Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2430: The Duke is not an assistant, but a regent (XXI) The Persian Mission (Part )

While Gao was promoting practical education in the country, Ming Dynasty and Persia were also developing close contacts. Especially when the Ming army dispatched more than 100,000 troops to block Bukhara and take Samarkand, Abbas I, the Shah of the Safavid Empire, who had already received Li Tingji's letter, could no longer sit still.

In the First World War, more than 60,000 cavalrymen, more than 50,000 musketeers and artillerymen were deployed! This force was so powerful that Abbas I, who was suppressing the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire, felt a chill in his chrysanthemums and had to take it seriously.

To show his caution, he sent his most important minister, Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) Alawerdi Khan, to represent him with plenipotentiary powers and lead a delegation to Andijan to meet with Li Tingji, the Governor-General of Anxi of the Ming Dynasty.

The morning mist of the Yaosha River floated on the river surface like uncured cream. When Alaverdi Khan lifted the silk curtain of the camel sedan, the outline of the iron floating bridge was emerging from the mist.

Twelve steel chains as thick as wrists stretched across the river, with bronze lion heads locking them every five steps. The bridge planks were paved with walnut wood soaked in tung oil, and triangular anti-slip copper strips were embedded in the gaps, shining coldly in the morning dew. This was completely different from the temporary ferry crossings built with sheepskin rafts and hemp ropes in Persia, as if even the river had been tamed by the Ming army's craftsmen.

"Sir, how much weight can this bridge bear?" The voice of Hussein Ali, the military adviser of the mission, came from behind. This Persian officer, who had seen iron components in the shipyard of Venice, was knocking on the bridge railing with the handle of his scimitar. The peony pattern on the relief responded with a sound, startling the gray heron living in the reeds. Its snow-white wings swept across the water, drawing a few silver lines in the mist.

"Enough for twenty No. 3 guns to pass through in a line." The person who answered him was the Ming army scout officer who led the way. Judging from his attire, he should be a captain. His Chinese was spoken with a strong Shaanxi accent, but every word was clear.

Khan Alaverdi's mount, a purebred Arabian warhorse from Shiraz, suddenly snorted, and the horseshoes hit the bridge surface with a crisp "clang" sound.

The horses were not uneasy because of the shaking of the bridge, but because they smelled the smell of steel coming from the other side. In the military farm area on the river bank, more than a hundred Ming soldiers were operating the axle turnover. When the wooden gears with a diameter of more than ten feet engaged with the copper bearings, they made a regular "creaking" sound, which was more orderly than the stone wheel of the Persian water mill.

What concerned the Persian prime minister even more were the muskets slung across the soldiers' backs - bayonets about one foot long were inserted diagonally side by side on the barrels, shining like cold stars in the fog. This was a configuration that the Safavid musketeers had never seen before.

"Are farmers in your country also allowed to carry muskets?" Hussein Ali pointed at a soldier who was carrying a hoe but had a musket on his waist, with an undisguised surprise in his tone. In Persia, firearms have always been the exclusive property of elite troops, and farmers are at most equipped with scimitars.

The captain of the Ming army glanced at him, and his eyes fell on the twenty spear-wielding guards accompanying the Persian delegation: "The Western Regions do not keep idle people. The water in the karez must be guarded, the wheat in the farmland must be protected, and when encountering horse thieves, the handle of the hoe is the butt of the musket."

As he answered this, his right hand subconsciously pressed on the bolt bracket of his short Wanli Type 3 flintlock (short version means cavalry version), and the copper parts exposed under the cowhide holster were shining faintly - that was one of the iconic designs of the Wanli Type 3.

When the delegation reached the center of the bridge, the mist was suddenly lifted by the morning breeze. The Ming army fortress on the other side was clearly visible: three arrow towers were arranged in a triangular shape. Because the planned cement plant had not yet been put into production, the foundations of these arrow towers were poured with glutinous rice mortar mixed with iron ore slag. The surface was condensed with layers of cracks, but it was a bit more cold and hard than the Persian rammed earth walls.

On the watchtower at the top of the arrow tower, the barrel of the copper telescope was slowly turning, and the light spots refracted by the lens swept across the team line, making it as sharp as an eagle's eye.

"That's a telescope made in Beijing," translator Ibrahim explained in a low voice. He had seen Portuguese telescopes in Macau, but never such a large model. "I heard that it can see whether a bowstring is taut from three miles away."

Alaverdi Khan's fingers unconsciously stroked the turquoise on the hilt of the knife - it was a token of his love from Abbas I. He suddenly noticed that there were dark shadows swimming in the river below the fortress. They were not schools of fish, but small boats covered with iron armor, which could carry about seven or eight people.

He noticed that the boat was carrying a No. 3 light cannon half buried in sandbags, with the muzzle pointing toward the river, but tightly wrapped in cowhide coated with beeswax - this was a common method used by the Ming army to prevent gunpowder from getting wet, which formed a stinging contrast with the Persian practice of stacking cannons in the open air.

