People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 498: A Divided Abbas Is a Good Abbas
"What do you think of this Caliph's request?"

Baghdad, early July.

This was the fourteenth day since the delegation arrived in Baghdad.

The Song Dynasty delegation will stay in Baghdad for more than a month.

Because they needed to notify the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo and the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople.

This task was given to Saladin.

Along the way, everything went smoothly as planned, without too many delays or setbacks.

The only unplanned thing was waiting in Port Lunger for nine days, wasting at least seven days.

Fortunately, there is still plenty of time.

If they go a little further, they can even choose to leave in September.

In this way, we only need to carry supplies along the way and do not stop in other countries, and we can return to the Song Dynasty in three months at most.

It was only the beginning of December at that time. It was more than enough time for me to go from Guangzhou to Xiangyang, and then take the train back to Bianliang, and return to report at the end of the year.

During these eight days, they were warmly received by the Buyid Emir Abu Mansur Frad Sotun, especially after a cannon demonstration was given to him.

The envoys accepted all arms orders and signed the contract quickly. Now they just had to wait for the reply from the Fatimid Caliphate and the Eastern Roman Empire.

Unexpectedly, just this morning, the Abbasid Caliph Kaim sent his confidants over, hoping that they could help him restore the monarchy.

"Strange, why would the Caliph ask us for help? Isn't he afraid that we will tell the Emir the news?"

"Yes, I heard that this caliph is a Sunni, and he has always been at odds with the Shia of the Emir of Buyid. And he is controlled by them. Can't he ask others for help? Aren't there a lot of Sunnis?"

"I guess he is desperate and is trying anything he can think of. When Emperor Xian of Han was threatened by Cao Cao, wasn't he forced to seek help from Liu Xuande and others to eliminate Cao Cao?"

"I don't think so. I heard from Saladin that the largest Sunni country now is the Seljuk Empire. Think about it, if he asks the Seljuk Empire for help, wouldn't he still be the Emperor Xian of Han?"

"That makes sense. We are outsiders. If we help him to restore the monarchy, we will not be able to control him. He has a high reputation in the country. As long as he gets rid of the control of the Baiyi Kingdom, he will naturally respond in droves. The Seljuks are also Sunnis, and the Caliph is the head of the Sunni sect. His status is equivalent to that of the president of the Buddhist and Taoist Association of the Song Dynasty. Once the Caliph is in power, the Seljuks will not dare to disobey him. Only in this way can they truly hold power."

After the Caliph's envoy left, Tan Wenxue, Zhang Youwei and several assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites and Foreign Affairs discussed things together in the cabin.

Everyone analyzed a lot of things.

If it were the ancients in the past, who did not have such knowledge, they would definitely not be able to figure it out.

However, Zhao Jun gave them guidelines from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requiring them not only to analyze the customs and practices of the other country when they went on diplomatic missions, but also to understand the other country's power structure and social system.

So after arriving in Baghdad, they often investigated the local situation and went out from time to time under the name of trade to inquire about local things and record them one by one.

As outsiders, they certainly didn't understand the truth so quickly, but they had the traitor Saladin to lead the way.

In addition, the local Arabs actually hated the rule of the Daylamites and favored the religious leader Kaim in religious beliefs. Naturally, they were not so disgusted when faced with the inquiries of the Song people.

In this case, we can naturally analyze why the Caliph asked the Song people for help.

"It seems that, as we investigated, the Emir is no longer as powerful as before and is completely unable to resist the Seljuks. Otherwise, the Caliph would not have come to us."

Zhang Youwei said thoughtfully.

Tan Wenxue said with a smile: "We are not Liu Xuande. At that time, Liu Xuande and his men had no troops, no power, and no influence. It was very difficult for them to help Emperor Xian of Han. Now it is very easy for us to help the Caliph."

"The question is whether to help or not?"

Zhang Youwei looked at everyone and asked a soul-searching question.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Logically speaking, as envoys abroad, they should not interfere in other countries' internal affairs, so they should naturally ignore such matters.

But the problem is that the Caliph gave too much.

Not only did he promise to open ports and actively develop trade with the Song Dynasty as long as the Song people helped him restore the monarchy, he also placed large orders for arms and was even willing to send envoys to the Song Dynasty to pay tribute. The conditions were extremely generous.

The most important of these was the one about sending envoys to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty.

You should know that the Abbasid Dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in the history of the Arab world, without a doubt.

Stronger than the previous Umayyad dynasty.

Although the territory of the Abbasid Caliphate was not as large as that of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate was more like a feudal system with only nominal territory, while the Abbasid Caliphate actually controlled the largest territory.

The Abbasid dynasty later declined and split, but it lasted much longer than the Umayyad dynasty.

Therefore, to this day, the status of the Abbasid Dynasty in the Arab world is equivalent to that of the Zhou Dynasty in the East, and it is the common ruler of many vassal states.

