Chapter 181 The Real Pirate King
The round shield found by Duan Bo is a standard treasure whose cultural relic value exceeds its own value.
Andrew Doria was the fleet commander of Genoa, Italy. He was an outstanding naval general five hundred years ago and the only naval commander of that era who could confront the pirate king Barbarossa.
Xiao Peng tossed the shield to Duan Bo. "Keep it for yourself as a souvenir! If it were the wealth of Andrew Doria or the Pirate King Barbarossa, I might be interested, but finding the wealth of both of them is impossible. Hua Chong, clean up the 'Super Box Jellyfish' and secure it. We'll return directly! Little Dio, use the crane to put this rhodium on my ship!"
"yes!"
Everyone on the boat started to get busy again.
Duan Bo, holding his shield, asked Xiao Peng with a puzzled look on his face, "Boss, even though I'm not very good at Western history, I remember that Barbarossa was the nickname of Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor. How did he become a pirate?"
Kasin said, "This name also appears in the Japanese manga One Piece. Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, is called Barbarossa Kaido! Almost all the characters in One Piece have historical prototypes, so the name Barbarossa must be related to pirates!"
Xiao Peng laughed out loud after hearing this. "Kasin, you win! You can figure this out even from watching anime, but you're absolutely right! The name 'Barbarossa' not only refers to Frederick I, but is also the name of a great pirate."
Duan Bo continued to ask: "Then why do you say that it is impossible to find the wealth of Andrew Doria or Barbarossa?"
Xiao Peng lit a cigarette and said, "The wealth of these three people is not at the bottom of the sea. How can I find their wealth?"
"Three people?" Duan Bo was stunned.
Xiao Peng nodded. "The so-called 'Barbarossa' refers to two brothers, also known as the 'Red Beard Brothers.' The elder is Oruzi, and the younger is Herzl. Some also call him Hayreddin."
"Red Beard?" Duan Bo thought for a moment, "I only know there's a famous pirate named Black Beard."
"Marshall D. Teach! There's also 'Blackbeard' in One Piece!" Kasin said excitedly.
Xiao Peng rolled his eyes at him. "Come on, the real Blackbeard is Edward Teach! But compared to Barbarossa, with all due respect, Blackbeard is like a child. If Blackbeard met Redbeard, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape. He's not a heavyweight pirate."
"Is it that exaggerated?" Kasim asked with wide eyes.
Xiao Peng took a puff of his cigarette and said, "How many ships does Blackbeard have in his fleet? Four! And what about Redbeard? A whole country!"
"WHAT? A country?" Duan Bo was stunned after hearing this.
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Oruzi and Hayreddin are brothers. All four of them were pirates. The fourth brother died early in battle, leaving only these two to continue risking their lives on the sea. Oruzi was a very clever man. At that time, piracy in the Mediterranean was generally a religious war, with Islamic pirates versus the European Knights. At that time, Oruzi's fleet, while plundering, also brought Muslims from Europe back to North Africa. This action earned him a high reputation, so the North Africans at the time called him 'Dad Oruzi', but this name became 'Barbarossa' in Europe and became his nickname. By the way, do you know 'Peter Pan'? The prototype of 'Captain Hook' in the story was Oruzi. After losing his left hand in battle, he replaced it with a silver hook. As their power grew, Oruzi finally felt that being a pirate was not enough, so he simply occupied Algeria and became its ruler."
"Then he felt he couldn't survive without support, so he abolished his title of 'Sultan' and ceded Algeria to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Sultan, Selim I, then made Algeria an overseas province of the Ottoman Empire and appointed Oruzi as the highest governor in charge of Mediterranean maritime affairs. Spain was furious with Oruzi and, after several major battles, finally killed him. They thought they had solved a major problem, but they didn't know they were facing even greater trouble!"
"Bigger trouble? What trouble?" Duan Bo asked puzzledly.
Pascal answered his question: "His younger brother, Hayreddin. Hayreddin inherited Oruzi's power and wealth, as well as the name 'Barbarossa.' But Hayreddin was even more frenzied, launching raids across Europe, from Spain all the way to Italy. He even occupied Tunisia. France was originally an ally of the Ottomans, but because France supported Rome when Hayreddin attacked Rome, Hayreddin, in a rage, occupied Nice and even converted the Church of Sainte-Marie in Toulon into a mosque! Suffice it to say, he terrorized the entire Mediterranean."
Xiao Peng pointed at Duan Bo's shield. "Back then, the only naval commander who could rival Hayreddin was Andrew Doria. But to be honest, saying he could 'rival' is like picking the best out of a bunch of short guys. Around 1530, Doria was chased by Hayreddin from the Gulf of Messenia all the way to the Gulf of Venice, nearly wiping out his entire fleet. In 1538, Doria made a comeback, forming a joint Spanish-Tunisian fleet to engage in a decisive battle with Hayreddin, but was ultimately defeated. He had no choice but to sign an unequal treaty with Hayreddin. Throughout the Mediterranean at the time, Barbarossa was so famous that even children were afraid to cry at night. For a pirate to reach that point, that was the end of his career!"
Pascal continued, "Both Barbarossa and Doria were extremely wealthy. Barbarossa, needless to say, at his peak, occupied two countries and plundered all of Europe. The Doria family later became the richest family in Genoa. But both of their wealth was on land, not at sea. How could you find their treasures? Unless their fleets returned from the looting, loaded with treasures, and then sank at sea, it's impossible to find their wealth! And even if that were the case, they had a massive fleet of dozens or hundreds of ships at the time. Do you think if one ship was in trouble, the nearby ships would not come to their aid?"
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "There are many shipwrecks on the seabed, but not all of them contain treasures. You can keep this shield for fun; it can be considered a souvenir that witnessed a period of history."
"Boss!" Hua Chong shouted, "We're ready to go!"
"Then let's go!" Xiao Peng said, "Moro, your boat is slow, so I won't wait for you. You take everyone back! Fabian, you get on my boat too! Quickly organize the information and publish the salvage results. Contact the jewelry company to see if anyone is interested in this rhodium and sell it as soon as possible! We've got a full load this time! Return!"
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