Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1637 Three Missions
Li Shouxin came soon.

Shao Shude got up personally and made a pot of tea for him, which attracted the attention of everyone in Jixianyuan.

We copy books every day, and even the inscriptions and epitaphs found in a certain place are rubbed back and compiled into books, and our eyes are almost blind.Back then, when the five elders came to copy books, two of them died violently. I have never seen such enthusiasm from a saint.

Sour, sour!
"Your Majesty..." Li Shouxin was also a little moved.

"Sit down, drink tea first, let's have a chat." Shao Shude laughed and pulled Li Shouxin to his seat.

Li Shouxin's eyes were slightly red, and he was extremely moved.

Of course, as the sage's trusted confidant, Li Shouxin knew Jinshang too well.

To put it bluntly, if you are polite to others, you must ask for something.As for what exactly he was asking for, he probably had a good idea.

Isn't it just a mission to the West!

As early as 30 years ago, his father Li Hang, as the saint's most trusted lobbyist, went to various towns many times and made great contributions to the great cause of Huangxia.

My father is old and suffering from illnesses. He is currently taking care of himself at home, and it is impossible for him to go on missions any more.Then, this matter can only be done by him.

"Have Li Qing heard of Huarazmi?" Shao Shude asked.

"I've vaguely heard of it, and it seems that he is a very learned person in Persia." Li Shouxin said.

He's not bragging.When he was driving westward, he had indeed vaguely heard the name at Pull Khan, and privately guessed that this person should be quite famous.

"There are many sages in Persia." Shao Shude said.

Khwarizmi was born in Khwarazmi, and was active in China from Tang Dezong to Tang Xuanzong (780-850). He was a famous Persian mathematician and was called the "Father of Algebra". He wrote a book about 80 years ago. Book: Algebra.

The book systematically puts forward a series of concepts such as algebra, known number, unknown number, root, transposition, set term, and irrational number, and contains more than 800 examples. After being introduced to the West, it has been circulated as a standard textbook for hundreds of years.

He also wrote "Arithmetic".The system describes the decimal notation and decimal arithmetic, and has made great contributions to the popularization of decimal calculations in the world.

Indian numerals 0-9 were introduced to the West through his writings, known as "Arabic numerals", and soon replaced European Roman numerals (i.e., Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, etc.) - Shao Shude also intends to promote Indian numerals , instead of the traditional one, two, three, four, because it is very easy to use, and he is used to it.

Khwarizmi is also an astronomer and geographer.Because of his outstanding talent and outstanding contribution, the World Astronomical Union named a crater on the moon after him in 1973.

When Shao Shude also heard this name, he suddenly realized that this awesome man was so close to him.

The book "Algebra" exists in the Wisdom Palace Library in Baghdad, and there should be a small amount of it circulated outside, but you just need to look for it - in 1258, the Mongols broke through Baghdad, carried out a massacre, and burned the books in the library. Either throw it into the Tigris River and turn the river black...

Shao Shude didn't understand why the Mongols hated knowledge so much.

What are the books in the library bothering you?Why destroy it?incomprehensible.

"I want you to go to Baghdad, how about it? Dare you go?" Shao Shude asked.

"Why don't you dare?" Li Shouxin said: "Your Majesty has an order, so why not be afraid if you go through fire and water?"

"Okay, okay!" Shao Shude said with a smile: "Baghdad is the capital of black clothes and big food. This country is somewhat similar to the former Tang Dynasty. Although we often say 'Saman Persian country', strictly speaking, this Saman Persia is just In a feudal town under the black-clothed food, the Saman monarch is just a Jiedu envoy, and the king's master has robbed Khanna many times, and it is just a branch state under the jurisdiction of this feudal town."

"The relationship between the Baghdad court and the feudal towns is not quite harmonious. Those who are more particular will be paid tribute, and those who are not particular will only be honored on the surface, just like the three towns of Heshuo back then."

"If you want to go to Baghdad, you must not go to Samanbos." Shao Shude continued: "Because of the battles of the king's master in the Western Regions in the past few years, the Oghuz people looked at Da Xia differently. In addition, they surrendered The princes of the Uighurs who have passed through Balasagun and Talas intend to send envoys to the court to offer tribute."