At the end of the floating bridge, twenty Ming cavalrymen emerged from the fog. Their horses were carrying long cylindrical objects, tightly wrapped in cowhide covers with cloud patterns. Hussein Ali's pupils suddenly contracted - the curves of those long barrels were clearly the outlines of muskets, but they were two inches longer than Persian matchlock guns.

What frightened him even more was that when the cavalry columns passed by, the sound of armor colliding was like a person stepping, so orderly that it was eerie - it was already difficult to keep the infantry in line, let alone the cavalry.

"Your Excellency must have been exhausted from the journey," the captain of the Ming army raised his hand to signal the delegation to stop, and dismounted. "General Li - oh, I mean Governor Li of Anxi has prepared a welcoming banquet, but according to military regulations, the weapons brought with him must be inspected first." His eyes swept over the Uzbek steel scimitars on the waists of the Persian guards. "Of course, your Excellency's sword and the letter from His Majesty the Shah are a separate matter."

Alawerdi Khan nodded and signaled the guards to take off their weapons, but he thought to himself: the so-called "inspection" was just an opportunity to study the forging process of Persian swords. When he saw the Ming soldiers using magnets to check whether the scimitars were tempered with black iron, he finally believed that the Eastern Empire's greed for technology was no less than Persia's desire for the fertile land of the Mesopotamian Basin. However, as the Grand Vizier of the Empire, he just raised his head slightly and said nothing.

The fog dissipated, and the ripples of the Yaosha River reflected the "Ming" flag on the fortress on the opposite bank. As the flag fluttered, Alaverdi Khan seemed to see that the Ming Empire, which had long dominated East Asia, was quietly expanding its influence until it covered the entire Central Asia, like a huge net coming from the east. And he was the first eagle to enter this net, carrying the Shah's expectations and vigilance, to touch the ambitions hidden behind those powerful armies shining with cold light.

The morning bell at the parade ground in the south of Andijan struck nine, and the camel caravan of Khan Alaverdi had just turned the corner when it was dazzled by the forest of spears. Two thousand infantrymen from the Third Regiment of the First Army of Ili had formed sixteen square formations. The barrels of the Wanli Type III flintlock rifles glowed with a cold blue light in the sun, and the bronze animal head emblem on the buttstock and the "An" pattern on the armor complemented each other. Each row of soldiers was three steps apart, with their toes pointing uniformly toward the generals' platform in the center of the parade ground, as if they were cast from the same mold.

"Allah..." Hussein Ali exclaimed in a low voice. He had never seen such a neat array of infantry. The Persian musketeers were used to loose guerrilla tactics, but the Ming soldiers in front of them were like steel sculptures, and even their breathing rhythm seemed to have been measured - this was the basis of the "three-stage attack" tactics. Each square formation could independently complete the cycle of shooting, loading, and preparation. On the stage, three helmets shone in the morning light: the one in the middle wore a seven-beam crown, a red silk official uniform with a golden pheasant patch, and a rhinoceros belt around his waist. It was Anxi Governor Li Tingji; the one on the left was wearing a black mountain pattern armor and a scarlet cloak on his shoulders. It was Anxi General Li Rumei, and the one on the right was wearing a Xiezhi patched uniform. It was Anxi Patrol Censor Xiong Tingbi. When the three walked down the stairs, the roar of 20,000 spiked boots stepping on the ground suddenly stopped, as neat as the tide receding.

"Your Excellency has come from afar, and the wind in the Western Regions is cold," Li Tingji was the first to extend his hand, and the latest mechanical watch made by Jinghua Seiko on his sleeve flashed a faint light in the sun, "Our army has prepared a small gift to show the sincerity of the Eastern Land."

He raised his hand to signal, and the curtain on the east side of the training ground fell, revealing eight shiny No. 2 heavy cannons. The rifling inside the muzzle was faintly visible, and the inscription on the gun barrel, "Made in Beijing in the 30th year of Wanli" glowed with metallic luster in the morning dew. Although it was a product three years ago, considering that the Western Regions were too far away from the Central Plains, it was not his fault that he kept it to himself. After all, this was the military's equipment.

The Ming and Polish high-ranking officials approached the artillery. Li Rumei patted the nearest cannon. The sound of armor colliding was like the sound of metal and stone hitting each other. "These huge cannons only took thirty shells to blast open the three-foot-thick bronze door on the top of Samarkand."

He suddenly turned his head and his eyes fell on the European telescope on Hussein Ali's waist. "If your country's gunners are willing to come to Anxi for exchanges, we can talk about how to make the shells fly half a mile longer - such as the elevation dial of this gun mount."

Xiong Tingbi smiled and pointed at the infantry formation: "The trigger guard of each musket has a windproof copper cover, and the firing rate can be guaranteed to be 60% in rainy days." He handed over a disassembled Wanli Type III rifle, and the connection between the barrel and the bolt was engraved with fine threads. "If your country's craftsmen are interested, our Gewu workshop is open for observation at any time. Of course, the manufacturing process of the core mechanism is a secret of Beijing Military Industry. Even I don't know it, so I can't help you."

As the Persian envoys were exclaiming in amazement, three puffs of yellow dust suddenly rose from the center of the parade ground. Three thousand cavalrymen were like black waves, split into two wings. The chests of half-armored war horses were covered with fine steel scale armor, and the knights were wearing armor with linked mountain patterns. The sabers and short guns collided with each other on the side of the saddle, creating a crisp rhythm.

