Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 345 Crusaders

The seventy-fourth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

With Han Shizhong and Yue Fei occupying Isfahan, the Seljuk Dynasty was now in name only.

To know……

During the heyday of the Arab Empire, the population of the entire Central Asia and West Asia region was at least over 40 million.

however……

Look at it now, it’s desolate everywhere.

even……

To put it bluntly, most of the soldiers who fought against Han Shizhong, Yue Fei and others were selected from refugees.

of course!

If you think about it from another angle, this also shows that this area still has great potential for development in the future.

can only say……

The Song army, which was well-equipped and composed of professional soldiers, suddenly broke into this world that had become tattered due to years of war.

In an instant, I felt like a lion entering the sheepfold.

This also forces those who do not want to die to negotiate with the Song Dynasty now and immediately.

For example, the Erdiguz Dynasty, which was founded only two years ago and was composed of Turkic military slaves.

of course!

Rather than saying it was a dynasty, it would be better to say that the other side was a feudal lord like a high-ranking official in a province.

Yasuddin Abu Fattah Massoud was able to come to power with the support of this feudal lord.

only……

What was unexpected was that this battle also crippled Eldiguz's own troops.

Now, its founding monarch Shams al-Din Yildiz had to express to the Song Dynasty that he was willing to surrender.

Like the founding monarch Shams al-Din Yildiz, the same was true for another dynasty, the Zengid Dynasty, whose monarchs were also Turkic military slaves of the Seljuk Dynasty.

However, before this, the Zengid dynasty did not send many people to help Yasuddin Abu Fattah Massoud.

All this is probably because, very close to the west of the Zengid Dynasty, are the three countries established by the Crusades.

They are the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

These three Christian countries controlled almost the entire eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

When Zhao Xin learned that the Erdiguz Dynasty and the Zengi Dynasty were both planning to surrender and become vassal.

I am also speechless to the extreme.

Ok!

You all surrendered, so that means I, the Song Dynasty, will have to face those Crusaders directly?

Yes!

Next, they may go to the Crusaders to discuss matters.

After all, now that they have surrendered, they belong to the Song Dynasty.

If you, the Crusaders, attack my vassal states, that would be equivalent to attacking the Song Dynasty.

only……

There is no rush for these.

and……

Who knows whether the other party really wants to surrender or really wants to follow you.

Since the other party has surrendered in name only.

And then...

Zhao Xin also had to consider how to govern such a large area reasonably.

It is fast to incorporate it in this way, but it is not stable.

By the time those vassal states have recovered, they might rebel again.

therefore……

How do I say this?

Anyway...

No matter what, get the benefits first and then talk about other things.

Since you say you surrender, you will have to pay tribute every year from now on.

at the same time……

We must recommend to everyone, including the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, the King of Srivijaya, the Chola Emperor, the Emperor of North India, and the Lord of the entire East, to be the emperor of the entire Seljuk region.

from now on……

All Turkic nobles and common people must obey Zhao Xin's orders.

Be reasonable!
There really isn't anything good to steal from these countries.

The main reason is that wars have been fought too frequently in recent years, leaving little time to manage various affairs properly.

Before that, they first obeyed the Sultan, and then were controlled by the Caliph, the religious leader of Islam.

But of course, rather than saying that the Caliph controlled them, it would be better to say that they had long since stopped taking the Caliph seriously.

They converted to Islam only in order to make the people listen to them better and avoid frequent rebellions.

This is actually the same principle as Confucianism in China, where the ruler is the ruler, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, and the son is the son.

This is all Zhao Xin can think of at the moment.

therefore……

You should also ask the other party to do the same first.

at the same time……

It also requires the other party to send their sons, wives, daughters, etc. to Solange.

If you don’t deliver it, it means you are not sincere.

For those who are not sincere, the Song army has no choice but to use force to conquer them.

This made both families feel a little bit hard to accept.

of course!

Now there are the Crusaders in the west and the Song Dynasty in the south.

If neither family surrenders, they will probably die and their clan will be destroyed.

Or they could join the Crusaders.

The issue is……

Islam and Christianity have always been difficult to coexist.

If someone really betrays Islam and turns to Christianity, I'm afraid that the people under their command will not agree with them.

At last……

After some discussion, they had no choice but to do it according to Zhao Xin's method.

Send your family to Solange as hostages.

And they can stay where they are and continue to lead their troops in battle.

As the news spread that both of them had surrendered to the Song Dynasty.

In Baghdad, the Caliph also got an opportunity to become independent.

Although in fact, he had almost become independent a long time ago.

however……

Independence is independence.

It won't work if one tries to be independent without any strength of his own.

therefore……

In Baghdad, the Caliph sent people to find Zhao Xin, and then told Zhao Xin that he could be the Sultan.

However, Zhao Xin directly rejected the other party's proposal and replied: "We Song people have our own rules. If I become the Sultan, then in name, don't I still have to obey the orders of your Caliph?"

"Can I take this as an insult from you, the Caliph?"

The other envoy also hurriedly said: "Your Excellency the Great Song Dynasty, the King of Srivijaya, the Chola Emperor, the Emperor of North India, the Lord of the East, you misunderstood, we did not mean that, it's just..."

Zhao Xin then said, "It's just... you are all used to it. Everyone who comes here has to believe in your sect."

The other party fell silent, looking at Zhao Xin with a speechless expression.

Zhao Xin also said: "I am an open-minded monarch who loves peace. I do not reject any religion in this world. However, your religion cannot affect my peace-loving heart. From now on...all the people in the Seljuk region can believe if they want to, and they should not be forced if they do not want to."

"Besides... I heard that you have a bad reputation and you like to suppress other sects."

The other party said: "That's not the case."

