Chapter 76 The Epilogue of AD 1482 3 - The Kingdom of King John
The Calavia sailing ship went upriver to explore this ancient continent that had not changed for millions of years. It represented Westerners' efforts to rediscover and occupy the world. A new geographical discovery also means a new geographical occupation.
Bruno looked at both sides of the bank. There were endless dense rainforests on the banks. In the rainforest were hidden smoke, various novel plants and beasts, and overwhelming swarms of mosquitoes. There were also vague peeping glances.
Most of the onlookers were wearing simple grass skirts, turbans of unknown meaning, and holding iron farm tools or weapons in their hands. They looked curiously at the big ship and the white-skinned people on the ship, not knowing what these people were like.
What does arrival mean?
The sailboat came back to the village by the river, where the indigenous warriors and warriors had dispersed. Paul looked at the village not far away with a fierce look on his face.
"Foda-se! The warrior with feathers on his head is gone. Brother Bruno, let's go ashore!"
His face was a little pale, because he had a low-grade fever and chills for no reason recently. But his heart longing for a happy life was still cruelly eager to try.
"Paul, please take a rest first. Half of the sailors on the ship have been feeling unwell recently. There are only 20 of us in total now, so it's better to be cautious."
Bunoru shook his head. The disparity in strength was the only reason that prevented them from taking action.
"foda-se! tenho saudades!" Paul looked helplessly at the village by the river, where there were many attractive golden lights that could be seen but not touched. He was melancholy.
The boat continued to move forward. After another two days, the terrain gradually rose, and the upper reaches seemed to be a plateau. The jungle on both sides of the river was slightly sparse, and the villages were denser. Black natives in simple clothes were working casually in the fields. At noon,
Many people hid in the woods and riversides to avoid the hot sun and ate insects, cassava and tropical fruits with their hands.
The big boat on the river also attracted the attention of more tribal warriors. They moved upstream with the boat and shouted at the white-skinned people on the boat. Without receiving any response, the elite indigenous warriors pulled up their single bows and aimed towards
A large ship a few hundred meters away fired iron arrows in vain.
The Karavel sailboat may have broken into an important place, and there were more and more tribal warriors on the river bank. Bunoru counted, and there were already two to three hundred young warriors with wooden shields and iron spears, wearing chicken feathers on their heads.
There are more than forty senior warriors.
Looking at the hundreds of warriors gathered on the river bank, a flickering iron cold light, Paul shuddered violently. His body was now a little weak, and he also had a headache. The natives in front of him were already beyond the ability of the expedition team to deal with them.
Soon, more than a dozen small boats appeared on the upper reaches of the river. The small boats were a quarter of the height of the Caravel sailing ship, and each carried five or six warriors. These boats did not pose much threat to the Caravel sailing ship unless the small boats besieged them.
Too much, causing the sailboat to lose speed and be forced to fight alongside the ship.
Bruno remained cautious and careful. He sent out the Fon interpreter and a sailor who was most knowledgeable about current affairs in a small boat, and asked them to bring gifts of glass beads to express the goodwill of the explorers.
Soon, the boat returned with the translator and sailors, and also brought back a brightly dressed indigenous warrior. He wore a bright red turban, a gorgeous yellow robe, a string of rubies around his neck, and a cross tied on his chest.
He wears an "X" shaped blue tie, which symbolizes nobility. He has empty hands to express goodwill, and carries a large bow, two iron javelins, and an iron dagger at his waist.
Bruno's eyes were immediately attracted by the ruby necklace. He quickly calculated that this string of gems was equivalent to a country manor or a large house in Lisbon. If he had enough wealth, he could return to the upper class.
Enjoy a comfortable life of fine banquets, docile servants, and hunting on horseback.
"Friendly foreigners, ahead is the sacred residence of Mwene Kongo, the descendant of the god of heaven. You cannot continue forward. If you want to see the great Mwene Kongo, you must abandon the ship and walk under the guidance of the warriors!"
The noble indigenous warrior announced loudly, while the Feng tribe interpreter was struggling to translate beside him.
Bunoru thought for a moment, then took Paul and the ten most skilled sailors with him. He asked the remaining nine people to drive the sailboat and stay at the widest spot on the river, just in case.
