You must know that even in ancient China, when the entire people respected the imperial examination, the proportion of illiterates was still very large.
In medieval Europe, most of the noble knights were illiterate. Only those in the church knew how to read and write, and most of the books they read were based on the Bible and other doctrines.
This slave sailor was able to write a very beautiful Latin poem, which surprised Zhu Han.
"What's your name?" Zhu Han called the former slave to him and asked.
When I announced that this slave would be liberated as a free sailor, I actually mentioned his name, but it was too long and Zhu Han didn't remember it at all.
The slave sailor replied respectfully: "My name is Pietro Francois Alessandro Rolledan."
When Zhu Han heard this name, his head immediately grew heavy again.
It is indeed a very long name.
"Your Highness, you can also call me, Pietro Rolledan." Pietro Rolledan said quickly.
"Okay then, I will call you Luo Liedan from now on." Zhu Han said, bowing his hands.
"Obey my Highness," Pietro Rolledan said.
This Luo Liedan was only twenty-four or five years old, but his face was frighteningly pale, his lips were blue, his eyes were sunken, and he was so skinny that it seemed as if he could fall if a gust of wind blew over him.
Zhu Han noticed the bandage on his ankle. The wound was still oozing with bright red blood. It was obvious that he had an injury that had not yet healed.
Although the Ming Dynasty's fleet was not very good for these slave rowers, the necessary food and medical care could still be guaranteed to them.
Therefore, the scars on Pietro's body must be the recurrence of old injuries caused by his previous slave life.
Logically speaking, a young man who speaks so well, is literate, and knows how to repair ships should not be arbitrarily sold as a low-class slave.
He must have a good family background, and most family members will try their best to redeem him.
Zhu Han immediately asked Pietro about his origins.
Upon hearing Zhu Han's question, Pietro shook his head and smiled bitterly, then said.
"Your Highness, I was born in the Republic of Venice, a far away country. My family, the Rolitan family, is a wealthy family in Venice."
"What Venice!?" Zhu Han immediately said in surprise.
He never imagined that the white slave in front of him actually came from the famous water city of Venice.
The historical Republic of Venice was once part of the Roman Empire. After the barbarians invaded and destroyed the Roman Republic, a large number of Romans fled to the beach in Venice to escape the massacre by the barbarians and established a city there.
After hundreds of years of development, the Venetians have successfully managed themselves into a commercial city-state.
Medieval Mediterranean commerce could almost be said to be dominated by the Republic of Venice. Except for Genoa and Pisa, both belonging to the Apennines, which were able to grab some commercial shares, no other country could compare with the Republic of Venice.
"Oh my God, I can't believe it. Your Highness, have you ever heard of Venice?" It was Petroroledan's turn to be surprised.
Zhu Han nodded, and then said, "Yes, I know about Venice, and I also know that there is no king or emperor there. Several big families take turns to hold power, so it is a republic."
Although Zhu Han's words were a little awkward after translation.
But Luo Liedan already understood that the Ming prince in front of him knew a lot about his country.
"God, this must be God's will!"
Luo Liedan almost burst into tears with excitement. He felt that Zhu Han must have been sent by God to save him.
Otherwise, how could anyone in the far East know so much about the equally distant Republic of Venice?
"I have nothing to do with your God. You can say I'm not familiar with it. You might as well tell me how you became a slave and were trafficked to Nanyang in the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Han waved his hand and said half-jokingly.
Luo Liedan took a deep breath and continued to tell his story.
It turns out that the Rolitan family is a wealthy family in Venice, and one of the family's predecessors once served as the Governor of the Republic of Venice. Pietro Rolitan, who was smart and studious since he was a child, would definitely have entered business first and then politics if he followed the normal path, taking advantage of the family's advantages step by step.
, became a powerful figure in the Republic of Venice.
However, all this changed completely with a pirate robbery.
The Republic of Venice is a Catholic country. Although it has commercial contacts with the Catholic countries on the east coast of the Mediterranean, there are often disputes between them.
There were numerous pirates in the Mediterranean, and they often robbed merchant ships from Catholic countries such as Venice.
During a voyage, Pietro was attacked by a Mamluk pirate ship, and the ship's crew became prisoners of the Mamluk Kingdom.
