In fact, in Muslim countries, Caliphate is a title that truly unifies religion and politics, and it is difficult for today's King of Liao to match it.
Not to mention anything else, Persia and the Mughal Empire in the south would not agree, and even the Ottoman Empire in the west might start a cross-border fight.
Caliph means successor of the Prophet in Arabic.
In the East, this is equivalent to the title of emperor plus pope, which is unique in Confucian society. If the king of Liao calls himself Caliph, it would be like calling the emperor of North Korea, which is daring.
For example, after the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople, it was not satisfied with the title of Sultan. In order to seek the caliphate, the main force led by Sultan Selim I set out from Syria and headed south to attack the headquarters of the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt.
Egypt's last caliph was captured by Ottoman soldiers and imprisoned in the prison of the imperial capital, which had been renamed Istanbul in Constantinople.
He traveled all the way to Egypt to destroy the Mamluk dynasty just for the title of Caliph.
The strength of the Ottoman Guards silenced the entire Arab world.
Therefore, if the King of Liao wanted to seize the position of the Muslim world at this time, the most he could do was call himself Sultan, which means king.
"Your Highness, I alone cannot take the lead in this matter..." Azamu said tactfully.
"This is natural!" Zhu Cunhuan chuckled and said, "I have always respected the priests."
"But as far as I know, there are quite a few of the Ayatollah's descendants who are not living up to expectations!"
Azamu's face darkened.
Not only did they fail to live up to their expectations, their sons only drank and played with women every day, and were unable to calm down to study the teachings and inherit the family business.
You must know that in the Muslim world, the Ayatollah, as the top cleric, has the authority to interpret the teachings of the Quran, but this status is not inherited but learned.
Schools, famous teachers, and your own talents and learning are all indispensable.
Only mullahs or imams have received long-term and systematic education in famous religious colleges such as Najaf, Karbala, Mashhad, and Qom, and are proficient in the Quran, Hadith, Islamic law, and theology.
And those who have high academic attainments, are quite prestigious among believers, and are qualified to issue "fatwas" (i.e. formal opinions) on controversial religious issues or make authoritative legal conclusions, this is an ayatollah.
Top knowledge, excellent eloquence, and a strong background are all indispensable.
Therefore, they are not like imams at the bottom, who have been passed down from generation to generation and almost always circulate in the same family.
"I can put one of your sons in charge of a parish."
The King of Liao stated the condition: "As long as you can support the establishment of the diocese and promote the prophet's new teachings in the Koran."
"You have wide prestige among believers. Are you satisfied with just one Ayatollah? What about the Great Ayatollah?"
"Once the new doctrine is spread, in the entire Liao Kingdom, you will be second only to the prophet, and the entire family will share weal and woe with the Liao Kingdom, and will be rich and powerful for generations..."
Azamu's gray beard trembled slightly and he closed his eyes, as if such charming words could no longer enter his ears.
But there is no way to expel it.
It's like the temptation of the devil, going straight into the soul.
If the believers and clergy at the bottom have enthusiastic trust in Allah, for the middle and upper clergy class, their belief in Allah has been wavering.
Because they are already at the top of society, once they pursue politics, all teachings will be forgotten.
Just like the Ottoman Empire, those caliphs never banned alcohol? Instead, they became addicted to alcohol and indulged in pleasure.
Once a person becomes a political creature, interests come first.
"Go back and think about it carefully!"
Seeing his hesitation, Zhu Cunhuan showed a hint of joy, which represented hope.
Watching Azamu leave, King Liao genuinely laughed.
The sects of the Liao Kingdom came from Persia, which was originally a rebellious country. For the Turkic people of the Liao Kingdom, the shackles of the doctrine were actually not great, and they were weak from the beginning.
Like on the grassland, which warrior doesn’t drink?
Do the priests dare to stop it?
It is precisely because of the weak foundation that it is easier to tamper with it, thus forming the unique teachings of the Liao Kingdom.
“Tsk, tsk, European Protestantism speaks directly to people’s hearts, but in the final analysis, it is because of interests.”
The King of Liao tutted: "Once the priest class completely surrenders to the imperial court, those old nobles will be nothing. They will be able to rely on the priests to transfer royal power to the tribes."
…
A strong wind swept across the sea, setting off several huge waves. However, the ship of Qianliang kept bumping and the triangular sail was blown up. It took a long time before it was lowered with difficulty.
