amaotonovel Chapter 782: A Place of Ignorance
Chapter 782: A Place of Ignorance
In the midsummer of the third year of Yonghui, on the West Sea, the Tang Dynasty fleet consisting of 360 giant ships broke through the waves.
The ship towers into the clouds, the sea-swallowing beast carved on the bow is lifelike, and the golden "Tang" character embroidered on the sail sparkles in the sun.
Li Zhentao was wearing silver-scale armor, with a sword with a dragon pattern given by the emperor hanging around his waist. He looked intently at the land that was vaguely visible in the distance - that was the Frankish Kingdom.
After a year and a half of difficult sailing, the fleet finally reached the shore.
Li Zhentao led 500,000 navy troops and stepped firmly onto this unfamiliar land.
However, what greeted them was not the prosperous scene they had imagined, but a disgusting stench.
The street was narrow, barely more than ten feet wide, and wooden houses on either side were rickety and cramped, their thatched roofs crumbling and tattered, some even revealing rotten wooden beams.
The ground beneath our feet was a horrible sight, littered with feces, rotten food scraps, and sewage.
These filthy things mixed together and flowed along the uneven ground, forming small puddles with a pungent smell in the low-lying areas.
Li Zhentao and the soldiers' combat boots soon sank into the filthy quagmire. Every step they took required them to pull their feet out of the sticky filth with great effort, and the soles of their boots were covered with disgusting dirt.
Windows on both sides of the street opened one after another, and European residents looked out curiously. Their clothes were shabby and simple, mostly made of rough linen, with patches on top of patches.
The men were thin and their eyes were full of vigilance and curiosity.
The women hugged their children tightly, their faces full of anxiety.
When they saw the Tang soldiers wearing fine armor and holding sharp weapons, whispers arose one after another.
In their rumors, these "mysterious people" from the East were as terrifying as demons. However, when they saw them with their own eyes, the soldiers' neat formations and majestic aura made them feel inexplicably shocked.
"Grand Commander, the people here are truly uncivilized savages. Look at the streets! My feet are covered in shit. It's disgusting!"
Adjutant Xue Li frowned, suppressing the discomfort in his stomach, and tried to find a clean place to stay while speaking.
His face turned slightly pale with disgust, and his eyes kept scanning the surroundings, but he found that there was nowhere to step.
Li Zhentao, however, remained calm. He looked at the curious yet fearful eyes of the people around him and said slowly, "Don't complain."
"Back in the day, when the Tang Dynasty was first established, the streets of Chang'an were also filthy and chaotic, with refugees everywhere."
"Today's prosperity is the result of the hard work of several generations. You are young and have not experienced those times."
"When I was young, there was war and chaos. My family was extremely poor. We only had one cotton-padded jacket, and whoever went out wore it."
"It's nothing like today, where people live and work in peace and contentment, and everyone has a few decent clothes."
"Once the Tang Dynasty establishes order and educates people, this place will be completely transformed."
After hearing this, Xue Li nodded thoughtfully: "Grand Commander, you are absolutely right. I understand."
The group continued walking, and finally arrived at a square. It was relatively open here, and the dirt on the ground was much less.
The soldiers felt relieved and rubbed the dirt on the soles of their shoes on the stones on the roadside. Some even took off their boots and carefully cleaned the filth inside.
The scene in the center of the square made everyone curious.
A tall pile of firewood stood there, with a naked little blonde girl tied to the firewood.
She looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, with skin as white as snow, but her eyes were covered with tears from fear, and her big blue eyes were filled with despair and helplessness.
Her body was trembling slightly and faint whimpers came from her mouth.
Li Zhentao frowned tightly.
"Come here, quickly find out why this little girl was kidnapped! Xue Li, rescue her immediately and get her some clothes to cover her. It's so shameful to leave her naked!"
"As you command, Grand Commander!"
Xue Li clasped his fists and accepted the order, then strode towards the firewood pile with several soldiers.
"Who among you understands the language here?" Li Zhentao looked around and asked loudly.
The soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads.
In the Tang Dynasty, except for those officials in the Ministry of Rites who were specifically responsible for diplomatic affairs, learning foreign languages was considered a loss of status. In their minds, the Tang Dynasty was the Celestial Empire, and how could the people of China condescend to learn the language of barbarians?
Just as Xue Li and the others were about to rescue the little girl, suddenly, a rapid shout came from not far away. It was the familiar Tang Dynasty official language: "Angels, angels, you must not, you must not let that witch go!"
"She is ominous! Only fire can wash away the sins of her soul!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man in a tattered gray robe shouting and struggling to push his way through the crowd as he ran towards them.
His hair was messy, his face was full of anxiety, and beads of sweat the size of beans hung on his forehead.
Li Zhentao's eyes glared at the man and he asked in a cold voice, "Who are you? Why do you say this little girl is a witch? And why are you speaking the Tang language here?"
The man ran up, panting as he bowed. "My name is Yorick. I've been to the Tang Dynasty on business. The local lords and the church claim this little girl possesses evil magic and will bring disaster to the city-state. Therefore, they want to burn her to death as a sacrifice to the gods."
"Angels, dressed in Tang Dynasty attire, are taking the liberty to advise you to avoid any bad luck!!"
Li Zhentao snorted coldly, "What nonsense! You want to take a life based on nothing more than baseless speculation. How can you be any different from an animal if you disregard human life so recklessly?"
"You've been to the Tang Dynasty, don't you know that feudal superstition is the most unacceptable?"
"As for the unknown, I think your lord and the church are indeed going to be in trouble."
After saying that, he winked at Xue Li.
Xue Li understood what he meant.
Seeing this, the surrounding Franks immediately became agitated.
This is a witch! If we don't burn the witch, everyone will be in trouble!
Some men armed with spears and axes surrounded them, shouting, their eyes full of fear.
In the crowd, several knights dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing metal helmets rode out, shouted loudly in harsh words, and pointed the long swords in their hands at the Tang soldiers.
Li Zhentao glanced at them, somewhat surprised.
"There's actually someone who dares to draw a sword against me?"
"kill!"
The knights roared and rushed forward first.
The Tang army was well-trained and coordinated well. They formed a tight square formation with their shields like a wall.
Whenever the enemy's weapon came down, the shield would block the attack firmly, and then the musket would fire, accurately hitting the enemy's vital points.
The battle was quickly decided, and the ground was littered with Frankish corpses, their blood staining the square dark red.
Seeing this, the civilians who were still shouting dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the knights wanted to escape, but were killed one by one by Xue Li.
"This is a place of ignorance. Someone, go and call the military clerk. I need to write a letter to educate the Western Continent."