Chapter 103: [Calendar]

The rainy day continued to be the supporting actor: "So we should prevent Mexico from losing the war?"

"No, we can't do that," Ma Shao said. "Mexico can't beat the United States."

"In terms of population alone, the United States is more than twice the size of Mexico, and there is also a huge gap in economy and military. As for the government, Mexico's political situation is turbulent, with presidents changing every few days, and its authority is fragile. In comparison, Polk is a strong and hardworking person."

Polk was the most hardworking president in American history. He worked eighteen hours a day, without any entertainment, for four consecutive years.

He was not only hardworking but also capable. During his tenure, he expanded territory, rectified finances, and fulfilled all his campaign promises in one term.

Then he fell ill and died.

Of course, if Polk had continued to do this, the future of the United States and the reputation of Polk himself would be uncertain.

Because Polk was a supporter of slavery and had a firm attitude. In fact, he was a slave owner. Against the backdrop of the intensifying conflict between the North and the South, it was hard to predict where a capable and staunch supporter of slavery American president would lead the United States.

"The United States is much stronger, and with a strong president, it is almost impossible for Mexico to turn the tables. In two years at most, by 1848, Mexico will collapse thousands of miles to the south."

Ma Shao said.

"Even if something unexpected happens and Mexico turns the tables, the United States has the ability to launch a second war on a larger scale... and as the war continues and expands, the impact of accidental factors will become smaller and smaller, and the gap in national strength will overwhelm everything."

The wolf asked, "Are we just going to remain neutral and watch the United States replace Mexico in the southwest?"

Ma Shao: "Not all problems have solutions. For example, if someone is bitten by a poisonous snake and ten rattlesnakes inject venom into his body, and he asks me: Can I just watch myself die from the poison? I will answer him: Yes."

"..." There was silence in the room.

Ma Shao continued: "When encountering any problem, we should not assume that there is a perfect solution. Otherwise, we will fall into the swamp of thought. I sometimes make this mistake, and I hope everyone can be alert."

Feeling that he had laid the groundwork, he changed the subject: "Of course, we are not powerless in the Mexican-American War."

With Ma Shao's current prestige, he could just give orders directly without having to go through all these roundabout ways.

But he doesn't like to give direct orders, he prefers to reason, which is his instinct as an excellent teacher.

He also understood that authority was actually a limited resource and not something that could be squandered at will.

"Although we cannot change the outcome of the war, we can influence the course of the war." Ma Shao continued, "The Mexicans will definitely lose, and the Americans will not expect to win easily."

"What should we do?" He continued to act as a supporting actor on a rainy day, but his mind was no longer on the meeting, but on taking notes.

He often recorded Ma Shao's stories and opinions, and then compiled them into articles and added them to "Spiritual Oracle". For example, the sniper story that Ma Shao just told, and the poisoning metaphor, he thought were both good materials.

Ma Shao: "We can mass-produce new pistols and sell them to both sides of the war, mainly to the Mexicans. This will not only increase the casualties of the white people, but also make profits for us."

"Money is secondary. If we operate properly, we can gain something more precious."

Prairie Wolf raised his hand hesitantly. As a soldier, he was more accustomed to raising his hand or shouting "report" first.

"Go ahead." Ma Shao looked at him.

Prairie Wolf asked: "In this case, our new pistols should be mastered by white people, right? I mean, they will copy them."

"Of course." Ma Shao nodded, "But it's no big deal. Although our current pistols are more advanced than those of the white people, there is no essential difference. As long as they have a little contact, they can immediately make corresponding improvements. We can't maintain this advantage for long."

"The Mexican-American War is a good opportunity. At least we can take the initiative to use it to make a fortune. More importantly, Browning and I will design many more weapons in the future."

"...Does anyone have any other ideas?" Ma Shao looked around.

Shikatate obviously had a lot to say, his expression had already begun to fluctuate: "I have a few questions."

"what is the problem?"

Deer Hand: "First of all, why do we use the white man's calendar? 1845, 1848, why not the traditional Apache calendar?"

Ma Shao didn't expect that he would ask this.

The wind answered the question for Ma Shao: "Because the white man's calendar is more accurate than ours."

Deer Hand was both disdainful and unconvinced: "You said white people's things are better?"

"Of course." People said one after another, "Lu Shou, you must not have read the "Spiritual Oracle" carefully. The "Learning Chapter" talks about how we should learn with an open mind, especially from our enemies."

"The chief said that the white man's science and technology are something we must study seriously."

"Humph, it's not just that he didn't read the Spiritual Oracle seriously, I don't think he can even recognize a few words!" Shulang seemed to be very dissatisfied with Lushou, "How can an illiterate person appear at the meeting!"

Deer Hand was a little flustered: "I, I can read!"

Shulang asked, "How many words do you know? Can you read the whole book of "Learning"?"

"I..." Deer Hand blushed.

Seeing that everyone was about to attack Lu Shou, Ma Shao said, "Okay, stop talking."

Everyone quieted down.

Ma Shao continued, "Compared with the white man's calendar, our traditional calendar does have many problems. Of course, the white man's calendar is not without flaws, and we can also design a more perfect calendar, but we just use it to record time, and there is no need for it."

He added: "At least there is no need for this for the time being."

Ma Shao actually doesn't like the Ye calendar either. If the conditions are right, he would be very happy to replace the Ye calendar with the new calendar.

However, he felt that he would not see this day in his lifetime, because in his opinion, abolishing the Ye calendar was basically the job of the world government.

At the very least, this is also the job of the next Celestial Empire after Western civilization.

He is willing and hopes that in the future there will be a country that will design a new calendar that is more scientific and secular and drive the Christian calendar off the stage of history.

Ma Shao ended the topic and looked at Lu Shou: "What are your other questions?"