After an unknown amount of time, all the sailors breathed a sigh of relief after the water in the cabin was emptied out.
The captain raised his head and said: "Everyone, please be happy. This storm has finally escaped. We are safe."
"Enough with the sweet wine!"
The last sentence immediately set off a wave of cheers.
Excitement appeared on the tired faces of the sailors.
Soon, several barrels of sweet wine were brought out, but the sailors obeyed the rules and lined up.
The first thing to start is naturally the captain, then the helmsman, then the first mate, the chief cook, the second mate, the lookout...
According to their seniority and ability, everyone lined up to scoop up the sweet wine and drank it, with a look of satisfaction on their faces.
At sea, fresh water is not easy to preserve, and maggots are very likely to form and make it difficult to drink. However, the shelf life of wine is long, especially the sweet wine brewed from sugar cane in Taiwan, which has a shelf life of up to one year.
This was greatly welcomed by the sailors.
The most common thing accompanying every ship out to sea is sweet wine.
Then, the head chef brought out basins of dishes:
Bean sprouts, boiled fish, and a bowl of thick rice porridge.
Only the captain can have a small plate of bacon.
"Why is it bean sprouts again? Tiantian bean sprouts——"
"I almost vomited after eating the fish!"
Everyone started complaining.
The captain looked at the sea, picked up his telescope and looked out. The white sails were faintly visible in the distance.
"Chef, open all the cans and come to life!"
Several boxes of beef cans were opened, and even though each person only got one piece, there were always smiles.
After a while, the captain said loudly: "The work started just after the heavy rain stopped. Brothers, get busy!"
In the blink of an eye, the flag representing the merchant ship was lowered and the pirate flag was raised.
Several artillery pieces were also placed, the barrels were cleaned, and the shells were placed.
"Damn it, there are pirates. We are only a few hundred nautical miles away from the Philippines!"
The two-masted ships set up their cannons without hesitation and fired at each other.
Unfortunately, this is equivalent to novices pecking each other and has no effect.
Due to the storm, seven or eighty-eight percent of the cargo was lost, and the ship's hull was relatively light, so it approached in three strokes, five divided by two.
The distance between the two ships narrowed, and the grappling hook hung on the side of the ship. The distance became closer and closer, making it difficult to distance themselves.
After a life-and-death fight, the ship that had weathered the storm won.
Hundreds of prisoners were left to fend for themselves on a nearby island, and the ships and their cargo became trophies.
Guo Heng nodded his harvest with a smile on his face. The scar on his face was insignificant to him.
"Captain, there are all good things up there, including sugar, wine, spices, cloths, furs, and even porcelain from Luzon!"
"We've made it!" Guo Heng said with a smile on his face: "Pour out a few barrels of the seized wine, and our good days are coming!"
Robbery is a common occurrence for merchant ships, especially after being baptized by storms and suffering heavy losses in cargo. This is enough to make up for the losses and make a profit instead.
Everyone was in high spirits.
The pirate flag was lowered and the merchant flag was raised again.
After two days of traveling, the ship finally arrived in Xiang.
At Brunei Port, there are three or two ships moored at the pier, slowly unloading cargo.
The new ship docked, allowing tax collectors to board quickly.
"The country of Hunan is newly built, so it is half-taxed!"
Now, everyone was happy.
Guo Heng got off the ship and discussed the goods with the merchants.
Perhaps it was just after the war that consumption here was a little sluggish, and they only ate fifty stones of sugar, five hundred bolts of cloth, and several hundred tea sets.
The income is only about two thousand yuan.
better than nothing.
Merchants do not use empty ships. Since they have unloaded some goods, they naturally have to load some goods. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be a waste of capacity?
When we landed on land, we were greeted by a wave of heat and humidity.
The city that withstood the wars in the past has been renovated, but the narrow streets and sparse crowds are completely inferior to those in domestic county towns.
Looking up, he saw that there was no name at the top of the city. He grabbed an old man and asked, "What is the name of this city now?"
He didn't understand the Mandarin, so he started talking in Cantonese, but still didn't understand, so he had no choice but to ask the sailor on the side to speak Hokkien.
The old man then spoke out: "It used to be called Brunei City, but now it's called Xiangcheng."
After saying that, he left directly.
