Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 926 0921 [The Emperor is about to go hunting]

In another time and space, during the reign of Zhu Di, all nations came to pay tribute, and Timur directly sent the prime minister as an envoy.

Now, the Seljuks also sent their prime minister as an envoy.

The vizier's surname was Mulek, and he was the grandson of the legendary Seljuk vizier Nizam Mulek.

Nizam Mulk was not only a legendary prime minister, but also a writer, astronomer, historian, natural scientist, and was proficient in Turkic, Persian and Arabic.

The Seljuk system, laws, and calendar were all created by Nizam al-Mulk, whose title was "the Ruler of the Kingdom"!
Sadly, these systems are broken.

Naturally, this Mulek also has a family background in this field.

But Sultan Sanjar had complicated feelings towards him, as he relied on Mulek's knowledge and family background, but at times he felt very disgusted with Mulek.

Because Mulek's political proposition is to reduce foreign wars and expansion, carry out a comprehensive military contraction, and solve a series of domestic problems first.

We even hope to carry out institutional reforms!

Historically, Prime Minister Muleke strongly opposed going to war with Yelu Dashi because he felt that there were still a lot of messes at home and the slightest setback in the foreign war would lead to collapse.

But Sultan Sanjar did not listen at all and let Mulek lead the army as deputy commander.

"Ten days later, the Ming Emperor will go hunting in the eastern suburbs, and the envoys from various countries will select warriors to accompany him!"

In the Sifangguan, officials from the Honglu Temple notified each courtyard one by one, and many merchants specially hired by the Ming Dynasty served as translators.

After receiving the news, Mulek just nodded slightly and continued to read and organize the information he had collected in Luoyang.

These materials are all about the political system of the Ming Dynasty.

His legendary grandfather, the prime minister, once summarized the history of Persia and its neighboring countries and wrote a book called "Plans for Governing the Country".

The core idea of ​​this book is centralization, and it is obsessed with the loose Seljuk regime and hopes to further centralize power through military and political means.

Mulek's life goal was to fulfill his grandfather's last wish and build the Seljuk Empire into a centralized Persian political system.

Coincidentally, he saw centralization in the Ming Dynasty!

Mullakti wrote:
"The legitimacy of the Ming emperor comes from the unity of divine power and monarchical power. Ming officials said that the emperor was favored by heaven, which actually meant that he was blessed by gods. This divine blessing was manifested in the emperor's identity. Another honorific title for the emperor was the Son of God."

"The imperial power originated from the army and the bureaucracy. The Ming emperor was good at fighting and overthrew tyrants and eliminated foreign races. He also governed the country through the bureaucracy to ensure that the nobles, scholars, monks, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants could do their own things."

"It is difficult for the Seljuk Sultan to achieve the unity of theocracy and monarchy. The caliph in Baghdad will not transfer theocracy to the Sultan, so the Sultan can only obtain the authorization and recognition of theocracy at best."

"The Sultan's authority is also difficult to guarantee. My grandfather's reforms have been ruined, and the idea of ​​centralization has completely failed. The noble lords in various places even have the title of 'Shah'. The transfer of this title not only divides the royal power, but also divides part of the divine power."

"The Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic system was perfect, established through an examination system called the imperial examination. The imperial examination broke the aristocracy's monopoly on local power and allowed the emperor to directly manage every corner of the country."

"The Seljuks should learn from this examination system, let scholars from all over the country take the examinations, and let them serve as local government officials."

"But the national conditions of the Seljuk Empire are different from those of the Ming Dynasty, so they have to compromise with the military nobles for the time being. This is a long-term reform process, appointing and dismissing civil servants through examinations, and slowly taking back the power of the military nobles. In fact, my grandfather had already taken back some power, but the division and civil strife of the Seljuk Empire caused all those reforms to be invalidated."

"The Sultan should give up foreign wars, and even allow distant vassal states to become independent, so that he can focus his energy back on the core territories. Rebellion is bound to occur during the reform. Only by stopping foreign wars can we quell domestic rebellion and ensure the smooth progress of reform."

"Although there are many religions in the Ming Dynasty, they officially support a sect called 'Confucianism'."

"Because the Ming Dynasty has unified the sects, even if there are slight differences in doctrine, they can be completely controlled within an acceptable range. The Seljuk sects are too chaotic and extremely hostile to each other. We should choose a sect to officially support, so that we can form a joint force around the Sultan."

"..."

The more Mulek wrote, the more discouraged he became, because the Sultan would definitely not adopt the suggestions he made.

Not even one!

"I have heard many historical stories about Peach Blossom Stone from officials of the Ming Dynasty. They also had a period of feudal fiefdoms, and there was also a time when the Son of God lost power..."

"Combining the history of Persia and Taohuashi, the Sultan should move the capital to Baghdad and live in the same city with the Caliph. The Sultan can ask the Caliph to grant more titles and power, and then issue decrees in the name of the Caliph. Any local nobles who violate the Sultan's orders are opposing the Caliph, and doing things this way will be more legitimate."

"There must be believers who suspect that the Sultan is threatening the Caliphate. This is a good opportunity to identify supporters and opponents. Support the sects of supporters and eliminate the sects of opponents. The supported sects will become the cornerstone of the Sultan."

