Zheng He was simply caught off guard.

Sailors at sea are vulgar, but it is natural for people who sail ships to be vulgar, and it is simply more difficult to make people polite in the stormy seas.

It was obviously impossible for Zheng He to personally take care of the two captives.

To be honest, Zheng He's fleet had more prisoners, so it was clear that these people were guarded by the sailors at the bottom.

Can ...... now Zheng He realized...... Two captives who communicated with the sailors day and night and learned the Chinese language...... Now that he has come to the Imperial Palace, under the noses of the emperor and many ministers of the court, it may become a huge hidden danger.

Or rather...... These are two ticking time bombs.

He hurriedly pleaded guilty, but Zhu Di was not the kind of person with a small belly, he only smiled, pressed his hand and said, "It's okay." ”

Zhu Di immediately looked at the person called Erdan and said, "Where does Qing come from?" ”

Erdan took the lead and said: "My family is Portugal." ”

Another one called Donkey Ball said: "My home is Sicily." ”

Zhu Di obviously had never heard of such a place name, but he was not in a hurry to understand this, but said: "What are you doing?" ”

Erdan said: "Fishermen." ”

Zhu Di was obviously a little surprised, and frowned: "Fishermen? ”

Zhu Di's face was already slightly ugly, and then he said: "Since you are a fisherman, why did you attack my Daming ship?" ”

This question was embarrassing, and the second egg had to hang his head and say, "I heard that there is a treasure on the ship......"

When Zhu Di heard this, he immediately became angry, and immediately scolded: "Enter your mother, there is treasure on the ship, you will rob it?" ”

Zhang Anshi pondered on the side, it seems that His Majesty is also a person who loves to learn foreign languages!

Erdan was obviously frightened, and his face turned a few degrees whiter at once.

Zhu Di continued angrily: "You two are really barbarians, fortunately, my Ming ship has the power to retreat from the enemy, if not, it will be killed at the hands of you." ”

Donkey Ball hurriedly said: "Now that I know my mistake, I don't dare anymore." ”

Zhu Di sneered: "I don't care about the first offense, I will be imprisoned for a year and a half, and wait until the next time I go to the West, and then take you back to my hometown." ”

Zhu Di didn't continue to say anything, precisely because these two people are fierce fishermen, and they really have nothing to ask, ignorant people, and have no value.

Zheng He breathed a sigh of relief.

Baiguan didn't seem to take these two people in his eyes, and he also felt bored, such a person who looked like a demon made it difficult for people to eat, and it was unappetizing.

At this moment, Zhang Anshi, who had been silently listening to their conversation with Zhu Di, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks...... These two have ghosts. ”

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Di was stunned.

Hundreds of officials looked at Zhang Anshi one after another, and many people showed surprise.

The two of them, Donkey Ball and Erdan, obviously didn't understand what it meant to have ghosts, but they also realized it...... It seems that the person who came was a little unkind, and his face immediately changed slightly.

Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi and said, "Oh? ”

Zhang Anshi stood up, looked a little serious, and said, "I implore Your Majesty to strictly investigate the identities of these two people, and let the ministers pry their mouths open." ”

Zhu Di frowned slightly, he had obviously lost interest in the donkey ball and the second egg.

But Zhang Anshi killed him halfway, and he insisted on it, looking at Zhang Anshi's serious attitude, it didn't seem like he was rash. It seems that these two people are indeed not simple, but they don't know ...... What's so strange about it?

After hearing this, the two eggs and the donkey ball were already discolored, and immediately complained in fear: "We are wronged, although we are prisoners, why do we have to ......"

