"Dad, you see my brother bullying me again, he stole the candy you bought for me in Star City to please that Trina."

Calsoli looked back and saw that his eldest son, Nko, was angrily covering his younger son, Monte, while his daughter Sophia couldn't help but laugh and cover her mouth.

A group of companions, also from Rome, also watched the two and a half children play with kindness.

He also noticed Trina, who was only fourteen years old in the Cherano family, who was a little embarrassed to hide in his mother's arms.

In the last half year in Egypt, everyone's faces have come to life. For more than three months after getting on the ship, I stayed on the ship every day, eating and drinking well, and now my face is rosy.

"Nko, don't bully your brother." Calsoli scolded, and then said, "If you really like Trina, when we are settled, I will go and propose to Monsieur Eusinho." ”

At this moment, everyone burst into laughter, and the two children were not yet sixteen years old, and he said this purely to make fun of them.

A flag suddenly fell from the mast and landed on Sophia's side. She froze in surprise, looked up at a figure on the mast, and then got up embarrassed, and trotted to her father's side.

Carlsoli's eyes were also on the figure on the mast, and he didn't know whether to be angry or happy. He glared at the other party and asked Sophia in a low voice. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"Nope. Father. He was a gentleman. ”

Calsoli snorted, although this guy was not as dirty and rude as a Roman sailor, but he didn't think he would have a good impression of a sailor.

From the time Suez came aboard, the bastard seemed to be fascinated by his own daughter, and he could be seen all day long.

What made him even more angry was that his daughter seemed to be enjoying all this, and she seemed to be fascinated by the other party.

At this time, the crowd at the bow of the boat suddenly shouted. "Oh my God, what's that?"

Carl Soli didn't care about his daughter's little ambiguity with the Ming soldier, he followed everyone's line of sight, and saw a few big birds flying in the sky in the distance.

But then, he didn't think it was a big bird, because the birds didn't seem to have moved their wings, and although there was no reference, they looked much bigger than the birds.

Some of them had already seen that there was a person on it, and they knelt down in fright, praying for this God's blessing.

At this time, a voice said, "That is the glider invented by our Highness, which can take people to the sky." They should have come to welcome us......"

These people have been recruited by Daming since December last year, and after a year of study, especially in the last few months, there is nothing to do on the ship, and everyone learns Daming words for two hours a day.

Although they can't read it yet, most of them already know some big words.

Especially on their ship, they are all the technical talents that Daming attaches the most importance to, and they are all educated, and they can learn Daming faster than ordinary people.

Like Sophia, the three of their sisters and brothers are already very fluent.

Originally a declining aristocrat, Calsoli became a professor of architecture at the University of Bologna after the decline of his family.

Although he was a declining aristocracy, Karlsoli was erudite, presided over the construction of many buildings, and was a university professor, so his family life was quite happy.

But his wife died last year, and his daughter, Sophia, who had just turned 16, had to take on the responsibility of caring for father and son.

Sophia is an angel whose appearance has attracted the attention of many people, including a great nobleman.

He would not marry his daughter to a discredited man who was older than himself for the sake of money and pressure, so he took his three children to Rome.

But in Rome, he did not receive the attention he deserved, on the contrary, because of Sophia, attracted more watching.

He is no longer a university professor, and his life is just average, and he can't resist the increasing pressure at all.

It was also at this time that the Ming people came, and as soon as they arrived in Rome, they showed the importance of talents and offered high salaries to attract talents in Rome.

In his eyes, the Ming Dynasty was a civilized country, with advanced weapons and strict discipline. He was fascinated by the contempt for the West on the faces of those ordinary soldiers.

In the bones of this country, there is a sense of superiority over the West.

Calsoli hoped to use the power of the Ming Dynasty to resist the prying eyes of several nobles on Sophia, and even wanted to go to this Marco Polo's Golden Country to see for himself.

So, after consulting with his three children, he signed up.

His declining viscount status, his qualifications as a professor of architecture, and his experience in building more than a dozen buildings made him highly valued by the Ming from the beginning.

Da Ming offered him a gold coin a month, and promised to arrange a house for him.

One gold coin could be exchanged for ten silver coins, one silver coin for a thousand coppers, and twenty bronze coins that caused a sensation in Rome were fifty copper coins.

When he knew that these were equivalent to five months' remuneration for an ordinary soldier and that he could live a rich life in Daming, he did not hesitate to sign a ten-year contract with Daming.

Most of the people on this ship are high-level talents, so they don't have to be separated from their loved ones and enjoy a luxurious journey.

