my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 494 Debunking the Truth

Zheng He was simply caught off guard.

Sailors at sea are inherently vulgar, but it is only natural for sailors to be vulgar. To make people behave in a turbulent sea is even more difficult than going to heaven.

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

To be honest, Zheng He's fleet had too many captives, so it was obvious that these people were under the care of the lower-level sailors.

But now...Zheng He realized...the two captives who communicated with the sailors day and night and learned Chinese...now coming to the imperial court, under the eyes of the emperor and many court officials, may become a huge hidden danger.

Or... these are two ticking time bombs.

He hastily pleaded guilty, but Zhu Di was not the kind of small-bellied person, he just smiled, pressed his hands together and said, "No problem."

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

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

Another one named Donkey Ball said, "My family is Sicily."

Obviously, Zhu Di had never heard of such a place name, but he was not eager to understand it, but asked, "What business do you do?"

Er Dan said: "Fishermen."

Zhu Di was obviously a little surprised, and frowned, "Fisherman?"

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

This question is embarrassing, Erdan can only hang his head and say: "I heard that there are treasures on board..."

When Zhu Di heard it, he became angry immediately, and immediately scolded: "Your mother, there is treasure on board, so you will steal it?"

Zhang Anshi was pondering, it seems that His Majesty is also a person who loves to learn foreign languages!

Erdan was obviously frightened, and his face turned pale a few degrees.

Zhu Di continued angrily: "You two are really barbarians. Fortunately, my Ming ship has the power to repel the enemy. If not, I will die at your hands."

Donkey Ball hurriedly said: "Now that I know my mistake, I don't dare to do it again."

Zhu Di sneered and said: "I think it's my first crime, so I don't care about it. I will be imprisoned for a year and a half, and I will take you back to my hometown when I go to the West next time."

Zhu Di didn't continue to say anything, it was precisely because these two were brutal fishermen, they really had nothing to ask, ignorant people were of little value.

Zheng He breathed a sigh of relief.

Baiguan didn't seem to pay much attention to these two people, and they also felt that they were boring. Looking at these people who looked like evil spirits, they made it hard to eat and turned off people's appetite.

At this moment, Zhang Anshi, who had been silently listening to their conversation with Zhu Di, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I think...these two have ghosts."

As soon as this remark came out, Zhu Di was taken aback.

All the officials looked at Zhang Anshi one after another, and many of them showed surprise.

The donkey ball and Erdan obviously didn't understand what it meant to have a ghost, but they also realized that...they seemed a bit unfriendly, and their expressions changed slightly immediately.

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

Zhang Anshi stood up, with a serious look on his face, and said: "Your Majesty, I implore, strictly investigate the identities of these two people, and ask the minister to pry their mouths open."

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

But Zhang Anshi killed him halfway, and insisted that Zhang Anshi's serious attitude didn't seem like he did it rashly.It seems that these two people are really not simple, but they don't know... what's wrong with them.

After hearing this, Er Dan and Donkey Ball's expression changed, and they immediately complained in fear: "We have been wronged, although we are prisoners, why should we..."

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

Donkey Ball said, "No, I'm from Sicily."

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

Er Dan said: "Yes."

Zhang Anshi evoked a mocking smile, and then said: "But I have seen the charts presented by the fleet, this Sicily is on the Italian Peninsula, and this Portugal is on the Iberian Peninsula, these two places, But it’s still thousands of miles away. But when Jin Yiwei escorted you, the two of you were communicating in language, not Chinese. It can be seen that you... besides the local dialect, you also have other languages ​​that you can communicate with. "

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

The donkey ball and Erdan are about to deny it.

Zhang Anshi didn't give them any chance, and said, "Let me guess, you probably use... French or Latin to communicate... right?"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the two of them became even uglier.

Zhang Anshi didn't give them any chance to argue at all, and continued: "But the two of you, Ruoer, are just ordinary fishermen, how could it be possible...to speak such a language? This obviously doesn't match your identities!"

"Just like me in Ming Dynasty, only scholars learn Mandarin in childhood. Ordinary people mostly use their own dialects. If you are fishermen, this is absolutely impossible. So...you must not be ordinary fishermen."

The donkey ball and Erdan looked at each other in blank dismay, and then...they began to rack their brains to justify.

In fact, Zhang Anshi's conjecture has many loopholes. For example, the two men can completely say that when they were captured on the ship, since they could learn Chinese, they must also be able to learn the language of each other's hometown to communicate with each other.

