Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2235 Industrial Revolution ([-])

"If the industrial revolution only lies in some technological improvements, and if its consequences do not spread beyond the products, then it is an unimportant event after all, and there may be only a few records in history, occupying very little space. But The industrial revolution had a huge impact on human society through the concrete manifestation of human needs, planning and activities, profoundly changed the organizational structure and operation mode of the entire society, and finally became a great event.” 1694 2 On April 10, in the Alpine Flow Teahouse on the ground floor of the Naryshkin Building, Oleg was communicating with an East Coast scholar.

The scholar’s ​​surname is Qian, and he is the grandson of the first patriarch Qian Hao—well, as for why the grandson’s surname is Qian, you know, some people’s grandsons in later generations still have the surname Seng—because he has no talent for politics or business, so he can only live in The appearance of a gangster in the academic circle maintaining a living.This gentleman used to work in the capital cadre training school, and later resigned to start a magazine. The sales volume was mediocre.

Oleg Naryshkin also lived on the east coast for many years.This young man from an aristocratic family received a traditional education in Russia. After coming to the east bank, he was very interested in various new things, not only polo, go, dance and other entertainment activities, but also politics, economics and The social and cultural system—well, his interest is only a part of it, and more of it is the request of his father, Tsar Peter's uncle, and the first minister of Moscow, Duke Naryshkin.

Oleg is still very concerned about this request from his father.Because he can be so chic on the east coast, he cannot do without the help of his family, so he usually pays attention to collecting information in this regard.Inviting this scholar named Qian Qing to teach today is also part of these data collection activities.

What Qian Qing talked about was actually published in various newspapers and periodicals on the east coast, and it is not difficult for those who are interested to collect them-these contents are all for the purpose of educating the whole society, and the purpose is to promote the progress of the whole society, so it is very easy to find them. It’s hard to keep it secret—the main reason why someone Qian was invited to come over is to ask him to help explain it in detail.Thinking on your own, after all, it is better to ask experts to be authoritative, and you may even get a wrong understanding, which is not beautiful.

"Our sociological researchers are usually accustomed to calling countries that have not undergone industrialized production feudal countries. Well, you can also call them medieval countries. Countries that have undergone large-scale industrial production can be called modern countries. Modern countries The advantages are all-round, because of the large-scale mechanized production, the wealth of the society has increased sharply, and the people's way of life has also been greatly changed. The control power has penetrated into every corner of the country, and the mobilization efficiency of social personnel and materials has also been greatly improved. Let me make an analogy, if China and Russia are at war in Ukraine, as long as our government is willing to pay huge expenses, then maybe when the materials produced in the New World arrive In the Crimea Peninsula, the weapons produced by your country in the Tula Armory Factory have not yet been shipped to the city of Azov. You can experience the gap in detail.” Qian Qing said while drinking tea: “Sorry, maybe The way I talk can offend you, but I just want to make it easier for you to understand."

"No, your way impresses me. Maybe there should never be a war between Russia and the east coast." Oleg Naryshkin said slightly embarrassed.

"Okay, let's continue." Qian Qing nodded, and said: "In addition to the increase in social wealth and mobilization efficiency, the benefits of industrialized mass production are the rapid growth of population. According to our research, a social population Growth mainly depends on two factors, one is social wealth, and the other is public safety. Needless to say, social wealth increases, and after wealth increases, various aspects such as food and medical care will improve, which is crucial to population growth; public safety also Very important, social chaos caused by wars and other factors may be more detrimental to population growth, which has always been prominent in history. We can see that by comparing the population growth of feudal countries and modern countries, the population growth of feudal countries has always been very high. Slow - well, China in the Far East should be excluded, because the culture of this country is different, and public security is doing well most of the time - while the population growth of modern countries is very fast, look at the east coast, Looking at the old continent again, everything is clear at a glance. This is not the fault of the monarchs or politicians, but the difference in the national system and productivity."

"Russia relies on population. It seems that to make Russia's population grow faster, it is necessary to carry out substantial reforms?" Oleg Naryshkin turned the pen and said helplessly: "How many The generation of tsars continued to introduce western talents and technology, and it took painstaking efforts to expand Russia's territory and population. Now it seems that this is still far from enough, and the country still needs to carry out in-depth reforms. Fortunately, Tsar Peter is doing this effort."

