Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2432: The Duke is not an assistant, but a regent (XXIII) Persian Agreement

In the autumn of 1604, the first year of the Taichang reign of the Ming Dynasty, the city of Tabriz was shrouded in a mixture of morning mist and gunpowder smoke. The sound of Ottoman artillery still seemed to echo along the banks of the Aras River, and Abbas I, the ruler of the Persian Empire, stood on the wall of the old palace in Tabriz of the Safavid Dynasty, gazing at the villages burned down by the war outside the city.

The 33-year-old Shah was in his prime, with two blade-like beards on his upper lip, looking eagle-like and wolf-like, looking proud. At this moment, he was wearing chain mail, a silk robe embroidered with the emblems of the twelve Imams, and a Persian scimitar inlaid with rubies hanging from his waist.

His right hand habitually stroked the hilt of the sword, while his left hand held a secret letter from Alaverdi Khan, which was sent by someone on horseback at full speed in the early morning to defend the city. More than ten days ago, Li Tingji, the governor of Anxi in the Ming Dynasty, met with his special envoy, Alaverdi Khan, and proposed a shocking cooperation plan.

"Your Majesty, Grand Vizier Alawerdi Khan requests an audience." The eunuch's announcement broke the silence. When Abbas turned around, the morning light just broke through the clouds, illuminating his hawk-like face - his nose was high, his eyes were as deep as the Black Sea, and his beard was trimmed like two sharp daggers.

"It seems that my Grand Vizier is still full of energy. The messenger came at full speed, but it was only half a day faster than him." Abbas I commented expressionlessly, and then slowly said, "Gather all the important ministers to the meeting hall to wait for him."

Soon, six ministers dressed in gorgeous robes were waiting in the magnificent council hall. They were:

Allahverdi Khan: Grand Vizier, nearly fifty years old, leader of the Turkmen tribes in Azerbaijan, actual controller of the empire's military and finances, who defeated the Ottomans in the battle to recapture Tabriz in 1598.

Mirza Saleh: Foreign Minister, of Armenian descent, fluent in five languages, a former ambassador to Istanbul, well versed in the diplomatic maneuvers of the East and the West.

Gholam Ali Khan: Commander of the Imperial Guards, a military reformer who was born a Georgian slave. He led the establishment of the "Tufanchi", the first organized musket unit in Persia.

Sheikh Ali Zaganeh: Minister of Finance, a Kurd, in control of the empire's taxation and Silk Road trade, and familiar with the customs duties in the Strait of Hormuz.

Muhammad Kulikhan Shamru: A Turkmen tribal elder, he was a prestigious traditional military aristocrat who held a conservative attitude towards firearms reform.

Shamsuddin Razi: Chief Mufti, leader of the Yeshiva sect (readers can fill in a word before this word), responsible for justifying the legitimacy of policies from a doctrinal perspective.

When the eunuchs of the palace escorted Abbas I to his seat, Alawerdi Khan spoke first, his voice like a heavy hammer hitting a bronze drum: "Your Majesty, I believe you have read my secret letter in advance. As you can see, the conditions proposed by the Ming Dynasty are a double-edged sword. They are willing to provide the bronze casting process of the 'No. 3 Cannon' and the improved matchlock gun mechanism, but they require us to open the Khorasan trade route, allow their caravans to go directly to the Persian Gulf, and set up a duty-free warehouse in Bandar Abbas."

As he spoke, he spread a sheepskin scroll with a picture of the Ming army's artillery on the table. The rifling patterns on the inner wall of the barrel were clearly visible on the detailed drawing. Obviously, they had noticed the peculiarity of the rifling. Although they did not know its effect, let alone how to draw the rifling, they recorded it very seriously through drawings.

"Is this charity from the pagans?" Muhammad Kuli Khan stood up suddenly, the emerald pendant on his golden turban hitting his breastplate. "Our Shamru cavalry once crushed the rebels of Timur's descendants in Mazandaran. Why should we rely on the 'strange skills' of the Ming people? In my opinion, their firearms will not work at all in the humid Mesopotamian region!"

Golram Ali Khan could not hold back, and his Georgian accent was as cold and hard as metal: "It seems that the elder has not heard of the Ming army's 'three-stage attack' tactics? According to the report of our spies lurking in Bukhara, the Ming army launched a feint attack when it besieged Bukhara...

Even though it was just a feint, the spies saw clearly that the Ming army's musketeers could even reload on horseback, and their firing rate was twice as fast as our "Tufanqi"! "He turned to Abbas and knelt on one knee, "Your Majesty, last year in Nakhchivan, if we had such firearms, the Ottoman "Yaniseri" Corps would not only have retreated, but would have been completely routed."

