The stench filled the small room, and the young man sleeping on the bed slowly opened his eyes.
Why is the room so smelly? Is it that damn sewer that has started to riot again?
Liu Huaqiang, who was awakened by the stench, gently rubbed his temples a few times. The sewer in the old community often gave him a headache.
The next moment, he realized that something was wrong. The latex mattress he spent thousands of dollars on felt like lying on straw, and there was a choking smell of mold.
The room was pitch black, and Liu Huaqiang couldn't see the surroundings clearly. He could only reach out and grope based on his memory.
However, he didn't touch the bedside table, let alone the mobile phone on it. The place he touched was either the air or the cold wall.
No, I'm not at home now. What the hell is this place! ? Did someone kidnap me while I was asleep! ?
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Liu Huaqiang sat up suddenly from the bed, and the bed board under him made a creaking sound.
In the dark room, only a small piece of light was reflected on the ground a few meters away. Liu Huaqiang jumped off the bed and wanted to run to the light.
As soon as his bare feet touched the ground, feeling the rough sand under his feet, Liu Huaqiang stopped halfway.
One after another, memories that did not belong to him instantly flooded into his mind.
Tepesh, the second son of Vlad II, three years ago, the thirteen-year-old Tepesh was sent to the Ottoman Empire as a hostage with his younger brother Radu.
Not long ago, Tepesh's father and elder brother were assassinated by unknown persons, and Tepesh became the legal heir to the Grand Duchy of Wallachia.
As a graduate student in history studying world history and a lover of vampire culture, Liu Huaqiang certainly knew where Wallachia was and who Tepesh was.
Historically, Tepes was a national hero of Romania, leading the Romanian people to resist the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.
According to legend, Tepes has another name, a name that is more well-known to more people, Dracula. He is the prototype of the vampire Count Dracula.
Accepting the memory in his mind, Liu Huaqiang felt a headache, both physically and psychologically.
He didn't want to be the Grand Duke of Wallachia, he just wanted to go back to the 21st century and embrace modern technology.
Here, transportation basically relies on walking, communication basically relies on shouting, there are no electronic devices, no modern entertainment facilities.
Even the most basic electric lights have to wait for almost four hundred years to appear.
As for medical conditions, it is even worse, almost equivalent to no, from the fact that barbers can work part-time as doctors, this can be seen.
Whether it is a headache, fever, or a cold and fever, all of them are treated with bloodletting. If it doesn't work once, then do it twice.
If you are lucky, the disease will be cured naturally. If you are unlucky, you will have a place in the cemetery blessed by God.
In terms of food, traveling back to Eastern Europe in the 15th century is also a tragedy.
Wheat bread, oatmeal bread, barley bread, rye bread, yes, only flour can be eaten here, and the climate in Europe is not suitable for growing rice.
Corn, sweet potatoes, peppers, peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, these essential ingredients on the modern table, in this era, are only grown in the American continent.
Liu Huaqiang calculated in his mind that it would take another 48 years for Columbus's fleet to reach America.
Counting the time for exploring the continent and returning, if I want to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes, I have to wait at least half a century.
In this era, the average age of people is only about 35 years old. Excluding the dead newborns, the average life expectancy of adults does not exceed 50 years old.
Thinking of this, Liu Huaqiang's heart is so cold.
He thought to himself, he just stayed up late to watch the BBC's opening drama "Dracula", how come he traveled through time and became the protagonist directly.
Speaking of Dracula, that is, the Vlad III he became, Liu Huaqiang's heart sank again.
Count Dracula in the novel was okay, living in a magnificent castle with several beautiful vampire brides.
If he wanted to drink human blood, he would go hunting in the nearby villages, and the captured must be beautiful and pure girls.
Whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper, fresh blood is available 24 hours a day.
Compared with the vampire count, the real Tsepesh can only be described by the four words "ill-fated".
From this small dark room full of stench, you can feel how bad the situation of this archduke is.
Wallachia, more than 30 years ago, in 1411 Julian calendar, became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire and was burdened with heavy taxes.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance. In 1444 Julian calendar, a campaign against oppression and colonization was launched.
Tepesh's father, in alliance with Poland and Hungary, launched the Battle of Varna.
But the result was not what they wanted.
The coalition was defeated, and Wallachia had 4,000 more widows in a few days.
