Smuggling Daming

Jiao Huangzhong was riding a tall war horse, wearing the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty. Behind him were a thousand sturdy cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty. These cavalry were specially dispatched by Zhou Zhong from the frontier army to serve as his guards. Among them were not only Han Chinese, but also many Mongols, all of whom were top soldiers in the army. Thanks to the 1000 elite cavalry, Jiao Huangzhong was able to pass through the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula and reach the city of Damascus safely.

Jiao Huangzhong is also over 50 years old this year. His father is Jiao Fang who is highly valued by Zhou in the cabinet, and Jiao Huangzhong himself is also very talented. He is very familiar with overseas affairs. Based on his background and qualifications, he could have been transferred to the capital as an official in the capital long ago, but because of his father Jiao Fang, it is impossible for him to take up an important position even if he is transferred back to the capital, because this is an officialdom. According to the unwritten rule, when father, son, brother, and other close relatives are officials in the same dynasty, one party will be reused, and the other party will be suppressed.

Jiao Huangzhong also relied on his own strength to be admitted to Jinshi back then. Although he was taken care of by his father after becoming an official, most of it was his own efforts, and he was very ambitious, and he was unwilling to return to the capital to do a job. This time, the imperial court needs to send an official who is familiar with overseas affairs to meet the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The power of this great empire is not much weaker than that of the Ming Dynasty, so the selection of this official also needs to be extra cautious. .

Jiao Fang also knew what her son was thinking, so after hearing the news, she immediately recommended Jiao Huangzhong to be the envoy of the mission.Zhou Zhong can be regarded as Jiao Huangzhong's old boss, so he naturally knows the ability of this subordinate, and the Palembang area in Nanyang has developed extremely rapidly under Jiao Huangzhong's management, coupled with his familiarity with overseas, it can be said that he is the best. candidates.

So in this case.Jiao Huangzhong, who was an official abroad, was urgently recalled to the court, and then entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Zhou Zhong. He became the envoy of the Ming mission to West Asia and Europe, with an important task on his shoulders.That is reopening the Suez Canal.It's just that Daming is too far away from the Red Sea, even if Daming's navy has already occupied the west coast of India.But it is impossible to send troops to occupy Egypt in the past, not to mention that it is now the period of full expansion of the Ottoman Empire, and the strength of this empire cannot be underestimated, so the best way is to cooperate with the other party.The task in Scorched Yellow is to meet Selim I, and then persuade him to rebuild the Suez Canal.

Originally, after Jiao Huangzhong took over the task of envoy, he was also very excited, because as long as this matter is completed, even if his father is still in the cabinet, he can use this credit to return to the capital to take up an important position, and even Wait until his father retreats.It is not impossible for him to join the cabinet. Thinking that the Jiao family can have two cabinet bachelors one after another, this kind of honor is very rare, and it is enough to make the Jiao family a top official family in Ming Dynasty.In the future, the children of the family will also enjoy a lot of preferential treatment in officialdom.

But when Jiao Huangzhong left the capital, traveled all the way to India on a Ming warship, then from India to the Red Sea, and finally landed on the Arabian Peninsula, Jiao Huangzhong couldn't help feeling a little regretful.When I was on the ship, everything was fine, except that most of the thousand elite cavalrymen were seasick and vomited in the dark, there were no other problems. After all, from Daming to India is the sphere of influence of the Daming Navy. Even the most courageous pirates dare not provoke them.

But when Jiao Huangzhong got off the boat from the coast of the Red Sea, he found that he came to a world of barbarians. Although the Arabian Peninsula was the birthplace of the Arab Empire back then, since the Arab Empire was wiped out by the Mongols, it has once again fallen into a world of barbarians. In the midst of chaos, they landed in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, which used to be under the rule of the Mamluks, but the independent Mamluk dynasty didn't care about the rule here at all, resulting in chaos in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula , In addition, the Mamluks were defeated by the Ottoman Empire some time ago, and all the troops withdrew to Egypt, but the Ottoman Empire was too late to take over, which made the chaos here even worse.

On the first day that Jiao Huangzhong brought the cavalry ashore, he encountered a group of thousands of Arab bandits. This group of robbers seemed to have been watching them for a long time. After all, the mission in Jiao Huangzhong brought a lot of valuables. Gifts, these gifts are enough to arouse the greed of countless robbers, and these robbers also have a lot of eyeliners in the coastal ports, so as soon as Jiao Huangzhong landed, he immediately attracted a group of the most powerful robbers.