The Congolese people were very friendly. Some natives drove a small boat and brought roasted cassava beans and fresh bananas to the sailors on the ship. The sailors gave back sparkling glass balls and some small carved wooden crosses. The two sides got along well.
Very harmonious.
"What is this cross?" The noble indigenous warrior looked at the small object in his hand curiously. He also saw a similar object on Bruno's neck, and it was also made of silver.
"This is the redemption of the Lord Christ! It is the cross carried by the holy Son of God to redeem His own people. It will save our souls. Belief in God is the only right way! We are also going to the East on this trip to look for those who believe in the Cross.
Kingdom of John!”
Surrounded by hundreds of tribal warriors, Bunoru patiently explained the belief in the cross to the pagan warriors. The Feng translator scratched his head. He also had a wooden cross around his neck, and he tried to explain it according to his own understanding.
With.
"This is the magical weapon of the Cross Stone Pillar God! It is the soul magic weapon that the son of the God refined with his own holy blood before he died. It can protect your voodoo soul and prevent it from being sucked away by the voodoo priest. The magic weapon of the Cross Stone Pillar God
Boundless! This time we are also going to the east to find another tribe that believes in the Cross Stone Pillar God!"
It turned out to be a soul weapon! The noble indigenous warriors were immediately in awe, equating this cross with the skull weapon and voodoo doll in the hands of the voodoo priest. The fear of the voodoo priest's soul-stirring skills has long been deep.
It is buried deep in the heart of every indigenous person in Central and West Africa.
The indigenous warrior thought for a while, carefully stuffed the cross into the inner pocket of his clothes, and shut up and stopped talking.
Several days passed during the next trip, and Paul became even more listless. He had fever or chills from time to time, and he was obviously a little weak.
The group of people followed the road in the jungle and headed deep into the east. Finally one day, a tall flat-topped mountain appeared in the distance. From the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain, a huge city was vaguely visible.
"Foda-se! It's really the land of the devil!" The fever came again, and Paul wiped the sweat from his face. Even though he was as strong as he was, it was a little unbearable now.
"Yes, it's really hot." Bruno also wiped the sweat from his head. The sun in Central Africa was so hot that it almost cooked him. "Fortunately, we are finally here! Mbanza Vajra!"
Mbanza King Kong is such a huge city, with dense wooden buildings and caves carved out of the mountain all over the place. Residents come and go, wearing all kinds of bright clothes. Occasionally, you can see tamed elephants. Maybe it
It is the largest town in subequatorial Africa.
Bruno made a rough estimate of the size of the city, estimating it to be around 30,000 people, which is half the size of Lisbon! He followed the noble indigenous warriors in amazement, passed through the bustling crowd, and arrived at the royal palace in the center of the city.
There were hundreds of strong indigenous warriors stationed there.
The palace is the tallest stone building in the city, located on the top of the mountain. The stone walls are carved with various strange patterns, and twisted red and yellow square patterns are also painted on them. The skulls of various animals hang on the top of the walls, especially those of
The liger has the largest skull, which seems to be some way of expressing majesty.
Looking at the dense rows of animal skulls and empty eyes, Bruno and Paul shuddered together.
"Foda-se! It's really the land of the devil, a powerful tribe of devils!" Paul carefully cursed in a low voice, then looked at the hundreds of chicken-feathered warriors in front of him, and shuddered again.
Bruno nodded in agreement. The two waited for a moment, and the noble indigenous warrior finally came out again and guided the foreigners and indigenous translators inside. The king had already been informed of their arrival.
Entering the palace, Bruno and Paul's eyes were simultaneously attracted by a huge ruby crown. They invariably ignored the middle-aged dark-skinned king under the crown.
The shape of the ruby crown is like a huge upside-down conch, stacked layer by layer. Each layer has silver as the base, gold as the edge, ruby as the center, and the edges are surrounded by dense malachite. The Congolese tribes are green peacocks.
The place where emeralds are produced, emeralds can be found everywhere, and rubies are even more noble.
This ruby crown was completely beyond Bruno's understanding of the price. He didn't know how much it was worth, but it was definitely worth a fortune.
