Upon seeing Chu Qian shake hands with him, Peckney's embarrassment instantly turned into gratitude, and a warm smile once again spread across his face.

The Egyptian nobles behind him, seeing that Chu Qian first greeted them with their own country's etiquette and then responded in accordance with local customs, couldn't help but think more highly of him.

In their eyes, this kind of behavior, which both preserves the dignity of their own country and takes care of others, is what can be called true elegance and nobility.

Subsequently, under Peckney's introduction, Chu Qian stepped forward one by one to shake hands and greet these nobles.

When it came to the last young nobleman, the young man excitedly grasped Chu Qian's hand and said expectantly, "Honorable Han envoy, may I learn from you the etiquette of the Great Han?"

Upon hearing this, not only the nobles but also Peckney's eyes lit up.

In their view, although the etiquette of the Han people seemed rather cumbersome and complicated, the more so, the more elegant and noble it appeared.

After all, this handshake was a common form of etiquette in Rome, used by both nobles and commoners.

As a nobleman, one naturally needs a set of etiquette, and the etiquette of the Han Dynasty is undoubtedly the most suitable for them.

After listening to the guide's translation, and meeting the expectant gazes of the crowd, Chu Qian smiled and nodded: "Of course, as long as you're willing to learn!"

Upon seeing Chu Qian nod, everyone present was immediately overjoyed.

Peckney also stepped forward and said, "In that case, we will trouble Envoy Han to take good care of you!"

Chu Qian smiled and said, "No problem!"

Just as everyone was talking, the Imperial Navy fleet docked at the pier.

The naval soldiers on the ship also lined up in formation and, led by Huang Gai, Cheng Pu and others, boarded the dock and marched in this direction.

"This...this is the army of the Han Dynasty? What kind of armor is that?"

"And their physiques are even smaller than those of gladiators in the arena, aren't they?"

"My God, how do they manage to move in perfect unison? It's incredible, it's practically a masterpiece of the gods!"

The Roman nobles present were almost speechless with astonishment at the sight of the well-armored, robust, and uniformly trained Han soldiers.

In their eyes, their proud Roman warrior legions were far inferior to this Han army in terms of both weaponry and disciplined formation.

Once a fight breaks out, our side will undoubtedly be defeated. In terms of sheer momentum alone, the enemy is enough to crush our soldiers.

"Gentlemen, the Han Dynasty is far from here. In order to avoid any accidents along the way, it is only natural to bring more soldiers to protect these goods!"

Seeing the complicated expressions on everyone's faces, Chu Qian stepped forward and explained with a smile.

"The Han envoy is right. It is not easy for our two countries to travel together, so it is only reasonable for us to bring more soldiers!"

Peckney smiled and echoed, saying that although the Han army had as many as five thousand soldiers, it was nothing compared to the huge fleet.

Even if it were Rome, they would send a large number of soldiers to escort them when taking so many goods out to sea.

Subsequently, at the invitation of Pecney and a group of nobles, Chu Qian, Jian Shuo, Zhang Bao and others headed into the city.

As they moved, Chu Qian and the others kept looking around at everything.

In Chu Qian's view, Rome was indeed a wealthy and powerful country. Although their army's equipment and formations were not as good as those of the Han Dynasty, they were equally well-trained and large in scale.

The garrison near this port alone numbers over 20,000.

If converted, the total number of troops in all the provinces of Rome would be at least 1.5 million, which is 500,000 more than the number of troops in the Han Dynasty today.

However, what Chu Qian didn't know was that although Rome was at its peak at this time, its rule over the various provinces was not as firm and powerful as that of the Han Dynasty.

Each province was like a vassal state in the Central Plains during the Spring and Autumn Period, with local politics and military affairs entirely controlled by the governor-general and local nobles.

When Rome had a powerful Augustus like Alexander or Octavian, the provinces would naturally submit. However, if an incompetent person appeared, the entire Roman Empire could very well fall into a situation similar to the Warring States period in the Central Plains, descending into endless chaos.

That evening, Chu Qian, Jian Shuo, Zhang Bao, Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, and some naval officers were also invited to a welcome banquet hosted by local nobles.

Among those attending the banquet were many female members of noble families.

The noblewomen also showed great enthusiasm for these guests from the East.

In particular, Chu Qian, who was an envoy of the Han Dynasty, captivated the Roman women who were used to the rough and violent world with his handsome appearance and elegant demeanor.

Many bold women also took the initiative to approach Chu Qian, chatting incessantly, and some even started to touch him inappropriately.

"Han envoy, do you have wives or concubines at home?"

"If you have any, would you mind having a few more?"

"For you, I am willing to abandon everything and return to the Great Han with you!"

"..."

A group of women surrounded Chu Qian, chattering incessantly, exhausting the guide who was responsible for translating.

The young Roman nobles watched as the women they admired all lowered themselves and surrounded Chu Qian. Although they were very jealous, they could do nothing about it.

In terms of status, he was an envoy of the Han Dynasty, representing an empire; in terms of background, judging from his speech and behavior alone, he must have come from a prestigious family; in terms of strategy, he was able to lead hundreds of giant ships and tens of thousands of people across the ocean to this place.

In front of Chu Qian, the noble status that those young men were so proud of was utterly worthless, no wonder those women were attracted to him.

Faced with the enthusiasm of these women, even Chu Qian, who had experienced many trials and tribulations, was momentarily overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Peckney arrived in time and scolded the women, after which they reluctantly dispersed.

Pecney said apologetically, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, Han Envoy. It's just that the Han Dynasty is too powerful and you are too outstanding, which is why these women have disregarded their dignity!"

Chu Qian smiled and waved his hand: "It's alright!!"

Pecney stepped forward and said, "By the way, Han envoy, how much silk did you bring with you on this trip?"

Chu Qian thought for a moment and said, "There is quite a lot of silk. Including the imperial court and those merchants, there are still about 30,000 bolts!"

Peckney's eyes lit up: "Then can you sell them all to us?"

Chu Qian was slightly taken aback: "You should know that it would cost at least one hundred taels of gold to transport this piece of silk from the Han Dynasty to here, so 30,000 pieces would cost three million taels!"

"That's no problem, just tell me if you're selling or not!"

Upon hearing Chu Qian's offer, Peckney generously waved his hand.