You must know that even in ancient China, when the whole people admired the imperial examination, the existence of illiteracy was a very large proportion.

In medieval Europe, most of the noble knights were illiterate, and only those in the church knew how to read and write, and most of the books they read were based on the Bible and other doctrines.

This slave sailor was able to write a very beautiful Latin poem, which surprised Zhu Han.

"What's your name?" Zhu Han called the former slave to him and asked.

Just now, when announcing the emancipation of this slave as a free sailor, he actually said his name, but it was too long, and Zhu Han didn't remember it at all.

The slave sailor replied respectfully: "My name is Petro. Francois. Alessandro. Lloredan. ”

As soon as Zhu Han heard this name, his head immediately grew again.

Sure enough, it's a long name.

"Your Highness, you may also call me, Petro. Lloredan. "Petro. Luo Liedan hurriedly said.

"Alright then, I'll call you Roledan from now on." Zhu Han bowed and said.

"Yes to my Highness." Petro. Lorredan said.

This Luo Ledan was no more than twenty-four or five years old, but his face was pale and frightening, his lips were blue, his eyes were deep, and his whole person was skinny, as if he could fall down if a gust of wind blew it.

Zhu Han noticed the bandage on his ankle, the wound was still oozing red blood, obviously he had an injury that had not healed.

In the Ming fleet, although these slave oarsmen are not very good, they can still guarantee them the necessary food and medical care.

So the scars on this Pietro's body must be a relapse of old wounds caused by the previous slave life.

A young man who spoke so well, who could read the arts, and who knew how to repair ships, should not logically be sold as an inferior slave.

He must have a good background, and his family will try their best to redeem him.

Zhu Han then asked Petro about his origins.

Hearing Zhu Han's inquiry, Petro shook his head and smiled bitterly, and then said.

"Your Royal Highness, I was born in the Republic of Venice, a distant country. My family, the Lorletin family, is a wealthy family in Venice. ”

"What Venice!?" Zhu Han immediately said in surprise.

He never imagined that the white slave in front of him would actually come from Venice, the famous water city.

The historical Republic of Venice was once part of the Roman Empire, and after the barbarian invasion destroyed the Roman Republic, a large number of Romans fled to the beach of Venice to escape the slaughter of the barbarians, and established a city there.

After hundreds of years of development, the Venetians have managed to run themselves into a commercial city-state.

In the Middle Ages, the Mediterranean was almost the dominant Republic of Venice, and no other country could compare with the Republic of Venice except Genoa and Pisa, both of which were part of the Apennines, which were able to grab some share of commerce.

"God, I can't believe it, have you heard of Venice, Your Highness?" This time it was Petro Roledan's turn to be surprised.

Zhu Han nodded, and then said, "That's right, I know Venice, and I also know that you don't have a king there, and there is no emperor, and several big families take turns to hold power, so they belong to the republic." ”

Zhu Han's words, although a little awkward after translation.

But Luo Liedan already understood that the Prince of Ming in front of him knew a lot about his country.

"God, this must be God's will!"

Luo Liedan was almost crying with excitement, he felt that Zhu Han must have been sent by God to save him.

Otherwise, how could anyone in the far East know so much about the equally distant Republic of Venice?

"I have nothing to do with your God, I can't say that I am not familiar with it, you should tell me how you became a slave and were trafficked to the Ming Nanyang." Zhu Han waved his hand and said half-jokingly.

Lorredan took a deep breath and continued to tell about his experience.

It turned out that the Lorredin family was a wealthy family in Venice, and the predecessors of the family had served as the governor of the Republic of Venice.

However, all this changed completely with a pirate raid.

The Republic of Venice is a Catholic country, and although it has commercial relations with the *** countries on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, it also has frequent disputes with each other.

And there are many pirates in the Mediterranean, and they often plunder the merchant ships of Catholic countries such as Venice.

During one of his voyages, Pietro was attacked by a Mamluk pirate ship, and he was taken prisoner by the Mamluks.

