Chapter 32 1.32 Yorkshire

The carriage drove all night, and several people took turns driving and sleeping, and finally walked onto the "King's Road" before dawn.

It is a boulevard lined with huge oak trees. After the heavy rain, a slightly cool morning breeze blew in, mixed with the aroma of ripe rice on both sides of the road. When the carriage turned onto this road, the pedestrians on the road finally began to become crowded.

Vegetable vendors driving bullock carts; rangers riding tall horses with spears and bows behind them; circuses with monkeys, parrots and other exotic animals in their carriages; and traders driving slaves to move goods. The bustling flow of people along this avenue They form a colorful trickle and slowly walk into the city not far away.

On both sides of the road, there are endless golden fields.

The English Islands are indeed a much more fertile land than Scandinavia. This place has everything a civilization needs to thrive.

Following the flow of people, several people finally approached the gate of York City. According to Jerome, there are more than 40,000 daily residents in this city, and the daily floating population is as many as 3,000.

Pointing to a water channel not far away from the city that was raised by arched stonework, Jerome pointed to a river not far away, which was York City's water supply facility.

The entire water supply installation adopts the design of the Romans five hundred years ago. There are several huge wheel-shaped waterwheels standing in the rushing river. When the river flows, the waterwheel rotates, and the wooden barrels suspended in the huge wheels can carry the water from the river to the added canals and then into the city.

In this era without electricity, the Roman sages were able to come up with this method to provide water to the city, which can be regarded as a remarkable achievement.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

"Mortals, get out of the way and let the ambassador pass!"

Several loud horn blasts sounded, and residents walking on the King's Avenue gave way. From the end of the road came a row of knights with shining silver armor. They held high the flag in their hands. The background of the flag was green, with a bunch of purple grapes painted on the green background.

"This is the flag of Dragonfly Island." Jerome explained softly from the side. "Dragonfly Island is the territory of the Kingdom of Wessex next door. This is the most powerful country among the seven countries in the English Islands."

"Dragonfly Island may not be big, but they produce the best wine in England. That's why they put the grape logo on the flag."

There were more than ten silver cavalrymen holding high flags. When they passed by, nearly 10 carriages pulled by four horses appeared behind the team. But when the tallest carriage passed by, the silk curtain gently opened a corner, and Loki saw a woman holding a baby in her arms and wearing a golden crown.

“That is Princess Margaret, the sister of Elle III. She married into the Bellinger family on Dragonfly Island and is now the ‘Duchess of Bellinger’.

"She no longer belongs to this country, so every year when she goes home to visit relatives, she needs to first meet with Ambassador Wessex, and then be sent back to the palace by the ambassador."

The carriages were rumbling across the border, and behind them there were no less than two hundred servants. These servants, dressed in clean brocade robes and fine clothes, walked at the back of the procession. When passing by the traders and farmers on both sides, they seemed to have a sense of superiority in their leering eyes.

"The wine of Dragonfly Island is famous far and wide, and can even be sold as far away as the Tang Dynasty in the East with merchants on ships! You know, those Tang people with high eyesight hardly look down on any products from our English islands. Only the wine of Dragonfly Island"

"I heard that their royal nobles would pour it into the pool during banquets and use it as an air freshener."

This sentence seems to be somewhat insulting between the lines. But Jerome didn't care at all. In his opinion, it seemed to be a very normal thing for the Tang people in the Eastern Tang Dynasty to look down on their products.

He even felt that as long as they were willing to pay for it, it would be a great achievement. "Precisely because of being able to do business with the Chinese people, the commercial output of Dragonfly Island is extremely amazing, and the residents on the island are far wealthier than ordinary farmers. Many ordinary people in the English Islands are able to send their children to Dragonfly Island. Live with pride.”

"These people are inevitably a bit arrogant."

Okay, Dragonfly Island, I remembered Loki nodded silently.

The team of diplomats walked for nearly half an hour before they were all finished. Loki and his party finally approached the city gate. When he approached the city gate, he discovered that this was actually a city without a moat.

If I had to say what this city was like, it would feel more like walking into an open university for Loki. The city gate is only symbolic. If they didn't want to queue, they could just walk down the road and wade in the grass to get into the city.