Because of this, he still has some arrogance in his heart, although his daughter has a good impression of this Ming soldier, but he also doesn't want his daughter to marry an ordinary soldier.

Sophia didn't understand his painstaking efforts, and seemed to be confused by this Da Ming, and when she heard his words, she didn't care that her father was still around, so she asked, "Can a man fly in the sky with wings?" Will you too? ”

The young man's face showed a trace of shame, but he said disdainfully: "My family does not allow me to fly to the sky, and those who can be allowed to fly to the sky are all orphans, and there are no nobles. ”

But Calsoli understood the meaning of his words, looked at him and asked, "So...... Are you a nobleman? ”

The other party was even more embarrassed, touched his head, and said, "I'm still young, and I won't be knighted until I get married." ”

Calsolli's face was solemn, his legs were together, and he bowed slightly: "I beg your pardon for offending, Viscount Zara Justoli of the Bologna Free State greets Your Excellency. ”

Zhang Wu went around in a big circle in Europe, and he knew that this was the formal etiquette of Westerners. Thinking of the training of the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple, he did not salute, but pressed the back of his right hand with the palm of his left hand, and said to the end: "Zhang Wu, the martial general of Pengcheng Bofu of the Ming Empire, greets Your Excellency. ”

Carloli looked at his square face, then at his daughter, and couldn't help asking, "Your Excellency turned out to be a general?" ”

Zhang Wu was even more embarrassed, and said: "I, General Wude, am only the lord of the military attaché, not a position, and my position is just a pawn of Yulin Weixue." ”

After a long time, Zhang Wucai explained to him his title and the title of his family. Hearing that the other party is a count's family, Carl Solli is now worried that his daughter is not worthy of the other party.

The other party is a powerful earl family of a powerful empire, and he is a declining viscount of a free city-state that has long since refused to recognize the title, which is a bit of a big identity gap.

After a year of study, he also knew that Daming was not monogamous, and in addition to his wife, he could also marry several concubines.

If he is an ordinary person, his daughter can still be his wife, but his status is noble, and his daughter may not be able to be a wife.

But if he can't be a wife, Karlsoli doesn't want his daughter to marry each other, because concubines have no human rights.

Therefore, he began to be cold to Zhang Wu again, and said to Sophia in Latin: "Sophia, the gap in identity is like a cliff, he is above, you are below." It's better to restrain your feelings......"

Sophia could clearly feel the process of her father's change of mind, and she also understood that the identity of these people was not as good as that of the real Ming people.

If the other party is an ordinary soldier, he can love without scruples, but now......

Her good-looking eyes were covered with a layer of gloom, she lowered her head, made a ladylike salute to Zhang Wu, and went back to the cabin without looking back.

Zhang Wu didn't understand what was going on, why he said it was good at the beginning, and he was laughing, but suddenly it changed.

Seeing that Sophia was sad, his heart also became uncomfortable, and he couldn't help asking, "Your Excellency, what did you say just now?" ”

Calsoli hesitated for a moment and said, "Our identity is not worthy of yours, so please don't disturb our lives again, okay?" ”

In Suez, Zhang Wu was attracted to this girl when he saw Sophia for the first time, so he applied to Huang Yuan and Zhang Fengshan, the deputy mountain chief, to be a guide on this ship.

He quickly found out that the other party did not have a man, and through many days of careful contact, he could feel that the other party also had a little interest in him.

But......

Zhang Wu's boiling heart cooled down, although he was not smart, but he also knew that he couldn't make his own decisions about his marriage, let alone find a woman of different races to be his wife.

He only felt extremely distressed, and left silently in despair.

Karlsoli sighed and turned his attention back to the distant shoreline.

Finally came to the Ming Dynasty, and after a whole year, he finally came to this legendary country.

And from the southernmost part of the country to the national capital, it took only two months to walk, which was unimaginable to Karlsoli before.

What a huge country it is, and how can it manage such a large territory?

The artificial wing, known as a glider, circled around and flew away, and the frightened crowd settled down after hearing the sailors' explanation.

Looking at the turbid waters, he knew very well that the fleet had arrived at the mouth of the sea and was about to enter the inland river.

He heard someone shouting Zhang Wu's name, and Zhang Wu, who had a lost face just now, appeared again, he calmly climbed the main mast of the bow of the ship without saying a word, and directed the march of the fleet with a flag on it.

