People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 493 Bringing Peace to the World

On May 13th of the 12th year of the Qingli period, the envoy of the Song Dynasty left the Chola Dynasty with satisfaction, carrying an arms order.

The diplomatic envoys gained a lot from this trip to the Indian Peninsula.

Their next destination was the Chalukya Empire located on the west side of the Indian peninsula.

Afterwards they went north to the Solanki Dynasty and the Samarra Dynasty, then entered the Persian Gulf and arrived at their destination, Baghdad in the Middle East.

At this time, they were only more than 2,000 kilometers away from their destination. According to Tan Wenxue's estimation, if everything went well, they would arrive in Baghdad in late June.

They will stay there for a month and leave at the end of July. Since they will not need to visit other countries on their return trip, they will travel at full speed except for stopping at ports along the way to replenish supplies.

Therefore, they should return to the Song Dynasty within three months, and at the latest by early November.

Even if something happens to delay us along the way, even if it's a delay of two months, we should still be able to bring envoys from various countries to participate in the grand celebration on January 1st of the following year before the end of December.

Although the round trip time of nearly ten months is indeed a bit rushed, at least for now everything has been smooth, and the itinerary and process are also as planned.

Soon, about ten days later, in late May, they rounded the Indian Peninsula and arrived at the Later Chalukya Empire.

The later Chalukya dynasty is the Maharashtra state of India in later generations. Its capital was called Kalyani. In later generations, it had another very famous name - Mumbai!
It was midsummer and the Indian peninsula was very hot, with scorching sun, clear skies and white clouds. The sea was clear blue and the pier outside Kalyani was bustling with activity.

This season is the busiest time for sea routes. Hard-working Arab merchants travel to various ports on the Eastern Route. From time to time, huge fleets of ships can be seen on the sea, slowly approaching with the power of the monsoon.

There were people coming and going on the dock, many ships were docked on the side, and many dock workers were coming in and out, carrying all kinds of spices and goods. The smell of Indian specialty spices lingered on the dock for a long time.

Compared with the Chola Dynasty, although the military strength of the Later Chalukya Dynasty was slightly inferior to that of the Chola Dynasty in the south, it actually had more advantages in economic and trade.

Because it was closer to the Arab Empire, most Arab merchants would go to Kalyani to buy spices, then go south around the Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka, then go east through the Bay of Bengal and go directly through the Strait of Malacca.

The advantage of doing this is that there is no need to waste time crossing the Palk Strait between the Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka to reach the capital of the Chola Empire, Oraiur, and the journey will be relatively shorter.

So in this situation, the Later Chalukya Dynasty was more prosperous than the Chola Dynasty.

Therefore, even though its martial virtues were slightly inferior to those of the Chola Dynasty, it was still the largest and most populous country on the Indian Peninsula, as well as the richest country, and was able to hold its own against the martial-virtuous Chola Dynasty for a hundred years.

It can be said that if the Later Chalukya Dynasty and the Chola Dynasty were placed in the East, then the Chola Dynasty was like the Liao Dynasty, while the Later Chalukya Dynasty was an enhanced version of the Song Dynasty.

During the more than a hundred years of fighting, the two sides experienced both prosperity and decline, and were finally destroyed by other rising dynasties.

The two countries are old rivals who have been loving and hating each other for a hundred years.

At this moment, the Song Dynasty's diplomatic fleet passed by an Arab merchant fleet heading south within a few nautical miles, and then the huge fleet sailed into the port.

The port officials were also very surprised to see such a large fleet and hurried over to ask what was going on.

Soon, the ship's translator and guide, the wealthy Chalukya merchant Payara, got off the ship to negotiate with the other party.

Upon learning that the other party was an envoy from a great country in the far east, the port officials did not dare to be negligent and immediately reported the situation to the King of Chalukya.

Like Jatiraja Chola I, King Sumitravara I of Later Chalukya also immediately stopped what he was doing and came to greet him personally with a group of monks, nobles, princes and ministers.

Just as the Chola Dynasty gave its reasons, the Later Chalukya also had no conflict of interest with the Song Dynasty. On the contrary, due to their complementary relationship in trade, they treated the Song envoys very warmly.

Greeted by Samishvara I, the delegation first passed through the slums outside the port and then entered the city of Kalyani.

