King of Song

Chapter 105 Chapter [-] True and False Envoys
The Shibo Department in the Song Dynasty was equivalent to the customs. One of its important responsibilities was to manage foreign trade affairs, including the initial reception of envoys from foreign vassal states.

In April of the second year of Xining, as soon as the south wind blew, envoys from overseas arrived. It was said that it was a big food from the west.

Dashi, that is, the Arab/Arab Empire, this Lin Zhao knows.Stretching across Asia, Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf are all powerful empires in its inland seas. Its territory is far beyond that of the Song Dynasty, and its national strength cannot be underestimated.Back then, even the mighty Tang Dynasty lost to the big cannibal in the battle of Talas.

However, Dashi is more respectful and friendly to the Song Dynasty. After all, they are world-class powers, so there are still disputes and conflicts.The most important thing is that the Song Dynasty was rich and prosperous, and there were too many exquisite goods that they yearned for.In particular, fine silk and porcelain are the most popular in the West, bringing them high profits and attracting many Arab/Arab businessmen.

As early as the Song Dynasty, Liguo pointed out that the Silk Road was blocked because of the entrenched forces in the Northwest.The big cannibal explored the way to and from the Song Dynasty by sea. The merchant ships of Suleiman and navigator Ibn Wahabi sailed into Guangzhou via the Maritime Silk Road.Since then, countless large food merchant ships have traveled to and from the southeast coast of the Song Dynasty, and Hangzhou is one of them.

In several cities where Shibosi opened ports, some big cannibals lived there. Later in the Yuan Dynasty, Quanzhou also had a "Fanfang" where Arabs lived together.

It stands to reason that the arrival of the Dashi envoys should be a good thing, but the bad thing is that two groups came at once, and they all said they were from the Persian Gulf.Then they accuse each other of being counterfeit, and when disputes arise, problems arise.

There are two envoys, one of which is a fake, if you don't distinguish the authenticity, wouldn't it be a diplomatic joke?Although Da Shi and Da Song Dynasty are separated by hundreds of thousands of miles, and there is no direct contact, once a joke is made, it will definitely damage the reputation of the Heavenly Kingdom!This kind of thing is naturally not allowed to happen, and it will definitely be very troublesome to deal with!
Now both sides are accusing each other of being fake, but they can't come up with evidence, so the matter of distinguishing is naturally handed over to the Shibo Department, which handles foreign trade affairs.

In fact, it stands to reason that the best responsible institution should be the Honglu Temple. After all, they claim to come on behalf of the Abbasid dynasty, which is a diplomatic matter.But we can’t send all of them to Bianjing. We must know that one of the roads must be fake, and it will be difficult to clean up at that time. When we arrive in the capital, we will really embarrass the Kingdom of Heaven...

Furthermore, the two big cannibals also spoke righteously, and they would never leave Hangzhou City if they did not distinguish clearly.There is no way, Lin Zhao can only accept this mess and distinguish between real and fake envoys...

Lin Zhao couldn't care about the case of the murder of a private salt dealer for the time being. After all, he had limited energy, so he told Su An to continue to trace the relevant clues, and he went to see the Arabs himself.

Early in the morning, I rushed to the Yamen of the Shibo Department. In the lobby, two groups of Arabs/Arabs sat on the left and right, with a clear distinction, staring at each other, motionless and refusing to give in to each other.This is completely understandable. After all, if someone pretends to be himself, he will be furious if he puts it on anyone.What Lin Zhao was curious about was the fake party, where did it come from with such confidence?

Even when Lin Zhao came, the Arabs were unmoved at all, not to mention standing up to greet them, and even saying hello was superfluous.

Shout out, aren't the shelves still small?If other officials were changed, they might still be angry, but Lin Zhao's mentality is relatively peaceful.

Seeing the arrival of the promotion officer, the junior officials were in tears. These white-skinned and white-robed foreigners are really hard to serve, and now someone is finally in charge.

The little official seemed to want to complain, but Lin Zhao didn't want to hear it, so he waved his hand to signal him to leave immediately.Then he took a "tongue man" whom he favored specially, strode into the hall, and said with a smile: "All Arab friends, welcome to come."

"Are you an official from the Song Dynasty?" Seeing Lin Zhao coming in wearing a green official robe, an Arab/Arab man in long robes finally asked. Although his accent was weird, he spoke Chinese, so much so that even the "tongue" that was specially responsible for the translation People" are not needed, but it is much more convenient.

"Do you speak Chinese?" Lin Zhao looked at the speaking man on the left and asked with great interest.

The Arab/Arab finally got the point, stood up and said: "Yes, I often travel between your country and our country for trade, and it is very important to learn the language of your country. Besides, I admire your culture very much, so I try my best study."

This reason is very good, this guy also speaks quite fluent Chinese, it is not easy to learn this level, but it is really difficult for him.

"Are you Dashi's envoys?" Lin Zhao asked softly.

The man immediately replied loudly: "Yes, the great caliph sent us to the Song Dynasty to buy fine silk and porcelain."