Enko looked enviously at the telescope around his neck and said, "It would be nice if I could have a telescope!" ”

Monte was still angry that his candy was taken by his brother to please the girl, and sneered, "That's impossible, binoculars are military supplies, only the army has them." ”

Enko said firmly: "Then when I am sixteen years old, I will also go to join the army." ”

Eusinho teased, "Then you don't want to marry my Trina?" ”

Everyone on the boat laughed again, only the two children were a little embarrassed, looked at each other, and their hearts beat like drums, and they quickly dodged their eyes.

To the laughter of the crowd, they welcomed several small pilot ships, and they couldn't help but cheer when they saw the flags waving on each other's ships.

The ships began to change direction, the flotilla against the wind began to move westward, the northeast wind turned into a tailwind, and the speed of the flotilla felt much faster.

"Dad, have we finally arrived at Daming?"

Karsoli touched Monte's head and said: "Two months ago, we have already arrived in Daming, but it is the domain of Daming, a month ago, we arrived in the southernmost star city of Daming, and now, we have finally arrived in the mainland of Daming." ”

"Da Ming is really big!"

"Of course the Ming is big, this is the most powerful country in the world. Dad, we will also be Ming people in the future, right? ”

"Yes, as long as we abide by the laws of Daming and contribute to Daming. Ten years later, we will be able to change from residents of the Ming Dynasty to citizens of the Ming Dynasty. ”

When the fleet entered the river, although it was downwind, because it was against the current, the speed of the boat dropped again.

At this time, everyone saw that on the south side of the river, there was a row of boats with no end in sight.

Many of these boats are not seagoing boats, and you can see that the sides of the ships are very low, and there are many oars sticking out, and some of the boats are even equipped with several blades like waterwheels, which look like wheels.

Although they are river boats, some of them are also very tall and even have several floors, and it will definitely take a lot of crew to row these boats.

For hours on end, they couldn't get enough of the view of the south bank, which was close to the sea, but the south bank of the river was flat land.

As for the north shore, that distance is too far to see the edge. The only impression is that it is a huge river.

On the boat, you can see many small villages, scattered in the fields, these villages are all white walls and black tiles, which are very beautiful.

Just by seeing this, you can know that the people of the Ming Dynasty are much better off than those people in Europe.

"Dad, why are those houses smoking?"

Karsoli didn't know what the reason was, and the calm expressions of the crew told him that it was definitely not a fire.

Navarro, a mathematician he knew, couldn't help but ask a passing crew member, who paused for a moment before replying, "It's nothing unusual, it's noon, it's the people cooking." ”

"Does every household cook their own meals?"

"Of course, do you think that the people of the Ming Dynasty are like you Rome and can't even afford a pot?"

Navarro shut up, although he hadn't set foot on the land of Daming yet, he had already felt the huge gap.

In Rome, he was also a man who was less than the top and more than the bottom, but there was only one grill and a clay pot at home. There is only one oven that can bake bread in a block, and if you want to eat bread, you need to go to the bakery to buy it.

This is still in the city, if it is in the countryside, there is only one bakery in a town, and the townspeople have to exchange grain for enough bread for a few days at a time, otherwise they have to queue up every day.

Because of this, when the bread is cold, it becomes a hard wooden stick and becomes a fierce weapon.

Wanting to have a kitchen that can cook is something that only nobles can hope for.

Everyone's faces are full of longing, it seems that being a low-class person in Daming seems to be better than being a nobleman in Rome!

Enko leaned on the guardrail, turned his head and said, "Dad, I want to eat Daming's food, and I can't help but drool when I think of the few meals I've eaten." ”

When his son said this, Karsoli also felt hungry and said, "It is said that it will take three days to reach Yingtianfu, and only when you arrive can you eat delicious food." Enko, you go to your sister to get a few steamed buns to eat, and by the way, sandwich pickles. ”

The army's meals can only be said to be cooked, and they are not delicious at all. On the ship, there is only one hot meal and hot soup a day, and the rest can only eat cold food.

But every festival in the Ming Dynasty, there will always be a delicious meal, and at that time, it will always make them eat a good stomach.

Karlsoli never told his sons that he had been summoned by the grandson of the Ming Emperor once. That time, along with the others, he had a real meal of Da Ming cuisine, the most delicious food he had eaten in decades.

But because he didn't know if there would be a chance in the future, and for fear of arousing the children's hope, he never told them.

If he arrives in Daming, if there is a restaurant that makes such a delicious meal, he will definitely take the children to eat it and let them know what is really delicious.

Even if it is a first-class ship, the cabin is dark and smelly, although the cold wind is gusting, but everyone is wrapped in cotton clothes issued by the Ming Dynasty, standing on the deck to watch the scenery, as long as it does not block the crew from adjusting the direction of the sails.

