Take Taobao with you to another world

Born as the second son of the second son of the Ibensa family, Herman was very clear about his own destiny, and power and wealth had nothing to do with him. He has also received a good education outside his succession circle. If he performs well enough, he may be able to get a real naming company after the age of 35.He firmly believes that he can do it, and this is his only goal worth pursuing, so he wakes up every morning full of hope, absorbing all kinds of knowledge like a sponge, from mathematics, language to encyclopedic knowledge, he will judge by color The year of the spice, you can also identify thirty kinds of fabrics blindfolded, and tell the name, origin and price of each kind. Maybe he can't be called a genius yet, but it is enough for his mother to be proud of him.

Of course, at the age of 16, in addition to the tasks of study and business apprenticeship, he is also interested in the rumors of foreign places that came with the merchants. He likes to collect this kind of news, and carefully selects and cuts out the legends that he thinks are meaningful. On paper, he's had a lot of fun with this hobby since he was 15, and by the time it happened, he had amassed a dozen of his gossip books, which he envisioned to be around the time of the birth of his first child. It's time to publish my first gossip book.

When a ship from a distant country docked at Fusong Port, a group of merchants in strange clothes set up tents on the street, showed their products to everyone and caused a sensation in almost the entire capital, although Herman didn't know about it at the earliest It wasn't the group of people who knew the most, and they also discovered that they were different from other merchants. They claimed to be the subjects of a powerful talent called "Sorcerer", and trading was not the purpose of their trip. As a by-product of this, the messengers begged the king to let their main ship, which was on a trial voyage, come into port.

The king and the nobles agreed with a curious, casual attitude.

It is conceivable how shocked people were when the legendary giant ship appeared on the sea level. Most of the people at the pier stopped their transactions and other actions, all looked towards the end of the sky, and then the news The wind generally spreads through the streets and alleys, and people are constantly heading to the coast curiously.Herman asked his teacher for leave early. While he was waiting on the hillside that belonged to the Ibensa family, children from other families came to him one after another. The young people talked with each other, and then the voice gradually As they fell down, all the young people stared at the front intently, and slowly opened their mouths.

——...big...huge...it can't even be described as huge, what kind of creation is that?

It appeared like a mirage where the sea and the sky meet, and then quickly changed from phantom to reality.

So huge and so fast!

People stared blankly at it breaking through the waves, as if they were sitting on a boat and saw a sea monster.

"That", that existence that doesn't know if it can become a "ship" is heading straight towards the shore. The front is already unbelievably wide, and the side view is even more appalling. It is like a floating rock or a moving fortress. I can't help but wonder what kind of power can make such a mass float on the water. It seems that even the turbulent waves have been flattened by it. At the foot of the giant ship, the water waves gently wiped the snow-white hull like silk, and " Compared with "normal ships", this wide and square giant ship has no smooth curves, nor does it have masts and slings that stand like a forest. It looks like it is carved from a whole block of rock. The naked eye cannot see any seams of building materials, and on the deck as wide as a small square, there are actually three floors of buildings.

If you look at this sea building from the perspective of beauty, you can hardly find any beauty in it, but in the eyes of young people like Heman, the so-called beauty is extremely secondary to it, such a volume, such power... When people face such things that can only be created by supreme power, what else can they think of besides horror and surrender?

For the force that moves it is not from external nature, but from that deep within!

More and more people rushed to the seaside, even the king and queen moved the city wall and watched the "rock ship" slow down to enter the port, just like a white dolphin being put into a pool, oppressed by its huge size and strength, others Ships panicked and evaded like frightened fish, and the famous Emerald was among them. When passing by the white exotic giant ship, this prestigious merchant ship was compared to a delicate sampan, and the crew was dull He straightened his neck and looked at it for a long time with his face up. People on the pier and the bay seemed to be strangled, and they couldn't make much sound.

When the ship turned around in the harbor and landed sideways, the people on the pier retreated in unison, as if it was some kind of monster, and it was indeed a monster—such a huge monster, but no one could see it. With a sail, there is only one thick and strong main mast at the bow, a straight ladder leads to the two-story watchtower, and there is no more rope to be seen. Except for the flags on the superstructure on the deck, this ship There is almost no color other than white, even the deck is gray and white. There is no wood, no salina, no epiphytes, and no peculiar smell produced by the ocean.The aisles on both sides of the deck are as wide as a horse, and the railings are hollowed out. Although they are also painted white, their shape and texture are like cast steel—in fact, they are steel.And in the wide rear part of the ship, there is a chimney, which cannot be anything else except the chimney. , as well as the low-pitched sound and vibration from inside the hull.