"You can understand that right. The development of industry has led to an increase in the demand for jobs. When these jobs are well paid, the family will not be a burden, and marriage will be early and numerous. Look at the East Coast, many women even 16 In such a situation, it is absolutely impossible for the population not to increase. Jobs will cause babies to spring up like bamboo shoots, and there will be children everywhere. These are the dividends brought by industrial development. This profit in turn The same is true, if the economy fails, then the corresponding population growth will slow down or even stagnate, and this will in turn lead the economy into a vicious circle.”

"Sounds reasonable, but is there a theory?" Oleg asked.

"Sorry, not yet, but some scholars in our country are doing research in this area, and I hope to see the results soon." Qian Qing replied apologetically.

"Well, that's not the point." Oleg Naryshkin also picked up his teacup and moistened his throat, and then asked: "So, should I go back to Russia to develop? Copy everything I have on the east coast? "

"It won't work, young man." Qian Qing shook his head and said with a smile: "You have to understand that what you have at hand is commercial capital, a very ancient capital. In feudal countries with underdeveloped industries, there are Rich people generally hold real estate capital, commercial capital or financial capital, such as nobles, churches, big merchants or moneylenders. How many job opportunities can they create? How many people can they benefit? Unfortunately, I don’t need to remind you of this. You should and can quickly realize. In modern countries, the importance of industrial capital has greatly increased, because it can create a lot of employment opportunities. Just look at the number of employees in the steel mills, textile mills and railway agencies on the east coast. You have much more Naryshkin Buildings, maybe a hundred times as many. Sorry, I haven’t counted them specifically, I’m speaking from my impressions, but it shouldn’t be much worse.”

"Oleg, you are a smart boy, and you should understand some truths. Russia has not had an industrial revolution, and it may not have this condition in the short term, but the east coast is a country where the industrial revolution has entered the middle stage. The gap in national power is very large. You can discuss this issue with your father in detail, he may not listen to you, but you have to understand that Russia does not have the strength to challenge the east coast, even in the Black Sea area. Qian Qing glanced at Oleg Naryshkin, who was thinking silently, and said, "Perhaps your father or cousin (Peter Tsar) felt that after carrying out military modernization reforms, he could take advantage of the geographical advantage to break arms with the east coast." , but the stamina is bound to be insufficient, and a great price will be paid. Only the Poles and Swedes are willing to see this, and they will wake up from their dreams with laughter. Oleg, the way out for Russia is not in the south, but in the west, understand? ?”

Qian Qing's words were more serious, making Oleg a little out of breath for a while.He has lived on the east coast for so many years. He originally thought that his status could be greatly improved by relying on the Naryshkin Building and some high-quality stocks, but he did not expect that in the eyes of the real elites on the east coast, He and his motherland are so backward and vulnerable, which makes him a little uncomfortable.But what people said seems to be very reasonable, Russia is so backward that it has to carry out all-round reforms, otherwise as its own standard, he may never be able to get enough respect on the east coast, even if he is already an asset Very strong successful businessman.

Perhaps, Russia really shouldn't be an enemy of the east coast, and it was a mistake to go all out south?Now Russia already owns Ukraine to the east of the Dnieper River and Kiev to the west of the river, and has a place in the Ukrainian steppe, seemingly only one step away from the mouth of the sea.But it is this step that may never be crossed under the combined resistance of the East Coasters, Crimean Tatars, and Ottoman Turks.Is the real way out for the Russian Empire really only go west?

But there is also a problem in the west direction. Poland is almost a landlocked country now. Even if it conquers a large area of ​​its territory, it still cannot solve the problem of the sea.To get access to the sea, you have to go further into the Livonia region, but most of it belongs to the Kingdom of Sweden, which is the trickiest part.

But then again, Sweden's degree of industrialization is limited compared to Russia, and there are only 300 million people in the country, and more than half of them are Germans whose rule is not very stable.From this point of view, this former army power country does not seem to be as powerful as it appears on the surface. If Russia is fully prepared, it is still possible to make a breakthrough in this direction.I really should let my cousin come to the east coast to see how powerful and rich the east coast has undergone the industrial revolution. This will definitely help him change his obsession with getting access to the Black Sea.

(End of this chapter)