Chapter 971: Expedition to Europe (8)
Because the speed of writing is very slow, Dong Zhong just talked about his general experience, and he didn't write about how he lived on the island, but even if he didn't have to think about it, he knew that he had lived alone on the island for a few years, and he must have faced all kinds of difficulties, and even a minor illness might kill him, but Dong Zhong didn't say much.
"Princess, how are you doing, and how did you get married to the little prince?" At this time, I saw Dong Zhong write on the paper again, he already knew Zhao Jia's identity, although he felt that Agnes was a little disadvantaged as a concubine, but with Zhao Jia's identity and the traditions of the Great Song Dynasty, it was very rare to be able to accept a foreign woman as a concubine, not to mention that he could also see that Zhao Jia and Agnes had a good relationship, and their son Zhao Hua was also very cute, which also made him very curious about the acquaintance of Zhao Jia and Agnes.
Hearing Dong Zhong ask about this, Agnes was obviously a little shy, but Zhao Jia smiled when she saw this, and then briefly introduced the process of her acquaintance with Agnes and the situation of Agnes in recent years. As a result, when Dong Zhong heard that Agnes was captured as a slave and sold, he was also worried and angry, but when he heard that Zhao Jia appeared later to save Agnes, this made him feel relieved, and at the same time, he finally understood why Agnes was willing to be Zhao Jia's concubine, after all, when she was most lonely and helpless, it was Zhao Jia who saved her.
Although the communication was inconvenient, Agnes and Dong Zhong still talked a lot, especially Agnes also told Dong Zhong that she had found Dong Zhong's family and settled them well, and Dong Zhong's sons had also started a family, and there were more than a dozen grandchildren, which also made Dong Zhong even happier. Zhao Jia has been persuading Dong Zhong to drink. In the end, Dong Zhong was also drunk, and fell asleep on the desk, Zhao Jia asked people to carry him down to rest, and Agnes saw that Dong Zhong was still alive, and he was in a very happy mood, so he also drank a few more glasses at this time. He talked nonsense in Zhao Jia's arms, and then fell asleep deeply.
Early the next morning, Zhao Jia wanted to check the preparation of the supply ships so that he could rush to Europe as soon as possible, but Dong Zhong suddenly took the initiative to ask for a meeting, saying that there was something important to report to him, which made Zhao Jia also very curious, so he asked Dong Zhong to be brought in, only to see the other party come in and salute him. Then he said in a blunt tone: "Little ...... Little prince, are you going to Europe? ”
"Yes, now we are ready to go, while the supply ship is ready." Zhao Jia nodded and said, although he and Agnes didn't tell Dong Zhong the purpose of this trip yesterday, the entire port knew that they were going to Europe, so it was not surprising that Dong Zhong knew about it.
Hearing that Zhao Jia and they were going to Europe, Dong Zhong immediately became excited. wanted to speak but became a little difficult, Zhao Jia hurriedly asked someone to show him a masterpiece. I saw Dong Zhong write on the paper: "Can the little prince postpone the trip, I have something to give to the little prince!" ”
"What's that?" Zhao Jia frowned when he heard this, because their itinerary was planned and could not be changed, but Dong Zhong was Agnes's teacher and had saved her life. Therefore, Zhao Jia is not good to refuse directly.
"Map, a map of Europe and Africa!" Dong Zhong wrote again on paper.
"What, you have a map, where are you now?" Zhao Jia also stood up excitedly when he heard this, yesterday he and General Xu were worried about the establishment of the port. Because they are not familiar with the voyage below at all, but if there is a map, everything is not a problem, but it is not surprising to think about it, Dong Zhong is the first Song person to reach Europe after all, and it is normal to have such a map in his hand.
However, Dong Zhong smiled bitterly at this time, and then continued to write on the paper: "Originally, when I came back from Europe, I drew a very detailed set of charts, but unfortunately my main ship sank on the road, and the charts were gone, and then I was stranded on the island, and I relied on my own memory to draw a map along the route of Europe and Africa when I was bored, although I dare not guarantee that it is very accurate, but at least eighty or ninety percent of the accuracy, and I have also made some marks for some natural and excellent ports." ”
When I wrote this, I saw Dong Zhong pause for a moment and then wrote: "It's just that I don't have a pen and paper on the desert island, so I can only draw the map on the stone wall where I live, and then I thought of the sand table used by the military, so I built a big sand table in the place where I lived, and marked all the terrain on it, but the sand table was too big and inconvenient to carry, so I left it on the island." ”
"Then what are you waiting for, I'll have someone prepare the boat, let's go and get the sand table together!" Zhao Jia said excitedly at this time, Dong Zhong also meant this, and with Zhao Jia's order, a battleship was immediately ready to set sail.