Like a living creature lurking.

Then a long ladder was lowered over the side of the boat, and someone stepped down from the boat.

The ship left after mooring in Fusong Port for three days. In the next half month, everything related to this ship became an extremely eager topic shared by the princes and nobles to the low-level pariah. The people on the ship left their memories in the capital. They exchanged the money they got from the transaction for land and shops, and brought a group of slaves with them before leaving. More than half a month later, the white boat reappeared.

It's still huge, and it still shows inhuman strength, but it's not the same boat as last time.

This fact... is even more unbelievable than the White Ship itself.

Every time the white ship arrived, Herman would secretly go to the pier. The sea ship stood so conspicuously in the port that no one could avoid it. Therefore, almost all scrutiny and inquiries seemed natural and reasonable.Out of an indescribable psychology, Herman never once wore the attire of a nobleman or a businessman. He bribed a gang leader, dressed himself and his attendants as paupers, and mixed in with those beggars who were like rats. , driving them close to the ship like beach crabs.At first he did it simply because it was inconspicuous, but before long, he got another benefit from it.

The people on board were friendly with the "rat swarms" and they didn't hurt or even drive away the gutter rat-like teenagers, after some initial confusing encounters (a short-haired crew member gave food to a child picking grains of wheat from the ground , and then he—it turned out to be her—was fenced), and they, like Hermann, bought off some active people on the docks, and made the rats their little porters and messengers, all paid on the spot Food and drink, the rats report to each other who has misbehaved in the tasks they receive, the unlucky ghosts who are identified by more than three people will be kicked out, and the informers can get more and better rewards, and can recommend others Join the team, although at the same time they also bear joint and several responsibilities...

How does this look like any kind of businessman?

Herman quickly stopped his disguise. As long as those people saw him, they could easily find the difference between him and a mouse, just like the difference between silver and sand. He returned home, but he didn't feel defeated. His gossip is recorded here After a period of time, the number of sheets increased rapidly, and when he sorted these things under the lights at night, his heart was full of uncontrollable curiosity: where did these sea ships come from?Who is the so-called "magician" they respect, and why has he not been famous for a long time (although maybe it's just that the world is too big)?Who and how were these ships and those wares made ("matches", "porcelain", all kinds of cheap crystal decorations)?These crew members look smart, strong, flexible, and so young, and their races look so mixed. What kind of environment trained and educated them like this?They belonged to "Sorcerer", so who did the Sorcerer belong to, which king or which country, or, that Sorcerer himself was a ruler?What, then, was his real purpose in promoting these voyages and trades?

It will take a long time to get the answers to these questions, and some of the answers may be deadly secrets, but—he is only a 16-year-old kid now, and all he has is the thirst for knowledge that he should have at this age, so how can he pry? What about those dangerous things?

A few days later, he received the teacher's instruction in the classroom as usual. When he and other children were immersed in reading the topic, a sharp scream came from the sky. The children raised their heads and looked out of the high window. Even the teacher stood up from his seat. When they got up, an extremely loud explosion suddenly exploded in everyone's ears. Everyone was shocked. First, the teacher ran out, and then the teenagers, they ran down the steps and came to the yard. The scream continued. Pierced into people's heads, everyone looked nervously at the clear blue sky. In the clear air, black dots so small that they could hardly be seen flew over from the port and landed in the direction that seemed to be the mansion of a certain marquis. , Exploding one group after another of large and shiny colored sparks.

Horrified screams followed one after another in the mansion and the streets outside the mansion, and the teenagers panicked.

"Is that a spell?"

"How can there be such a far spell?"

"Is it the Archmage, or the Dharma Saint?"

"Is there an enemy? Is there a war?"

