Eagle Byzantium

So several Tang native merchants who were close friends with Zhao Zhao gathered around and explained softly. After hearing this, Zhao Zhao looked even more uneasy and depressed, "So..."

Several people nodded immediately, indicating that Zhao Zhao's judgment was completely correct.

Zhao Zhao suddenly felt dizzy and wanted to cry, but he couldn't cry too much because the guards, merchants and several Zixinhui officials sent by Emperor Gaowen to be with him were all waiting on the steps outside the merchant's room. , it can also be regarded as surveillance to a certain extent. Finally, His eyes rolled in their sockets for a few times without spilling out. In the end, he just raised his head, sighed heavily and long, clutched his chest with his fingers, and cried out in a trembling voice: "It's like a big dream." , Empty, Empty!”

Several other businessmen also sighed, lowered their heads and shed tears.

"What will happen to the officials from now on?" After a while, they asked with their hands raised.

Zhao Zhao shook his head, his eyes red and swollen, "Zhao wants to continue to understand the world, and in addition, he must complete the entrustment entrusted to me by His Majesty the Emperor."

"Isn't it worth it?"

"Yes, each is his own master." Zhao Zhao has determined that his home is now in the valley of Cilicia. His wife is the youngest daughter of General Monomachus, and he already has three children. He was responsible for the trade in the entire eastern region of the Roman Empire, and Basilisa also gave him the rank of white robe. In short, he had sincerely naturalized the Roman Empire, just like many merchants and subjects of the Emperor and Song Dynasty who came to Zanzibar (level It is a principle to settle down.

The next day, Zhao Zhao, who had hired Seruki camels, led his team, covered in cloaks with only their eyes exposed, and resolutely started their journey across the Efa Desert to the Grand Canyon of East Africa.

The surrounding desert stretched, and the heat mist rising from the lowlands surrounded them. The guards of the Roman Empire could no longer wear armors, but rolled them up and placed them behind their saddles. Every time they walked, they would be washed by the sea water. The Gobi stone mountains we passed were red and gray, mixed with dried seawater silt, and speckled lava rocks.

The camel bells were ringing monotonously. Zhao Zhao pulled off his mask and stared at the aurora-like color in the distant sky. There was no cloud in the sky. The camel's footprints grew longer and longer, and were soon annihilated by the quicksand.

I don’t know how many days and nights they walked, but according to what Zhao Zhao recorded in "Jing Xing Man Ji", "This vast desert stretches for hundreds of miles, and the only colors that can be seen are black, white, and yellow." Finally they After walking out of the desert, Zhao Zhao rode a camel, with a smile on his tanned face. He originally saw that he was walking on flat ground, but now he found that he was standing on a towering slope, with an extremely vast area below. The vast depression, its level should still be under the ocean, like a huge funnel. The reason why it is not submerged by the sea water is because along the coast of the Red Sea, there are all steep cleft cliffs - the other side of the cliff , is the vast sea; this side is the low-lying land, and the rough stone gobi of various colors, milky white salt fields, and patches of dark swamps, it is really the most wonderful natural scene.

Zhao Zhao saw the scattered villages, market towns, and rough roads in this large depression. He became excited, whipped the camels that were rushing forward with a wooden stick, and ran along the hillside with the others. After landing, they had to exchange necessary supplies with the locals, such as water, salt and food.

In the distance is the entrance to the Great Rift Valley, where the peaks known as "Rasta" stand. It is desolate and steep, with plateau lakes of various colors illuminated by the sun, and huge black basalt and red sand. Surrounded by stone cliffs - just when Zhao Zhao arrived at a village, a group of warriors on horseback suddenly appeared in a passage in the canyon over there, and they galloped in front of everyone in an instant.

Amidst the noise, the palace guard warriors around Zhao Zhao alertly raised their light shields and drew out their Norman-style long swords. They clamped the horse's belly tightly and formed a small circle around the most important figure, Zhao Zhao. line of defense, and the dervishes of the new society are by no means literate people who can only recite scriptures. They drove their mules and horses to the village fence, jumped down, took out their hammers or axes, and followed the guards. Reinforcements are always available from behind.

The group of Abyssinian warriors in front of them mostly had dark faces, holding narrow black cowhide shields and sharp spears, and formed a semicircular team that was getting closer.

At this moment, Zhao Zhao tightened the reins and realized that there was a black fortress standing on the hill at the junction of the Grand Canyon and the Grand Funnel. This group of people should have come from there. After all, this was a key entrance and exit.

The guide beside Zhao Zhao hurriedly raised his hand to express goodwill and loudly identified himself in the Cushitic language of the plateau, "This group of people are the envoys of the Roman Emperor from the north. With the greatest goodwill of peace, they request an audience with our great Supreme Being." The 'Nigs'!"

Negus was the title of the emperor of Aksum at that time, and the specific image was a lion with a crown on his head.

Only then did the atmosphere relax. The group of warriors also reined in their horses and asked Zhao Zhao to produce credentials. Then the credentials stamped with the seals of Gawain and Anna were presented, and a man who looked like an official rode out. , using weird Greek (he learned it from the local monks, and because of the long distance between them, many of the pronunciations were from three hundred years ago) and reluctantly reached communication with Zhao Zhao and his party.

Finally, the warriors took the initiative to ride horses to lead Gawain's envoys to the royal capital "Adifa" in the mountains.

The official on the road introduced himself, saying that he and the current emperor were both of the glorious Agao ethnic group. They were descendants of the great prophet Moses and lived in the eternal holy city of Adifa. The entire empire had a strong army of 60,000 people and went out to fight against pagans, including black people who did not believe in God, and the Crescent believers gathered in the Horn of Punt, which made Zhao Zhao very happy.

A few days later, when they arrived in front of the city of Adifa, the official asked Zhao Zhao specifically, "Friends with yellow skin, look at our city. Is it comparable to Jerusalem and Constantinople where your emperor lives?"

Zhao Zhao looked where he pointed, and saw that the so-called Adifa was a city between cliffs. Battlements were built on the cliffs, and then the surrounding cliffs were using the chiseling method to build monastery-like buildings. On the narrow road on all sides, many residents or merchants came and went with clay pots on their heads. The dust was so heavy that it almost covered the palace inside.

A correct version can be found in the 16-9 book forum!

The well-informed Zhao Zhao roughly calculated that the population of this city of Adifa is only about 10,000. How could it be comparable to Constantinople? Even the imperial capital, which had been suppressed and purged by the emperor, now has a population of 120,000!

It seems that all the legends are false: this kingdom is vast, the army is strong and advanced, and there are magnificent churches everywhere, but they are all false - His Majesty Gawain seemed to have vaguely deduced the inside story beforehand, so the political significance of this mission is far greater than its practical significance.