Arriving in La Défense, the capital of the Nantes Empire, the atmosphere here is completely different from that of Port-Poles, which is far from the industrial hustle and bustle of Port-Pool, but is full of medieval elegance and tranquility of the Western Continent. It is not that the Nantes Empire did not develop industry, in fact, since the Saar Empire began to use steam engines on a large scale, all countries in the Western Continent began to introduce steam engines, and the industrial output value of each country began to surge year after year. James, who invented the reciprocating steam engine, made a fortune, and with James's example, a large number of young people who were keen on scientific research appeared in all countries of the Western Continent, and the Western Continent began to popularize education, so that the invention and creation boom in these countries rose higher and higher.

Although the western continent is all Caucasians, their races are relatively mixed, and there are hundreds of races in dozens of countries, among which the larger ones are Aryans, Saxons, Gauls, Vikings, and so on. Knowing this made Fang Xiaoyu very strange, for what kind of race he had never heard of in the Lanfang Empire.

Later, he asked Wu Yu to learn that the population composition of the Eastern Continent was relatively simple, except for the Monte Empire which was the Umeng people, the U people of the U country, the Ainu people of the Ezo country and the Nuer people of the New Guinea country, other countries belonged to the category of the Chinese people, especially the Lanfang Empire was a single-ethnic country of the Chinese people, which made Fang Xiaoyu more satisfied, at least the racial name of this life and the Chinese are still a little bit sideline.

Fang Xiaoyu walked on the streets of La Défense, looking at the pedestrians rushing by, and he felt like he was back in those European towns on earth. The only difference is that instead of cars, there are four-wheeled carriages driven by a different number of horses. Just as Fang Xiaoyu took Elena and a translator into a street full of taverns and nightclubs, a commotion attracted Fang Xiaoyu's attention.

They walked over to see the excitement and found a tavern owner yelling at a middle-aged man in a shabby dress on the street. The middle-aged man had a stubble-covered face and a decadent look, with unkempt brown hair and a large wine stain on the front of his clothes. He squinted and lay on the ground, letting the tavernkeeper yell and kick him every now and then, but he didn't react in the slightest.

Fang Xiaoyu asked the translator, and the translator replied that the middle-aged man didn't pay for drinking, and the boss was scolding him. Fang Xiaoyu couldn't bear to look at it, and stepped forward to help the middle-aged man up. Seeing a well-dressed Eastern Mainlander pick up the young man, the tavern owner didn't dare to go up and kick again, although he was still muttering something in his mouth.

Fang Xiaoyu, who was moved by compassion, turned his head and asked the translator: "Go and ask the tavern owner, how much this middle-aged man owes him, and we will pay it." The interpreter asked, and then Elena took out some money to pay the bill, and the boss glanced at the middle-aged man, and returned to his tavern without saying anything.

At this time, the middle-aged man opened his blood-red eyes burned by alcohol, glanced at Fang Xiaoyu and didn't say anything, and then closed them again. Fang Xiaoyu said to the translator: "You ask him where he lives, and we will send him home." ”

"No need." A voice with a somewhat strange accent sounded, although it made Fang Xiaoyu feel a little strange when he heard it, but it was indeed the most popular Chinese language in the Eastern Continent, that is, the official language of the Lanfang Empire. The middle-aged man broke free from Fang Xiaoyu's arm, stood up straight, and shook slightly, and said to Xiaoyu: "Xie Lu, thank you for helping me pay for the wine, I'd better go back by myself." Fang Xiaoyu was overjoyed and said: "It turns out that you can speak Chinese, that's really good." The middle-aged man said: "When I was in college, there were a few classmates from the Lanfang Empire who I learned Mandarin from them. ”

Fang Xiaoyu said: "Really? That's such a coincidence, I'm also from the Lanfang Empire. Did you go to college? What are you studying? The middle-aged man said, "I learned to build ships, but I don't do a good job, I always want to make a kind of ship that sails underwater, and all the shipyards think my idea is impossible and refuse to hire me, so I am so poor." ”

