Constantinople was only a capital city for thirty-two years, and before it became the capital, it was a trading city on the coast.
Because of its direct access to the sea and its location at the intersection of East and West, merchants were willing to come to Constantinople to do business, which gave the city extraordinary prosperity and made it a city where Eastern and Western civilizations crystallized.
Whether the Han Chinese who came to Europa were the first to see the walls of the city, or the towering walls made of brick and stone, most of the cities they had seen before had no walls, and even if they did, they were low rammed earth walls, or simply a defensive ring made of a fence.
Everyone knows that the fence protection ring is at most to prevent a wild beast, if there is an army attack, the fence can only play a very slight blocking effect, without any siege equipment to destroy, simply rely on the soldiers to push can also be pushed, its function is a little stronger than the fence wall, but whether it is in the Persian Sassanid territory or the Greek peninsula, the vast majority of cities only have fences.
"The walls on this side of the sea are not the highest, I heard that the walls on the other side of the channel gate are fifty meters, and the walls on the north and east sides are fifty-eight meters."
Cai Mian said with admiration: "The base of the city wall is made of huge stones, with earth and gravel as the core and then masonry, which can withstand the continuous bombardment of catapults for ten days without collapsing. ” The crowd was on a ship on the sea, and because it was close enough to the city wall, people wanted to see the flag on the wall with their heads held high, which could better support the grandeur and height of the city wall.
The ships of this pier were already being driven away, and the city guards from Constantinople were doing the work.
Waiting for the ships on the dock to be driven away is when the Han envoys come ashore.
"Several other small countries have also sent people."
Malus Utansis seems to be very unhappy with this: "It's like a thief" "What about the other co-rulers" Cai Mian asked curiously, "Did they send anyone?"
Malus's expression instantly became very strange, full of smugness, and a strong smile.
The so-called co-rulers were actually Constantius' opponents, namely Constantine II and Constans I, and the three of them were fighting for the name of Augustus one and only.
Rome was mired in civil war, but their civil war was very strange, for example, no one would easily slaughter the city, and then they were all at war without breaking off contact.
Constantine II's sphere of influence was later Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland, and he had three less reliable younger brothers: the Franks, Burgundy, and Alemanni.
Before the defeat of the three Constantine II, the Franks, Burgundy and Alemanni had actually been at odds with Constantius, and later became Constantius's vassals.
The last time Constantius sent an envoy to Han, the envoys of the three kingdoms accompanied him.
Constans I's sphere of influence was Italy, the birthplace of the Romans, and together with Constantius, he controlled the Greek peninsula.
The news on the side of the Han people was seriously backward, and the Romans did not disclose it to the Han people, in fact, Constantine II and Constans I had died one after another.
Constantine I's death took place eleven years ago, when he led his army to invade Constans I's sphere of influence, which was met with fierce resistance from Constans I, and that was the last time he led his army to attack, and he was defeated and killed.
Constans I died at the hands of his own men, but he also found the wrong person to die.
Magnus Magnentius rebelled and killed Constans I, but before Magnus Magnentius integrated the forces belonging to Constans I, Constantius led the army to kill, and after Magnus Magnentius was defeated and killed, Constantius did not immediately annex the territory that originally belonged to Constans I, but took a partition.
In other words, the current Rome has actually been unified again, but these Persians who know about it do not mention it, and the parties themselves never mention it.
In fact, as long as the Han State thinks clearly about why only Constantius sent an envoy to shake his senses, after all, if Rome is really still in the midst of a civil war, the other two forces will not watch Constantius seek new allies, even if they don't jump out of competition, they should do their best to stir up the yellow.
On the other hand, the second member of the royal family in Rome was Julian alone, and the part of Egypt represented by Julian was not hostile to Constantius at all, and could even act in unison.
However, the Romans couldn't hide these things for long, and the reason why the Romans hid them was also to test and test the Han state, such as whether the Han state would seek cooperation with the enemies of Constantius.
The Han Chinese, who did not know that Rome had been unified, heard a rapid trumpet sound before they could think about it, and there were many more people in monks' robes on the docks.
It was not a monk, it was actually a clergyman from the Christianity of the 1st Sect, and one of the people at the front carried the cross in his hand and held it high.
This cross is very beautiful, the surface seems to be gilded and set with precious stones, and it is simply golden and sparkling in the sun.
The robes of the clergy were generally white, with corners of different colors that seemed to be trimmed according to class, and the patterns and colors on the robes also varied.
They also wear a small round hat on their heads, or they wear it diagonally, which makes people wonder if the small round hat will fall off if they move more loudly.
When the Han people didn't know why, a burst of bel canto appeared very suddenly, and it sounded like they were singing some hymn.
"The servants of the Lord are simply everywhere."
Marcus Marca is clearly repulsive: "They don't let go of any important occasion to show their presence. ” The hymn is sung by dozens of people, listening to the voices of both men and women, their heads are shrouded in cloaks, each person puts his hands on his lower abdomen, and his body trembles when he sings high.
The sound of neat footsteps mingled in, and a young man who looked very young appeared on horseback, dressed in a white silk robe and wearing an olive laurel wreath on his head, dismounted and approached the dock in the service of the servants.
"Julian" Muros Utansis looked quite excited: "Augustus sent Julian to greet him, and he was a surprisingly grand guide. ” Wang Meng and Cai Mian looked at each other in an instant, and they could see the surprise in each other's eyes.
In the Han Chinese message, Julian was an ally of Constantius, who ruled over Egypt and a continent of Africa, and was the most powerful of all the Roman co-rulers.
Allies are just allies, and the rulers of both sides will never easily go to each other's capitals, let alone accept assignments to do anything.