Zhang Anshi turned around and looked at the two with a smile: "Donkey Ball, are you Portuguese?" ”

Donkey Ball said: "No, I am Sicilian. ”

Zhang Anshi said again: "Then he is Portuguese?" ”

Erdan said: "Yes." ”

Zhang Anshi evoked a mocking smile, and then said: "But I have already seen the nautical charts of the fleet, this Sicily is on the Italian Peninsula, and this Portugal is on the Iberian Peninsula, but these two places are also thousands of miles away. But when Jinyi Wei escorted you here, the two of them were communicating in language, not in Chinese, which shows that you ...... In addition to the local vernacular, there are other languages that can be communicated. ”

Zhang Anshi said it eloquently, and when the monarchs and ministers heard it, they gradually began to feel strange.

The donkey ball and the two of them are about to deny it.

Zhang Anshi didn't give them any chance, and said, "Let me guess, what you might use...... It is French or Latin...... Is it? ”

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the two suddenly became even more ugly.

Zhang Anshi didn't give them any chance to argue at all, and continued: "But how can the two of them be ordinary fishermen...... Will it be like this? This is clearly not what you are! ”

"Just like my Ming Dynasty, only scholars can learn Mandarin, and ordinary people mostly use their own dialects, which is impossible for fishermen. So...... You must not be ordinary fishermen. ”

The donkey ball and the two of them looked at each other, and then ...... They began to rack their brains to justify.

In fact, Zhang Anshi's speculation has many loopholes, for example, these two can say that they can learn Chinese during their capture on the ship, so they must also be able to learn each other's hometown language to communicate.

It can also be said that ...... In fact, the two reported their hometown wrongly, in fact...... The two were fellow villagers, but because they were captives, they had other worries, so they lied about the situation in their hometown.

But at this time, Zhang Anshi grinned at them, and suddenly grabbed a sentence from his mouth: "Harrow, it's good and poisonous, ah yo OK?" ”

This nonsense that came out of nowhere, at this moment, completely made the two people who were racking their brains suddenly break their defense.

Erdanren's whole person shrank rapidly and visibly with the naked eye, he opened a pair of frightened eyes slightly, and said expectantly: "I ...... I'm guilty! ”

The donkey ball has also changed, and the whole person is sincerely frightened and trembling.

They broke the defense completely.

In fact, this is just Zhang Anshi's trick.

In fact, Zhang Anshi is not very proficient in foreign languages, and he can't even reach the level of English, or even the smell of plastic.

He first questioned the other party, and did not give the other party a chance to defend himself at all, but suddenly said a familiar English word very simply.

This is to be expected, although there must be some differences between the English of this period and the English of later generations, such words should be barely understood.

And these two may not have studied English, after all...... At this time, the common language of Europe was either French or Latin, but after all, in Europe, even if you are not familiar with English, you must have heard of some of the most basic simple words.

This is as if the Chinese of later generations, even if they stay at home, can probably hear the English word 'even buy karma'.

Or the Japanese word for yasa butterfly.

After all, cultures will always communicate invisibly, but often in some kind of way that they like to hear.

At this time, the two heard the plastic-smelling words from Zhang Anshi's mouth, and their first reaction was...... The other party really knows so much about Europe.

The second reaction is whether the other party's ability to master such words and the questioning of them is whether the language in which they communicate during their detention is also mastered by the other party.

Or, if the other party has a certain understanding of Europe, then ...... It's not too difficult to know who you are.

They even began to wonder if there were other European counterparts who had already arrived here and thought they were working for the young man in front of them.

Immediately, Erdan said with a white face: "I ...... I'm not a fisherman, we're not fishermen......"

Zhu Di: "......"

Baiguan looked at Zhang Anshi's miraculous operation, and he was so dumbfounded that he couldn't speak.

Sometimes you have to admire Zhang Anshi, this guy...... Always do something unexpected.

Although no one knows why Zhang Anshi exposed the tricks of these two, this operation is indeed dazzling.

Even if he was lost, he couldn't help but blush, and he obviously felt more and more that Dongchang seemed to be in his own hands, it was really an ornament.

If you want to revitalize Dongchang, the only possibility is to invite His Royal Highness the King of Wuhu County into the palace and become a commander and eunuch.

