Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Upon learning that he was about to take up his post at the Maritime Trade Office, Jian Xun, through his intern teacher, specially copied down a lot of diplomatic materials.

Pu Mawu was completely confused: "I'm sorry, I've never heard of the Kingdom of Fulin."

Jian Xun ran back to the cabin, took out the notes he had copied, turned to the section on the Kingdom of Fulin, and said:

"Decades ago, the ruler of the Kingdom of Fulin was called Mielingkaisa."

"The messenger he sent was named Judge Nisdulingsmeng."

"Gaisa wore red and yellow clothes and wrapped his head with a silk cloth woven with gold thread."

“Every March, we sit on a red bed to worship at the Buddhist temple.”

“Noble ministers and officials all wore turbans and rode horses, dressed in green, scarlet, pink, and brown clothes.”

"In the Kingdom of Fulin, gold and silver are used as currency. This coin has no hole and is printed with Maitreya Buddha."

Pu Mawu was even more confused; he had never seen a coin with the image of Maitreya Buddha printed on it before.

Jian Xun continued to prompt: "All the rulers of the Fulin Kingdom were called Gaisa."

What should we do?

Caesar!

Pumawu instantly realized that Fulin Kingdom was none other than Byzantium.

At that time, the elderly Nikephoros III, facing a situation of internal and external troubles, found an ancient map.

In the far east of that map, marked is a powerful empire called Taugas (Tang).

He summoned two nobles and instructed them, "The Turks have put me on the throne, but they will also send troops to depose me at any time."

“I heard from people from the grasslands that the Tang Dynasty in the east was the nemesis of the Turks.”

“Bring the most precious gifts from Constantinople and ask the Tang Dynasty to send troops from the east to attack the Turks.”

“As the Caesar of Greece and Rome, I grant the King of Tang the right to rule the East.”

The two nobles crossed the Iranian plateau, traversed the Pamir Mountains to reach the Western Regions, and traveled through the Huangshui Valley to Kaifeng, where they had a thrilling and perilous encounter with Emperor Shenzong of Song.

The two then engaged in a cross-server chat.

The envoy claimed that Byzantium was a diplomatic ally of the Tang Dynasty and requested Emperor Shenzong of Song to send troops to deal with the Turks (Seljuks).

Emperor Shenzong of Song asked whether these Turks were colluding with the Western Xia.

Pu Mawu pretended not to understand anything and replied, "We have never heard of the Kingdom of Fulin."

Jian Xun then asked, "How far is your country, Sedu, from the Abbasid Caliphate?"

This question is even more difficult to answer.

For the sake of convenience in doing business, all Western maritime merchants, including Seljuk merchants, called themselves "Great Food Merchants".

Because the Sultan sent an envoy, Bhumibol dared not speak carelessly and revealed the true name of his country.

The Seljuk Empire, of course, also had large cities.

Its former capital, Baghdad, had a population of over 300,000.

Its new capital, Nashapur, has a population of two to three hundred thousand.

But there are very few large cities like this. For example, Ganpu Town, the outer port of Hangzhou, was a city in Seljuk due to its increasingly prosperous maritime trade.

They traveled north by canal, passing countless towns along the way, until Abu went from shock to numbness.

Upon arriving in Chenliu, Aibu finally couldn't help but ask, "How many cities like this does the Ming Dynasty have?"

Jian Xun also answered without hesitation: "Several thousand."

"With so many cities and a large population, how will your monarch govern? Won't the local nobles rebel?" Abu asked.

Chapter 3286 The State of Scholars

Jian Xun said, "Our monarch is called the Emperor, who governs the country in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people."

"The country was divided into many provinces, and each province was further divided into many prefectures, counties, and districts. The emperor dispatched officials to each province, prefecture, county, and district to govern the local areas."

After being translated by Pu Mawu, the meaning of these words was completely changed.

"In the countries where Peach Blossom Stone is located, the sky god is worshipped as the supreme god."

"The kings of each country are called emperors, and each emperor receives the blessing of the sky god."

"The emperor dispatched officials to govern the various regions in the name of the sky god."

Abu pondered the question carefully, then asked, "Are there that many officials available?"

Jian Xun replied, "Every three years, the emperor selects several hundred new officials through the imperial examination."

Pu Mawu translates: "In the various countries of Taohuashi, there is an examination called the Imperial Examination."

"The examination was a process in which the emperor would ask questions and the scholars would answer them with pen and paper. All scholars could participate."

"As long as you pass the exam, you can be appointed as an official."

Abu was greatly surprised upon hearing this, but then felt envious, thinking that this place was a paradise for scholars.

He himself is a scholar!

The Seljuks were a state established by a nomadic people. Although they were good at fighting, their ability to govern was questionable.

They relied on the conquered local nobles to govern the regions, and the sultan would also send some officials.

The officials in the capital, as well as those sent out, were mostly Persians.

These were Persians and nobles from various regions who assisted the Seljuk rulers in governing the country.

After being confused for a long time, Abu asked again, "Who commands the local armies?"

Jian Xun continued to boast, "The central government has the Privy Council and the Ministry of War, which are responsible for recruiting, training, and mobilizing troops."

"The emperor appointed and dismissed generals to command these armies."

"Our Great Ming Dynasty currently has a mighty army of two million!"

Abu was taken aback by the two million troops and pointed at the canal soldiers on the ship: "Is this the kind of army they have?"

Jian Xun smiled and said, "These are the grain transport troops, who are specifically responsible for transporting grain, and they also transport some other supplies."

"They don't usually fight, but when they do, they have soldiers, and each soldier wears iron armor."

"The Ming Dynasty also has a million armored soldiers."

