After walking for an hour or two, Zhang Yanling dismounted and put Helena down to rest for a while and check the wound. At first, both parties were a little nervous. Later, Zhang Yanling became familiar with lifting up her skirt and trousers, and Helena simply resigned herself to her fate.
When riding on the horse, the two people were close together and rubbed their hair together. It might have been awkward at first, but later, it seemed that it had become a kind of enjoyment. Zhang Yanling is a man, so naturally he doesn't care. And Helena is a Franconian.
, is a nation that is unrestrained, enthusiastic and outgoing, and it is true that they do not care as much about the defense between men and women as the Ming Dynasty did. So, in fact, they do not feel humiliated.
On the contrary, the young duke on the other side had a high position, handsome appearance, and funny words, so he developed some good feelings.
Therefore, at first, Helena's body was stiff, and the posture of the two riding on the horse was quite awkward. But soon, Helena's posture was lying on Zhang Yanling's back, lying softly on her pillow.
Zhang Yanling's shoulders looked like a close couple getting tired of being together.
In order to alleviate the embarrassment, Zhang Yanling found a topic to talk to Helena. He asked about the customs of Franji, what to eat, drink, and wear, etc. Nothing happened, and Helena answered them one by one.
From Helena's mouth, Zhang Yanling learned that the current king of the Franco Kingdom is called Manuel, who is the cousin of the former king. The king and the major nobles lead the entire country. There are Royal Academy, Inquisition, Knights' Court, etc.
Various management agencies. The king holds all power, and the Vatican holds the power of religious ruling. Government affairs are handled by the king's younger brother, Prince William.
The fiefdoms of nobles, large and small, were spread all over the country and overseas. Each had its own army and the power of life and death in its territory. They raised a large number of slaves sold overseas to work for them in farming.
This is almost the same as what Zhang Yanling knew. According to the Western calendar, it should be the beginning of the 16th century AD. Francois and other European countries are coming out of the darkness of the Middle Ages. In more than a hundred years, various
Technology will develop rapidly. The origin of the steam engine
The first type of machine is about to come out. In another two hundred years, the industrial revolution will arise on a European island country, and the center of gravity of the world will tilt towards the Western world. And that will be the beginning of the most humiliating history of Eastern countries. And all of this is actually
Interconnected, consistent results.
When asked about Helena's life in the Imperial Royal Academy, Helena said that there are top scholars from all over the world in the Royal Academy. Not only does she learn the culture and language of each country, she also learns various subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, and machinery. The only thing that is not
What I learned was writing articles.
And this deeply shocked Zhang Yanling. It is not unreasonable for the Franji Kingdom to be able to dominate the sea for more than a hundred years. They do not play tricks, and what they cultivate in their academy are practical ones. In this era,
It seems to be cutting-edge science. However, in various academies of the Ming Dynasty, what is studied is still humanities and arts, and what is respected is moral articles. These surprises will eventually lead to a huge gap in strength between the East and the West.
Of course, Zhang Yanling does not think that humanistic ideas are useless, but that material development and scientific and technological development will obviously be more important in the future. Those who are lagging behind will be beaten, and those who are lagging behind will be humiliated. This kind of backwardness actually refers to the backwardness of hard power rather than humanities.
In fact, Chinese history keeps repeating this. No matter how brilliant your artistic and humanistic achievements are, when the iron cavalry from the north rolls in, you will still be the one who is slaughtered.
Real strength lies not only in soft power, but also in hard power. Only when you have the ability to protect your home can you enjoy an exquisite life of singing, dancing, poetry and song. Otherwise, everything is just a castle in the air.
The reason why Zhang Yanling chose to go to sea and do this important thing is to make up for and correct the wrong path and ideas that may have been taken in the past. If we do not seize the opportunity of the Age of Discovery, the Ming Dynasty will not be allowed to become the source and occurrence of future industrial development.
The future humiliation cannot be changed.
Zhang Yanling firmly believes that the Industrial Revolution did not necessarily happen on the small British island. The reason why it happened there was entirely because Britain was the most powerful colonizer in the world at that time and had inexhaustible manpower.
and material resources, exploiting all the property in the world. The owner has a huge market.
All of this forced the Industrial Revolution to occur. In order to achieve faster and more efficient production, the great abundance of production means will naturally lead to the advancement of productivity and change production relations.
From a human perspective, when you have enough talents and material wealth, everything will be different. To put it simply, when everyone does not have to rush for the pressure of survival, they will naturally have free time to think about various humanities.
Based on the principles of science and engineering, many ideas are generated. If there are too many ideas, quantitative changes will lead to qualitative changes.
In a macroscopic dimension, this is like a genetic mutation. And it is not disordered, but a directional mutation. It may happen sooner or later, but it will almost certainly happen.