That's why Tepesh and Radu were sent to the Ottoman Empire as hostages in the same year.
It seems that the means of hostages is not only in the East.
Today, Tepesh has become the heir to the Grand Duchy, but his status has not been actually improved.
At least, from the current point of view, the Ottoman envoy who accompanied him looked like a Celestial Empire.
They set out from the Ottoman capital of Edirne, just crossed the border and arrived in Wallachia.
The place where they stayed that night was the manor of a small lord. The lord had the title of baron and only had a territory the size of two or three villages.
Under the heavy taxes of the Ottomans for more than 30 years, the baron's life was not easy, and his manor had not been repaired for decades.
There were more than 300 cavalrymen and servants accompanying the Ottoman envoy and Tepesh, and it was impossible for all of them to live in the manor.
So people with higher status, such as the Ottoman envoy and the accompanying cavalry commander, lived in the main house of the manor.
Some of the other cavalrymen and servants lived in the servants' room, and some simply set up tents outside the manor.
Logically speaking, with Tepesh's status, he should be able to get a clean room.
However, the arrogant Ottoman envoy insisted that Tepesh live in the adobe house where the groom lived, which was where Liu Huaqiang woke up.
Thinking of the environment in the fifteenth century and his current situation, Liu Huaqiang couldn't help but sigh again.
How could I be so unlucky that I actually traveled to this damn era? I really want to go home!
Is there any way to go home? No, the answer is definitely no. Liu Huaqiang pinched his thigh hard. This is not a dream.
After a brief thought, Liu Huaqiang understood that the only thing he could do now was to accept this sad reality.
Of course, facing fate, Liu Huaqiang would never succumb. Since he came to this era, he would make this era more beautiful.
Even if he couldn't change history, he had to improve his living conditions.
The Renaissance had already risen in Catholic Europe, and Liu Huaqiang felt it necessary to let this trend of thought spread quickly to Orthodox Europe.
The Age of Discovery was about to begin. Spain and Portugal were frantically demarcating colonies in Africa at this time.
In order to eat tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and peppers as soon as possible, he had to add a heavy and light color to the great voyage.
Thinking about these great ideals, the stench in the air suddenly brought Liu Huaqiang back to reality.
What Renaissance, what Age of Exploration, are too far away from the present self. Breaking away from the control of the Ottomans is the top priority.
Sitting quietly on a low bed covered with moldy straw, Liu Huaqiang recalled the knowledge he had learned.
When Tepesh returned to Wallachia for the first time, he became a puppet of the Ottoman envoy. A 16-year-old child was very easy to control.
A puppet government cannot get the support of the people, and the surrounding forces are also ready to move.
Just two months after Tepesh inherited the title, he was defeated by Transylvanian Prince Janos Hunyadi and fled to the Principality of Moldova.
It was nine years later when he took power in the Principality of Wallachia again.
The 25-year-old Tepesh broke away from the control of the Ottomans, gained autonomy, and became the backbone of maintaining national sovereignty and fighting against the Ottoman invaders.
In his memory, the life story of Tepesh flashed by. Liu Huaqiang felt that nine years of exile was too long and he could not wait.
Through the phenomenon, directly hit the essence, two months later, the reason why Tepesh was expelled was entirely because he stood on the wrong side.
If he could kill the Ottomans around him before that and show his position of resisting the Ottoman Empire, then he would be able to gain a foothold in Wallachia.
Of course, this is not easy to do. The Ottomans will not give him the opportunity to contact the outside world, which is equivalent to not finding a trustworthy helper.
It is simply a pipe dream to rely on oneself alone to fight against 300 fully armed Ottoman cavalry.
But no matter what, Liu Huaqiang set a small goal for himself.
Within two months, organize a secret team to kill all the Ottomans around him.
Although it is difficult, it must be tried, and in the Ottoman Empire, under the heavy pressure of more than 30 years, there are countless people who want to stand up and resist.
Do what you say, never hesitate, and don't waste time.
Liu Huaqiang fumbled in the dark and found his leather boots, stepped on them and stood up again.
At this time, he was no longer the sixteen-year-old Tsepesh, but a time traveler from the mysterious country of the East with rich historical knowledge.
Eastern Europe in the fifteenth century, full of stench, tremble because of my arrival!