My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 395 The Clown
When the door of the cell was opened, Macaros and Father Antonio looked towards the door in horror. Has the final judgment finally arrived?
Xu Da, who was the first to walk into the cabin, saw the two people huddled together and shivering. He was stunned for a while. Only after hearing the urging from Li Wenzhong, Tang He and others behind him did he react.

"Isn't this a Semu?"

Although Makaros was the Count of the Kingdom of Castile, his mother's family was from the European continent, so he had emerald green eyes.

Father Antonio was from the Vatican and had blue eyes, so after seeing their eyes, Xu Da subconsciously thought that they were Semites.

"Xu Tiande, don't pretend to know something you don't. There are so many Semites. The people of the Western Regions are Semites, the Western Chagatai Han Kingdom also has Semites, and there are even more Semites in India and Persia. Do you know what ethnicity and country they are from?"

After Tang He came in, he saw the two of them and couldn't help teasing Xu Da.

Although Xu Da was the chief commander, the three were all nobles of the same level, and were all from the Huaixi military aristocracy. The three had a good relationship in private.

Moreover, Tang He, Xu Da and Zhu Yuanzhang had been good friends since childhood and had even sworn brotherhood. Therefore, it was common for the three of them to joke and insult each other in informal occasions.

When Li Wenzhong walked in, he saw the two men lost in thought. After hearing the conversation between Xu Da and Tang He, he suddenly seemed to think of something important.

"The Semu people in the Central Plains all came from the west, and according to the fourth brother, these people also came from the west of the ocean. According to the nautical chart that Your Majesty gave us, they should have come from the direction of the Indian Ocean!"

"Do you even need to say this?"

Xu Da and Tang He said in unison.

"No, I mean, they're from further west!"

Li Wenzhong had a different idea. "Think about it. His Majesty once told us that there is a piece of land in the far west. It is also the place where the Great Qin mentioned in the Book of the Later Han was located. Do you think it is possible that these two people came from there?"

"Europe!"

At this time, Xu Da and Tang He heard it and said in unison!
They had heard from His Majesty that since the Han Dynasty, there had been merchant caravans from the Central Plains that, regardless of danger and risk, had set out from Luoyang or Chang'an, carrying goods such as tea, silk and porcelain, through the Western Regions to India, Persia and the Arab Empire, to trade with the merchants there.

The merchants from the Arab Empire then transported China's tea, silk and other goods to the Qin Dynasty, and then transported Qin's jewelry and other goods back to trade with the Chinese caravans.

This road is called the Silk Road by Your Majesty. The place where Qin, which trades with China through the Silk Road, is located is Europe.

Moreover, there is not only the Silk Road on land between Europe and China, but also the Maritime Silk Road.

Of course, Your Majesty definitely heard this knowledge from the strange man Li Han, but Your Majesty did not say it, and they did not ask Your Majesty in person.

They have heard from His Majesty that the Maritime Silk Road was mainly used by Arab merchants to trade between Europe and China. If these two people were Arabs, the people of Temasek would have recognized them long ago and would not have demanded to enclose land as soon as they landed.

Besides, the Arabs believe in the Crescent Moon Islam, not the Catholic religion with a cross!
It seems that these two people are likely from Europe and came to Temasek via the Maritime Silk Road. Xu Da was about to ask when he heard Xu Huizu outside the door say: "I don't know what language these two people are speaking. I can't understand it at all, and they don't speak Chinese either."

"Is there an interpreter?" Xu Da asked.

"Report to the coach, I'm looking for it."

Without an interpreter, there is basically no possibility of communication. It seems that we can only detain these two people first and then interrogate them after finding an interpreter.

While Xu Da and others were guessing the origins of Makaros and the other two based on their appearances, Makaros was also carefully looking at Xu Da and the others.

Although he believed in his heart that Xu Da and others were barbarians, these barbarians were completely different from the black, raw-breeding, blood-drinking barbarians he had seen in Africa.

The barbarians before him, judging from their temperament and conversation, were unusually dignified and elegant, and obviously possessed a very high level of civilization.

And looking at their clothes, they looked even less like barbarians. Those clothes were extremely delicate and dignified, and the craftsmanship was even better than the earl's clothes he wore. However, the strange animals embroidered on the clothes did look like the symbols of black magic.

No, the animals embroidered on their clothes look more like noble coats of arms than magical symbols!
As an old noble, Makaros knew a lot about heraldry. Looking at the strange animals embroidered on his clothes, it was obvious that they were embroidered with gold threads. Which wizard who used black magic would be willing to use gold threads to make talismans?

The more Makaros observed, the more frightened he became. Suddenly, as if a bolt of lightning struck his mind, he made an astonishing discovery!
This discovery was so unbelievable that even he himself couldn't believe it!

The three people in front of me were wearing clothes that were all made of silk!
That's silk!

Ever since silk was introduced from the East in ancient Rome, it has been regarded as a treasure by royal families and nobles. After the trade routes to the East were blocked, the value of silk soared to become more valuable than gold and jewelry!

Today in the Iberian Peninsula, whether it is the Kingdom of Castile or the Kingdom of Aragon, even the king cannot afford to wear clothes made entirely of silk, let alone other nobles.

As a hereditary earl, he could only have silk lace edges on his clothes, which was already the highest level of luxury.

Silk, like tea and porcelain, was the main purpose of his adventurous voyage to the East. However, he did not expect that the clothes worn by the three people in front of him were all made of silk!
Suddenly, a thought broke into his mind like a bolt from the blue: the person in front of him was Chinese!
China, the mysterious ancient country that has been passed down among nobles of various countries since the ancient Roman era, the country that was covered with gold in Marco Polo's writings, the extremely rich and powerful country that only exists in legends!

That’s right, in this world, only wealthy Chinese people can afford to wear clothes made entirely of silk!
Oh my God, have I really set foot on Chinese soil?
I actually thought they were barbarians!
Thinking of this, Makaros suddenly felt like a clueless clown. Seeing the three people in front of him looking at him and shaking their heads, ready to leave, he could no longer hold back and asked:
“Chinese, are you Chinese?”

When Xu Da and his two companions were preparing to leave, they suddenly heard the foreigner behind them shouting something anxiously.

"Seris?"

Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and Tang He looked at each other in bewilderment. "Who is Seris? What is he shouting about?"

(End of this chapter)