In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 481 City of Peace
After briefly getting to know the civil and military personnel and having a conversation, some of the lower-level people on site left, leaving a few middle- and high-level people.

Liu Zheng asked, who is the current leader of the Mongolian army in Lai City?

Luo Lei, a member of the local Jinyiwei family, said: "Originally, he was Chuo'er Mahan's deputy, Bizhu. Four months ago, he was replaced by Meng Ge."

Yu Rui was also surprised when she found out that Meng Ge came to Lai City.

Of course, the history of Great Mongolia has been completely changed by Zhao Yurui. The Mongolian army fully retreated to Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and Meng Ge also had the opportunity to come to Persia.

Luo Lei added that when Meng Ge arrived in Lai City, he also planned to gather troops and horses to fight the Song army.

But Mongolian rule in Persia relied entirely on local nobles and lords.

Now the Song Army has occupied the Persian Gulf for two or three years, and firmly controls the passage in and out of the Persian Gulf with its navy. The lords from all over the country dare not resist. They also see that the Mongolian army has no navy and cannot defeat the Song Army, so they all obey in disguise.

Meng Ge organized for a long time, but did not get an effective response. He was very angry and almost wanted to kill a group of lords first to show the power of the Mongolian army.

But this was banned by Batu and Ogodei.

Liu Zheng went on to say that Jochi had a very bad relationship with Temujin back then. In the last few years, he did not listen to Temujin at all and only stayed in the fief. Temujin was very angry and planned to send Ogodei and Chagatai. He led troops to capture the son, but Jochi suddenly died of illness and the matter was dropped.

"Your Majesty is right. There is no consensus among the Mongols. The key is Batu." Liu Zheng smiled and said, "We can make a deal with Batu."

The city wall of Rai was not to be rebuilt until more than a hundred years later, during the late Ming Dynasty.

Now that Wo Kuotai came to power and suffered repeated defeats against the Song Dynasty, Batu looked down on Wo Kuotai from the bottom of his heart.

The Mongolian army also knew that the Song army's warships were powerful. They set up multiple forts along the way, including Hongwu cannons and trebuchets. With various iron locks, it was not very convenient to travel by water.

Liu Zheng just asked about the situation and knew that the Mongolian army's strategy in Persia was still to focus on defense.

The Mongolian army will come faster. The Mongolian army is lighter than the Song army and carries less things.

So throughout his life, Batu was at odds with the first three Khans of Mongolia, and he was dissatisfied with the first three Great Khans of Mongolia.

But after the Song army arrived in the Persian Gulf, they began to build a large-scale construction project in Rai City and began to build and reinforce the city on the original city foundation. In just a few years, Rai City returned to the Khwarezm period and became the leading city in Persia. big city.

Historically, after Guyuk became Khan, he immediately thought of attacking Batu, but he died on the way.

When the Mongols rose, they were always offensive-oriented and invincible. However, due to repeated breaches at the hands of Zhao and Rui, coupled with the current internal disunity, they have gradually adopted a defensive stance.

Because Temujin appointed Ogodei as the Great Khan before his death, Batu supported Tuolei, which was obviously to express his dissatisfaction with Temujin. Perhaps he believed that his father Jochi's death was partly due to Temujin's coercion. of.

However, Luo Lei said that the city of Rai became a big city during the Khwarezm period. Later, the Mongolian army broke through and destroyed Rai's city wall.

Luo Lei rode about two thousand miles on foot, and the road was not easy to walk. If the Song army did not bring artillery, they could reach it in about half a month.

So Meng Ge could only swallow his anger, and the Mongolian army and the Song army were in a state of peace and harmony in Persia.

You can also go to Lai Port by water, but the canal is not wide enough. The Song Army's large ships cannot go there, so you can only go by small boats. It takes about ten days to travel by water.

Of course, the Mongolian army mobilized many soldiers and horses from the front line. Currently, there are more than 50,000 troops stationed in Lai City, and they have built Hongwu artillery to guard against the Song army at any time.

Zhao Yurui has carefully studied Batu and his son, including Batu's father Jochi, in recent years. The relationship between the father and son and Temujin has never been good. The power of water and fire is the same, whether it is this time and space or the original history. In the original time and space, the Mongolian Empire was unmatched and Batu could tolerate it, but now it is different and it can make a fuss.

Perhaps influenced by his father Jochi, Batu stayed in the fiefdom and never went to the Central Plains, Jin and Song Dynasties. After Temujin's death, the Mongols elected a new khan, and Batu chose to support the tow thunder system. , proving that he was dissatisfied with Temujin in his heart.

They are now being suppressed by the Song army. At this time, they cannot cause resistance from all over Persia.

"How far is it from Lai City?" Liu Zheng asked at this time: "How convenient is it for the navy and the cavalry?"

In addition, Zhao and Rui had repeatedly publicized on the grassland that Wokuotai had poisoned Tuo Lei, and Batu must have believed that if Tuo Lei had been allowed to sweat, Great Mongolia would not have even been invaded by the Song people in its hometown of Harahe Forest. Renamed Taibei City.

