"Your Royal Highness King Wu, originally I was going to inspect the training of the navy today, but because of your arrival, this inspection has been postponed to tomorrow, if Your Highness is interested, can you go with me to inspect the navy tomorrow afternoon?" Constans II and Irina personally sent Li Ke out of the door, and then said with a smile.

After finally coming to Rome, Li Ke naturally wanted to learn about Rome's military strength, so after hearing the invitation of Constans II, he immediately said very happily: "Your Majesty invited, Li Ke is naturally flattered, and I have long heard that the Roman navy is strong, and I just happened to see it!" ”

Constans II had long known that Li Ke would agree, so he was not surprised, but he immediately said: "His Royal Highness the King of Qi is polite, if you talk about the strength of the navy, but also the navy of the Tang Dynasty and the Great Qi, today we also saw the battleship that came with His Highness, the size is twice as large as our largest warship, and it is covered with weapons, in addition, we also heard that the Han people have a powerful weapon called firearms, so we all want to see it, I wonder if Your Highness can let your warship also participate in tomorrow's drill?" ”

"This ......" Li Ke hesitated for a while after hearing this, although they were allies with Rome, they couldn't expose everything to each other, especially firearms, which were infinitely powerful weapons.

However, now it was Constans II who personally requested, which made it difficult for Li Ke to refuse, so he thought about it and replied: "Your Majesty, there is no problem for warships to participate in the exercise, but the use of firearms is very complicated, I will ask the officers for their opinions after I go back, and how about giving you an answer tomorrow morning?" ”

Constans II had only heard of artillery and knew that it was a top-secret weapon of the Tang Dynasty. It will definitely not be easy to show people, so Li Ke's reaction is not surprising. nodded in agreement at the moment, and then sent Li Ke to the carriage with Irina.

Originally, Li Ke wanted to go back. Call Wang Fangyi and Cen Changqian together to discuss whether to use artillery in tomorrow's drill? But just as he got into the carriage, he happened to see Wang Fangyi and Lu Wan come out together, and the three of them were accompanied by five or six young aristocratic women, including plump young women and young girls. Seeing that the three of them all had lewd smiles on their faces, Li Ke felt that if he called them back at this time, it would be a little too unkind.

Come to think of it. Li Ke sighed helplessly, and took Chris's hand and got into the carriage. After such a long intense voyage at sea, it's time for them to relax, and it's not too late to talk to the three of them tomorrow morning.

That night, Li Ke and Coris and others rested in the residence arranged by Constans II, originally Constantinople had a special place to receive envoys, but because Li Ke's status was too noble, ordinary places were not worthy of him at all, so Constans II arranged them in a courtyard not far from the palace. The annex is his private own.

After resting for a night, Li Ke dressed and washed under the service of Chris, and then after breakfast, he waited for Wang Fangyi and the three of them in the hall of the other courtyard. The result is less than a cup of tea. Wang Fangyi and the three of them came back together, among which Wang Fangyi and Lu Wan both had smug expressions, only Cen Changqian looked a little out of spirits.

"Changqian. Why do you look like this? Li Ke asked with some surprise, and at the same time he was a little worried in his heart. Almost all the men in Rome are masculine, and Cen Changqian looks like a white and tender scholar. It may really be taken by a man.

However, before Cen Changqian could answer Li Ke's question, Lu Wan next to him smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry, Mr. Cen is just physically exhausted, and he will be fine after a few days of rest." ”

"Exhausted?" Li Ke looked at Cen Changqian with some amusement, guessing in his heart what the other party experienced last night? It's just that Cen Changqian smiled bitterly, and didn't seem to want to explain.

At this time, Wang Fangyi laughed and said: "Your Highness doesn't know, last night Brother Changqian was extraordinary, there were three noble girls pestering him, and he didn't know how to refuse, so he followed the three girls out, and when he came back, he became like this." ”

was told the reason by Wang Fangyi's words, Cen Changqian couldn't help but glance at the other party, but thinking of the three beautiful girls last night, Wang Fangyi's eyes also flashed a trace of intoxication. Before he came, he had already heard that Rome was open, and that some young girls and young women had taken the initiative to talk to each other at the banquet, which made them understand the meaning.

It's a pity that although Cen Changqian is shrewd, he doesn't know how to refuse women, and the women in Rome are too unrestrained, this night, even with his young body, he almost can't get out of bed, and his legs are still a little weak.

After a few jokes, Li Ke told the invitation and request of Constans II last night, while Lu Wan and Coris consciously avoided it, after all, this kind of military affairs are not something they can participate in.

