Chapter 911 0906 [The bandits dare to rob the mission?]
The fleet passed the Chalukya Dynasty behind them, and the Solange Dynasty in front of them.
The approximate territory of Solanchi country is equivalent to the Indian state of Gujarat, plus a small part of Rajasthan.
This country is in its heyday.
Maritime trade flourished, handicrafts developed, and religion and culture were tolerant and prosperous.
Brahma was not well received in the entire Indian region, but the Solanchi Kingdom built a temple for him.
The Jains were driven into exile, but Solanchi was willing to take them in. Therefore, the Jains migrated here one after another and created splendid literature and art.
Even Zoroastrianism can gain a foothold in Solange Country. Some Solange silver coins have the king's portrait printed on the front and the Zoroastrian altar printed on the reverse.
After spending a few days wandering around the largest seaport in Solange, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty liked it very much.
Because this country, which is relatively unusual in India, seems normal in the eyes of the Chinese.
For example, the White Sect of Jainism can be seen everywhere. They advocate that both men and women can obtain salvation, and even advocate that all castes are equal. They are keen on handicrafts and commerce, advocate getting rich through labor, and allow monks to get married and have children.
"This country should be able to prosper in India." Hu Quan commented.
Zhu Xiaozhong shook his head repeatedly: "Brahma God is responsible for birth (creation), and Jainism also opposes violence. This country respects these two things, just like a rich man who only knows how to make money, but there are countless robbers living around. I'm afraid we will encounter something along the way.
Among the Indian countries, the first one to perish was the Solanchi country."
Yu Yunwen also said: "Yes, the Solanqi country is too civilized. Civilization is naturally a good thing, but it also needs swords to protect it. I heard from merchants that although this country is becoming more and more prosperous, and its culture and education are becoming more and more prosperous, in the past hundred years
Since then, about one-fifth of the country has been lost."
The royal family of this country is a branch of the Rajputs.
The bloodline composition is extremely complex, and is a mixture of various ethnic groups from the East and the West, such as Sezhong, Kushan, Xiongnu, Parthian, Greek, and Gida (from the Mongolian grasslands).
Hearing that an envoy from the Ming Dynasty had arrived at the port, the king sent the prime minister to ride on a fast horse to contact them.
They gave away large amounts of gold, silver, ivory and gems in exchange for silk, porcelain, lacquerware and other items from the Ming Dynasty.
He also requested that envoys be sent to accompany him to the Ming Dynasty for cultural and artistic exchanges, hoping to obtain paintings, sculptures, poems, etc. from the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming envoys were very happy and liked to deal with such cultural people.
The fleet set off again, with Hu Quan taking notes in the cabin.
He spoke highly of Solanchi and believed that this country was the most civilized, prosperous and foreign country from Champa to India.
Continuing forward, there is the Sindhi Dynasty (Sindh Province, Pakistan).
The place is now semi-green, and there are many high-caste nobles who are directly descendants of Arabs and Persians.
Maritime trade is also basically controlled by Arabs and Persians, and the bottom class is mostly Brahmans who advocate agriculture.
Further ahead is Makran (the coastal area at the junction of Iran and Pakistan), which is very poor and has fierce folk customs.
Pirates are extremely rampant!
Many pirates from around the Persian Gulf also fled to the Makran area after being driven away by their own forces.
However, the Ming fleet was not easy to mess with at first glance, and these pirates chose to avoid it.
…
Arriving at the Persian Gulf, the accompanying Seljuk and Arab merchants guided the official and private fleets of the Ming Dynasty to conduct trade in various ports in the Persian Gulf.
Wherever he goes, he is bound to cause a sensation.
But the real top-quality goods had to be shipped to Isfahan and sold to Seljuk Sultan Sanjar.
The envoy was allowed to take three hundred soldiers with him, landed at the northern port of the Persian Gulf, and headed north along the rugged valley.
Officials accompanied him throughout the journey, but the accompanying translator was a businessman.
Since 200 of the 300 soldiers who protected the Ming envoys were cavalry, the local officials were very considerate and recruited civilian laborers and fodder for them. They also arranged livestock for the Ming cavalry to help carry armor so that the horses could fully rest.
Yu Yunwen looked at the conscripted civilian husbands. They were all in ragged clothes, with disheveled faces, and their expressions were as numb as walking corpses.
Yu Yunwen couldn't help but sigh: "The people of Seljuk are not as good as those of the former Song Dynasty."
Hu Quan said: "The people here are very poor, far inferior to the Solanchi country in India."
After traveling for a day, we arrived at a mountain village.
While resting and eating, Cheng Yu took a walk near the village, cleared the weeds, looked at it, and came back and said: "The cultivated land has not been restored, and the village is also dilapidated. I heard that the Seljuqs have been fighting for many years, and the territory is extremely vast. It seems that they are militaristic.
In exchange for it.”
Yu Yunwen smiled and said: "Just like the Jin Kingdom, it's really normal."
After traveling on land for several days, they encountered a large city.
Cheng Yu asked: "The city walls here are tall and strong, and there are many business trips. Why are some houses abandoned?"
The merchant glanced at the accompanying Seljuk officials and explained in Chinese: "This is called Shiraz. It was once the largest and richest city. Because of the war, the city was in ruins and has only begun to recover in the past twenty years."
The merchant's answer was obviously reserved.
Shiraz, the largest city in Persia, was destroyed by the Seljuks!
