Chapter 594

Chapter 594: World War I

Huaxia Federation, Hexi Province

Inside the provincial library, Lin Jiang hid in a corner to read a book. He sneaked in, trying to be discreet.

Closing the book, Lin Jiang let out a sigh. The world had changed in nearly two thousand years.

In the year 3901 of the Xia calendar, Lin Jiang handed over power to Tian Yuming. Since then, Datong Country had always been ruled by the Tian family, producing seven generations of wise rulers, continuously fighting against the Demon Humans.

It took Datong Country five hundred years to completely destroy the Demon Humans, sweeping from the era of cultivation in Qing State to Zhong State, You State, Liang State, and even further, wiping out the Demon Humans completely.

During these five hundred years, weapons rapidly evolved. Many powerful weapons were developed and almost all fighters were eliminated while eliminating the Demon Humans.

Think about it, imagine a group of people starting martial arts training since they were young, practicing in the hot summer and cold winter for over ten years. After finally reaching the level of an Innate Martial Artist, they were defeated by an enemy with just one gun. This made them realize the bitterness of failure, causing fewer people to practice martial arts, leading to the world order falling into the hands of ordinary people.

As the warriors faded away from history, business and industry began to flourish, marking the beginning of capitalism, which rapidly developed over the next few hundred years.

The growth of capitalism led to increased productivity and the emergence of a new capitalist class, triggering the age of geographical discoveries in this world.

To the west of Liang State and beyond Haizhou State to the east, there were vast lands waiting to be explored. People inhabited these lands, but their societies were underdeveloped, leading to colonization.

Over the next few centuries, capitalists from Datong Country accumulated wealth through colonization. Unsatisfied with their social status, they sought power. Simultaneously, the feudal dynasties, after nearly a thousand years of development, began to decline, weakening while the capitalists grew stronger.

This paved the way for the capitalist revolution, which after over a hundred years of revolution, restoration, and more revolution, ultimately led the capitalists to victory. In the late period of the Great Unity Dynasty, the emperor was executed, and the Huaxia Federation replaced the dynasty.

During this period, both the Zhou Dynasty and Immortal Kingdom underwent several changes of dynasties. Their domestic capitalist class gained power and inspiration from the Huaxia Federation. They also ended the rule of the feudal dynasties.

However, there were more than just these three countries in the world. In Zhong State, You State, Liang State, and other places, after the downfall of the Demon Humans, these territories were reclaimed by the people. Though they were originally immigrants from the three countries, they grew in strength. When the three countries underwent their capitalist revolutions, these people became independent, establishing numerous nations.

After hundreds of years of development, they rose to the top, without much leftover from the feudal system, becoming a strong country that could rival the Three Kingdoms.

In order to build a country based on capitalism, colonies are needed to sell goods, make profits. But most of the land in the world has been divided among three countries, leaving no place for others to stand. Moreover, these three countries have set up many trade barriers, making emerging strong nations very unhappy.

They began to seize colonies from the three countries by fueling ethnic conflicts and supporting new agents. They took away many colonies from the three countries by cooperating with each other, and also worked together to suppress those colonies that could potentially break free from their rule.

Over the next few hundred years, even though scientific and technological advancement was slow, it was still significantly better compared to before, greatly improving productivity.

With the increase in productivity, there was excess production in all countries, leading to economic crises. The best way to overcome these crises naturally turned out to be war.

Therefore, the countries of Zhong State united and formed the Allied Powers to march south and attack the three countries. Their goal was to defeat the three countries and force them to sign unequal treaties to give up their colonies.

The three countries would not give up without a fight. Their friendship had lasted for hundreds or thousands of years, leading to the formation of the Allied Powers on their side, resulting in a major war between the two sides.

This was a world war that spread across the globe, involving not only the mainland but also colonies, oceans, and skies. The war had been raging for seven or eight years, claiming countless lives, yet with no clear end in sight. Both sides were still determined to fight on, as their national resources had not been exhausted.

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"This is the world we live in now. We have had electric lights for a while, ironclad ships have also been around, now we call them battleships. Airplanes have also been invented, but they seem to be at the level of the first World War. No, the current world situation is just like World War One."

Lin Jiang sighed, the current world situation made him feel a bit familiar, isn’t this like World War I, a war fought over colonies.

But now, the war made Lin Jiang very worried because he knew that war is the fastest way for technology to advance. Humans can unleash incredible potential to win a war. What if they develop nuclear weapons? What will happen then? Will he still have any leverage as a cultivator?

"Damn tomb raiders!"

Just the thought of those tomb raiders made Lin Jiang angry again. If it wasn’t for them, he could have peacefully slept for hundreds of years and dealt with the war later.

Despite his anger, Lin Jiang quickly calmed down and planned an escape for himself. He was currently in Hexi Province, one of the one hundred and thirty-two provinces of the Huaxia Federation.

The once fifty-one states had changed. Huaxia Federation had expanded a lot in the west and south. Some states’ territories became too big and had to be split, eventually evolving into provinces. Now they had a system of provinces, cities, and counties.

Hexi Province was considered one of the poorer provinces in the Huaxia Federation because it was deep inland. In this era, transportation was crucial, and the coastal provinces of the Huaxia Federation were the wealthier ones.

In a few days, Lin Jiang sold some gold ingots and exchanged them for Huaxia currency. He then found the local gang and paid them to create a legitimate and effective identity for him.

He then took a train to the former Haizhou State, now known as Bianhai Province, one of the wealthiest provinces in the Huaxia Federation.

Lin Jiang made a plan for himself to become rich first. He thought carefully because cameras and such things already existed in this era. He couldn’t reveal any secrets before magic was restored, or he might really be taken away for research.

The poor people in this era obviously didn’t feel safe. Most likely, they would be used as cannon fodder, so being a rich person was the safest option, especially if you could control things behind the scenes.

The speed of trains in this era was extremely slow, and not every place had railways. After going round and round, changing trains seven or eight times, it took more than a month to enter Bianhai Province.

Upon entering the provincial capital Haigang City, Lin Jiang felt like he was in the 20th-century New York of Blue Star. On one side of the West River, there were ancient buildings, but here there were already skyscrapers, filled with colorful scenes, as if it were two different worlds.

"Buildings with more than thirty floors, elevators, airplanes, and even movies, this is modern life!"

It only took Lin Jiang a few days to realize that there wasn’t much difference between this place and the modern society he remembered. Banks and stock exchanges had been around for hundreds of years, there were even taxis on the streets, and massive cruise ships at the seaside. What else could this be if not modern?

"Where should I start?"

Lin Jiang was a bit worried because even though this era was somewhat similar to what he remembered, they were not exactly the same. As a time traveler, he no longer had the gift of foresight.

Moreover, the division of labor in society was becoming more and more specialized. His previous skills might not necessarily be useful, so how to quickly earn wealth had become a significant challenge.

"How about going to get the treasure?"

Lin Jiang remembered the treasure he had left behind, there were nine of them, with at least tens of thousands of pounds of gold, silver, and jewelry. If he took them all out, he could become a wealthy man.

However, Lin Jiang quickly dismissed this idea. He didn’t have enough strength to bring out so much wealth. It would be like offering himself as a fat lamb. His martial arts strength was not enough for this era, where airplanes and cannons had already appeared.

"Forget it, there’s no need to rush. Let’s stay calm first."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Jiang decided to learn more about this era, especially the current war situation. He must understand it before making the best judgments and choices, to avoid harming himself.