"Foda-se! tenho saudades! What a rich indigenous tribe, but it's a pity that it is too powerful." This was the first time that Bruno, who was born into a noble family, uttered curse words. He was in unspeakable inner turmoil, and his face was full of shock.
The king on the throne looked at the shocked faces of the foreigners with satisfaction. Mwene Congo was the master of the vast land, and no one dared to question his majesty.
After a while, Bruno finally woke up from the shock, and he looked at the king opposite.
The king has dark skin and sharp eyes. He is in his thirties or forties and is wearing a luxurious Phoenician purple robe. On the king's arms are two gold armbands inlaid with gems, as well as on his legs. He
He holds a spear inlaid with gems and a delicate sword at his waist. Hundreds of elite warriors are lined up around him.
Seeing the sword, spear and warrior, Bruno finally came to his senses. He put one hand on his chest, bent down, and performed the noble etiquette respectfully.
“By the grace of the Almighty God, and in the name of the upright and good João II, the great King of Portugal and the Algarve, I, Bruno Con, son of a royal noble, offer my condolences to the great King of the Congo, powerful and possessor of wealth.
Salute you!"
The Fon interpreter nodded. He had already been preparing to meet the chief. There was also an interpreter who was familiar with the Feng language on the opposite side. The two interpreters saluted each other. They were the first bridge of communication between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Congo.
“Under the protection of the God of the Cross, in the name of the son of João, the great chieftain of Porto, the owner of the land rich in wine with its ice-free harbor and a lover of guests, I, Bruno Kahn, who has a noble mother, pay my respects to Mu, the beloved of the God.
Wenecongo, the owner of 100,000 square kilometers of land and the leader of 100 warriors, Chief Nziga Nkuwu expresses his sincere surrender and respectfully offers tribute!"
At this time, the Congo tribes still had strong matrilineal remnants, and the status of women was very noble. They served as priests, chiefs, and even co-ruling queens, just like Nziga Nkuwu's mother and wife.
Later, the Fon translator presented Bruno's gift to the king. A set of exquisite half-length armor, a sharp noble sword, a small glass mirror, and an exquisite woolen blanket. These were gifts given by the Portuguese royal family to the powerful indigenous people in advance.
Prepared, just like their first meeting with the Songhai Kingdom.
King Nziga Nkuvu of Congo looked at these gifts with interest.
He tested the sturdiness of the armor and the sharpness of the sword, and nodded to express satisfaction. Then he looked at his face in a glass mirror, showing admiration and surprise. As for the wool blanket, the king in the tropics was not too worried.
I understand, I just touched it and it was really soft.
Of course, the wool blankets here were not intentionally contaminated with smallpox virus, as Western explorers would do in the Americas in the future. Smallpox originated in Africa, and the king himself had already experienced the baptism of smallpox as a child.
King Nziga Nkuwu of the Congo nodded with satisfaction. He ordered the foreign warriors who came to him to kneel down, and then asked for generous gifts in return.
After hearing the king's order relayed by the translator, Bruno and Paul looked at each other. They looked at the hundreds of elite warriors around them holding spears and blades. After hesitating for a moment, they knelt down and saluted. Soon, the guards gave the foreigners a gift on behalf of the king.
White ivory and green malachite. Seeing the expensive return gift, the two of them instantly forgot the humiliation of being forced to kneel down.
“By decree of the great representative of Christ, Pope Sixtus IV of Rome and the King of Portugal, we look to the east for our brother who also believes in God, the rich country of Prester John, where there is the Gate of Alexander and the fountain of youth,
Come and fight together against the evil and powerful Ottomans who obey the new moon!"
Bunoru then stated the purpose of his trip, to find the kingdom of King John.
"The descendant of the Cross Pillar God, the grandson of the son of the high priest Situs of the riverside city, and the chief of Porto, gave the tribal warriors an order. They were going to the east to find another tribe that believed in the Cross Pillar God, the high priest Chief John
The land with its stone gates and warm spring water, come together to fight against the powerful tribe of the Moon God, the Ottomans!"
King Nziga Nkuwu was lost in thought.
