The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 327
Sheba is an ancient country, so old that even they themselves can't remember how many years this country has been. Anyway, the songs sung by troubadours say that it is ancient times. Probably even the most knowledgeable scholars don't know how far away it is. Can not remember.

But in fact, the current owner of the Kingdom of Sheba is not the original Sheba people.The people of Sheba were originally the people of Saibo. It was only because they lived in Sheba that they called the kingdom that was later established as Sheba. The people of Sheba now are the Hemians. More than 300 years ago, they defeated Saibo. The Yi people became the new masters of Sheba.

Sheba is a good place. On the Arabian Peninsula, which is dominated by deserts, Sheba is a place full of rain because it is close to the sea. The Malibu Dam built hundreds of years ago has accumulated precious rainwater for them. The rain has turned this land into a rich place.In addition to having enough water to develop agriculture, what the people of Sheba really depended on for their wealth was business.Sheba is located at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula (present-day Yemen), on the verge of the Gulf of Aden. Whether it is a businessman traveling from the east to the Mediterranean or from the Mediterranean to the east, most of them choose to rest or exchange goods in the royal city of Zefar. The people of Sheba gained a lot of wealth from it, and they also established their own caravans, bought goods from eastern merchants who were unwilling to move forward, and then used camels to transport them to the north, even as far as Germany. People, the territory of the Gauls.

If sufficient rainwater allows them to live a stable life in the Arabian Peninsula, then business is the main way for them to live a prosperous life.The people of Sheba used to be proud of this, thinking that they were the richest people in the world, and Zefar was also the richest city in the world. When King Solomon became famous in the north, the Queen of Sheba brought a rich Gift rushed to meet King Solo, and the meeting was so momentous that it was recorded by Christians in their Bibles.

But the current King of Sheba, Samhu Ali Bemu, is very unhappy. He has been on the throne for more than ten years. The Kingdom of Sheba has always been very good. I found that fewer and fewer merchants have passed through Sheba in recent years, and most of them are scattered merchants, mainly merchants from the Mediterranean Sea, and merchants from the East even if they stop temporarily in Safer. , and few people resell the goods to them. They often come to Zefar or other small towns in Sheba from the sea, rest for a while, and then return to the sea and enter the Red Sea, but they do not do business in Sheba, let alone Said to sell them the lucrative silk and spices.

Without the goods of the Eastern merchants, the business of the people of Sheba plummeted, and Zefar quickly showed a depression. The team also gradually lost their jobs. They either left their hometowns or disbanded the camel team to find another livelihood.

Samhu was very surprised, he immediately sent someone to investigate, and soon discovered the truth: everything was because of the Han merchants.

Han people have also come to Zefar before, but most of them are relatively small in scale, and they are exhausted after arriving here. In order to catch up with the monsoon and return, they usually choose to resell their goods to Sheba, just like those Tianzhu businessmen. But it's different now. They are sitting on a huge merchant ship, and they can bring a large amount of goods at one time. They don't have to rush back and can arrange their time calmly.At the same time, they are also protected by a powerful fleet. The pirates along the way dare not make any plans against them. They can go to the northern end of the Red Sea smoothly and transport their goods to the place closest to the Mediterranean Sea. By reselling, you can earn more lucrative profits.In this way, in addition to retaining the occasional resting role of Zafar, the role of trade transit has disappeared invisibly.Han merchants were numerous and powerful, and they controlled most of the business on this commercial route. They did not conduct transactions in Zaffar, which dealt a serious blow to the economy of Sheba.

What made Samhu even more anxious was that those scattered Tianzhu merchants no longer traded in Safer. They would rather sit on Han Chinese boats and rush to the Mediterranean Sea to do business. Not only can the goods be sold at a higher price , and they can also purchase cheaper Roman and Persian goods. The price difference is enough to make up for the cost they spent on the Han boat, so they all enjoy it.

They enjoyed it all the time, but Samhu got angry. If things go on like this, even if Sheba will not perish because of this, it will be impossible to restore that affluent life. Now Sheba only relies on agricultural income to support it. , the most lucrative business income has been relegated to the bottom and is not worth mentioning. The once prosperous Kingdom of Sheba has lost its former glory. .

Knowing the whole story, Samhu was so angry that he jumped up and down. He was furious, but there was nothing he could do. Firstly, it was only natural for Han merchants to do business to pursue profits. Although Muhu was not a good family, he really wanted to rob—the Himians started out by plundering, even the Kingdom of Sheba was robbed by them, and robbing passing merchants was commonplace—but he found that his own No matter how fast the horse is, no matter how heavy the camel is, they can't jump into the sea. Facing the big ship of the Han people, they can only look at the ship and sigh. They have to look for teeth everywhere-they don't know how difficult it is for the Vietnam escort fleet to find a few pirates who can be regarded as opponents.

