Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 346 Recovering the Seljuks

of course!

Talking about business is just one part of it.

The key is……

Whether it is Christians or Muslims, they all regard Jerusalem as their holy place.

Today, this holy land is occupied by a group of Christian Crusaders.

How to solve this problem?

Zhao Xin can certainly reopen the trade route.

But the fight for this holy land cannot be taken lightly.

Zhao Xin also said to them: "As long as you withdraw from Jerusalem, I will reopen the trade route with you."

This time...

Of course, these Crusaders, who had conquered Jerusalem with great difficulty, would not agree to this.

He replied, "This is impossible! Jerusalem is our holy place! It is the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven."

Zhao Xin said, "Then just wait for us to take back Jerusalem."

People on both sides looked at each other.

Then...

Zhao Xin said again: "Show him away!"

These people then walked away in anger.

Immediately afterwards...

Zhao Xin ordered his men to send notices and announcements to all Muslims, announcing that he would send troops to help the Muslims and retake their holy land next year.

As soon as this news came out.

The senior clergy and senior knights of the Crusaders panicked.

At the same time...the Caliph in Baghdad, Muktafi, was also getting anxious.

After all, something like recovering the holy land is of great political significance.

If Zhao Xin really helps Muslims recapture the holy land, then how will the Muslims respect Zhao Xin?

After learning the situation, the Crusaders immediately sent letters to the forces behind them and the Vatican.

But unfortunately...

The Western world today is also in constant civil unrest.

For example, in the Vatican, ever since the death of the previous Pope Honorius II, everyone has been arguing over who is more qualified to be the next Pope.

Not to mention that the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire also wanted to take this opportunity to abolish, or rather, seize some of the rights held by the Pope.

For example, the Pope has the power to appoint regional bishops.

In fact...

It has been almost forty years since the First Crusade.

However, why did the Crusades only conquer a few pieces of land during these forty years and then stop immediately?
This is largely because there are also many power struggles in the Western world.

Because of the internal friction, there is no time to expand again.

But now...

A very important issue was also placed before the Holy Roman Emperor, the Pope, and even the entire Western world.

Zhao Xin said that they wanted to take back their Christian holy land!
This might help promote internal cooperation among them again.

……

The seventy-fifth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

This year.

Zhao Xin is exactly 100 years old.

This year.

The rubber trees in Srivijaya finally had a stable harvest.

This year.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei also led Muslims, as well as Turks, Khwarezmians, and soldiers from the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates to attack the lands once occupied by the Crusaders.

to be frank!
There were not many Crusaders along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, but they often had very complete city defense systems.

Not to mention……

They are also very good at using oil and making various oil weapons to set fires.

therefore……

Even though their numbers are quite small, maybe only a few thousand people, and some smaller castles may only have a few hundred people, it is not an easy task for the attackers to defeat them one by one.

but……

Of course, this was not a big deal for the Song army.

In the past, it might take at least one or two months to capture a city, but once the Song army took action, it would only take one or two days at most to force the bishops and nobles in the city to surrender.

of course!

There are also some surprises.

For example, the Christian bishop of a city was planning to surrender to the soldiers outside the city, and the letter of surrender was almost ready.

As a result, a Christian fanatic suddenly jumped out and said that their land could not be handed over to the Muslims. As a result, after he set the pace, the Christian fanatics below also started to make a fuss, saying there was no need to surrender and they would fight if they didn't accept it!
During this process, Zhao Xin also fully saw the weakness of these Westerners.

Be reasonable!
Many of them seem to prefer to surrender directly.

They also said that they were willing to pay a ransom per head as long as Zhao Xin would let them go alive.

If this happened to the Mongols, they would probably laugh.

After all, once you pay the ransom, the Mongols might follow you and kill all of you.

There's no need to even trick you into opening the city gates and then massacre the city.

After the Song army's military operations along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

soon……

The lands originally occupied by the Crusaders were also taken back.

of course!

Before that, Zhao Xin also "recaptured" Baghdad.

It is not difficult to recapture Baghdad.

Because there is no decent army in Baghdad itself.

The Caliph, although he is said to be the spiritual leader of the Islamic world, is actually just a puppet and a mascot.

only……

This Caliph is indeed not easy to deal with.

Just keep it under control for now and we'll deal with it after we're done with the Crusade.

And as the Song army was unstoppable.

The powerful strength also shocked all the surrounding forces.

after all……

Who could have thought that the Song army was so powerful!

It can be said that in terms of combat effectiveness, he is more than one level higher than them.

at this time……

Seeing that the Song army was about to reach their side, Hafez, the caliph of the Fatimid dynasty in the northeast of North Africa, couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

after all……

You're not going to just come and hit me right away, are you?
At this time, there were at least two caliphs in the Islamic world.

One was the Fatimid Caliph, Hafez.

The other was the Abbasid dynasty, with Caliph Muqtafi in Baghdad.

However, the caliph of the Fatimid dynasty is more or less less authentic than the caliph in Baghdad.

This is mainly because the Fatimid dynasty declared themselves caliphs.

Then can Zhao Xin declare himself to be the caliph?

That's definitely not possible!
Why do you think there are so many sects within Islam? It is because when the founder died, he left no offspring and did not say who would succeed him.

This led to conflicts among different people over who should succeed the Caliph.

This is the origin of sectarian disputes within Islam.

but……

Now that Zhao Xin has taken the holy land back from them, it should not be impossible for him to claim that he is a god from heaven or Allah incarnate, right?
Don’t say it yet!
Zhao Xin actually had this idea.

only……

This kind of thing seems to be hard to fool any normal person.

