Chapter 50 Cleaning the clothes and asking outside the frontier

"Don't ...... Don't kill, spare your life, spare your life! ”

Duncan can understand Chinese, although Zhao and Ju spoke with a Shaoxing accent, but even listening and guessing, he understood that his family would definitely not end well. He was able to travel from Cairo thousands of miles away, and he had no other strengths, but his eloquence in begging for mercy and saving his life was first-class. He shouted, "I'm an official...... I'm a nobleman, I have a territory, I can trade my life for ransom! ”

His Chinese words were absurd and out of tune, Zhao Youju frowned, he didn't want to spend more time on him, but suddenly heard him shout again: "I am an envoy, I am an envoy sent by Great Qin!" ”

Daqin is the name of the Roman Empire in the Han Dynasty, at this time, according to the Western Yuan, it is the thirteenth century, the Western Roman Empire has long been destroyed by the barbarians who can only pick the axe, and the Eastern Roman Empire is also crumbling in internal and external troubles. It is nothing more than that after Duncan arrived in Quanzhou, he learned from a certain Confucian scholar who was good at reading history books that his homeland was once called Great Qin. He saw that it was useless to shout the ransom just now, so he claimed to be an envoy, although the Great Song Dynasty was not as kind to the surrounding envoys as when he was in Bianliang, but in his mind, the other party was just a teenager, and after learning the identity of his envoy, he would not dare to take the killer lightly, at least temporarily, he could save his life.

"Wait a minute, you're not an Arab...... The Great Cannibal? Zhao Youju stopped Li Ye and the others and asked Duncan.

"Thank God, finally ......" Duncan muttered in words that Zhao and Ju couldn't understand, and then piled a flattering smile on his face: "I'm not a big cannibal, I'm from Great Qin, which is farther away than Great Eclipse, and I'm an envoy sent by our emperor to the Great Song Dynasty, and I've been caught by this group of evil damned pirates, thank you for saving me, if I report to your emperor, he will definitely reward you heavily......"

"Liar, Duncan Polo, you liar!"

A wounded and captured pirate happened to be escorted past Duncan, and he limped and shouted at Duncan: "You thief bird, what kind of sea hero, I should have told my eldest brother a long time ago to throw you in the sea!" ”

The man screamed, but Duncan remained silent, and nothing happened. Zhao Youju looked at him, and his heart was agitated, although this guy was lying, but it seemed that he was really not an Arab, but from Europe, what would be the situation in Europe at this time?

"Lock him up, watch carefully, and if he wants to escape, shoot him to death!"

Having made up his mind to spare this guy's life, Zhao Heju instructed Li Ye. Li Ye kicked Duncan, and the four drove him to the depths of the stockade, found a thatched house, and locked him inside.

When they turned around, they found that Lin Xizheng, the leader of the Naval Army, was standing with Zhao Ziyue with a sneering face.

Lin Xi didn't know that Zhao and Ju were the real masters on this hanging island, after all, he was only twelve years old, and the old housekeeper Zhao Xi who had always dealt with him used to be Hu Fulang in Dinghai, and Zhao Ziyue in the hanging island. Therefore, after he went to the island, he immediately looked for Zhao Ziyue, and after seeing Zhao Ziyue, he didn't speak, but he was blocked back by Zhao Heju's first sentence: "Lin Jiaotou, you helped us find a good guard!" ”

The appearance of the island, Lin Xi saw it in his eyes, although most of the corpses of pirates were piled up together, but there were also the corpses of the guards and craftsmen of the hanging island, and there were cries everywhere, and there was a fire on the dock. Therefore, Zhao Ziyue's complaint is reasonable, after all, with so many casualties and losses, he has to explain to his master. Lin Xi was also a little ashamed in his heart, when he recommended those sailor disciples to the hanging island, he bragged to Hu Fulang that these children were all good at being one and ten.

"These guards are really worthy of being children of the army." Zhao Ziyue saw that he was silent, and said: "If it weren't for them, my family would have suffered heavy losses this time!" ”

Lin Xi heard him say this, and then he realized that he was not angry at the dereliction of duty of the guards, but actually praised the guards composed of these children of the navy. Originally, seeing the tragic situation in the village, coupled with his understanding of these children, Lin Xi thought that it would be good if they could escape without abandoning their weapons, but now it sounds like Zhao Ziyue still appreciates them.

He hurriedly asked Zhao Ziyue carefully, and got Zhao Heju's instructions, Zhao Ziyue told the pirate invasion one by one, and the resistance of the righteous boy was just an understatement, but he praised those sailor disciples heavily. Those who hid in Diao Dou and only knew how to shoot arrows indiscriminately were approved by him to block the main force of the pirates, and those who abandoned the wall in the wall and fled regardless of it, were praised by him as good at taking advantage of the geographical advantage, that is, those who were so frightened that they couldn't even move their whole bodies, and they were also praised by Zhao Zi as brave and fearless bait.