This city puts all its design focus on "look and feel".

Entering the city gate and looking around, there is an open basin in front of you! All the houses in the city have uniform brown stone walls and red spires, and are densely distributed around 7 streets and 4 squares.

The city gate is located at the highest point of the city. After entering the city, you can directly have a bird's-eye view of the entire city's floor plan and identify the destination they want to reach from the air!

Loki's goal is clear. The glazed tile shops of the Tang Dynasty stood proudly on the central axis of the city, like a dazzling gem suddenly appearing among a pile of matchboxes. Vermilion walls, emerald green glazed tiles, and complex rivet columns under the eaves.

Both in size and level of sophistication, it far exceeds the ordinary buildings around it.

"Elle I was the first king to introduce Tang merchants into the city. Fifty years ago, the Kingdom of Northumbria was far from being as prosperous as it is today. The arrogant Tang people looked down on this poor and remote place and put forward extremely harsh conditions."

"--They set their eyes on the land of the palace."

"If they want them to open a shop in the city, the king must give up the palace, and they will build a business here."

The royal guards were furious, but Elle I nodded silently. The old king is worthy of being the founding monarch. He has long seen that the only selling point of Northumbria is its excellent land resources.

Our country is composed of a large area of ​​plains. There is no shortage of food, but there is a lack of minerals.

If the kingdom wants to prosper, they must rely on the Tang people's ships and waterways to sell their goods, and then use their ships to transport resources from other continents.

50 years later, the arrival of the Tang people made the economy of Northumbria take off as expected. If the four countries of the English Isles want to buy goods from the Tang people or sell their goods to the Tang people, they all have to come to Northumbria.

The continuous passage of merchants indirectly promotes the development of other fields. Hotels, inns, carriages and horse shops along the trade routes, and porters. Citizens of the Kingdom can support their families no matter what they do as long as they want to work.

Loki frowned. Why does this sound so much like the Belt and Road Initiative that he was familiar with in his previous life? The Red Kingdom has supported the development of a large number of poor countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America in this way. Could it be

"What about the palace?"

"On the mountain"

Following Jerome's finger, he really saw that there were several buildings on the low mountain on the other side of the basin. The combination of the goose yellow walls, the emerald green peaks and a waterfall left from the top of the mountain is as beautiful as a postcard.

**

Riding down the mountain, several people entered the city.

After entering Yorkshire, this prosperous city made Loki feel like returning to the civilized world in a trance.

The roads in the city are paved with flat and regular breadstones. On both sides of the road, there are trees, neatly trimmed shrubs and flowers. After entering the city, there is a row of stylishly decorated hotels. The enthusiastic proprietress stood at the door to greet the guests, and the aroma of toast and beer wafted from the kitchen.

Sartre and Loki stared straight. Jerome subconsciously thought that the prosperity of the city confused the two. Little did he know that these two people were deep-rooted pirates.

As long as they enter a city, their brains will subconsciously analyze how to enter the city, how to retreat, and which targets are worth paying attention to.

This is a memory deeply engraved in the genes of every pirate, and this alertness to wealth is also the foundation of their survival.

"Boss, a completely open city!" Sartre exclaimed in a low voice. Whether attacking from south to north or sweeping from east to west, every road can easily run through the city.

There are many magnificent buildings on every road.

This feeling is like two hungry people walking into a buffet restaurant. While watching the dazzling fireworks, I felt that every dish seemed worth tasting.

"Boss, give me 500 people, float up along the river beside the city. Enter the city at night, evacuate in the morning, and rob him from east to west! One night is enough!"

Not necessarily

Loki looked deeply at the huge glazed tile palace in the center of the central axis. He could see a sword-wielding monk in flowing clothes sitting cross-legged on the high eaves.

Just looking at him, Loki felt that his eyes were pierced by the sword energy!

The Tang people's business is located here. No matter which direction you enter the city from, it will not be too far from this glazed tile palace.

The old king gave up the palace, which not only stimulated domestic demand, but also hired a group of free thugs to sit in the city! The city of Nanguan can have no moat or city walls.

With so many "sword cultivators" sitting here, who dares to enter the city to make trouble?