers and brought them back to the boat to feed them.

That night, the crew of the fleet slaughtered many beautiful black swans, and celebrated the fleet's discovery of a new, uninhabited continent by stewing swan meat with extravagant and aesthetically destructive corn kernels.

The land along the river is very fertile, and the Mediterranean-style climate with no high mountains and pure ocean currents makes it very suitable for people living at the same latitude.

A few days later, I carefully calculated the latitude here, and found that the south latitude is 31 degrees 52 minutes, which is the most suitable latitude for living.

After a vote, the people on board named the river the Black Swan River.

A wooden sign written in four languages, Chinese, Huaxia, Flemish, and Latin, was inserted by the river, and the crew of the fleet built a suggested hut with stones, and hung a metal plate made of brass. piece.

"38 in the Chinese calendar, [-] years in the Wanli calendar in China, and [-] in the Christian calendar. Month and day. The Chinese Republic's global expedition landed here and named this river the Black Swan River."

On a stone next to the wooden sign, a group of people wrote their names with paint, and then added a sentence such as visiting here.

In the nearby bushes, several people caught several quokkas, which were not afraid of people at all.The round and chubby face seemed to be smiling all the time, even lying on the ground and pretending to be dead, it was a contented smile.

The fluffy and cute appearance made people in the fleet laugh. They took out some food from the boat and put it in their hands. These little kangaroos, who had never seen anyone before and were not afraid of people, jumped over and licked the food in their hands. Shaped ears are slightly moving.

This is the first time Lin Xi has seen a marsupial animal, and she has thrown away all the slight doubts before—the animals in the ends of the earth or in Africa, at least she can understand, but the little things here have opened up a whole new world for her. A new world, all identifiable species that have not been discovered before.

The fleet decided to rest here for a while. Chen Jian and a group of people held guns and went up the river on small rafts. After dozens of miles, they found a quiet valley.

Digging up the soil there, looking at the boundless grass here, the people in the same company lay comfortably on the grass and chatted.

"This is a good place. It's much better than the hot and humid place in Wangbei City, at least there won't be so many tropical diseases."

"Yes. Migration at the same latitude is always pleasant, and migration at the same longitude is always irritating. It is difficult for northerners to adapt to life in Wangbei City, but they did not expect to continue south along the longitude. Things will go against each other, but there will be a different world."

"Well, those little guys named kangaroos here by Lin Xi are not afraid of people, so there should be no foxes, wolves, or tigers and lions here. It will be a good pasture and arable land. Just this one The river valley is enough to support 10 people, and it is much better than working as a hired worker in the country. Behind the Grand Canyon and snow-capped mountains in our hometown is the Great Wilderness City. We are very lucky, but what about the people in other places?"

Chen Jian broke a grass stalk, played it around his finger, and said with a smile: "What if there is one? To the emperor and the king, the subjects are just cattle and sheep used to maintain the family rule. It is so far away from here. Which emperor would choose to use the tax collected to settle here to reduce the hunger of the people? Why are those trading companies the same? There is no profit here, and neither can sugar cane, spices or other valuable things. It is impossible to transport the raised cattle and sheep to the market for sale, which is meaningless land for capital.”

Lan Qi continued: "It's meaningless to the capital or the emperor, but it is meaningful to the living. If this is a vast continent, it is enough to feed millions of people, and these millions of people can live in the agricultural age The most ideal life, pastoral, is much better than the difficult hydraulic workshop in the city."

Another person also said: "Before I went to sea, I had hoped for this world countless times. But after I went to sea, I realized that this world is really black. If I say what I say, I will collect taxes and build Fleet, build an 'immigration school', and send poor people to these places in batches. Just like Lin Xi said about the cabbage, the problem now is not that there are not enough gardens, but that the gardens are big enough, but there is no hands to put those cabbage The cabbage seeds were put out of the garden."

"Immigration school?"

Someone asked, and that person looked at Chen Jian and said with a smile: "Don't ask me, hasn't he always done that? Whether it's Turtle Island or Dahuangcheng, it proves that a thousand immigrants need some skilled craftsmen and guidance Therefore, the easiest way is to customize——from immigrant schools to train specialized talents in batches according to needs. 1000 immigrants can just form a village, and armed villagers can make pirates and other looters pay the cost It is too high, so they choose to forget and give in. The question now is, who will be the hands? Or, whether these hands violate human freedom? After all, not everyone is willing to immigrate, and some people would rather starve at home than left."

A few people nodded, and said again: "What about free choice?"

"The efficiency is too low. In some places, there are too many people and the land is not enough to survive, and in some places, the people and the land can support it, and the more people and the less land, the more serious the constraints and thinking. The problem now is how to determine It is a beneficial thing. Is it wrong for us to enforce it? And after forming this habit, will it cause the abuse of rights brought about by this kind of enforcement? As Lin Xi said, if this thing is right, then the same If it is proved to be correct, is it the best solution to execute a group of people reasonably, starve a group of people to death, and give up relief?"

Lan Qi glanced at this person and said: "What Lin Xi said can actually be refuted, but fortunately she gave me enough time to react, so I won't have a confusion of thoughts and scolding from newspapers and pamphlets when I go back. At that time, it will really be a matter of contention among a hundred schools of thought, and the three teachings and nine streams. The left, right, and middle, this time the seats can be seated, and it will be more chaotic. The public says that the public is right and the woman is said that the woman is reasonable. By then, we will have pens. I'm busy. You read those Chinese stories in Wangbei City, have you heard the story of Master Zhu Shaozhengmao?"