After suffering a few times, all that Samhu had left was to sit in the palace and curse the Chinese ship being overturned by Poseidon, the god of the sea, so that Sheba could regain prosperity.However, I heard that the Romans have allied themselves with the Han Chinese, and it is estimated that their Poseidon will not have trouble with the Han Chinese.

Just when Samhu was at a loss what to do, Xia Hourong crossed the Red Sea and came to Zefar, the royal city of Sheba.

As soon as he set foot on the land of Sheba, Xia Hourong fully understood Sun Shao's intentions.Sheba and Axum face each other across the sea. They are so close that it only takes one day to cross the narrow strait. It is impossible for the Shan people to cross the sea from Sheba and go straight to the heart of Axum, but they can only travel long distances from the north. Even though their cavalry is very fast, there is no suddenness.From a strategic point of view, this is tantamount to establishing a forward position in Sheba to block the Sasanians. From a business point of view, making friends with the Sheba people is equivalent to adding an additional transfer station, which is very important for replenishing fresh water, food and halfway It is very convenient to rest and reorganize, which can greatly reduce the difficulty of supply.

Before seeing Samhu, Xia Hourong already had an idea, and he calmly came to the palace to ask for an audience.

As soon as he heard that the Han envoy was asking to see him, Samhu jumped up, pulled out his knife and shouted to kill the Han envoy who came to his door to vent his anger, but he was stopped by his beloved youngest daughter, the princess Adela. .

Samhu has thirteen sons and four daughters. This year Adele is the youngest and the most beautiful one. Because she loves her so much, even though she has already reached the age of marriage, she has never been willing to let her marry.Adele is tall and tall, with silky curly hair hanging down to her waist, tall breasts, slender waist, fair skin, and a good face, especially a pair of blue eyes that are very energetic, and they bend like crescent moons when she smiles .No matter how angry Samhu is, as long as he sees this little daughter, he can smile.

Adele talked nonsense to Sam, and it would not be too late to decide whether to kill him after asking him why he came. Perhaps the Han people felt that they had done something wrong and came to seek reconciliation.

Only then did Samhu calm down, and angrily let someone tell Xia Hourong to come in.

Xia Hourong could hear Samhu's displeasure from the tone of the waiter who sent the order. He smiled slightly, and dusted off the cotton gown that was already very clean.The long gown was well cut and perfectly set off his muscular body.Because he has been fighting in the north for many years, his skin is a bit dark, but this does not affect his handsomeness, on the contrary, he is a little more masculine.And the kind of elegance cultivated from childhood poetry and etiquette is unique among the Sheba people who advocate heroism.

He walked into the palace steadily, and saluted Samhu, who was sitting high on the throne with neither humble nor haughty attitude: "The envoy of King Yue of the Han Dynasty, the North General of Wei Guozhen, Xiahourong of Qiaojun, pay homage to the king."

After listening to the interpreter's translation, Samhu became confused all of a sudden. He stared at Xia Hourong for a long time, opened his mouth several times, and finally couldn't help asking: "Who are you? Are you Han or Wei?" People, or Yue people, or Qiao County people?"

Xia Hourong showed a gentle smile, waved to the interpreter beside him who was sweating profusely, and spoke in fluent Roman.The people of Sheba were too close to Rome, and they were no strangers to the Roman language. After hearing Xia Hourong's explanation, Samhu patted his forehead: "You Han people are so troublesome, I am confused , After a long time, you are not only a Han, but also a Wei, and a Qiaojun, and you are also the envoy of the King of Yue."

Xia Hourong smiled slightly: "My lord is Shengming."

Ever since Xia Hourong walked in, Adela's eyes had never left Xia Hourong. Xia Hourong's demeanor completely attracted her mind, and when she heard Xia Hourong's fluent Roman dialect, her eyes lit up immediately. The thick baritone voice seemed to hit her heart with every sentence, making her heart thump, and a blush unexpectedly floated on the cheek of Huai Shuang Saixue.

"The envoy speaks Roman well." Adela praised her off the top of her head.

"Thank you." Xia Hourong bowed and saluted very gentlemanly: "Dare to ask your majesty, who is this beautiful girl?"

"She is my daughter." Samhu noticed that Adele's expression was wrong, and frowned involuntarily, and then looked at Xia Hourong with a little more vigilance.With the sensitivity of a father, he sensed a slight crisis.Without waiting for Xia Hourong to ask again, he raised his voice and asked, "What are you doing here? You Han people are so disgusting, you monopolize the business, and almost squeeze out the livelihood of the people of Sheba. How dare you come to Tsefar Come on, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Xia Hourong looked at Samhu, smiled and said nothing, Samhu felt a little guilty, but refused to admit defeat, so he had to pretend to be furious, blowing his beard and staring back at Xia Hourong.Xia Hourong grinned: "If the king thinks that killing me can solve the problem of Sheba, I am very willing to sacrifice my life for the king and the people of Sheba."

