The day after the end of the march, a large number of soldiers began to leave Constantinople at the legion's garrison. For the next two days, troops left Constantinople every day, but no Constantinople soldiers returned home. Sheila accompanied her mother to the barracks reception to inquire, and before she reached the door, she saw that a large group of people had gathered outside. Before Sheila's mother and daughter arrived, there were already people in the crowd who greeted them, all of whom were military dependents they knew.

Sheila's mother talked to the men, and Sheila knew after a few words that the local soldiers of Constantinople were not allowed to go home. The local military families complained repeatedly, and Sheila didn't want to listen to these people's nonsense, so she went to the front of the bulletin board to look. There should be an official notice from the Legion there. At least in the past, official notices were posted.

There weren't many people in front of the bulletin board, so Sheila didn't have to squeeze to get to the front. Sure enough, a notice was clearly written in Greek, and the Roman legion's victory leave arrangement stipulated that the soldiers of the local legions in Constantinople could leave the barracks only after all the soldiers on leave in a group outside of Constantinople. The reason is to prevent disorder.

Sheila didn't know what the real purpose of this reason was, and she couldn't figure it out. The only thing she could understand was that the Legion was so negotiable. When I returned to my mother, I found that my mother and other unhappy military dependents were making a fuss about this strange rule. Sheila wanted her mother to go back with her, but her mother didn't want to go. It can be seen that she is very upset and needs to vent her frustration by discussing the matter with others.

"Then I'll go first." Sheila said.

"Go, go, go." Sheila's mother finished speaking and continued to talk nonsense with the rest of the military family.

Sheila didn't go home and went straight to the office. On the way, I thought about what the Altai guy was coming from, and in the past two days, Altai was able to accurately express his views in Latin or Greek. Unlike him, who was dressed as a peasant in eastern Rome, he even knew Arabic. Regardless of the language, Sheila could sense Altai's disapproving attitude. The compradors of Europa are all enthusiastic about their work, and they are afraid of losing any opportunity, so Sheila is very unhappy. Didn't it occur to Antai that his laziness would cause Sheila's interests to suffer?

Seeing Altai again, Sheila was no longer as polite as before, and she asked bluntly: "Your Excellency Altai, are you really not thinking about making money?" ”

Seeing Altai looking at Sheila with helpless eyes, he was silent for a long time before he said: "Madam, how to transport so many peppers from Ankara to Constantinople, have you thought about it?" Or are you going to set up a shop in Ankara and sell chili peppers in the city? ”

Sheila was stunned, she hadn't really thought about it. She believes that the cooperation should be Altai's desperate way to transport the peppers to Constantinople for sale. Sheila would fully cooperate with the sales in Constantinople and finally get her fair share of the commission. Sheila had to remind: "Your Excellency Altai, transporting the peppers to Constantinople should be your responsibility. ”

I heard Altai say indifferently: "Oh, ma'am, this is too difficult for me. ”

Sheila's small hand gripped the barrel of the pen tightly, and she wanted to slam the pen in Altai's face, or simply stab the fellow in the heart. Feeling her anger, Sheila hurriedly lowered her head, not wanting Altai to see the unease she felt because of her gaffe. Sheila knew she was being dominated by greed. Trying her best to calm down, Sheila raised her head and continued to Altai: "Your Excellency, I very much hope that we can cooperate smoothly, and if you want to complete the cooperation, you need to send the peppers to Constantinople. ”

"Ma'am, the journey of a thousand miles is not easy. If you really want to cooperate, think about how you can help me. ”

Listening to Altai's sincere answer, Sheila only felt cold in her heart. She hadn't even left Constantinople, so how could she ensure the smooth passage of thousands of miles? Altai said this as if he didn't say it. No, if he hadn't said it, Sheila would have kept some hope!

Leaving Altai in frustration, Sheila was very unwilling, and all she was thinking about was how to solve the transportation problem.

