"The Palace of Baratina was indeed converted by Arab craftsmen. This is the personal hobby of His Majesty. He prefers Eastern art." Carl probably introduced the origin of this palace group to Hong Tao. The emperor also lived in a second-hand house. It was found here since the Phoenicians, and then the Romans, Byzantines, and Arabs. Every time they were occupied, they had some transformation. By this time, they simply matched the East and the West.

"I don't know how your cousin convinced Arab craftsmen. This thing was also carved by them?" At this time, the horse team had already passed through the moat of the castle and entered the first door of the castle. Hong Tao found that there were exquisite relief murals on the walls on both sides of the door, and the content of the painting was clear at a glance, the Crusades!

"You should ask the Emperor in person..." Carl really couldn't answer this heart-wrenching question. He couldn't say in secret that his cousin was not keen on Christianity, that wasn't a slap in the face. An imperial emperor crowned by the pope was not a devout believer, and Carl felt a little embarrassed to say it out.

Although the appearance of the castle looks a bit Arabic, it still has a typical Christian flavor inside. Whether it is the gatehouse, suspension bridge, or watchtower, they are exactly the same as those in the ring, but the building materials are not as neat and uniform as the castles in the ring. The castles in the movie are all built with large rectangular stones, and the castle of Karl's cousin is more volcanic rocks. This is based on local materials. Sicily is a volcanic island with not many forests and there are too many volcanic rocks.

When he entered the gate of the castle, it was the vestibule, which looked a bit like the urn of an ancient Chinese city. There was also a city wall and a gate inside, which was the last barrier to the watchtower. At this time, a large group of men and women in various robes were standing inside the city gate waiting. Hong Tao glanced at him and couldn't ride a horse anymore, because he saw a middle-aged man wearing a crown on his head among the crowd. Don't say that, he looked a bit like Carl. He was not as tall as Carl, and his eyebrows and eyes were similar, especially the red hair. The genetic genes of their family were really strong.

"Dear Emperor. Please accept the blessings from guests from far east. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Ait Hong, the Duke of Nanyang of the Song Empire. This is my daughter, Weier Hong; this is Luo, the Earl of Qiongzhou, the Great Song Empire...; this beautiful lady is the Baron Jiang of the Great Song Empire." Hong Tao first put Jiang Zhuyi on the ground, and then he also got off the horse. At this time, the eight knights in front happened to dodge to the left and right sides. He held Jiang Zhuyi with one hand and the other hand.

He pulled Hong Yu, pulled Luo Youde with his eyes, walked to the Carl wearing a crown and a trumpet, took the lead and bowed deeply, and then began to introduce himself in Latin. This lies was so neat that a duke, an earl, and a baron were born in an instant. If he hadn't thought about this issue carefully before, he would have wanted to give himself the title of Prince of Nanyang, so that Hong Yu could be called His Royal Highness, so that he could be called His Royal Highness, so that he was so grand!

"According to the etiquette of our country, we should introduce the lady first... Carl has never mentioned that you are a duke." Frederi II, apart from looking a little like Carl, had a look, temperament, and voice that looked very similar. After hearing Hong Tao's shameless self-introduction, the imperial emperor took two steps forward, holding Jiang Zhuyi's right hand, half lowered his head as if he was about to kiss, but half stopped again, and looked at Hong Tao with his head tilted.

"This is the Germanic etiquette, but I am the King of Sicily. Should I use the hug etiquette?" Although Fredrich II did not laugh, Hong Tao saw a cunning light in his eyes. He did it on purpose!

"You are the emperor of the empire, and the kissing gift is more appropriate... Karl is probably not clear to you. I am already very modest. To be honest, I should be called the kingdom more appropriate, or even more independent than the kingdom." Hong Tao felt that Karl's cousin had a sense of humor, and actually wanted to take advantage of Jiang Zhuyi, grandma! As for the title of Duke, Hong Tao was not guilty at all. What is the commander? The high-ranking official of the imperial authority who commanded the military and political power of one side! The title is the same as the deputy prime minister at the most, otherwise you would be happy to send you to be the commander. You can't suppress others! The Song Dynasty also has a title system, which is more detailed than Europe, with a total of twelve levels, and the last fifth level is the Duke, Marquis and Bozinan. If it is true that according to the Great Song Dynasty's theory of title, the commander might be the first level of the Duke, two levels higher than the Duke.