While eating steamed buns, while looking at the scenery on both sides, a large number of houses appeared on the other side of the river, and this should be a small town.

You can see huge waterwheels erected along the river, one after the other. I don't know, what's the use of building so many waterwheels, isn't it a waste?

Everyone speculated about the purpose of these waterwheels, and as they got closer to the town, they could see countless people gathered on the shore, watching the fleet and pointing their fingers.

And by the edge of a harbor, two huge four-story riverboats were parked, with the royal dragon flag on them.

It's been two hours of walking, and the fleet of boats parked on the shore has been lined up for more than ten miles, and there is still no end in sight ahead.

How many ships are there! Not to mention Rome, even Venice does not have so many ships.

And now, it seems, the task of these ships is only to meet them.

At this time, they heard the shouts of the crew: "Stop the boat for an hour, be careful not to fall into the river." ”

Someone asked, "Why stop?" ”

"The crown princess in the palace is anxious for His Royal Highness and comes to greet His Highness in person. We will have to wait for His Highness to board the clipper before we can continue sailing. ”

Although these people learned some Daming dialects, but in the palace, they still couldn't understand the words of the crown princess, and after listening to the explanations of the soldiers, they knew that it was the mother of His Royal Highness the Taisun who came here to greet them in person.

And the emperor in the palace also wanted to see the grandson as soon as possible, so he sent the latest invention of the Ming Dynasty to meet the grandson.

The speed of this boat is much faster, and it will not take two days to reach Yingtianfu against the current.

They didn't wait long, and then they saw the flagship of His Royal Highness Taisun slowly moving over, and when the boat arrived, they could see the people on the shore boiling, and they suddenly became crazy and cheered.

Especially when the flagship slowly docked, all the people on the shore knelt down one by one, and they all knelt down and kowtowed to the flagship.

At this time, the people of all ethnic groups on the ship were stunned, and they really understood at this time why the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty said that in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was bigger than the gods, and even the gods were sealed by the emperor.

In the hearts of the people of the Ming Dynasty, the royal family is probably bigger than the gods!

And at this time, many people can't help but wonder, is there really a god in this world? Or is God just a better man?

But since childhood, they have received the teachings of the church, and they do not dare to ask such questions, so they can only continue to observe them in the future.

The Ming people did not believe in their gods at all, but they seemed to be better off than they were.

"Mr. Carsoli ......"

Karlsoli turned around and saw Zhang Wu appear in front of him again. His expression was a little serious, but he said firmly: "I have been to Rome and know your customs. You are a nobleman and a learned person, so your daughter cannot be a concubine like the daughter of a serf. I will try to convince my parents that they will accept me as a marriage to Sophia. ”

"If you can get the consent of your family, I won't be an obstacle between you and Sophia." Knowing that the other party was a nobleman, Sophia had a good impression of Zhang Wu, and Karlsoli had no intention of stopping them.

"If my family disagrees, I will ask His Highness to intercede for me, including my aunt, and they will all listen to His Highness."

Karsoli was a little confused and asked, "Who is Your Highness?" Who is your aunt? Aren't your parents the right to decide your marriage? ”

Zhang Wu looked at the flagship to the south, his eyes full of fire. "His Royal Highness is His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson......

Karsoli was stunned and asked cautiously, "Your Royal Highness, is he willing to convince your parents for you?" ”

"Because he is my cousin, my aunt, the crown princess who came to greet him, and his mother."

Carl Soli was a little frightened at this moment, he didn't expect that the "little soldier" in front of him, who had traveled tens of thousands of miles with them and lived and ate together for several months, was actually the cousin of His Royal Highness Taisun, and he had such a "noble" identity.

However, if His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson officiated at the wedding of him and Sophia, he believed that in this distant Ming Dynasty, his viscount status would also be recognized.

On the shore a few hundred meters away from them, Zhu Zhanji had already stepped off the flagship, and while waving to the people, he walked quickly to the building boat docked not far away, and the attendants who followed him couldn't keep up with his footsteps at all.

One step flew onto the second deck of the ship, and before he could enter the door, a trembling figure greeted him, Zhang burst into tears, and shouted in a trembling voice: "My son, it's been three years, and you're finally back!" ”

Zhu Zhanji fell to the ground on his knees and kowtowed. "If the child is not filial, please punish the mother."

Before he could finish speaking, he was hugged by a warm embrace. "It's good to be back...... It's good to come back......"