"Of course, this kind of tribute is nothing. I won't be so vain that I think they surrendered. It's unlikely. But at least they are not enemies, and they will maintain a relatively good relationship with Daxia in the short term. You can borrow it."

After Pang Teqin led 20 Uyghurs to move westward, they once had a majestic presence west of Congling, and the Oghuz people once surrendered.

But that's old calendar!Now Ge Luolu people are not very obedient, let alone Ogus.

In a word, the male camel king has no cards!
But then again, if people don't buy your account, they are not necessarily enemies.The relationship between the tribes of Oguz and Persia is also very poor. They have the need to unite with Balasargon to fight against Persia.

"Your Majesty, after the minister arrives at Bala Sagon, can King Suiye send someone to escort him?" Li Shouxin asked.

"Yes." Shao Shude nodded, and said, "I will send a decree to Suiye and Gongyue to order my son and Ogurchak to send a few soldiers and horses to escort them along the way."

"After arriving in the pastoral areas of the Oguz tribes, first send someone to contact the Khazar Khanate. This country is not strong, so it shouldn't make it difficult for you to wait. After passing through their territory, find a way to contact Baghdad."

"Of course, the above are all my guesses. When you go on the ground, various and unexpected things will definitely happen, and you will need to adapt accordingly." Shao Shude said: "I will choose three hundred silver saddle straight warriors , carry the goods, led by Zhecong Ruan, they all listen to you, and everything is up to you.”

"Yin Anzhi is His Majesty's army, and General Zhe is a relative of the emperor..." Li Shouxin hesitated.

"It doesn't matter." Shao Shude said directly: "I have to be escorted by this kind of people, so I can rest assured. Ogurchak's people can be trusted, but they can't be trusted completely. At critical moments, they are still reliable."

"Your Majesty obeys the order." Li Shouxin replied, and after a pause, he asked again: "Your Majesty, may I ask what is the purpose of this trip?"

Shao Shude pondered for a while, and said, "There are three purposes."

"First, make friends with the Baghdad court and find a way to obtain the books in the library of the Wisdom Palace. There is no need for the original, just allow us to copy it. Or, spend money to buy books in the Dashiyu version."

"Your Majesty, it's not necessarily easy, is it?" Li Shouxin asked.

Shao Shude glanced at him approvingly.

Some courtiers would not question him or question him like this.Whatever you say, he nods in agreement, regardless of whether he can do it or not.

"It's hard." Shao Shude sighed; "Do your best to obtain it, this is also the most important task of this trip. Knowledge, although it is far away from Dashi, should be sought."

"Then you need to bring Gongsheng, the son of the Imperial College, who is proficient in Dashi, Persian, Turkic, and Sogdian." Li Shouxin said immediately: "Your Majesty, you'd better write a letter of credence yourself, and choose--choose something nice to say. , or have a few more chances."

"I will." Shao Shude said: "The collection of books in Wisdom Palace is all-encompassing. At first, most of them were Persian ancient books, and later there were many books from other countries. They also wrote a lot by themselves, which are very valuable. As the saying goes, Stone can be used to attack jade. Although my Chinese ancestors wrote countless books, the collection of books in the Wisdom Palace is generally complementary to the Chinese books. What we lack is what they are good at. What they lack is what we are good at."

Speaking of this, Shao Shude pondered for a while, and said: "If possible, I can exchange them with them. We Huaxia also have many books that are readily available, and some of them may be of interest to them."

"Your Majesty, is the cannibal interested in foreign books?" Li Shouxin asked.

"I'm interested, and even tried my best to search for it." Shao Shude said with certainty.

He remembered that in history, the Great Food King heard that the king of Sicily in Western Europe had a rich collection of books, so he wrote a letter to ask for the collection of books.For some unknown reason, the Sicilians actually gave it.

Moreover, most of the books in the Palace of Wisdom are foreign.In Persia, Greece, etc., the Arabs really didn't have much originality. After all, they started as desert horse bandits.

"Then, I will prepare a list of books, attach a general introduction, and see if the big cannibal is interested, in exchange." Li Shouxin said.

"Yes." Shao Shude nodded, and then said: "I heard that most of the scholars in Baghdad are not big cannibals, or even heretics. If possible, invite them to Luoyang, and I will give them everything they want. Property , mansions, beauties, officials, etc., so that they have no worries about food and clothing, and can do research and lead students with peace of mind."

