"Gentlemen, have you ever attended a meeting of unemployed workers in the workers' district?" MP Cecil Rhodes said loudly in the Parliament. ¤
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This question was so sharp that none of the MPs dared to make a sound. The British economy was up and down. The economic crisis happened once a decade, and the unemployed workers were like scourges in the eyes of the MPs. This did not mean that these councilors were born without a conscience. Even after they gained power, it did not mean that their compassion had completely dried up. However, these people had a position. Let the MPs discuss increasing employment opportunities, raising people's incomes, and finally benefiting those at the bottom of society. They talked. But it was taboo to talk openly about the unemployed workers, and to some extent in a tone that agreed with the ideas of the unemployed workers.
"At those meetings, I heard the workers shout one word more than any other. 'Bread!' 'Bread!' 'Bread!' 'Bread!' 'Bread!' Cecil Rhodes did not care about the eyes of the other MPs. No matter how others looked at him, he had a very high opinion of himself. Including his ability to make money and his moral level.
"I think many MPs, or all MPs, know one thing. According to the news reported in the Times, China has proposed a social system with the state as the backstop. Because China's food production has exceeded the absolute upper limit of the Chinese people's consumption, they are prepared to ensure that the people eat enough food not to starve as a basis to establish a social security system. We have criticism and ridicule of this system. But I believe that in a meeting of unemployed workers in China, there will probably be no shouts of 'mantou', 'mantou', 'mantou'. " China's culture was becoming more and more influential in the world. There were many programs introducing Chinese food in Europe. Chinese restaurants are becoming popular in Europe. Cecil Cecil Rhodes himself had eaten China mantou, and knew that China's mantou was equivalent to British bread.
"Why did China become strong? In Southeast Asia, they produce palm, rubber, and teak. In Sudan, they produce salt and alfalfa. In East Africa, they build railways, open mines, and send a steady stream of gold, silver, copper, and other materials back to their homeland. In North America, the colonies that we once regarded as burdens have become rich lands with tens of thousands of miles of railways in Chinese hands. There were endless farms on the plains, and a large number of vineyards in the mountains. I heard that in the estuaries of western North America, the Chinese have even started the work of artificial hatching of salmon eggs. More than 50% of the salmon eggs can be successfully hatched, allowing the Chinese to harvest more salmon every year. "
"For hundreds of years our British ships have been coming and going in these parts. When the Englishmen on board saw these lands through their spyglass, they snorted contemptuously, and called them barbarians. Or they might ask, "Can I hunt black slaves there?"
A burst of self-deprecating laughter came from the group of Councilors. Rhodes described the English vividly. It was not until the arrival of the Chinese in East Africa that the English, and indeed all of Europe, realized that the fertile lands of the Nile in Egypt were not the only fertile lands for food.
In the European impression, Sudan was originally a hot desert, and the Nile River rolled through the desert. Currently, more than one-third of Europe's alfalfa was imported from Sudan. It was of high quality and low price, and European farmers loved to use it. Even the Netherlands, which was rich in alfalfa, had become a big customer of Sudan's alfalfa. Dutch high-quality cheese entered the European market in large quantities.
If the quality was high, it could be said that the Chinese had good taste and were good at planting. If the price was low, it could only be said that the British had made a mistake. In hindsight, no one wanted that kind of desert land. The cost of planting alfalfa in Sudan was zero. How could the price of alfalfa not be low?
When the laughter died down, Cecil? Rhodes said with a firm expression, "Gentlemen. When it came to land, some people thought of wealth in the trading market, some people thought of the source of land rent, and some people thought of building a hunting ground or the glory of owning a vast land. ◆ ◆
But to the people of China, land was merely a means of production. Apart from being used for production, all other meanings of land were ruthlessly stripped away. In my opinion, this is where China's strength lies! "
The mockery was so great that the members of the British Parliament who represented land transactions, the members who represented the interests of landlords, and the members who were rich themselves all felt offended to a certain extent. However, it was not that there were no members who expressed their support with applause, and the number was not low. After all, Britain was an old industrial country, and the proportion of representatives who had broken away from the old land system was quite high.
