Fox of France

Hearing the voice, Andre knew without looking up that it must be his bad friend Anatole.

"I'll show you this first. I'm looking for "Scientific Pravda." Andre directly threw the "Sun" in his hand to Anatole.

Anatole took the "Sun" and read it. Andre also quickly found "Scientific Pravda" and read it seriously.

"So that's the case! That's right, I should have known it earlier, we just learned about resistance and heat generation last month. And, didn't there already be incandescent lamps with platinum filaments? I should have thought that it was The incandescent lamp is gone!" Andre was so excited that the newspaper in his hand was shaking.

"Well, it was like this last night, ah, there was a special event, oops, I've already overspend a little during this time..." Anatole also began to fall into deep thought while holding the "Sun".

The two stood on the side of the road reading the newspaper like this, so that the stagecoach had already passed without having time to notice.

In the end, it was Vaja who reminded them: "Master, master, the carriage is here!"

"Ah!" Andre came to his senses, he might be late if he didn't get on the carriage quickly. He grabbed Anatole, who was still calculating how much money he had in his pocket, and ran towards the carriage.

In the class that day, Andre learned more about electric lights, and he also got a piece of news: soon, there will be electric lights in the library at night.

It is said that this is a benefit that Dean Bonaparte made a request to the Bonaparte government to obtain for various schools in France. For now, this benefit is limited to Paris, but it will soon be extended to the entire country. This benefit is that the state will provide each school with more than 100 students with two electric lights for lighting free of charge, and provide six hours of lighting electricity for free every day. If the school purchases and installs electric lights by itself, the electricity bill can be discounted by 50 within a certain range.

When he returned to his residence and met his new friends from the "Salvation Association" in a cafe near the school, he told them the news.

"I heard that too, Andre. Well, we may not be able to come to this cafe after school to drink coffee and study at the same time. Because we all have to fight for seats in the library."

It was Levin, who was talking about chemistry, and his studies were not as intense as Andrei's, but they were not comparable to those of the arts. Grabbing the position of the library is also a compulsory course for them.

"Yes," Andre sighed, "But my teacher said that he has already applied to install one in our laboratory, so maybe I don't have to go to the library at that time."

"What? Ah, do you think our teacher will also install one in the laboratory? I read in the newspaper that the lowest-grade electric lights are actually very cheap. Although the use time is only about half of the high-end ones."

"Oh, it can be seen that our Russia has been left behind by the civilized world again." Ivan, who studies literature, also interjected, "It's nothing to be pulled away in science and technology, with people like you who love learning , we can still see a little hope. But, institutionally, we are really pulled too far by France. You see, the French are not stupider than the Russians, right?"

Andre and Levin nodded together. Now France is clearly ahead of Russia in science. Moreover, to be honest, in the eyes of Western Europeans, Russians can only be regarded as half-civilized people. Most Europeans think that Russia People are relatively stupid. Although Russians hate this kind of racially discriminatory views, if they want to look back and say that the French and the British are more stupid than the Russians, they cannot say this.

"Everyone is human. There are smart people in Russia, and so do France; there are fools in Russia, and there are many in France. The key is that the French have got more education." Andre said.

"That's right, Andrey. The Russians are not stupider than the French, but the population of Russia is much smaller than that of France. Ah, don't rush to argue, I mean the real number of people. Andrey, Can those serfs who have no freedom and no education really be counted? Can the chances of scientists, writers, and artists appear among them compare with the free French, even the bottom-level French? If we want to count Even if there is an upward channel and the number of people who have the opportunity to show their talents, the population of Russia is actually far smaller than that of European countries such as France and the United Kingdom." Ivan explained.

"You're right." Levin agreed, "Look at France, they even have to equip every school with electric lights! And I heard that this is only an initial plan, and they will continue to invest in education in the future." Invest. How France will develop when the educated French children who are now generally educated grow up.

