Vol 6 Chapter 19: Uliu in action

As the weather gradually became hotter in June, the situation became more and more tense. Some people said that Louis XII had assembled about 50,000 French troops in the southern foothills of the Alps, and some people said that the French fleet had already moved from them in the Mediterranean. Departure from the port, and headed towards Naples.
In the middle of the year, more accurate news came. Although there was no information about the whereabouts of the French fleet, the French did gather a large army near the city of Nice in the southeast of the Alps. Although the number of this army was not the previously legendary 500,000, It is said that the French King Louis has issued a king's decree to all the French nobility. From now on, the size of this army is more than 50000 people.
The Piedmontese also became active. Because of the failure of Charlemagne, the Piedmontese had to send a messenger to the Vatican to sum up, and then they were exempt from punishment after promising many harsh conditions, but even then Piedmont also had to allow Milan and Genoa to send people in their cities to keep track of their movements with the French.
These diplomats are actually public spies. They inquire about news everywhere and hear about things in the Piedmont court. Sometimes they simply get useful information directly from some court officials, and because of the agreement, the Piedmontese have to tolerate it. With the actions of these spies.
The Piedmontese are now deporting all these spies, and the result is that although the source of information about Piedmont was cut off, everyone knows that Piedmont has once again become an alliance of French invasion, and From their desperate expulsion of spies, it can be seen that the invasion is indeed imminent.
Diplomats returning to Milan reported to Ludviko what they saw last, and heard that when they saw Piedmont along the way that Piedmont had begun to recruit farmers in some villages, Ludviko's mood became heavy.
Mrs. Salmatelli got up early, but after hearing that Ludviko was summoning a diplomat who rushed back to Milan at night, she prevented the maid from inviting the Duke to have breakfast together. The lady knew that the situation was already urgent. Ludovico is definitely in a hurry now. As a clever woman, Mrs. Salmatelli can stand out from so many competitors because of her cleverness, so she knows it is better not to disturb the Duke at this time. .
But obviously not everyone is so smart. Early in the morning, Da Vinci came to Ludviko ’s office to ask for the Duke ’s reception, although Ludwig ’s attendants explained to him that the Duke had important business affairs at this time. But Vinci was so stubborn that he had to meet Ludvik.
The entangled helpless waiter could only help him to inform him, but it was Da Vinci's dead rival, Gioconde, who came out soon after.
Seeing Gioconde, Da Vinci's face became bad. Now the two can say that they have reached the point of mutual disgust. If they are not outside the Duke's room, maybe they can't help but ridicule each other. .
"Master, maybe the Duke has no time to see you for the time being," Giokond explained in a low voice. "His Royal Highness is summoning several very important people. You know that the current situation is very bad. Your Highness should have no extra time to look after art Aspects. "
Hearing Gioconde saying this, Da Vinci seemed to be angry, but thinking of his purpose, he still said as calmly as possible: "Or this thing can be said to you, it is about the Mdone River. The construction of a prayer church in Hewan was decided by His Royal Highness a few years ago. Before that, he had also promised to take charge of the mural painting, so now I need to go and see the environment and terrain there. Knowing that if the terrain is too complicated, the church must be built according to the terrain, so this may affect the load and the distribution of the pillars on the roof of the church. Then I will find the best and best location for the mural in advance. Instead of making a temporary decision at that time. "
Gioconte listened patiently, he knew what happened to the church of prayer that Leonardo said, and the reason why the Duke wanted to donate to build the church was actually to cover up his throne from his nephew Guilt and guilt, so Ludovico still pays great attention to this prayer church.
It's just that it's hard for Ludovico to care about the establishment of a church now, so Da Vinci's request is annoying.
And Gioconde can also guess that Da Vinci is probably an excuse, he actually just came to ask for his "gift".
Because Ludvik wants a reputation as an art patron, all of his artists are unpaid, and what sustains their life is the more or less annuity that Ludvik gave to them in the name of a gift. Giocund is responsible for this.
Gioconde glanced at Uliu, who was always obedient behind Da Vinci, how much he still wanted to take care of this guy, now seeing Uliu showing a helpless expression to Da Vinci behind him, Glancing at the little officials who were looking over here, Giokonde finally asked, "So how much do you need for this field trip?"
"I will bring my friends Monsieur Pacioli and Zorro Astro, they can help me calculate the required materials and the things that may need to strengthen the wall, and several of my students have to go with me. , Because I might need them as my assistant after starting work, and my Moorish lad, I ca n’t live without him, so there are about 9 people, and of course there is a boat. "
"Okay master, you can get the money you need for this trip, but I am unlikely to find you too comfortable for the boat, because now everyone needs the boat." Giokonde glanced at Uliu after he finished speaking. Some of the previous affairs about Da Vinci were handled by Uliou, and the master was only responsible for running to Ludwico and complaining or pulling with Giokonde.
Da Vinci really heard that he just nodded and turned away. He never thought he needed to be grateful to this Moorish hybrid, because the money was all from Ludvik, and this attitude also made Gioconde treat him. The reason for having evil thoughts.