Zhao Xin replied: "Go back and tell your caliph that Seljuk is no longer his land. It now belongs to the Song Dynasty. He has no right to preach to the people of the Song Dynasty, let alone fan the flames, provoke war, and destroy local peace. If I find out, I will lead my people to flatten Baghdad."

"At the same time... I also need your Caliph to personally acknowledge that from now on, the territory of the Seljuk Dynasty will be the land of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty is the dynasty that can truly bring them peace."

The other party then passed the news back.

After hearing this, Caliph Muktafi also knew what this meant.

It turns out that the other party still keeps me as the caliph.

however……

As the spiritual leader of the religion, his caliph could not issue orders to the believers in Central and West Asia.

of course!

You said giving orders secretly, that's definitely possible.

Muktafi then asked, "What if I don't want to admit it publicly?"

The envoy said: "Then the other side may flatten Baghdad."

At this time, Muktafi only had one city.

Although Baghdad is very prosperous.

It is even said that there are 1.5 million people.

however……

Regardless of whether these one and a half million people are real.

Compared with the areas and population currently controlled by Zhao Xin, these one and a half million people are not worth mentioning at all.

For Muktafi…

The good news is that he can finally be independent.

The bad news is...

The other party wanted to cut off the roots of their sect.

If he restricts himself from preaching across borders, how can he control this Islamic world?
Muktafi could only think in his heart: "The other party wants to use my mouth to tell my believers that you should believe in the Song Dynasty officials."

The envoy said, "If this is announced to the public, it would be a bad idea, right? It would have a huge impact."

Muktafi said, "Don't I know?"

"But if you don't tell me, it won't work."

Muktafi had already sent people to secretly observe the strength of the Song army.

can only say……

That spirit alone is not something they can resist.

Then Muktafi thought to himself: "How about... talking to the Crusaders, asking them to stop fighting, and then divert the trouble to someone else?"

Of course, the Crusaders also received some news.

It turned out that they were fighting with the weaklings of the Seljuk Empire and had a lot of fun.

But who could have thought that during the fighting, a new force would suddenly break in.

and……

Nowadays, it is said that both the Zengi Dynasty and the Erdiguz Dynasty have surrendered to the Song Dynasty.

These Muslims really have no spine at all!
The three Christian countries soon began to exchange information with each other.

Let’s discuss together, what to do next?
And people like Imad-ad-Din Zengi, the monarch of the Zengid Dynasty who had just served the Song Dynasty as a dog, naturally began to publicize how powerful the Song Dynasty was.

We should directly send out a million-strong army to the enemy, and then persuade them that if they are sensible, they should withdraw from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean as soon as possible and return all the lands that originally belonged to our Seljuk Dynasty to us. Otherwise, the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, the King of Srivijaya, the Chola Emperor, the Emperor of North India, and the Lord of the entire East will lead the heavenly soldiers to punish you.

But nowadays, those who come to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean are feudal lords and knights from Western Europe such as Portugal.

how to say.

These feudal lords and knights in Western Europe were extremely poor in the early years because they were originally located in the farthest place from civilization.

Now, you ask them to give up such a good place they have occupied.

Do you think it is possible?

And the key is...

After occupying this place, we can obtain commercial taxes continuously.

After all, the transportation of various materials in the Mediterranean must rely on here.

For example, the frankincense trade in the southern Arabian Peninsula that Zhao Xin is interested in is transported to Western Europe through the eastern Mediterranean coastal areas or the northern African coastal areas.

Therefore, the Crusader states' occupation of this place meant that they could receive a steady stream of commercial taxes from here.

So what fool would voluntarily give up such a Feng Shui treasure land?

These feudal lords and knights from Western Europe said they were doing it in the name of religion, but in reality, they were just desperate because they were poor and wanted to rob people for money.

Many people dream of becoming rich overnight.

It is impossible for them to withdraw from this area just because of Imadedin Zengi's threatening words.

Then...

The three Crusader states also selected several representatives, came to Solange, and found Zhao Xin.

When these representatives arrived in Solangi, they were stunned by the prosperity of the place.

Because to be honest, there is nothing good in Western Europe now.

They are nothing more than castles of some feudal lords.

And these castles are generally not very big.

Looking at Solange, there is plenty of supplies of all kinds.

And the streets were crowded with people.

All kinds of spices, as if they were free.

If you take these things back home, you can sell them for several times, or even dozens of times the price in a matter of minutes.

So much so that when they came here, they found that even the eastern coast of the Mediterranean was not attractive anymore. After all, what was there on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean except the Gobi Desert. Only India can be called the real golden country.

If they could control the land and sea routes from India to the Mediterranean, they could really make money without doing anything.

It is also conceivable how much money those Arab dog traders made in the previous hundreds of years.

Seeing them staring at his spices, Zhao Xin said calmly, "Why are you here?"

The other party said, "We are here to discuss peace with the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, the King of Srivijaya, the Chola Emperor, the Emperor of North India, and the Lord of the East."

Then someone else said, “Well…there’s also business!”

When the others heard what the second person said, they all looked over and thought, "What is this bastard thinking?"

The second person said calmly, "I don't think we need to fight. After all, the ones who had a grudge against us Crusaders were the Muslims, and we didn't seem to have any major conflicts with the emperor in the East."

Zhao Xin pretended to be thinking and said, "It seems to be true!"

"So...how are you going to do this business?"

The other party said without hesitation: "We can act as porters in the Mediterranean, and the emperor of the East, you only need to send people to transport the spices to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean."

Zhao Xin changed his posture to a more comfortable one and said, "Then what price do you plan to buy it for?"

Everyone else was dumbfounded.

Depend on!
Can you do this?

I thought there would be a big battle between the two sides, and before that, there would inevitably be some verbal battle.

(End of this chapter)