Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 796 From Florence
Is this actually a wonderful story of a Western boy's wanderings in the Ming Dynasty?
Even Zhang Shou, who claimed to be well-informed, could not help but be a little dazed at this moment. You know, in those days, the Ming Dynasty ships had no sea ban, so the maritime trade had developed rapidly since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. But at the same time, the risk of sea ships was greater than that of land ships, so the armed forces on board were particularly important.
Therefore, some people are willing to invest a large sum of money in Shunhe Escort Agency's maritime escort business. Cao Wu is also very perceptive. He actually plans to conduct maritime training first, and even plans to train artillery and boarding battles... As for where the artillery came from and who is the coach of boarding battles, that goes without saying.
Therefore, he didn't need to guess at this time to know what the so-called merchant ship Chen Yongshou was talking about was. It was most likely the emperor's ship, right? If he didn't have enough combat power and confidence, how could he be so arrogant on someone else's territory?
就算不是主力战船，可那是欧洲任何一个港口城市的贵族私兵能对付得了的吗？这年头的欧洲可还不是后世指哪打哪的欧洲诸国，就连大航海时代都还没开始呢。而且据他所知，几十年前组织的多国联军，才被正在崛起的某帝国揍到元气大伤，至今还在舔拭伤口。
Of course, when he was in the Arms Bureau, he also heard from Zhang Kang that some intelligence agencies were active in the western area. It is said that many of them were foreigners recruited during the reign of Emperor Taizu. Although it is unknown whether they are loyal now, they have thrived in the past hundred years. It is said that although there is no founding emperor, there are powerful ministers in a certain country...
If the rumors in Europe during the Age of Exploration were only about the richness and gold of the East , then the rumors now also say that the East is powerful. As for the news... of course, it was all spread by those foreigners at the time. After so many years, rumors have spread and it is no longer in good shape!
As to whether it was because of the butterfly effect of these people's activities that a certain great empire that historically stretched across the West Asian continent was now unable to control sea routes and dominate trade as it did in history, but was often caught up in internal struggles for the throne, he didn't know.
But Zhang Shou knew very well that even if that great empire rose as in history, with the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the rapid development of various science and technologies, and the deepening of colonization and missionary work, those small Western countries that were once despised by the Orientals would soon stage a textbook victory of ants swallowing elephants, and drive the great powers off the stage of history.
If one only thinks that the former strong military foundation can continue to dominate the world by relying on the advantages of numbers and cold weapons, then the great empires that once had vast territories will have to taste the bitter fruit. Being big is not an advantage, nor is having a large population. Once the ideas and civilizations lag behind, it is possible to fall from hunters to fat sheep.
From the west to the east, no great empire was spared, and only one empire truly rose from the ashes after the catastrophe.
Of course, it was a bit early to say this now, so Zhang Shou just sighed in his mind, and then he couldn't help but be curious about the foreign boy mentioned by Chen Yongshou. However, when Chen Yongshou mentioned that people knew how to read, he didn't think much of it.
Regardless of whether the person is from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, or England, there is a small chance that he can be proficient in his own language or even multiple foreign languages. However, an illegitimate child knows Latin? This seems a bit ridiculous! Either he is a proper aristocrat, which he is obviously not, or he graduated from a seminary, but the age of the boy mentioned by Chen Yongshou is unlikely.
Therefore, he laughed and said, "Is this young man in Guangzhou now? Foreigners should not be able to enter Beijing without approval after reporting. If he enters Beijing, it should be at least after the Chinese New Year."
"No, he just happened to go to Beijing." Chen Yongshou couldn't help but glance at the people around him as he spoke, thinking that he seemed to have shown off a little too much just now, but then he thought that the matter had already been reported by the Guangzhou Maritime Customs, and if it got out, at most some conservative guys would nag about it, so he just put it behind him for the time being.
"The captain didn't throw the foreign boy into the sea because he caused a big commotion in the city, which alarmed the city hall and the church there. Although there were some merchant ships from our dynasty traveling to the West in the past, there are too many countries and cities there, so the Ming Dynasty ships haven't been to that city for a long time. For this reason, the mayor and bishop there specially wrote a letter to the ship owner."
