War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

There was once a group of exiles who were not accepted by the world. They fled from the Roman cities in the north and east into a vast and flat lagoon.

(A lagoon refers to a local seawater area separated from the open sea by spits, sand bars or coral reefs.)

Fresh water from land rivers and salt water from the Adriatic Sea merge here. At the same time, the rivers bring a large amount of organic matter, forming a resource-rich fishing ground.

At high tide, there are small islands here. At low tide, this is a shoal divided by the river.

Islands formed by the accumulation of gravel and rivers help protect the lagoon from the sea; pine trees grow thickly on these islands.

The shallows are covered with reeds and weeds, and a large number of animals and fish live in them. This desolate swampland is far less lifeless than it looks.

This place is not far from the Italian Peninsula, the center of Roman civilization, but it is indeed an inaccessible and desolate place.

This is undoubtedly a place suitable for seclusion, with only the sounds of insects, birds, and wind and waves.

The exiles couldn't help but be attracted to that source of light. They discovered an island. Then a tidal voice told them:

"This is the land God promised"

That’s right! There is a promised land. This is one of the most well-known origin stories of Venice.

Hugo naturally knew this, and even knew about Venice's past glory and fall.

The "Queen of the Adriatic" had become a "prisoner" of the Austrian Empire at this time. The Venetians were living in dire straits, with business shrinking and people's livelihoods declining.

The above are the most commonly used introductions in French newspapers, but at this time Hugo felt that the busyness here was simply a disaster.

Ships of various sizes come in and out of this ancient port city, and the docks are crowded with workers preparing to start work. However, this still cannot relieve the pressure of freight.

The port here was too small for the Austrian Empire at this time, and the docks were filled with mountains of cargo.

The workers were meticulously putting it into the warehouse or moving it to the ship. Even so, they would still hear the captain and cargo owners shouting like pigs, as if shouting louder could speed up the process.

The smell of sweat, feet, salty sea breeze, and fishy smell. A large group of fishmongers were holding various kinds of fish and shouting:

"Snapper! Salmon! White fish! There are all kinds of fish! It's fresh! Come and buy it!"

Hugo looked around and saw that each wooden barrel was filled with various miscellaneous fish, as well as scallops, starfish, seaweed and other things.

Suddenly, a smelly fish head appeared in front of him, and a pair of dead fish eyes stared at Mr. Hugo, which frightened the latter and took two steps back.

But the fishmonger still said reluctantly.

"Sir! Good taste! My fish is the freshest in Venice! Let me show you this black fish."

As he spoke, the fishmonger took out a black fish from the bucket without any explanation and stuffed it to Mr. Hugo. The latter was unexpectedly slapped several times in the mouth by the fish tail, and the fishy smell made him scramble even more.

What was even more unfortunate was that he stepped on a dead fish left on the roadside, so he jumped into the air. The black fish in his hand tried to escape, but the fishmonger quickly caught it in the air and stuffed it into the wood again. In the barrel.

"This is too terrible! Can I not buy it? Sir." Hugo propped up his body with one hand and put his wide-brimmed felt hat on his head with the other hand.

Hugo's politeness and funnyness shocked the fishmonger, so the latter came closer and said.

"I'll tell you the truth, sir. I can tell at a glance that you are no ordinary person, so I'll tell you a secret.

This is not an ordinary fish, but a mermaid princess from the underwater world of Atlantis. "

Mr. Hugo was also shocked. He admired the other person's imagination and creativity, but he still couldn't bear to tell lies with open eyes, so he decided to follow the other person's words and ask.

"The mermaid princess of Atlantis? Then why is she black? And she is so ugly. I think she is more like the princess of R'lyeh."

The fishmonger said with emotion.

"Hey, it's all the Americans' fault! Ever since Columbus discovered the New World in the 15th century, the Americans, British, and Portuguese have been putting that kind of black 'cargo' into the deep sea."

Over the years, there have always been a few Atlanteans with strong tastes, you know. "

Hugo looked at the "sincere" look in the fishmonger's eyes, then looked at the abyss-black fish in the barrel, and asked in a strange way.

"How much?"

"Your accent sounds like you're from France, right? There's a bit of a Parisian accent."

"Can you hear this?"

"Of course! Parisians are all fat and very friendly friends! Then I'll give you a 20% discount, 80 francs!"

This price is quite normal for Hugo, a "Parisian", but although he is an aristocrat, he is not without life experience.

When Hugo was a child, he was treated coldly when he stayed in other people's homes, and he was also short of money when he was young.

The price of marine fish here is based on the plot in "The Count of Monte Cristo":

The Bishop of Abuja asked Edmond if he liked to eat sea fish. Edmond replied that he had not eaten it for a long time because it was too expensive.

The Bishop of Abuja asked: "How much is it?" Edmond replied: "A sea fish shipped from Provence costs one hundred francs."

Getting back to business, Hugo said directly, "Forty francs!"

"This is the princess of Atlantis!"

"She's black! Forty francs, leave without selling."

"Don't! Don't! Don't! You are really good at bargaining. Forty is forty! Just treat it as a friend."

The fishmonger handed the barrel to Hugo boldly, and the latter took the barrel with one hand and kept it in the air with the other.

The former looked at the latter with some confusion.

"Victor Hugo, nice to meet you."

The fishmonger quickly wiped his hands and said, "Charles Dickens, nice to meet you too."

After Hugo left, the fishmonger stood up and shouted excitedly.

"Kathleen! We have money to continue traveling again!"

On the other hand, Hugo carried the barrel and walked to an uninhabited sea cliff.

"Don't get caught again, Your Highness, Princess of Atlantis."

Hugo made himself laugh as he spoke, then he lifted the bucket and let the black fish return to the sea.

Hugo was carrying the barrel and was going to the market to recover some costs, but what he didn't know was that the fish behind him was changing rapidly.

The whole fish expanded instantly, and its upper body gradually transformed into a human shape, until it fell into the sea and disappeared without a trace, leaving only a pool of foam.

Andersen, who was fishing and collecting wind at the beach, witnessed all this.

He only saw a man turn around and leave, and a half-human, half-fish female creature fell into the water and disappeared.

"Ah! This is such a wonderful love!" Then he started writing furiously.

When Hugo left the port, a large group of carriage drivers surrounded him and asked him enthusiastically in various languages.

"Good afternoon, sir!"

Among them, there was actually a coachman who could say hello in French. This changed Hugo's attitude towards this country, so he answered in French.

"Hello!"

"Hey! There's a French guy here, brothers!" (Venetian dialect)

Happy Children's Day to everyone!