Fang Xiaoyu was surprised: "A boat sailing underwater? That's not a submarine? The middle-aged man said, "Do you know that there is such a boat?" Fang Xiaoyu said: "I don't know if there is a way now, but I also have such an idea." The middle-aged man came to his senses when he heard Fang Xiaoyu's words, he stretched out his hand and said, "Let me introduce myself first, my name is Huo Lan, a ship designer." Fang Xiaoyu shook hands with him with a smile and said, "My name is Fang Xiaoyu and I am a soldier. ”

"A soldier? You? Huo Lan looked up and down Fang Xiaoyu, who was just twelve years old, in disbelief. Fang Xiaoyu smiled: "Yes, a soldier." I am an army colonel in the Lanfang Empire. Holland said, "Oh my God, you're such a genius. ”

In order not to surprise Huo Lan too much, Fang Xiaoyu had to explain with a reason that he could accept: "The Lanfang Empire is different from the Western Continent, and people with family backgrounds are always promoted very quickly. Holland said: "I don't know about this, but it's strange that an army colonel is interested in the navy." Fang Xiaoyu smiled: "Maybe we are all a little unprofessional. After saying that, the two of them laughed at the same time.

Knowing Fang Xiaoyu, a person who has the same hobbies as him, made Huo Lan very happy, and the two of them stood on the side of the road to exchange their views on submarines. After a warm conversation, Huo Lan took the initiative to invite him to his home as a guest, and Fang Xiaoyu gladly accepted his invitation.

It wasn't until they were about to go to Huo Lan's house that Huo Lan saw Elena behind Fang Xiaoyu, and he exclaimed, "Oh my God, there is such an outstanding beauty in the world. Dear Fang, is she your wife? ”

Fang Xiaoyu looked at Elena and said, "So far, she is just my bodyguard, but it may not be in the future." Fang Xiaoyu's words Elena blushed, and glanced at Fang Xiaoyu with some disgust, in fact, after a year of contact, Elena also has a good impression of this almost omnipotent young master.

Holland suddenly said, "Yes, I forgot your age. Obviously, Huo Lan's character is very good, and after identifying Elena as Fang Xiaoyu's future wife, he no longer pays attention to her. Fang Xiaoyu and Huo Lan chatted while walking, and soon came to Huo Lan's house.

Holland's home is a bit shabby, but it's a small two-story building after all, and it looks pretty good from the outside. As soon as Fang Xiaoyu walked into the small building, a rough voice sounded from the second floor: "Huo Lan, are you back?" Holland replied loudly, "It's me, dear big brother Tesla." ”

Soon a burly middle-aged man in pajamas, his unkempt hair like a long-abandoned bird's nest, and his knecked hands holding a polished walnut pipe looked like a rough mine foreman.

When Tesla saw Fang Xiaoyu and the others standing behind Holland, he was stunned for a moment, and then immediately changed to Chinese and asked: "These are the ......" Holland said: "These are the guests I invited, and they saved me at the door of the tavern." ”

Tesla sighed and said, "You went to the tavern to drink again, can't you keep more money?" Always let Xu worry about us. Holland blushed a little and said, "I won't go drinking again in the future." Fang Xiaoyu smiled: "If you want to drink, I'll give you money." Holland said: "How can I do it, I can't always spend my friend's money." ”

"Are you spending less money on your friends?" A shrill voice came from the doorway, and a young man who had just come in said. Holland turned around and waved his fist at the young man who had just come in and said, "Bentz, aren't you just like me?" The man named Benz blushed and said, "It's all those people who don't know anything, and they insist that the steam engine is the best machine, that my gas engine is just a big bomb and can't be used at all, which is simply an insult to my intelligence." ”

"Gas engine?" Fang Xiaoyu looked at the man named Benz in surprise. He knew that the gas engine was indeed not practical, but it was the ancestor of the internal combustion engine, and as long as it was developed, gasoline engines, diesel engines and even jet engines were not dreams.

Fang Xiaoyu saluted Benz and said, "If you want, Mr. Benz, I am willing to see your invention." The man named Benz was stunned when he saw the stranger talking to him. Huo Lan quickly explained: "This is my new acquaintance Fang Xiaoyu, he is a very friendly person. Benz nodded at him and said, "Hello young man, I like people from the Eastern Continent, they are always very pragmatic, unlike the three of us, who are whimsical every day. ”