Obviously, masters with superb skills are not very good at life.
"You really should leave this person. If you want, you can come and help me, and the Duke is very worthy of you. It won't take long for you to get mixed." Giokonde said to Uliu in good faith, he was still very good. Like this guy, because at least he understands his duty.
"Wait for this errand to be finished," this time Uliu did not say no. "However, although the boat for us does not need to be too big, it is better to be strong."
"You just go around the Mdone River, do you still have to run a long way?" Giokond asked half-jokingly.
"Actually because of myself. I fell into the water before and unfortunately drowned with the owner. That was a terrible experience, so I was terrified as soon as I got on the boat after that."
Seeing Uliu's face with a seemingly frightened fear, Giokond nodded kindly: "Well, choose a sturdy boat yourself, as long as it is empty, whatever you want." After talking, the head of the private warehouse reached out to Uliu and pointed out, "Don't forget the advice I gave you."
"Relax, this is the last time I've been sent for him." Uliou also answered with a smile, and then quickly chased away the da Vinci who had already gone without a shadow.
Da Vinci didn't actually go far. He waited behind a very thick Roman column and saw Uliu coming up and greeted him immediately.
"how about it?"
"Once done, not only can we get a toll, but also a large enough boat, the most important thing is that Gioconde did not doubt us." Watching Da Vinci's uneasy look, Uli Wu said disapprovingly, "Relax, Master, we will have left Milan when he notices something is wrong."
Hearing this, Da Vinci's expression paused. He turned and looked at the splendid palace around him, and then put his hands together to cover his lips: "I have stayed here for 14 years, my favorite work It ’s all created here. Now that I ’m leaving, can you understand my mood, young man, my mood. "
"Relax, master, you will have the opportunity to create more works in the future," Uliu perplexedly persuaded Da Vinci, who suddenly appeared sentimental, and he did not let the other party hear because of his low voice in the latter half of his sentence There are so many empty walls in the castle of Montina, enough for you to paint for a lifetime. "
Uliu knew that time was pressing, so he broke up with Leonardo and hurried to the pier as soon as he left the palace.
Milan's river transportation is not developed. As the center of the Lombardy Great Plains, the city has extensive roads, but the scale of the river transportation is pitiful.
So when Uliu arrived at the pier, he found that there were not many ships available for him to choose from. Except for a few dhows dedicated to inland waters, most of them were not fully open. Rowing boat.
Fortunately, Uliu already had plans, so he immediately took out the permit signed by Gioconde and announced to the terminal officials that he would requisition one of these ships.
Dock officials are obviously very dissatisfied, and for them now there is no more important than being able to store a few more empty ships, whether it is used to transport various materials needed by the city, or to transport wealth for the rich, these are all The good way to make their wallets full, but if they are requisitioned, it has nothing to do with them.
Uliou ignored the bad attitude of the terminal officials. He walked along the wooden pallet. After seeing a dhow with half of the cargo unloaded, he greeted him and jumped into the boat. Seeing this scene, Gioconde must be surprised that he did not show a little fear when he got on board.
"I need this boat, we are going to the bay above the Mdogne River, a total of 9 people, of course you are responsible for sending us back," Uliu said to a businessman who was obviously dressed by the owner, "I will pay you . "
"But it would be more cost-effective for me to ship a few more items than to send you guys," the businessman was obviously reluctant to take the job, but when he saw Uliou take out the permission letter, he looked at the signing merchant above. Turning his head and spitting into the river, he waved his hands helplessly. "You better let your people come to the dock quickly. I want to ship two more goods."
"Relax, they'll be here soon." Uliu's dark-haired face smiled.
After making a decision to leave Milan, Da Vinci and his friends were prepared overnight, but in fact they did n’t have much to bring, and fortunately everyone is now in a panic, so no one will pay attention To their unusual behavior.
But even so, the waiting time seems to be a long time. When the sun has almost risen to mid-day, Uliu sees several hurried figures walking through the crowd towards the pier.
Seeing the figure of Da Vinci, Uliu exhaled slightly. In fact, his heart was not as relaxed as his appearance. Although he did n’t know why the lord would take these people so seriously, Uliu knew he had to finish. task.
It ’s just that when they walked up to the pallet, they did n’t know how the box carried by Zorro Astro suddenly fell to the ground. With a bang, the box lid collapsed and the handle looked heavy. 'S hammer rolled out.
This caught the attention of a dock official. He walked over to look at Zorro Astro, who was packing up the box in a hurry. When the blacksmith was about to pick up the hammer, the official stepped on it.
"What's this, why are you carrying a hammer?" The official asked suspiciously. He looked up and down at the blacksmith, as if he wanted to determine whether the strong man with a sturdy beard and one blind eye was doing anything wrong. Cut the thief.
"This is my work tool, and I rely on it to support my family."
Zoro Astro stood up and looked down at the dock officer, which made the man feel more uncomfortable.
But before waiting for him to speak, I did n’t know when Uliu had ran in and cleverly inserted between the two. When he passed by with Xiaoguan, Xiaoguan felt that his hand was stuffed into a hard cold. Something sensational.