I saw Wang Fangyi think for a moment, and then said decisively: "Your Highness, since Constans II can call out the name firearms, it seems that the other party should have heard of the power of firearms, but they don't know that firearms are actually divided into many kinds, so for reasons of secrecy, I think we can only show grenades This kind of small power firearms, as for the guns on the ship, it is better not to expose them for the time being." ”

Wang Fangyi is mainly considered from the military aspect, after all, how powerful firearms are, but when the power of firearms is exposed to others, then the other party may think of a way to deal with it, so only when a weapon unknown to the enemy is used on the battlefield, can it exert its maximum power. Even if Rome was their ally, it was better to keep some of this military secret.

However, as soon as Wang Fangyi's words fell, Cen Changqian next to him said: "Brother Fang Yi's words are a little too one-sided, although you can fool the past with grenades, and it is indeed possible to keep it secret for the time being in the military, but you ignore one point, Rome is now our ally, at least for ten years, we will not have any big conflict with each other, and with the exchange between the two places, the Romans must have more understanding of firearms, if they know that we have powerful artillery on our ship in the future, they will not use it, This obviously influenced the impression of us by Constans II, as well as by the Roman aristocracy. ”

Speaking of this, Cen Changqian took a breath, and then continued: "So if you don't show the most powerful firearms, then what you get is only a short-term news blockade of the Romans, but in exchange for the distrust of the Romans, this is obviously not worth it." ”

Li Ke also understood when he heard this, and then said: "Changqian's analysis is good, we can show the strongest firearms, and we can also use this to show the Romans our strength, especially the power of artillery, which will inevitably make the Romans have a sense of awe for us, which can not only strengthen the alliance between each other, but even if there is any friction with the Romans in the future, it can also make the Romans weigh it!" ”

Wang Fangyi heard the conversation between Li Ke and Cen Changqian, and then he also came to his senses, and nodded at the moment: "Your Highness and Changqian have seen it thoroughly, then I will order the soldiers on the warship to prepare now, and let the Romans feel the shock this afternoon?" ”

"Haha, okay, let's see if we can invite Constans II to the battleship, I believe that this kind of close-up experience of artillery bombardment will make him unforgettable for the rest of his life!" Li Ke also said with a laugh.

At that moment, Li Ke immediately sent someone to inform Constans II, in order to show the friendship between the Tang Dynasty, the Great Qi and Rome, the officers in the warship had agreed to display the most powerful firearms, which made Constans II very happy, and he also sent someone to inform some military nobles in the city, ready to let everyone see the mysterious firearms from the Tang Dynasty.

Soon in the afternoon, Li Ke took Chrys, Wang Fangyi, and Cen Changqian to the Golden Horn in a carriage sent by Constans II. Cen Changqian is young after all, and after resting for a morning, his spirit has almost recovered, and this time he also has to see the military strength of the Romans with his own eyes, so naturally he also has to come together.

The Golden Horn was not only the main commercial port of Constantinople, but also the base of the navy, with a special channel for warships, and the latter half of the Golden Horn was filled with Roman warships of all kinds.

When Li Ke and they came, Constans II and Empress Irina were already standing next to the military port, and behind the couple, there was a small group of military nobles, it seemed that there were about thirty-four, of which there were two people in the front, and Li Ke knew both, the one on the right was the Prince of Theodosius, that is, the younger brother of Constans II, during the banquet yesterday, he and Li Ke sat at the same table, and the other was Forris, who had troubled Li Ke.

"His Royal Highness King Wu is late, I wonder if your warship is ready?" When Constans II saw Li Ke and them coming, he immediately smiled and smiled, and Irina next to him also smiled at Li Ke.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, General Wang has already gone to inform the warship, and I believe that the ship will be sailed over soon." Li Ke also said with a smile. This is the forbidden place of the Romans' navy, and Li Ke's ship naturally can't stop here, so when they arrived at the Golden Horn just now, Wang Fangyi had already gone to inform the warship and asked them to sail the ship over.

While the two were talking, in the bay not far away, four tall warships under the command of Wang Fangyi, puffed up their sails and sailed smoothly, and the Roman navy had already prepared to meet them immediately and arrange for them to go to the designated position.

"Your Majesty, the navy is ready to start the drill at any time!" That's when Forries stepped forward to report. He was the consul of the navy and was in charge of this exercise, but when he spoke, his eyes looked at Li Ke with some provocation. He has absolute confidence in his own navy, and is ready to let Li Ke see the true combat power of the Roman navy! (To be continued......)