Lin Xi blushed when he heard this, but Zhao Ziyue said it extremely sincerely, as if that was the truth.

"This ...... This ......"

Zhao Zi said that he didn't wait for him to speak, and continued: "Although my little master is on the island, but the master of the house has already ordered, I am in charge of the affairs on this island, this pirate raid, Lin Jiaotou invited the children of the navy army are quite dead and wounded, where the frontal wound and the dead, my family will give 100 yuan, and the family can accept two more people to work on the island, and the person who died after the wound in the back, my family will give 50 yuan, and the person who is injured in the front, my family will give 50 yuan, and placed in the workshop, the family can accept one more person to work on the island, and the injured person in the back, my family will give 30 yuan. ”

As soon as he said this, Lin Xi's face immediately turned even redder. Although Zhao Ziyue's words were not specified, the meaning was clear, among the children of the navy he found, if they fought bravely with the thieves and were killed or injured, then the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau would be compensated, and if they fled timidly, it would not be so good.

"The bereavement allowance given by my family is already very generous, Lin Jiaotou, the relatives of those dead and injured, please comfort them a lot, and ask them to mourn by the way." Zhao Zi added at the end.

At this time, there are few people in the south of the Yangtze River, and human life is not valuable, although there are not many Baiguan, but there are also a lot, and these people eat and use on the island on weekdays, and it is natural for pirates to attack and desperately protect the island, so Lin Xi is extremely satisfied with what Zhao Zi said.

"Steward Zhao, don't worry, the people in the navy, I will appease you, and I will not cause trouble to your mansion." Lin Xi is a person with a clear heart, and the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau has always been good for him, he felt that the relationship with the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was one with both glory and loss, so he patted his chest and agreed to it.

After finishing speaking, another head of the navy suddenly ran over and called Lin Xi aside to speak, Lin Xi glanced at Zhao Zi and said, his face showed shame, but the head of the navy urged a few words, he couldn't, and walked over hesitantly.

"If there is anything to teach Lin Jiaotou, if it is just a trivial matter, the villain can call the shots." Zhao Ziyue saw that he was difficult to speak, so he asked.

"Guidao killed and injured more than 60 pirates this time, and they ...... Uh, they ......"

Zhao Zi said that he had been by Zhao Heju's side for six years, and he was now very able to handle some things for Zhao and Ju, this year, because of Zhao Xi's age, it had always been Zhao Zi who was in charge of the island, so he quickly understood Lin Xi's meaning.

"Is Sect Leader Lin interested in these first achievements?"

The soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty took beheading as their merit to exterminate the bandits and bandits, which was indeed a great temptation for the coastal control envoys who had been peaceful for a long time. If these pirates are all killed by the children of the navy, then the matter will be simple, they are all their own father and brother, just take them. But now it is clear that the main force that killed the pirates was not the children of the sailors invited by the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to protect the hanging island, but the craftsmen and stewards of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau's own craftsmen, and they wanted to take the credit, which was somewhat ashamed.

"Although this is a reluctant request, I hope ...... Uh, please ask Steward Zhao to help! Lin Xi said with some difficulty, and added at the end.

"Lin Jiaotou!" Zhao Zi said that he was really angry.

Lin Xi was a little embarrassed, he was still young now, and he had not yet reached the age when he forced the virtuous to take the risk of stealing and killing the good and did not change his face, and the other sect leader beside him also looked stunned, it was normal for this matter to be rejected, after all, the government would definitely reward him for killing such a number of pirates.

Zhao Zi sneered twice, and looked Lin Xi up and down again: "Lin Jiaotou has a good calculation!" ”

Lin Xi lowered his head, and was about to speak, but the sect leader behind him pulled him, and when he looked back, the brothers who came with him were staring at him. He sighed: "Steward Zhao, even if you do us a favor, the naval army brothers of the coastal control envoy will accept your affection." ”

"There's nothing wrong with that." Zhao Zi said. No one noticed that he just glanced at Zhao Heju, who was standing silent, Zhao Youju nodded very slightly, and no one else understood, but he understood that this was Zhao Youju's answer. But Zhao and Ju made a gesture of waving their fingers at the same time, which was to remind him not to let the other party succeed so easily.

If you give this credit to the other party unconditionally, the other party will not only not be grateful, but I am afraid that they will think that they are afraid of him.

"Thank you so much Steward Zhao!" Hearing that things were turning around, Lin Xi's spirits perked up, there were more than sixty pirate corpses, which were divided equally among a boatload of sailors, and each of them could also receive a lot of reward, and a sect leader like him was even more likely to be promoted because of this—provided that there was a position vacated for him in the coastal control envoys.