Last time, two uncles, Wokuotai and Chagatai, and several Mongolian ancestors personally went to Salai City to persuade Batu, but Batu did not agree to lead troops on the expedition, so Zhao Yurui concluded that Mongolia is not monolithic now. Both can be used and alienated.

Divide and transform, first destroy Wokuotai, and then conquer the capital. This is Zhao Yurui's strategy.

"Your Majesty wants to send someone to Sarai City in person to establish a trade alliance with Batu. Is there anyone willing to go?" Liu Zheng said at this time.

All the civil and military personnel around looked at each other.

Zhao Yurui's reputation in the Song Dynasty was not very good.

Back then, they allied with the former Jin Kingdom to attack Tuolei, but suddenly they were stabbed in the back, and they also attacked the Jin Kingdom.

Later, he talked about negotiating peace with Mongolia, and then he turned around in Cangzhou and said that Mongolia had assassinated the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Yurui is famous for his lack of martial ethics. Now that he is sending people to establish a trade alliance with Batu, everyone has strange expressions.

Mongolians have always been rude to people who do not respect martial ethics. Envoys had a narrow escape in the past, and they might be killed when they met.

Most people at the scene must be afraid of death, but there are still some who are brave.

I don’t know how long the silence lasted. After thinking about it, Luo Lei, a member of the Jinyiwei Baihu family in the crowd, said bravely: "I will go."

"Okay." Liu Zheng was overjoyed: "No matter success or failure, I will remember your great contribution."

Afterwards, Luo Lei found Liu Zheng and said that he felt like he was dead and hoped that his eldest son, Luo Wei, could inherit his military attache position.

Zhao and Rui no longer allowed civil and military officials to inherit the title. Only those who had made great contributions could inherit the title, which meant they would enjoy benefits but were not necessarily able to inherit the official position and hold an actual job.

Of course, some people who have made special contributions can also inherit official positions and take on actual duties. For example, last time the Intelligence Department retrieved rubber seeds from tens of thousands of miles away.

Liu Zheng thought about it and agreed to this task with a narrow escape from death.

Next, Liu Zheng and Luo Lei had a good chat, telling everything that His Majesty the Emperor had told him to tell Batu. Luo Lei took it all down and felt that as long as Batu was not too cruel, he still had a chance to survive.

Not to mention, historical books record that Batu was honest, generous to his subordinates, generous in rewards, and did not kill innocent people indiscriminately. He was called "Sayinqan" (meaning good sweat).

At the beginning of the tenth year of Yuanzhen (1242), Luo Lei took two Persians and a large amount of goods and set off from the Persian Gulf by boat to Baghdad.

Since most of Persia is still under the rule of the Mongolian army and the commander-in-chief is Meng Ge, Luo Lei bypassed the city of Rai and decided to enter Armenia from Baghdad and go north along the Caspian Sea to the city of Sarai in Batu on the Volga River. Baghdad is also called the city of 'Madina Salam', and is also called the 'City of Peace' among the Abbasids. It has a similar name to the city built by the Song Army in the Persian Gulf. It is also called 'God' in Persian. The City of Grant' was the capital of the Abbasid dynasty.

Originally, the Abbasid dynasty would be destroyed by the troops led by Meng Ge's younger brother Hulagu more than ten years later.

This will be due to the arrival of the Song Army, and the Mongols cannot control them, so it is still relatively stable.

The Abbasid dynasty had a population of 40 million at its peak, and Baghdad had a population of nearly 2 million at its peak. Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty and Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty were the only three cities in the world with a population of more than 2 million at that time. It can be seen that The prosperity of Bagh.

On the sixth day of the lunar month, Luo Lei's ship approached Basra, the southern port of Abbas.

This was the most important port of the Arab dynasties in the Persian Gulf. During the Tang Dynasty, silk and porcelain from the Tang Dynasty landed here, and then entered the Abbasid Dynasty and formed a specialty store in Baghdad.

Since the Song army took control of the Persian Gulf, silk, sugar and porcelain from the Song Dynasty have continued to enter the Abbasid Dynasty and Baghdad. There are more goods, but the prices have not dropped. They are still rare commodities in Baghdad.

Because the goods of the Song army only reached the port, the Abbasids would then sell the goods of the Song people in all directions, further west to Dababas, even Jerusalem, and even Cairo.

As soon as Luo Lei's Song ship arrived at the shore, countless people at the port were watching.

The Song people occupied the Persian Gulf, and Song people's ships frequently appeared in Bandar Abbas Port. Each ship brought a large amount of Song Dynasty treasures and goods, and the locals flocked to them, like cats smelling fish.

However, Luo Lei found the local officials at the port and stated that they were not here for business, but on behalf of the Song Dynasty court to meet with Mustansir, the caliph (equivalent to the king) of the Abbasid Dynasty.

