Chapter 1045: Longyan's Technology Tree

It was just as Liu Zheng had anticipated.

Peter the Great, currently in Russia, had launched a large-scale surprise attack against Longyan this time. Moreover, from the moment he planned this surprise attack, it was never on a small scale!

Eight hundred thousand!

After the vanguard arrived, he ordered an additional reinforcement of five hundred thousand troops.

In an instant, the mighty Tsarist Russia Army marched from north to south toward Longyan.

At this moment.

In Saint Petersburg, a fierce debate was also taking place.

The Councilors from all classes of Tsarist Russia were also spitting and trading verbal blows.

"Your Majesty... why do we not continue our offensive against the Ottoman? What is going on with Longyan?"

"Your Majesty... eight hundred thousand troops, the cost is too great!"

"Your Majesty..."

Although Tsarist Russia was a strong Absolute Monarchy after Peter the Great took the throne, the domestic forces were certainly still quite complex. For instance, the Holy See of the Eastern Orthodox Church, while constantly suffering suppression by Peter the Great, still dominated the thoughts of the majority of the populace in this era. In this regard, although Peter the Great was sufficiently forceful, he still dared not truly eradicate the Eastern Orthodox Church; furthermore, he desperately needed the Holy See to help him manage the hearts of the people, so while suppressing them to the maximum extent, he still required sufficient cooperation and benefits.

Additionally.

Peter the Great was a monarch keen on reforming the Western system; under his Absolute Monarchy, he was still willing to be relatively enlightened in terms of politics.

Therefore, he was also willing to grant the Lords, the Gentry class, and the business magnates who were slowly beginning to develop in Tsarist Russia, appropriate say.

Tsarist Russia had just concluded the second Russo-Turkish War and had achieved an absolute advantage. Therefore, most people believed that continuing to conquer the sunset-era Ottoman was the best choice... After all, weren't Peter the Great's own ideas and concepts always about admiring the West? Only the Ottoman was the road leading to the West.

That was the road leading to Heaven.

Longyan?

Compared to Europe, it was worth nothing!

Furthermore.

Eight hundred thousand troops was no joke... The current Tsarist Russia was also developing rapidly, and development inevitably required money. These eight hundred thousand troops were currently fighting on the back of Peter the Great's "Beard Tax"! Speaking of this "Beard Tax," these people were also very helpless. Peter the Great admired Western culture to an invasive degree; he started first with lifestyles and customs. After traveling in Europe, the first thing he did upon returning was to issue a mandatory order for all males in the country to shave their beards.

This once caused a huge uproar in Russia.

You must be joking; the men of Tsarist Russia had since ancient times used wide, thick beards and fat bodies as the standard for handsome men and dignity. Asking them to shave their beards was asking for their lives. Consequently, there was great resistance nationwide, so Peter the Great made a concession: you could keep your beard, but you had to pay the "Beard Tax," and the price was quite steep! A person had to pay one hundred Ruble in Beard Tax every year. The matter did not end there; you also had to hang a Bronze Medal issued by the government, engraved with "Payment Received," around your neck, ready for inspection at any time...

Therefore.

For many years to come, if you could see a man with a big beard in Tsarist Russia, he was not only a handsome man but also a wealthy one...

In short.

Peter the Great had put a lot of effort into "spiritual civilization construction," such as not smacking one's lips while eating, not spitting everywhere, not being sloppily dressed, not speaking loudly, not shaking one's legs, and so on and so forth. It is said that Russia lost one-third of its population back then because of these rules... He was not playing around.

Of course.

That is digressing.

What they were discussing now was not "spiritual civilization construction," but the war against Longyan!

Almost everyone opposed Peter the Great's strategy. They believed that the impoverished and backward Asia was simply not a direction they should be concerned with.

Their

Heaven!

Was in Europe!

Peter the Great looked at this group of short-sighted people and gave a cold laugh.

Waiting for the atmosphere at the scene to quiet down slightly.

He then slowly said: "Do you all think that is the case?"

"Your Majesty, in the world today, only Britain and France can be our enemies!"

"Longyan is not worthy!"

"We have no need to put more financial resources and energy into a country like Longyan with such a backward ideological system!"

Everyone's face held sufficient arrogance.

Peter the Great sneered in his heart.

It seemed that his reforms, which had penetrated into all levels of society, had given these people the attributes of Nobles, whether in terms of lifestyle habits or spiritual levels. This was a good thing, but at the same time, it was a bad thing.

"Is that so?"

He gave a chuckle and waved his hand.

Immediately, several attendants walked in carrying a large, unrolled scroll.

At this, the whole room buzzed.

Pointing at this object, no one knew what it was.

"Open it!"

Peter the Great stood up, a rare occurrence.

Several attendants, hearing the order, slowly unfolded this large scroll. This immediately caused the whole room to gasp.

This scroll was a full ten-plus meters long!

And two meters high!

Everyone could not help but look over.

Peter the Great, with his height of over two meters, appeared relatively small standing next to the scroll.

"This is..."

Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

Because on the scroll, it was not the painting they had imagined, but dense lines, text, and patterns...

That's right.

This was a Technology Tree!

Even Peter the Great's eyes would light up at the sight of this intricate Technology Tree, and the fanatical gleam in his eyes would no longer be concealed.

"Do you see it..."

"Do you all see it?"

"Is this what you called the backward Longyan..."

"Is this what you called the dim and lusterless Asia."

"Is this what you called the unworthy Longyan."

Peter the Great's voice rose abruptly, his face filled with immense fury: "Do you see it? Do you see this Technology Tree of Liangzhou? Hmm?"

With an excited and trembling hand, he pointed to every branch and node on this Technology Tree...

From the most advanced Steam Engine to the Machine Tools, Factory Assembly Lines, Track Carriages, and Warships already in production...

This was an incomparably vast Technology Tree with numerous branches.

But in summary.

This Technology Tree only had a few major directions for its branches.

First, industry; second, commerce; third, military; fourth, agriculture...

And the main body of this tree had only one thing.

That was, the Steam Engine!

Longyan, Liangzhou currently possessed the most advanced Steam Engine in the world!

Then, there were the Factories, machines, weapons, equipment, agricultural implements, infrastructure machinery, transportation tools...

Even.

The Chemical Industry...

Of course.

At this moment, there were still some places on the Technology Tree marked with question marks... these were technologies that Liangzhou was currently researching but had not yet produced results for.

One of them was strikingly located under agriculture.

And it was evident that this thing occupied a very large proportion in the field of agriculture.

Everyone.

Was stunned.

This...

Is this still the backward

Longyan they knew?

This Technology Tree...

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