Not war, not mages, maybe spells, but not cast by the truly gifted.After sailing back and forth three times, the white ship finally accepted the hint of the king and the nobles, and invited several stable and reliable nobles to set foot on their floating territory to see the true appearance of this amazing alchemical creation.Although those high-status and reliable nobles were greatly shocked, generally speaking, the process of the visit was smooth and smooth, until they returned to the deck from the labyrinthine cabin, and an earl asked: " I see that your bow is not equipped with a ram, and the hollowed-out sides of the ship seem to be easily locked by rope hooks. Although your giant ship is indeed daunting, we have also heard many legends of vicious pirates over the years. Great wealth will not only make people mad, but it will also condense a ball of loose sand into a fist, shouldn't you be prepared for this?"

"Actually, our magicians don't like fighting, but we naturally have the necessary means of self-protection." The captain of the white boat said.

Then he demonstrated this method to the nobles. The specific actions were unknown, but the results were well known. Everyone heard or saw that at the same time, the Marquis's mansion was horribly attacked. The convulsions of the nobles cost no other, but who knows whether those men kept more terrible means against their enemies?The pale-faced nobles left the white ship, bringing with them a bunch of extra gifts—a dozen or so night-walking assassins tied together.

No one knew where these assassins went. When Herman, who had been inquiring about the news all day, returned to his residence, he found that the door of his bedroom was open, and a middle-aged man was sitting by his desk with a A fold of parchment, his gossip.

"My lord..." Herman murmured.

"I've seen it." His uncle explained everything in one sentence, "You are an unexpectedly smart child. I'm surprised that I didn't realize this fact in the past."

Herman bowed his head, humble.

"Do you know what happened today?" the count asked, and then he told Herman that the Marquis, who was deeply favored by the king, had boldly sent spies to the white ship, not only in vain, but also met with humiliating revenge.Things will be covered up, because the kingdom can't stop trading with these aliens with ulterior motives - countless merchants are rushing like leeches for a large number of magical, beautiful, and cheap commodities, on the aliens and those merchants Regardless of other benefits, tolls and transaction taxes alone are dizzying, and they can’t stop foreigners from acquiring land in the kingdom—most of them are remote, desolate, barren fields, ditches, and barren mountains that are not worth seeing. Ling and the like, no one wants to see foreigners leave with the huge wealth they have earned, that is bloodletting the kingdom...

"So this is a mission that is very important to the kingdom and can almost determine the future of everyone," said the earl. "For the safety of the kingdom and the future of the family, you are willing to be a person who bears the burden of humiliation, use your intelligence and sensitivity Get information for us?"

He looked at Herman, "As long as you can return, I will list you as the second heir, and the king will also grant you a title."

"Why not number one?"

"It's for your own good, son," said the count. "If you ask such a question, it means that your studies are not enough. It seems that I need to teach you for a while."

Shara was a girl whose mother had died of illness before she could remember, and her father, a coolie on the docks, could not afford a second wife, and he had no intention of doing so.Shala can't even write her own name, let alone words such as "education", "future" and "glory". Before she was ten years old, she was one of the rats running around on the pier, and she was lucky enough not to get seriously ill. She survived, and her teeth were not damaged too much - she was afraid of and avoided most of the fights, although she didn't have any "good luck", but she did her best to protect her thin body. After she was ten years old, her father began to To perform her duties, she began to get food regularly, no longer went to the countryside to peel twigs hungry, her hair was no longer like a piece of felt cloth, and she wiped her hands and face every once in a while, and her father gave a hare as a reward , so that she could learn to wash, sew, cook and look after poultry with the women in the neighborhood. After the daily chores of the neighbors and the family were completed, she not only had a home in the middle of the night, but also made a bed in front of the fire. A bedcloth soaked in sludge for a good night's sleep.

My father sometimes strokes her hair and shoulders, and praises her as a good daughter with a smile on his face, so he must be his good wife in the future, and he must not be like her abominable mother. He is not only willing to marry her, but also for her After paying a full ten dollars for medical treatment, she actually only lived for three years without even giving birth to a useful son—but before she became a wife, she could use another way to compensate her father for her mother.

The next day after the neighbor woman told her father that she was old enough to be 12, she was taken to the bathroom by her father and took what may have been the first hot shower in memory, and the woman in the bathroom scrubbed her like a layer off Then they dressed her in a lace dress, tied her wet hair up, and painted a flower under her eye.

"What a lovely poor thing," they said in a sympathetic but hollow tone.

Then she returned to her father, whom she trusted and admired, and was taken by him to a market full of people, and there was almost nothing else to be seen except people and livestock. Her skirt was splashed with mud, and she lowered her head and scratched it with her nails. At that time, I saw other old traces on the skirt, they were dyed on the skirt bit by bit, or even in pieces, a bit like...

