Song Siyuan looked at the pendant and explained: "I am 100% sure that this kind of silver coin is a Western item. Judging from the shape of the crown, shield and lion, it probably comes from England."
"Do you know what this is?" Yue Guanchao asked curiously.
Song Siyuan shook her head: "I'm not particularly sure, but I know that this silver coin has a lot of origins. Waves, seagulls, ships, and the sun are symbols of the age of navigation, and the crown and shield have strong aristocratic images. I guess they are and Related to certain royal societies in certain countries of England."
"Some Royal Society?"
Everyone became curious, and Song Siyuan continued: "These royal associations have a long history. As early as the 16th to 18th centuries, the Great Navigation discovered the New World..."
South America, Africa, Oceania, the Far East, and Southeast Asia, these unknown places outside the European continent, are like the New World to Westerners. Coupled with the wealth of the Far East recorded in "The Travels of Marco Polo", there are constantly explorers and adventurers. With a team of chariots and horses, go to the New World to find treasures, gold mines, treasures, and even visit mysterious animals and lost civilizations.
Everyone wanted to find something in the vast new world. Fortunately, the West became famous in one fell swoop!
It was no different than modern times. There were cruise ships and giant ships for sailing. At that time, ship technology was not developed. If you wanted to sail, you still had to ride a sailing wooden boat. Such a boat was heavy and difficult to navigate. Once you sailed into the sea, you could only leave it to fate. If you encounter any storm, you are destined to lose everything.
The risks are high, the distance is long, and the cost is high. If an ordinary Westerner wants to go overseas to the New World, it is basically impossible for him to rely on his own strength. So, if there is really a need, he must either take on a huge debt and gamble, or just They can only rely on the big trees to enjoy the shade, or they can take desperate measures and gather a group of people to become pirates and make money by robbing passing merchant ships at sea.
The safest thing is to stand against the big tree of the British royal family. At that time, there were many royal societies under the British royal family, such as the Royal Library Society, the Royal Horse Racing Society, etc. In the context of great navigation, of course, There will be a Royal Nautical Society related to navigation.
Speaking of the Royal Navigation Society, its predecessor was indeed not very glorious!
As early as the Age of Discovery, as Spain and Portugal opened up shipping routes, in addition to mature trading caravans, there were also many pirate ships in the ocean.
Most of these pirates are landless farmers in the countryside, or unemployed craftsmen in the city, and even murderers, criminals, and bankrupt households. These people cannot make a living, so they can only take risks, make profits through the Age of Sail, and pilot pirate ships to plunder the oceans. Passing merchant ships.
After the power of Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands declined, England became the new overlord of the ocean. In order to maintain trade routes, they began to rectify maritime security around the world. Most pirate gangs were eliminated, and the remaining pirates were either eliminated by the Royal Navy. Or, accept Zhao'an and become a royal pirate of the British royal family.
Although this kind of pirates are pirates, they are treated much better than ordinary pirates. They will be issued royal pirate documents by the British royal family. They can legally rob ships based on the documents in the future. However, a part of the looted items must be given to the British royal family as an oath. Loyal to the King of England.
After entering the 17th and 18th centuries, with the unfolding of industrial innovation, new warships continued to appear, and piracy gradually disappeared. Although professional pirates no longer existed, people's pursuit of wealth would never dissipate, and the British royal family was not willing to give up overseas affairs. With a large amount of treasure, in order to continue to find navigation agents to help them find treasure overseas, the Royal Navigation Society was established.
This Royal Navigation Association is similar to a club and a salon. It will be managed by royals with noble titles. Any Westerner who wants to sail on the ocean can become a member or senior member of the association by submitting application materials. In addition, they It also absorbs some ordinary sailors, explorers, adventurers, or old pirates who want to go to sea but cannot raise funds.
These people were powerful but had no money, and the Royal Navigation Society had money but were unwilling to take risks at sea. The two hit it off, and the Royal Society took the lead and asked these people to form a sailing team ranging from dozens to nearly a hundred people to drive a giant ship to the New World.
During this period, if the giant ship can successfully reach the New World and find any treasures to bring back to the homeland, then according to the contract signed at the time, the Royal Society will get the big head and these professional sailors will get the small head. If the big ship sinks or nothing is found, then the debt will also be lost. Just write it off.
Although there are many risks in going to sea, they can only take a small part. However, under the social background of the time, this small part is much better than ordinary workers. The higher the risk, the greater the return. These professional sailors Of course, people are also willing to take risks and never tire of going overseas to hunt for treasures.
"I'm sorry, these people are on a mission to hunt for treasures, and these foreigners are too embarrassed." Yue Guanchao teased.
Song Siyuan shook her head: "Then what's the shame? Isn't this huge empire that the sun never sets made its fortune by eating steamed buns made of human blood? In order to dump industrial products here, they did not hesitate to resort to war and funded the voyagers to hunt for treasures. It’s only natural.”
"Then what you mean is that what Gui Fangzong got was actually the badge of the Royal Navigation Association, and the people he came into contact with were from the Royal Navigation Association?"
Song Siyuan nodded, acquiescing to Yue Guanchao's guess: "It's just a guess. I have described the specific details of this badge clearly a few days ago and sent it to my parents via telegram, asking them to check it at the embassy abroad. Maybe it can be found clue."
As he spoke, Tan Yanqiu had already walked up to the hotel room. Seeing that they were all smiling, he said, "Everyone is here. Today is the Han Drama Queens Conference. If you are willing to reward me, come and see it with me."
Everyone was bored these days, so Yue Guanchao took them to the Furui Theater. After arriving, they were placed in a box on the second floor opposite the stage.
As mentioned before, the Jianghan area is the opera wharf, where operas from all over the world gather here, and the selection of the queen of the local Han opera is an annual grand ceremony. When they arrived, the hall on the first floor was already full of spectators, with neon lights shining around, speakers roaring, Xuanhe is lively and full of people.
Any local Han opera troupe in Jianghan can submit their names to the actors for selection. After half a year of selection, these hundreds of opera troupes were selected and the fittest were eliminated. In the end, the six most likely candidates to compete for the Han Opera Queen were selected. Famous actor.
The older ones are like flowers and jade, the newly popular ones are like clouds and phoenix hairpins, and the glamorous ones are like Sai Diaochan. Their singing skills, body shapes and looks are all different. At this point, it is basically time to use real skills. Is it good for these famous actors to compete on the same stage? It was lively and a feast for the audience.
However, when it came time to give out the awards at the end, it was beyond everyone’s expectations!
Hua Yuxiu did not win the title of Queen of Han Drama for the second time. She was not even the second queen or queen, which somewhat surprised them.
"Boss Tan, if Hua Yuxiu comes back empty-handed this time, you're going to suffer a lot. Aren't you afraid of her making trouble?" Yue Guanchao narrowed his eyes.