After entering the city, Guo Heng could see with the naked eye that he demolished many buildings and began to build new Ming-style buildings with distinctive features, such as two-story restaurants and roads paved with blue bricks.
The most eye-catching thing is the palace which is constantly busy.
For a vassal state, the palace is the most important building.
Xiangcheng is not a big place, so I walked around casually and purchased some ivory, pepper and other spices, as well as special sago, dried coconut, red tree bark (can be used as dye), rhinoceros skin, etc., for less than 500 yuan.
After purchasing some wine and food, the ship continued to set sail.
Their target is naturally Batavia, which is not far away.
It was the center of the Dutch East Indies. There were more than a thousand ships traveling there every year, and countless spices, gold, and gems gathered here. It was actually the center where the East and the West met.
Almost all goods can be sold here.
One trophy ship was sold for 1,800 yuan, which was a pure profit.
And things like porcelain, spices, furs, etc. are naturally very popular, and there is no difficulty in selling them. It is just a matter of making more or less.
Compared with some customs cities in the mainland, Batavia is more prosperous, with dozens of ships moored at the dock at any time.
A large number of shops are dotted here and there, including three ship repair yards alone, with hundreds of workers on the docks.
It's just that the hygiene is even worse, with all kinds of garbage everywhere.
Only by walking into the city can people take a breather.
Oncoming were Arabs in long robes, natives in short black cloth clothes, Ming people in broad robes, and fake Westerners wearing vests.
At this time, the Batavia Governor's Mansion.
Gentlemen were sitting there, drinking coffee, tea, or even wine, while servants kept passing snacks.
The governor frowned and said: "The Ming Dynasty's development of Borneo has profoundly affected the company's interests."
"According to rumors, they will not only establish a small country, but also establish one after another."
"Borneo may be barren, but it's too close to Batavia!"
"Why build a country in such a barren land, full of savages and trees?" a gentleman wondered.
"I heard that the emperor had too many sons and he couldn't bear to part with the good places in the country, so he gave away the leftovers."
Another person explained: "That's what an unfavored son is. Didn't those nobles abandon their youngest sons with a horse and a sword before?"
"On the contrary, the Xiang Kingdom was established and I bought a lot of things in Balavia..."
Unconsciously, the topic suddenly changed.
The Governor sighed: "Gentlemen, the war in Europe is over. The Republic has won. The losses were somewhat heavy, but in the end it was a victory."
"So, we should be wary of Ming Dynasty!"
"Such a behemoth, if he gets involved in the Spice Islands, it will cause huge losses to the company, and we will not be able to explain to the shareholders..."
"Dear Governor, what do you mean?"
"I need to draw a dividing line with the Ming Dynasty, just like Portugal and Spain did back then, so that the entire Spice Islands will no longer be threatened!"
The Governor said solemnly: "Once a consensus is reached, not only can the current territory be preserved, but the English and Portuguese can also be excluded from the entire Spice Islands."
By relying on the tiger skins of the Ming Dynasty and the strength of the East India Company, it was easy to monopolize trade in the entire Far East.
A little loss is for greater benefits in the future.
"I agree!"
"agree!"
A series of sounds made the governor smile.
At the same time, the Burmese prince Sun Zhenghao married the princess and finally returned to the Kingdom of Burma.
Although King Sun Khawang of Myanmar looked older, he was filled with a lively smile when he met his bride, as if he had become ten years younger in an instant.
"Good, very good!"
Seeing that the bride was beautiful and dignified, he felt happy.
Although he was originally just a princess, he was also a family of nobles for generations. The ancestors of the Sun family for eighteen generations were at the bottom.
The transformation of family heritage makes people happy.
At the same time, the Crown Princess’s Zhu family lineage can also intimidate most of the indigenous people in the country.
Those Han Chinese who went to Southeast Asia and the soldiers who followed them to Burma will also identify more with the Burmese regime.
"Don't do anything wrong until the imperial concubine gives birth to a grandson!"
Sun Kewang was eager to stabilize political results and gave serious instructions.
"My son understands!" Sun Zhenghao nodded in agreement.
Only the descendants of the Zhu family can make Myanmar last forever.
"How is Beijing?" Sun Kewang showed a hint of old age at this time, and there was still a little longing on his face.
As a Mingren for decades, my longing for Beijing is indescribable.