It's like "The Emperor's New Clothes".

This thing...

You can’t make your own.

It would be best if the people below could voluntarily nominate them.

Soon... the news that the Song army helped Muslims retake the holy land spread throughout Central and West Asia.

For a while...

The entire Muslim world, all Muslims, could not help but stand up straight again.

Immediately afterwards...

Some people then suggested that the emperor of the Song Dynasty was actually more suitable to serve as their caliph.

of course!

Such words were quickly suppressed.

After recovering all the lands occupied by the Crusaders, the Song army had to turn back and try to persuade the forces on the Anatolian Peninsula to surrender.

At this time, the Anatolian Peninsula, which is across the east side of Constantinople, can be roughly divided into two forces.

One was of course the Byzantine Empire with Constantinople as its capital, and the other was the remnant of the Seljuk Empire, the Sultanate of Rum.

The Sultanate of Rum does have some strength.

Once, during the Crusades, they wanted to attack them, but they actually beat the Crusaders back.

Zhao Xin sent envoys to persuade the other side to surrender.

The Sultanate of Rum was originally dependent on the Seljuk Dynasty. Now, it is just changing its dependence on another person. Therefore, for the other party, the psychological pressure is not that great at all.

After all this trouble.

It can be said that Zhao Xin basically restored the Seljuk rule in all areas that it once existed in.

And at the same time...

Zhao Xin's great-grandchildren also set out from the Western Regions and arrived at the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate step by step.

If some people are willing to stay, they can stay and become king.

However, in fact, the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, which is the western part of Xinjiang, did not actually leave the borders of later China.

it's over...

There were also some people who were relatively bolder and set out directly from the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, bringing a small group of people and, under the leadership of merchants in the area, heading west and south.

finally……

Along the way, we heard the news that the Song army had captured various cities.

Fortunately, they were brave enough.

He was not afraid of being kidnapped on the road.

finally……

The people arrived in Isfahan safely.

it's over...

We got in touch with some soldiers who stayed behind in the area.

At last……

The news was then sent back to Zhao Xin via the post horse.

After hearing about the other party's deeds, Zhao Xin couldn't help but admire his courage.

To know……

Outside the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, the people to the west are basically all "foreigners".

It is rare to see a person with black hair and black eyes.

Without a large army following them, they dared to run so far. They are just like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger.

If you meet someone on the road who has a bad heart, you might catch him.

of course!

I guess they wouldn't be that stupid.

Along the way here, his identity must have been disguised.

If they were disguised as businessmen or something, others might not really come and cause trouble for them.

As for the local forces.

Because the Song army still has its power.

Perhaps they would not dare to act recklessly.

Since he was here, Zhao Xin also wrote a letter to the other party.

"In that case, then stay in Isfahan and be the king of the Seljuks."

And this is exactly the effect the other party wants.

can only say……

Make big money!

I quickly wrote back to thank Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin also had to provide the other party with more local intelligence to facilitate the other party's future governance.

At this time, there were more than a dozen literati who came from the Song Dynasty around the other party.

It can be said that he has his own team to govern the country.

But let me be frank!

Zhao Xin doubted whether these people had the ability to govern the country reliably.

Don't let the Seljuks get into trouble again.

In order to better help the other party govern the Seljuk region.

Zhao Xin had no choice but to send a civil servant from his side to him.

Assist the other party to understand, recognize, and handle relevant government affairs, religious affairs, etc.

In fact, what I really want to say.

The Seljuk region is not very stable today.

Although most areas have surrendered, people like the assassin organization Assassins still exist.

In the past, they specifically looked for opportunities to assassinate Seljuk princes and nobles.

There is no reason why they would stop doing this after the Song Dynasty came to rule.

Although it was because the Seljuk princes and nobles were not human beings and exploited the local people and Muslim believers that they did this.

But do they think that the Song Dynasty will not exploit them after it comes?

Not to mention……

Now this assassin organization has built many small fortresses in various places as their bases.

Forces like this must be eliminated as much as possible.

The reason why the Assassins lived a comfortable life in the past was entirely because the Seljuks were in internal strife, so they had no time to take care of them.

To the extent that some people even acquiesce to their existence and ignore them.

Because the Assassins will help them kill whoever they want to kill.

however……

Now the Seljuk region has gradually regained its unity.

Then there is no need to keep these Assassins anymore.

Moreover, the Assassins' range of activities was very wide, ranging from the Caspian Sea in Persia in the north to the Fatimid Empire in northeastern Africa in the south.

If you don't get rid of this thing, it will definitely make people feel uneasy.

Of course!
If the issue can be resolved peacefully, Zhao Xin may not be unwilling to do so.

to this end……

Zhao Xin also sent people to their base to communicate with them.

I hope they can mend their ways.

The founder of the Assassins must have been fighting for justice and to resist some bad rule in the beginning, but this may not be the case for his successor.

What if the other party sees that I already have so many castles, then it would not be impossible for me to "restore my country" at that time?

After some communication between the two sides.

The other party's heir affirmed Zhao Xin's contribution in helping Muslims recapture the holy land, but it is absolutely impossible for him to recognize Zhao Xin as emperor.

and……

The other party even said bluntly that one day, he might assassinate Zhao Xin.

of course!

He had no idea that Zhao Xin was already 101 years old.

This is no longer just half a body, but the entire body can be considered buried in the ground.

To be honest, it doesn't make any sense whether to kill or not.

Since the other party has said so.

Then Zhao Xin had no choice!

He ordered:
"In that case, let's destroy them!"

Moreover, the Assassins also made a great contribution to the unsmooth trade between the East and the West.

(End of this chapter)