Of course, Zhang Yanling can only think about these things in his heart. No one can understand it when he says it, and no one will understand it. But maybe this is his responsibility as a traveler of the Ming Dynasty. No one forces him
Zhang Yanling was forced to do this, but secretly, this was an inexplicable motivation that urged Zhang Yanling to act. Think about it.
Visions like that are exciting. It was a huge event that changed the direction of the world and made history take a different path. If it succeeded, wouldn't it give people a great satisfaction as a creator and master.
This is 10,000 times, 100 million times more successful than being an emperor with so much power and wealth.
Zhang Yanling knew that the Folangji people might not understand what would happen in the future, but they were indeed on the right path. In the end, the European colonists learned this trick. Although the Folangji people died in the middle
On the road, but as a Western country, it is overall successful.
I heard Helena say that there were British people in the Imperial Academy of Franchi State, and she could also speak some of the languages of the British islanders. Zhang Yanling couldn't help but show off a few English words to Helena. Helena was shocked, she didn't expect this Ming Dynasty
It is really surprising that the Duke of England can actually speak the language of the British Isles.
The two of them talked and talked, but they were not lonely along the way. Some topics were a bit embarrassing. For example, when Zhang Yanling curiously asked Helena some things he had heard about, it was very embarrassing.
"Miss Helena, I heard that the noble ladies of you Francois can have many male favorites. They are called knights who serve the noble ladies. Is this true?"
Helena blushed and said angrily: "Who did you listen to? How could such a thing happen? It has been many years since a knight was loyal to a lady. There is no such thing now. Moreover, even if it is loyal, it is only
The retinues and guards are not... men's favorites."
Zhang Yanling suddenly said: "I see, that's what I'm saying. If that's the case, wouldn't it mean that all the nobles of your Franji country are wearing countless cuckolds on their heads? Your wife is hanging out with all kinds of men, and she will be angry to death.
.”
"Stop talking nonsense. There is no such thing." Helena angrily hit Zhang Yanling on the shoulder with her fist.
Zhang Yanling said: "So, are you Buddhist men allowed to marry more than one wife?"
Helena said: "Do you think everything is like your Ming Empire? A man can marry many wives. We men in the Franco Kingdom only marry one woman. But... we can have multiple lovers."
Zhang Yanling laughed loudly and said: "Isn't that the same thing? Even more shameless than me, the Ming Dynasty. At least I, a man from the Ming Dynasty, married someone to support me, provided food and drink, and gained status. You Folangji men don't even do this
Don’t give anything. Playing with other women for nothing. This is too shameless.”
Helena was speechless and couldn't find anything to say to refute.
During the last stretch of the journey before dark, Helena also asked Zhang Yanling about Daming.
Although they didn't get along for a long time, Zhang Yanling felt that Helena was a good girl in all aspects. She was kind-hearted, innocent and cute. She also objected to the fact that the Folanji people were going around fighting and plundering, saying that she was guilty.
Of course Zhang Yanling laughed it off, but at least it showed that she was a kind girl. She wanted to know something, so she didn't have to stay thousands of miles away.
So Zhang Yanling told her about his family background, the origins of his wives and concubines, some customs, daily customs, etc. of the Ming Dynasty.
Helena listened with great interest and was fascinated.
"Your Ming Empire must be a good place. My teacher said that it is a country that reaches the extreme in every aspect. Your life is much better than ours. I really want to see it."
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "There is no need to be envious. If you want to go, you will naturally have the opportunity. But you can't go by warship. As a friend, I am welcome to go. Hey, when you ask this, I have some thoughts.
I’m home. I’ve been away from home for four or five months, and I really feel homesick.”
Helena looked at the sunset and whispered: "I miss home too. Let me sing you a song from my hometown. My mother taught me."
Zhang Yanling said: "Great, I am all ears."
Helena did not hesitate and sang: "If you miss the carriage I am riding in, you will know that I have left my hometown. You will hear the sound of the wheels of the carriage a hundred miles away. A hundred miles, a hundred miles,
I have left my hometown a hundred miles
God, I'm already a hundred miles away from home. If you miss the carriage I leave, and you stand on a high hill and look far away, you will see the smoke and dust from my carriage two hundred miles away. Two hundred miles, two hundred miles away.
Hundreds of miles. God, I'm already two hundred miles away from home."
Zhang Yanling quietly listened to this melodious song with a hint of sadness, and felt quite touched in her heart. Human emotions are sometimes interconnected. Listening to this song and riding a horse slowly under the sunset made Zhang Yanling even more excited.
I have a lot of thoughts and miss my hometown.
"...Oh God, I have traveled five hundred miles away from home. I am naked and penniless. The road in front of me is rugged. Which way is my way home? God, which way is my way home?
The road is five hundred miles, five hundred miles..., I have left home five hundred miles..."
In Helena's low singing voice, the two men and two horses walked slowly towards the setting sun.