Wang Meng and Cai Mian, who sensed that something was wrong, did not make any changes, no matter what the political pattern of the Romans was, and no matter what important Romans came, they knew that unless Rome was going to break out a war with the Han State, no one would dare to hurt them.
Roman soldiers in red robes and heavy armor began to appear in large numbers, all of them with sassy cloaks, and when they arrived, they formed a cordon around them, and at the same time left one person every two meters in the street in a standing mode, forming a cordon on both sides of the street with soldiers blocking the streets.
After Wang Meng and the others got to the dock, they looked into the street and were surprised to find that the red carpet was spreading, extending to the far corner that could not be seen as far as the eye could see.
There were a lot of onlookers around, and they were already cheering and shouting Julian's name when he appeared.
Julian frequently waved to the onlookers, ushering in even greater cheers.
"Friends from afar" Julian smiled very beautifully, and stretched out his right arm to Wang Meng: "Welcome to your arrival." ” Wang Meng knew the etiquette of the Romans, that is, the right hands shook each other, but the hands were not palms, but small arms.
There seems to be some story behind this etiquette Julian was greeting in Chinese, speaking Chinese that sounded pure, and did not sound with a strange accent.
He then spoke in Roman, translated by Marcus Marca, and he said that he could only say that, and he practiced for a long time.
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The distance between the Han Kingdom and Rome is really far away, and the Han people are very unfamiliar with Rome, but they know some of the systems of the Romans, such as the emperor is called Augustus, and the Romans will also appoint Caesar, who is not only the vice emperor of Rome, but also has more than one Caesar.
If Wang Meng heard correctly, Marcus Marca called Julian Caesar just now, then Julian who came to greet him and others was one of the Caesars of Rome However, this is not the case, in fact, Julian has only just finished his exile, and he had only been in Cappadocia to belong to Turkey, and had only been restored to his nobility a year earlier.
He was not one of the Caesars of Rome, it was Constantius who revealed the news that he was going to canonize Caesar, and the people under him were called Caesars.
Julian had a half-brother named Gallus, one of the Caesars of Rome, and two other Caesars, the sons of Constantius's cousins, who were in charge of Europa and the Roman part of Africa.
"No, I'm not Caesar yet."
Julian did not dare to be sloppy in this kind of diplomacy when he heard Wang Meng also call him Caesar, but after denying it, he said: "I will marry Helena this year, and then I will be appointed Caesar." ” Wang Meng instantly heard the implication of the words, that is, Julian was jealous of Constantius, and he needed to kiss before he could be trusted.
Helena is the sister of Constantius, and then Julian is the nephew of Constantius, if Julian marries Helena, then Julian will become both Constantius's nephew and brother-in-law, and the relationship is really messy enough, but this is the characteristic of the Roman royal family.
In the history of Rome, the marriage of close relatives of the royal family is very frequent, such as the brother marries the sister, or the sister marries the younger brother, and even the biological father marries his own daughter, they call this the purity of the bloodline, and then give birth to a large number of deformed children or retarded children.
Historically, even if the marriage of close relatives of the Roman royal family is not a deformed child or mentally retarded, the children born of close relatives are also born with congenital diseases, such as a movie called Heavenly Dynasty, in which Baldwin IV, the king of Jerusalem, is the product of close relatives, he has had a very serious skin disease since he was a child, and he has been tormented by skin diseases all his life, and later died of severe skin inflammation.
This movie is highly recommended to watch "Maybe it's not Helena."
Julian hooked the corners of his mouth, shrugged his shoulders, and said with a smile: "If the Son of Heaven of your country is willing to marry Rome." ” Wang Meng's expression remained unchanged, but he paid attention to it in his heart.
It's not the first time he's encountered such a situation, for example, when he went to Ctesiphon, Shapur II of Persian Sasanid sent someone to test it, and Shapur II personally went out to talk about the marriage with Han, which can be a princess married to Persian Sasani, and this princess can be Shapuri II's daughter or sister, so as to achieve that the two countries become blood countries.
At that time, Wang Meng's reply was that he needed to return to China for instructions before he could give a formal reply.
Shapur II was very straightforward, selecting the most beautiful sisters and daughters, and sailing to the Han Kingdom in the name of play.
"Helena is very beautiful, the most beautiful flower in Constantinople."
Julian walked side by side with Wang Meng on the red carpet, always showing a talkative appearance: "She is not only beautiful, but also a very knowledgeable female scholar and artist. ” Of course, Julian and Wang Meng's conversation took place under the translation of Marcus Marca, and there was talk and laughter along the way until they reached the city gate.
When they were far away, they had already seen that the city gate had been specially decorated, indispensable to some olive branches and leaves, and some colored satin, and when they were a little closer, the city walls were already sprinkled with flower petals, and the sound of the trumpet "doodoo" was not broken.
"My fiefdom is in Egypt and Nicomedia, Cappadocia, and mainly Asia Minor."
Julian saw that Wang Meng was relatively stunned for a moment, and he didn't know what the purpose was, and said, "There is one thing that the angel needs to know, Rome is not in a period of division now. ” Wang Meng stopped all of a sudden, and his stop also made the whole team stop.
"Obviously, the Persians have not informed your country either" Julian smiled very brightly, but his words were a little unpredictable: "The Persians have never been qualified allies, they have too much care, and their strength has never matched their ambitions. ” Indeed, the Persians must have known that Rome had been restored, but they never mentioned it to the Han state, and even misled the Han state in some directions.
The Romans themselves did not mention it, but there was no place for the Han to blame or blame the Romans.
After all, the Han people didn't ask, so why did the Romans say: