In Alexei's castle in Moscow, Alexei was looking at a map and fell into a sluggish state.
It has been almost half a month since I returned to Moscow, and everything is going very smoothly.
He became a legend here in Muscovy and a legend among the Slavs.
After being sold to the Ming Empire, he not only regained his freedom in the end, but also received a large number of rewards for establishing a military industry. The land he owned in Tianzhu, Ning State, was very vast. If he was placed in the Principality of Moscow, he would be a perfect one.
Great nobleman.
The story of him and Andrei became the most talked about thing among Moscow aristocrats.
During this period of time, he has been idle almost every day. Every day, he is invited to attend banquets, told over and over again about the Ming Dynasty, and also asked about some things about the Ming Dynasty over and over again.
He and Andrei's family, Vasily III directly arranged for people to find and bring him to Moscow, and soon the family was reunited.
"Do you want to go back or not?"
Alexei looked very hesitant.
Because of his experience with the Ming Dynasty and his brave battles, Vasily III extended an invitation to Alexey and solemnly hoped that he could stay.
He also promised Alexei that as long as he was willing to stay, he would make Alexei a great noble and give him a lot of rewards. He would also make Alexei an important military general and lead the formation of a powerful army.
to defend the Slavic homeland.
In the words of Vasily III, the Principality of Muscovy now needs heroes like Alexei to defend its homeland.
Basil III's request to stay made Alexei hesitant. To be honest, he really wanted to stay and not go back.
Because he has his relatives and friends here, everything he is familiar with, and Vasily III has promised a lot of things, he also feels that he can do well here with his talents.
The Principality of Moscow is in troubled times again, and it is necessary for the Slavs to unite to tide over the difficult moments together. His wife, children, and parents also hope that Alexei can stay.
For them, not to mention the long journey to the distant Ming Dynasty, they may not be able to get used to life here in the Ming Dynasty in the future. On the contrary, they are used to everything here in the Principality of Moscow, and they are nobles, and their lives are still very easy.
Not bad.
All this made Alexei hesitate.
But everything in the Principality of Moscow prevented him from really making up his mind.
Compared with the powerful Ming Empire, the Principality of Muscovy is small, weak, and extremely turbulent. The Tatars come to plunder from time to time. Now there are hungry and cold Kazakhs in the east, and Poles and Lithuanians in the west.
He also kept fighting.
In such a turbulent situation, even the nobles of the Muscovy Principality cannot live a stable life.
What's more, along the way, Alexey truly felt the power of the Ming Empire. As a citizen of Ning, he was able to enjoy respect and treatment that the Slavs simply could not enjoy.
Slavs are synonymous with slaves all over the world.
Whether it is the Tatars, the Ottoman Empire, or the countries along the Mediterranean, everyone regards the Slavs as slaves, synonymous with inferiority, and even continues to regard the Slavs as a barbaric people.
In comparison, Ming people are synonymous with being powerful, civilized, wealthy, gentlemen, etc., no matter where they are, and they are always welcome guests wherever they go.
"Do you want to go back or not?"
Alexey hesitated, seeing that it was almost time to return.
"Dear~"
A voice came from behind. Someone was hugging Alexey from behind, with a face full of happiness.
This is Alexei's wife Popova.
"Are you thinking about going back to the Ming Empire again?"
Popova looked at Alexei's hesitation and knew that he definitely wanted to go back to Ming Dynasty.
"Yeah~"
"Here in Ningguo, I have thousands of acres of land that can be planted all year round. I also have a large manor with a large number of cattle, sheep, horses, and hundreds of slaves."
"It's warm all year round, unlike here, where it gets freezing cold in the winter. There are also beautiful beaches, and you can travel to all over the world."
"Do you want to go back with me?"
Alexei smiled and nodded, describing everything in Ningguo to Popova.
"I don't want to go to such a far away place. Isn't it good to live here?"
Popova shook her head straightforwardly and said that she didn't want to leave here. She lived very comfortably here and didn't want to leave at all.
"Although it's nice here, you don't know the benefits of being a citizen of a strong country. No matter where you go, no one dares to mess with you."
"What's more, the Principality of Muscovy is in turmoil, and the Tatars often plunder the city of Moscow. If Moscow is captured by the Tatars that day."
