Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The Daming fleet going to sea this time has 25 transport ships with a displacement of 660-825 tons.

In addition to loading supplies, these transport ships are mainly used to store cargo.

In addition, there were merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty, Seljuk, and Arabia.

Naturally, the ports around the Persian Gulf cannot handle so many goods from the East.

Split half of it and continue southward, passing through the Gulf of Aden and entering the Red Sea.

There are two main customers there, one is the Fatimid Dynasty of Egypt (Green Food), and the other is the Kingdom of Jerusalem established by the Crusaders.

The large swath of the Middle East is currently in the midst of an excellent matching mechanism.

The Crusaders established four countries: the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Edessa, and the County of Tripoli.

Nominally, two counties and one principality were all loyal to that kingdom.

However, this kind of rule has no legal rationality and is maintained purely by the king's charm and connections.

A few years ago, the king died and his son-in-law succeeded to the throne.

The son-in-law is short and old, and the princess likes her handsome cousin. However, the cousin hooked up with a noble widow, who was not much older than the widow's son. Unwilling to give up his inheritance of two cities, the widow's son snitched on the new king.

The domestic nobles were also divided into two factions, one supported the new king (consort) and the other supported the new queen (princess).

All this is already confusing enough, and the other three vassal countries are not stopping either.

The Duke of Antioch also died, leaving behind a widow and a several-year-old daughter. The other two counties joined forces with Antioch to seek independence from the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The count of the county of Edessa was an idiot, and the widow of the principality of Antioch was also a dope, and the four crusader countries fell into internal strife.

The Fatimid dynasty of Egypt was equally exciting. The new king took pleasure in killing people, forcing the nobles in the country to rebel.

As for the Emirate of Damascus, which was part of the Seljuq Empire, the young sultan was equally cruel and cruel, and even forced his own mother to unite with the nobles to rebel.

Zanji in the north was beaten hard by the Seljuk Sultan, but Sultan Sanjar was too lazy to bother and appointed Zanji as the governor there.

Zanji, the defeated general who was completely wiped out by Sanjar, turned out to be the only normal person among the many monarchs in the Middle East!

…

Fulk, who succeeded to the throne as the consort, was actually very famous in Europe, so the old king married his daughter to him.

Short and strong, his appearance is unattractive.

He liked his young wife very much, so he chose to forgive, and even forgive his wife's lover cousin.

Fulk dealt with it this way.

He first challenged his lover to a duel. Life or death was determined by fate, and it didn't matter who won.

Although his lover's cousin was tall and handsome, he was a coward and disappeared after accepting the duel. He was also afraid that the king would kill him, so he ran to Egypt and led the Egyptian army to plunder the border areas of Jerusalem.

In order not to make his wife sad, although Fulk caught his treasonous lover, he only deported the guy for three years.

"Your Majesty, there are Eastern merchant ships visiting Port Halim (Aqaba)," the palace treasurer came to report. "They brought a large amount of silk and porcelain, as well as many other treasures. Even if the local nobles ran out of money, Only a small portion can be purchased.”

Fulk said: "We are not here in Jerusalem to enjoy the blessings. There is no need to waste the treasury for that little treasure."

The treasurer said: "Maybe your Majesty can buy some to please the queen."

Fulk began to think seriously.

He is a big boss, and his inheritance of the kingdom depends entirely on his father-in-law. His wife is so young and beautiful, and it is too unfair to marry him. He can understand even if she has an affair. Even if it is to repay his dead father-in-law, he should treat his wife well.

Moreover, this is no longer a matter of husband and wife, but also related to the harmony of the entire country.

If you can make your wife happy, the aristocrats divided into two factions can also ease their conflicts.

Fulk asked: "Is it a merchant ship from India?"

The financial officer said: "Farther to the east, there is a country called Ming Dynasty. They have many warships, but I heard that only some of them have come. There are more warships and merchant ships, and they are trading with Seljuk and Fatimid."

"What kind of country is the Ming Dynasty? Is it further than India?" Fulk couldn't understand this.

The treasurer said, "I don't know."

"I'm going to see it myself," Fulk said.

This king was very courageous. In the past two years, he quelled the rebellion of the three kingdoms, bypassed the county of Tripoli, and led a small number of troops to Antioch by ship.

Win in one fight.

However, because there were too few soldiers, the rebel nobles could only be forgiven and the Principality of Antioch was ordered to surrender again.

The other two rebel counties also chose to surrender outwardly.

Fulk took only a small number of soldiers and prepared to go all the way south.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they set off, Queen Melisande also chased them on horseback.

Facing his beautiful wife, Fulk seemed a little clumsy: "What are you doing here?"

Melisande said: "I heard that there are caravans in the south, bringing many mysterious treasures. I want to pick some myself."

"Then... let's go together." Fulk said.

There are many desert areas along the way, with occasional oases and valleys.

Only one day after they set out, some defeated soldiers fled back from the south: "Hailim Fortress has fallen, Hailim Fortress has fallen!"