"I understand." Li Shouxin understood Shao Shude's determination.

The former Tang Dynasty was very open, and a large number of foreign scholars lived in Chang'an.

When others are good, they learn immediately. They never think that he knows this and I don’t, so they feel ashamed and deliberately don’t learn.

Nor will one blindly reject others out of self-esteem, clinging to things that are backward and superficial because others have studied a certain aspect relatively deeply, while oneself have relatively shallow research in this aspect.

They are very pragmatic.I admit that you are better than me, and I don’t feel ashamed to ask, after I learn it, it’s my own.

It seems that the saint is also such a person.

"If they don't want to do this--" Shao Shude's face flashed sternly, and said: "I will let them know what a 'natural disaster' is."

Li Shouxin lowered his head.

The word "natural disaster" has gradually become popular in places such as Bahana and Talas in recent years, as a metaphor for the nomadic army that looted them.

For the Persians, the nomadic army is more terrifying than the Xia Kingdom's forbidden army.Because they are completely unreasonable, they burn, kill and loot everywhere, and they can do any heinous evil.Wherever they hit, where they ate, and where they were robbed, the damage caused was greater than that of Xia Guo's imperial army.

"The second task——" After finishing this matter, Shao Shude: "Draw a map, record the scenery along the way, and find out what tribes and tribes live within hundreds or even thousands of miles of where you go. Country. About the history and rumors of these tribes and countries, you can also make a rough record. To the west of Dashi, there is the 'Fushuo Country', see if you can get in touch."

Fufu is the Chinese name for the Byzantine Empire.

Byzantium has diplomatic relations with China.

In the 17th year of Zhenguan (643), Byzantine sent envoys to Chang'an to offer relics (red glass, green gold essence).

Li Shimin gave Lingqi back.

In the Tang Dynasty, Byzantium sent envoys to Chang'an seven times, the last time being in the early years of Xuanzong Tianbao.Because of the rise of the Arabs, in the next few times, they either entrusted people to come over indirectly, or they sent non-governmental missions - "Great Monk".

As for what "Fu Tu" means, the most likely reason is that Mu read "Ma", and when the address was passed on in the middle, it was passed on.Fufu may mean Rome, because their merchants call themselves "Rome" to the outside world.

However, the history of the Song Dynasty recorded that Eastern Rome sent envoys three times. This may not be the real Rome, but the Seljuk Turks. It's not the Great Qin."

Of course, it is also possible that it was the Roman emperor "supported" by the Turks.

"Song History" called it "Mieli Yiling Gaisa", so this person is probably the brother-in-law of Alexios I Komnenos, Nikephoros Melisenos Caesar, who was once captured by the Turks. "Supported" by the people, usurped the throne, and handed over the management of the Asian cities of the Eastern Roman Empire to the Turks.

The Romans can come to China many times, so why can’t China go there to have a look?Strange, there really is no such thing in history.

Is it because your legs are not as fast as others, or what?Shao Shude believes that the monarch still does not have this will.

What a coincidence, now he has the will!

Communication, communication, we must communicate more with outsiders, whether it is in a peaceful way or by force - if you don't fight, you don't know each other.

"The third thing is to establish a viable and stable business route." Shao Shude finally said: "The sea route has the advantages of the sea route, and the land route also has the advantages of the land route. It cannot be generalized. Moreover, this route can not only be used as a trade route, but also for culture and scholars. Communication is more important. I don’t like to build cars behind closed doors, but rather learn from each other’s strengths. With more cultural and commercial exchanges, Anxi Road and even Helong will not be in such a ghostly state, and the court can rule these areas better.”

Unfortunately, China is located at the eastern end of the Eurasian continent. If you want to communicate, you can only go to the Western Regions. After all, the sea route is too risky. If you don’t pay attention, the ship will be destroyed. There was a saying in Portugal that "no ship can go back and forth between Lisbon and India three times in a row", which may be exaggerated, but in terms of navigation technology in the 700th century, ocean navigation is still a very dangerous thing, not to mention this I will.

"I need more than a month to make some preparations." Li Shouxin said solemnly after listening carefully to the three major tasks.

"Don't worry." Shao Shude said: "I will be patient before setting off after the first month. Also, don't force it too much. If it is really difficult to move forward, you might as well take the achievements you have already made and turn back first. I will care for myself. "

(End of this chapter)