Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

The black maid took off her wide skirt for Josephine.

The dance skirt is not supported by panniers, but is supported by layers of petticoats, so that the woman's legs can be perfectly hidden under the skirt, and even if there is any accident, the legs will never be accidentally exposed.

The bodice was genuine whalebone, and bound her waist tightly into a tight grip.

Another black maid took off her corset and petticoat. Under her petticoat, instead of the long underpants that American women wear, she only wore a half-cut silk petticoat.

She breathed a sigh of relief, "How ridiculous to be in such a dress!"

"But Miss, this will be very beautiful, and gentlemen will like it." The black maid said softly.

"Oh, Lydia, you're right, so most of the 'gentlemen' are idiots."

Lydia looked at the mistress incomprehensibly.

"Well, stop talking about that. Tomorrow you pack your bags and come with me to Charleston."

"To Miss Pauline's?"

"Yes, first to Aunt Eulalie's, and then to Aunt Pauline's. Tell me, did you write to Tara?"

"Sheldon wrote the letter for me, but I don't know if Mr. O'Hara would like to—" Lydia was excited, but sad.

"Don't worry, Aunt Ellen can make decisions about Tara. As long as she agrees, Gerald will definitely agree. And Auntie is very kind, she will definitely agree." Josephine sat in front of the dressing table, "You Are there any other siblings?"

"No more, only Denzel is an older brother." Lydia shook her head.

"Don't worry, when I come back from Washington, I will arrange you step by step."

"Miss, you are such a good and good lady! Have you talked to the master?"

"Not yet, I will have a good talk with them tomorrow. The better you behave, the more likely the master will agree. Remember, you are not for yourself, I have given you freedom, you are for your parents , siblings and children.”

Lydia immediately said, "Thank you, miss."

"You don't need to thank me. Your destiny is in your own hands, including Sheldon and Posy. After I have talked with the old lady, I will talk to others."

What Miss Josephine wanted to talk to her parents about was the redemption of the slaves in the family.In fact, the United States has already practiced the method of gradual redemption to emancipate black slaves. The northern states of the United States that advertise "abolitionism" all adopted the method of gradual redemption to emancipate black slaves. Black slaves became free citizens and entered all walks of life. But still the bottom people.The reason why the southern states cannot adopt the gradual redemption method is because of the large number of plantations, the price of serfs working in the fields is slightly lower, but a strong black slave is at least between 500 and 800 US dollars, and a black slave who can read Regardless of gender, it starts at $1000, and beautiful mixed-race female slaves can even sell for $5000.

Cotton plantations are the most common in Georgia, and further south are sugar cane plantations. Cotton is the most important economic crop in the southern states. It is exported to the United Kingdom, spun into cotton cloth and then sold back to North America.Sugarcane is the raw material for the production of sucrose. Both of these two economic crops require a lot of manpower to cultivate and harvest.

It is generally accepted that a well-bred plantation lord should feed his slaves well, sleep well, find a wife for him, marry and have children, and have Sundays off, so that they can take their wives and children to church to feel the glory of the Lord and be a slave. Slaves of integrity, because this is God's place in the world for black people.White people are noble, while black people are destined to be lowly. We should thank the white master for his gift.

Of course Josephine didn't believe this. It was a method developed by white slave owners to brainwash black slaves.In the face of the imminent and inevitable civil war, she had to let the Robillards keep as much property as possible.

In addition to war and death, the greatest pain brought by the American Civil War to the southern states was the brutal plunder of private property. After the defeat of the South, the Lincoln government announced that all black slaves would be freed immediately, and the southern slave owners who paid money to buy black slaves had a child The son's compensation has not been received, the more black slaves, the more complete the bankruptcy.

This is why Scarlett in the original book actually had to bear the lives of Aunt Pauline and Aunt Eulalie together. It is said that Pauline and Eulalie are both property class, with real estate, farms and black slaves. The slaves are gone, and the real estate may be gone except for the self-occupied ones—heavy taxes have to be paid—the war brings a difficult life to ordinary people, even if they have never beaten a black slave at home, but slave owners It is original sin.

Since black slaves will passively gain personal freedom in the near future, it is better to let them redeem themselves with money now.

John's eyes widened when he heard what she said, and he shook his head again and again, "No, no, where did you hear this nonsense?"

Josephine explained patiently: "Can our congressmen have a say in Washington? What if the president must issue an order to emancipate black slaves?"

"He's the president of the Yankees, and he has no control over Georgia!"

"It's impossible for our South to be independent from the Confederacy?"

"Let me see, we still need to be independent." Charles leaned casually on the sofa, "I will definitely ride our horse at that time, and give those arrogant Yankees a good meal!"

Josephine looked sideways, "I didn't know you were such an ignorant person."

"What's the matter? My riding skills are very good."

"Let's not talk about the war, let's talk about the black slaves. What's wrong with the gradual redemption method? Sheldon and Percy are all redeemed in this way. Those who work in the fields take 6 to 8 years, and the indoor slaves From 4 to 6 years, 4 of them went to France with me, and it has already been 6 years."

John frowned, looking at his wife.Emile also frowned: It's not that there are no black slaves in France, but it's not as common as in the southern states of the United States. She has been married for more than 20 years and has long been used to living with black slaves.

"Let them become freemen, and then hire them in the form of employment, pay salaries, and their scope of work will remain largely unchanged."

"What does that mean? That is, nothing has changed, but they're free folk, and I've got to pay them? That's not a very shrewd account, my dear daughter."

"But if the president's order or law to liberate the black slaves comes down, you won't get a penny for so many black slaves. You can divide the black slaves in your family into several files, like the nanny, I won't get a penny Don't ask her to come out, as long as you agree, I can immediately handle the documents for her and make her a free citizen."

