The map was hung up, and Xiong Shang, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, cheered up, ready to show the demeanor of the Ministry of Rites at the temporarily decided storytelling meeting. Looking around, Xiong Sheng saw the seriousness of seeking knowledge in those guys from science and engineering, and also saw the kind of loss that the guys from the literati background did not experience because they had to admit their ignorance.

With a map, there's a lot more you don't need to talk about. Unless the authenticity of the map can be overturned, everyone can see the importance of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea from the map. This is the core part of the 'World Island' called by the Zhao Guanjia, connecting the Great Song Dynasty in Middle-earth, Europa in the west, and Xiniu Hezhou in the south. Having controlled a key area on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, it was possible to occupy a key position on the far western hub.

Xiong Shangshu was happy in his heart, as far as he knew, there was only one country that could see this. Thanks to the Great Song Fleet, which was able to sail around the world, the Great Song knew the key here. In the eyes of the various forces vying for the region, the world is only a tiny piece.

Xiong Sheng used to be a literati, and when he had to supplement his knowledge of geography, natural science, and history, Xiong Sheng happily began to tell about the situation on the east coast of the Mediterranean.

"Rome is also a thousand-year-old country, and we will give you a lecture on this history in the future. The present Eastern Rome is a remnant of Rome, and many small states on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean were founded by the nobles of the European countries on the borders of the Western Roman territory conquered by the barbarians of northern Europe. The background behind this was that the Roman Crusader in the city of Rome wanted to overwhelm the Eastern Roman tradition of the Crucifixion and thus become the leader of the Crucifixion. It was for this reason that the Crusades were ......"

The existence of the map made the literati lose the opportunity to be blind, and after depriving them of the aura of knowing everything, the literati could only look at the map quietly. It was now quiet that a handful of literati had gotten a few nonsense about '2,000 sets of steel armor was too much?' before the map was hung up. In the past three years, the Great Song Dynasty has provided more than 20,000 sets of steel armor to the Red Turban Army, and 2,000 sets of steel armor is not a problem at all in the eyes of people with a scientific and engineering foundation.

Xiong Shang talked eloquently, but his family knew his own affairs, and Xiong Shang's views were completely derived from the information that Zhao Jiaren came up with. No matter where the information comes from, as long as the idea is correct, it can be strung together as a whole and give the listeners a more correct impression.

"With the help of the Crusades, the western countries of Europe and Rome developed in the east, and by the way, they attacked and plundered Eastern Rome, and the Orthodox Church immediately declined, and had to recognize the leading position of the Crusades in Rome in the Crucifixion. The Crusader in Rome no longer encouraged the Crusades. The Crusades that followed were all initiated by the countries of Eurobasi. They could not make any profit from the expedition, so they gave up their support for the small states on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. And my Great Song Dynasty fleet has entered the Red Sea to do business in these years, and has also defeated all kinds of enemies on the sea in the Red Sea, and those small states have proposed to belong to the Great Song Dynasty in order to keep themselves. ”

Knowing the most basic situation, the ministers of the Great Song Dynasty found that the relationship between this and the Great Song was too weak. In the end, the Ministry of Industry Shangshu asked Sun Qing, the head of the Ministry of Households, "But I don't know how much foreign trade income I can have every year?" ”

Sun Qing replied: "It is very poor over there, and it is not rich in gold and silver. It's just that the official family ordered the purchase of books in Tianzhuyang, Egypt on the other side of the Red Sea originally had a large library, and the Arab countries that were wiped out by the Mongols had engaged in a century-old translation, which barely balanced the trade. ”

As soon as these words came out, the ministers of the Great Song Dynasty turned to look at Zhao Jiaren, the official of the Great Song Dynasty. Zhao Jiaren had an indifferent expression, so many books in history were destroyed, in the eyes of Zhao Jiaren in the 21st century, it is a pity. Although he knows that the content of many books is nonsense and can be classified as a big poisonous weed, Zhao Jiaren hopes that the books can be preserved.

Zhao Jiaren didn't want to brag nonsense, he said indifferently under the eyes of everyone: "My Great Song Dynasty is the pinnacle of civilization, in this case, it is also our obligation to collect books from all over the world, and it is naturally our duty to preserve our own civilization and the civilization of the world." ”

Although he didn't understand Zhao Jiaren's mind, no one could refute these words. The Great Song Dynasty has been invincible in foreign attacks over the years, and this basic self-confidence has been restored. The most important thing is that it is Zhao Jiaren who pays the money, not these officials, so they naturally feel that it is not bad to be able to get a share of the glory from it.

Xiong Sheng took the opportunity to continue: "At present, the Eastern Rome hopes to obtain 2,000 sets of steel armor, which is to build up a force that can overwhelm the surrounding countries. Let's take a look at the map below. ”

After speaking, Xiong Sheng and the staff hung up the map of the Eastern Roman Empire. When the current map was compared with the map of the heyday, there was a burst of exclamation among the officials of the Great Song Dynasty. As the Great Song Dynasty, which was continuously attacked by the northern forces, he could best understand the pain of this rise and fall.

In the past, the Great Song Dynasty lost Youzhou because of its defeat to the Khitan, allowing the Khitan to launch an offensive of southern invasion on the plains. The female straight, who was further north than the Khitan, not only killed the Khitan, but also drove the Great Song to the south of the Huai River. After the Mongols, who were further north of the Jin State established by Nuzhi, eliminated the Jin State, they even fought the tragedy of the surrender of Lin'an in the Great Song Dynasty.

It was not until the Zhao official family came to power that the Great Song Dynasty continued to counterattack, not only recovering the old land, but also recapturing Youzhou, regaining control of the northern mountainous areas, and blocking the passage of northern forces to the south.

With the introduction of Xiong Shang before, coupled with the map of the heyday of Eastern Rome, the important ministers of the Great Song Dynasty understood that the continuator of Eastern Rome, a thousand-year-old country, had also experienced such a tragic experience as the Great Song Dynasty. From a vast power to a declining power with only a small amount of land centered on Constantinople. And the mood of the Eastern Rome trying to recover, the ministers of the Great Song Dynasty also felt it.