Even the Seljuk capital Isfahan was razed to the ground by them a hundred years ago.
Wherever the Seljuk army fought, there was ruins. They deliberately destroyed cities, villages, and farmland, and allowed their war horses to eat farmers' crops, making it impossible for their enemies to resume production.
The entire Persian region was defeated by the Seljuqs and society regressed for hundreds of years.
Cheng Yu asked again: "Is the Seljuk system a feudal system, or a county system like the Ming Dynasty?"
The merchant replied: "The Seljuks used to be a Turkic nomadic tribe. After they came, they divided noble lords into feudal lords. In the beginning, lords could not be hereditary and would be replaced every two or three years. They were only allowed to collect taxes and could not recruit people at will. This is no longer possible.
, the lords are completely hereditary, and the people in the territory are like their slaves. Including merchants, they are also extorted by the nobles at will."
"That's feudalism." Cheng Yu nodded.
The crowd left Shiraz and continued walking for one day when they suddenly heard the sound of a trumpet.
The accompanying officials were shocked and rushed to the valley ahead on horseback, shouting at the approaching cavalry: "This is the Sultan's guest, you should leave quickly!"
"Cavalry wear armor, cavalry wear armor!"
"The infantrymen don't wear armor anymore, form a protective formation to buy time!"
Zhu Xiaozhong never expected that he would be attacked even though he was accompanied by Seljuk officials.
There were four to five hundred cavalrymen who came in surprise, but they didn't even have armor. Their weapons were swords, guns, bows and arrows.
Cheng Yu asked the merchant: "What's going on with the enemy?"
The merchant panicked: "Seljuk herdsmen. They used to be nomadic in the north. After conquering the Persian plateau, some Seljuks lived in cities and some learned to farm. But there are still many Seljuks who don't want to
Change, they camped near the city and made a living by robbing merchants and farmers."
"How dare they rob a foreign mission accompanied by officials?" Cheng Yu couldn't believe it.
The merchant said: "We didn't expect these people to be so courageous!"
The Seljuk official who went to shout the message was shot to death by several arrows.
The Seljuk herdsmen who came to rob came from several nearby tribes. They found out that the Ming envoys were very wealthy and wanted to rob even if they offended the Sultan. They often did this kind of thing.
One hundred Ming infantry without armor lined up and raised their swords, shields and spears.
Four to five hundred Seljuk herdsmen rushed towards them. They slowed down and planned to shoot arrows. It seemed that they planned to defeat them before charging.
"Raise the gun!"
"Raise the crossbow!"
Flintlock muskets and crossbows fired volleys in turn, as did bows and arrows from the opposite side.
On the Ming army's side, two people were killed by arrows on the spot, and more than twenty others were shot and injured.
The enemy suffered greater casualties, with more dead and fewer wounded.
The firearms were incomprehensible to the Seljuk herdsmen. They subconsciously chose to retreat, and then discussed what to do.
After a while, these guys came back with a vengeance, planning to charge directly into the battle.
The two hundred Ming Dynasty knights had already put on their armor. Zhu Xiaozhong personally led the charge and roared: "Leave no one behind!"
How could the regular cavalry wearing medium armor take the unarmored light cavalry seriously?
The Seljuk herdsmen shot arrows while retreating, but the horses of the Ming cavalry were also wearing light vests and were not afraid of flying kites at all.
The Ming cavalry simply charged at full speed, and the enemy retreated while shooting, and the distance was quickly closed.
As soon as they met, the herdsmen's cavalry were defeated. No one dared to fire arrows anymore, and they all beat their horses wildly and fled.
After pursuing for nearly half a day, Zhu Xiaozhong killed more than 200 enemies and captured more than 100 horses. The remaining enemies finally escaped. They were lightly armed and their horses were fast, and they were more familiar with the terrain here.
Returning to the merchant, Zhu Xiaozhong grabbed the merchant and asked, "Where are these bastards stationed?"
The merchant said: "Several tribes must have joined forces, and one tribe does not have so many cavalry. The nearest nomadic tribe is near Shiraz. They usually graze in the mountains, and occasionally come out to rob caravans and farmers."
"Lead the way!" Zhu Xiaozhong scolded.
Zhu Xiaozhong was really angry. He had just learned of the situation and another wounded soldier had died.
That means three people died!
Under the leadership of merchants, Zhu Xiaozhong sent cavalry to search and finally found the tribal garrison in a ravine.
The young and strong people are not here, they have been killed and dispersed long ago.
There were only old, weak, women and children left in the tribe. Zhu Xiaozhong was so angry that he didn't care about the situation of the other party. He rushed over and hacked them randomly.
Then, burn all the tents and bring back the livestock and belongings.
Moreover, they also cut off the heads of old and weak women and children, and tied them all to the horses together with the heads of the herdsmen and cavalry, and continued to march.
Cheng Yu sighed: "Alas!"
He really wanted to say that there was no need to kill the women and children, but he did not speak after all.
Yu Yunwen said: "If foreign missions dare to rob, what kind of chaos will the Seljuk country be like? This Sultan is incompetent in governing the country."
Hu Quan said with a smile: "The Seljuk envoys are still in Kaifeng preaching that their monarch is enlightened. How can all religions be allowed to coexist, and scholars of all nationalities be hired with huge sums of money? Persian literature has been revived. However, under his rule, bandits are rampant and agriculture is rampant.
If it is not prosperous, such a country will be destroyed sooner or later."