The spring of 1124, the year when Jesus was born, which was the 24th year of Tianqi in the Song Dynasty, came earlier than usual.
The moist and warm wind blows from the direction of the Aegean Sea, bringing the fragrance of Greek olive trees.
The Roman Emperor, John II Comnenus, was sitting on the balcony of the back garden of the Holy Mountain Palace in Constantinople, looking at the Aegean Sea in the distance.
The waves are sparkling and boundless. The white sails are dotted, as if they have walked through the long river of history. The knowledgeable John II looked at it blankly, and an idea suddenly came to his mind, "In Homer's epic, A
When Carmennon led the ancient Greek coalition to attack Troy, did he come from this sea area?
Why have great heroes from ancient times to the present always sent out expeditions? The greater the king, the farther the expedition was. In ancient times, Alexander, the king of Macedonia, went on an expedition to the east, all the way to the Tianzhu River. From there to the center of the world at that time - Greece
, a fast horse needs to run for a full year.
Now there is a great king in the East who is as great as Alexander. Wherever he goes on expeditions, even fast horses have to run for a full year.
"Your Majesty, the queen is here!" the chamberlain said at the balcony door.
John II paused for a moment and stood up.
Yin Linna pulled her six-year-old son Manuel, and there was a young man behind her, who was obviously a blind man. With the support of the chamberlain, they walked over together.
"My Majesty, please save the Kingdom of Hungary."
"My queen, my Manuel, and my dear Bella, what happened again?"
"Kifu was captured by the Western Expeditionary Army of the Song Dynasty. The coalition forces of Polish Grand Duke Boleslaw III and Kyiv Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh were severely defeated. Your Majesty, Boleslaw III is Instivan II
The strongest supporter. Now”
"What, Jifu was defeated!" John II was shocked, "Where did the news come from?"
"Brought by the Venetian fleet on the Black Sea. They said that in the past winter, the Song army took advantage of the freezing of the Dnieper River east of Jifu City, quickly crossed the river, and then besieged the city for half a month and captured it seventeen days ago.
The city was destroyed. Vladimir Monomakh and Leslaw III fled in panic."
John II's face became extremely serious, "We must verify whether the source of the information is reliable and whether it is true or false. The Merchant of Venice, these guys who can sell God for gold coins, dare to make up any rumors."
Yin Linna hesitated for a moment. She also knew the character of Venetian merchants. In order to make money, they dared to fabricate the "death" of the Pope. Is there anything in this world that they dare not do?
"Where is my great commander, John Aksukh?" John II asked his attendant seriously.
"Your Majesty, I will go and summon him immediately," the attendant immediately replied.
"Okay, go quickly. Tell him that I want to know the outcome of the Jisuke battle."
"yes!"
John II walked around on the balcony a few times, slowly regaining his composure, and his former gentleness returned to him.
"My queen, my Manuel, and my dear Bella, please take a seat. I was a little out of control just now and lost the calmness that an emperor should have."
After inviting the three of them to sit down, John II pointed to the exquisite porcelain plate on the table and said: "My Manuel, here are the preserved fruits from the Song Dynasty, your favorite mangos, bananas and dried durians. I heard that they are
The people of the Song Dynasty collected it in the distant and hot South China Sea, dried it and salted it, then sealed it in iron jars and transported it to Constantinople."
Speaking of this, John II couldn't help but sigh: "In this world, the most profitable people are the Song people. In order to take the last gold coin from our pockets, they can come up with many incredible ways. They actually used iron
Koupi, Aksuhe explained it to me for a long time, and then I understood that there is really no shortage of this thing in the Song Dynasty."
Yin Linna, who had been married to him for more than 20 years, knew that he was saying these words to lighten the atmosphere and was waiting for Aksukh's arrival, so she remained silent.
"Bella, would you like to smoke a cigarette? Or ask the servant to make a cup of coffee? You are sixteen years old and can act like a man."
John II asked politely.
Bella, who was blind, bent slightly and expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty. I'd better smoke a cigarette first and drink the coffee later. No man can refuse these two things."
"That's right." John II signaled to the attendant, took out a cigarette from the paper bag with a monkey printed on it, and handed it to Bella.
He took it, put the cigarette upright on the table, paused gently, and held it in his mouth. The waiter struck a match and lit the cigarette in Bella's mouth.
The blue smoke is like a bird, Bella's soul seems to be dancing in the air with the blue smoke.
"Go and prepare coffee. Me, the queen, Prince Bella, and Aksukh, four cups in total."
John II ordered his attendants.
"Your Majesty, I heard that the tobacco leaves for this cigarette were found by Song people from the barren mountains overseas?" Bella came back to her senses and started looking for a topic.
"Yes. The Song people had a pair of feet that could go anywhere in the world, and a pair of eyes that could see everything in the world. They found this thing and made cigarettes. Now they have become as essential as tea and Song sugar.
Venetian merchants, in order to rob these goods, would like to drown all their brothers in the Aegean Sea, so that there will be no rival to snatch the goods."
The greedy Venetians have a bad reputation in the Christian world, and making fun of them is the most common topic of conversation.
Everyone chuckled a few times, and Bella continued: "I believe that before long, coffee will become an indispensable thing."
"Yes, that's right. I heard from businessmen in the Song Dynasty that coffee is not selling well. Firstly, the output has not increased yet, and secondly, people's consumption habits have not yet been developed. Listen, the business experience of the Song Dynasty people is always incredible. "
"Your Majesty, I heard that the origin of coffee is Axum in the south of Ethiopia?"
"Yes, I heard that coffee trees have grown in Aksum for thousands of years, and the locals have been eating it for thousands of years. However, the people of Song Dynasty discovered its beauty."
"Did the power of the Song people go to Aksum?" Bella asked thoughtfully.
"Yes. Not only that, they also occupied the islands south of the Saracens, controlled the outlet of the Red Sea, and named the island Socotra Island. They also gradually occupied the monk city-states along the coast of East Africa.
A group of commercial towns, including Mogadishu, Malindi, Mombasa, Sofala, etc., centered on Kilwa, suppressed the Persians and Saracens and made them work for themselves."
"I didn't expect that the army of the Song Dynasty was so powerful, and the navy was not to be outdone."
"Yes, if it were not blocked by the land of Egypt and Syria, the Song Dynasty's navy would rush into the Mediterranean along the Red Sea. I don't know if it is our misfortune or our luck!"
A valet came in.
"His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief Aksuhe will be arriving soon. He needs to sort out some information and ask me to report to His Majesty first.
"Okay." John II nodded with satisfaction,
Bella said with envy on the side: "Your Majesty has a capable minister like Mr. Aksukh. It is really a gift from God. It would be great if my father also had such a capable minister."
The regretful look on his face seemed to say, if he and his father had capable ministers like John Aksukh, why would they both be blinded by their uncle, that damn illegitimate son, and he could only flee to Constantinople in embarrassment?
Go to your cousin.
Yin Linna looked at her cousin and was filled with worries.
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