"Wait, although I agreed, I never ......" Zhao Zi said that he interrupted him almost rudely, if he changed to someone else, Lin Xi was only afraid that he would immediately ask him to eat the boss's ear brackets, but thinking that many children in the army had to rely on this hanging island to make a living, he swallowed the unhappiness in his heart, and said with a forced smile: "Although Steward Zhao said, it is only what we poor soldiers can do, and there is no reason to do it!" ”

"This matter is also simple, today the pirates are attacking, there are only five bows on the island, which is really not enough, and I ask Lin Jiaotou to be accommodating and allocate a few more bows to the island." Zhao Zi said with a smile.

This request made Lin Xi a little embarrassed, and the Great Song Dynasty couldn't help the people to carry swords, but it was strictly forbidden for the people to hold bows. Although it was often forbidden for the powerful and wealthy, if the coastal ruler drew his bow to the hanging island, he would be held responsible. The other sect leader couldn't wait, compared with the merits of these thief leaders, a dozen or so bows were nothing, and he patted his chest and admitted: "It's a trivial matter, this matter is easy to handle!" ”

"If this is the case, you will take all the first deeds, and the body will be thrown away into the sea." Zhao Zi said.

The sailors of the coastal control envoy happily left with the dead body and did not mention it, and at night, everything on the island was settled, and Zhao Youju remembered the white man who was caught, and heard the pirate say that his name seemed to be Duncan Polo, could it be that he was a family with the Marco Polo decades later?

According to the later Marco Polo records, he began to go to the East with his father and uncle in 1271, and this Duncan Polo is his family, and he is probably also a great-grandfather-level figure. Naturally, he would not have known that such a figure would appear among his descendants, but Zhao Youju still wanted to confirm some news from him, as long as he was really from Europe.

Soon Duncan was brought in front of Zhao and Ju, and Duncan was not surprised that he was facing a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, he was extremely arrogant in arrogance and arranged his clothes, and glared at Li Ye, who was pushing him, and then bowed to Zhao and Ju: "It is a pleasure to serve you, noble master, if you are willing to reward an envoy from a foreign country with some wine, meat and food, then the name of your generosity will spread with me to the end of the earth!" ”

With Duncan's understanding of the Song people, no matter whether they are noble, low, virtuous or stupid, the Song people have a good reputation, so he has long been carefully prepared how to speak when he meets Zhao and Ju.

"You are an envoy of Great Qin?" Zhao Youju smiled slightly, sat upright and asked.

Duncan put his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly: "Yes, I am an envoy of Great Qin, and I have brought a very rich tribute to come to worship the Chinese emperor in the east!" ”

"You have territory? What is the name of the territory? ”

"I have a territory, my territory is called Venice, and it is a very beautiful city, just like Quanzhou!"

When he spoke of "Venice," Duncan spoke in the language of his native land, but Zhao and Ju could guess what he was saying. Zhao and Ju silently calculated the time, and as far as he knew, although the Gregorian calendar had not yet been produced in Europe, there was already a law based on the time of the birth of Jesus (Note 1).

"As far as I know, Great Qin has been divided into two kingdoms, the east and the west, of which the one in the west has been extinct for more than 700 years." Zhao Youju said a little casually: "As for the place you just mentioned, what is Venice called, but it is a famous city, but I have never heard that it belongs to a certain noble......"

"Porphyry!"

Duncan knelt down without saying a word, he never thought that in this far east, there were still people who knew about the Eastern and Western Roman Empire and Venice!

"There were big food merchants who knew me well, and they told me many things." Zhao Youju twitched the corners of his lips slightly at him, as if he was smiling: "Lion Psycho and Saladin are dead, is your pope still agitating for the Crusades...... Wait a minute, I remember a few years ago there was a children's crusade ......"

Although Duncan's Chinese language was not enough for him to fully understand Zhao and Ju's words, he also knew that Zhao and Ju were so familiar with Europe, and even mentioned the Child Crusaders, his whole body trembled: "God, this must be your punishment for me!" ”

For the first time, the man who was able to sell the children into slavery had a fear of God in his heart, but his God was now powerless to bless him. His mind raced that if he could not come up with anything that could impress the young Tatar in front of him (Note 2), not to mention the fact that he had just pretended to be a foreign envoy, it would be enough to kill him by being an accomplice of pirates.

"I know why the pirates attacked the hanging island, I know Ding Gong Ai's biggest secret, I am willing to be your servant, like a loyal dog!" Duncan followed the example of the Oriental, and slammed his head to the ground: "I know that big island!" ”

Note 1: Baidu entry: In 525 A.D., a monk named Dionys, in order to pre-calculate the date of "Easter" seven years later (i.e., 532 A.D.), put forward the theory that Jesus was born 284 years before the Theocles era in ancient Rome, and advocated the year of Jesus' birth as the starting point, which was strongly supported by the church. In 532 C.E., the church adopted 284 years before the Dioc era as the first year of the Common Era, and used this chronology in the church.

Note 2: At this time, Europeans could not distinguish between the Han Chinese, Jurchen, Mongol and many other peoples in the Far East, and often referred to them as Tatars in general terms.