"Hero and Wise King?"
Paul was a little surprised.
"That's right! Only strong heroes and wise kings can lead the people to victory. The major turning points in the vast history have confirmed this point countless times."
Mond Landon smiled and expressed his opinion, but he soon saw Paul acting noncommittal.
"What? Earl Greiman, don't you agree with this point of view?"
Paul smiled and waved his hand and said, "It's not that I disagree. I'm not a scholar of history, and I don't have my own conclusions on this aspect. However, I have heard others speak of opinions that are completely opposite to yours."
"Oh? Please be more specific."
"You might as well call your view that only heroes and Wise King can lead the people to victory [Heroic View of History]."
Mond nodded. "Well, this word is quite appropriate."
Paul continued, "And I heard one [People's View of History] from others."
This time it was Mond Landon who was surprised. "People's View of History? What kind of statement is this?"
Paul thought for a while, and finally copied the sentence exactly. "The people, and only the people, are the driving force for creating world history."
To Paul's surprise, Mond's face did not immediately show opposition, but curiosity. "Where does this view come from?"
Paul asked, "Then how did your [Heroic View of History] form?"
"Isn't this an obvious thing? The mythical age is illusory and there is no credible historical data, so let's not talk about it for now. Let's take the ancient Bella Empire as an example. Before its establishment, mankind was under Foreign Race pressure from all directions. It was under the dominance of Lion Emperor and conquests, the greatest empire in human history was born. The talented and resourceful Lion Emperor led the human army to withstand waves of invasions by Foreign Race. After that, Bella Empire went through five generations of wise kings who worked hard to govern, and accumulated a relatively large amount of wealth. Foreign Race's overwhelming strength. Finally, under the command of many famous generals headed by Aelian, humans began a major counterattack against Foreign Race. From then on, Orcs fled to the grasslands, the dwarves lived in the mountains, and the elves hid in the forests.. As long as you study history carefully, you will find that in this process, the outstanding human figures represented by Li Ang and Aelian have played a huge role. Without them, our current status as a human being would not be possible, and there would be no magnificent history."
Mond said so much in one breath, and finally emphasized. "This is generally recognized by the historians."
Paul nodded. "Well, that's right. I have also read carefully about the history of the Gabella Empire and the heroic deeds. But have you ever thought about it, those heroes just made the right choices at key historical nodes. And those who can provide them with many options are the living beings at the bottom."
Looking at the incredible look in Mond's eyes, Paul emphasized. "I declare again, this is also something I got from others." He didn't want to make himself too unique.
Paul continued, "The reason why Bella Empire can achieve the unification of mankind is because under the threat of Foreign Race, not only the nobles above, but also the majority of the people at the bottom are also eager to have a more powerful collective to provide shelter for themselves. Apart from the threat of Foreign Race, there are many There are many important reasons, such as the development of agriculture requires the construction of large-scale projects, and the development of commerce opens up roads that extend in all directions. However, each force believes that it should be completed by itself. Lion Emperor is precisely the most powerful force among many, so it is logical for him to complete the unification. Of course, his strength is also inseparable from the support of the people under his rule."
"Bella Empire's counterattack and the Great Expedition against Foreign Race was because the empire had nourished an increasing population and inevitably needed more land to feed it. Not only the emperor and famous generals' foresight, but also Soldiers, the second son who had no inheritance rights and longed for wealth, also jointly promoted the occurrence of the Great Expedition, and was even the main pusher. The entire society developed a desire to expand."
Mond said thoughtfully, "This is just an explanation of the cause. Many people, including me, agree with this. But the result - such as the victory of the expedition, the hero is the decisive factor."
Paul shook his head. "Well... according to People's View of History, heroes should take a back seat. Taking the Great Expedition as an example, the main factor that determines victory is not Aelian The outstanding military talents of others are due to the fact that the empire can smelt more metals, forge more weapons, produce more food, and form more disciplined armies, and the centralized system produced by the agricultural society is more powerful than The loose tribal alliance of Foreign Races... In short, various factors have given the human army incomparable advantages. Without these, Aelian and others would not be able to win even if they had the blessing of gods. How did these factors come about?? It is the countless farmers, craftsmen and Soldiers who have not even left a name in the long history, but history only records the names of the superiors, so Wise King, the hero was born."
Mond said in surprise, "This is the first time I have heard such contempt for heroes."
"No, Mr. Scholar, you are wrong!" Paul quickly denied. "This is not to belittle them. Their talents are undoubtedly outstanding, their achievements are undoubtedly great, and their names are undoubtedly worthy of commemoration by future generations - but they are not irreplaceable."
"From a macro perspective, history seems to be full of inevitability. After humans have mastered advanced technology and made great leaps in productivity, they will inevitably give birth to a centralized empire, and an increasingly prosperous empire will inevitably have the desire to expand. The heroes just happen to be in that position. If there are no Lion Emperor, if there are no Aelian and other famous generals, then their roles will be played by another group of people to complete the mission given by history on their behalf."
Just as even without him traveling here, Industrial Revolution would inevitably appear with the development of productivity. His arrival only catalyzed this process.
Mond's body stiffened and he stared firmly as he said, "Is history inevitable? This sounds like what Church's gang of magicians preached. Lord of Light has already arranged everything."
Seeing the other party's appearance, Paul's vanity was greatly satisfied. Unexpectedly, some of the messy clips he saw on the Internet from his previous life actually shocked a Scholar's Tower scholar.
He continued, "To be specific, history is inevitable in the macro direction, but when it comes to specific events, it is more accidental, but chance only plays a role in accelerating or delaying it. The actions of heroes can advance or delay the development process of history to a certain extent, but will not change its direction. The reason why [Heroic View of History] occupies the mainstream is inevitable, and the writers of historical books will unconsciously do so. The narrative will be centered around the heroes. After all, due to the limitation of the recording method, it is impossible to record everyone's names and events. It can only record those who are particularly outstanding and outstanding. Readers who read these historical materials will be more likely to feel immersed in the heroes' deeds and will inevitably have a sense of admiration. However, if it is an analysis of social systems and introduction to historical materials such as production relations, it will be boring and boring, and many people will skip it."
Mond was speechless for a long time after hearing this. He wanted to refute, but he felt that in some aspects, what Paul said was correct.
"Although... well, what you said... oh no, there is some truth to that statement."
Finally, Mond has to say that his world view has been slightly impacted today.