Time passed quickly, and two more days passed in the blink of an eye. The legionnaires from other regions left Constantinople, and Cicelius left the barracks with the local servicemen and returned home in less than half a day. Sheila, who was looking forward to this day, was depressed and couldn't keep her spirits up.

When Cecilius saw his sister's strange appearance, he was very puzzled. I asked my sister what was going on, and my sister didn't want to say. Cicelius could only ask others, and his parents stopped talking, but they just said they didn't know. Cicelius had no choice but to do so temporarily. And it took some effort for Cicelius to keep his mother from complaining about the fact that the local soldiers of Constantinople had to come home late. Cicelius did not complain, he could understand the Legion's interpretation of the interior. If the soldiers whose homes are in Constantinople run away first, the hearts of the soldiers from other places will definitely not be happy. These out-of-town soldiers were very miserable, they watched the first departure, and they spent less time with their families than the local soldiers in Constantinople.

Two days later, Cicelius reluctantly began to accept his new home. The main building of the house has three floors, half of which is underground. The third floor is half an attic and half a balcony. The previous two-story building was too small compared to the new home. At this time, there was still a lot of work to be done in the house, and while he was transporting things with his brother, Cicelius asked his brother if he knew why Sheila was upset. The younger brother thought for a while and said, "My sister may be struggling with the money to build a new house." ”

Cicelius didn't understand what was going on, and hurriedly asked: "Tell me what's going on, and be more detailed." ”

In the afternoon, Cicelius went to see his father. My father has been in the study for the past few days, and it is the same now. The walls of the rooms on the new living floor are covered with wallpaper, the floors are made of oak, and each room has glass windows and curtains. Like his father, Cicelius' favorite thing was the study. As soon as you enter, you will see several rows of bookshelves in the spacious and bright room, and the books that were once stacked against the wall are neatly arranged vertically on the shelves. On the wall of the study is a beautiful oak desk, with candlesticks, inkwells, pens, etc. neatly arranged. A thick stack of white paper is placed inside the delicate bamboo basket, which is the scholar's dream study. Looking at the relieved and serious expression on his father's face as he sat down on the chair, Cicelius also felt a solemn feeling in his heart.

Daddy was sitting at his desk, carefully sorting out his collection. Cicelius pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, and asked a question that had nothing to do with academics, "Father, this house was built at Hilla's expense, right?" ”

Father's face became gloomy, and he was silent for a while before he spoke, "Cicelius, your sister has contributed a lot to the family. But the house we will leave to you. ”

Cicelius heard the hurt emotion in his father's voice, and there was some sympathy in his heart, and there was some emotion in his sympathy. My father's income has not changed, but he has changed from the former pillar of the family to the third in the family. Even if the Roman legion was only a little taller than his father, he had a stable income and Cicelius was confident in himself. But my father didn't seem to be very receptive to this change......

At this time, his mother went upstairs and asked Cicelius to go with him to receive the guests, and when he saw his father waving him to leave, Cicelius could only follow his mother downstairs. I wanted to say something, but he held back. In the past two days, we have been arranging non-stop receptions. Most of the guests were nobles who were unfamiliar to Cicelius, and judging from the costumes, those husbands and wives who came together looked higher than Cicelius' family. Similar to the status of the Cicelius family, it is a husband and wife with a daughter. It's a blind date.

This time it was also from a higher-status family, and the person who came had the same surname as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Guests appreciate the house, which has a toilet on each of the two living floors with showers. Toilets and kitchens are drained into the underground drainage pipes of Constantinople next to the street through ceramic pipes. The convenience is indescribable.