Jane waved to the members of parliament who supported her. Cecil? Rhodes continued to speak forcefully, "The view of land as wealth, as a tool to make money, has made Britain fall behind China in the competition. Now is the time to change this view! Gentlemen, is the land owned by our British Empire not enough for every citizen to live a rich life? We have enough land! Is the land owned by our British Empire not enough for British factories to get the cheapest supply of ore? We have enough mines! Is the land owned by our British Empire not enough for every British family to raise five to six children, and for every pair of children to reproduce five to six children? Our land can definitely meet such needs! Now the British Empire has 40 million residents, the next generation should have 120 million, and the next generation should have 360 million. The vast land, the large population, and the powerful industry will certainly reverse our current disadvantage against China. The time to change is now. As long as we take a step, take a step to change our view of land, a bright future will come to the British Empire! "
If Vézé, Uncle Ma, and Uncle En were also sitting in the British Parliament listening to Cecil? Rhodes's speech, they would probably be stunned. China implemented the system of land nationalization. China deprived the private nature of land and positioned the property of land as an important means of production for social production. This system aroused the hatred of private landowners in Europe. The rich hated it, the big landowners hated it, and even ordinary private landowners were hostile to the system of state-owned land. However, in the parliament of Britain, the leader of capitalism, Cecil? Rhodes, the colonial politician, used a loud voice to shout the taboo words of "state-owned land", and clearly expressed his opinion on changing the property of land …
The vitality of the capitalist system seemed to have not reached the point of exhaustion.
Amidst the angry objections and the cheers and applause of support, Cecil Bonaparte Rhodes ended his speech.
The colonialist did not intend to limit his thoughts to a single speech. In the next few days, Cecil Rothschild, the British Prime Minister, In the next few days, Cecil? Rhodes visited a circle of British heavyweights. Some people had already heard of Cecil? Rhodes's ideas, some people had not heard of Cecil? Rhodes's vision.
Diamond magnate, mining magnate, British Parliament member, Oxford graduate, Cecil? Mr. Rhodes promoted his idea: to recover the United States, move Britain to North America, and build a new Britain with a vast territory, a large population, and an advanced industry.
The British mainland was small, and the land had long been owned. Cecil? Rhodes did not intend to carry out a land revolution in the complicated relationship between the British Isles. He was looking at the land area of the United States, which was dozens of times larger than the British Isles. If he could take over the United States and turn the British Empire from an island country on the edge of Europe into a truly powerful country, the future of Britain would be completely different.
"The British Empire did not change from a European country to a North American country. If you think so, I think it is just a misunderstanding. Wireless telegraphy and submarine cables make the communication between the British Isles and North America extremely fast. The exchange of information will only take an hour, or even a few minutes. "Faced with the doubts of the important figures regarding the changes in the United Kingdom, MP Cecil Faced with the doubts of the important people about the changes in the British Empire, Cecil?
Rhodes tried hard to explain. "The current situation is that the British Isles support the entire British Empire. If my proposal can be passed, the British Isles, which is already extremely powerful, will have a powerful mainland support that is ten times stronger than the British Isles. Britain's influence in Europe will not decrease, but will increase several times, or even more than ten times. Sir, with the current land of Britain, do you think the British population can increase to four times the present in the next 40 years? But once North America is recaptured, I can guarantee that the British population can reach four times the present, or even more. At that time, the population of the British Empire will be equivalent to the total population of Europe. Facing such a British Empire, will the European countries dare to resist? "
This prospect was easy to understand. The only thing that the British giants could not accept was probably Cecil? Rhodes's revolutionary attitude. After paying a huge price to annex the United States, he actually wanted to establish state ownership of land in North America. Cecil? Rhodes should say that the British giants should start a new round of carving up in North America.
But Cecil? Rhodes was an idealist. He firmly believed that the new Britain should have a new progressive attitude.
In the eight years from 1873 to 1881, in addition to engaging in economic speculation, Rhodes spent nearly half of his time returning to Oxford to study economics and philosophy. In these eight years, Rhodes's set of extremely reactionary theories began to take shape. An Oxford philosopher had told him that England, to be "the light of the whole world, and the centre of peace," must "seize upon every fertile wilderness which it can set its foot upon, and, as far and as rapidly as it can, establish colonies, by the strongest and bravest men, as far and as far as it can."
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