At present, everyone is trapped in the palace, looking around the layers of palace walls, as if they are under house arrest. Fortunately, there is no shortage of daily food and treatment, and all kinds of fruits, cheese, pasta, and meat are provided in various ways.
It shows the magnificence of a big country. The men and women responsible for serving are also
They were all respectful and showed no disrespect, but no unnecessary words. Members of the mission tried to give them some gifts in private, but they were all frightened and refused. Silk handkerchiefs, embroidery, etc., which were always sought after, could not be given away.
If you go out, you will naturally not be able to accept and win over him.
Two days later, a member of the mission pretended to be ignorant and broke out through the side door where servants carried toilets every morning. He was immediately stopped by soldiers wearing fish scale armor and long robes. The soldiers ignored his shouts.
They didn't use weapons, they just formed a human wall to block the door. Once the large buckets and small buckets that needed to be moved were taken away, they immediately sealed the door.
This mission visit had been arranged several years ago. On a political level, it represented the first formal contact between two major powers at the time, and was related to the national prestige of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Within the Great Zhou Dynasty, the politics of all parties, including the emperor,
The reason why the powerful forces and economic groups all have high hopes for it is that all parties regard it as an important opportunity to get rid of the financial dilemma of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
In recent years, the Great Zhou Dynasty has not deliberately opened up new territories, but the surrounding neighboring countries will inevitably experience turmoil, and the Great Zhou Dynasty needs to step in to appease the people. As time goes by, the territory continues to expand, and there are hundreds of billions of people under the rule. Financial expenditures have increased, and it has become increasingly stretched.
However, the revenue from maritime trade, which is recognized as a hugely profitable source of income, has not increased for several consecutive years. Not only has it not been able to fill the financial gap, but sometimes the court has to work hard and send officials out of town to maintain the existence of various overseas strongholds.
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Many agencies in charge of customs, shipping, and trade in the Great Zhou Dynasty sent people one after another to investigate why this situation occurred. At first, they thought that some country had stolen the craftsmanship of the Great Zhou Dynasty and counterfeited it. Later, they suspected that pirates were rampant and blocking the sea routes. In the end
The more I searched, the more detailed and further I searched, and I discovered that the real reason was that Arabia, which had been absorbing the products of the Great Zhou Dynasty like a bottomless pit, was troubled by internal and external troubles, and its national power was deteriorating day by day, and it could no longer afford the mountains and seas of goods produced in the Central Plains.
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In fact, there were signs of this situation several years ago. At that time, the number of Arab merchants all over the South China Sea shrank sharply. It is said that the Caliphate, forced by the lack of troops, promised many maritime merchants the title of Sultan or Emir, and asked them to return home to serve.
At that time, no one in the Zhou Dynasty took it seriously. After all, no one could extend their ears and eyes beyond the thousands of miles of sea. The Chinese people’s understanding of Arabia was always that of a behemoth that had been entrenched in the West for hundreds of years. And the trade routes that Arab merchants withdrew from
and supply strongholds were almost simultaneously controlled by Han maritime merchants. Out of considerations of their own interests, the maritime merchants were sometimes not eager to report progress in this area to the court.
The rapidly growing Hanerhai merchant fleet transported goods directly to Arabia and even Baghdad in the next few years. This would be like taking a rice spoon and stuffing prepared meals into the mouths of patients. The food would be really fragrant and tempting.
, even if the patient's appetite is not good, he still manages to eat a few more mouthfuls. When the feeder discovers that the patient really cannot eat, it is no longer a question of good appetite, but that the disease is deeply rooted and even terminal.
Therefore, the real purpose of the mission is to ensure the financial benefits of the imperial court at all costs at a time when the Arab Empire is rapidly weakening, to ensure the jobs of countless workshops and craftsmen in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and to find a way out for the growing number of handmade products in the Central Plains.
There are two specific methods. Either, use enough threats or benefits to press the heads of the powerful people in the Abbasid dynasty and force them to eat as much as they can until their intestines are torn apart and they die.
Or, press the Arabs' heads and force them to find out how they purchase and resell goods from the Central Plains, so that Da Zhou can trace them and do business on his own.
But now in this posture, he can't do anything and is under house arrest?
After a few days, not only the senior officials of the mission, but also the ordinary members below became restless.
Traveling thousands of miles at sea, it is easy for people to lose control of their emotions. Riots and vendettas often occur on merchant ships because the crew cannot bear the pressure and find an excuse to break out. The navy of the Great Zhou Dynasty is known to be strict, and sometimes
It is also difficult to avoid,
It's just that the scope of the navy's patrol is limited, and the senior navy generals, including Shi Tianni, often launch a crackdown on the savages or rebels in a certain place... Everyone knows that it is nothing more than providing an environment for the soldiers to vent their wanton behavior.
