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October 1843, Turin.

This ancient city, with a large number of classical buildings and Baroque architecture, is now the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. After the Napoleonic Wars, the short-lived unified region of Northern, Central, and Eastern Italy was once again divided into seven small states, one of which was the Kingdom of Sardinia, which included the northwestern part of Italy near France and Sardinia, and was ruled by the ancient House of Savoy.

Nearly 30 years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, it has become the largest city in northwestern Italy, the center of light industry and the financial center. Textile mills, garment factories and shoe factories have sprung up on the land of the city of Turin. Turin-made goods, known for their exquisite craftsmanship and exquisite appearance, are popular in the countries bordering the Mediterranean.

The whole city is noisy and noisy, with merchants and travelers from all over the world. Motorcades of carriages and horses kept passing through the city. The wooden wheels wrapped in iron rings have caused sparks to splash on the stone slabs of the streets, and of course a small number of carriages have been replaced with new rubber wheels, which seem to move lightly and smoothly.

Dressed in orange uniforms and carrying muskets, Sardinian soldiers patrol the streets of Turin in loose formations, occasionally stopping passing carriages for search. Zhu and Clementina's carriage was also stopped once, but after the coachman paid a bribe of a few francs, he was allowed to leave.

"They didn't act sloppily for a few francs in bribes," said Maria. Clementina explained in a low voice: "These Sardinia soldiers were only ordered to search for the charcoal burners, but most of them were charcoal burners sympathizers. ”

"Charcoal burners?" Zhu Jishi had heard the name, which was a pan-Italian ultra-nationalist party. Well, of course it is said now, in the future when the Kingdom of Italy is formed, they will be national heroes! But look at Maria. Clementina's expression, she also seems to be a sympathizer of the Charcoal Party.

"You also agree with the idea of the Charcoal Party?"

"Well, of course." "They are just Italians who love their homeland, and no matter how extreme their actions are, such a spirit is worthy of our respect," Maria laughed. ”

Zhu Jishi sighed, thinking to himself that this Mariamo is not of Italian origin? Little did he know that the Bonapartists were allies of the Italian Charcoal Party - all rebels! Moreover, Napoleon was of Italian descent, and was once committed to the unification of Italy, and is now the leader of the Bonapartist group, Charles Brown. In his early years, Bonaparte also took part in the uprising of the charcoal burners. Historically, the unification of Italy was inseparable from the support of Napoleon III.

"Jason, have you read Mazzini's book?" Maria. Clementina asked suddenly. On the way to Italy, Zhu Jishi has been reading all kinds of manuscripts and books in the carriage, almost all of which are related to politics and military affairs. Maria was idle and bored, and she also used these manuscripts to pass the time, and from time to time there were comments, which sounded quite reasonable to Zhu Jishi, and it was obvious that the nickname of this "politician in bed" was not entirely ridiculous.

"It was Giuseppe J.I., the leader of the Young Italian Party. Mazzini? ”

"Hmm." Maria nodded.

Zhu Jishi has not read Ma Zhini's writings, but he has heard many of his deeds. This man's style of acting, to be honest, is very similar to Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of the Chinese revolution in history. First of all, both of them are doctors who have changed careers - well, Zhu Jishi himself seems to be too, it seems that the profession of doctors should be strictly forbidden to change careers, otherwise it is not conducive to social stability. Secondly, Mazzini's ideas are somewhat similar to those of Sun Yat-sen, with nationalism and a bit of socialist leftovers, but now extreme Italian nationalism is the main component. Thirdly, Mazzini also advocated the establishment of a republic, and also wanted to realize his ideals by overthrowing the governments of the Italian states by armed uprising. Fourthly, the uprisings he organized were all whirlwind, and they did not seem to have any effect except to make the rulers of the Italian states nervous for a while.

"You should still read his writings and study his revolutionary actions, which will be extremely helpful for your future career." Maria. Clementina seemed to be extremely enthusiastic about Zhu Jishi's future "career", and said with a smile: "Jason, don't underestimate nationalism, all European powers, including France, Britain, Russia, and Prussia, are so-called 'nation-states'. These countries are based on national identity, put national interests first, and the monarch is subordinate to the state and the nation, so that they can unite the elite of a country and work together for the prosperity and strength of the country. Mazzini's writings systematized this set of theories and applied them to the struggle for the reunification and revival of Italy. Therefore, his career began with ideology and propaganda, and as long as more and more Italians accept Mazzini's ideas, the unification revival of Italy will be an unstoppable trend. ”

Zhu Jishi nodded noncommittally, he didn't know much about history, so he naturally didn't know the conclusion that "the unification of Italy is due to Mazzini's ideas, Garibaldi's sword and Caverton diplomacy". In fact, Mazzini's thought was the most important of the three, because without it, Garibaldi's "Expedition of a Thousand Men" had no chance of success.

"But...... Maria, you don't know the current state of the Qing Kingdom. Zhu Jishi hesitated for a moment, but continued to discuss political issues with the "politician in bed" next to him. In fact, when it comes to political experience, he is really inferior to Maria. Clementina.

"The Qing state was a country where ethnic minorities ruled the majority, and the Qing emperors were Tatars, and the Han people were ruled by them...... If I run a school in Hong Kong that excessively promotes the theory of the nation-state, I am afraid that it will cause unnecessary trouble. ”

Maria. Clementina smiled, "Jason, don't you know that in Europe, except for France and the 17 German states, almost all countries are ruled by foreign monarchs. Now England is ruled by the Hanoverian royal family from Germany, Spain by the Bourbons from France, Russia by the German dynasty, by the Bourbons who rule the two Sicilies, and by France, who rule Sweden. She paused for a moment and looked at Zhu Jishi seriously, "And the Bonaparte dynasty, to which our Bonapartians are allegiated, actually originated in Corsica, and Napoleon was not an authentic Frenchman!" ”

"Maria, what do you mean ......"

"In Europe, there are also rulers who put the interests of the dynasty above the state and the nation, but the countries they rule are all weak countries without exception!" Maria said: "What is the blood of the nation-state that lies in the fact that the nation-state is above the rulers, and not the rulers of a country? In Europe, Britain, Russia, and Sweden are all recognized nation-states, and their monarchs are all foreign. The Papal States were not nation-states, but the Pope was Italian. ”

"The Pope does not represent the interests of the Italian nation?" Zhu Jishi asked with some uncertainty.

"Yes, he represents the interests of the Roman Church, and the Church is shijie and does not belong to Italy, and the Church is above the Italian nation."

Originally, the meaning of the nation-state was that the interests of the nation were higher than the interests of the rulers, and the rulers were subordinate to the nation-state, rather than the nation-state being subordinate to the rulers. But can this kind of truth be accepted by the emperor and brothers of "my Great Qing Dynasty"?

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jishi slowly shook his head.