All Islamic countries, except the Fatimid dynasty which had declared itself a king and appointed itself as the Caliph, had to respect the Caliph openly, including the Buyid dynasty which was also a Shiite dynasty like the Fatimid dynasty.

Therefore, the Abbasid Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were, at least on the surface, two empires of equal level. Just like the Roman Empire, although it was divided and both sides were fighting for legitimacy, it was still an empire.

As long as the Abbasid Dynasty was not completely destroyed, its status would still be on par with that of the Song Dynasty due to its religious status and the glory of the former Arab Empire.

Kaim was completely lowering his status by doing this.

However, Kaim also knew very well that the Abbasid Dynasty was too far away from the Song Dynasty, so far away that even if it nominally submitted to the Song Dynasty, it would not matter.

Anyway, he sent envoys to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, obtained the title from the Song Dynasty, became a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, and gave the Song Dynasty the highest face. It was just a superficial matter, purely to satisfy the people within the Song Dynasty.

As for his own country, he would certainly choose to conceal this matter, and only declare to the outside world that it was a normal cultural exchange with the Song Dynasty, and he would definitely not submit to the Song Dynasty.

This situation is just like the previous Yue Dynasty and Goryeo, where they had a king outside and an emperor inside.

It seems like he is trying to cover up his mistake, but in fact he has gained too many benefits.

Just to give the Song Dynasty face, place arms orders, and develop trade, which are things that the Song Dynasty would do anyway, and let the Song Dynasty help him restore his country.

It's really a great profit.

For the Song Dynasty, it was an honor to have another empire that was once on equal footing with the Tang Empire and even defeated the Tang Empire in the Battle of Talas become its vassal and pay tribute, even if it was only in name.

Later history will certainly record that in the early days of the Abbasid Dynasty, it was very powerful and defeated the Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

As a result, during the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty rose and forced the Abbasid Dynasty to submit!

If the understanding of the status of the Abbasid Dynasty is still unclear.

To make an analogy, from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period, although the various princes were almost at the point of fighting each other, they still had to obey Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, on the surface, and the country's name was still the Han Dynasty.

At this time, the Western Roman Empire suddenly became extremely powerful for unknown reasons, and then ran to the East to invite the Eastern princes to send envoys to the West to participate in their celebrations.

The various princes discovered that the Roman Empire was powerful and had firearms, so they wanted to buy them and hoped to become vassal states of the Roman Empire.

Even Liu Xie was like this. He wanted the envoys of the Roman Empire to help him get rid of Cao Cao's control and assist him in reviving the Han Dynasty. For this purpose, he was even willing to make the Han Dynasty a vassal of the Roman Empire.

So would the Roman Empire choose to make those vassal states its vassal states, or would it choose to make the Han Dynasty, even if it was already a mere facade and only had a name left?
The answer is self-evident.

So even though this example doesn't exist, this is the situation right now.

Compared with the surrender of various vassal states, the surrender of the Abbasid Dynasty represented by Kaim to the Song Dynasty naturally has more historical significance and political value, even if it is only in name.

"Or, help me."

Fang Shouyi, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites, said: "Even if the Buyids are traitors, we are helping the Caliph, which is to restore order and not against morality."

"But we are just diplomatic envoys, and we follow diplomatic etiquette. The court said we should respect the fate of other countries and not interfere in their internal affairs."

Liu Zeng, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed his opposition.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Abbasid Empire was also an empire. It is said that during its heyday, it had a vast territory and a large population. It also defeated the Tang Dynasty. It is of great significance to make such an empire surrender."

"That's because it was once powerful. Now it's just a name."

"Isn't this the title we want? The government has governed the country, making our Song Dynasty ten times stronger than before. This grand ceremony is to announce to the world that the country is bowing and the universe is submitting, and this is the time for prosperity."

"I think we should think about it again. The Emir of the Buyid Kingdom is very respectful to us. If we suddenly attack him, it would be against morality and etiquette."

"Countries only care about interests, why bother about etiquette? I wonder why people in your Ministry of Foreign Affairs are so conservative?"

Unexpectedly, several senior officials from the Ministry of Rites who were accompanying him all wanted to choose to fight.

The people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actually didn't want to fight. Under normal circumstances, when it comes to foreign affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be the one to negotiate, and it would be rude for the Ministry of Rites to intervene.

The result is that just as the conservatives think the radicals are too conservative, the people in the Ministry of Rites think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is too conservative.

This is also a strange thing.

"General Wang, you are the commander of this team. You have the final say. Should we fight or not?"

Both Tan Wenxue and Zhang Youwei were in a dilemma, and finally put the problem aside for Wang Shining.

Wang Shining was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, he was just eating a melon, how come the task of overthrowing a country's regime suddenly fell on him?

While he was hesitating, there was a knock on the door outside the cabin. Wang Shining breathed a sigh of relief and asked quickly, "What happened?"

