Qiming 1158

Chapter 1621 Saladin

According to the report of Zhao Yang, the top commander of the merchant fleet and deputy director of the World Liaison Department, one of the criteria for choosing the transit area along the way is that the local area is relatively calm and politically stable.

Only countries with a calmer and more politically stable situation can facilitate communication and negotiation, and they hope to reduce risks through this political stability.

This is undoubtedly true.

However, for now, the areas along the route they choose are indeed relatively stable, but the problem is that the final destination is a bit chaotic.

Su Yonglin's original destination was to point to Egypt.

Because the Suez Canal has not yet opened, if you want to reach Europe, you have to take the African route, go south around the Cape of Good Hope, and then go north to Europe. This route is too long, and Su Yonglin does not want to choose.

So he chose to take the Egyptian route, using Egypt as a transit point, and then directly from the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, where he dumped the products of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why the Europeans at that time wanted to go to the Cape of Good Hope was also a helpless choice.

Due to religious reasons, many crusades have turned their relations with Egypt into a bloody feud. A Jerusalem has become a battlefield meat grinder for centuries. Believers of the two major religions have flowed for control of the city. Dried blood.

Later, although Europe had the Renaissance and the religious reform, and gradually woke up from the fanatical religious belief, the blood feud between them and the entire Arab world could not be resolved, and it was still a little risky to explore the way of Egypt to the east.

Daming is not the case. Daming and Arabs, and Europe, have no historical baggage, no historical entanglements, and are purely a foreigner.

In their eyes, Daming is the image of a wealthy businessman who has a lot of commodities they desperately need. He does not involve any political and religious entanglements, so he is naturally nothing.

Therefore, Su Yonglin hopes to build a good relationship with the existing regime in Egypt, use Egypt's territory as a transit point, and dump goods from the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, so as to further establish relations with Europeans.

Facts have proved that Su Yonglin's idea is correct.

Although it has been through a small storm.

Egypt, known as the state of Besri, also experienced a large-scale mutiny while carrying out democratic and republican reforms in the Ming Dynasty.

A high-ranking official of the old dynasty with great power betrayed his monarch, overthrew the old dynasty and established a new one.

When the Ming merchant fleet arrived in the country of Besri, it happened to be in the period of civil strife in Besri, and faced risks for a time, relying on the armed forces of the merchant fleet for self-protection.

But the powerful man who established the new dynasty seems to have attached great importance to the merchant fleet from the Ming Dynasty.

After learning that they came from the country of porcelain in the East and had official identities, he immediately arranged for a heavy army to protect the merchant fleet and placed them in a safe and quiet area, where the food and beverage treatment was very high.

After spending about two months in the country of Besri without paying for food and drink, the powerful man who established the new dynasty seemed to have solved all the troubles and came to see Zhao Yang in person with a relaxed expression.

Zhao Yang informed him of his name and official identity through the translation of a businessman from Ma Jiaguo who was traveling with him, and the person in power also informed him of his name and official identity.

Only then did Su Yonglin know that this person was the famous emperor Saladin who represented the Arab world and the Crusades in Europe.

Saladin attached great importance to Zhao Yang and was very friendly. He personally invited Zhao Yang and his other official friends to a banquet, apologized to them for not being able to see each other for two months, and presented them with two full boxes of gold coins as an apology gift. .

The two boxes of gold coins were brought back by Zhao Yang and handed over to the treasury. Su Yonglin took the time to go and have a look. It is said that this kind of gold coins is called dinars, and it has a lot of weight.

The personal gifts given by Saladin in his personal capacity are so precious, which shows his greatness.

Of course, what attracted Su Yonglin most was not Saladin's wealth, but on the third day after the banquet, Saladin took the initiative to invite Zhao Yang and others to visit his military parade.

He held a large-scale military parade near his capital Cairo, with great momentum.

Zhao Yang counted carefully, there are 140 seven military phalanxes in total, including cavalry, crossbowmen, and hand-to-hand troops.

According to Saladin's own statement, it probably means that none of the monarchs of the countries around him can compete with him in terms of military strength. Zhao Yang also carefully observed the faces of other high-ranking officials who came to participate in the military parade.

Some were happy and proud, some were shocked, and some were slightly worried and frowned.

But when they faced Saladin, they all looked respectful without exception. In front of Saladin, they had no other expressions.

So Zhao Yang judged that Saladin was indeed the strongest representative of power in this region, and having such a large and elite army was indeed not a parallel import.

Zhao Yang described that the light cavalry of Saladin he had seen were all skilled archers, mastered the tactics of archery, and were very well-organized in advancing and retreating. At first glance, they were strictly trained troops, and they were definitely a force to fight in battle. Handy.

Not only that, but they also had heavy cavalry.

The knights wore chain mail, even the neck and face with protective armor, wearing pot-shaped or conical helmets, plus a nose shield, fighting with swords and spears, armed to the teeth, and strong momentum.

Zhao Yang commented that if such an army were to charge, it would definitely cause a huge deterrent to the enemy. Generally, an army with less than two years of training would not be able to fight against such an army.

The materials consumed in the training and maintenance of such a heavy cavalry can probably be trained and maintained about ten times the size of the infantry. From this, it can be seen that Saladin is indeed very rich, which in turn reflects his control over his own land and tax household registration. perfection of the system.

There are so many things that a powerful heavy cavalry unit can show. Without an excellent taxation household registration system and governance ability, he would never be able to support a heavy cavalry unit.

And this means that the state of Besri under the rule of Saladin has a strong national strength, can communicate with the Ming state, and is regarded by the Ming state as the representative regime in this region.

Of course, in front of the Ming army, Zhao Yang was sure that the Ming army had more than a dozen ways to annihilate these elite soldiers. Even if the most powerful firearms were not used, the Ming army could defeat them.

Saladin didn't know what Zhao Yang was thinking at the time, so he proudly asked Zhao Yang what he thought of his army.

Out of a friendly gesture, Zhao Yang politely praised the elite and strength of this army.

Saladin seemed to have heard Zhao Yang's implication, and asked Zhao Yang how he viewed his country's army.

(End of this chapter)