When the noise was silenced out of the sturdy door, the old man stepped forward and shook hands with Gawain in salute, "Stephen. Gawain. Lusail, oh, and his beautiful lady. After saying that, the old man's eyes swept back to the bedroom in the side corner, where Ingrena, who was leaning against the pillar and revealing half of her body, could only come out and salute him.

"You are the owner of this mansion?" Gawain asked in a polite tone.

"Yes, it was my family's ship that sailed out of the channel just now, and I acted as a guide and lookout from the mast, as the sailors were not skilled enough. This—" said the old man, pointing with his hand, "you have come in through the back door of this mansion, and the front door of the Venetians is all facing the fairway, where I just jumped and went around. The layout of such rooms is conducive to the shipment of goods. However, if you feel cramped to entertain a guest like you, it may make me uneasy. ”

"Where." Gawain continued to be polite, and then he and the old man conversed with each other in the Ausian language, and from the words he could see that the old man was a shrewd and experienced man, and when he had made a few small talks about freight and sales, the two became acquainted, while Ingrid stayed where she was, and listened quietly.

"Since you don't have enough skilled sailors on your business ships, why not hire the group of skiavonites in the square, who should have a lot of experience working with the sea."

When the old man heard this, he smiled modestly, sat down on the couch in the hall, and motioned for Gawain to sit down opposite him, "I am a Venetian nobleman, and in this city, though there are eighty thousand inhabitants. But there are only 4,000 people like me. As for the elites in the meantime, there are only a few hundred. And Your Excellency Gawain, you are from the imperial capital. As you can see, is the struggle between the nobles a matter of course? ”

"That's right, because there's always an innate quota for the sharing of power."

"But in Venice there is no such thing, and every nobleman does not fight privately, but only fights for the republic in solidarity with the outside world." The old man folded his hands together with a certain confident pride.

"Because this city, is it floating on the sea?"

"That's right, you're smart. worthy of the Varyag nobles, who were also merchants. Then the old man frowned, "All the Venetians, nobles and commoners, are like seabirds, and all the seas are home, what can we do on land?" There is no plantation, no wood, no minerals, no citizen army. We can only wander the oceans in search of food, and in exchange for necessary supplies, and in the midst of storms, our walls will not be stronger than anywhere else in the world. Material poverty. In exchange for the shrewdness and strength of the Venetians, in other words, we are not without reason for infighting. It's that there is no such capital at all, in the event of infighting. The old man held his hands up. Then the fingers spread, "The ship of the entire city-state will capsize and sink." No one survives, this is the secret of the unity of the Venetian aristocracy, even if everyone is selfish, but even if they put hypocrisy on their faces, they must obey this basic rule and dare not transgress it. ”

Then the old man leaned his back on the pillows, "And the group of Skiavonians outside the door, you know what they are asking for, is Venetian citizenship." ”

"And you definitely don't want to give it to them, do you? Even though they have been here for many years, they have been serving for many years. Gawain continued to inquire tentatively.

"What kind of animals do you think we Venetians look like?" The old man did not answer directly, but suddenly asked this strange question.

Gawain laughed and said that such an analogy would be rude, and that I would not discuss this topic with the host on a guest occasion. The old man also laughed, and then his expression became serious, "We Venetians are like pigs. ”

To tell the truth, this comparison is afraid that even Gawain did not expect, in this era, all the kingdoms do not say that dragons and eagles are the objects of respect, at least they are also wolves, bears or other fierce beasts, this thin old man actually compares his race to pigs, it is really crying and laughing, you must know that the murals and sculptures in the city of Venice are all based on St. Mark's lion as a totem. But the old man explained seriously, "Pigs are animals that seem to be silent and stupid, but if you throw a stone at a pig in the circle, all the other pigs will instantly gather and attack you fiercely with their fangs, and they will not stop until you are bitten and scarred and run away." In the trough in the pen, the pig is greedy, will only bow its head and eat violently, never look left and right, and each trough has a fixed order, they are the best at self-restraint and management, but also the most xenophobic animals. This is the Venetians, so our pigsty is strictly forbidden for other animals to join, and the fence of the pen is the boundary that cannot be crossed, and once there is a crack in the boundary, then the pigsty is gone. ”

"The contemptible people understand—so I have come not only to sign the treaty, but more importantly as a spectator and observer outside the pigsty." Gawain instantly understood the meaning of the old man's words, and integrated the other party's analogy into his request.

"But as a nobleman, I must remind you that the laws of the pigsty apply only to pigs, not to sheep, oxen, and horses." The old man said calmly.

"It's okay, I only look at the pigsty, not the pigs."

This made the old man laugh again, and he began to pour Gawain a glass of wine from Cyprus, "When our merchants sold them by sea from the Levant to the Bazaar of Pavia, on the edge of Venice, the price of which increased twentyfold. So two hundred years ago, the customs officials of Pavia said in amazement, 'The Venetians don't grow anything, their city-state produces nothing, but they can put on silk clothes and drink fine wine very early.' ”

Then, as Gawain spoke his thoughts slowly and methodically, the old man listened attentively, and by the pillar of the room on the side, Ingrida remained where she was, and listened quietly.

The fresh sea breeze blows in along the terraces and pavilions, and now is the ocean, and of course, the best time of the day in this floating city.

After a long time, Gawain put an end to his words and thoughts, and the old man took half a sip of wine, and then laid down the magnificent wine cup, "For the next few days, there will be no trouble, and you can indeed be a spectator, and you can listen to the senators in the consul's palace, and you can also go to the most prosperous business district of Rialto, and you will stop at the 'chaple' which is connected to the Basilica synagogue (the Venetian system inherited from the ancient Roman Republic, which also had such a council hall). ”

"Then I have to trouble you, Your Excellency, to help me enter the chapel to observe." Gawain immediately expressed his gratitude. (To be continued......)