"Didn't you have anything else in mind at the time?" The old sea urchin asked curiously.

"That's a lot of ideas." The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Many of the various rumors that were popular on our side at that time were contradictory. In some stories, Constantinople is also the most prosperous city in the world, a symbol of the splendor of the Romans; In some stories, there is a simple Italian merchant over there, and the relevant plot is also how everyone fights wits and courage with these profiteers, but there is no shadow of Rome. ”

"That's not bad, even the word Rome makes people mess up." She said: "I heard from my uncle that there is a Rome in Italy, and he also worked as a bodyguard for Roman merchants. Those Romans should be Italians, yes. However, the Italians were often in conflict with the Romans on this side, and the Italian merchants in Rome had fought with the Romans in Constantinople. So I was always wondering why people in Rome were not Romans, and people who weren't in Rome were Romans. Who the Romans were, we don't know. ”

"If you have to say it, they are." The old sea urchin commented.

"That's too much." "Two uncles have been to Konya, and the Turkmen there call themselves 'Roma,' and they say that's what Rome means," said the Queen Mother. All of this is included, and it feels like there are Romans everywhere. ”

"Some categorization issues are really hard to define." Monk Daoyan agreed: "I met many merchants during my travels, and they were very curious about our group. Many people can't figure out the boundaries of the peach blossom stone people. ”

"In the caravan we followed, some people thought that the Mongols were a branch of the Taohuashi people, but the Chagatai people were not; There are also people who, on the other hand, feel that the Mongols are not, but the Chagatai are not. Neither of these two groups could convince anyone. ”

"From our point of view, they should all count." The old sea urchin commented: "I have read the writings of some travelers, and they say that as early as the time when the Baghdad Caliphate was still ruled, everyone made it clear that the east of the river were all peach blossom stone people. At least, that's what our scholars think. ”

"People in different places and situations may think differently." The Empress Dowager said: "At that time, we said that the Chagatai people liked to think of themselves as Seris, but the Mongols did not think so—because the caravans of the Great Khan of Seris were closely related to the cities of the Chagatai Khanate, and everyone liked to do business with them. However, the Great Khan often sent troops and horses to attack the Mongols, causing the Mongols to hate him and not want to admit that they were his subjects. ”

"Of course, there are many things that cannot be concluded in the first place." She pointed out: "Do you think that Xiliao was a prince of Seris? ”

"That's what we generally think when we study history." The old sea urchin was convinced of this.

"Western Liao was founded by Juer Khan, a Khitan man. Later, in the same area, the Mongol Chagatai Khan also established a khanate. The Khitans and Mongols are both Seris people in the north, and the positions of the two regimes overlap a lot, so the Chagatai Khanate should also be a prince of Seris, right? The Queen Mother asked again.

"That's true." The old sea urchin also nodded directly in agreement.

"Then since the Chagatai Khanate is a vassal of Seris, does the court of the Timurid family count? Legally, they are branches of the Chagatai line. The Queen Mother continued to ask.

"This ......," the old sea urchin pondered, "the Timurid Khanate has already expanded to Asia Minor, is it too far-fetched to say so?" ”

"But if the nature of the regime is determined by geographical location, there is no point in territorial changes." The Queen Mother said: "Alexander of Macedonia can fight all the way from the mountains on our side to the river, and everyone still thinks that they are Macedonian countries. Then why can't the Seris country fight to Asia Minor? ”

"And, too, in Persia and Asia Minor, there was the Ilkhanate. The Ilkhanate was a distinctly Great Yuan vassal state, and even its name meant 'vassal'. You see, even it's it. ”

"In that case, I'm afraid Seris is everywhere too." The old sea urchin said.

"Yes, what's the difference between us and Xiliao? It's nothing more than a little further away. The Queen Mother said: "In other aspects, I'm afraid it's about the same." Our state system and local administration may be more like the regime of the Central Plains than theirs. ”

"If that's the case, then it's really ......" The old sea urchin thought for a moment and said, "Probably Seris is too far away, I haven't thought about it before. Or do you think it carefully. ”

"I don't have the heart to think about that. This is what the boy of the Cao family told me when he came back from his envoy before. The Queen Mother shook her head: "I actually think it's very strange, if this argument continues, our Rome will also be Seris." But I couldn't find the flaws in it myself, so I kept it in mind as an interesting statement. ”

"It's an interesting idea indeed." Monk Daoyan smiled, nodded as well, and said politely.