Li Rumei raised his hand and gave the order. The cavalry suddenly accelerated, and the straw man target array two hundred steps away fell down. The sound of the volley of horse guns was like the continuous firing of a musket.

"This is our half-armored cavalry," Li Tingji explained. "The men are fully armored, and the horses protect their vital parts. This not only ensures the speed of the charge, but also protects against heavy armor-piercing arrows or ordinary musket fire." He pointed to the short guns on the cavalry's waists. "The barrel is three inches shorter than your country's matchlock guns, but it can be loaded on horseback."

Hussein Ali's fingers unconsciously stroked the lens of the telescope. He noticed that when the cavalry charged, the ten riders at the front of each team were able to maintain a triangular arrow formation when they stopped suddenly. This was a tactic that the Persian cavalry had never practiced.

What frightened him even more was that when the cavalry retreated, the infantry square began to demonstrate the "three-stage volley to bayonet charge": 7,000 musketeers were divided into three columns and advanced in rotation. Before each rotation, the front row fired a volley, and the back row followed. After the three volleys, the 7,000 muskets were already equipped with bayonets, raised like a forest, forming an impenetrable steel wall in the sun. The "click" sound of the advance resonated wonderfully with the sound of the ice cracking of the medicine killing water.

"With such an army like this," said Alaverdi Khan, who had fought for many years and had seen a lot, and his voice was full of shock, "I'm afraid even the Ottoman Janissary Corps would retreat if they saw it."

Li Rumei laughed: "Retreat? If that day comes, they'd better have a chance to retreat, otherwise... Hey!" He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "If your country needs to deal with the Ottoman heavy infantry, my Ming Dynasty does have some ways... It all depends on how you talk with General Li today."

Xiong Tingbi handed over a brocade box at the right time, which contained twelve detachable matchlock guns. "This is a trial product, with a firing rate of 60%. The design of the windshield can be improved by your craftsmen." He glanced at the leader of the Persian merchant group, Mikel Suleiman, and said, "As for the trade route, we can go to check out the bonded warehouse built specifically for your caravan in the afternoon. It can store alfalfa for ten thousand war horses, as well as thousands of boxes of porcelain and tens of thousands of boxes of cloth."

The Persian delegation all went to Alawerdi Khan, but they saw that the Grand Vizier was still able to remain solemn. He nodded and said, "We must discuss it carefully before making a decision."

At the northwest corner of the parade ground, the artillery began to test fire. The roar of the No. 2 heavy artillery shook the ground, and the solid bullet smashed a gap several feet wide in the earth wall three hundred steps away. In the smoke, Li Rumei suddenly pointed to the muzzle: "Do you see the copper level on the sight? Our artillerymen can make the shells fall into the same crater - this is better than your country's aiming based on experience."

The Persian envoys looked at each other in bewilderment. Even Alaverdi Khan was moved and could not help but look at him a few more times. He finally suppressed the urge to ask questions immediately.

The climax of the welcoming ceremony was the display of the baggage train: 300 spring carriages drove into the field, and the sound of the wheel bearings turned even more than the neighing of the horses. Each carriage was marked with the "Made in Beijing" emblem, and the shock-absorbing springs at the bottom of the carriage were forged with unknown metals, allowing the fully loaded gunpowder boxes to run smoothly on the Gobi Desert.

The eyes of the leader of the Persian Merchant Corps, Mikel Suleiman, suddenly lit up - if such a carriage was used to transport porcelain, even if an accident occurred and they had to flee - that is, of course, if they encountered horse thieves - the loss rate could be reduced by at least 40%.

When the delegation was about to leave the parade ground, Li Tingji suddenly pointed to the military farms in the distance and said: "The wheat fields irrigated by wheel-axle carts have an acreage yield 30% more than those in the Persian Highlands."

He smiled meaningfully, "Of course, this thing can not only be used to irrigate wheat fields, but it is even better for rice fields... If your country is willing to exchange Arabian stallions for our drought-resistant rice seeds, perhaps the Shah's granaries along the Caspian Sea can also store more drought-resistant 'Taichang Rice'." [Note: The Caspian Sea coast of the Iranian Plateau is its main rice-growing area, accounting for 80% of its national rice output.]

At the exit of the parade ground, the soldiers of the Ming army suddenly lined up to salute, and the sound of their gun butts hitting the ground was like the beating of war drums. Alaverdi Khan looked back at the fluttering "Ming" flag on the podium, and finally understood: this "welcome ceremony" was certainly a kind of show-off, but more of it was the Eastern Empire in front of him telling Persia a truth with the language of iron and blood - the so-called alliance has always been based on visible strength.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself of his mission, which was to make His Majesty the Shah understand that dancing with such an empire required not only a scimitar but also the wisdom to understand springs and scales.

"Knowledge should be sought even though it is far away in China." The Grand Vizier silently recited the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad in his heart, but he could not help but wonder in his heart: But, what does Persia need to pay in order to obtain this knowledge?
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