"Oh!" Lin Zhao nodded and asked again, "Then what did you bring?"

"We... We encountered pirates in Guli on our way, and all the goods were robbed. Only a few of us escaped by chance... I'm sorry..." The Arab/Arab man lost his expression, and he hesitated to speak, extremely embarrassed, The expression is also just right, and it seems very real to look at.

Guli is the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. Did you meet pirates there?Lin Zhao didn't know if pirates were so rampant in this era.The most direct information I got from this population is that they no longer have any certificates to prove their identity, not even a meeting ceremony.But it may be true, and such things were not uncommon in ancient times, so we should not be biased because of this.

Lin Zhao nodded, and then asked the person on the right, "Are you also Arab's envoys?"

This group of people was obviously more arrogant, and they were completely unmoved. Lin Zhao motioned for the translator to translate.The person at the head of the other party babbled a lot, but couldn't understand it at all.

The tongue translated: "They said they were envoys of food, but the ones here are not. They came to congratulate His Majesty the Emperor of Song Dynasty on the order of the sultan. We brought spices from Alexander, gems, and many other things. Gift."

oh?This one sounds more tempting!
Congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor on his enthronement, this reason will be very useful to the officials of the Heavenly Kingdom, and they will have a sense of superiority.Spices and gems are exquisite and valuable, relatively unimportant, the most important thing is dignity.It's just that Zhao Xu has been enthroned for two years, and these people came to congratulate him, it seems...

Also, one said it was ordered by the Sultan, and the other said it was ordered by the Caliph. What was the name of the ruler of the Arab Empire?This inevitably makes people a little strange.

The person on the right said again in Arabic: "Although Arabs and caliphs exist, they are no longer what they used to be, because we Seljuks have occupied Baghdad...The caliph is just a symbol, and the entire empire It is our Sudan who has the final say..."

Hearing it on the left, his face changed slightly, and then he tried his best to return to normal, and said: "Nonsense, the powerful empire is ruled by the great caliph, how can the Seljuks be the opponents of the Arab warriors?"

How is this going?Lin Zhao vaguely remembered that he had watched some documentaries about the Arab Empire, but it seemed that the Persians invaded Arabia in the 11th century, and then...

That's right, in 1055 AD, the Seljuks invaded Baghdad, wiped out the Buwehi dynasty established by the Persians, and drove away the Persians.Therefore, it was regarded as the savior by the caliph of the Abbasid dynasty in Arabia, and he was canonized as the sultan, and the power of the empire fell into the hands of the sultan.As for the spiritual leader and symbol that the caliph has become, if the situation is worse, it may become a puppet.

If this is the case, then the identities of these two envoys are intriguing!
Lin Zhao asked the Arab on the right: "You said you came to congratulate His Majesty the emperor of our country on his enthronement?"

The tongue interpreter said: "Yes, I heard that the benevolent emperor of your country passed away, and the new emperor ascended the throne... The sultan ordered us to express our congratulations!"

Lin Zhao questioned, "Lovely emperor, you mean His Majesty Renzong?"

"Yes, he is a kind and kind old man. Now his son is the emperor of your country?"

The benevolent old man, of course it can only be Song Renzong!
The Arab/Arab man on the left immediately laughed and said: "Emperor Renzong has passed away for several years, and his successor son, Emperor Yingzong, has also passed away. His grandson has been emperor for two years, so you are here to congratulate, haha!"

"Uh...how did this happen?" The envoy on the right sighed, "It's such a misfortune. May Allah bless your country!"

Lin Zhao turned around and looked at the envoy on the left, and said with a smile, "It seems that your Excellency knows our country very well!"

"That's natural..." As soon as the words came out, the man realized a problem.

Arab and the Song Dynasty were separated by thousands of miles, and the news was so well-informed?Although it has been five or six years since Emperor Renzong passed away, in the ancient times where transportation was inconvenient and communication was extremely backward, it did not mean that they could get news from as far away as the Middle East.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Taizong used the year name Qiande. He didn't want to find out that this year name had already been used by Wang Yan after he destroyed Shu Shu several years later.At the same time, in the land of Huaxia, it is only separated by the Bashu mountains, the imperial family name, such important news is still so closed, let alone a foreign country thousands of miles away.

Therefore, although the envoy on the left reacted quickly, it made people suspicious.

Sure enough, the envoy on the right explained: "Sorry, our country is thousands of miles away from your country. In the past two years, pirates have been rampant in Guli, and merchant ships often come and go... This time we come to your country. The important mission is to restore trade."

Immediately, he also produced a series of documents and certificates to prove that he was dispatched by the government, which seemed authentic and effective, and his credibility naturally increased greatly.

In recent years, there are well-documented records of how many Arab/Arab businessmen have traveled to and from the port, and the shipping companies of each city are well-documented, and lies are easily exposed.If this is the case……

The results seem obvious!
Lin Zhao didn't intervene on the spot, he decided to try again!What he was even more curious about was why someone pretended to be an envoy?What is the purpose?
(End of this chapter)