I heard that I was going to the island where Dong Zhong lived, but not only did Agnes clamoring to go, but even Hu Yanqing was very interested in going to see it after hearing about it, and even General Xu wanted to go, but unfortunately Niutougang couldn't leave him at all, so he could only watch Zhao Yan and them leave.
The small island where Dong Zhong lives is in the northeast of Niutou Harbor, he drifted for a few days to reach Niutou Harbor, but with the speed of the Great Song Dynasty warship, it only took half a day to arrive, this is indeed a small archipelago, there are six or seven small islands clustered together, of which the westernmost island is the largest, the island is covered by dense forests, Dong Zhong used to live on this island.
Zhao Jia and their warship stopped on the southwest side of the island, because the draft of the battleship was too deep, so they could not dock on the island, so they could only anchor nearby, and then took a small boat to the island, Dong Zhong lived in a cave not far from this beach, Zhao Jia and they followed Dong Zhong through a jungle, and soon came to a clearing, only to see that this has been reclaimed a flat land, on which some unknown plants are planted, it seems that this should be Dong Zhong's farmland, but the crops planted are not common wheat and rice, Rather, it is some of the island's specialties.
Passing through this simple farmland, you came to a mountain wall, only to see that this mountain wall is surrounded by a semicircular fence, open the small door on the fence, you can see a small courtyard, the courtyard is scattered with some simple wooden or stone tools, in addition to some animal fur, and on the stone wall facing the door, there is a small cave, after entering the cave, you will find that it is a more extensive hall, and on the ground of the cave, there is a sand table with a large area, It's a topographic map of Africa and Europe.
"That's it, in order to pass the lonely time, I put all my energy into making this sand table." Dong Zhong wrote on the paper at this time, and then looked at the cave where he had lived for several years, and his eyes also showed a somewhat complicated look.
Zhao Jia also stepped forward very excitedly at this time, looked at this sand table, he also has a world map in his hand, although it is not accurate, but the approximate coastline shape of Africa and Europe is still known, now you can find that the sand table in front of you is the coastline of Europe and Africa, and it is more accurate than the map in his hand, some of which are also marked with small pieces of wood by Dong Zhong Some local conditions, and some of them can be used as ports.
Seeing this accurate sand table, Zhao Jia couldn't help but be surprised, and thanked Dong Zhong at the moment, and then asked people to find a way to transport the sand table out, but Dong Zhong made the sand table just to consume time, and never thought about transporting it out, so the sand table was connected to the ground below, but this also made it difficult for Zhao Jia and them, the terrain of the sand table was made of clay and was not easy to deform, so Zhao Jia and they divided the sand table into many small pieces, and then put them on the wooden board and transported them out piece by piece, and then spliced them together when they arrived on the boat.
These tedious things are naturally done by other people, and Agnes is also very curious about the place where Dong Zhong lives, so Dong Zhong took her and Zhao Jia around the neighborhood, in addition to the farmland, Dong Zhong also raised some livestock on the island, but he let them go when he left before, and he also planted a fruit forest, where the climate is hot, and there are fresh fruits to eat all year round.
As Dong Zhong walked around the area where he lived, but this only occupied a small part of the island, and there were most other areas that Dong Zhong had never even visited, because there were many dangerous beasts and poisonous insects in the jungle, Dong Zhong was almost poisoned to death by a snake once, and it took half a month to come back to life, and since then he has never dared to trespass on the island.
After Zhao Jia and the others turned around, the sand table was finally sent to the boat, and they should go back, but Dong Zhong showed a nostalgic look at this time, after all, he has lived here for a few years, people have feelings, and he was bent on surviving before, so he didn't have anything when he left, but now that his life is guaranteed, when he leaves again, he is naturally a little reluctant, especially the tools in the yard are all made by him little by little, which makes him have the urge to empty all the yards.
Seeing Dong Zhong's appearance, Zhao Jia suddenly smiled and said: "Mr. Dong, this island was discovered by you first, and you have lived on the island for so many years, you must have a lot of affection for this island, why don't you wait until I go back, I will intercede with my father and give you this island?" ”
"This ...... Can it really be? Dong Zhong couldn't help but be excited when he heard this, and even spoke a little more fluently.
"Of course, this time the gentleman gave us the map, which helped us a lot, and a small reward is nothing." Zhao Jia said confidently, this is just an overseas desert island, and it is too far away from the Great Song Dynasty, so it is not difficult to reward it to a private person.
Hearing Zhao Jia's promise, Dong Zhong was also very grateful, but then he hesitated for a moment, and suddenly wrote on the paper with a firm expression: "Little prince, the princess told me yesterday that Dong's family is living very well now, and since this is the case, I don't have anything to worry about, so this time I want to go to Europe with the little prince!" (To be continued.) )