"Well, I'll kill you now." Samhu stood up loudly, and raised his hand to call the warriors outside the palace to come in. When Adela saw it, she quickly grabbed him and said angrily, "Father King, what's the use of killing him? Killing him will allow those merchants to come back to Zefar? Besides, have you forgotten that he is the envoy of King Yue? King Yue killed Fu for the sake of two merchants. Southern."

Sam Hu rolled his eyes in anger, and sat down on the throne in dejection. He is not a fool, of course he knows that killing Xia Hourong is useless, but he just wants to say a few cruel words to scare Xia Hourong to relieve his anger. It was frustrating to think that Xia Hourong was not frightened, but his precious daughter had an unexpected heart.

"Your envoy, please tell me that my father is just joking with you, please don't mind." Adela turned her face and said to Xia Hourong with a pleasant face.Xia Hourong bowed and saluted: "Thank you, princess, but I believe that the king will not have any ill intentions towards me. After all, I came here with a sense of friendship. His Royal Highness King Yue heard that the king has a good governance and the people live and work in peace and contentment. He respects the king very much. So I was sent here to discuss cooperation with the king.” He paused, then laughed again: “We Han people have a saying that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors, and now Axum is my territory, and Sheba is our neighbor across the sea. Wang’s close neighbor, we are very willing to be a harmonious neighbor with His Majesty.”

Only then did Samhu become interested, sat up straight with his eyes shining, and greeted again and again: "Say it quickly, say it quickly."

Xia Hourong explained Sun Shao's conditions in an orderly manner. He hoped that Samhu would use Sheba as a transit base for the huge Han Chinese fleet, and provide food, accommodation, and rest for passing merchants and escort fleets. In return, Sun Shao Shao handed over a portion of the business going deep into the Arabian interior to the Shebas. At the same time, he gave priority to purchasing the horses and camels provided by the Shebas. When hiring manpower, he also gave priority to hiring the Shebas, etc.

Samhu smiled when he heard it, and the haze in his heart was swept away, and then he looked at Xia Hourong with a much more friendly look, and even his daughter's obvious eyebrows and eyes were not so irritating.He ordered a banquet for Xia Hourong to discuss the details further.Xia Hourong is handsome and talented, and has brought such good luck to Sheba, maybe he can still be worthy of his daughter.

Xia Hourong stayed in Zefar for a few days, and finally returned to Axum with some demands from Samhu. After the circle, I found that Sheba had great potential to be tapped, so I didn't refuse it outright, and brought it back for Sun Shao to consider.

After listening to Xia Hourong's narration, Sun Shao pondered for a while: "Is Sheba really so important?"

"Yes." Xia Hourong nodded affirmatively: "Sheba's agriculture is very developed. Their Malibu Dam has been in use for hundreds of years, and it is still in good condition. People can't help feeling. If it can be cultivated as intensively as Yue State , Their food production can be further increased, and it will not be a problem to supply 3 to 3 troops for a long time. They now have a standing army of more than [-], which means that they have left us with a surplus of [-] people."

Sun Shao nodded repeatedly.

"In addition, the people of Sheba are brave and good at fighting. Many people often travel to and from the desert. They are very familiar with the terrain of the desert and are the best guides. At the same time, they like to plunder. If you go to war with the Sasanians, organize them, It would be a nightmare for the Sasanians to harass the Sassanids, as long as they can hold on for a while, these Shebas may be able to collapse the Sassanids."

Sun Shao looked at the eloquent Xia Hourong, and noticed the change in his expression when he mentioned Princess Adela of Sheba. When he finished speaking, he suddenly asked: "How do you know Sheba so well, is it that Adele?" Did the princess tell you?"

"Yes... yes." Before Xia Hourong finished speaking, he found that his mind had been broken by Sun Shao, and he couldn't help being a little embarrassed.

"It's a good marriage for men and women. It's a good marriage." Sun Shao said with a smile: "You make Sheba so important, it seems that I don't agree. However, we can't do it for nothing. It’s cheap for the people of Sheba, you take a break, I’ll send someone else to let them marry that so-called Princess Adele to you, and I’ll agree to their terms.”

"This...isn't it appropriate?" Xia Hourong was surprised and delighted.

"Appropriate." Sun Shao patted Xia Hourong on the shoulder: "You are right, being able to make friends with the people of Sheba is a good thing for us. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Why did I choose to use alliance instead of conquest? Because the soft one is always more effective than the hard one. Of course, no matter what time it is, the hard one can’t let go. If the soft one doesn’t succeed, you have to be tough, otherwise you will be taken advantage of by others. To benefit others, so Yili, although it is not as rewarding as conquest, but compared carefully, it is more secure. Even without you, I would still associate with the people of Sheba, and it would be nice to earn an extra princess."

