British writer

Two days later,

early morning.

A cafeteria at Harvard University.

A student was sitting there reading the school newspaper——

"The Crimson".

He is different from the casual dress of ordinary students. His hair is combed and shiny, and his hairstyle is also very rare.

At this time, another student sat down next to him,

"Franklin!"

Franklin Roosevelt looked back,

"Devin, what's wrong?"

Devin patted Franklin on the back and whispered: "I heard that your uncle is back. Was he also invited by you to give a speech this time?"

Franklin entered Harvard University, his uncle Theodore's alma mater, in 1900, studying political science and history.

Not long after he entered the school, he became the assistant editor of the "Crimson Newspaper". He once invited Theodore, then governor of New York State, to give a speech at the school, which caused a huge response.

Of course, there is also the exact opposite:

It was because of Theodore that Franklin was recruited by the school newspaper.

He put the newspaper aside,

"This has nothing to do with me."

Devin nodded,

"Yes. I heard that Mr. Vice President came with visiting scholars this time, one of whom is Chinese."

Franklin raised his eyebrows,

"Lu?"

Devon shrugged.

"Don't ask me. You know, to us Americans, those Chinese guys look pretty much the same."

"Tsk..."

Franklin couldn't help but be speechless, and reached out to pick up the "Crimson". However, he suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead, saying: "By the way, is there "Harvard Magazine" today? I have to buy a copy and take a look."

Although "Harvard Magazine" is only in its first year, as a campus media, "The Crimson" is very concerned about it.

Devin said: "Then go quickly, we are queuing up~"

Franklin:? ? ?

"The queue? Very long?"

Devon spread his hands,

"Not long, but thick."

grass!

What a weird joke this is.

Franklin rolled his eyes at the other person, pushed the unfinished salad away, walked out of the cafeteria, and walked towards the Central Library.

Summer has arrived, and the morning breeze blows gently with the coolness of the night.

Franklin walked across the lawn,

He kicked off the dewdrops hanging on the grass tips with his feet, feeling happy.

However, as soon as I got closer to the library, this silence disappeared.

There are a lot of people queuing up.

As Devin said, everyone is squeezing in. The door of the bookstore is surrounded by several layers of human walls. Looking down from top to bottom, it looks like a ⊙.

Discussions arose everywhere,

"What's the situation with Harvard Magazine today? How does it look like it's selling books?"

"It's still a boring book about the history of China's Ming Dynasty."

"You're still buying it if it's boring? Don't give it to me!"

"I can't use it as toilet paper?"

…

Buzz buzz buzz.

Like a bunch of flies flying around.

Franklin squeezed in, grabbed a classmate by the shoulder and asked about the situation.

The man immediately said: "I don't know what's going on. It's just that my history classmate said that the book published in Harvard Magazine today is very awesome. It may be the most awesome popular history book in recent years. So I’m here to join in the fun.”

Franklin thought he heard wrongly,

"You said, there was a book published in the magazine?"

The other party was just about to answer,

As a result, more people came and pushed them towards the bookstore.

Franklin was forced through the door.

In the bookstore, there are more people arguing,

Among them, a few history students were divided into two groups, almost pointing at each other and scolding each other.

"You fart! This "The Insignificant Year 1587" is just crooked at first glance! We who study history, of course, must "tell the facts straight from the facts." There are many omissions in the way this book is written."

"What omission? Can you point it out?"

"I... this is Chinese history, how can I point it out! But no matter what, you can't mess around, right?"

"According to your statement, 'according to facts', how should we analyze and summarize history? Could it be that we who study history can only sort out historical materials and do not have our own thinking?"

"If you can't explain the narrative clearly, how can you talk about your own thinking?"

“How can there be analysis if it’s just narrative?”

…

The voices of the two groups became louder and louder.

Finally, the bookstore owner couldn't help it anymore, slammed the table, and yelled: "If you want to discuss it, just go out and discuss it! Let's go! Let me go!"

After saying that, he kicked the person out.

The bookstore fell silent for a moment.

Franklin took the opportunity to buy a magazine, checked out and left.

When he came out, he found that everyone who had bought the books had found a place to read. Some even put their coats and coats under their buttocks and sat on the lawn.

He also found an empty seat by the wall and leaned against the wall to read.

Before reading, read the author first.

When he discovered that it was indeed the famous Lu, Franklin became even more focused.

