Chapter 46 of 100
Chapter 46
15 min read3,677 words
This Holy Roman Emperor ultimately returned safely. He also heard that the Germans had plotted against him behind his back, so he simply refused to acknowledge himself as German, claiming Italy, his birthplace, as his homeland. He shifted the empire's development focus from Germany to Italy, refusing to play along with them. What a character, right?
Even more remarkable was that this emperor was a man of great learning. He mastered seven languages: German, Italian, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic. He founded the University of Naples and invited many Arab teachers to instruct students in advanced Eastern knowledge. He was also a poet who published a collection of poems, had a deep understanding of law, and was passionate about natural sciences. It is said that he even conducted human experiments, which was one of the reasons the Church had a strong grudge against him.
However, Hong Tao wasn't particularly interested in this European emperor. What intrigued him was that he happened to remember the year of the Sixth Crusade. If this Karl could tell him the year he was captured, he could determine the current year according to the European calendar. The Song Dynasty's calendar and era names were of no use to him. What year was the first year of Shao Ding? He had no idea.
"It was just four months ago! I was part of the first contingent of the Knights Hospitaller traveling by sea to the Levant when we encountered the Arab fleet," Karl said, clearly reluctant to recount his misfortune.
"Is this year 1228?" Hong Tao pressed.
"..." Karl didn't understand what Hong Tao meant, but he nodded blankly. To him, a man from the East who spoke German was already a marvel. How could such a remarkable person not know the year?
"Ha ha ha... Knowing it doesn't help much! Alright, take the snacks, we're leaving! Remember, you're my captive until you pay the ransom, got it? Running away is dishonorable, and you won't get far! Do you know what country you're in?" Hong Tao saw Bo Xiao'er, Bo Fu, and Chen Ming'en running from a distance and pointed to the snacks on the table.
"I have already sworn... This is the land of Seres!" Karl, the confused man, still didn't understand why Hong Tao said this. Could a knight break his oath? He found it impossible.
"Seres?" Hong Tao waved to the three people below and then led Karl downstairs. The poor guy was starving, and the two plates of snacks were gone in the blink of an eye...
"Yes! Seres, the land of silk! The mysterious Eastern empire!" Karl, now with a full stomach, straightened his back. He was about the same height as Hong Tao, with long arms and legs, dressed in a short outfit typical of a waiter, with sleeves and pants only about six or seven inches long, looking quite comical. But he didn't notice, and he was even explaining to Hong Tao about the merchants chatting downstairs.
"Interesting, Seres, is that Greek?" Hong Tao pondered. The Latin word for silk wasn't the same, so it must be ancient Greek.
"Your wisdom is as vast as the Mediterranean, like Egypt..." Karl suddenly became poetic, reciting a poem in his strange Latin.
"Stop! My Latin isn't very good, let's stick to German!" Hong Tao didn't crave excessive praise. He felt that anyone who praised him so much must deeply hate themselves. He waved to interrupt Karl's rambling, nodded to the older innkeeper behind the counter, and only left when he saw the man bow in return, fearing that Luo Youde might forget to pay.
"Grandpa, Uncle Fu, this is a merchant from my sunken ship, from the Roman Empire. After the shipwreck, he was captured and made a galley slave. I ransomed him back. He doesn't speak Chinese, so I'll teach him gradually and let him live with us. His homeland is too far away, and there are no Song ships that can reach it. Besides, the Roman Empire is at war with Persia, and if he falls into Persian hands, he'll be captured and enslaved again." Hong Tao had to fabricate Karl's background. Conveniently, his shipwreck story needed a witness, so he decided to use Karl. After all, few people in the Song Dynasty could understand ancient Latin or German, so he could get away with it for a while.
"Tao, you can fight sharks? I heard from Xiao'er that you killed many and made hundreds of strings of cash?" Chen Ming'en and Bo Fu stood in front of Zhenhai Tower, their faces full of worry. They didn't dare to enter, and even if they did, they would be driven out. But they were concerned for Hong Tao's safety. As soon as they saw him, they ignored the strange-looking Karl and started checking him from head to waist, afraid he might be missing a piece of flesh.
"Hehehe... Grandpa, Uncle Fu, we're rich now! Let's go back to the ship to talk; people here don't seem to like us much." Hong Tao wasn't used to being so cared for. He didn't need others to worry about him; each additional person who did so added more weight to his shoulders, making him more cautious. While this feeling was sometimes touching, he instinctively tried to downplay, avoid, and ignore it.
Four barefoot Tanka people, one with a monk's head, plus a red-haired, blue-eyed Roman, made for a very odd group. Even someone as well-traveled as Luo Youde would have to take a second look, let alone the ordinary Song people and foreign merchants at the dock. Even the naval soldiers in green vests, holding iron rulers, watched Hong Tao and his group with tense expressions, following them with their eyes until they boarded the ship.
These soldiers were different from ordinary Song soldiers. They were specially assigned to maintain order in the port, both inside and outside. They could help with various issues, such as towing a broken ship back to port or rescuing ships in distress or from pirates within their jurisdiction. They provided free services, except for helping with trade. In any open port of the Song Dynasty, these green-vested naval soldiers protected the safety of ships from various countries, much like a coast guard.
Hong Tao didn't know which Song emperor and ministers had formulated this open port policy, but he admired it greatly. The policy not only existed but also had detailed implementation rules, such as using different goods to mobilize civilian forces to supplement national needs, and the state's exclusive purchase and sale of ten luxury items. These were all scientific macroeconomic control measures. Even coastal rescue, supply stops, and language translation were considered. This must have been someone with a degree in international trade, possibly even from a business school, who understood how to use services to enhance port competitiveness.
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