He shook his head at first, because the tribe of the Moon God was obviously stronger than the tribe of the Cross Pillar God. Go north along the tributary of the Congo River, walk overland for several days at the end, and then follow the river again until you reach the basin of Lake Chad. There are moons everywhere.
The tribe of the gods. And heading eastward along the main trunk of the Congo River, ashore at the Great Lakes, through the rift valleys and mountains, through the jungles to the coast, there is still the tribe of the moon gods.
The tribes of the Moon God are so many and so powerful! Just like in voodoo belief, the physical object of the moon is far greater than the physical object of the wooden cross. How can the tribe of the Cross Pillar God defeat them!
The king then nodded again, because he had indeed heard from the high priest about the tribe of the Cross Pillar God. He followed the Congo River all the way east, landed at the Great Lake, passed through the Rift Valley, and turned to the White Nile River. Within ten days, he landed towards the White Nile River.
If you go east, you can reach the edge of the Cross Pillar God's tribe. But if you continue north along the river, you will reach the extremely powerful tribe of the Moon God's descendants.
"Mwene Kongo, who is favored by the gods, knows about the Cross Stone Pillar God Tribe in the far east, where there are stone buildings, warm springs, and tribes of descendants of the Moon God!" the king's translator relayed respectfully.
"The great King of the Congo knows about Prester John's country, where there is the Gate of Alexander and the Fountain of Youth, as well as the evil and powerful Ottomans!" the Feng priest also relayed respectfully.
Bunoru opened his mouth in surprise. Happiness came so suddenly and unexpectedly. The dark-skinned earth king actually knew the kingdom of King John! Starting from Prince Enrique, it took decades and generations of exploration. They finally
After completing the Pope's instructions today, maybe they will be canonized for this great discovery! They finally completed the king's order, and they will be knighted and rewarded for it!
Bruno's eyes filled with excitement. He suppressed the heat in his heart and carefully asked the king if there was any token that he could take back to his life.
King Nziga Nkuwu nodded. He was quite moved by the loyalty of the alien tribesmen. He thought for a moment that only the high priest of Voodoo might have such a remote magic weapon. News from various tribes on the mainland,
He also heard about it from the voodoo priest when he was a child.
"My warrior, you go to the Voodoo High Priest to ask for the magic weapon of the Cross Pillar God." The king ordered. The warrior who listened to the order trembled, his eyes full of fear, but he went anyway.
Thinking of the Voodoo High Priest, the king couldn't help but tremble in his heart. That skinny old woman had lived for too long. She was alive when his grandfather was born. His grandfather died, but she was still alive. His father died.
, she is still alive. Maybe, when he dies, she will still be alive.
The people of the kingdom are so in awe of this old high priest of voodoo. Legend has it that she can use powerful magic weapons to absorb people's vitality and soul voodoo to maintain their eternal life. The high priest of voodoo and the twelve priests also
Like an unshakable mountain, it firmly suppresses the king's power.
The high priest of Voodoo lives in a jungle far away from the city, and it takes two days for the envoy to go back and forth.
Bruno lived in the side hall of the palace, continuing to talk with the powerful king, while preaching the power and mercy of God. He asked a sailor to inform the sailing ship. The others stayed here for two days, and also made people feel sick.
Paul and several sailors took a good rest.
"Are you saying that in your tribe, the chiefs are all men and can pass their titles to their sons and grandsons from generation to generation?" King Nziga Nkuwu asked in surprise in the stone hall.
.
After listening to the interpreter, Bruno nodded. Most of the feudal thrones are passed on to male descendants.
"You also said that in your Cross Pillar tribe, the high priest cannot control the affairs of the tribe, and the chief does not need to be voted by the priests?" The king was still surprised and couldn't believe it.
Bruno continued to nod. The tribes here are still using the long-abandoned democratic electoral system of elders and have not embraced strong centralized royal power. They are really barbaric and backward tribes.
King Nziga Nkuwu's eyes flickered. He was thinking about the teachings of the Cross Pillar God. He felt that compared to the voodoo awe of object worship, the Cross Pillar God seemed to be much kinder.
At this time, a little boy in Chinese clothes ran over. The boy had dark skin and was extremely lively. He had a pair of smart eyes, with strong curiosity shining in his eyes. King Nziga Nkuwu put his hand on him dotingly.