He paused, then turned around suddenly and said to Xia Hourong: "Youquan, you said that if you, as my special envoy, stay in Zefar City and preside over the military affairs here, is it feasible?"

Xia Hourong was taken aback, and shook his head again and again: "Your Highness, how can I take on such an important responsibility? You'd better choose talents."

"Sage?" The corner of Sun Shao's mouth twitched: "Who else can be more talented than you? Don't doubt yourself, I can tell you that although this is not a grassland, if you want to rule the roost here, it is very important to build a strong cavalry. Important. Ziwen was originally the most suitable candidate, but he doesn’t like political affairs. I’m worried that he’s too strong to get along well with these people. It's logical, maybe I can be the king of Sheba in the future, and at that time, Sheba will become the territory of our Han people?"

"I'm from Wei." Xia Hourong was surprised and happy, but also reminded with some worry.

"Wei people are also Han people." Sun Shao gave him an unhappy look: "Do you think you are not Han people?"

"Of course not." Xia Hourong said with an embarrassed smile, "I'm just worried that others will gossip."

"Don't worry so much." Sun Shao laughed: "To deal with Sassan, it is not something that I, the Yue Kingdom, can independently undertake. Lu Xun was originally a general of the Wu State, and I have already pulled him over. What about you, the North General of Wei Guozhen? As for Ziwen, he is the chariot and cavalry general of my Han Dynasty, and with me, the king of Yue, we can be regarded as a multi-party alliance. If you really want to get Sassan, your majesty will definitely reward you for your merits. When the time comes, you will be rewarded It’s not impossible for Bahou or something. What’s the point of staying in Wei State? The Xianbei people have been taken care of by you. Northern Xinjiang won’t make any great achievements for at least 20 years, and there is General Cao Zijian on the western front. You This Zhenbei general has no business to do."

Xia Hourong thought for a while, and smiled strangely: "Your Majesty, although Arabia is a vast land, there are only a few real fertile lands. You gave me Sheba first, and the other generals of Yue Kingdom will not have any objections." Do you give them a desert where no grass grows?"

"You don't have to worry about this." Sun Shao said confidently: "I have enough land to reward them. As for the desert, I have to keep it for myself. I am reluctant to give it to them even if they want it."

"Then I'll be disrespectful."

"Wait, I haven't finished my words yet. There is no such thing as a beautiful woman and a piece of land for nothing in the world. Listen to me. After you sit in Sheba, you will use the people of Sheba to gradually develop northward. In the Red Sea Conquer along the coast one by one and open up the passage to the Sassanid. Now we are just laying out the layout and have no strength to compete face-to-face with the Sassanids, but this day will come sooner or later, and even one day, we will have to compete with the Romans. "Sun Shao put away his smile: "This is not something that happens overnight. It may take ten years, maybe 50 years, maybe hundreds of years, but there are some things we have to start doing now. Besides, this is just our plan, the world Things, those who are unsatisfactory, we have the heart of conspiring against others, and people also have the heart of conspiring against ourselves. Ardashir is a generation of heroes, and we must prevent him from preemptive strikes. To build Sheba into a platform that can be attacked and defended, Ruxuwu in the Arabian Sea, do you understand?"

Xia Hourong replied seriously: "I understand."

Sun Shao immediately sent people to Zefar City to negotiate with Samhu again. When he heard that Xia Hourong could stay permanently in Zefar City and Adela didn't have to leave him, Samhu finally let go of the last trace of worry, and he was satisfied. He agreed to Sun Shao's conditions and decided to build a new castle outside Zefal as the residence of Xia Hourong and Adela after their wedding.As soon as the news that Xia Hourong was going to marry Princess Adela of Sheba came out, the merchants along the way were very happy. They all went outside the palace to congratulate Princess Adele. With a smile on his face.

Just when Samhu was happy, Ardashir was exposed. He was preparing his troops and preparing to conquer Armenia again. He suddenly received a report saying that there was a serious shortage of their weapons. I can't get enough weapons, and I don't want to work for him anymore.After further investigation, he found that this was actually a good thing jointly organized by the Yue people and the Guishuang people. They unanimously interrupted the supply of Uzi iron. Many highly skilled craftsmen left Taixifeng one after another, and went to Tianzhu and Funan with the merchant ships of the Yue Kingdom to make a living.

At the same time, a similar situation occurred in the city of Damascus controlled by the Romans. The Roman Emperor Alexander urgently ordered Quintus to go to Axum to see the King of Yue, Sun Shao.

(End of this chapter)