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

Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial said,

"According to the accompanying maritime official, this country of Sedu was once the Abbasid Caliphate."

"After they destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate, they continued to trade with the former Song Dynasty as the Abbasid Caliphate."

Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "Understood, I will summon him on a chosen day."

The Abbasid Caliphate still exists, but its rulers have become puppets.

When the Seljuk Empire captured Baghdad, it took control of the Caliph.

The Seljuk Sultan also forcibly married the Caliph's daughter, attempting to smoothly transfer his legitimacy through marriage.

Unfortunately, Seljuk also collapsed.

The current Sultan was forged through bloodshed and has no blood of a Caliph, and he doesn't even have his capital in Baghdad.

Of course, this sultan also arranged marriages everywhere.

For example, the prince of the Western Karakhanid Khanate was the nephew of the Seljuk Sultan.

Yelü Dashi's rapid expansion was largely due to a series of actions by the Seljuk Sultan.

In order to strengthen his control over the Western Karakhanid Khanate, he plotted to murder the king and then send a governor to govern it.

When they realized the governor couldn't handle it, they let his nephew, the prince, succeed him.

After much turmoil, the Western Karakhanid Khanate was plunged into constant internal strife, and Yelü Dashi seized the opportunity to go and reap a great advantage (before the decisive battle, many opponents chose to side with Yelü Dashi).

"Let local governments post notices to raise the purchase price of mules, and let the provincial military commands be responsible for the purchase."

After saying that, Zhao Yuan flicked his whip: "Giddy up!"

People's fervent love for mules began in the Ming Dynasty; those things were just too useful.

They can be fed roughage freely, are strong and good-tempered, and are easier to manage than a stubborn donkey.

During the late Qing and Republican periods, European and American countries imported Chinese mules in droves, and they played a role in both World War I and World War II.

At its peak, the number of mules in the world exceeded the number of horses and donkeys combined.

In the future, when sending troops to the grasslands and the Western Regions, Zhao Yuan will show the nomadic peoples the power of mules.

Mule-drawn four-wheeled chariots will become a nightmare for the steppe cavalry.

Privy Council officials and Crown Prince's guards all rode after His Majesty at breakneck speed, only gradually slowing down when they reached the suburban residential area.

After they entered the city, the Seljuk envoy also came out of the Four Directions Pavilion for a stroll.

Abu saw many people waving and cheering at the group.

He pointed at Zhao Yuan and asked, "Who is that?"

Jian Xun was temporarily summoned by the Court of State Ceremonial, accompanied by other officials from the Court of State Ceremonial.

"No disrespect to His Majesty is permitted!"

The officials rebuked them.

Jian Xun pressed Aibu's arm down and reminded him, "You are pointing at His Majesty the Great Ming. You must not be rude."

Pu Mawu translated: "That is a scholar prince from the Great Ming Dynasty. It is impolite to point directly at him with your hand."

Abu asked, "Are we, as foreign envoys, required to kneel?"

Jian Xun replied, "You don't have to kneel, but you must perform the proper rites."

Abu quickly used traditional Persian etiquette.

These guys were too conspicuous; there were even black slaves among their followers. Zhao Yuan could see them from a great distance.

As His Majesty and his entourage passed by, Abu finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously, "Don't the common people here need to kneel before the prince?"

Jian Xun stood tall and proudly declared, "His Majesty the Emperor has decreed that no one is allowed to perform the kneeling ceremony except on major occasions such as the enthronement ceremony and sacrificial rites."

"If you kneel and worship haphazardly, you will be punished."

Abu was stunned.

He returned to the Sifang Pavilion, took out paper and pen, and added a few more words: "The emperors and officials of the Ming Dynasty earned the respect of the people through their noble and benevolent virtues."

“Jian told me that people were only allowed to kneel and worship on occasions such as the emperor’s ascension to the throne, his marriage, or the worship of gods and ancestors.”

"Kneeling in ordinary settings, even before nobles, is punishable by law..."

"Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's royal family and officials were deeply respected and loved by the people."

Chapter 3291 Bragging

The prince rode in on horseback, dressed in the most magnificent silk robes in the world, his bearing elegant and his demeanor graceful.

His subjects spontaneously parted to line the streets to greet him, waving their hands and cheering...

Sick again

I felt unwell at noon, so I took a nap in the afternoon.

My wife also felt cold and thought it was just a common cold, so she took a cold medicine.

I took my wife to the hospital emergency room; she has a fever of 38.5 degrees Celsius.

I'm fine, my temperature is normal, but I have a terrible headache.

.....

In distant Samarkand, the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar led tens of thousands of troops to quell the rebellion.

The incident began when a local lord in the Western Karakhanid Khanate instigated his prince to demand the throne from King Arslan Khan. In reality, the local lord supported the prince's attempt to usurp the throne.

Upon learning the news, another prince immediately killed the rebellious lord and prince.

A people called "Garkaria" took the opportunity to raise an army and rebel.

They captured Samarkand, and the king of the Western Karakhanid Khanate fled.

Then they borrowed troops from Seljuk Sultan Sanjar to quell the rebellion.

Last year, Sanjar seized the opportunity to lead his troops to attack and easily defeated the Garkalia rebels, helping Arslan Khan recapture the capital.