At that time, the Republic of Venice and the Mamluk kingdom were at war.

The fierce fighting between the two sides has already filled the minds of the Mamluks with anger.

Not only did they ignore the hostage demands of the Lloredan family, but they directly sold Venetian captives such as Petero to Persian merchants as slaves.

As pagan slaves, the lives of these Venetian captives were a living purgatory.

They were all treated as inferior slaves, assigned to various galleys as oaring slaves, slept only three to four hours a day, and lived in stinking and damp cabins on the lower floors, eating sour chickpeas and rotten noodle lakes, and drinking stinking and green moss.

It was only after winning a naval battle or completing a trade that their hard-working slaves were given a baked flatbread and a cup of fermented grape juice.

After more than two years of torture, Pietro's shipmates were almost dead, and the rest of the others had completely lost contact with each other.

After several re-sales, Petro was eventually sold to the city of Malacca in the South Seas.

After listening to what happened to Petro, Zhu Han couldn't help but sigh a little.

According to his own words, Pietro is only twenty-six years old this year, but after several years of devastation, he looks like a middle-aged man with vicissitudes of life.

"Venice is a smart commercial country, if the Ming can enter the Mediterranean in the future, do you think Venice will become a friend of the Ming?" Zhu Han asked.

Hearing Zhu Han's words, Petro Roledan was shocked.

"Daming is so far away from the Mediterranean, it is impossible for a ship to go directly, and even if there is a ship, it can sail such a long distance, then there is no route!" Petro said.

In the eyes of Europeans at this time, the world has borders on both the sea and the land.

For example, they believe that from the Mediterranean to the west into the Atlantic, whether south, north, or west, they will eventually reach a bottomless abyss, the end of the world.

If you want to reach the far east from Venice, you must pass through the territory controlled by the Celestial cult from land.

Therefore, Zhu Han's words just now sounded like a fantasy to Petero.

Zhu Han smiled slightly, and then said to Petro, "It won't be long before the warships and merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty will sail into the Mediterranean, and at that time, you will believe that what I said today is true." ”

Pietro looked at Zhu Han's expression very seriously, it didn't seem like a joke at all, and he couldn't help but take it seriously in his heart.

"In that case, I am willing to be His Highness's most loyal subordinate, and I will conclude the most friendly and favorable treaty with the Republic of Venice on your behalf!" Petro said excitedly.

The Crusades, which lasted for hundreds of years, had just come to an end in Europe.

The originally arrogant and invincible Catholic countries have been beaten by *** religion in the land of the East.

After this terrible war, Europeans have realized how rich and prosperous the East is.

In their eyes, the East is actually only a part of the *** region, as for the more distant India and China, for the Europeans at this time, it is basically equivalent to the country of myths and legends.

As a Venetian, Pietro's business talent cultivated since childhood made him clearly know that if the Republic of Venice could establish friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty, it would be a major event that would change the situation in European countries.

During his two years as a slave, although he had been living in the lowest cabin, his excellent language talent allowed him to learn many languages in the East, and also let Pietro know what a powerful Ming Dynasty there was in the far East.

Both the Egyptians and the Persians were the richest in the eyes of the Venetians, who controlled the trade routes from the East to the West, and each made a lot of money.

However, among those Persian merchants, the Ming Dynasty in the East was a supreme existence capable of crushing ten Persians.

"By the way, there is one more thing I have never understood, why have you not been discovered under the Persians, and have always been the most inferior oarsman slave?" Zhu Han then asked.

Although Zhu Han did not doubt that Pietro in front of him would be a scheming spy, it would be better to understand this kind of confusing question.

When Pietro heard this, he immediately straightened up proudly, "Those abominable heretics, they have a rule on the ship, that in order for a slave to become a free man, he must convert to their religion no matter what, and how can I, as the lamb under the direction of the Lord, turn my back on God!" ”

It has to be said that at this time, the religious atmosphere in Europe was still very strong.

Even the Black Death, which has just passed, has repeatedly demonstrated the incompetence of Catholicism.