At that time, the Republic of Venice and the Mamluk Kingdom were at war.
The fierce battle between the two sides has filled the minds of the Mamluks with anger.
Not only did they ignore the hostage redemption request put forward by Rolitan's family, but they directly sold Pietro and other Venetian captives to Persian merchants as slaves.
As pagan slaves, the lives of these Venetian captives could be described as hell on earth.
They were all treated as inferior slaves and assigned to various galleys as rowing slaves. They could only sleep three to four hours a day, and they could only live in the smelly and damp bottom cabin and eat sour and smelly hawksbills.
There are lakes of beans and rotten noodles, and the water you drink is smelly and covered with green moss.
Only after winning a naval battle or completing a trade deal, these hard-working slaves would receive a baked flatbread and a cup of fermented grape juice.
After more than two years of torture, almost all of Pietro's companions on the ship were dead, and the remaining others had completely lost contact with each other, and no one knew whether they were alive or dead.
After several resales, Pietro was finally sold to the city of Malacca in Nanyang.
After hearing what happened to Pietro, Zhu Han couldn't help but feel a little sad.
According to what he said, Pietro is only twenty-six years old this year, but after the years of abuse, he looks like a middle-aged man who has gone through vicissitudes of life.
"Venice is a smart commercial country. If the Ming Dynasty can enter the Mediterranean in the future, do you think Venice will become a friend of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Han asked.
Hearing Zhu Han's words, Petrololedan was shocked.
"The Ming Dynasty is so far away from the Mediterranean. It is impossible for a ship to reach it directly. And even if there are ships that can sail such a long distance, there is no route!" Pietro said.
In the eyes of Europeans at this time, both oceans and land in the world had boundaries.
For example, they believe that heading west from the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, whether heading south, north or west, you will eventually reach a bottomless abyss, which is the end of the world.
If you want to reach the far east from Venice, you must pass by land through the areas controlled by the Tianfang Cultists.
Therefore, what Zhu Han just said sounded like fantasy to Pietro.
Zhu Han smiled slightly, and then said to Pietro, "It won't be long before the warships and merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty will sail into the Mediterranean. By that time, you will believe that what I said today is true."
Pietro saw that Zhu Han's expression was very serious, it didn't look like a joke at all, and he couldn't help but take it seriously.
"If that's the case, I am willing to become His Highness's most loyal subordinate, and I will conclude the most friendly and beneficial treaty with the Republic of Venice for you!" Pietro said excitedly.
The Crusades, which lasted for hundreds of years, had just ended in Europe.
The originally arrogant and arrogant Catholic countries were beaten to pieces by the Catholic Church in the Eastern lands.
After this tragic war, Europeans have realized how rich and prosperous the East is.
The East in their eyes was actually only a part of the Japanese region. As for the more distant India and China, to Europeans at this time, they were basically equivalent to countries in myths and legends.
As a Venetian, Pietro's business talent cultivated since childhood made him clearly understand that if the Republic of Venice could establish a friendly cooperative relationship with the Ming Dynasty, it would be a major event that could change the situation of European countries.
During the two years of his slave life, Pietro had been living in the lowest cabin of the ship, but his excellent language talent allowed him to learn many languages of the East, and it also made Pietro know how powerful the Ming Dynasty was in the far east.
Both the Egyptians and the Persians were extremely wealthy in the eyes of the Venetians. They controlled the trade routes from the east to the west, and each of them made a lot of money.
However, among those Persian merchants, the Ming Dynasty in the East was a supreme existence that could crush ten Persians.
"By the way, there is one more thing that I still haven't figured out. You are so talented and knowledgeable, why have you never been discovered by the Persians and have always been the lowest rower slave?" Zhu Han asked immediately.
Although Zhu Han did not doubt that Pietro in front of him was a spy with deliberate intentions, it was still better to get a clear understanding of this puzzling issue.
When Pietro heard this question, he immediately straightened his back proudly, "Those abominable pagans, they have regulations on the ship. If slaves want to become free people, they must convert to their religion no matter what. As a recipient, I
How could the Lamb whom the Lord pointed out turn his back on God!”