As soon as this was said, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and Zhang Shou burst out laughing: "Is it a letter in a foreign language? The captain brought it back like this? Eunuch Chen just said that the interpreters in Guangzhou or the capital are limited in their ability. Can they understand the letter brought back like this? Even if they can understand it, will those old-fashioned elders in the court criticize this as a joke?"
"Would they think that a mere mayor or a so-called bishop is not qualified to write a letter to the Ming Dynasty? It's not a letter from the emperor!"
Zhang Shou said this with a serious tone, and no one could hear the sarcasm in his words. Proud but not arrogant, this is the most important awareness for a great country. As a result, the so-called Celestial Empire in history was the opposite. The maritime ban became more and more severe. From the emperor to the literati, they were arrogant when they should not be arrogant, and cowardly when they should not be cowardly. As a result, the sick tiger became a fat sheep.
Chen Yongshou certainly didn't understand what Zhang Shou meant, but he actually answered Zhang Shou's superficial question seriously: "The letter was naturally not sent to the emperor or the court, but the mayor and the church heard that the owner of the fleet was a count in the far east, so they sent such a letter."
"But the captain certainly wouldn't be so arrogant. After all, buying books, taking in a foreign boy, or delivering letters were all within his authority. But after returning to Guangzhou, he immediately reported it to his master, the Earl of Weinan. The Earl of Weinan didn't dare to be careless and reported it to the emperor. So, the foreign boy, the mayor, and the two letters from the church were delivered together."
Zhang Shou smiled when he heard this.
Weinan Earl Zhang Kang is really a scapegoat. Previously, the Xinglong Tea House was claimed to be his property. Now, there is an extra boat under his name... No, it should be a caravan cruising outside, "harmony brings wealth"! Such a useful white glove in front of the stage, a tool holding the property on behalf of others, who do you think the emperor should support if not him?
The others suddenly understood. Zhang Dakuai clapped his hands and said, "No wonder my father always said that Weinan Bo had only a small estate and a small salary, but he lived a life of luxury and extravagance. I wonder if this is how he made his money! No, when I get back, I will tell my father and ask him to organize a fleet to do business in the west!"
Ji Jiu laughed and said, "Do you think it's easy to do business at sea? You need the best captain, the best sailors, and the most accurate sea charts. Otherwise, if you get lost at sea, it's not like being on land, where you have to be ready to feed the fish at any time."
Seeing that Zhang Dakui was glaring at him, Ji Jiu winked at him and said, "Your Zhang family has three nobles. It is much better for the three families to do this business together than for one family to do it alone. Besides, are you sure that Weinan Bo is really the only one?"
Chen Yongshou didn't know that the emperor had already told Zhu Ying some truths, and Zhu Ying had even told Zhang Shou secretly, so he was making up stories just now. When he found out that Ji Jiu had guessed that there was someone behind Weinan Bo, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous and quickly made up a few more sentences.
"Of course there are other shareholders in that fleet, not just the Earl of Weinan. It's just that the Earl of Weinan is bold and has invested the most... Ahem, since that foreign boy is here and has reported to the emperor, why don't we bring him to the public school? If he knows the words in these books, that would be the best. If not, then there is no use for this kid who sneaked into the country."
The Ming Dynasty had no interest in learning about such small countries that were far away, out of reach, and not extremely rich. This was not the reign of Emperor Taizu. Instead of keeping useless guys, it would be better to throw them into a mine, or ...
Chen Yongshou just thought about it for a second and then gave it up. The emperor might not be interested in adding a blond, fair-skinned young eunuch to the palace... This emperor has never been fond of men! That boy is different from the people of the Ming Dynasty from head to toe. Unless he has a special taste, who would want him!
Zhang Shou knew without a second's guess what would happen if the boy really proved the word "useless". Seeing that everyone around him was talking at once, he pondered for a moment and then asked with interest: "I once had the honor of visiting the Military Equipment Bureau and saw the globe made by Emperor Taizu after he dreamed of the Heavenly Emperor. I know some place names. Which city is the foreign boy in this time?"
"It seems to be... something called Florence?" After saying these four words, Chen Yongshou suddenly frowned again and said uncertainly, "No, no, the city where the boy was born is Florence, but the port where the ship was docked at that time was not this. It seems to be... something like Pisa? Well, the names of these foreign cities are really hard to pronounce. My tongue seems to be tied up."