However, it is still very difficult to convert them to another religion.

"I see, you can rest assured, I will not prohibit you from believing in your respective religions, as long as you do not impose your religious habits on others, and act in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Han said calmly.

The Chinese civilization has long gone beyond the scope of religious civilization, the rule of man and the rule of law have been able to complete all social functions, and the only role of religion is only to comfort the soul.

So Zhu Han is not worried about these Catholics or *** Christians, what storms they will set off.

"Gracious Highness, I am willing to use my remaining effect to be loyal to you!" Petro. Luo Liedan immediately knelt down excitedly and said.

"In this way, I will assign you two people, you first learn the official language of the Ming Dynasty, and at the same time teach your language to these two people, and when your official language is good enough, you will serve as an entourage official by my side, and the specific position is.

。 ”

Zhu Han fell into thought as he spoke.

"By the way, the specific position is the official of Western affairs, and I will set up a special Western affairs yamen, and you will be in charge of it." Zhu Han said.

When Pietro heard this, he immediately burst into tears of excitement.

In just one morning, he first changed from a slave to a free sailor, and then from a free sailor, he ascended to heaven and became an official of the Ming Dynasty.

You know, in the fleet, the slaves lived at the bottom of the cabin without any freedom.

Although the sailors were free to move, there were strict rules governing their movements, and food and lodging were very common.

Officers in the fleet, on the other hand, not only do not have to perform daily labor, but also enjoy special dining rooms and bedrooms.

In these years, it is already very difficult to inquire about some information about Europe through the mouths of the Heavenly Sect merchants.

A living man born in Venice is definitely a valuable talent.

Therefore, Zhu Han felt that he couldn't pay too much attention to this Venetian, a small affairs officer, just from the ninth grade, if this Luo Lidan can help the Ming Dynasty to make meritorious contributions in the future, Zhu Han will not be stingy with more rewards for himself.

Led by a member of the British Prince's Palace, Petro Roledin was found in a cabin on the upper deck.

The cabin, cramped to fit a single bed, was no less than paradise in Pietro's eyes.

This is a small independent room, specially prepared for the entourage officials around Zhu Han.

The room has a fixed wooden bed with a fine cotton cloth on top and a mattress woven of palm linen underneath, which looks very simple but very clean.

Pietro's more than two years of slavery almost made him forget these human norms.

And what surprised him even more was that this small room had a bright round window, and the blue sky and white clouds could be clearly seen from the window.

When Pietro got closer, he was surprised to find that the window was inlaid with a large piece of clear glass.

Although Europe has long had clear glass, it is very rare to find it so pure and free of impurities as the glass on the windows of this cabin.

Such a large piece of flat and translucent glass can be sold for at least a small silver Geso coin in Venice.

These extravagant Orientals actually set it in a bumpy ship?

Pietro couldn't help but think of the richness and power of the Ming Dynasty in the East, which the Persians had described.

Petro then looked at the other items in the cabin.

It doesn't matter.

The ensuing shock made Petro almost fall on his head.

In addition to a bed, there is only a small bench and a small cupboard in this small cabin.

On top of this cabinet is a tray with something like a water cup upside down.

Pietro took him in his hand and took a closer look.

He was shocked to find that it was actually a porcelain with beautiful pictures.

"Oh my God!"

"The Virgin Mary!"

Pietro couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, and under the intense emotion, his hand holding the teacup had begun to tremble.

"This white and crystal porcelain, unexpectedly unattended, is it placed here so carelessly?" Petro couldn't believe what he was seeing with his eyes.

You must know that in Europe at this time, not to mention the best Jingdezhen porcelain, even if it is porcelain fired in ordinary kilns, it can also become an heirloom of a feudal lord, even if it is just a teapot for drinking a large bowl of tea, or a noodle bowl for eating noodles, as long as the pictures on it are exquisite enough, it means that the identity of porcelain is noble enough.

Nowadays, Europeans simply do not understand how porcelain is made.