However, the guests were more concerned about the situation of Sicelius in the Roman legion, who was Sicelius' superior, Sicelius's exploits in the legion, and Sicelius's position. For the last point, without Sicelius speaking himself, the old lady told the guests with a reserved pride that Cicelius was well educated, had performed well on the battlefield, and had been assigned to the engineering corps. According to the glorious tradition of the ancient Roman legions, the army would undertake the construction of Roman municipalities in peacetime, and the engineering troops would open roads and build bridges in the mountains and rivers, which was very hard, but it was not a force that ordinary soldiers could enter. Because a lot of military technology was involved, the recruits were literate Roman soldiers. The reconstructed Roman legions stipulated that officers must have served in engineering units.

The guest nodded slightly, and asked what Cicelius was going to do next. Cicelius said that he wanted to continue to work well in the legion, and it was said that after serving in the legion for ten years, he could get a doctorate. If you pass the doctoral entrance exam, you will be able to go to a university for further study. This is the trajectory of life that Cicelius was looking forward to.

"Hmm. After becoming a doctor, you have the opportunity to become an official. The visiting female guest commented on the vision of Cicelius, and the male guest nodded slightly in agreement.

Cicelius did not echo the nobleman's statement, but remained silent. Personally, he hopes to continue as a scholar and become a historian. Seeing that her son didn't speak, the old lady climbed down the pole and said: "I very much hope that Cicelius can serve the imperial court, which requires the help of nobles." ”

Hearing this, Cicelius felt unhappy for a while, and his stubbornness could not help but burst out, and he said with a feeling of worrying that his mother would be unhappy: "I want to be a historian." ”

"Why?" The guest asked with interest.

Regardless of the old lady's unhappy look, Cicelius spoke of his ideals. He loved to read since he was a child, and his father was his initiation teacher, and when he entered his youth, he was recommended by his father to the scholars of Constantinople. His teacher was not a theologian, but a historian. When the students were told about the history of ancient Greece and Rome, the teacher had great respect for Thucydides and Tacitus, which gave Cicelius a deep interest in history from a young age.

When the distinguished guest heard this ambition full of literati atmosphere, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "Haha, I see. Cicelius, if you want to be a great historian, you have to be a general. ”

Cicelius was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized something in his heart. Both Thucydides and Tacitus served in the army, especially Thucydides, who wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War, was once chosen as a Greek general and was ordered to aid the cities besieged by the Spartans, and was exiled because of the disadvantage of the aid. It was 20 years before he was released from exile and returned to the city of Athens. The teacher said that this defeat was the regret of Thucydides' life, but in the entire History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides' record is peaceful and fair, and it is not even clear that he is biased towards either side. The teacher sighed many times, "Such an objective rigor is a model for us!" ”

However, Cicelius had a new understanding at this time, these two great historians were soldiers from aristocratic backgrounds, and they were able to record history precisely because they were deeply involved in the history they recorded, and they stood in the center of the stage of the times to see more historical truths than others, so that they could write the kind of writings that shook future generations. If he wanted to reach the heights of those predecessors, Cicelius had to do more than just stay in his study and read, which seemed to be very different from his previous intuitive expectations......

The distinguished guests did not take advantage of the topic, and they talked for a while before getting up to take their leave. Seeing off the distinguished guests, the old lady complained: "Cicelius, you are too willful!" ”

Cicelius did not speak. He felt that the old lady was willful, and she shouldn't let Sheila afford the cost of the house alone. It's just that Cicelius can understand the old lady's difficulty, she wants to cross the line between the minor nobles and the nobles too much. Without land and estates, without exclusive shipping rights, one is not a true aristocracy. Owning your own house is only the first step towards nobility, and this step is already a goal that the minor nobles are afraid of for a generation that cannot be accomplished.

Before evening, Sheila returned home. Cicelius hurriedly called Sheila into his house and put a money bag in Sheila's hand. After joining the army, the mother was responsible for the monthly allowance that the family received. This money was the reward of Cicelius for these months and the victory that followed. Giving this to his sister, Cicelius only had a little pocket money left. Seeing that his sister was not surprised or happy, he opened the money bag and looked at it and put the money in his pocket, Cicelius knew that his sister was really angry, and he persuaded: "I will give you all the money I got every time I come back, and my mother will take care of the whole family's life, and the two of us will pay back the money as soon as possible on our own." ”

"Big brother, if you really think so, do me a favor." Sheila said a little discouraged.

