Seeing Todd's pensive appearance, Emerson hammered his sore old waist with his hand, walked to the desk, and looked at the directory thoughtfully: "Highreddin...... The last name is a bit familiar. ”

Todd then called on Monk Joe, who was in charge of the resident registration, and ordered him to retrieve the population register of Twilight City.

It took him some effort, and he finally found a few words about the southern heretic in the thick pages.

Aisha Springhall, a member of the Abbasid Empire, a maritime merchant, settled on 17 November 1171 A.D......

Todd looked to the bottom of the page, where there was a quote written on it.

"Guarantor: Abu bin Sabah al-Kendi; relationship with the registrant: matrilineal"

An hour later.

Kendi stood in the center between the kings, holding the list with trembling hands, his lips were white, and cold sweat flowed: "This ...... This liar! She promised me that I would keep to myself and not use my real name! How dare she take the official exam of the kingdom!"

Todd slapped his hand on the table and shouted, "Who the hell is she?!"

Kendi shuddered with fright, and the paperwork in his hand almost fell to the ground, and he spat out a word in his mouth.

"Pirates"

Kendi's confession, coupled with the additions of others, Todd finally got a rough idea of what happened.

Sail south of the twilight coast on a seaboat, bypassing the reefs and cliffs of Lone Rock City, and then head south to enter an area commonly known as the "Golden Crossing".

From there, to the south, you can enter the territorial waters of the Southern Empire, and if you choose to go west, you will pass through a narrow estuary and enter a wide sea surrounded by land.

With this "sea in the earth" as the dividing line, the north is the diocese of the Church of the Father and the Most Orthodox Church, and the south is a foreign land where Allah is believed.

In this sea, there are no less than a thousand pirate forces, large and small, the smaller one is only a sloop, but the largest pirate force can easily destroy a small country. Among the active pirates in the Mediterranean, there was a man named Hayreddin, who was originally engaged in maritime trade, but later pulled up the skull flag and engaged in the business of springboard robbery.

In recent years, he has made a name for himself by doing two major things in the Mediterranean.

First, at dawn in the early winter of 1165, he took advantage of the fog to attack and capture a troop carrier from Lone Rock, capturing 30 knights and 190 soldiers on board.

Second, over the past four years, Khareddin has traveled back and forth between the north and south sides of the Mediterranean, helping thousands of Allah believers, fleeing persecution in the diocese and returning safely to the Abbasid Empire.

Two of these events, especially the second, brought Hareddin great fame, and the Southerners called him Baba dil, which translates to "father," and the people of the church area transliterated him as Barbarossa.

According to Kendi's confession, the young woman named Aisha was Barbarossa's daughter.

Todd watched as the attendants pulled out Aisha's paper, and the first time he opened it, he remembered the impression he had made when he reviewed it.

The handwriting on the paper can show the unfamiliarity of the owner's writing in the lingua franca, but it can also reflect the person's serious attitude. The answer structure is complete, the logic is rigorous, and even in some specific argumentative sentences, examples are used to provide evidence.

But Todd originally thought that the owner of this test paper was an elderly male scholar, but he never expected that the reference would be Kendi's mouth, a woman who was only over 22 years old.

Todd put down the test paper in his hand and looked at the helpless Kendi, "How did you get involved with this female pirate?"

Kendi replied with a wry smile, "A few years ago, I planned to go to the North Island for archaeology, but after asking around the Imperial Harbor, none of the captains wanted to go to that barren land. After a series of inquiries, I was taken to meet a girl who was not yet 18 years old. She said she could take me to the North Island, and at first I didn't believe what she said, until I saw her boat, and I believed her. Next, I tried everything I could to help her get a sea pass with the help of my family......"

Kendi paused for a moment, then shouted to Todd, "Your Majesty! I can swear I didn't really know she was a pirate at first!"

When Todd heard this, he interrupted Kendi, "After she got the pass, she sent you to the North Island safely, why didn't she kill you on the voyage?"

The latter scratched his head and whispered, "I can use a sextant, I can draw charts, and I can use five languages, and I guess she wants to use me to help him sail." ”

Todd nodded noncommittally: "Go on." ”

"Later, I stayed in the North Island Ruins for archaeology, and she said that she wanted to continue sailing north to accomplish something. Kendi glanced up at the king, "Then you showed up and took me to the town of Twilight." ”

Todd thought for a moment, then said, "You're missing something crucial, first of all, how did she settle in Twilight?"