If the lower class in Russia can also have the opportunity to receive compulsory education like French and Prussian children, then we will definitely be great again, and even really be able to reproduce the glory of Eastern Rome. But now, we treat too many people as livestock. This will only take us further and further away from Europe's level.

Did you know that my uncle also traveled and studied in Europe. At that time I asked him how big the gap was between us and Europe. He thought for a while and said to me: "Maybe it's about the same as the gap between us and the Turks." At that time, I thought he was exaggerating too much, but now it seems that he either told a lie out of self-esteem; Or, during this period, Europe, represented by France, was accelerating, and we were thrown further away. Today, the gap between us and them is no longer the gap between us and the Turks, it is even closer to the gap between us and the Tatars. Go on like this, and we shall be expelled from the ranks of civilized people.

We must change, we cannot watch the great Russia fall into darkness, therefore, there must be changes in Russia, there must be revolutions! "

"Revolution?" Andre was taken aback. He was indeed dissatisfied with the status quo in Russia, but he hoped to change all of this through moderate changes, or less moderate changes like Peter the Great. But the revolution...

"Yes, revolution!" Saying the word "revolution", Ivan's face flushed as if he had drunk wine.

"Many guys are using various means to slander the revolution, slander the revolution, describe the revolution as a carnival of thugs, unnecessary violence, and betrayal of God. But I want to say, this is all nonsense! If you want to talk about thugs, those who Is not a man born free who degrades a fellow into a beast a mob? Unnecessary violence? Isn’t the rebellion of the slave behind the sword and whip of the slave master? If the rebellion of the slave is called unnecessary violence, is it not The violence of those slave owners is necessary? As for God, when God created our ancestors, did he teach them that your descendants should not live on equal footing, and should not love each other, but oppress and persecute each other? Who betrayed? God!

Andrei, Levin, think again, will you really be able to use the things you have learned when you return to Russia? Look at the people who have studied engineering, how many have actually returned to Russia? Why? Are they not patriotic? No, just because in this day and age, what they learned has no use in Russia!

And what about France, is he naturally capable of making use of all learned men? No, it's not! At least, not before the revolution! France is able to be where it is today, precisely because they used thunder and flames in the revolution to clean up all the scum that blocked France's progress, and France can be prosperous today.

The Russian people have suffered far more than France. A tenth of what our people endure would have been enough to raise a hundred revolts on the French. We in Russia have a bad habit, that is, we always like to sing praises of suffering, and we always like to praise the patience of suffering. But isn't the endurance of suffering the connivance of evil?

Andrei, Levin, I'm sure that if one day Russia can reach the top of the world, it must be after a revolution like the French one, using thunder and flames to wipe out those scumbags. I believe that this is the only way for Russia to become great. "

"You're right, Ivan." Andre also became excited, "When I first came to France, I only wanted to learn science and technology well. When I go back, I will either open a factory or teach at a university. Pass on the knowledge you have learned to others, and slowly improve our Russians' belief in science.

But, you're right, we don't have time to take things so slowly. The gap between us and France is not narrowing, but widening, and expanding at an accelerated rate. As I used to think, Russia can also move forward slowly, and maybe in a generation, we can also approach the level of France today. But by that time, the French may have run farther. We are chasing a carriage on a snail. Well, come on, do I need to do something for Russia, for the revolution? "

"Andrei, my friend, my brother. The time for revolution is not yet fully ripe, so you just need to continue to study hard for the time being. If you return to Russia in the future, you will be able to spread science and democracy, and you will be able to arouse more, willing revolutionary man.

André, I have studied the French Revolution. The French revolution didn't just happen out of nowhere. The French people were at one time very tolerant of suffering, just like our people. But France first appeared Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and the Enlightenment. After that, more French people awakened, and then there was the French Revolution. France is what it is today.

What about us? We haven't even finished enlightenment yet. How can there be harvest without sowing? We still need to do the sowing thing. Of course, spring and summer in Russia are short, and we have to move faster than the French did.

I believe that if we do what the French did yesterday, what the French do today will surely become our tomorrow. "