It can also be said... In fact, the two reported their hometowns wrongly. In fact...the two are from the same hometown, but because they are captives and have other worries, they lied about the situation in their hometown.

But at this moment, Zhang Anshi grinned at them, and suddenly said something from his mouth: "Hello, good ones are poisonous, ah ok?"

This nonsense that came out of nowhere, at this moment, completely broke the defense of the two who had been racking their brains.

The whole body of Doe Dan withered quickly visible to the naked eye, he slightly opened his frightened eyes, and said, "I...I'm guilty!"

Donkey Ball's face has also changed, and the whole person is full of fear and trembling.

They completely broke the defense.

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

In fact, Zhang Anshi is not very proficient in foreign languages, not even the level of English, and even the smell of plastic.

He questioned the other party at first, without giving the other party a chance to defend himself, but suddenly said a familiar English word very simply.

This is what is expected. Although there are definitely some differences between the English of this period and the English of later generations, such vocabulary should be barely understandable.

And these two people may not have learned English, after all... At this time, the common language in Europe is either French or Latin, but after all, they are in Europe, even if they are not familiar with English, some of the most basic simple vocabulary, I must have heard of it.

It's like, the Chinese of later generations, even if they stay at home, can probably hear the word "Oupai Karma" in English.

Or it is a vocabulary such as Yayingdie in Japanese.

After all, cultures always communicate invisibly, but often in a way that we like to hear and see.

At this time, the two heard the plastic-smelling words from Zhang Anshi's mouth, and their first reaction was...the other party really has such a deep understanding of Europe.

The second reaction is, since the other party can not only master such vocabulary, but also have so many doubts about it, is it because the language they communicated during the detention period was also mastered by the other party.

Or, if the other party has a certain understanding of Europe, then...it is not too difficult to know your identity.

They even began to worry about whether there were other European counterparts who had already arrived here and thought they would work for the young man in front of them.

Immediately, Erdan said with a pale face: "I... I am indeed not a fisherman, none of us are fishermen..."

Zhu Di: "..."

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

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

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

Even Yi Shiha couldn't help but blush, he obviously felt more and more that the East Factory seemed to be in his own hands, it was really just a decoration.

To revitalize the East Factory, the only possibility is to invite His Royal Highness Wuhu County King to enter the palace and become an admiral and eunuch.

Zhu Di didn't like these two people very much at first, but when he heard that he was deceived, he was furious: "Bold, you can know what is the crime of deceiving the emperor?"

Erdan and Luqiu hurriedly begged for mercy with a look of repentance.

But Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, you might as well listen to their real identities first."

Erdan and Luqiu didn't dare to lie anymore, they must have known something about the situation in the Central Plains on the boat, and knew the consequences of their identities being exposed, if they were not honest at this time, they might really die without a place to die.

Immediately, Er Dan said: "Since a few years ago, in Byzantium and Venice, a large number of goods from Ming Dynasty have appeared..."

Zhu Di looked at Zheng He.

Zheng He explained: "Your Majesty, this Byzantium borders Dashi and is located near Persia and other places. As for Venice, slaves have never heard of it."

Er Dan continued: "Listen to them, these goods were brought in by the Turks."

"Turks?" Zhu Di finally heard a familiar tribe.

Er Dan continued: "Afterwards, I heard that these Turkic people were trafficked from the Mongols, including exquisite porcelain, fine silk, and tea. These goods changed hands repeatedly, from Mongolia to Turkic, and then again. As far as Byzantium and Venice, it appeared in Italy and other places. Therefore, the price is extremely high, especially porcelain, which is enough to be equivalent to gold."

After hearing this, Zhu Di couldn't help but change his face slightly. At this moment, he no longer cared about the two people forging their identities, but focused on... the gold equivalent.

Du Dan said: "These scarce goods are so popular that they are even hard to find, but they are followed by Daming's fleet. After the fleet arrives, everyone knows that the East, thousands of miles away, They can use ships to reach Italy."

"I'm a pastor and so is he."

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

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

As for the others, except for a small number of nobles and businessmen, they are almost all muddled, and it is impossible to master common French or Latin and writing.

"Our plan is to find the sea route, and learn about the ships that can navigate the ocean and the knowledge of sailing, and also... to find the East."

"In order to achieve this plan, we had a heated discussion and finally chose this method...that is, as a captive..."

Zhu Di was surprised, so he said: "The way of captives? Why...not the way of envoys?"

