The Rise of the European Emperor

Not to mention that the governor of Laayoune, Cotton, felt unreal, even Marin, a traveler who heard the report, found it very incredible. You know, Timbuktu is far away on the edge of the desert deep in the interior of West Africa.

But things are so dramatic. According to the report, Mosingen took a small team of camels, each wearing the white robes necessary in the desert, and under the guidance of Hei Nu Yaya, they passed by one by one. A small oasis in the Sahara desert. Although very difficult, but luckily did not die of thirst. After all, every oasis can be replenished with fresh water. Wearing a white robe all over the body can reflect sunlight as much as possible and reduce sweat evaporation.

As for Mosingen himself, the reason why he was able to come back from the desert alive was that besides his strong body and amazing will, he also brought an oiled paper umbrella to shade him, which further reduced the burns from the scorching sun in the desert.

It turned out that Mosingen had returned to the country at the beginning of the year and took a fancy to an oil-paper umbrella he got from Daming. Then, this fellow took the oil-paper umbrella to Laayoune. Laayoune hardly rains all year round, but the sun is very poisonous. By chance, Mosingen used the oil-paper umbrella as a sunshade in order to avoid the scorching sun. Unexpectedly, the effect is very good. Because he avoided direct exposure to the scorching sun, he felt much more comfortable walking in the desert.

This time across the desert, his Berber slaves and black slaves wore white robes and led camels. As for himself, holding an oil-paper umbrella, he walked with ease. Because the sun can't shine on his body, he just feels stuffy, but he can't feel the sun's poison.

However, with the umbrella in his hand, he couldn't spare his hands to do anything else. After all, umbrellas are meant to be held by hand. Moreover, after a long time, you have to change hands.

If you can hold a parasol without using your hands...

Suddenly, the picture of Brigitte Lin wearing a wide hat and a white gauze covering her face in Xinlongmen Inn appeared in Marin's mind...

"Yes, bamboo hat!" Marin slapped the table excitedly.

This is the standard equipment for chivalrous women walking in the desert. In order to prevent sun protection and not affect people who draw their knives and cut people, female chivalrous men walking in the desert often wear bamboo hats. Sometimes, white gauze hangs down the edge of the bamboo hat to keep out the wind and sand.

However, if the bamboo hat is too big, it seems a bit heavy. Then, Marin thought of a kind of umbrella that can be worn on the head in later generations. This kind of umbrella is worn on the head and saves effort. Moreover, the occlusion range is also large.

However, it also has hidden dangers. If the wind is strong, the head wearing a hat and umbrella will also be tilted by the strong wind...

Therefore, this kind of hat umbrella is only suitable for places with little wind. And precisely, the Sahara Desert is a place where the wind is not too strong. Even if there is a strong wind, that is not a bad thing. Because it will be cool when the wind blows.

but,

The hat umbrella is not strong enough, and the production is more troublesome. Therefore, in order to be lazy, Marin directly combined the characteristics of the bamboo hat and hat umbrella, and designed a bamboo hat umbrella!

What is a bamboo hat umbrella? It is to use the frame of a bamboo hat, and then cover it with a piece of umbrella cloth, which becomes the so-called "bamboo hat umbrella".

Because the umbrella cloth is covered, the bamboo hat can "cut corners". How far has the "bamboo hat and umbrella" designed by Marin cut corners?

His "bamboo hat umbrella", the whole bamboo hat, is only left with a frame made of a few wooden strips. Moreover, the shape of the frame is particularly interesting. What's an interesting idea? Because it looks like the logo of later generations of Mercedes-Benz cars...

That is to say, the frame of his so-called "bamboo hat and umbrella" is a circle with a three-pointed star inside. Whether it is a circle or a three-pointed star, they are all made of wooden strips. With such a saving of wood, the whole bamboo hat is naturally very light. Then, put a piece of cloth on the "Mercedes-Benz logo" to become a bamboo hat umbrella for sunshade. Of course, there is also a round hat circle under the "Mercedes-Benz logo", which is convenient to wear on the head.

Overall, this bamboo hat umbrella is lighter than an oiled paper umbrella. Moreover, wearing it on the head does not hinder the work in the hand.

In addition, the round brim of the bamboo hat is not as easy to poke the camel's eyes as the pointed tip of the rib on the edge of the umbrella.

Usually, when the members of the camel team cross the desert, they can wear the hats and umbrellas on their heads to block the harsh sunlight. If there is a strong wind, take off the bamboo hat and umbrella and tie it to the back of the camel...

After the design was completed, Marin ordered to make a batch of bamboo hats and umbrellas, which were transported to Laayoune by express boat for the camel team.

At the same time, Marin also strictly ordered that any secrets of Timbuktu's trade routes should not be revealed, so as not to alarm the Portuguese.

Today, the Portuguese already regard Timbuktu as their own. If they knew that Beihai had contacted Timbuktu, wouldn't they have to ask Marin for a line?

Marin still wanted to make some money secretly, how could he give up so easily?

But if it is discovered by the Portuguese, they have to give in. Because, if he doesn't obey the rules, the Portuguese will also go to grab America.

Historically, the Portuguese colonized Brazil in strict accordance with the "Pope Meridian" delineated by the Tordesillas Treaty. Of course, they had already known about the existence of Brazil, so they proposed this deliberate move of the 270-league boundary to the west. Later, the Portuguese did not compete for the Americas outside of Brazil.

However, the Spaniards played tricks. They later colonized the Philippines in the east, which was actually a breach of contract. But the problem is that when the "Pope Meridian" was drawn, everyone was not sure that the earth was round, so the eastern boundary was not determined. Spain colonized the Philippines based on this loophole. According to the Spaniards, they came to the Philippines from the Americas to the west, which is not a breach of contract.

In other words, Spain and Portugal still respect the dividing line drawn by the Holy See. Even if Spain cheated later, it found a loophole and did not dare to overthrow it.

Of course, they will definitely not overturn the resolution of the Holy See. Because, if the regulations of the Holy See are overturned, other countries can disregard the rules and get involved in their territory.

In fact, in the early days, other countries in Western Europe were indeed jealous of Spain and Portugal, but they did not dare to cross the border. Just like Britain, it didn't dare to rob America at the beginning, but just sent pirate ships to rob the Spaniard's gold ship.

But after the "Thirty Years' War", the majesty of the Holy See was swept away, and the two Western European powers, Britain and France, began to disregard the Holy See's regulations and went directly to North America to grab territory. Britain's first North American colony, Jamestown, was, after all, the end of the "Thirty Years' War" with the defeat of Catholicism. The Holy See, as the head of the Catholic Church, naturally lost its majesty at that time.

In fact, after the religious wars in the mid-16th century, the prestige of the Holy See plummeted. However, Yu Wei is still there. When the "Thirty Years' War" ended, the Holy See would become the Holy See of Italy, and such a big country as Britain and France would no longer be a bird of Rome.

However, before the religious war broke out, neither Marin nor Portugal could easily cross the border. Unless you can get the other party's permission.

Therefore, Marin's decision on the Timbuktu gold trade route is to enter the village quietly, and don't shoot...

When Portugal found Timbuktu after going through all kinds of difficulties, Marin had already earned enough gold in Timbuktu! After all, the gold in Timbuktu can only be exchanged for salt. Other marlins may be lacking, but there is really as much salt as there is! He is only worried about whether there is enough gold in Timbuktu to exchange...