Zhu Di didn't like these two people very much, but when he heard that he had been deceived, he was immediately furious: "Bold, do you know what is the crime of bullying the king?" ”

These two eggs and donkey balls, even if they look repentant, hurriedly ask for forgiveness.

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, you might as well hear their true identities first." ”

These two eggs and donkey balls don't dare to deceive anymore, they must have known some of the situation in the Central Plains on the ship, and they knew the consequences of their identities being exposed, if they were not honest at this time, they might really die without a place to be buried.

Immediately, Erdan said: "From a few years ago, in Byzantium and Venice and other places, a large number of goods from the Ming Dynasty began to appear......"

Zhu Di looked at Zheng He.

Zheng He explained: "Your Majesty, this Byzantium, bordering on the Great Eclipse, is located near Persia and other places, and as for Venice, slaves and maids are unheard of. ”

Erdan continued: "I heard from them that these goods were brought by the Turks. ”

"Turkic?" Zhu Di finally heard the familiar tribe.

Erdan continued: "After that, I heard that these Turks were trafficked from the Mongols, including fine porcelain, fine silk, and tea, and these goods changed hands repeatedly, from Mongolia to the Turks, then to Byzantium and Venice, and appeared in Italy and other places. As a result, the price is extremely high, especially for porcelain, which is worth as much as gold. ”

After hearing this, Zhu Di's face couldn't help but change slightly, at this time, he couldn't care about the two people's fake identities, but put his mind on ...... Gold equivalent on top.

Erdan said: "These scarce goods are rapidly becoming popular, and even hard to find, but what follows is the fleet of the Ming Dynasty, after the fleet arrived, everyone knew that they could use ships to reach Italy in the east, which was thousands of miles away. ”

"I'm a pastor, and so am he."

Zhang Anshi was listening, and probably felt that the identities of these two people should be reasonable.

Because in this era, almost all knowledge and language are in the hands of these people.

As for the others, with the exception of a small number of nobles and merchants, they were almost all confused, and could not have mastered the common French or Latin language or script.

"Our plan is to find a sea route and learn about the ships that can sail the sea, and the knowledge of seafaring, and ...... Finding the East. ”

"We had a lot of discussions to get to this point, and we chose this approach...... i.e. as a captive ......"

Zhu Di was surprised, so he said, "The way of captivity? Why...... Not in the way of envoys? ”

"If it is the status of an envoy, it will inevitably lead to controversy, and it may even be possible that the kings of various countries will send envoys, which is not allowed. We don't know the whole picture of the Ming Dynasty, and rash contact will cause unknowable consequences. Erdan muttered jerkyly, as if he was afraid of his own words, unable to express them accurately.

Zhang Anshi smiled and added, "Is it an internal problem involving you?" ”

"Yes."

Zhang Anshi said again: "Then your mission is...... After understanding our situation and making a conclusion, then decide on the way of contact with the official? ”

Erdan and Donkey Ball said in unison: "Yes." ”

Zhang Anshi frowned and said, "But it's very risky to do this." ”

Erdan said without hesitation: "This is God's will." ”

The more Zhu Di listened, the more confused he became, so he stared at Zhang Anshi and said, "Zhang Qing, what does he mean by this?" ”

Zhang Anshi smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what they mean is ...... The appearance of Da Ming caused them to panic a little! These two ...... It is probably equivalent to the monks they have there, these monks, who are extremely powerful, and now the Ming Dynasty has suddenly appeared, which makes them worried. After all, Da Ming didn't believe the nonsense of these monks, but he appeared out of thin air, making them think...... may make their followers produce ...... Generate ......"

Speaking of this, Zhang Anshi pointed to his brain and said, "Ideological problems." It's like...... It's like...... Like the knowledge of the Confucian saints, the scholars are always vigilant...... There will be people who have bad intentions, so we must have a monopoly on the power to contact us, lest someone 'bewitch the people' and affect the old man of Confucius and his old man......"

