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Chapter 1230 The End of the Ancient Silk Road

Halep, later Aleppo, the westernmost end of the ancient Silk Road, is located in the Levant region on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.From here merchants from the Levant transported goods from the far east across the Mediterranean to Venice and Genoa.

The Mediterranean coast once monopolized the trade between the East and the West. The Ottoman Empire, Venice, and Genoa all obtained huge wealth from the traditional Silk Road, until the Portuguese and Spaniards found new routes to the East.

Halep is the headquarters of the British Levant Company.

Li Jinde followed the people of the Levant Company to this ancient West Asian city with a history of thousands of years.

It is located at the intersection of several civilizations, influenced by Persian, Byzantine and Arabic architecture, dome, marble, stained glass.Of course, civilians are more likely to build houses made of earth, earth bricks, mud, and wood.

There are many residents wearing turbans and robes on the street, some people are leading camels, horses, elephants, and there are many simple small stalls, displaying goods from the East and the West, such as spices, hourglasses, cloth, pottery, etc. A wide range of commodities, and even slave trade.

There are many ships of the Ottoman Empire moored in the harbor. Most of the galleys transporting spices, silk, herbs, etc., many of them are small boats that can accommodate a few people or even a dozen people, but there are hundreds of them, which shows the difference in its geographical location. Excellence, prosperity of trade.Even though Xinhai Road has been opened for 200 years, it is still an important city on the Silk Road along the road. Even if it is declining, you can still see the shadow of its former glory.

"Is this the end of China's Silk Road in the Western Ocean in ancient times? I used to only know that the Silk Road went out of Yumen Pass to the long Western Regions, and then there were some weird place names recorded in the ancient records. I didn't expect Li Jinde will one day be able to come to the key points of the Silk Road."

Before Li Jinde disembarked, he was shocked by the end of the ancient Silk Road.

Although the end of the Silk Road is far less prosperous than the starting point in the East, it at least proves that this place has been brilliant for a long time because of its special location as a trade point between the East and the West.

"A long time ago, silk was transported from the east through the land, so it was regarded as the magical Silk Road. But then the silk technology was also spread along the Silk Road, and Persia and Ottoman had their own silk workshops , and Indian cotton."

"The most important commodity in the Levant is no longer silk, but spices shipped from the Indian Ocean. Indian merchants buy spices from Chinese merchants and Southeast Asian kingdoms, and then transport them here through the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, and then ship them to Europe. Even Compared with the new sea route, the speed of transporting oriental goods to the Mediterranean coast is faster here."

Sir Henry briefed Li Jinde on the situation on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea on the deck.

"Most of them are small and medium-sized galleys, and they seem to be mainly paddled by manpower." Li Jinde noticed that the ships moored in the port were strange.

"The Mediterranean Sea is calm, and human paddling is more reliable than uncertain wind directions. And they have large sailing ships that can go to sea, but they are all concentrated in Constantinople, the imperial capital, where they have their naval base. Even the Spanish Empire dare not provoke them at will. They," said Sir Henry.

"So that's how it is..." Li Jinde pretended to be enlightened on the surface, but in fact he had only a half-knowledge of these strange place names, and it was hard to remember them.

Halep, the headquarters of Levant Corporation.Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

At present, Li Jinde only knows this little about the Ottoman Empire.

The arrival of the Levant fleet led by Sir Henry, with guns on the sides of the armed merchant ships, made the Governor of Halep feel like an enemy.

A group of local soldiers from the Ottoman Empire hurried to the port with spears and muskets.Soldiers also pushed two cannons into the street.

But when they learned that it was a British trading ship, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and put down their muskets.

The fleet of the Levant Company stayed in the port for a while before the governor of the city arrived with his men.

When Sir Henry saw the governor, he waved to him from the deck.

The governor of Halep seemed to have met an acquaintance, and ordered the left and right to prepare a ladder for the Levant ship.

After Sir Henry disembarked, he gave the governor of the other party a warm hug. The two parties seemed to be very familiar with each other.

Li Jinde was among the employees behind Sir Henry. He knew the headquarters of the Levant Company. If Sir Henry would arrive in Halep for trade every year or every two or three years, it would not be surprising to have a good relationship with the governor here.

"Here is a gift from us, thank you for your care for our Levant company." Sir Henry spent a lot of money, and asked two small boxes to be brought up to the local governor.

When the small box was opened, Li Jinde caught a glimpse of gold and silver inside.

Bribing local officials is not uncommon in the trade of this era, and it is also the most direct and effective means.

For many kingdoms, positions in coastal cities were lucrative positions. All foreign merchants who wanted to conduct trade had to establish good relations with them, and it was inevitable that they would gain huge profits.

Governor Halep accepted the gold and silver contentedly, and led Sir Henry and his group to the center of the ancient city.

Li Jinde looked around curiously, feeling the prosperity here, and at the same time paying attention to the exotic customs and various trades here, the most striking of which is the slave trade in naked clothes.

"Public selling, I really don't know whether it is prosperity or backwardness here." Li Jinde muttered to himself.

The governor, who received a lot of gold and silver, held a private banquet to welcome Sir Henry, while employees such as Li Jinde were regarded as followers and received by some low-level local officials.

Facing the table full of Asian-style dishes, Li Jinde felt that they were a little fresh, but also a little difficult to eat.

"Would you like to go around with us later, Mr. Li, to experience the customs here?" Some employees of Levant Company knew the purpose of Li Jinde's arrival, so they whispered to Li Jinde.

"Okay!" Li Jinde had exactly that intention.

His original purpose of coming to the territory of the Ottoman Empire was to investigate the situation here. Only by visiting around can he understand the truest situation of the Ottoman Empire.

"Is this person from Britain not from you? Where did you catch the slave or servant?" A low-level official of the Ottoman Empire suddenly asked.

Although Li Jinde wore British clothes, his appearance could not be changed no matter what, so he was easily recognized.

(End of this chapter)