Her father pushed her, and she involuntarily took two steps forward, holding the edge of the cage with her hands. A cage that was almost as big as her home, but lower, contained many faces that were as immature as her. Coming over to look at her, his father gave her a gentle push again, "Go in, go quickly."

She walked into the cage anyway, and at the same time looked back at him a little blankly, her father's face was in the backlight, and his voice was a little urgent, "Remember what I said, remember to look at the rich master! Can you Do it! Remember!"

He was quickly shoved aside, another adult closed the cage vigorously, the iron chain and the iron lock collided with each other, and then fell silently on top of her head, she lowered her head, crawled into the group of children with hands and feet, Hide your face between them.

Now she's a "rat" again.

Many people passed in front of the cage.Some people don't even look at them, some people will look at these boys and girls for a while, some people will come up to ask the price, and then shake their heads and walk away. When the real customers come to the door, they stick out a stick from outside the cage, and use the flat end to lift up the faces of the children.

It didn't take long for the two girls to be picked away. Before paying the money, the man looked in her direction several times, and she returned his dull eyes, so he stopped paying attention to her and led the pair of sisters away with a rope. .Soon someone came to pick the goods again, and this time she was spotted at a glance. They dragged her to the cage, pinched her cheeks to check her teeth, and when they lifted her skirt from bottom to top, there was a loud noise from From a distance, many people shouted loudly, sending a word to all parts of the market place:

"Closing the city-closing the city-closing the city--"

"In the name of Earl Ramos, today the market is taken by the lord—"

The person who had just taken the two girls came back in a hurry and stuffed them back into the cage, but the seller and buyer who counted the coins showed little dissatisfaction on their faces. The masters of the house threw out two of their subordinates with whips, and asked them to trot in one direction with the excited crowd—"Master Earl's distinguished guests must buy at least [-]% of the market's goods, and everyone who returned today's purchases must pay at least one." gold!"

The market was empty and quiet, and the bustle gathered at the far end. Except for the neighing of livestock, moans of people, and low voices of sellers, only the sound of the wind remained, and then voices and voices came from the wind. Laughter, in the direction of the wind, the butler in boots and an embroidered belt led the servants to chat with a group of foreigners.The slave sellers stopped talking, looked at those people in surprise and said, "White Boat?" "White Boat?"

Rumors about the white boat and the people of the white boat have spread all over the capital, which naturally includes their clothing and appearance. Sometimes there are such big differences between people, even if they have the same ears, eyes, nose and tongue, nobles and businessmen, The difference between merchants and commoners, even slaves and commoners, is obvious at a glance. The same is true for these strangers from the mysterious land, their clothes, their faces, their accents, their eyes, every part of their bodies Everywhere tells that they are different from this place. When their eyes sweep across the two sides of the market street, even the most numb slaves will move.They saw the cages and came over.

"Such a small... sell?" said the leading man.

"No, sir, most of them are rented." The housekeeper said with a natural flattering attitude, "Of course, as long as the price is right, we can talk about anything."

The man laughed, "Very good." He said to the steward without looking at the slave seller, "I want all the ones here, the small ones, the female ones, and the male ones."

The father sold her in ecstasy, she had never seen such a smile, and she couldn't help crying - she could never be his wife again.But her father comforted her at once, saying that he had never seen a girl as lucky as her, and that a real gentleman had bought her!What better home to belong to than to belong to a lord, whatever it may be, he can't even dream of!

But when they were sent away, a boy who was traveling with him tremblingly told them that those strangers were subordinates of witches and wizards. These useless children were bought to feed the monsters in the huge white ship in the port. , that ship is so big, so fast, and so terrifying, it is because a giant beast is locked under the ship, the black smoke from the chimney on the ship is its breath, its belly is so big that it can hold everyone at once, just Burning red every day like a blacksmith's hearth, they'd be thrown in and burnt alive in it—he was a merchant's son before he was kidnapped, and he knew it!

All the children trembled.

—But, Sara thought in horror, what is the White Ship?What does the monster look like?

The carriage stopped, the curtain was turned over by the driver, and the weak children were pulled down one by one. Shala opened her closed eyes, and a pure white world appeared in front of her amid tears.