Sheikh Ali Zagani stroked his beard and interjected, "The Strait of Hormuz brings in 40 gold coins of revenue for the empire every year. If Ming merchant ships were allowed to pass through duty-free, it would be equivalent to ceding half of the Persian Gulf's fiscal revenue."

He pointed his fat finger at the map in the circle of people and tapped the strait mark he was pointing at. "Armenian merchants have already given up most of the profits from the silk trade to the empire. Do they have to give up the profits from porcelain and tea as well?"

Chief Mufti Shamsuddin Razi stroked his beard and chanted, "The Quran (intentional typo) says: 'You should seek help through perseverance and prayer.' Does it violate the doctrine of 'jihad' (holy war) to form an alliance with pagans?" He glanced at the crowd, "Of course, the Prophet also taught us, 'Knowledge should be sought even if it is far away in China', so perhaps the scope of cooperation can be limited..."

Abbas suddenly stood up, his cloak sweeping across the copy of the Shahnameh on the table, and said without emotion: "The right to interpret the doctrine lies with the Shah."

He looked around at the crowd, picked up the blueprint presented by the Grand Vizier, and ran his fingertips over the inscription "Made in Beijing" on the Ming army's artillery map. "The Ming people did not ask us to convert, they just wanted trade and allies. I have already found out that their emperor is very young, and the regent Grand Vizier Gao Shiwu needs a stable situation in Central Asia - this coincides with our need to fight against the Ottomans."

His Majesty the Shah is indeed very knowledgeable, and he deserves to be named "The Great Emperor" in later generations and is known as a strong man who is well-versed in both Eastern and Western culture. It would be better if Gao Youshi was not subconsciously called "Grand Vizier".

Mirza Saleh took the opportunity to unfold a sheepskin map with Ming Dynasty trade routes marked in cinnabar: “Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty merchant caravans usually departed from Suzhou. If they could go to Isfahan via Samarkand, it would be 200 miles shorter than the traditional Silk Road.

According to the observations and intelligence provided by the Grand Vizier, their "spring carriage" can travel smoothly in the Gobi Desert. With the same number of people and camels, the load capacity is nearly three times that of our camel team, which is really shocking.

More importantly, they are willing to exchange our horses, wool, lapis lazuli, carpets and other items with extremely fine porcelain, and the price of these porcelains in Europe is ten times or even twenty times of our purchase cost... Giving up such a business is simply a blasphemy against the Quran." Abbas walked to the window and looked at the "Tufanqi" musket team training in the distance - most of the soldiers still used the "Basta" matchlock guns captured from the Ottoman Empire, which had a slow firing rate and were easily muffled by moisture.

He suddenly turned around, his eyes like swords: "Alawerdi Khan, you have seen the power of Ottoman artillery in the Battle of Chaldiran, and this time you have seen the firearms of the Ming army. Why don't you tell me what you think?"

The Grand Vizier stood up upon hearing this and took a half step forward, his chain mail making a small clanging sound: "Your Majesty, the firearms of the Ming army are not something that the Ottomans can surpass, especially their 'saltpeter purification method' which can increase the power of gunpowder by 30%, which is exactly what we lack the most.

Your Majesty, I firmly believe that if we can build a cannon foundry in Isfahan, using the iron ore of Khorasan and the technology of the Ming Dynasty, we can forge cannons that surpass the Ottomans within ten years."

"But the price is opening the country's doors!" Muhammad Kulihan remained stubborn.

Abbas sneered: "We are no longer a closed mountain tribe." He pointed to the Venetian glass mirror in the corner, "Look at this mirror, and then think about the Chinese porcelain in your collection at home. The door to trade has long been opened. Instead of letting the Portuguese monopolize it, it is better to let the Ming Dynasty become a counterweight."

He paused, looked around at everyone, and lowered his voice, "Moreover, the Ming Dynasty promised not to sell any firearms to the Ottomans. This alone is more valuable than thousands of troops."

Finance Minister Sheikh Ali Zaganeh’s eyes lit up: “If so, my suggestion is that not only should we not exempt from tax, but we should also appropriately increase the transit tax in Hormuz—Ming Dynasty porcelain has extremely high profits, and I don’t think they would mind paying a little more tax.

Oh, and one more thing. Let’s not talk about tea and silk for now. The porcelain carried by the Ming Dynasty merchant ships is precious and fragile. Once they land, they need our camel team to escort them. This is another source of income.”

"It's settled," Abbas said. "Please remember the terms of the agreement as follows: First, the Ming Dynasty will provide us with the casting drawings of the 'No. 3 Cannon' and the windproof mechanism technology for the matchlock guns. We promise to open the Khorasan trade route permanently, but their merchants must abide by our laws and religious laws after entering the country and are not allowed to make comments on our religious laws.