Touching the familiar outline of the gold coin, the anger on Xiaoguan's face slowly disappeared. He glanced at Uliu, then retracted his head to ask him to leave as soon as possible.
"Uliu, why do you want me ..." After getting on the boat, Zorro Astro couldn't help but want to ask, but he was interrupted by Uliu's hand waving, as the sailors worked hurriedly Then, the inland river boat began to slowly leave the dock of the pier. After the hull gradually drew into the center of the river, the sail rose with a few sounds.
"It's downwind," the owner looked at the jib that swelled quickly and smiled with satisfaction. "This will take you to the place soon."
"Yeah," Uliu responded casually.
Because it was downwind, the boat traveled fast on the river. As the river gradually widened, the scenery on the bank gradually became sparse from the prosperity of the two sides of the city center. Later, in addition to a few houses that appeared far away, the shore It has been completely blocked by the one-person reed pond.
Uliu walked through the busy sailors to Zheng Zheng and told the students to put things away. Leonardo: "Master, do you remember the ruler I showed you before?"
"Of course," Da Vinci said with interest and greeted the busy Passioli monk. "I remember you said that it was invented by your former master. That thing is really interesting. Not only can the building be scaled down into a model, but there are also detailed angle tools on it, which is really a rare tool for designing large buildings. "
"That's actually nothing. I have something here that you might be more interested in." Uliu said as he took out another ruler from the leather bag that they helped bring, but the ruler looked like The crab's pliers are connected by two upper and lower rulers with different values, and a middle piece of wood that can slide left and right.
"What's this?" Brother Pacioly began to wonder. He took the ruler and moved the middle bar back and forth, gradually comparing the value on the bar with the values ​​of the two rulers. At that time, a surprised look began to appear on the monk's face.
Then his movements became faster and faster, and later he couldn't help but uttered an unexpected sigh.
"It seems to be used to calculate a certain formula." Da Vinci said, but he had already interrupted him with excitement.
"This is not a simple calculation. My dear Leonardo. If you look closely, you will notice the special relationship between the upper and lower values. Look at this. If the value on this ruler is correct, then we What you see is that from 1 to 10, there are a total of 14 different power control values. Do you know what this means? "
"God, is this true ?!" Da Vinci almost only thought about the monk's words for a while, and his face became wonderful. He rudely grabbed the ruler and moved it up and down according to the monk's little movement. , And then he slowly raised his head and looked at Uliu with monk Passioli with strange eyes. "Where did you come from, do n’t tell me that you are your former owner, you said that he fell before The river is dead, tell me where did this come from? "
"Actually, my master is not dead. Although he did fall into the water, it was in the Mediterranean, not in the river." Uliu smiled slightly. "Master, rest assured, you will soon know the answer."
Da Vinci will continue to question, but before he can open his mouth, a sudden cry comes from the direction of the bow: "No, the ship is leaking!"
The passengers on board were startled by the scream, and Da Vinci and Passioli could not help looking back at the bow at the same time, but then they saw a scene that made them stunned.
The sailors who screamed for leaks not only did not immediately repair, but on the contrary they were smashing things on the ship, and the most violent businessman and owner of the shout was actually directing several sailors to slash the shipboard. .
"What are they doing, what are they doing ?!" Zoro Astro hurriedly ran swaying, he instinctively protected his two friends, and then looked at Uliu with a look of dismay "You know what they are What are you doing? "
"They are sinking the ship," Uliu said with a smile, and saw the alert look on Zorro Astro's face, he waved his hand. "Relaxed that they are not malicious to you, but our itinerary. It may have to be changed a little bit, to know that if we go ashore near the Mdone River, we may find out that we are going to flee to Bologna, maybe the Duke will not care too much, but that Gioconde may not say bad things about us, If the Duke sent someone to catch up with us, it would be in trouble. So I changed the plan a bit, and we are here to pretend to be sunk by death ~ EbookFREE.me ~ and then leave Milan by land. "
Da Vinci looked at the look on Uliou's face, then looked at the businessman who had picked up his own ship and didn't feel distressed at all, and then looked around at them, staring at them, especially Zoroaster Luo's sailor, the master suddenly exhaled gently: "Okay, let's follow the route you said. If I guessed right, you might be ready for the carriage."
The smile on Uliu's face that had been grinning slowly faded away. The young and smart Moor still had a respectful and humble expression, but in the eyes of several Da Vinci, Uliu had a faint look at this time. A different atmosphere than before: "Please forgive our rude masters, but I promise you will not regret this trip. As for the tool you are very interested in, it is called logarithmic scale. I think you will see this soon. The real master of the ruler. "
Speaking of Uliu bowing respectfully to Leonardo da Vinci and Passioli, he suddenly remembered something and said to Zorro Astro, "Your hammer is best left on board, like this The person on the pier can testify that you have seen you on board, and when they find that there is no body at all, we have reached the real destination. "
Looking at the friendly harmless smile on the face of Uliu, Zorro Astro suddenly felt that his other eye also seemed blind.