"He has been not good at dealing with these things since he was a child... This is my queen, Isabella II, the heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem." Fredrich II did not plan to ask whether Hong Tao was a duke. No matter what Hong Tao had, he was willing to entertain him. On the one hand, his cousin was rescued from the distant east. On the other hand, the emperor was also very curious about the distant east. He was also a very knowledgeable and easy-to-learn person. Even without the relationship between Carl, two merchant ships of the Great Song Empire came to his port. The emperor would treat the captain as a VIP receptionist. Just like the princes and ministers standing beside him and several noble ladies, there were actually people wearing Arab robes, and his queen actually wore white headscarves like Arab women.

None of the cowards could meet the guests at the gate of the tower with the emperor. It was their title, not courage. Hong Tao followed the emperor, just like the heads of state in later generations, met them one by one. He just didn't have to bow to them anymore. If the other party was a man, he would hug and fist. If the other party was a lady, he would not suffer any loss, and he would also give a kiss like the emperor.

Through a simple meeting, Hong Tao discovered that among these people, there were several confidants of the emperor, several guest lovers of the emperor, and several characters who were not very popular with the emperor but had to be seen. Among them, what attracted Hong Tao the most was an old man named Hermann von Salza. When the emperor introduced him, he said that he was the chief of the Teutonic Knights and was also the emperor's personal diplomatic advisor.

This Hermann has a typical German face. If his hair is cut short and his beard is shaved, it looks like the elderly version of Rommel, especially his blue and black eyes, which are not big, but like an eagle, it seems to see through the soul when staring at you. The middle name of his name also proves Hong Tao's guess, he is a standard Germanic nobleman. As for what the Teutonic Knights are, Hong Tao has heard of its name, Temple, Hospital, Teutonic, and the three major Knights, and I don't know anything else.

What attracted Hong Tao was not his identity or his appearance, but his relationship with Frederick II. The two of them had simply exchanged questions in German many times. Although the German at this time was different from later generations, with Hong Tao's imagination, they only need to understand one or two words in a sentence to guess what they were communicating. These two guys exchanged their views on themselves privately, Hermann was more inclined to believe in his duke, while the emperor was very suspicious of Hong Tao's statement.

Hong Tao had no interest in whether they believed them or not, and they loved to believe it or not. At that time, it was just a prank, and there was no place to verify it, and it would be useless to ask Carl. He was not familiar with the official system of the Song Dynasty. But the conversation between the two of them made Hong Tao very rewarding. Hermann was a person the emperor trusted very much, at least he knew who he should deal with in the future. In addition, Hong Tao also realized that the emperor did not respect the church very much. His expression when he introduced the bishop with a high hat was like introducing a servant, very reluctant.

The European castles look majestic and grand outside, but after entering, it is not the case. They are not even worse than the ancient Chinese palaces.

First of all, it's dark! It's dark everywhere. The windows are too few and too small, and it can't be opened even if it's windy or rainy. Without glass, it's covered with two wooden boards. The hall of the palace is on the third floor and there is a row of windows, but it's still dark. If you want to have a party in broad daylight, you have to light a candle or ignite a torch.

The second is choking! The taste is not very pleasant. Think about it, there are fireplaces and torches in the stone house that are not sunny all year round, plus the smell of animal skins and wood. If Hong Tao hadn't stopped it with his eyes, Hong Yu would have really covered his nose.

Finally, it is rough! The stone and wood in many places are exposed. Although there are many gold and silver decorations and sculptures on the windows, porches, and columns, the details are still rough.

"Duke Ait, you can see the big ship moored outside the port from here. Carl told me that you are an excellent navigator and an excellent designer and inventor. I agree with him very much. These two ships are indeed beautiful and practical. It is a great thing to sail thousands of miles away. There is still some time before the dinner. Can the Duke tell us whether the mysterious Eastern country you live in is as beautiful as Baron Jiang." At this time, the sun has not set yet, and it is indeed a bit early to eat. Originally, I had to arrange for Hong Tao and his party to live first.

After washing and changing clothes, it was almost dinner time. But Hong Tao didn't want to stay in the room so early. After just finishing the washing and changing clothes on the boat, there was no need to do it again. It was better to do what he liked the most and chat. When he came to such a novel place, if he could chat for several days without sleeping, he wanted to figure out any details. The emperor did not stop him. It seemed that he and Hong Tao were in a similar mood. Although Carl said that his emperor cousin had dragged him to chat all night last night, it was obvious that he still had many questions in his heart.

(To be continued.)
Chapter completed!