Second, the Ming Dynasty caravans will be charged a 15% tariff when traveling south through Khorasan. To justify this rate, their caravans will be escorted by our "Red Heads" (Elite Persian Infantry) to ensure the absolute safety of the trade route.

Third, we will send 100 young and smart craftsmen to Samarkand to study. In addition, the Ming Dynasty needs to accept 50 Persian noble students at the same time... I don’t care what the Ming people will teach in the school in Samarkand, I will send people to study anyway. "

Since His Majesty the Shah has given the order himself, even if the ministers are dissatisfied, they should not continue to comment. Moreover, His Majesty the Shah’s last sentence is in full compliance with the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad - "Although knowledge is far away in China, it should be sought." Now that China has come here, why not study there quickly?

After the meeting, it was already late, but the exhausted Khan Alaverdi still did not rest. Instead, he summoned the Ming Dynasty envoy who came with him to the study in his mansion.

The candlelight illuminated the lion and sun emblem on the Persian carpet, and the sound of horns from the Ottoman camp came from the window in the distance - yes, the damn Ottomans lost the battle, but soon gathered troops outside the city of Tabriz. Although Persia won the battle, after sending troops to recover the long-lost territory in the Caucasus, it was unable to drive them out of the city for a while. Both sides were obviously licking their wounds and gathering strength for the next war.

"Your Majesty the Shah agrees to cooperate," the Grand Vizier handed over the agreement written in gold powder, "This is the text of the agreement, but there are two additional conditions: First, your country's merchants look different from our Persians, and they will not be suspected by the Ottomans when they go to Baghdad. Therefore, our country needs your country to secretly help our spy network in Baghdad so that our country can recover the Mesopotamian region as soon as possible - this is also what your Prime Minister hopes for;

Second, all technical transfer must be carried out under the full observation of Persian craftsmen, and no backhand is allowed. Only after we are sure that we have learned it and the trial production is successful, can we consider the transaction completed. "

The envoy, a Beijing merchant who had learned Persian, nodded and took out a silk scroll, which depicted the karez and axle-turning carts built by the Ming army in the Western Regions. "I told Gao Yuanfu that the basis of cooperation is mutual benefit. These are the two most important farming techniques we use in Anxi. You can also try them in the rice fields along the Caspian Sea... This is a free gift from Yuanfu, and you don't need to provide anything in return."

Alaverdi Khan stared at the scroll and suddenly laughed, "Prime Minister Gao is indeed a great man of the time. His foresight is admirable. Please report to the honorable Prime Minister that the Persian scimitar and the wisdom of the Ming Dynasty will eventually make the Ottoman crescent flag fade in the two rivers until it falls to the ground."

"In addition," the Grand Vizier said, "We Persians are always hospitable. Since the guests are so generous, we must not be stingy... I will personally select 400 top-quality Arabian horses for the Prime Minister, including 200 males and 200 females. I swear to Pearl (intentional typo) that these 400 horses will be the top breeding horses and will be absolutely priceless."

Arabian horses were indeed precious to Gao Youshi. He had spent a lot of effort in the past few years but failed to get many. As a result, although the breeding of new breeds of horses has been progressing in an orderly manner, to be honest, the speed is not fast. In the words of later generations, "the genes are still unstable."

Therefore, if it is true as the Grand Vizier of the Persian Empire said, that there are 400 top-quality breeding horses that he personally supervised, then they can indeed be called "priceless."

The envoy thanked him immediately and accepted the surprise. Oh, of course, it was not entirely unexpected. After all, for a grand vizier, it would be difficult to accept such a big gift for nothing. Reciprocity is the key to long-lasting friendship. If he really didn't give a penny, I'm afraid that after the Ming Dynasty knew about it, they would have to reconsider the relationship between Ming Dynasty and Persia in the future.

After saying goodbye, the envoy walked out the door and looked up at the night sky. The starry sky of Tabriz was as bright as a Persian miniature painting.

He may not be able to fully understand what has happened between the two sides recently, but in any case, the two huge empires are weaving a big network to fight against the Ottoman Empire with technology and trade as the bond.

Safavid Persia and Ottoman Turkey were enemies for generations, and there were also huge conflicts of interest in economics and trade. The reason why the Ming Dynasty intervened was not only because Gao Youshi wanted to quietly expand the influence of the Ming Dynasty to Europe and try to influence the development of Europe, but also because the Ottomans blocked the traditional East-West trade route, which not only affected direct commercial interests, but also promoted the great voyages of Europe...

As long as it could cause trouble for the European colonists, Gao Youshi was willing to do it without any psychological burden.
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