So at the beginning of the summer of 1443, at the palace of Constantine, little John was staged as a parting from life and death, and obtained what he desperately wanted. It has to be said that Constantine was much more efficient than ordinary people in handling everything.

"Your Highness."

The gates of the Slou Garden, which had been John Jr.'s grandfather, Manuel's garden, were pushed open, and now the garden of Little John's private residence. The flowers and plants in the garden are still thriving, but this vitality is about to be swallowed up by the desolation outside the courtyard walls.

The man was a member of a mercenary army in Constantinople, and it was certainly impossible for the empire's finances to support the expenses of elite troops such as the Nordic Guard. Now in this city, only the remaining mercenaries of the previous dynasty can still be regarded as a trace of combat effectiveness.

"You ......"

Zhou Heng put down the scroll in his hand and looked at the burly soldier carefully.

His sharp eyes can only be revealed by brave men who have really bathed in blood on the battlefield. Although this guy didn't seem to pay much attention to his gaze, Zhou Heng also understood in his heart that such a good player in the army was transferred to teach a child who couldn't even wield a handguard sword how to kill, which seemed as absurd as a nonsensical secular drama staged in an ancient Roman theater.

"Alex of Castile, Your Highness. I'm just one of the countless foreign mercenaries, not a well-known person. Alex was slightly respectful, then pulled out the handguard sword at his waist and put his hands on the ground, "Accept the emperor's order and teach His Highness martial arts." ”

Zhou Heng glanced at the handguard sword that was cold in the sun, and then looked at his arm, which was not as thick as firewood, and suddenly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

What I longed for on a whim suddenly became less enticing.

Sophia on the side picked up the teapot, took a shallow sip, and watched with a smile in the corner of her eyes as her brother was forcibly pulled away by Alex, who was five big and three thick, and repeatedly waved the heavy handguard sword boringly.

Her beautiful blue pupils suddenly fell on the tea table, on a manuscript that Zhou Heng had written and painted before.

There are a number of Greek names of places, people, or other words, and a few phrases made up of other Latin letters, but more often than not, a square-shaped, ghostly glyph.

Albrecht...... Władysław ...... Crusade...... Varna...... Hunyadi ......"

It took a long time for little Sophia to take her eyes off this manuscript, but looking at Zhou Heng's eyes, who were still enduring torture, obviously became strange.

More often than not, this brother was just a little honest and liked to spend his time in boring books in little Sophia's heart. But now, little Sophia suddenly felt that in the ruins of Constantinople, there might really be a glimmer of hope for the empire slowly sprouting.

This is Sophia's current evaluation of Zhou Heng.

In Zhou Heng's eyes, the conclusion given to Sophia is much simpler and clearer-the second Anna Komunen, or the woman whose wisdom has surpassed Anna Komnenos. The two have only been together for a day and a few hours, but whether it is Sophia's conversation or emotional intelligence, Zhou Heng has a feeling of facing an unattainable god.

She is just a girl who is more than ten years old, but she has a lot of knowledge about the situation around Junbao in the past few years, inside and outside Europe, and even has some unique opinions, but when chatting with herself, she always unconsciously explains something repeatedly, making Zhou Heng feel that she seems to be afraid that she will not understand. Before John Jr., who studied history, I am afraid that Sophia was stimulated a lot. This made Zhou Heng suspect that the history library that Constantine ceded to him had been chewed by Sophia several times.

Her way of life was much like that of the current inhabitants of Constantinople - even though she knew that it was only a matter of time before she perished, she still enjoyed the last refuge that the Empire could grant. She may be like her father, Constantine XI, who has a desire to save Eastern Rome from fire and water, but because of the situation, she can only slowly let go.

All in all, little Sophia's words and deeds cannot belong to her age in any case, Zhou Heng once wanted to ask if she also came from afar at some point in the future.

The teapot was already more than half empty, and the dessert had been almost solved by Sophia, but she didn't leave for a long time, and kept smiling, watching Zhou Heng be drilled from afternoon to dusk.

"Let's do it today, Your Majesty's order, every day must not be relaxed." Alex took the handguard sword from Zhou Heng's arm, which was already unable to stretch out, and reinserted it into the scabbard, and then swaggered out of the Slou Garden as if he had let out a bad breath.

In his eyes, a teenager, after experiencing such torture, will soon give up the path of learning martial arts, and then he will be able to return to the military camp by himself. Although a ridicule is inevitable, it at least makes a lot of extra money.

"Sophia......

Zhou Heng finally took a breath, and when he saw Sophia, who was dragging his arm and walking in front of him step by step, he suddenly became nervous again. He didn't know what he was nervous about, but the weirdness of the temperament exuded by this little girl was only a lot more strange than his own crossing.

"Brother John...... Why did you come up with the idea of learning this? Little Sophia reached out and pinched Zhou Heng's arm, and the pain made him immediately gasp a few times.

"...... on a whim"

"Tired?"

"Of course."

Sophia suddenly laughed: "Then will you still study tomorrow?" ”

"Learn!"

"Then it's not a whim, brother." Sophia reached back into her robe, and then took out the manuscript written by Zhou Hengxin's pen that had been preserved a long time ago, "What's going on with this thing?" ”

At this time, Zhou Heng already had some impulses to scold his mother in his heart, but Xiao Sophia was his sister, and she didn't have any trespassing, so she could only blame herself for being too careless...... Or maybe this little girl's observation is too sharp.

"It's ...... Some of my thoughts on the situation currently facing the Empire......"

"Poof......

Before Zhou Heng finished speaking, Sophia couldn't help laughing, and then stuffed the manuscript into her arms again without knowing what to say: "I'll take this back and study it." Oh yes, brother, after waking up in the emperor's dormitory yesterday, you seem to be a little weird...... However, it should have gotten smarter. Kindness! That's a good thing. ”

"You just took it?" Zhou Heng felt more and more that he, the heir to the throne, and the dignity of his brother seemed worthless in front of this little Lori, "What can you give me?" ”

"It's stingy...... Then I will give you a suggestion. ”

"Suggestions?"

"Brother, some people, some places, some things, I don't know what they are, but I seem to have vaguely guessed something. Brother, you seem to know something that no one will know. But...... When this kind of thing is exposed, it is very dangerous. ”