The struggle of the reborn prince

The route from the Song Dynasty to Arabia had been opened during the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the wars in the northwest were frequently defeated, and the land Silk Road was cut off. Therefore, it relied more on maritime trade, and this route became more and more prosperous.From October to December every year, use the northeast monsoon to go to the Strait of Malacca, and then cross the Bay of Bengal in January of the following year.Arrive in southern Arabia in February or March and drive along the northern shore of the Persian Gulf. On the way, you need to stop at the port to replenish fresh water and supplies. Finally, with the southwest monsoon passing through the Strait of Hormuz, you will reach your destination in April. It takes six months.

And the return voyage will have to wait until the northeast monsoon starts in September or October. After two months of walking on the sea to reach the coast of Malabar, India, there will be a long wait until the stormy season in the Bay of Bengal passes.After arriving in Chittagong in the Malay Peninsula in late January of the following year, they could only wait for the monsoon again, otherwise they would not be able to pass through the Strait of Malacca smoothly.After that, we have to take advantage of the southwest monsoon in summer and go all the way north. At this time, there are basically no typhoons in the South China Sea. If everything goes well, we can reach Quanzhou in May.

So this trip will take at least a year and a half. Now the emperor wants to lead the water army to personally conquer the Seljuk Kingdom, which really scares a few people. The sea is not as good as the land, and danger is everywhere. If it fails, the ship will sink. People died, and the number of people who died on this route is unknown.Furthermore, the journey is far away, and it will take at least a year, or even several years, to return to the country. If something happens in the country, you will be caught blind, so I firmly disagree with the emperor's personal conquest...

However, Zhao Tun's starting point is different from others. In this century, the traditional civilization center area has undergone a series of order reorganization.

in the Middle East.The Turkic Seljuk Empire rose rapidly, conquering a vast area from Central Asia to Asia Minor.Controlled the Abbasid Caliphate and became the new leader of the Islamic world.And severely damaged the Byzantine Empire.In Europe, the Holy Roman Empire was still in a strong period under the rule of the Salian family, while the power of the Pope expanded, becoming a check and balance force on the imperial power, and opened the prelude to the Crusades.

In the traditional marginal regions of civilization, there are also two countries that have entered the list of world powers.One is the Chula Kingdom in South India, which not only basically controlled South India, but also occupied a large area of ​​​​Southeast Asia and controlled the traffic in the Indian Ocean.The other is the Canute Empire in the North Sea.He is the master of the Vikings, and established a huge empire that almost turned the North Sea into an inland sea, including today's Britain, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

The Song Empire, located in the east, rose rapidly after experiencing a near subjugation. Its economy and culture were very prosperous, and its total population further recovered to more than 8000 million people.After a series of battles, the forces have spread all over East Asia, becoming the well-deserved boss of East Asia.But now the tentacles have extended to Central Asia, meddling in the disputes in West Asia, trying to control the trade routes between East and West Asia.To compile more wealth.

Zhao Tong understands that the essence of conflicts between countries is first of all the competition for land and wealth, which is also the basis for maintaining the existence of a country. Once there is a conflict between these two interests, war is basically inevitable.Now that Song Dynasty is opening up business routes and exporting products to various places, it will inevitably arouse the jealousy of some forces, and they all want to make a fortune from it.Seljuk is one of them.He claimed to control the coast of the Middle East, plundered the wealth of the merchants of the Song Dynasty by direct or indirect means, and then turned around and sold the looted things to Europe.A lot of money was made from it, but those originally belonged to Song Dynasty.

The second is the spread and invasion of different religions and cultures.This, too, was often done by means of force, more cruel and bloody than the struggle for land.Although the Seljuk Empire was established by the Tuque people.But it abandoned the religion it once believed in and converted to Islam.At this moment, it is at its peak, the country is powerful, and it owns most of the territory including today's Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, and occupies part of a large number of "Stans". It is a plaything in the hands of the Seljuk Turks.

The arrival of Zhao Tun has changed the historical trajectory of the Northern Song Dynasty's fall to the Jurchens, and he has always been vigilant against the rise of the Mongols. Now he is going to the northwest to eliminate the soil for their growth and the environment for their development.Then the countless history of Mongolia's western conquest and destruction of countries may not be able to be staged, and the western countries may benefit from this growth.

At this time, the Liao Kingdom of Yelu Dashi did not border the mainland of the Seljuk Empire, but the rise of Xiliao itself made Emperor Seljuk feel the biggest and most fundamental threat from the east.Feeling threatened, Sultan Sanjar of the Seljuk Turkic Empire sent troops to conquer the Liao Kingdom and called on Muslims with the same faith to launch a holy war against the alien race.Zhao Tun wanted to use this as an opportunity to launch a sniper attack with the Liao Kingdom's invasion of the West.