This place is indeed much more prosperous than the Chola Empire's capital, Oraiyur. Not only is the city larger and more populous, but it also has a strong commercial atmosphere, with all kinds of shops and stalls scattered throughout the streets and alleys.

Walking on the streets is like walking in the kingdom of spices. There are white pepper, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, black cumin, green fennel seeds, cumin, cinnamon, grass fruit, cardamom, Sichuan pepper, coriander seeds and so on. It's overwhelming.

Various local people wearing headscarves and Arab merchants shuttle between them, making Kalyani one of the important hubs of global trade today.

It can be said that in addition to several top-ranked commercial cities in the Song Dynasty, such as Bianliang, Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, Kaliani was already a very prosperous trading city at that time.

After all, although the Middle East is the main gathering area for Arab merchants, wars there are too frequent. Even though there are world-class commercial cities such as Baghdad and Tehran, the damage caused by repeated wars has made it difficult for them to continue their prosperity.

So perhaps Kalyani is not the most commercially prosperous city in the world, but it is definitely one of the most stable cities.

Even during the Hundred Years’ War with the Chola Empire, both sides only affected the borders and not the capitals in the hinterland.

"Dear guests who have come from afar, I welcome you on behalf of the Chalukya Kingdom."

Sumitra I brought everyone into the palace, and then led a group of dignitaries, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed to them.

"You are too polite, Your Majesty."

This time, no one was flattered. Everyone politely bowed in return.

It is not difficult to guess the reason for being respectful to the other party.

As old enemies, the Chalukya Kingdom and the Chola Dynasty have been fighting for nearly a hundred years since their founding.

Both sides are bound to have internal supporters in their respective countries, just like the Liao and Song dynasties.

King Sumitra I might have known about the arrival of the Song Dynasty envoys at Oraiur long ago, and it was even possible that the other party was also aware of the arms trade.

Therefore, if Sumitra I did not take it seriously, it would be foolish.

"We have prepared a sumptuous banquet for the respected envoys. We hope you can feel the joy as if you were at home."

Sumitra I said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Everyone responded politely again.

Then they sat down in the palace, and the banquet was followed by singing and dancing, which was very lively.

In the afternoon, three rounds of wine were served and five kinds of dishes were served.

Sumitra I seemed to be under the influence of alcohol, and when the banquet was almost over, he asked, "I heard that the messenger passed through Oraiyur when he came?"

"Yes."

"I wonder how things are going between me and Oraiur?"

"Forehead"

Several people were in trouble.

It is human nature to praise them in front of their masters and speak ill of their enemies.

But this is obviously unethical. Zhang Youwei was the quickest to respond and said, "Olaiyuer is a riverside city, and it is outstanding among the riverside cities. Your Highness's capital is located on the seaside, and it is the best among the cities on the seaside."

After hearing the translation, Sumitra I was obviously dissatisfied with the answer. After all, he believed that his capital was more prosperous and wealthy than the capital of the Chola Dynasty.

However, since the envoy had already cleverly diverted the conflict, he would not continue to ask questions, otherwise it would make both sides more and more embarrassed.

Sumitra I said, "My Chalukya Kingdom is more populous and richer than the Chola Kingdom. Why should the envoys go to the Chola Kingdom? It would be better for them to come directly to Chalukya."

"Although going to Chola is a bit of a detour, we must invite all countries that have trade relations with our Song Dynasty to participate in the court meeting next year."

Tan Wenxue said: "We also know that Chola and Chalukya are old enemies, but our Song Dynasty is committed to bringing peaceful coexistence to the world, so if you are willing, we hope that you can shake hands and make peace."

"Peace? Handshake?"

After listening to the translation, Sumitra I wanted to laugh and said, "Since you want us to live in peace, why do you sell firearms to them?"

really.

It seems that the previous test launch at the Oraiyur dock could not be concealed from the Hou Chalukya.

Tan Wenxue remained calm and said, "Your Highness, you don't know that we are doing this because the Song Dynasty won't sell them. There will be plenty of people who will sell them in the future. Liao and Xixia both have firearms. If they secretly sell them to Chola in the future, then Chalukya will be in danger."

He added: "Now that we are selling firearms openly, the Chalukya will naturally know about this. If the Chola have firearms, and the Chalukya also have them, then both sides will be wary of each other, and peace will naturally be achieved."