"If it is the status of an envoy, it will inevitably cause controversy. It may even be possible that the kings of various countries send envoys, which is not allowed. We don't know the whole picture of Ming Dynasty, and rash contact will cause unknown consequences." Erdan jerky He muttered quietly, as if he was afraid of his own words and could not make a precise expression.

Zhang Anshi smiled, and added: "Is it related to your internal problems?"

"Yes."

Zhang Anshi said again: "Then your mission is... to understand our situation first, and then decide on the official contact method after making a conclusion?"

Erdan and Luqiu said in unison: "Yes."

Zhang Anshi frowned and said, "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?"

Zhang Anshi said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, I feel that what they mean...the appearance of Daming has caused them to panic! These two people... are probably equivalent to their monks. These monks are extremely powerful, and now they suddenly appear Daming made them worry. After all, Da Ming didn’t believe in the nonsense of these monks, but it appeared out of thin air, making them think that... might cause their followers to produce...produce..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Anshi pointed to his own brain and said: "Ideological problems. It's like... just like... the knowledge of Confucius. Scholars are always vigilant... There will be people who are evil, so we must monopolize it with us. The power of contact, lest someone "confuse the public" and affect Confucius and his elders..."

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

But Zhu Di could roughly understand it, and said: "So, let these two people come in contact, aren't they afraid of death?"

Zhang Anshi said: "There will always be people who are not afraid of death, and their theories are much more powerful than those of Confucius. At most, Confucius only taught people how to cultivate themselves. They taught people how to go to heaven, just like the Buddhist masters. Go to the west to enjoy the blessings, and in the next life, you will be reborn as a master. So they are not afraid of death, they are only afraid that they will not be able to go to the west after death."

After Zhang Anshi sewed it up, Zhu Di can probably understand it.

Looking at the donkey ball and Er Dan, Zhu Di didn't know what to say.

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, these two people have ulterior motives. In my opinion, let Jin Yiwei handle it."

Zhu Di nodded: "These two are wolfish ambitions, so we must not be forgiven lightly."

The Er Dan and Donkey Ball, who didn't know the fortune and misfortune for a while, were quite afraid at the moment.

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: "They are cunning, we will be even more cunning than them. But the information received this time proves two points."

Zhu Di stared at Zhang Anshi with great interest and said, "Let me tell you."

Zhang Anshidao: "Firstly, the trade routes of the Mongolian tribes have indeed been opened up. It is gratifying to congratulate them that they have passed through the Mongolian tribes and created a land Silk Road."

"As for the second, this also means that there is still room for further expansion of the trade on the sea route. My Ming's goods include both high-quality and cheap goods, as well as porcelain and silk...expensive, although Europe It is far away, but there are enough profits, but it is completely possible to open up sea routes and earn a lot of wealth."

After hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes became brighter, and he couldn't help saying excitedly: "They are really willing to use the same amount of gold in exchange for my silk and porcelain from Daming? This is unimaginable."

In Daming, although porcelain and silk were expensive, after all, the annual output was not small, so it was not unattainable.

But if the price is comparable to gold, it is really too scary.

Zhang Anshi said: "It is said that things are rare and expensive. What's more, my Ming Dynasty can make them, but they can't. Naturally, they can also live in rare goods. It's just... to expand the sea route, my minister..."

When Zhang Anshi said this, he seemed to be in a bit of trouble.

Zhu Di said, "You can say nothing."

So Zhang Anshi said: "This road is really far away. Starting from Quanzhou, you have to pass through the Western Seaway, the Tianzhu Sea, and the Dashi Sea. You have to go around the entire continent where the black people live before you can reach it. , I’m afraid it will take two or three years to go back and forth!”

"If there are not enough piers and ports to support and sufficient supplies along the way, this is absolutely impossible. In addition, there must be a large number of pirates along the way. After arriving at the other side's port, because there is no port, and Regarding the problem of not being able to sell the goods, and all the above, if the imperial court cannot come up with a regulation, even if the porcelain and silk are worth tens of thousands of gold, it will be useless."

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

It is true that doing business makes money, but the money is not so easy to earn.

In fact, in the original history, several centuries later, the Frangji people had arrived in East Asia, and began to trade and colonize.

But all of this is based on the fact that they opened up the sea route and established countless trading posts.

Ports and trading posts were not established in Africa, Tianzhu, or islands scattered all over the world. In this era, occasional merchant ships arrived at the northwest coast of the entire mainland island. It was purely an adventure similar to extreme sports, and there was not much to replicate at all. value.