"But I don't think there's anything wrong with that." The Queen Mother changed her words and said: "I heard the masters preach the scriptures, saying that the whole world has the same origin, and all human beings also have a common ancestor. Since everyone comes out of one, then, if we want to pursue the avenue and find the future that is closest to the best, our pursuit should also be one. ”

"Out of one, into one......" The old sea urchin muttered, and glanced at Monk Daoyan thoughtfully.

"Oops, just casually." The Queen Mother smiled: "This is all something that I slowly thought about later." How did I know that back then? ”

"It's not that I'm bragging, but at that time, the girls over there were much more down-to-earth. Like these children now, there are more eyes in their hearts than one another, and their thoughts are more complex than the other. She shook her head and said helplessly.

"The situation in the mountains is very complicated, and the hostility between different towns and villages is not small at all. There are as many enemies as there are friends who have fought side by side, so women must also learn to defend their hometowns and support and protect themselves after men go out. In addition, I also have some interests, so when I was a child, in addition to helping the family, I also practiced martial arts. ”

"But look at my eldest granddaughter, hey." The Queen Mother smiled bitterly: "She doesn't like to learn to work at all. Her parents couldn't let her go to school, not even me. ”

"Times are different?" The old monk started a round: "Her living conditions are much better now than you were at that time, so naturally they don't need to be exactly the same." ”

She sometimes said the same, but even if she was a noblewoman in the court, she had to learn what she should learn. The emperors of Seris had to hold a pro-ploughing ceremony, and the queens had to weave themselves, which was not because of their needs in life, but because of the needs of the ceremony. Can she have a higher status than others? The Queen Mother disagreed.

"It's the same on our side. I'm not unreasonable, but as I know, from Ireland to Khitan, in all decent civilized countries, noble ladies learn to weave. This is useful even when socializing. ”

"Later, it was really troublesome. The boys of the Guo family have all seen it, and they are the ones who especially like to tinker with all kinds of strange things. He was once interested in the loom and wanted to see how to attach it to his machine, so he asked Theodora. The result? She won't. The Queen Mother spread her hands.

On weekdays, the other ladies who surrounded her, knowing that she was not interested, would take the initiative to avoid this topic. But this time, it was she who wanted to get together. But it won't mean it won't, and she can't help it, so she can only come back and make up for the class in a hurry. ”

"That's not bad, isn't it? Didn't I go to school in the end? Dao Yan thought for a while and said: "Since ancient times, those who read and read well have worked hard by themselves, at least their parents and teachers to enlighten and educate them, and few have been forced to learn well. There are also many ways to educate, so let the child realize this need for himself, and the effect may be better. ”

"It's late!" The Queen Mother said bluntly: "What's the use of making up for it now, people learn faster than her!" ”

"When she learned a little, Xiao Guo had already built a loom by herself, let people demonstrate it for a while, and then dismantled it herself and figured out the principle." She told them, "By the time Theodora went to him, they had already been modified." It's just that his organ is too delicate, otherwise it would have been sold everywhere by now. ”

All three smiled helplessly.

"This kid is just spoiled." Speaking of her granddaughter, the Queen Mother talked a lot: "Her grandfather was also used to her - she didn't like to work at that time, and she didn't even like to practice martial arts!" I read all kinds of messy books there every day, and I am helpless, do you want to be a philosopher or a great khan? But Basil finally said that if she was allowed to watch it, she would be even more emboldened. ”

"And what do you do?" The old sea urchin asked curiously.

"It's all up to this, so I can only obey her." The Queen Mother said speechlessly: "But I also insisted, not to mention anything else, the practice of martial arts must not stop." That weaving and embroidery thread can still be fooled, how to fool in martial arts? ”

"Oh, kids nowadays really can't do it. Their father's generation is much more able to endure hardships than them. The Queen Mother shook her head again and again, and sighed again.

(End of chapter)