However, Sanjar refused to leave and even went hunting.

While hunting, Sanjar encountered some cavalrymen spying on him, and he captured and interrogated one of them.

These cavalrymen confessed that Arslan Khan had sent them to carry out the assassination.

Enraged, Sanjar immediately led his troops to attack Samarkand.

If you want to add a crime, there is nothing wrong with it.

The Seljuk Sultan clearly wanted to take the opportunity to annex the Western Karakhanid Khanate, and orchestrated this whole thing himself.

Sanjar quickly captured Arslan Khan and sent the king to Balkh under house arrest.

However, since it was not convenient to directly annex the Western Karakhanid Khanate, he appointed his nephew Hassan Tegin as governor.

His nephew's full name contains the character "Peach Blossom Stone," and legend has it that he has the blood of a Tang Dynasty princess.

Only those with such bloodlines can rule the Karakhanid Khanate!

After gaining control of the Western Karakhanid Khanate through his nephew, the Seljuk Sultan continued his eastward campaign.

Two years ago, the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate had just experienced a major war and was unable to cope with the Seljuk invasion.

After suffering two consecutive defeats, King Ahmed bin Sanha decisively submitted to Sultan Sanjar.

Sanjar accepted the other party's allegiance and said, "From now on, you must no longer obstruct caravans. Silk from Peach Stone must be transported to Seljuk in an uninterrupted flow."

Ben Sanha knelt before Sanjar: "Great Sultan, we would never dare to disobey your will."

Sanjar then asked, "Just how many Peach Blossom Stone Khans are there?"

Ben Sanha replied, "Only I am the true Khan of Peach Blossom Stone; all others are imposters."

Sanjar said, "But I heard from merchants in the country that you can also get to Peach Blossom Stone by sea."

"Moreover, he also brought back the finest silk, a precious fabric called Shu brocade."

Do you have any Shu brocade here?

Ben Sanha replied, "Only silk from Kashgar is true Peach Blossom Stone silk."

"That silk called Shu brocade must be a forgery by craftsmen."

Sanjar knew the man was lying, but instead of exposing him immediately, he summoned the scholars of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

Soon, Sanjar obtained a copy of the "Great Dictionary of Turkic Languages" and read it carefully and meticulously.

He found a record of peach blossom stones in the book.

Peach Blossom Stone, also known as Mo Qin or Qin.

Shangqin is in the east, and it is the real Peach Blossom Stone.

The Central Qin, located in the north, was called the Khitan.

Lower Qin was located in Balhan, which is Kashgar.

The Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, which has now submitted to him, is nothing more than a lower Qin state.

Sanjar thought to himself, "The Great Ming Kingdom that the sea merchants mentioned must be Shang Qin, the real Peach Blossom Stone."

"The beautiful and noble Shu brocade also came from Shangqin."

Sanjar engaged in political marriages everywhere, and he had many nephews. He called over another nephew and instructed him:

"You will lead your men to the Ming Dynasty, via Kashgar."

“That is the real Peach Blossom Stone. I have already sent envoys there, but it may be risky for them to travel by boat.”

The nephew, named Suleiman, knelt and obeyed, saying, "Great Sultan, please explain your mission."

Sanjar said, “Spread my fame far and wide. I am the King of Kings, the Seljuk Sultan.”

“From Baghdad to Kashgar, from Khwarezm to India, everywhere is my vassal state.”

“I have marriage alliances with many nations, and all the royal children here have my or my sisters’ noble blood in their veins.”

Suleiman said, "Your great name is praised by all nations."

Sanjar said, "The Khan of Lower Qin here claims to have the bloodline of Peach Blossom Stone, and I have also formed a marriage alliance with them."

"But the real Peach Blossom Stone Khan is in the far east."

"The King of the Great Ming, the true Peach Blossom Khan, is as noble as I, the Seljuk Sultan."

"Since they are all the most noble kings, they should arrange a marriage between each other."

Chapter 3292 Marrying a Princess Again

"My sisters are all married, but I still have a daughter who is not yet married."

"I intend to marry my most beautiful and intelligent daughter to the King or Prince of the Ming Dynasty."

"You should inquire first, and if the king is under forty years old, then you should arrange a marriage alliance with him."

"If the king is over forty years old, then he should marry a prince."

"At the same time, you must also ask for the hand in marriage of the princess of Peach Blossom Stone on my behalf."

"I will arrange for the prince to marry the princess of the Ming Dynasty, so that their descendants will have the noble blood of both Seljuk and Peach Blossom Stone."

Sanjar's series of marriages were all aimed at expanding his territory.

The Ming Dynasty was Shangqin, and it was the real Peach Blossom Stone.

His son married a princess of the Ming Dynasty, and his descendants thus possessed the bloodline of the Peach Blossom Stone.

Moreover, they possess the noble bloodline of the Upper Qin, easily defeating the group of Lower Qin Khans in the Western Regions.

He doesn't even need to wait for his grandson to grow up; he can use his grandson's name to further control the two Karakhanid Khanates.

The states established by nomadic peoples had too loose a political system, making them difficult to conquer for long periods using only military force.

Sanjar could only expand in this way: he turned all the nobles in his territory, as well as the khans of the surrounding vassal states, into his relatives.