Down.
Maritime merchants are like this, the army is like this, and envoys are also inevitable. Even if the envoys are carefully selected, as long as they are human beings, they cannot escape human nature. As expected, a few days later, there were suddenly guards in the envoys.
Argument. Soon the argument escalated into a fight. This move again
This triggered the participation of their respective friends, who either blocked or retaliated. When the Arab soldiers who were watching them outside the palace rushed in to calm the situation, a huge brawl involving hundreds of people was almost out of control. At least dozens of people fell to the ground groaning with bloody heads.
endlessly.
When the captain who led the troops in saw this situation, he didn't know what to do, so he had to go back and call the emir who was in charge of supervising the palace to discuss how to deal with it.
The emir was very wary at first and said right away that even if there were injured people, they could not leave the palace. He brought two interpreters with him, and everything Yuan Haowen said had to be translated separately by the two interpreters and then recorded. But Yuan Haowen said it.
Being inquisitive did not cause him any trouble. Instead, he apologized to him, admitted his mismanagement, promised to deal with the wounded on his own, and was strict in discipline.
After the emir relaxed a little, Yuan Haowen said, although we are willing to wait patiently for the Caliph's interview, after traveling thousands of miles by sea and being placed under house arrest, everyone in the mission is agitated. Moreover, although the food supply has been insufficient in the past few days,
After all, scarcity is not the taste that Han people are accustomed to. He asked the emir if he could think of a way to find a cook from the gathering place of Han merchants, collect some ingredients, and cook some hometown-style meals to comfort his thoughts?
Emil wanted to object subconsciously, but when he saw that the wounded were still complaining and cursing, Yuan Haowen was polite and his words were polite and quoted from classics, so his attitude finally softened slightly.
He said a few words in a deep voice, and an interpreter said: "It is absolutely impossible to ask a cook to come here. What ingredients do you want, you can make a list, we will buy them and deliver them to you, and then give you firewood, and you can cook them yourself.
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Yuan Haowen was overjoyed. He immediately took out a pen and paper and made a detailed list. The interpreter took the list and the emir added that there should be everything in Baghdad, but the current situation is special.
Don't complain about a few things.
"Why are you complaining? It's too late for us to thank you!" Yuan Haowen agreed repeatedly, and ordered someone to pick up a gift and give it to the emir. This is the etiquette that should be followed when asking for help, and it is a common rule in the world.
Although the caliph and the palace ministers had strict orders to prohibit internal and external traffic, the emir had already promised to supply food, but he insisted on showing off in such a trivial matter, as if he was deliberately showing off his face to the envoys of the Zhou Dynasty opposite. Not to mention that China is the richest country.
Is getting something from the envoy worth the reward of serving the country for several years?
Emil hesitated and showed a reluctant look, and finally took half a step forward. As a result, Yuan Haowen kicked the small box in his arms. Then he loudly ordered his subordinates to buy it as soon as possible.
After half a day, Emil did not show up. The captain who came in to check the situation came. He brought a fleet of several carriages and more than a dozen servants and unloaded several piles of food in the square in front of the palace.
There are rice and noodles, fresh meat and specially packaged seasonings, as well as a mobile stove that can light a fire for cooking.
Shi Tianze went over to take a look, turned over a few boxes and cages, and said happily: "Everyone, there is also bean paste and black bean sauce here! I haven't tasted it for a long time since the batch loaded on the ship was finished!"
The members of the mission rushed up to take a look, and they were all happy to see the familiar seasonings. They couldn't communicate with the servants who were loading the supplies, but they couldn't communicate with each other, but it didn't stop them from waving and gesticulating, and taking out some small objects around them and stuffing them in.
The servant gave it to him as a token of thanks.
The servants refused at first, but when their captain was not too enthusiastic and put something in his arms, they refused. For a while, the place was extremely lively, and people on both sides were moving back and forth.
After the transportation was completed, the Arabs exited the palace, and the officials of the mission stood in front of the boxes and cages all over the floor. Yuan Haowen said to everyone: "We entered the city with great momentum, and it is impossible for the Han merchants in the city not to get wind of it.
Smart people should know that these supplies are provided to us. Do you think there is anything we need in these boxes and cages?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Tianze had a sharp eye and had already pulled out a cloth cord that seemed to be used for binding from the edge of a box. He unfolded the cloth cord and there were several lines of words on it. It should be to prevent outsiders from seeing the clues. The fonts were written in wild cursive.
, and then tied up, it looked like splashes of ink at first glance. Everyone present was a serious person who had read books, and they all sneered at the moment:
"No wonder, it turned out that the Mongolian mission arrived first."