The preface at the beginning of the article was written by Professor Qian Ning,

Qian Ning believes that Lu Shi chose AD 1587 as the entry point to open up a section of the history of the Ming Dynasty and arranged for the six protagonists to appear in person.

This year may seem ordinary, but it can provide a glimpse into the reasons for the decline of the Ming Dynasty and even the entire feudal empire.

And this way of studying history is a brand-new view of history.

Franklin couldn't help but be curious and began to read the text.

"

‘In 1587 AD, it was the fifteenth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty in China. According to the stems and branches, it was Dinghai, which was a pig. ’

"

There are three notes at the beginning of this,

Year number,

Calculation of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches,

Zodiac signs.

Anyone who lacks patience will definitely throw the book away after reading this.

And Harvard students are not ordinary people,

Franklin quickly read it in, and at the same time discovered that the two groups of students just argued were right.

Compared with other history books, this book is too simple.

Take a tome like "History of Rome" as an example. A natural paragraph may have two thousand words. If it is more, it can even be a whole page without paragraphs. If you are distracted even a little, it is easy to lose track of where you were before reading. I must be dizzy,

"Irrelevant 1587" has no such worries.

Franklin read carefully,

Unconsciously, he felt a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He subconsciously raised his head and realized that it was already noon, and half a day had passed.

"Huh~"

He took a deep breath and went to the cafeteria again.

Unexpectedly, Devin was still sitting where he had been in the morning, with Harvard Magazine spread out in front of him.

A little further away is the unfinished breakfast, with the omelette limply stuck on the toast.

Franklin went over and sat down;

"Hello!"

Devon shook and raised his head

"You scared me to death!"

Franklin asked: "Are you reading it too? Where did the magazine come from?"

Devin replied: "I bought it from someone else."

Franklin looked at the other person for a while and said: "You are a chemistry student, but you are also interested in history? The sun really shines in the west."

Dai Wen said: "This book is different. I saw three characteristics in it that other liberal arts books do not have: logic, principles and efficiency. The author is trying to use these three characteristics to summarize, summarize and analyze history. In my opinion It seems that this is a way of thinking that is close to engineering or even science.”

Franklin was surprised,

"Liberal arts writings, engineering thinking?"

Devon nodded seriously,

"Furthermore, I can guarantee that as American higher education places more emphasis on science and engineering, this way of thinking will become more and more popular, and may even become the mainstream of liberal arts research in the future."

If you listen together, you will understand.

Franklin didn't expect that his friend who was studying chemistry could actually tell one, two, three, four, and five.

He became interested,

"Have you finished reading the first chapter? Which part impressed you the most?"

The first chapter is "Emperor Wanli".

Dai Wen said: "Actually, I am not very interested in feudal imperial power. I am just surprised by China's method of cultivating emperors. I feel more tired than us college students."

The ten-year-old Emperor Wanli was forced to attend the Sutra Banquet class under the heavy pressure of Zhang Juzheng.

The so-called sutra banquet, to put it simply, means that the emperor sits on the throne and listens to lectures, surrounded by civil servants and military generals.

The lecturers were officials from Hanlin Academy Chunfang and Imperial College Jijiu. The content of the course was mainly classics and history. The officials on the left mainly talked about Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, while the officials on the right talked about historical events and historical commentaries for half a day.

Devin put himself into Wanli and couldn't help but trembled.

"This way of learning makes my scalp numb just thinking about it."

Franklin: "(ˉ▽￣~)cut~~"

He complained: "You free-spirited American."

The two laughed.

Devin added: "However, I think you should be more interested in the later chapters. As for the part where the tax will not be collected tomorrow, you can read back."

Franklin became interested when it came to tax collection.

He turned back as instructed and read the text,

"Squire, landowner?"

The corner of Devin's mouth curled up and he said, "Why did I think of Trust?"

Trust, the transliteration of English trust, is one of the advanced forms of monopoly organizations.

Just like Mobil Oil, a very typical trust.

Franklin said: "Devin, if you have any suggestions~"

Devon chuckled,

"You'll understand when you look back."

Franklin continued reading,

The book introduces how squires and landowners pay less taxes.

Although these people are as rich as anyone in the country, they pay nothing when it comes to paying taxes. They often evade taxes. They often claim to pay part of the tax first, and then use various reasons to default on part of the payment, and then make a promise to pay the tax the next year.

