The power of the crossbow shocked the Byzantines.

After a long time, John II slapped his face fiercely and exclaimed, "Good! ”

He ran to Ming Jian excitedly and said, "Brother, there are so many divine weapons in the Great Song Dynasty!" I'm very satisfied, brother, this kind of bow and crossbow, brother too! You make an offer! ”

Ming Jian conquered John II as soon as he saw these two things, yes, there is no need to show this Lianzhu firecracker, besides, there are not many of these things, and those guys from the Great Song Firearms Manufacturing Bureau are still studying imitations.

"Brother John, these two weapons are called Pu Dao and Crossbow respectively, there are a lot of Pu Knives, the younger brother can give you 10,000, the cross crossbow is a bit less, the younger brother can only give you 500, however, you can use these 500 cross crossbows to form a special force, when fighting, when using it at a critical time, maybe it can play a surprise effect." Ming Jian said.

John II said with a smile: "What my brother said, my brother has been taught, although there are a little fewer weapons, but it is not a problem to arm a strong army." Let's go, brother, my brother is going to put on a big banquet to catch the wind and wash the dust for you! ”

John II did what he said, and the banquet was soon set up.

John II ordered his ministers to go to the banquet together, and introduced Ming Jian one by one.

The bureaucracy of the Byzantine Empire is still simple, in addition to the deacon chief, there is also a mayor of Constantinople, a minister of justice, and a military attaché, who is the current military governor of Byzantium, and several senators of the senate, gathered a table, which was quite lively.

As soon as the banquet began, John II said in an almost flattering tone: "Brother, it is really a blessing from the Lord for our Byzantine Empire to have such a friend as the Great Song Dynasty, come, let's have a toast and celebrate the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Great Song Dynasty, and we will always be friends!" ”

After drinking this glass of wine, Ming Jian said with a smile: "The Great Song Dynasty is naturally a friend of Byzantium, and our two countries are both civilized countries, so naturally they should not be invaded by foreign enemies. The little Seljuks actually destroyed this civilization, and our Great Song Dynasty couldn't stand it! The two of us cooperate to maintain the order of the world, come, brother, let's have another drink! ”

Ming Jian's words made the Byzantines very happy, but Ming Jian didn't tell a lie.

Indeed, Byzantium has a very long history, almost 800 years now, and at this rate, it can last for more than 200 years, which is longer than the historical Song Dynasty.

This shows that the Byzantine Empire still has its advantages, otherwise why would people live longer than you?

"The Chinese civilization also makes us admire Byzantium, after so many years, no matter whether your dynasty is replaced or not, the newly established country can always continue the civilization of the past, therefore, Huaxia will always stand, we should have become friends a long time ago, as long as our two great powers join forces, this world, there will be no more opponents for us!"

John II had a rare look, and as soon as he said this, the Byzantine officials all looked at him.

Ming Jian secretly thought that this John II must be an unreliable emperor in ordinary times, he smiled and said, "I hope so." ”

For the Great Song Dynasty, the deacon chief Uliwei knew more, so he asked a lot of questions about the Great Song Dynasty.

For example, the population of the Great Song Dynasty, the economic level of the Great Song Dynasty, the size of the city, the military structure, etc., Uliwei asked in detail.

Ming Jian did not exaggerate, but told the basic situation of the Great Song Dynasty, and when he said that the Great Song Dynasty had a population of nearly 100 million, the Byzantines were stunned.

At its peak, the population of Byzantium was only 20 million, and the Great Song Dynasty was equivalent to five Byzantiums.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, the Great Song Dynasty is so prosperous and rich, this is really good, since our two countries are going to conclude diplomatic relations, can we Byzantium send a study group to the Great Song Dynasty to study?" Ulivi said excitedly.

It can be seen that this Ulivi is a man of action, but unfortunately, the current deacon chief has no rights in Byzantium.

John II glanced at Ulevi and felt that he was a bit too much, Byzantium was so developed, what else did he learn from the Great Song Dynasty?

However, he still gave Uliwei a face, and said: "Brother, you have to help my brother in this matter, and my brother will send a fleet to send fifty people to the Great Song Dynasty to study, what do you think?" ”

Ming Jian nodded and said, "This is no problem, our Great Song Dynasty and Byzantium can send missions to each other, and you also have a place for us to learn." ”

Ming Jian's words made John II very useful, Byzantium boasted of being a great power, John II naturally also hoped to be respected by Ming Jian, and Ming Jian's modesty satisfied John II's self-esteem.

"Very good, our two countries will sign an agreement and conclude diplomatic relations immediately! Haha, the Byzantine Empire will be carried forward again in my hands! John II smiled with satisfaction.

After the banquet, Ming Jian signaled that he would meet with John II alone, and John II asked the ministers to step down.

"Brother, tell me, what's the matter?" John II said.

Ming Jian said, "Brother John, how many troops do you have now?" How many warriors are there? ”

When John II heard this, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Hey, brother, I can't hide it, the Germans and Normans are often harassing now, and their tactics of encroachment make us miserable." And the Seljuks, too, are ready to attack Constantinople from Asia Minor at any time, and now the Byzantine army is very scattered, so that my brother and I will take care of one thing and the other. ”

Ming Jian said: "This matter, Da Song can help you, weapons and equipment can be sent soon, and you can also help you form mercenaries, how much do you want?" ”

Ming Jian wanted to send the Japanese stupid man to the battlefield of Byzantium and help Byzantium consolidate the situation first.

Mercenaries are not unprecedented, the Seljuk Turks once served as mercenaries for the Arab Empire, since the Japanese stupid men are so aggressive, then let them come to Byzantium to earn money, fight well, and then they will be the heroes of Byzantium, if they don't fight well, it's fate.

"Mercenaries? Brother, what price does Byzantium have to pay? John II asked in surprise.

Ming Jian smiled: "Byzantium needs to settle mercenaries, just give them silver and women." ”

John II's face looked better when he heard this, and with this request, the Byzantine Empire was no problem, women could plunder through war, and silver Byzantium had.

"Okay, that's it, brother, I want 100,000 mercenaries!" John II said proudly.

Ming Jian was also satisfied, with the help of the Khitans and Byzantines, the Great Song Dynasty could easily develop its own GDP!