Fulk asked in surprise: "But the army of Fatimid (Egypt)?"

"It's the army of the Ming Dynasty," said the little noble who fled back. "They have too much treasure and few troops, but we don't have enough gold and silver coins. So... we left the fortress and wanted to raid the port camp, but the result was He was defeated and fled!"

Fulk asked: "How did you lose?"

The young noble said: "I don't know."

"How come you don't even know you lost?" Fulk became even more angry.

The little noble said: "I really don't know. Our soldiers rushed over and only heard a noise, and the camp opposite was still smoking. Then there was a noise from the enemy's ship, just like thunder. But it was a sunny day, There was no thunder at all. Many iron balls fell from the sky. If they hit the knight, the nobles and soldiers were very frightened and ran away one after another."

Fulk drew his sword angrily: "What pagan myth are you telling?"

The young noble quickly pointed to the other defeated soldiers: "Everything I say is true. If your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can ask them."

Fulk asked each defeated soldier carefully and got the same answer, which made him feel inexplicable fear.

After thinking for a long time, Fulk asked: "Even if we were defeated at the seaside, how come the fortress was also breached?"

The little noble said: "The enemy brought many strange weapons from the ship and pushed them outside the fortress, like long logs. Then there was smoke and thunder again, and countless iron bullets fell, hitting the fortress wall like an earthquake. The soldiers thought it was the devil's weapon and left the fortress to escape regardless of military orders..."

Fulk stood silent for a while, not knowing what to do at all.

Unknown enemies, unknown weapons.

They even went to war with each other in a confused manner. The other party only came to engage in trade, but as a result, their own people tried to rob them with arms.

After thinking for a long time, the king of Jerusalem, who had just succeeded to the throne for a few years and barely quelled rebellions in various countries, had already made a decision: first, return to Jerusalem immediately and call on nobles from all over the country to recruit soldiers to prevent the enemy from continuing to kill; second, send The envoys go to the seaside to contact each other, to find out the other party's true and false intentions, and to see if the dispute can be resolved through diplomacy.

The envoy had just been sent out and soon came back, bringing back some defeated soldiers who had sent the message, as well as Arab merchants who temporarily acted as envoys.

This Arab businessman does not belong to Egypt or the Seljuqs. He comes from the Ibadid forces in the Arabian Peninsula.

"Your Majesty the Pagan King, I am the envoy temporarily hired by the Ming Dynasty." The Arab merchant greeted him.

Fulk responded with courtesy and asked people to bring food and water to treat him: "Where did the Ming Dynasty come from?"

The Arab merchant said: "There is the far east, which can be called Peach Blossom Stone or Seris. It is powerful, wealthy and civilized, and is the origin of silk and porcelain. Their king is called the Emperor (transliteration), It translates to the son of the sky god. They believe in the sky god, which is different from all the sects here."

Fulk asked: "Is the Ming Kingdom really here for trade?"

The Arab merchant said: "We are here not only for trade, but also for diplomacy with other countries. Their main envoys have already gone to Seljuk."

"How can they be willing to return Helim Fortress?" Fulk asked again.

The Arab merchant said: "The Ming envoy asked me to send a message. They have no intention of war with any country, but they are not afraid of war with any country. In this war, your country was the first to launch the attack. If you want to take back the fortress, you must use gold and silver to redeem it. Otherwise they will sell the fortress to the Fatimid dynasty."

"How much does it cost?" Fulk asked.

"Fifty thousand taels of silver," said the Arab merchant, "if converted into Jerusalem silver coins, it would be approximately more than 130,000 silver coins."

Fulk asked again: "Where are the nobles and soldiers captured by them? How much does it cost to redeem them?"

The Arab merchant said: "This time, dozens of soldiers were released to take me over to negotiate with His Majesty. As for the rest, they have all been executed, and their heads were hung on the walls of the fortress. Of course, they will not kill women and children. According to the Depending on the status, the ransom for each woman and child ranges from 100 to 1,000 silver coins. "

The Kingdom of Jerusalem is really not rich, and the treasury is empty due to successive wars.

Moreover, every city has a lord, and the taxes go into the pockets of the nobles, and only a sum is paid to the king every year.

The nobles certainly had money, but they would not use it to redeem the fortress from the king.

Once the ransom of more than 130,000 silver coins is paid, Fulk will not have much money left in his hand. How can he deter the domestic nobles and the three vassal states in the future?

Fulk found his wife and explained the situation: "I want to go to Helim Fortress in person to negotiate with the Eastern pagans there. It is very dangerous. You must return to Jerusalem!"

Melisande rolled her eyes and smiled: "Okay."

Fulk was disappointed by his wife's choice.

He knew what his wife was thinking, and she must be hoping that he would never come back, or that it would be best to be killed directly by the Orientals. Then, the wife can welcome back her expelled lover and rule the country with her lover.

Even, the wife may directly rebel, making it impossible for her to go back even if she wants to!

Fulk said: "I have changed my mind. You have to go with me to negotiate."