"Forehead"

Sumitra I hesitated for a moment and asked the guide beside him to translate: "What countries are Xixia and Liao?"

The guide translated and replied, "It is the country to the north and northwest of Song."

"Have they any firearms?"

"Yes, Song State has been at war with them in recent years, but..."

"But what?"

"But I remember that Xixia seemed to have been destroyed by the Song Dynasty."

"Then ask him, wasn't Xixia already wiped out?"

"Yes."

The guide told Tan Wenxue about the problem.

Tan Wenxue said: "Although Xixia was destroyed, their remnants fled to the Western Regions with firearms. The Western Regions are connected to the Arab Empire, which is even worse. If another Arab Empire rises, how can you resist it?"

"Forehead"

This logic made Sumitra I's brain CPU a little confused, because he found that it seemed to make sense.

If the Song Dynasty does not sell firearms, what if the Liao Dynasty and Western Xia sell them in the future?
Although he had information gaps and did not know what countries Western Xia and Liao were, nor did he know whether the remnants of Western Xia had actually run to the Western Regions with firearms, this did not prevent Sumitra I from thinking that it made sense.

Since there are already three countries in the East that have firearms, even if he doesn't know about the other two countries, and one of them has perished. But if the Chola Kingdom hooks up with the Liao Kingdom, or if the remnants of the Western Xia run to some countries to their north, and let those people secretly buy firearms, wouldn't it be a big deal?
So now that the Song Dynasty has come over in a swagger and provided firearms to both sides, it means that neither side is strong enough on its own and both have the ability to destroy the other. Doesn't this achieve some kind of constraint or balance?

broken.

My head feels so itchy, I feel like I'm going to grow a brain.

Sumitra I felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was, so he could only smile and say, "It seems to be the case."

"That's it. Just like Greek fire, if the Arab merchants only sell Greek fire to the Chola Dynasty and not to you, then how can you resist the attack of Greek fire?"

Tan Wenxue smiled and said, "Weapons are equal only when both sides have them. In this way, both sides have the ability to destroy the other side, thus forming a deterrent. This is the only way to bring peace, isn't it?"

"Okay."

Sumitra I had no choice but to say, "Then please ask the envoy to sell us a batch of firearms. We will spend more money to buy more firearms as many as the Chola Kingdom buys."

He had heard of the power of that firearm, and after one shot, the other side of the river roared and exploded.

So naturally I hope for more.

But Tan Wenxue shook his head and said, "Your Highness, the King of Chola spent a lot of money and hoped that we would not sell the cannon to you. We agreed to his request."

Sumitra I was shocked and said, "How can you do this? You said you came for peace and only sold them firearms. But if they use your firearms to attack us, what should we do?"

"Don't worry, Your Highness."

Zhang Youwei immediately smiled and said, "It's just that the cannons are not for sale, but we have better firearms."

"Better firearms?"

"Yes, we also have grenades, muskets, and rocket launchers. Their power will not disappoint Your Highness."

"That's great."

Sumitra I was delighted and said, "Can you demonstrate it to me?"

"of course."

Everyone nodded.

It is even more like the Chola Dynasty now.

The Song army demonstrated the power of muskets, grenades and other weapons to Sumitra I.

Strictly speaking, the combat effectiveness of artillery and these equipment is not actually equal.

After all, even if the artillery was eliminated by the Song army, there would be no problem in firing at a range of two or three kilometers.

Once the war starts, hand grenades with a range of fifty meters and black powder flintlock rifles with a range of four or five hundred meters are no match.

However, the Chola Dynasty bought a relatively small number of artillery pieces, so they could sell more grenades and muskets to the Chalukya Dynasty. Even if the two sides fought, relying on grenades and muskets to defend the city would be enough.

Anyway, it has always been the Chola Dynasty that attacked and the Chalukya Dynasty that defended. What the Chalukya Dynasty had the most on the border was forts and cities, and artillery could not penetrate the city walls.

After seeing the power of the Song army's firearms, Sumitra I no longer hesitated and immediately placed an order to purchase a large number of guns and other firearms.

Including mines, rocket launchers, muskets, and grenades. With this batch of weapons, if the Chola Empire failed to prepare tactics and used up its artillery ammunition too early, it is possible that the Chalukya Empire would be able to defeat the Chola Empire!

(End of this chapter)