Kendi glanced at the king secretly, there was no expression on the other party's face, and he swallowed: "About half a year ago, Aisha suddenly came to Dusk City to find me, saying that she wanted to settle in the city and wanted me to become her resident guarantor. At first, I thought she was looking for a tax exemption for doing business, but she did help me in the first place, so I agreed to her request. ”

"Then, she took the pseudonym 'Aisha Springhall' and pretended to be your relative, and then bought a property and became a resident. And one more question, how do you know she's a pirate?"

"Once, I stumbled upon a scimitar in his cabinet with the words 'Allah Bless Barbarossa' engraved on it......"

"Unintentionally?" Todd raised an eyebrow.

Kendi's head was lowered: "After her identity was revealed, she threatened me with the matter of resident guarantees......"

"So you're giving in?" Todd sighed deeply.

Kendi shook his head weakly, his voice getting quieter and quieter: "I just don't want to be expelled from this city because of this......"

"If you could have come to me at the time and tell me what had happened, I would have been able to forgive you for your mistakes. Todd leaned back into his chair and rubbed his temples with a headache: "But the law has its own reason, and you should pay for your mistakes." ”

The king turned to look at Monk Joe: "Put him in the dungeon of the Knights' headquarters first, let him sober up, as for the punishment later, we have more important things to do at the moment." ”

Watching the squires carry Kendi out of the gate, Emerson walked over to Todd and tried to ask, "Are you going to send an army to capture this pirate?"

Taking the list in front of him and looking at it again, Todd said to himself, "Why would she use her real name to deliberately reveal her identity?"

Emerson watched Todd's expression and didn't speak again.

"Notice! Post the correct answer and the admission list on the sign in the church square. Tell the finalists that tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., the second round of the selection of officials - interviews, will be held in the King's Audience Room. Todd lowered his voice and said to the rest of the room, "No one is allowed to spread the word about this female pirate, and no one is allowed to act. I'd like to see if the pirate's daughter has the courage to step through the king's gates!"

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The next morning, after washing, Todd came to the king's room, and saw Emerson and Monk Joe, who were also interviewers, waiting at the door early.

The king threw a questioning look at Emerson, who shook his head.

Todd shrugged his shoulders in disappointment.

At 8 a.m., the interview began.

According to the order of the queue, the interviewers entered the audience room between the kings in turn.

Among them were men and women, businessmen and scholars, the oldest had to be helped to walk, and the youngest was less tall than the handle of the gate.

There were a few people who made a deep impression on Todd.

The first was naturally Mr. and Mrs. Raglan, the lively and talkative Mrs. Raglan ranked 2nd in the written test, and the honest and honest Mr. Raglan ranked 9th. Due to their long experience as a merchant and the experience of foreign countries, the two were particularly familiar with business development and commodity prices, and in addition to their studies at the convent of San Cidlo, they also had a good understanding of basic mathematics and economics. It's worth mentioning that the couple are both aliens, but Todd doesn't see what their abilities are, only that they should have something to do with numbers.

The second is the North Island captive in the Battle of Twilight, Lev. This tall, thin man who stammered during the interview and couldn't even speak completely had a unique concept of Kitajima style in terms of market management and material trading. Through his oral account, Todd learned that the North Islanders had a history of trade for thousands of years with their shipbuilding skills.

In addition to this, there were several scholars from the Twilight Academy, as well as members of the Chamber of Commerce, who made a good impression on Todd.

The interview lasted until noon, until the last person exited the door, and Todd collected the paper full of words in front of him, and then asked the guard, "Is it all over?"

The latter nodded in response, "Yes, Your Majesty." A total of 29 people, all over. ”

"Twenty-nine...... Todd stood up, rubbed his sore thighs, and said to the other two with regret on his face: "Since it's all over, let's ......"

"Your Majesty!" a guard walked to the door of the audience room and said loudly, "There was another finalist just outside the door!"

"And another?" After a moment of distraction, Todd immediately regained his composure: "Let her in." ”

A woman wearing a hijab (Arab women's headscarf) and a large black robe wrapped in a mopping floor slowly walked into the room.

Her whole body was hidden in a black robe, even her hair. Only her face is exposed, and when you look closely, her face is three-dimensional, with delicate features, and has both ancient and southern exotic styles.

However, the most memorable thing is that pair of eyes.

Not because it's beautiful, it's because it's weird.

Unlike ordinary women, her eyes are both aqua blue and amber, and the whites of her eyes are much larger than the pupils, giving people the illusion of a fierce beast when viewed from a distance.