"General, Saladin is outside asking for a meeting."

"Let him in."

"Yes."

"Crench."

The door of the cabin reception room opened, and Saladin walked in, bowing and saying, "Doctor Tan, Doctor Zhang, General Wang."

"what happened?"

Tan Wenxue asked.

"It's the Seljuks who are attacking. The Emir just asked me for urgent help, hoping that you can persuade you to send troops to help him."

Saladin said.

"Well, the Seljuks have intervened again."

Zhang Youwei spread his hands and said, "What should we do now?"

“Who knows?”

"On one side are the Abbasids, on the other side are the Buyids, and over there comes the Seljuks."

"It's a real headache, by the way, Saladin."

Tan Wenxue scratched his head, then suddenly thought of something and looked at Saladin.

Saladin wondered, "What's wrong, doctor?"

"Your country is being attacked, but you don't seem to be in a hurry at all?"

Tan Wenxue was keenly aware of this.

The Song Dynasty did not divide people into different classes like India did.

Although we were foreigners, they did not discriminate against us. We had a good chat along the way and became friends.

Although Saladin came to report the matter, Abu Mansur, the Emir of the Buyid Dynasty, hoped that he could help persuade the Song people to help.

Logically speaking, as a Buyidian and a friend of several of their officials, how could Saladin not be anxious?

In the end, they just gave a notification, with no intention of persuading them at all. It seemed that they were allowed to make their own decision, which was obviously a very strange thing.

Saladin smiled and said, "Doctor, although I am a Buyid, I am not a Daylamite. In fact, I should be an Abbasid. It's just that the Buyids conquered our territory and turned us into their people."

"So when the Seljuks come, you Abbasids don't want to help the Daylamites?"

"Yes."

"What if the Seljuks come and rule you?"

"We don't want to help the Seljuks either."

"Why? I heard they are Sunnis too."

Tan Wenxue was puzzled.

These days they have gradually come to understand the conflict between Sunni and Shia Islam, but their understanding is still not that deep.

Although I guessed that the Buyid Kingdom could not be a match for the Seljuks, I still had to wait and see what the specific situation was.

However, according to Saladin, most people in the Buyid Dynasty would probably not choose to help Abu Mansur. The only people Abu Mansur could trust were probably the Daylamites of his own tribe.

"Because they are a foreign race, although they are not pagans or heretics, but we believe in the Caliph more, it's just that they are more powerful now."

Saladin said: "However, compared to the Shia Daylamites, the Seljuks are better. I guess most people are willing to accept their rule. It's just that I have settled in the Song Dynasty. I am a Song person!"

He also emphasized at the end that he was already a citizen of the Song Dynasty.

"I see."

Tan Wenxue nodded to show that he understood.

"Old Tan, what's the point of asking this?"

Zhang Youwei was puzzled.

Tan Wenxue said with a smile: "It is very useful. Doesn't this prove that both the Baiyi people and the Seljuks are unpopular?"

"what do you mean?"

Zhang Youwei was still confused.

Tan Wenxue glanced at Saladin and said, "You go out first."

"Forehead."

Saladin also left in confusion.

"Old Tan, what on earth are you up to?"

Zhang Youwei asked quickly.

Tan Wenxue chuckled and said, "Let's wait and see. When the situation reaches a certain point, we should take action."

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

Zhang Youwei refused to give in.

Tan Wenxue had no choice but to say, "The Seljuks are powerful."

"good."

"Based on our observations these days, the Buyids are not loyal to their emir at all, and they don't want to help the Dayil people fight."

"Yeah, what does this mean?"

"It means that the Buyids will definitely not be able to stop the Seljuks' attack. It is only a matter of time before the Seljuks destroy the Buyids."

"and then?"

"I understand now. In their struggle, the first enemy is heresy, the second is paganism, and the third is foreign race. Compared with heresy, foreign race is more acceptable. If the Seljuks conquer Baghdad, most of the original Buyids will accept their rule."

"Well, yes, Saladin has made it very clear."

Zhang Youwei agreed.

The other officials also nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Tan Wenxue said with a smile: "By then, the Seljuks will surely gain a large amount of territory, and the Caliph will just jump from one fire pit to another. What do you think is better, a strong Seljuk Empire, or an Abbasid Empire in the west and a Seljuk Empire in the east?"

"what do you mean?"

Zhang Youwei opened his eyes wide.

"The Caliph must be aware that he is just a puppet. When the critical moment comes, we can ask for more benefits. We can't just support him to take the throne and send him away like this."

Tan Wenxue said calmly: "Anyway, we have already made enemies with the Seljuks, so it would be best if we could show them some strength to shock them!"

For the Song Dynasty, a divided Abbasid Dynasty is the best Abbasid Dynasty, rather than a powerful Seljuk Empire suddenly emerging to confront the East and the West!
(End of this chapter)