Among the hundreds of officials, many people are so angry that their noses are crooked. This An Shi is really yin and yang, and he does everything.

Zhu Di was able to roughly understand, and said: "Therefore, let these two people come into contact, aren't they afraid of death?" ”

Zhang Anshi said: "There will always be people who are not afraid of death, and their doctrine is much more powerful than the knowledge of Sage Confucius." At most, the Confucian saints only teach people to cultivate themselves and Qi family, they teach people how to go to heaven, just like the Buddhist family goes to the west to enjoy happiness and reincarnate as a master in the next life. Therefore, they are not afraid of death, but they are afraid that they will not be able to go to the western heaven after death. ”

After Zhang Anshi's stitching, Zhu Di can probably understand.

Zhu Di looked at the donkey ball and the two eggs, and he didn't know what to say.

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, these two people have ill intentions, according to the ministers, it is better to leave it to Jinyiwei to deal with." ”

Zhu Di bowed his head: "The ambitions of these two wolves cannot be spared." ”

These two eggs and the donkey ball don't know the blessings and misfortunes for a while, and they are quite frightened at this time.

Zhu Di drank the two of them back, but frowned and said: "The barbarians are really cunning, I was almost deceived by them, what does Zhang Qing think about this?" ”

Zhang Anshi said: "If they are cunning, we will be more cunning than them." However, the message received this time proves two things. ”

Zhu Di stared at Zhang Anshi with great interest and said, "Let's hear it." ”

Zhang Anshi said: "First, the trade routes of the Mongolian tribes have indeed been opened, and it is gratifying to congratulate them on the Silk Road that has been created through the Mongolian tribes." ”

"As for the second, this also means that there is still room for further expansion of trade on the sea route, and the commercial goods of my Ming Dynasty are not only good and cheap, but also porcelain and silk...... Expensive, although Europe is far away, but there is enough profit, but it is completely possible to open up sea routes and earn a lot of wealth. ”

When Zhu Di heard this, his eyes became brighter and brighter, and he couldn't help but excitedly say: "Are they really willing to use the same amount of gold, just to exchange for my Ming silk and porcelain?" It's unimaginable. ”

In the Ming Dynasty, although porcelain and silk were expensive, after all, the annual output was not small, but it was not to the point of unattainable.

But if the price is compared to gold, it is really terrifying.

Zhang Anshi said: "The so-called scarcity is expensive, not to mention, I can make it in the Ming Dynasty, they can't make it, naturally, you can live in a strange car." It's just that...... To expand the sea route, the minister ......"

When Zhang Anshi said this, he was a little embarrassed.

Zhu Di said: "It's okay for you to say. ”

So Zhang Anshi said: "This way, the road is really far away, starting from Quanzhou, to pass through the Western seaway, but also through the Tianzhu Sea, but also through the Great Food Sea, all the way around the entire continent where the black people are, to arrive, I am afraid that it will take two or three years to go back and forth!" ”

"If along the way, there is not enough dock and port support, there is no sufficient supply, this is impossible, in addition, it is also necessary to consider the problem of a large number of pirates along the way, after arriving at the other party's port, because there is no port, and the problem of not being able to sell the goods, all of the above, if the imperial court can't come up with a charter, even if this porcelain and silk are worth ten thousand gold, I'm afraid it won't help."

I have to say that what Zhang Anshi mentioned is a very real problem.

It is true that you can make money by doing business, but this money is not so easy to earn.

In fact, centuries later, the Francophiles arrived in East Asia and began trading and colonizing.

But all of this is due to the fact that they opened up sea routes and established countless trading posts.

Without the establishment of ports and trading posts in Africa and Tianzhu and scattered on the islands of Tianxia, the occasional merchant ships arriving on the northwest coast of the entire mainland island were purely adventures akin to extreme sports, and had no much value to replicate.