However, this bandit group obviously didn't inquire about the situation clearly, they didn't know what kind of people they were facing in front of them, although their number was more than that of Jiao Huangzhong, but Jiao Huangzhong led them all from the cavalry of the Ming Dynasty The elite, including a lot of Mongolian cavalry, hundreds of years ago the Mongols could wipe out the huge Arab Empire, and now these Mongols are naturally not afraid of a mere group of robbers.

So as soon as the bandits appeared, before they could make a move, Jiao Huangzhong's thousand cavalry charged. The sky is dark and the sky is dark, and now they are all holding their breath, wanting to perform in front of the envoys, and their equipment is extremely sophisticated, let alone a gang of robbers, even if they are facing an Arab army that is several times their size. Regular cavalry, they also have the certainty of victory.

In just one charge, a thousand elite cavalry defeated thousands of Arab bandits, and a bloody massacre followed. The place is unfamiliar and the number of people is limited, so bloody means must be used to let the local robbers know how powerful they are, and when others want to provoke them again, they must weigh their own strength.

It has to be said that the general who led the Ming cavalry was indeed very discerning. He ordered the killing of nearly 3000 people who were too late for the bandit group to escape. It is useful for some small bandit groups, and for stronger bandit groups, they will only be more interested in a mission that can send out a guard of elite soldiers, because they think that the mission must have extremely valuable gifts.

It is precisely because of this that during the following trip, the Daming mission led by Jiao Huangzhong was constantly attacked by bandits. Naturally, with the Ming cavalry to deal with it, it would be a little troublesome to use secret methods, but fortunately, Jiao Huangzhong had already found a few trusted guides when he came. group to help.

But even so, Jiao Huangzhong's journey was full of dangers, and once they even encountered a team of several bandit regiments, which together had more than 8000 people. Although the Ming cavalry was elite, they faced eight times more However, fortunately, these gangsters who united were not on the same page with each other. In the end, the Ming envoys found a loophole, and with a thousand elite cavalry as arrows, they finally rushed through. Blocked by robbers.

Thinking of the dangers encountered along the way, and looking at the peaceful Damascus city in front of him, he couldn't help feeling a little bit embarrassed. Before, he had only heard that Damascus knives were treasured knives in the world, produced in the far west, but he had never heard of them before. He thought that one day he would come to the place where this precious sword was produced, and he would also meet the sultan of the most powerful empire in the west, that is, the cruel Selim I.

It’s a coincidence that the Ming faction Jiao Huangzhong originally wanted to contact the Mamluk dynasty. After all, the land transportation from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean has been controlled by this dynasty before. Fighting with the Mamluks for a full ten years has not been successful. Therefore, if Ming wants to unblock the Suez Canal, it is natural to consult with the Mamluks.

But when Jiao Huangzhong arrived in India, he heard that the Ottoman Empire had launched an Eastern Expedition, and had already defeated the Mamluk Dynasty and occupied the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In this way, the communication line from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean became the Ottoman Empire. No one can tell who will win and who will lose on the dividing line between the Mamluk Dynasty and the Mamluk Dynasty.

Jiao Huangzhong also did not expect that he would encounter such a situation. If he went to meet the Mamluk Dynasty according to the original plan, but in case the Ottoman Empire won this war, then the traffic from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea would be controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Hold on, then all his previous efforts will be wasted.

Just when he was in a dilemma, he suddenly remembered that before he came, His Royal Highness Zhao Wang personally summoned him and asked him to pay attention to collecting information from some western countries, including the name of the Ottoman Empire, and Zhou Zhong also told him He, this empire must be paid special attention to, because this empire is in a period of expansion, and it is likely to become a powerful empire not weaker than Ming Dynasty in the future.

Thinking of Zhou Zhong's previous confession, Jiao Huangzhong felt as if he had encountered a bright light in the dark, so he immediately mobilized Ming's power in India and tried his best to collect information about the Mamluk Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire. It was discovered that the Mamluk dynasty is now an old and decaying empire, but the Ottoman Empire is in the golden age of expansion, so for this war, the Ottoman Empire obviously has an incomparable advantage, and this is what makes it possible. The main reason why Jiao Huangzhong made up his mind to abandon the Mamluk Dynasty and came directly to see the Ottoman Sultan.