"I have heard that he was punished for the sake of politics. Didn't his disciple Zi Gong also wonder if it was his fault?"

"That's what I'm worried about. After we go back, in addition to fighting and scolding, I'm afraid we will face such threats. Chen Jian, what do you think?"

On the grass far away in the southern hemisphere, a group of people discussed the hometown they were about to return to. Chen Jian shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Let's see what happened. I definitely want to withdraw the shares of Nanyang Company. For the trade of European and Spanish colonies, tropical plantations The profits of the slave trade are too high. Money gives power. Whether it is the fleet or the army, I am afraid that we are no match. After the "March of Dignity", the petty citizens and petty bourgeois also don't trust us. Say something you don't If you like it, don't criticize it."

"Go ahead."

"I avoided talking about the slave trade after I went back. It's not support, it's opposition, but not now. I exchanged their support with acquiescence, and let the remaining conservative and reactionary retrogressive parties of the original Progressive Alliance launch a movement similar to the March of Dignity. The bourgeois frighten the big bourgeois and big workshop owners in exchange for their concessions on factory welfare."

Chen Jian spread his hands helplessly and said, "Let's put it this way, after I withdrew from the Nanyang Trading Company, I can no longer participate in the most profitable places. The Nanyang Trading Company monopolizes trade with Europe and Spanish colonies, as well as tropical plantations , This is bound together. With such a share dividend, we can immigrate 3 to [-] people a year to the Great Deserted City, but it’s really not possible. We have to have our own bottom line. There is no bottom line."

"That's true, this is inevitable. Otherwise, everyone is afraid that you will be expelled from the party."

"Yes, principles. If a party doesn't talk about principles, it will not be far from disbanding. Immigrants' short-term income is really not enough. It will take at least five or six years for the Great Deserted City to become the most important city on the west coast. And it is the No.30 seven counties that are in our hands and implement our set of laws. We cannot liberate slaves in the Great Desert City, oppose feudal privileges in the Ming Empire, and engage in slave trade in the Nanyang Company. After returning, I will put All properties are donated to the party, but the money is still not enough, so let’s take it slowly.”

Everyone asked curiously: "How much property can you have?"

Chen Jian calculated, shook his head and said, "I didn't count either. In terms of accumulation and savings or land as money, it must be inferior to those families with hundreds of years. But in terms of annual profit, it may be Nanyang Company's This monster can be compared. Technology monopoly oil wells and kerosene, private canals in Nan'an Coal Mine, shares in shipping insurance, monopoly glass factories, mine explosives workshops, scientific and practical technical machinery institutes, steel ingot workshops and gun workshops, and blockbusters in Min County Housing real estate, 99-year management rights of Turtle Island, the phosphorous match factory and matchbox sewing workshop jointly established with Min County Prison...the calculation is still quite a lot. The accumulation and organization of the past few years have helped the operation. Not too sure, but certainly not low."

"After going back to the party, integrate the industry. The amount of iron used will increase sharply in the future. We have to invest in an iron smelting plant. The salt well craftsmen hired at high prices from the Ming Empire can expand the production of oil wells. There are also high-priced hired from Jingdezhen Ceramic artisans, you can start our own ceramic factory. The cotton spinning industry should also use the cooperatives we control and continue to build in Dahuangcheng. There is also one of the most profitable industries. Now it is estimated that the habit of smoking has accumulated, and the match industry has also begun. Now that the tobacco industry has been sold on a large scale, we also need to grasp the tobacco industry—let’s put it this way, after we withdraw from the Nanyang Company’s maritime trade, we must ensure that the six counties along the coast in the future will be able to supply chemicals, petroleum, oil refining, tobacco, steel, cement, canals, Industries such as rail or wooden tracks, explosives, and machinery are in the hands of our organization. Industries such as cotton spinning and ceramics must also form their own large factory brands."

"Remember, capital is transnational, so don't narrow your eyes to national borders. The ideology of our organization must be transnational, borderless, and global. Otherwise, I'll ask you a question, and you won't be able to solve it. "

Everyone looked at Chen Jian, and Chen Jian said with a smile: "If it is based on national boundaries, even if we succeeded in the Ming Empire, why would the people there be willing to pay taxes to support the emigration of the Chinese people to the Black Swan River? Without money, how can we organize immigration in batches?"

"A place that cannot be controlled is meaningless. Those who cannot participate in world market trade will have no return. Even if grain, cattle and sheep are produced here...is it meaningful to the people north of Wangbei City? If they cannot be transported back, If something goes wrong, we can’t provide support, can’t regulate food prices, and can’t make people eat more meat. So what is the meaning of immigration in terms of national borders? Doing things in terms of countries will only resent people. We pay taxes but let those people Enjoying pastoral songs in the Black Swan River, but can't contribute to the country at all... Is the country equal to the ethnic group? I'm afraid not, so they can only use the familiar argument of 'the world' to do things."

"With a bright future, ideology should not shrink into the 'natural borders' formed by the natural mountains and seas at this time."