As a result, in the second year, it was natural to follow the same pattern.

This goes on and on, and the amount of money owed becomes astronomical.

However, in addition to having land, fame, and money, these squires and landlords also had people in the court, either officials who had retired from the court or relatives of the emperor, and they could not collect taxes at all.

Franklin: "..."

grass!

It really is a trust!

Of course, the gameplay of trusts is much more advanced, because it is based on financial control.

Its participants are independent in form, but in fact they are completely subordinate to the parent company.

This kind of parent company is essentially a shareholding company that exercises financial control over other companies by holding stock control of them.

But essentially there is still only one——

Monopoly over the means of production.

In the final analysis, it is no different from land annexation.

Devin continued: "The land annexation of feudal dynasties is just like a trust in our United States. After all, who can be elected as president and hasn't received political donations from large capital groups?"

This is what is called "someone in the DPRK."

Franklin was depressed;

America, isn’t it the Ming Dynasty?

Devin changed the subject and said: "By the way, I heard about the author of this book... Let me take a look..."

He flipped through the magazine.

Franklin said directly: "Lu. Or we should call him 'Professor Lu', because he is a visiting professor at London Political Science and Economics and a visiting scholar at Harvard this time."

Devin scratched his head,

"What school is London Economics and Political Science? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Franklin explained: "As a chemistry student, of course you don't know much about this kind of university that specializes in humanities and social sciences such as political science. Moreover, London Political Science and Economics has only been established for a short time. It is normal that you have not heard of it. "

Devin asked again: "Then how do you know?"

Franklin moved closer,

"Do you remember the previous global university rankings? It was Professor Lu who proposed it."

Devin looked shocked;

"Not the King of England?"

Franklin pursed his lips and smiled softly, with an expression that "should not be treated by outsiders."

Devin muttered: "Pretend to be a ghost!"

Then, he continued: "I heard that Professor Lu is going to give a lecture in school tomorrow, but I have an experiment and the get out of class may not end on time. You have to help me save a seat."

It stands to reason that Franklin should have known about Lu Shi's speech.

But he was too absorbed in reading today and didn't go to the newspaper office, so he only heard about it from his friends now.

He lowered his head and thought,

"Speech...A Chinese is giving a speech in the United States..."

Devin also fell silent.

They all know how difficult it is, even in open and liberal Harvard.

After a while, Franklin said: "As far as I know, Professor Lu did not have a good life in London at the beginning, but still..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard a "thumping" sound coming from the distance.

The two of them followed the voice and asked.

I saw someone's plate being knocked over on a dining table not far away.

Several students around the table stood and looked at each other like cockfighting cocks.

Franklin knew them both as history students.

Devin asked: "What's going on?"

Franklin could vaguely guess it, but he still shook his head.

"Let's take a look first."

Apart from the two of them, other students also watched the gossip with interest.

Soon, someone at that table spoke first:

"Look at what Lu said in the book! He actually wants to compare the internal logic of past history with the present, and then compare the history that happened with the future, so as to explore the direction of future society. Isn't this a genius! ?”

Franklin couldn't help but sigh,

It's really for this.

Someone there immediately retorted: "What's wrong with using long-term and comparative thinking to look at problems? My teacher, Professor Qian Ning, agrees!"

"That's why I never take Channing's class!"

"What the hell..."

"I heard that Chan Ning is going to write "American History"? Will he also use this method? Hahahahahaha..."

Along with it, jeers arose.

This was the beginning of the 20th century,

I love my teacher, and I love the truth even more.

Seeing that words could not convince the other side, both sides rolled up their sleeves and started fighting to defend their own views on history.

Devin teased secretly: "Look, America has become Ming-style. Does this scene look like the party struggle mentioned in "The Year 1587"?"

"hiss……"

Franklin took a breath,

"When you say that, it seems really..."

Halfway through his words, he reacted and couldn't help but glare at the other person.

"I almost led you astray by accident. Is this worthy of being called a partisan struggle? The differences between academics are at most a dispute between schools, and the purpose is to defend the truth in our hearts. Even if there is a partisanship in the United States, it must be between the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party. The Republicans are fighting each other...ah this..."

Franklin was speechless and couldn't say the next words.

But I can’t help but ask myself:

Is the United States really going to become a Ming Dynasty?

For some reason, he suddenly had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

America is the Ming Dynasty!

Ming Dynasty is the United States!