The Republic of Genoa was one of the most important maritime powers in the Mediterranean, relying entirely on maritime trade and developing in construction, shipbuilding and other handicrafts.

The merchants of the Republic of Genoa had long since penetrated into Asia and established some indirect trade links with the major countries of Asia, but that was only a sporadic incident.

It was not until a few years ago that the New Oriental Group personally established a trading station in the Republic of Genoa, which marked the formal formation of the commercial development of the East and the West.

At this time, there were also some large, medium, small and large Song merchants who dared to take risks.

It was not too early for Li Ao to come to the Republic of Genoa. Of course, he doesn't care about businesses that others see as lucrative profits.

He was only interested in arms.

On January 1, 1281, the Flyer docked at the port of Genoa.

At this time, most of the sea ships moored in the port of Genoa were sailing ships or karak ships------ and the Jingwei was very conspicuous among them, but in the eyes of the tax officer of the port, it was not surprising, because he had seen the sea ships of the New Oriental Company, they were about the same shape, and they were not as big as others.

The tax collector boarded the Flyer with two retinues, expecting to receive another large sum of taxes.

However, when he saw the hold, he was surprised------- they were not here to trade!

Li Ao said through an interpreter: "I have come this time at the invitation of your governor, just to demonstrate and sell arms------

With that, he handed the tax collector a blank piece of paper, on which were written in some Latin script, and stamped with the seal of the governor of Genoa.

The white paper was produced on the island of Liuqiu, not the parchment originally used by the Republic of Genoa------ even if it was transported here from thousands of miles away, the white paper was far cheaper than the parchment, and I don't know which shop made a lot of gold and silver.

The tax collector shrugged his shoulders regretfully and said: "The most honorable Republic of Genoa welcomes merchants from distant afar------"

"Thank you! According to the rules of our request, I should give you a gift------"

Li Ao snapped his fingers, and one of his attendants gave him a small bamboo box, which contained a bamboo tube of tea leaves, a terracotta teapot and five terracotta teacups.

The tax collector was delighted and exclaimed, "The oriental tea here is brewed in hot water!" May I ask if it's Da Song tea or Liuqiu tea?! ”

Li Ao rolled his eyes, oh my God, this guy can tell the difference between two different teas!

"-------I'm a Liuqiu businessman, of course I drink Liuqiu tea."

"That's good, too!"

The tax collector happily disembarked, although he only received the berthing fee this time.

Li Ao said proudly: "In addition to begging for customs, there are many places in the world that accept gifts------

Wallace said with some melancholy: "Edward I the Long Legs is already a tyrannical monarch, if he has your arms again------"

"Haha, my friend!"

Li Ao patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's not an overnight thing------ you can't guess what will happen if the King of France has arms first!" ”

Wallace shook his head, indicating that he couldn't guess.

At this time, a light rain fell in the port of Genoa.

Wallace watched sadly as Li Ao put on a whale skin trench coat, stepped on straight leather boots, held a black cloth umbrella, and landed ashore with four retinues, they brought a lot of luggage------ he really couldn't guess what Li Ao would bring to this place or to Scotland, but he was always a little uneasy.

It makes sense that Li Ao chose the Republic of Genoa first, at a time when the city self-government was planning to seize Corsica in the Republic of Pisa, as well as the two Sicilies of the Kingdom of Aragon.

The reason is simple, they have a well-developed maritime trade, they also have a strong shipbuilding capacity, and even a huge source of funds, they can also get the full support of the Milan family at any time, and they can build tens of thousands of mercenaries at will------ but they have no food production area!

The governors and parliamentarians of Genoa were not stupid, and they knew the truth that there was no food and instability!

Therefore, they were attracted by the fertile farmland of Corsica and the two Sicilian islands.

In the distance, the flag of St. George, red cross on a white background, fluttering in the drizzle, was the flag of the Republic of Genoa.

Wallace knew that decades earlier, when Richard the Lionheart had led the Crusades under the banner of St. George, he thought it had brought him good fortune, so he brought it back to England as the emblem of his country.

At that time, the Republic of Genoa had a rule that all Crusader ships departing from the port of Genoa must fly the flag of St. George, which indicates that the crusade was sponsored by the Republic of Genoa.

Wallace didn't want to go ashore, he knew that the whole city of Genoa was dark and damp at this time, far less comfortable than in the cabin.

Especially when the kerosene gas lamp is lit in the cabin, it not only brings light, but also drives away moisture.

At night, in the dark port of Genoa, in addition to the lighthouse on the high place, only the Feilian is brightly lit, which is the envy of other sea ships.

Kerosene lamps were probably still quite expensive for the average sea vessel in the port of Genoa.

At ten o'clock in the evening, a few kerosene gas lamps were lit up in the port of Genoa, and Wallace guessed that they had returned.

Sure enough, it was Li Ao who came back with someone.

As soon as he got on the boat, he asked the chef to prepare some cold food and let everyone drink to congratulate.

Li Ao said: "That's a group of turtles! They cut the price with me for two hours------ but they bought a thousand guns and ten guns!!

Haha, twenty times the profit!! ”

The crowd cheered.

Wallace also raised his glass to congratulate.

"It took those turtles an hour just to figure out the difference between a flintlock pistol and an arquebus! Ha ha!! ”

Wallace understood that a thousand branches looked like a few, but when they were useful in the war, he didn't know how much they would need in the future------ he had no doubt that Li Ao might sell the same arms to the Republic of Pisa and the Kingdom of Aragon.

Yes, he was just a qualified arms dealer.

On this night, Li Ao still had a little regret that the people from the New Oriental Group here did not come to visit the Feilian.

He said drunkly: "The people of the New Oriental Group obviously underestimate us------ we are just small and medium-sized businessmen in their eyes------- okay, I'll visit them tomorrow."

Zhang Island Master has not set up a post office here, so we can only bring letters to each other. ”

Wallace took the initiative to help him and comforted him, saying, "There will be, there will be soon." ”

Li Ao said drunkenly: "Lao Hua, do you know why you are lucky? Because you can take the initiative to do good deeds------ this is the same as me, except for the poor devils in Constantinople, you see, I am always lucky as a good man------ by the way, next time remind me to bring my four-wheeled carriage, their carriage smells strange, but it smokes me! ”

Wallace easily sent him back to his master's rest cabin, undressed him and put him on shoes, and let him sleep soundly.

After he returned to the cabin by himself, he thought about it, and said goodbye to Li Ao tomorrow.

There were ships from the port of Genoa to London every day, and he had no need to trouble anyone else.