He shook his head as he spoke: "It's just these words. It's thanks to Emperor Taizu that he drew a map and marked the names early on. Otherwise, later generations would not know what to call it when they arrived there... It is said that in those small countries in the west, often a city is a country, and then they occupy other cities outside. If the people of those foreign countries were asked to directly say the name of their country, it would be like a heavenly book."
Others were either marveling at the fact that one city was actually a country, or marveling at the talent and wisdom of Emperor Taizu, who had actually drawn maps of these distant small countries so early on, or wondering at the strange names of these foreign small countries. As for Zhang Shou...when he heard the reasonable names of Florence and Pisa, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
He was far less proficient in foreign history than Emperor Taizu, and his foreign map skills were maxed out, but he still vaguely remembered that in this era, the once glorious Republic of Pisa seemed to have collapsed, and even the entire city of Pisa was sold to the Republic of Florence. The Medici family should be in its heyday in Florence now...
After a brief thought, Zhang Shou said, "In that case, let's bring that brave little fellow here!"
With Zhang Shou's words, Chen Yongshou felt relieved. The emperor couldn't find an excuse to promote Zhang Shou, so he came up with this idea.
If those mathematics books did not contain so many various diagrams, how could the captain, who knew a lot about astronomy and astrology but did not recognize foreign languages, tell that it was not a mathematics book but a book related to astronomy and astrology?
If he didn't recognize that it was a mathematics book, why would the captain exchange it for three pieces of brocade so easily? Wasn't it because the emperor was going to use these as a gift for Ge Yong's 80th birthday? Although it was not a real tribute and its value was not particularly high, if he had to compensate for the three pieces of brocade because of his mistake, the captain also expressed in his private letter to him that he was very distressed.
As for the language used in writing books, what if the foreign boy really can't translate it? He will naturally not keep that boy for free, and the emperor's plan to take the opportunity to promote him will fail, so he can't do anything about it.
As for the possibility that a foreign boy might fool Zhang Shou in the future, Chen Yongshou never thought about it. Although Zhang Shou was young, his vision was extremely sharp. Even if it was a math book written in a foreign language, it was also an area that Zhang Shou was good at.
So, after Chen Yongshou agreed readily, he left quickly and came back quickly as well.
However, although the students of Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall were all very interested in the foreign boy mentioned by Chen Yongshou, Zhang Shou did not want to let this group of guys watch foreign friends, so he sent the students of Banshan Hall away to discuss their topics early, and let the students of Jiuzhang Hall go to tackle their sea of questions, while he met people alone in the school hall.
Even though he had met countless foreign friends in later life, including foreign teenagers and children - after all, going abroad was a very simple thing for Chinese people in later generations - at this moment, seeing a blond, blue-eyed, white-skinned boy wearing a robe and a turban, he couldn't help but feel a sense of time and space confusion.
Especially when the other party walked up to him and bowed in a formal manner , he felt it was even more ridiculous. However, after a closer look, he realized that something seemed to be wrong. After a closer look, he immediately saw the problem!
People nowadays may not have such a profound understanding, but as a time traveler who once hosted foreign exchange students on a one-day tour in his class when he was a teenager, Zhang Shou felt that this boy was not of the right age.
White people are different from Asians. They mature and age early, and it is usually more obvious in women than in men. However, as for this boy... Chinese people who have seen foreign children but have never asked them their age may think that he is fifteen or sixteen years old. But in his opinion, this foreign kid who eats well, drinks well and develops well is definitely not more than thirteen years old, maybe even younger!
Although he wanted to say "how old are you" in English, considering that she was born in Florence, an Italian city-state, and that Britain was actually a rural area at that time, Zhang Shou still suppressed his bad taste and nodded in return calmly: "What's your name? How old are you this year?"
This was a pure test of the level of Chinese in daily conversation. What he heard was the standard Beijing dialect: "Sir, I am fifteen years old this year. I have two names, one is the name of Florence, and the other is the name I gave myself after I came to the Ming Dynasty. I don't think you will be interested in the name in Florence, but here, I gave myself a name..."
"My name is David Wu!"