Zhao Tong thought that although the struggle for hegemony between the East and the West was still in its infancy, since it was certain that there would be a conflict sooner or later, it would be better to fight sooner rather than later. By showing the power of the Song Dynasty, let them see the power of the East and deter them. The Western world dispelled their idea of ​​aggression to the east, thereby winning a peaceful environment for the continued development of the Song Dynasty and protecting the East from foreign invasions.

The knowledge of his previous life let Zhao Tun know that according to historical records, Yelu Dashi led his army to defeat the Seljuk attack, causing it to decline, and a series of changes took place in the political structure of Central and Western Asia.And Xiliao also lost the promising monarch Yelu Dashi the following year. Zhao Tang thought that as an elite figure who left a strong mark in history, he should be able to realize his current crisis and the benefits of peace talks with Song Dynasty.Therefore, he must reach a political alliance with him before his death to lay the foundation for the direction of the relationship between the two countries after his death.

But Zhao Tong has no idea of ​​dominating the world. He understands that with the information and transportation conditions of this era, it is impossible to effectively rule a superpower. But it was difficult to maintain for a long time, and soon fell apart and fell into division again, and gradually declined in a field of infighting.Instead, it is better to manage one acre of three-point land within one's ability, and establish a general defense circle through alliances to isolate the war from the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Based on the above considerations, Zhao Tun set his attitude towards Xiliao at the beginning of sending troops to Gaochang, and made preparations for a series of actions thereafter.It also determines that the war launched by Song Dynasty cannot be too deeply involved, and can only be a short, flat, and fast punitive battle.Half a year is enough time for the attack all the way on the water, and it also made Zhao Tang's heart itch, and he moved the idea of ​​a personal conquest, wanting to relive the life at sea...

"Officials, it's the beginning of November, and it's the beginning of the monsoon. Even if you want to conquest yourself now, it will take time to mobilize troops and raise supplies. I'm afraid it will be difficult to make it this year!" Zhe Meiluan thought for a while She smiled and said that she was also blinded by the emperor's words just now, and then she thought that even if she set off now, it would be difficult to catch up with the monsoon, and she could only wait until next year.

"Sister Zhe, you still haven't guessed what the official is thinking. Since he said that he wants to conscript himself, he must have already prepared, don't be fooled!" Zhao Xin has been with the emperor for the longest time, knowing that he has always been good at planning, and generally Under the circumstances, I will never act rashly. The westward expedition to Gaochang was decided a year ago, and the use of the navy must have been considered. It must be that the navy had not returned from Korea at that time, so it was kept secret Xuan, now that the Western Expeditionary Army has successfully arrived in Gaochang, it is time to dispatch the navy.

"Guanjia, don't you really think that everything is ready and you only owe Dongfeng?" Zhe Meiluan asked in surprise after hearing this.

"Hehe..." Zhao Teng smiled awkwardly and lowered his head.

At that time, he considered that once the battle to aid Goryeo ended in a stalemate, the navy would be held in Goryeo, so he secretly formed a long-distance fleet with the experimental fleet as the main force and moved to the islands near Quanzhou Port to stand by.At the same time, 5000 people from the Leopard Wing and Wolf Wing armies were deployed to form a landing force in the name of training camps, and they were sent to Quanzhou for sea crossing and long-distance raid training.When they were ready to go, they hesitated that the Xixia Army failed to fulfill the contract and sent troops as scheduled, which led to a delay in the land march, and the sea route could only be slowed down and stayed in Quanzhou for training, so they can immediately set sail to sea with an order!

"Sure enough, it was premeditated. If it hadn't been mentioned by chance today, the officials might have sneaked away long ago!" Li Xiaoxiao said angrily, staring at the emperor.

"How could it be? How can such a big event be hidden from people!" Zhao Tong shook his head and said.

"Hmph, it's not like I haven't done this kind of thing before. Didn't the official family leave a letter to everyone before their wedding, planning to leave secretly..." Zhao Xin didn't believe it at all, the emperor had a criminal record, and the things he decided were often difficult. Change, let alone such a time-consuming thing.It's just that she accidentally slipped the tongue, forgetting who the emperor was for at the beginning, and when she realized that the words had already been spoken, it was extremely embarrassing.

"Xin'er, you don't understand my painstaking efforts, so you won't help me?" Zhao Tong looked at Xin Zhao with mournful eyes and tremblingly said.

"Officials, I... I'm helping managers and not relatives. As the saying goes, 'a son of a thousand pieces of gold can't sit in a court'. The emperor is the master of the world, and every move is related to the safety of the country. Besides, it is an extremely dangerous place with an uncertain future! "Xin Zhao was softened by the emperor's expression, but he immediately understood that he wanted to take the opportunity to excuse him, and immediately refused to speak good words for him.

"Hmph, since you know that I am the lord of the world, the words are golden rules, and you still dare to disobey those bullshit rules, don't I dare to break those bullshit rules?" Zhao Tong said angrily.

"I don't dare, Your Majesty, please think about the country!" The four people knelt down and saluted and said in unison, sounding more determined than the emperor... (to be continued...)