Abu was skeptical, instinctively feeling there was some exaggeration involved, but the prosperous towns along the way made him more inclined to believe it.

The following day, the cargo ships docked at the warehouses on the outskirts of the eastern suburbs to unload their cargo.

The envoys from the Seljuk Empire were taken by Jian Xun to transfer to another official ship.

The banks of the Bian River were densely packed with warehouses, and heavily armed soldiers in iron armor guarded them.

While waiting to change ships, Abu secretly peeked around for a while and then asked, "Is it all filled with food?"

Jian Xun nodded and said, "There is grain, and other supplies as well."

Abu secretly swallowed, thinking about how much food they must have stockpiled.

He said to Pu Mawu, "Ask again how many countries Taohuashi actually has."

Jian Xun stood with his hands behind his back, proudly saying, "The Great Tang Dynasty has been destroyed and is now scattered into more than ten kingdoms. Apart from the Jin Dynasty, the rest are all vassal states of the Great Ming Dynasty."

"Even the Jin Kingdom has been defeated by the Ming Dynasty, losing cities and territory. It will surely be destroyed by our Ming Dynasty within three years!"

"XX-Stan is also known as Peach Blossom Stone. Was it also a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty?" Abu asked again.

Jian Xun didn't understand at all, not knowing that it referred to the Black Khanate in the historical records of the Former Song Dynasty, but he blurted out: "That was of course a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty!"

Abu was unaware that the Sultan had already forced the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate to submit. He decided to go back and report to the Sultan that the Western Karakhanid Khanate was two-faced, submitting to both the Sultan and the Ming Emperor.

The official boat that was available for transfer finally arrived, and everyone boarded to continue their journey.

Beyond the warehouse area lies the suburban residential area of ​​Beijing, where buildings are increasing and the population is becoming more dense.

For a full ten miles, both banks of the Bian River were lined with residential areas, and there were also streets along the river.

About three or four miles from the city wall, the streets no longer follow the linear pattern along the Bian River, but instead radiate outwards in patches from the city wall as the center.

Boats, cars, people, and goods are everywhere!

Abu had lived in Baghdad for a long time and also in Nishapur for nearly ten years; both cities have populations of two to three hundred thousand.

But nothing impressed him more than the Kaifeng before him!

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" a coachman shouted.

This is a large flatbed wagon, pulled by more than twenty mules, with a cargo capacity of about two or three tons.

This type of vehicle first appeared during the Northern Song Dynasty and was used until the Republic of China era.

In the novel *Water Margin*, the heroes cleverly seized the birthday gifts by robbing the Taiping cart.

These flatbed wagons are used to transport pigs into Tokyo every morning, and each wagon can carry dozens of pigs.

Apart from Guangzhou, Aibu did not enter any cities along the way, but only stayed at seaports or inland river docks.

Jian Xun deliberately led him around from the due south. As soon as they entered the city, they saw the Qingfenglou Hotel in the distance, followed by a clock tower with four clocks.

Abu was dazzled by the sights and gradually shifted his attention from the large buildings to the passersby.

Many people here wear silk, and even those who don't wear silk come in a wide variety of colors.

Chapter 3287 Unbelievable

Silk was a favorite of the Seljuks, whose sultan was historically defeated by Yelü Dashi.

To highlight the brilliance and power of the Sultan's enemies, Yelü Dashi was described as "handsome and elegant, wearing only silk"!

After a quick tour of the Sifang Pavilion and a short rest, Aibu couldn't wait to take out paper and pen and string together his scattered notes from the journey.

"Peach Blossom Stone was once unified, but later split into more than ten kingdoms..."

"There is now a country called the Great Ming, which is the richest in the Peach Blossom Stone Land."

"The king of the Ming Dynasty is called the Emperor, the king of all kings of Peach Blossom Stone..."

“When I passed through India, there was a powerful country there called Chola.”

"After another thirty days of sailing, we arrived at a large country called Angkor."

"There were also some small countries along the way. Finally, they landed in Guangzhou, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and made contact with officials of the Ming Dynasty."

“Guangzhou is a city that is no less than Nishapur and Baghdad, and I happened to be there when a wedding took place.”

"It's unbelievable that the servants carrying the bride's dowry were all dressed in silk..."

"The Ming official who took me to see the emperor was named Jian. He was a very talkative scholar, and he even knew about Rome, the empire's mortal enemy."

"According to the information he provided, decades ago, Julius Caesar of Rome sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty requesting reinforcements..."

"The Ming Dynasty does not believe in our religion, nor in Zoroastrianism, but instead worships the God of the Sky, who is their supreme deity."

“Including the Ming Dynasty, every king in the Peach Blossom Stone Land claims to be the son of the Sky God.”

"Therefore, they can gain the obedience of their subjects, and there will be no rebellion, because rebellion would incur the wrath of the sky god..."

"The Ming Dynasty has many port cities, each with hundreds of thousands of residents."

"But the capital of the Ming Dynasty was not on the coast. They dug a very long canal that could be traveled directly from the sea to the capital."

"I've heard that the Ming Dynasty, like the Seljuks, is vast, but canals connect it to every city."

"Therefore, their shipbuilding industry is highly developed, and the emperor can send troops by ship to any village in the empire..."

"If anyone wants to start a war with the Ming Dynasty, I do not recommend a naval war, because that is destined to fail."

"There are many scholars here, and all the officials of the Ming Dynasty are selected from among the scholars."

“They had an examination in which the emperor would personally ask questions, and the scholars would write down the answers on paper.”

“Every three years, a group of the most outstanding scholars are selected as officials through examinations.”

"The selected scholars all possessed profound knowledge and the noblest moral character."