"..."

Muleke felt a bit of a headache from writing, so he decided to go out for a walk.

Anwari, a court scholar, was talking with a Hanlin official about the history, literature and politics of their respective countries.

The Imperial Academy officials of the Ming Dynasty did not deliberately conceal anything, and Zhu Ming did not order that there was nothing that could not be said. Anyway, the national conditions were very different, and the other countries could not learn from the Ming Dynasty even if they wanted to. Forcing them to learn from the Ming Dynasty would only do harm. Mulek stood by and listened without saying a word. The translator was relaying Arabic, and he had no difficulty understanding it.

"So, are the Arabs and Persia the same country?" asked the Hanlin official.

The Arabic translation was a bit confusing, but he understood Persian, and the word "Caliphate" could only be translated into Arabic.

Anwari picked up a branch and drew a picture on the ground: "This is Persia, now the territory of the Seljuks. Over there is Arabia, which once established a powerful empire, and one of its branches even ruled Persia for a long time..."

The Hanlin official took out historical records and asked about the Black-robed Arabs, the White-robed Arabs, and the Green-robed Arabs.

The Arabic translation is completely broken.

Because the transliteration methods of foreign names in Chinese historical materials are different in each dynasty, the Arabic translator has no idea how to translate them.

Fortunately, the Green Arabs still exist today, and Cheng Yu, Yu Yunwen and others have figured it out.

And according to the sect's dressing habits, the confusion was gradually sorted out.

The White Arabs are in Spain...

As the Hanlin official listened to the descriptions of the three Arab kingdoms, he increasingly felt that he must first understand the religious history.

Then, Anwari began to talk about how the religion was founded, and then he talked about the four great caliphs with infinite longing.

The Imperial Academy official understood quickly and said, "The era of your four great caliphs is like our three ancient dynasties. The kings were wise and selfless, with perfect morals. And it was a system of abdication. The position of caliph could only be occupied by those with virtue."

Avari asked curiously, "I haven't heard the story of the three ancient generations. Did you also have such a time?"

The Hanlin official began to tell the stories of Yao, Shun and Yu.

Avari exclaimed: "The three kings Yao, Shun and Yu are so much like our four great caliphs. They all have supreme virtues, are never attached to money and power, and will choose the perfect successor."

Muleke listened to Yao, Shun and Yu beside him without saying a word, as if he was thinking about something.

Officials from the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Academy would come to the courtyard where envoys from various countries lived, and they would chat about various topics every day.

We also need to stop from time to time to learn each other's language.

They are both smart people and learn quickly.

At night, Mulek communicated with Anwari.

Anwari said: "Why hasn't the Ming Emperor summoned us yet?"

Muleke smiled and said, "Didn't you hear today? The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is going to go hunting, and he wants us to follow him. He wants to show his military power first, to intimidate us, and then to summon us."

Anwari nodded and said, "The Sultan often does this. Every time he conquers a state, he asks the king and officials of the vassal state to go hunting with him."

Sultan Sanjar almost had a disaster. During his second conquest of the Western Karakhanid Khanate, he was hunted and was assassinated and almost died there.

He was so angry that he replaced the king of Western Karakhanid Khanate and let the country's third prince and his nephew succeed to the throne.

Mulek stood up and drew his sword: "It's a good opportunity to see what the Ming army is like. It is said that Jurkhaan (Yelü Dashi), who annexed the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, was driven away by the barbarians in the north, and the Ming emperor wiped out those barbarians. Therefore, the Ming is stronger than the barbarians, the barbarians are stronger than Jurkhaan, and Jurkhaan is stronger than the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate."

"Can it be compared like this?" Anvari was a little stunned.

Mulek said: "The Sultan has decided to conquer Jurghan, and I can't persuade him. We must carefully examine the military strength of the Ming Dynasty and judge Jurghan's military strength."

Anwari said: "The Ming army of several thousand people, with only minor casualties, helped the Prince of Ceylon to restore his country. You also heard and saw their thunder-like weapons on the ship, which can destroy the enemy from a long distance."

Muleke said: "That weapon is indeed powerful, but it is not the most important thing. The main reason is that Ceylon is too weak, and the Ming army also has the Ceylon prince. The army left behind by the pseudo king in the royal city was instigated by the prince to rebel, otherwise how could the Ming army win so easily?"

"If our army suddenly encounters weapons that can produce thunder, they will probably panic and flee," said Anvari.

Muleke said: "So we should take advantage of the hunting opportunity to find out the details of the Ming army. It would be best if we could learn how to make that kind of weapon!"

Anwari shook his head and said, "It's too difficult. They don't allow outsiders to approach. Now many envoys from the states speculate that the weapon is a power bestowed by the Eastern gods."

Mulek said: "God can only give us morality and wisdom, and it is impossible for him to give any mortal any kind of power. Morality and wisdom make people strong, not a certain god makes people strong."

The Ming Dynasty's central army was stationed in Luoyang and Kaifeng and had not fought a war for several years.

This hunting trip was a good opportunity to show off military power to envoys from various countries and to allow the central army to conduct a good exercise.

(End of this chapter)