Chapter 1133 The Importance of the Vikings
After hearing what Chen Zetao said, Xiao Peng looked at him with a sympathetic expression without saying a word.
Chen Zetao made Xiao Peng feel uneasy: "Brother Xiao, why do you look at me like that?"
Xiao Peng sighed deeply. "Brother Chen, you've disappointed me so much. What did you ask me to say? You're just trying to prove you and Jelena are related by blood? That's why you're comparing our IQs?"
Ilka burst out laughing. Chen Zetao and Jelena both looked embarrassed. Chen Zetao hurriedly said, "Brother Xiao, what did I say wrong?"
Xiao Peng said with a look of deep sorrow, "I've always believed that conspiracy theorists are only those with low self-esteem, self-righteousness, and narrow-mindedness. I didn't expect you all to be like this now. Is it hereditary? What do I do? I salvage a shipwreck! I just want to find one or more Viking shipwrecks. How can you make my salvaging a conspiracy to split Britain? You're going too far!"
Chen Zetao's face was full of black lines. If I didn't know you too well and knew what kind of person you were, I would have almost believed it just by looking at your expression!
You're a vindictive guy, aren't you just picking them off one by one? The dissolution of a company has caused so much trouble for the Dutch, the British, and the French, so now it's Britain's turn, right?
How dare you turn the tables on someone else?
Xiao Peng wasn't finished yet. He turned to Jelena and said, "Jelena, my childhood wasn't exactly happy. My parents passed away early. I know that children raised in such families are prone to psychological problems, like paranoia and extremism. Such people are prone to believing in conspiracy theories. There's nothing we can do for Brother Chen, but you're still young and there's still hope. Remember, I simply want to salvage a sunken ship."
Chen Zetao suddenly slapped his thigh as he watched Jelena being scolded. "Brother Xiao, that's not right! You were the one who brought up 'NIP' first. Why can't that lead us to think about the division of the UK? What's wrong with Jelena's thinking?"
Although Jelena didn't say anything, she obviously looked at Chen Zetao twice more.
Chen Zetao perked up and said to Xiao Peng, "Come on, give us an explanation!"
Xiao Peng sighed and said, "I only mentioned the NIP to let you know the history of the Kingdom of Northumbria, but you guys ended up thinking about splitting up Britain. I'm impressed by your overthinking. And you still have the nerve to deny that you're a conspiracy theorist?"
Jelena looked as if she wanted to say something, but Chen Zetao nodded and winked at her, urging her to speak up! Although Jelena didn't want to answer him, Chen Zetao's gesture emboldened her. She said, "Boss, I looked into your previous salvage records before I came here. Basically, the ships you've salvaged yourself are all very valuable. And... what Mr. Chen said just now makes a lot of sense. Compared to the ships you've salvaged before, the Viking shipwrecks shouldn't be worth much."
Xiao Peng shook his head after hearing this. "Jelena, if what you said just now disappointed me, what you said now disappoints me even more. Aren't you a history student at the University of Edinburgh? If you are a history student, how can you simply measure the value of a shipwreck with money? Vikings! I'm looking for ancestors for half of Europe! From Ireland to Britain, from France to Eastern Europe! Where didn't Vikings exist back then? Columbus wasn't the first to discover the Americas! The Vikings landed in Canada five hundred years before them! Not to mention Greenland! A group of Vikings lived there for hundreds of years, but around 1350, they suddenly disappeared..."
"Wait!" Chen Zetao was stunned. "Are you talking about those barbarians wearing horned hats? Do they have such a big influence on Europe?"
Xiao Peng shook his head. "Only Vikings in movies and TV shows wear horned hats. Real Vikings never wore them. They certainly had a huge influence on Europe. Most common words in English today come from Old Vikings. Also, place names like 'Selby' with the letters 'BY' at the end are from Old Vikings. 'BY' means village in Viking."
Chen Zetao was stunned when he heard this: "Pirates also have villages?"
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "The Vikings were pirates only as a secondary occupation, and their main occupation was farming. During the era when the Vikings were rampant, they were called 'Dans' or 'Normans,' referring to the people living in the Scandinavian Peninsula, which is now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. They already had a long history of robbery. Due to the harsh climate in those places, simply developing agriculture would lead to starvation, so they would go out to rob twice a year. However, at first, their main targets were their neighbors in Russia, who were just as poor as they were. Later, as navigation technology improved, they learned to navigate the sea and entered Europe. The few hundred years from the 8th to the 11th century AD are known as the 'Viking Age.' Vikings robbed and collected protection money in many parts of Europe."
"Protection money?" Chen Zetao asked in confusion.
Jelena explained, "It was called the 'Danish tax' at the time. The kings couldn't defeat the Vikings, so they just paid money to keep themselves safe."
Xiao Peng said, "Let me put it this way. Almost everyone in Europe has Viking blood, including every king of England who has ascended the throne. The Viking Age ended with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, who was also a Viking descendant. The Normans were Vikings who settled down. However, because the Vikings had no written language, all records of them are found in the records of other ethnic groups. The name 'Viking' didn't appear until around the 12th century. Therefore, all records of the Vikings are found in cultural relics. Every Viking artifact is a precious historical relic, and its value cannot be measured by money!"
At this point, he lamented, "Brother Chen, Jelena's ignorance is one thing, but are you too? All you care about is 'money, money, money'! Can't you be more detached from vulgar interests? I'm known as the 'Salvage King,' so naturally I have to do something that benefits society and is meaningful. Jelena! You're my employee now. My first task is to teach this idiot a lesson! How can you, someone who's been living in Europe salvaging shipwrecks and making a living, not understand these things?"
After hearing this, Chen Zetao was too tired to complain. The words sounded so nice. Even if the British royal family were descendants of Vikings, he didn't believe that Xiao Peng could give the salvaged cultural relics to the British royal family!
However, he had no objection to Xiao Peng's arrangement. This was clearly an opportunity for him and Jelena to get along!
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