The patrol consisted of four medium-sized boats, sail and oar, with a pointed bow, and belonged to the fast-sailing vessels. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The patrol team was not as telescopic as Zheng Fei, so it took more than ten minutes for them to find that a huge fleet had appeared in the sea area, and they immediately adjusted their direction and rushed over.

Zheng Fei leaned on the railing of the watchtower, squinting at them, gradually approaching.

"Oh my God, what kind of ship is this?"

The eyes of the Turkish sailors fell on the Italian battleship, which had taken on a new look after a few days of repairs, like a giant beast in the sea, and its majestic posture was fully revealed.

By feeling, they sniffed out that this was not an ordinary caravan, the characteristics of the battleships and frigates were obvious, however, the artillery on the side of the ship was not visible.

Suspicious, they ordered the fleet to stop, and the bearded captain led a dozen people to board the ship for inspection, and the first choice was, of course, the flagship.

Zheng Fei organized the sailors to line up to greet them, standing on the deck, looking at this group of West Asian barbarians with distinct images, all with big shoulders and round waists.

They were more like light cavalry than the Ottoman navy, carrying bows and short swords on their backs and not using muskets.

The patrols in the sea area are basically configured like this, and the truly elite troops are all engaged in frequent siege battles and cannot be freed up.

After boarding, the bearded captain clenched the short sword in his hand and glanced around with his slightly ferocious gaze, speaking in less proficient Latin.

"Where did you come from?"

"Italy. ”

"Oh~"

Hearing the Italians, the fierce captain laughed, nodded and raised his eyebrows, and the dagger was inserted back into its scabbard.

"I've heard that there is a strong force of bulls there. ”

The war-thirsty Ottomans seemed to have a natural cult of power, they loved lions, brown bears, and European bison, and they believed that everything with great power was worthy of admiration.

The captain paused for a moment, tilting his head to look at the empty deck.

"What business are you doing? Are you going to Istanbul?"

"Yes, go to Istanbul and sell sherry. ”

Zheng Fei smiled and beckoned Santiago to bring the flask over and hand it to the captain.

The captain frowned and hesitated for a moment, rubbed his dirty hands, unscrewed the lid and tasted it, and immediately nodded in admiration.

"Good wine! I'm sure your goods will sell well!"

"Santiago, bring them two cases of wine. ”

For good people, Zheng Fei has always been very generous and willing to share the good things in his hands.

In addition to two cases of delicious sherry, Santiago also took out the large fan of smoked pork, and said with a smile that it was because the pork had begun to stink.

After receiving the gift, the captain didn't know what to say for a while, and so did his subordinates.

Since the Imperial Army occupied a large area of the Balkan Peninsula a few years ago, they have been organized into a maritime patrol from light cavalry, floating on this sea area all day to check the passing fleet, not to mention the boring and hard work, and when they return to land, they will be ridiculed by the elite troops, and they will be given the title of miscellaneous soldiers.

For a long time, they were all neglected characters, and only occasionally encountered a weak caravan to get away with their prestige, and by the way, they could get some extra money to supplement their families.

But now, someone offered to give them two cases of good wine, and their favorite thing to do was to sit on the deck at night, drink wine and eat meat around a big bowl of campfire.

Seriously, the moment Santiago piled things in front of them, the group of rough men was a little genuinely moved.

"That ......," the captain muttered, probably a little embarrassed.

"Thank you. It was two seconds before he spoke.

Zheng Fei smiled and said, "It's nothing, do you need to check my cabin?"

"No need, we are only responsible for not letting the armed forces into the port of Istanbul, there is no artillery on your ship. ”

The captain beckoned his men and disembarked with the gifts, with an unconcealable pleasure on his face, which was enough for all the brothers to drink for half a month.

Walking to the side of the boat, the captain was stunned for a moment, stagnated for a while, and turned around and walked back.

Could it be that you see any clues? Zheng Fei couldn't help but think.

"Generous owner, I would like to remind you that it is better not to stay in Istanbul for too long. ”

"Why?"

"Because, you may make a lot of money, or you may lose all your money, or even lose this fleet. ”

"Is Istanbul so chaotic?" Zheng Fei felt, and it wasn't like that.

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, was the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman empires, and is the only city in the world that straddles two continents.

Even though the walls and buildings were destroyed by Ottoman artillery a decade ago, the economy was able to recover soon after the rebuilding of the wasteland.

It stands to reason that no matter how keen the Ottomans were to expand and plunder, they would not attack the caravans that came to their capital, unless the leader had something wrong with his brain.

Going there to do business, as long as the goods are not as eye-catching as ginseng and mammoth tusks, there should be no problem.

Listening to Zheng Fei's question, the captain shook his head.

"No, Istanbul is not chaotic at all, on the contrary, it is stable and prosperous. ”

The captain sighed and looked up to the northeast, across the distant sea, and in the unseen distance, sat the ancient city that had wandered in the long river of history.

"However, there is a Duke of Istanbul there. ”

Due to the rapid expansion of the Ottoman Empire's territory, the titles were based on the names of different regions, and the Pasha controlled the entire region, such as the Greek Pasha and the Babylonian Pasha.

Dukes master large cities such as the Duke of Istanbul, the Duke of Troy, and the Duke of Tripoli.

Marquises, counts, etc., in turn mastered smaller towns.

"Duke, will he let the army sweep past my fleet?" Zheng Fei also looked to the northeast, his eyes were blue, and the sound of waves in his ears was ringing.

"He won't do that, but I'm afraid you'll be 'sinned,' and then he will justifiably detain you. ”

"Criminalized...... Interesting. Zheng Fei smiled.

The captain shrugged and saw that his men had returned to the patrol ship.

"Without further ado, remember my words, don't stay too long in Istanbul, good luck!"

"Good luck. Zheng Fei waved goodbye and watched the patrol fleet go away, and gradually, a trace of worry appeared in his eyes.

It sounds like there is a demon in Istanbul who is squirming up passing fleets with its bloody mouths open and filling its own pockets.

Zheng Fei knew very well that he was far from being able to confront the formidable defenders of Istanbul on his own, and although he managed to escape from a large port like Venice not long ago, there was a reason for that.

First, he had a prince as a hostage, and second, Hans looked like a duke, and ordered the mayor not to mobilize the army, otherwise......

"Captain, what are we going to do?" said Hans, who was also worried about what the captain had said.

"Keep sailing. ”

If you want to get Spartan descendants, you have to go to Romania, and if you want to go to Romania, you have to go through Istanbul through the Turkish Strait, there is no choice. (To be continued.) )