The top of his head.
"Father, I heard that there are some fair-skinned foreigners here today?! Yeah, so white!"
The little boy looked at Bruno's flour-like skin in surprise and reached out to touch it.
Bruno's heart moved. He looked at the little boy's delicate face and clothes, smiled sincerely, stretched out his big white hand, and took the other's small dark hand in his hand in a friendly way.
"Who is this little angel?"
"This is my favorite eldest son, the future heir of the country, Mbemba Nzinga!" The king also had a sincere smile on his face. He loved his eldest son and longed for him to successfully inherit the throne.
Bruno felt relieved. He gritted his teeth and reluctantly took off the silver cross necklace from his neck. He looked at the king who smiled and nodded, and put the silver cross necklace around Mbemba Nzinga's neck.
"Blessed Mother of Mercy!" Bruno drew a prayer cross on his chest, "This child will definitely become a great, merciful and holy king in the future!"
The king looked at the silver cross and smiled meaningfully. The little boy looked at the silver cross around his neck curiously, and he also smiled happily.
"Mbemba Nzinga." Bruno chanted this name in his heart. He didn't know why, but he thought of the deceased former King of Portugal, Alfonso.
Two days later, Bruno was taking care of three completely ill sailors in the King of Congo's palace. However, after two days of torture, the once fierce sailor Paul had completely changed his appearance.
Paul was lying on the bed in extreme pain, tossing and groaning, and his whole body was twitching unconsciously. His face was red, his breathing was short, he had a fever for five hours, and herpes appeared on his lips and nose, but his right hand was still trying to protect his chest.
skirt.
In Paul's mouth, he kept murmuring: "foda-se! terra do diabo! Devil's land! Water, water, give me water!"
Bruno sighed and tried to pour some water into Paul's mouth. He knew that Paul would soon vomit all the water, but fortunately there were servants cleaning the king's palace.
At this moment, the Feng tribe translator came over. The translator glanced at Paul, and he was very familiar with this curse. This is the threshold of life and death that every black African must go through. It is the choice of the ancestral god. Looking at this curse
The intensity of it was far more severe than what I had when I was a child.
He shook his head and looked at Bruno carefully.
"Sir, the king is looking for you, saying that he got the token of King John's kingdom from the Voodoo High Priest."
After hearing the good news, Bruno finally cheered up. He nodded and hurried to see the king.
"This is the cross artifact that the Voodoo High Priest asked to bring over. It comes from the Cross Stone Pillar Tribe in the East." The king asked someone to hand over an ancient stone cross to Bruno.
Bruno looked at the cross carefully. The shape of this cross was obviously different from that of the Orthodox Church. It had complex patterns and sharp corners. It looked like a large cross with four small crosses on the four corners. The middle was carved with entanglement.
The lines are like the leaves of a flower. On the stone pillars of the cross, there is also a line of Gez letters carved that Bruno cannot recognize.
Bruno held the ancient cross in his hand with excitement, and his eyes filled with tears. After a long voyage and fighting, boundless rainforest and disease, he finally found traces of the kingdom of King John in the land shrouded by the devil!
"Dear Captain Diogo Con, we finally found traces of King John's kingdom! Our Lady of Mercy bless us!"
When this news reaches the Kingdom of Portugal, Columbus, the rogue merchant city-state, can completely get out. This thought inexplicably flashed through Bruno's mind.
Of course, Bruno did not know at this time that in the far east, waiting for them and generations of successors to continue to search, the powerful Kingdom of John and the brothers who believed in God were the Ethiopians on the plateau!
It was the direct descendant of King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba, the Solomonic dynasty that ruled the Ethiopian plateau. The only cross in the Crescent Sea, an eternal dynasty that lasted for two thousand years!
King Nziga Nkuwu nodded, not paying much attention to Bruno's reaction. He hesitated for a moment, considered it repeatedly, and finally did not dare to disobey the request of the Voodoo High Priest.
"The elder and respected Voodoo High Priest who rules over souls heard about your arrival, and she invites you to come over and meet!"
The king looked at these foreigners who believed in strange gods and sighed slightly.