Alexei tried hard to persuade Popova, but he was actually persuading himself.
"Alexei, it is precisely because of this that we need to stay here. You are a warrior and have been in the Ming army. If you can stay, we will be more confident in defeating the Tatars."
.”
"As long as we Slavs are united, we will make Moscow great."
Popova held Alexei in her arms. She didn't want Alexei to leave, and she didn't want to leave here.
She is not really looking forward to living in Ningguo, because here, as a noble, she has already lived a comfortable enough life.
"Okay, I'll think about it~"
Alexei hesitated, not knowing what to do.
Looking outside the castle, I saw that autumn was coming soon. The sky was filled with dark clouds and the cold wind was blowing, making people unable to help but wrap up their clothes.
If we were here in Ningguo, it would still be very hot at this moment.
…
On the other side, in a village in Stupinski.
Andre's family is packing their things and preparing to return to Ningguo.
Unlike Alexei, Andrei's family had no intention of staying here from the beginning. The whole family and even some people in the village planned to follow Andrei to Ningguo.
They were the lowest class of serfs, living the most difficult days and lives. They worked continuously all year round, ate unpalatable bran and horse bread, wore extremely shabby clothes, and lived in very shabby conditions.
More importantly, as serfs, they did not have any human rights. They were the private property of the slave owners and could even be bought and sold. If they were not satisfied, they could be punished at will.
Therefore, they had no nostalgia for this place at all. Being able to follow Andre to Ningguo to live a new life made Andre's family extremely excited and looked forward to setting off soon.
"I don't want these things anymore. They are available here in Ming Dynasty, and they are much better than this."
Andre said with disgust as he watched his wife putting some tattered things into the suitcase.
For Andre, who was born a serf, the most valuable things in his home were just a few tattered farm tools, kitchen utensils and clothes. In the current view of Andre, these things were not worth bringing to Ningguo.
But for Andre's family, they are reluctant to throw away everything. Every piece of clothing, even if it is very rotten, cannot be discarded. Every piece of farm equipment, even if it is worn out, is still
I don't want to throw them away, so I have to take them all with me.
"But these are all good things. It would be a pity not to bring them with you."
Andre's wife was still reluctant to give up and kept packing everything she felt necessary to bring.
"Don't take it with you. This trip to Ningguo is tens of thousands of miles away. Carrying these tattered things is extremely inconvenient and not worth much money. We can just sell them when the time comes."
"Give it all away, give it all away."
Andre shook his head helplessly.
"What a wonderful thing, just give it away like this?"
Andre's wife Sofia was extremely reluctant to part with her. These were all the possessions she had saved with great difficulty. Some of them were even passed down from generation to generation. Serfs were very miserable. It was very difficult to save something. It was very difficult.
.
"As a gift, our family is no longer serfs, we are from the Ming Dynasty. There is plenty of land and money in Ningguo. Taking these things over will only make people laugh at us."
Andre threw all the things that his wife had worked so hard to pack on the ground, looking like he hated iron.
"Andre, if you don't want these things, can you give them to us?"
A large number of villagers gathered around to watch the fun. All of them looked at Andre's family with red eyes, looked at Andre's carriage and horses, and looked at Andre's luxurious clothes. As for the children,
They all looked at the beef jerky and raisin snacks on Andre's children's mouths with great envy.
"If you want it, just take it~"
Andre said generously, looking not far away. His wife's relatives, his own relatives, etc. had all packed their big and small bags, and were struggling to carry these things to his place.
Everyone brought their families with them, with smiles on their faces, and they all looked impatient, wishing they could fly to Daming immediately.
After hearing Andre's words, the surrounding villagers immediately rushed to Andre's house. In just a blink of an eye, everything in Andre's house was sorted clean, not even a meal.
No bowl was left.
Andre's wife looked at this scene, her whole body was extremely heartbroken, and wanted to stop it, but when she looked at Andre again, she couldn't say anything, so she could only hold a box in her hand tightly.
He was holding her in his arms, and there were a few relatively good clothes inside.
"Everyone, we are leaving. If you are destined to go to Daming in the future, you can come to Ningguo to find us."
Andre rode on the horse, said goodbye to the familiar people around him, and then left without looking back.