Local officials did not dare to neglect and immediately arranged for an escort.

In fact, after the Song Army occupied the Persian Gulf and levied taxes on passing ships, it had a great impact on the Abbasid Dynasty.

Caliph Mustansir once considered sending a navy to defeat the Song army and open up this trade route.

But after seeing the Song Army's warships and artillery, the Abbasid Dynasty completely gave up on this idea.

Later, Hafa Mustansir actually hoped to do business with the Song envoys, but the Song people did not take the initiative to come over, and it was difficult for him to come over.

The Song army had just arrived in the Persian Gulf from thousands of miles away, and it was very difficult to transport each batch of goods. In the early stage, they were all preparing for the military to occupy the Persian Gulf. Naturally, they had no time to do big business with the Abbasid dynasty.

Now a few years have passed, the Song army has gained a foothold in the Persian Gulf, and an all-out war will be launched against the Mongolian army later, Luo Lei came here with a mission this time.

He brought along a shipload of goods, including a large amount of silk, ceramics, sugar, and iron pots, all of which are currently the most popular goods in Asia and Europe.

Especially iron pots, don't mention it. At present, ordinary people in Europe and Central and Western Asia basically use earthen pots and ceramics to cook meals. Their diet is all about cooking and grilling, and they don't know how to cook at all.

After iron pots became popular in the Song Dynasty, they first spread to ordinary people's homes, and then, with the promotion of Zhao Yurui, they began to be sold to Asia and Europe.

In the original time and space, iron pots were popular in Europe in the late Ming Dynasty. Now, with the promotion of Zhao Yurui, they have become a best-seller hundreds of years in advance.

In order to escort Luo Lei and his belongings, local Abbasid officials sent hundreds of cavalry and provided a large number of carriages.

Because Luo Lei said that many things were tributes to the caliph, and he also gave some to local officials.

After landing at Basra Port, Luo Lei sometimes took the water route and sometimes the land route.

A few days later, we finally arrived in Baghdad.

At this time, the city of Baghdad was already one of the largest cities in the vicinity. Together with Cairo and Cordoba, it was known as the three major cultural centers in the Islamic world, and even surpassed Lin'an City in some aspects.

At its peak, there were more than 30 schools in Baghdad, which was unmatched by the two Song dynasties.

Among them, the Nizemiya University in the 11th century and the Mustansiriyeh University established by the current Caliph Mustansir are even more famous in the world.

Zhao Yurui built the first university in Lin'an in the early years of Yuanzhen, the Song Medical College. Now nine years have passed, and this is the only university in Lin'an.

At the same time, there were more than a dozen schools in Baghdad, including two famous universities.

Luo Lei was quite shocked after entering the city. He didn't expect to see the same big city outside Lin'an.

The city of Baghdad does not have the two million people at its peak, but there are more than one million. After the Mongols conquered it in the later period, it is said that nearly 800,000 were killed.

Therefore, the city of Baghdad is quite large and very prosperous. There are various shops on the streets, as well as specialty stores specializing in Song Dynasty goods.

This specialty store used to be opened by local people. After the Song Army occupied the Persian Gulf, Jin Yiwei Luo Lei sent people to open a similar store.

This shop is quite a stronghold for the royal guards. The things they sell are fake, but the information they gather is true.

As soon as Luo Lei entered the city, he went straight to the store and waited for the summons of Caliph Mustansir.

It was also his first time to come to Baghdad, and he was stunned when he saw his store. There were relatively tall buildings on the left and right sides of the store, which were different from the Song Dynasty buildings and had a very distinctive appearance.

The local person in charge, Xu Hai, brought people forward to pay homage.

Jin Yiwei has three people here and hired four local people to specialize in specialties of the Song Dynasty, mainly selling silk and iron pots. Sugar and ceramics are not sold, mainly because they are difficult to transport and difficult to preserve.

Opposite their shop is a shop owned by a local, which sells the same things as them, including silk, iron pots, ceramics, and even sugar.

Xu Hai said that the shop opposite was opened by a member of the Abbasid royal family. His fleet used to go to Quanzhou to purchase goods, but now they go to Hanzhou to purchase goods.

After the Song Dynasty occupied Hanzhou, Hanzhou also produced iron pots and white sugar, which made it easier for them to purchase goods.

"Are these locals not making things difficult for you?" Luo Lei asked with a smile.

"They don't dare. Their ship has to pass through the Persian Gulf and go to our Song territory to purchase goods. They don't dare to embarrass us." Xu Hai said with a smile.

In business, harmony is valued, and harmony brings wealth, so even though Xu Hai and others opened a store in Baghdad, no one in the city dared to embarrass them.

It was winter when Luo Lei came here. Baghdad was not too cold, but the cold could reach minus 8 degrees Celsius.

So Xu Hai smiled and said, "I'll show you the customs and culture here." After that, he took Luo Lei to the shop next door.

(End of this chapter)