"What are you talking about? Don't you want Mammy?" John looked at her reproachfully.

"Why? You could drive Mammy away with a stick and she wouldn't go. She's a freeman, but she's still our Mammy."

"Then why bother?" Emile couldn't understand what her daughter was thinking.

Josephine is still very patient. After all, if you want to convince a white master who has been surrounded by black slaves since he was a child, who believes that white people are God-given human rights and that black people are inferior, it will not happen overnight. "It's an attitude, and of course it's because I need money, a lot of money."

John asked in surprise: "Why do you want money? I remember that your husband left you a lot of wealth. I send you at least [-] US dollars every year. Where did your money go?!"

Referring to her deceased husband, Josephine had to show a sad expression at the right time, "All he left behind is unrealizable property, so I have to go to New York to deal with it. That's it, I need all the cash at home, I I don't know if I will use this money, but I need it now as a backup. As for the slave's redemption, this matter must be carried out very quickly, and it is best to convert all the slaves in the family into hired workers within a year. free blacks."

Emile was a little dazed, "The family's expenses will increase greatly."

"Oh, I've thought about this too. It's unlikely that they will all stay at home. Those who are willing to go out and do things can let them go out. Those who are willing to be craftsmen can rent them the shop at home. They'd better be able to buy it with money. Shops. There are also shops and apartments at home. Except for this house we live in, it is best to sell everything else."

The redemption of black slaves may not be a big deal, but the sale of the house can be said to have shocked the other three.

"What?" Charles shouted first, "what are you talking about!"

Could Josephine say that if the Yankees came, they might not even be able to keep this ancestral home?This kind of thing must only be her secret.

"I don't like the south, it's too hot and stuffy. When I finish dealing with New York, mom, you can accompany me and Victor to Paris for a few years. We should raise Victor into a French gentleman in France. Are you right? Didn’t Charlie always talk about Marseille when he was traveling in Europe? I think Marseille is also very good, it’s a seaside, and it’s rich in products, we’ll definitely have a good time there.”

Emile was a little tempted, she looked at John, and replied to her daughter, "You said that suddenly, I have to think about it. I'm used to living in Savannah, the people here are not that complicated—"

Josephine didn't take it seriously, "As long as you have money, you can live well anywhere."

"Those properties will be left to your brother in the future." John still frowned.He didn't know what kind of demon his daughter was besotted. He suddenly wanted her parents to give up most of the family's property—not "give up". Explanation: She was trying to get the Robillards out of Georgia.

There is no doubt that the two methods she proposed are trying to collect cash and transfer property as much as possible.In connection with the words and deeds of congressmen from the southern states in Washington, Mr. Robillard also believes that it will be a matter of time before the war begins.

The vast majority of southern plantation owners and landowners are blindly optimistic about the military and economic strength of the South. According to John C. Robillard, who has traveled in various European countries for many years, the northern states united If you stand up, you can definitely beat the southern states without any power to fight back.

No matter who is president of Washington, he will not allow the southern states to leave the Confederacy and become a "cotton country". During the War of Independence, the Confederacy refused to merge with Canada because Canada had no land worth fighting for, and the southern states had many crops. The place of origin is for raw materials, neither the Confederacy nor the United States will give up the South.

If you are the boss of the family and the younger brother is disobedient, what will the older brother do?The most simple and rude thing is to beat him until he is obedient.

This matter, or two things, did not get a satisfactory solution today, and Josephine did not think about convincing them all at once. This is just the first attempt. When she returns from New York and Washington, she will Talk to them again.

Charles yelled in dissatisfaction, "All the property in the family is mine, are you trying to rob me now?"

"What's yours?" Josephine rolled his eyes charmingly, "Half of mine, if you want the house, take it, and the cash will be mine."

My elder brother is a man who grew up under traditional education, and he knew that all the property in the family belonged to him since he was a child. This cannot be blamed on my elder brother for not having the idea of ​​equal property distribution, but only in this way can we ensure that the family property will not be divided up from generation to generation.

"Both parents are still healthy. It's too early to talk about dividing property. What do you want so much money for?"

"How much money do you have at home?"

"There should be 10 in the bank. If you include real estate, black slaves, and mother's jewelry, furniture, antiques, and oil paintings at home, the total value is about 40."

In this day and age, to have a fortune of 40 is of course a rich man.

"Bank bonds? Are there any investments? Don't we have a plantation?"

"Yes, but not in the United States, remember? Our grandmother fled Haiti during the riots in Haiti, and her parents went to the Bahamas, where they bought several small islands and planted sugar cane. Grandma married I brought an island from time to time, the sugarcane plantation on the island belongs to our family, and my father goes to the plantation to collect the bill every year."

Josephine sat up straight in surprise, "Our house actually has an island?!"

The author has something to say:

*Gradual redemption to emancipate slaves is the most cost-effective and most applicable method. If the southern states are willing to use gradual redemption to emancipate black slaves, it will cost far less than fighting a civil war.Later, some people said that Lincoln was too restrained to the southern planters and did not want to go to war. In fact, there was nothing wrong with his handling method. Wars definitely did more harm than good, but there were many reasons for the American Civil War, not just the emancipation of black slaves.The biggest winner of the Civil War is of course the black slaves. After the war, the Lincoln government announced that the southern slave owners must unconditionally release all black slaves, and did not give any compensation or compensation.

Why was "Gone with the Wind" never remade after it was made in 1939?Of course it is politically incorrect. How can southern plantation owners be affectionate?They all have to be the villainous colonialist dogs|bastards from Django.Moreover, "Gone with the Wind" also describes the difficult life of ordinary southern people after losing their slaves and houses, which is even more politically incorrect.It also tells the story of the civil war period. "Little Women" tells the life of the families of the northern military officers in the rear.