"What's the busy?"

"How can I put peppers near Acal...... Grain was delivered to Constantinople. ”

"Grain from Ankara to Constantinople?" Cicelius repeated, only to find that he had no idea at all.

"There should be Ankarans in your legion, ask them. They are locals, and there must be a way. Sheila turned to her eldest brother for help. She's been trying to think about it for the past two days, but she can't think of anything. The only way to come up with this is to go to Ankara and see for yourself what you will encounter along the way. But Sheila knew very well that even if the office sent a group of people, Sheila would not sign up to leave Constantinople. Come to think of it, the eldest brother is the most well-connected person in the family. If the eldest brother can't help, Sheila really won't be able to complete the chili business.

"Tell me how you came up with Ankara?"

Listening to the eldest brother's question, Sheila told the eldest brother about the problem she was facing. After talking about the basic situation, Sheila emphasized: "Big brother, I really want to earn that commission." If I trade 10,000 yuan a year, I can get 100 yuan. If the transaction amount is 100,000 yuan, I can get 1,000 yuan. Big brother, I really want to earn this money. ”

After speaking, Sheila stared at the eldest brother, and when she saw the eldest brother frowning slightly, she waited quietly for the eldest brother to come up with a solution. After a while, Sheila heard her eldest brother Cicelius say: "I do have a comrade-in-arms from Ankara, and I remember him saying that he came to Constantinople by ship...... I'll help you find out. ”

"Big brother, are you sure you're taking a boat?"

"I'll help you ask."

As soon as she went to work the next day, Sheila went to Altai and asked about water transportation in Ankara. Altai didn't expect that Sheila, a native woman of Constantinople, had learned about this level of news in a few days, and she was even more unhappy in her heart. He told Sheila with some impatience that Ankara's water transport is not navigable in all seasons, and many sections of the river are not navigable. Sheila Altu carefully remembered what she said, and after the conversation, she came out to find a small flower pavilion and sat down, took out a small notebook and wrote down everything Altai said. Make sure you're not mistaken, and then go about your daily work.

Altai left Constantinople on the same day, and after he had been gone for a few days, Sheila went to see Shezon and began to talk to Shezon about Antai. The eastern part of the Eastern Roman Empire is the Anatolian Peninsula, which is mountainous and rainfall. There is a Sakarya River near Ankara, and a considerable part of this river is navigable.

After talking about the information she had collected through her eldest brother, Sheila said to Xie Song very unwillingly: "With the information I got, there is no way to cooperate with Altai. I request to withdraw from this work. ”

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm leaving. Forcing herself to say something to quit, Sheila quit with a strong sense of unwillingness. She feared that she would want to continue the impossible collaboration even longer. Hurry away now, at least you won't go back on your word.

Xie Song didn't keep Sheila, he had more important things. If it weren't for the Altai affair, Shezon would not have met Sheila at all. Waiting for Sheila to leave, Xie Song stood up and went to the telegraph room, looking at the transmitters and the prepared dispatchers, Xie Song couldn't help but knock on the table with his hand, reminding the dispatchers to cheer up, "Prepare to send the first telegram." ”

"Yes!" The dispatcher poses well.

"All the staff of the Great Song Europa Provincial Office in Eastern Rome would like to congratulate the envoys of the Europa Province and all the staff on their hard work!" Xie Dong spoke out loud the contents of the telegram.

Write the telegram draft bit by bit and hand it over to Xie Song for review. After Xie Song signed, the sound of a telegram tapping sounded.

Six hours later, the telegraph operator sent a return call. "The telegram has been received, and the office is discussing the proposal to use the Mongols again."

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