Water Margin people

Chapter 1448 The Merchant of Venice (Part )

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Several white-skinned Westerners with blond, red and brown hair saluted Sun Lei. They performed the Western etiquette of taking off their hats, placing their hands on their chests and bowing.

"We have a saying here: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It looks like you need some instruction on etiquette!"

Sun Lei was not prepared to be polite. He looked at the white people and said coldly that he might not care whether others kneeled or not, but that didn't mean others could not kneel.

Deng Fei immediately swung the stick in his hand and hit a white man directly on the knee. The man screamed and fell to the ground.

"I've heard that China is a country of etiquette, but I never thought it could be so brutal!"

The leading brown-haired man spoke with a gloomy face, his tone was very strange and had a strong exotic flavor.

"Since you know this is a country of etiquette, why don't you know any etiquette?"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

Deng Fei looked at the barbarians coldly, swung the stick in his hand again, and another person was knocked to the ground.

When the white people saw Sun Lei's playful expression and the extremely cruel red-eyed "devil" next to him, they all knelt down in submission. They had been in Guangzhou for quite some time and naturally knew that the people of Middle-earth needed to kneel down when they saw the emperor.

"I thought your knees wouldn't bend. Isn't that good? Why do you insist on me curing them for you? You make me sound like a tyrant. Don't you know to kneel when you meet an emperor or a pope? The Arabs are bastards, and so are you. You all need a beating before you behave. It turns out that the people outside the domain are all uncivilized barbarians!"

Sun Lei said coldly as he looked at the obedient white people.

"Your Majesty, we are here today to tell you an important piece of information. This is related to your safety!"

The brown-haired white man did not bother about etiquette. They did have the intention of testing the emperor this time, but they did not expect that the new emperor of Middle-earth would be so powerful.

"I don't want to hear this!"

Sun Lei waved his hand and spoke. He could tell that these white people wanted to use this to make a deal and get some benefits from him, but he had no interest in this.

"Your Majesty, are you not afraid of death?"

The man's face changed. He had thought of many possibilities and how many benefits he could ask for from the emperor, but he never expected that the emperor didn't want to listen. This was news that concerned his life.

"Just those rotten fish and shrimp?"

Sun Lei smiled and said indifferently.

"Arrogant, conceited, and ignorant!"

A group of white people cursed Sun Lei in their hearts. They felt that Sun Lei was too young when they first met him. Now seeing Sun Lei being so arrogant, they were even more furious. They felt that they should not have come and should have watched the emperor die.

"Are you trying to tell me that they have gathered a large number of people from the South China Sea and are preparing to attack Guangzhou Port by ship, and on land, the chieftains in the mountains will also attack together, and Guangzhou has been surrounded?"

Seeing the indignant faces of the white people, Sun Lei smiled and spoke.

"You...know everything?"

The white people looked at Sun Lei in surprise. This was a conspiracy of the Arabs and was hidden very deeply. They only learned about it today from their men who came into the port.

"Why do you think I'm holding this party? And inviting all the people into the city?"

Sun Lei looked at the white people and asked.

"Is this intentional?"

The white man in the lead looked shocked.

"what's your name?"

Sun Lei asked, looking at the thin white man with brown hair.

"My name is Erdok, and I'm Roman!"

Erdok spoke, and he spoke with great pride, as if Rome were a paradise on earth.

Zhu Wu and others frowned when they heard the word Rome. They didn't know much about Rome, but it seemed to be a superpower in the far west.

"Rome? Rome is just a city left now!" Sun Lei looked at Edoc with disdain. The word Rome was famous, but at this time, Rome was just a name.

"I, the Roman Empire..."

Erdok was a little annoyed and immediately wanted to argue for the country.

"You might as well talk about the Roman Catholic Church. As for Rome, it must be hard to bear the pressure from the Germans, right? The Byzantine Empire is already on the decline. With the Persians, Arabs, Slavs, and Crusaders, Rome has become a mule and a horse!"

Sun Lei interrupted Edoc and exposed all of Edoc's secrets. He still had some impression of Europe at that time. He had learned about the Crusades in later generations, and the time was now.

Erdok was shocked. These were Western affairs. Even the Arab merchants in Guangzhou didn't know much about them. How could the emperor in front of him know them? The two were more than a hundred thousand miles apart!

"Why, you have nothing to say? I see you don't want to be a Roman!"

Sun Lei looked at Edoc. Rome is now the seat of the Western Church, and everyone in it is a devout believer, but the man in front of him doesn't even have a cross around his neck. What kind of Roman is he?

"I……"

Erdok's body trembled unconsciously and he subconsciously wanted to step back. He felt as if he had been seen through. It was clearly the first time they met, but they had no secrets left.

"Let me guess, um... you should be a merchant from Venice."

Sun Lei looked at Erdok and spoke.

Erdok looked at Sun Lei in disbelief. The West is huge, with dozens of nation-states, and Sun Lei actually got it right at once, and his words were so certain that it didn't sound like a guess at all.

"No way, God, you can't know that!"

Erdok prayed in fear. He didn't tell anyone that he was Venetian. He told others that he was Roman or Sicilian. Even the white people around him admitted it.

"Who but the Venetians could be so vile?"

Sun Lei said as a matter of course that the Venetians were very similar to the Shanxi merchants at certain times. They would do anything for profit, even selling out their country.

Erdok was still mumbling prayers to himself, not paying any attention to what Sun Lei was saying.

"What about you? Where are you from?"

Sun Lei looked at the others and asked.

"I'm Frank's Dick!"

"I am William of England!"

"I'm a pizza guy, Sam!"

"I'm from the Kas, Ake!"

The others gave their names one after another.

"That's right. Several countries in the west are involved, except the Germans! They are a bunch of arrogant people, and they must be playing cowards now!"

Sun Lei nodded. The naval countries in Western and Southern Europe were all here.

"Tell me, what is the purpose of your coming here today?"

Sun Lei looked at those people and asked.

"We hope that His Majesty will allow us to do business and preach in Qi, so that our cultures can exchange with each other."

Dick bowed again before speaking.

"Business or missionary work?"

Sun Lei touched his chin and laughed.

"Your Majesty, we are truly sincere! We have our own caravans in each country and can undertake trade between countries."

William said that the various goods from the Central Plains dazzled them, especially the exquisite porcelain and glass. If these things were shipped back, they would be priceless.