When the sky in the east just turned white, Niutou Port had already started a busy day. The ships in the port were in and out, people came and went on the pier, and the city next to the port was even more busy, with a scene of bustling traffic.

Zhao Yan walked out of the cabin and stretched his waist, then looked at the busy port, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. Yesterday afternoon, their fleet arrived at Niutou Port. Because his trip to Europe was not open, the officials here did not know in advance, so it was not until he arrived here that the officials here rushed to pay homage and arranged a residence for him. However, Zhao Yan did not want to bother the local officials, and the European ship under his feet was originally a luxurious and comfortable ferry, and the accommodation prepared on the shore was not necessarily more comfortable than the ferry room, so he refused the kindness of the local officials.

"I didn't expect that Africa, thousands of miles away from Tokyo, our Song Dynasty actually had such a prosperous port!" At this moment, Zhao Yan heard Yuan's voice coming from behind, and then Yuan's fat body slowly walked over. Not only did he arrive at Niutou Port for the first time, he had never heard of it in advance. It was not until yesterday when the ship entered the port that he realized that the Song Dynasty actually had such a prosperous port thousands of miles away.

"Haha, the port on the Nanyang side is already very young, but the Niutou Port in front of us is even younger. When Jiaer and his friends went to Europe, this Niutou Port had just been established. In just a few years, Niutou Port was already so prosperous, which also shows how prosperous the trade between our Song Dynasty and Europe is." Zhao Yan also smiled and said, almost all the ports on the route from the Song Dynasty to Europe were planned by him, and Niutou Port was selected by him personally. Now he is very pleased to see the prosperity here. Moreover, with the frequent exchanges between the Central Plains and Europe, Niutou Port will only become more prosperous in the future. Unless the Suez Canal is opened, the shipping here will be affected. However, in the next few decades, Zhao Yan still cannot see the hope of Suez opening.

"Your Highness. You said that there was an opportunity for me to see the Catholic Church with my own eyes. It wouldn't be here?" At this time, Le Yuan suddenly asked again. He had asked Zhao Yan about some of the Catholic situations before, but Zhao Yan smiled and told him that he had an opportunity to see the Catholic Church with his own eyes, but he was unwilling to say what the opportunity was. This made Yuan very helpless, so he mentioned it again today.

"Hahahahaha~, you finally couldn't help but speak. But you guessed it right. There is indeed an opportunity for you to see the Catholic Church. Just now, the fleet was going to replenish supplies at the port, and the crew members also wanted to relax. Let's take this opportunity to go on the shore together!" Zhao Yan laughed when he heard Yuan's words. He deliberately didn't say it just to try Yuan's concentration, but he didn't expect that the other party could finally ask.

"Haha, I am an impatient person, especially when I am always curious about novel things, and have suffered a lot of hardships. Unfortunately, I have never been able to get rid of this problem. And with my age, I may not be able to change it in my life." At this time, Le Yuan smiled freely. Although he is nearly sixty years old, he still maintains a strong curiosity and desire for knowledge, which is also the main reason why he traveled thousands of miles to Europe.

At that moment, Zhao Yan asked someone to prepare and then got off the ship with Le Yuan. The officials in the port had been paying attention to Zhao Yan's every move. When they saw him get off the ship, they immediately brought people to meet him. However, Zhao Yan did not let them follow him, but just asked them a few words. Then they asked them to go out of the port and went southeast.

Niudao is actually Madagascar Island in later generations. It is known as the fourth largest island in the world. Zhao Yan once asked someone to make a rough calculation. Finally, it came to a conclusion that Niudao's area is almost as large as the original Western Xia territory. Such a vast island naturally could not completely occupy the Song Dynasty. In fact, the Song Dynasty only controlled the Niuta Port area, which was the northernmost corner of Niudao, which was less than one percent of Niudao. The rest were vast unmanned areas. Of course, there were also natives on the island, but the number was relatively small, and it was generally not close to Niuta Port.

There is a small river entering the sea southeast of Niutou Port, and not far from the north bank of the river, there is a very special village. The village does not live in local natives, but they are not from Song people. Moreover, the people in the village rarely contact Niutou Port. Even when they enter Niutou Port, they will be subject to strict investigation by the officials of the Song Dynasty, because they are the Catholic nobles exiled here in the Song Dynasty, including Pope Pascal II.

In order to ensure safety, Zhao Yan led a 500-man guard to this small village established by the Catholic nobles. The Song people in Niutou Port generally called this prison village, because in their eyes, Pascal II and others were originally prisoners. Although Pascal II and others were very dissatisfied with the name, unfortunately they were unable to resist at all.

The imperial village is only ten miles away from Niutou Port, and it arrives in almost a blink of an eye. In addition, Zhao Yan got up early today, so when they arrived at the imperial village, the sunrise in the east had just risen. In order to ensure Zhao Yan's safety, his guards rushed into the village immediately after arriving here, preparing to order everyone to put down any weapons that might threaten Zhao Yan's safety.

But what no one expected was that the guard had just rushed in, but someone ran out and reported loudly to Zhao Yan: "Your Highness, the houses in the village are actually empty, but the rooms are full of traces of life. It seems that there are still people in the room just now, but now all the people in the village are gone!"

"The whole village is gone, how is this possible?" Le Yuan, who was following Zhao Yan, was shocked when he heard this, because he could clearly see smoke from cooking in some yards in the village. It was obvious that someone was cooking, but why are there no one now?
Chapter completed!