It must be said that the religious atmosphere in Europe was still very strong at this time.
Even the Black Death catastrophe that just passed has repeatedly demonstrated the incompetence of the Catholic Church.
However, it is still very difficult for them to convert to another religion.
"I see, you can rest assured that I, the Ming Dynasty, do not prohibit you from practicing your respective religions. As long as you do not impose your religious habits on others and act in compliance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty," Zhu Han said calmly.
Chinese civilization has long transcended the scope of religious civilization. The rule of man and the rule of law have been able to complete all social functions. The only role of religion is to comfort the soul.
So Zhu Han was not worried about what kind of trouble these Catholics or Catholics would cause.
"Your merciful Highness, I am willing to spend the rest of my life loyal to you!" Pietro Rolledan immediately knelt down and said excitedly.
"Let's do this, I will assign two people to you. You first learn the Ming Dynasty's Mandarin, and at the same time teach your own language to these two people. When your Mandarin is good enough, you will serve as an accompanying official beside me. Specifically,
The job is.
"
Zhu Han fell into thinking as he spoke.
"By the way, the specific position is Western Affairs Officer. I will set up a Western Affairs Yamen and you will be in charge of it." Zhu Han said.
When Pietro heard this, he burst into tears.
In just one morning, he first changed from a slave to a free sailor, and then from a free sailor, he rose to become an official of the Ming Dynasty.
You know, in the fleet, the slaves lived at the bottom of the cabin without any freedom.
Although sailors can move around freely, there are strict regulations restricting their movements, and their food and accommodation are very ordinary.
Officials in the fleet not only do not need to perform daily labor, but also enjoy special dining rooms and bedrooms.
These days, it is extremely difficult to get some information about Europe from Tianfang's businessmen.
A great man born in Venice is definitely a valuable talent.
Therefore, Zhu Han felt that he could not attach too much importance to this Venetian. He was a small affairs officer, only from the ninth rank. If this Luo Liedan could help the Ming Dynasty perform meritorious service in the future, Zhu Han would not be stingy with more rewards.
Under the guidance of a British royal guard, Petrololedan came to a cabin on the upper deck.
Although this cabin was narrow and could only accommodate a single bed, in Pietro's eyes it was no less than a paradise on earth.
This is a small independent room specially prepared for the officials accompanying Zhu Han.
There is a fixed wooden bed in the room, covered with a layer of fine cotton cloth, and underneath is a palm woven mattress. Although it looks very simple, it is very clean.
Pietro's more than two years of slavery almost made him forget these normal conditions in the world.
What surprised him even more was that this small room actually had a bright round window, and the blue sky and white clouds could be seen clearly from the window.
When Pietro got closer, he was surprised to find that the window was inlaid with a large piece of complete transparent glass.
Although Europe has already had transparent glass, it is very rare for the glass on this cabin window to be so pure and free of impurities.
Such a large piece of flat and transparent glass could be sold for at least one small guise in Venice.
These extravagant Easterners actually embedded it on a bumpy ship?
Pietro couldn't help but think of the prosperity and power of the Eastern Ming Dynasty that the Persians once described.
Pietro then looked at the other items in the cabin.
It doesn't matter if you look at it.
The subsequent shock caused Pietro to almost fall over.
In this small cabin, in addition to a bed, there is only a small bench and a small cabinet.
There is a tray on top of the cabinet, with something like a water glass upside down.
Pietro took it in his hand and looked at it carefully.
He suddenly discovered that it was actually a piece of porcelain with exquisite patterns.
"Oh my God!"
"Holy Mary!"
Pietro couldn't help but exclaimed again and again. Under the intense emotion, his hand holding the teacup began to tremble.
"This crystal-white porcelain was placed here so carelessly without anyone taking care of it?" Pietro couldn't believe what he saw.
You know, in Europe at this time, not to mention the best Jingdezhen porcelain, even the porcelain fired in ordinary folk kilns can become the heirloom of a feudal lord, even if it is just a teapot for drinking a large bowl of tea.
Or a noodle bowl for eating noodles. As long as the picture on it is beautiful enough, it means that the status of the porcelain is noble enough.
Today, Europeans simply don’t understand how porcelain is made.
