I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 732 Princess Selina

The girl didn't understand anything else, but Li Tian said, "Oh, Xie Te, she barely understood it."

She suddenly said to Li Tian in English,
"Do you know English?"

Li Tian was a little surprised and also said to the girl in English,
"I know a little bit, aren't you a Roman, you know English anyway!"

Li Tian actually had a reason for asking this question.

During this time period, Britain was just a very backward feudal dynasty.

Its position in the world has not yet reached its peak, so English is still only a minority language, and few people understand it.

Even among translators, very few people know English.

So not only the girl was surprised that Li Tian knew English, but Li Tian was also surprised that the girl knew it.

But this is also good, Li Tian can finally communicate with the girl by himself, and no longer needs to rely on the poor Greek level of the interpreter to translate.

The girl was very excited that Li Tian knew English, and under the excitement, she forgot that this was the palace of Daming, and what she saw in front of her was the supreme ruler of this empire.

He took a step forward and grabbed Li Tian's sleeve and said, complaining,
"Finally, I have met someone who can communicate normally. Do you know that this period of time has suffocated me. I haven't had a good word with anyone for almost half a year."

Li Tian took a step back slightly, pulled back his sleeves, and calmly stopped Jiang Bao and the others who were about to rush up to hold the girl down again.

smiling at her and saying,

"Don't talk about that first, you should introduce yourself first!"

The girl seemed to be very proud of her identity and country, she quickly stopped, and performed a European lady's etiquette to Li Tian, ​​and then said in a correct tone,
"I am the daughter of Emperor Manuel II of the Byzantine Empire, Princess Sophia, and my brother is John VIII..."

This Byzantine Empire is actually another name for the Eastern Roman Empire, and Li Tian also muttered in his heart for a long time before he understood the meaning of these two names.

After pondering for a long time in my mind, I couldn't remember whether there was such a person as Princess Sofia in history.

But when he heard John VIII, he suddenly remembered something.

This John VIII is actually the penultimate emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He reigned for more than 20 years. After his death, because he had no descendants, his younger brother, Constantine XI, succeeded to the throne.

It is a pity that, less than five years after Constantine succeeded to the throne, the Byzantine Empire was invaded by the Ottoman Empire's Mehmed II and invaded Constantinople, and the country was destroyed.

The reason why Li Tian can remember John VIII and Constantine XI is mainly because these two brothers are the last two emperors of an empire that lasted for thousands of years.

But this is not enough for Li Tian to remember the two of them.

The reason why Li Tian hasn't forgotten the two of them until now is that when they were in power, there was only one city left in the entire Byzantine Empire.

And this city is Constantinople (that is, Istanbul in later generations), which has been famous all over the world for nearly 2000 years.

It can be said that Li Tian barely remembered these two hapless emperors because of this famous city.

In fact, there is a shocking and even tongue-twisting legend in it.

When the Byzantine Empire was in decline, the mighty Ottoman Empire attempted to erase Rome, the only remaining fruitful city, from the world.

So in 17 A.D., Mehmed II led an army of 300 and more than [-] warships to besiege Constantinople, which had only a few thousand soldiers left. They fought against each other for more than two months.

After causing great casualties to Mehmet II's army, the majestic city was declared to fall.

In fact, many years before this, the city has been attacked many times by Allah's army.

The longest one even besieged the entire city for two years, but it still failed to break through.

You know, Ottoman Turkey is one of the three super empires that span the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.

With their strength, it took more than ten years to attack a city with a population of less than [-]. During this period, countless Romans gave their lives for it.

It can be said that Constantine is not only a famous historical city, but also a holy place carrying countless heroic souls who defended their homes and the country.

Li Tian's impression of this great city is more profound than that of their monarch.

However, at first Li Tian was honored by Princess Sophia from Constantinople, but then he thought that there was only one capital left in the Byzantine Empire, and this enthusiasm suddenly diminished a lot.

However, out of the courtesy of a monarch, Li Tian introduced himself to Sophia symbolically,
"I am the fourth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, a huge empire with 8000 million people and 900 million square kilometers...

On behalf of the royal family of Ming Dynasty, I welcome you, Princess Sophia! "

After hearing Li Tian's introduction to Daming, Sophia couldn't close her mouth in shock.

Even at the peak of the Byzantine Empire, its territory was only 400 million square kilometers, and its population was only 4000 million at its peak.

But after the bubonic plague (Black Death) spread throughout Europe, the population of Europe dropped by nearly three-quarters.

At its peak, the population of Constantinople was only 60 to [-]. Although it has recovered a little bit now, it is only more than [-].

In other words, the entire Byzantine Empire now has a population of only a few hundred thousand, and its territory is only one city, which is not even comparable to a county in Daming.

How could this not shock her.

However, her shock only lasted for a short time.

Immediately afterwards, she said to Li Tian with great joy,
"Respectful Emperor Ming, as Princess Sophia, I request you to establish an alliance with our Byzantine Empire, so that we can conduct friendly maritime trade!"

Hearing this, Li Tian showed a very strange expression.

I thought to myself,

"This girl, you have no problem with your brain. Although Constantinople is a world-famous city, your Byzantine Empire is obviously a thing of the past, and it will come to an end sooner or later.

How can a country with a population of only 10,000+ establish an alliance with Ming Dynasty and trade with me? Just kidding!

The benefit of a merchant ship in Ming Dynasty probably exceeds the annual income and tax income of your whole country.

Even if there is mutual trade, it is just helping you. "

But Sophia obviously failed to guess what Li Tian was thinking now.

She continued to tell him eloquently, what kind of earth-shaking changes will be brought to the two countries if the two countries establish diplomatic relations.

(End of this chapter)