Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 1255 Postscript 111 · Hungarian Princess Enters Beijing

During the summer vacation, most of the students went home, and the National Science Conference has been held for eight days.

After discussing the reform of scientific measurement units, they began to discuss the reform of bachelor's titles, followed by academic reports on liberal arts and science.

After listening to four academic reports today, Xie Yan took a carriage back to the city.

It was almost evening, and a fleet docked at the East Suburb Wharf, and then a delegation of hundreds of envoys landed.

Xie Yan's carriage passed through Dongguo Street and happened to meet those foreign envoys at the bridge.

"Slow down!"

The official of the Honglu Temple who led the foreign envoys into Beijing saw Xie Yan's carriage and immediately ordered to slow down. Finally, it stopped completely and asked the carriage of the son-in-law to cross the bridge first.

The hundreds of foreigners looked around to see what big shot they met in front of them.

Xie Yan slowed down and reached out to the outside of the car, waving to the official of the Honglu Temple.

An official ran over quickly.

Xie Yan asked, "Which countries are these envoys from?"

The Honglu Temple official said, "A mixed delegation of Kipchak, Cuman and Magyar."

Xie Yan said, "Aren't the Kipchak and Cuman always at war?"

The Honglu Temple official said, "They are originally close relatives. The so-called mutual attacks are actually tribal wars. Now the tribes have agreed not to fight. The Cumans are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty and are willing to accept Buddhism and Nestorianism."

"Where did the Magyars come from?" Xie Yan asked.

The Honglu Temple official said, "The Magyars established a Hugh (Hungarian) Kingdom further west of the Cuman territory. They also claimed to be descendants of the Xiongnu, and this time they insisted on sending the princess to marry."

Xie Yan was confused and had no idea what the Magyars and the Hugh Kingdom were.

After a few simple words, Xie Yan asked the driver to speed up.

The mixed delegation of several hundred people behind also quickened their pace and rushed towards the city. If they continued to delay, the city gate would be closed.

The two ethnic groups, the Kipchaks and the Cumans, are often regarded as the same nomadic people.

But they have not yet completely merged.

They live in the vast grasslands north of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

A small group in the east believes in desert religion. A small group in the west believes in Catholicism. A small group in the south believes in Orthodoxy. But the vast majority of people believe in the primitive polytheistic religion of the grassland.

The Kipchaks have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty for decades, and the leader of their tribal alliance was canonized as the King of the Kipchaks by the Ming Emperor.

Buddhism, Taoism, and Nestorianism were deliberately spread by the Ming Dynasty, and the small group of desert religion beliefs have been washed away. But Taoism is very weak, while Buddhism and Nestorianism spread rapidly.

The Cumans have long been employed by Hungary and Byzantium. Their main business is herding, and their sideline is to be mercenaries.

Some of the Cuman tribes that like to cooperate with Hungary converted to Catholicism.

Some of the Cuman tribes that like to cooperate with Byzantium converted to Orthodoxy.

By the way, there are also many Kipchaks and Cumans who went to the desert to serve as mercenaries for the country.

Let's talk about Hungary. This country has been parasitized by Catholicism.

The priests went to every village and fought fiercely with polytheists. Then, due to the dispute between the system of succession by the eldest son and the system of succession by adulthood, the monarch could not concentrate power at all.

There is also the butterfly effect brought by the Ming Dynasty, which made the current King of Hungary not Bela IV who resisted the Mongol invasion.

The cause was a series of changes in Europe more than 70 years ago, which led to the fact that the Holy Roman Princess did not die of illness, but fulfilled her marriage contract with the Hungarian prince. The subsequent Hungarian kings all changed.

The Holy Roman Emperor took this opportunity to strengthen his control over Hungary.

And the King of Hungary, with the support of the Holy Roman Emperor, began to crack down on the church forces in the country and slowly took back the various powers given up by the king.

Now, the princes of the Holy Roman Empire are fighting among themselves, and Hungary and the Cumans are planning to go to the East.

The Ming Dynasty naturally cannot manage so far.

But the vassal power of the Ming Dynasty, the Kipchak, could unite with them and make a big move in Eastern and Central Europe.

…

"Is this the legendary capital of the Ming Dynasty emperor?" Prince Laszlo looked up at the city wall.

After more than a year of trekking, they finally arrived in Luoyang.

They also took the Ming Dynasty train on the way, which shocked the three-party mixed envoys beyond words.

When they first boarded the train, everyone called it a miracle.

From Dongguo all the way to the inner city, hundreds of envoys entered the city like bumpkins, looking around and seeing everything strange.

Along the way, they were not allowed to enter the city, and they camped outside the city every time.

Once they entered the city, they entered Luoyang, and were shocked by the prosperity in front of them.

"The Sifang Pavilion is in front. The envoys of the three countries can only live there with 50 followers each," said the official of the Honglu Temple. "The rest of the people will be arranged by the court. No one is allowed to use force. If there is a dispute with anyone, they must come to the Honglu Temple to solve it."

Princess Anna is fourteen years old this year. She just turned thirteen when she left Hungary.

"Are those lights always on?" Princess Anna pointed to the kerosene street lamps and asked.

The two translators relayed the story, and the official of the Honglu Temple smiled and said, "They will go out in the middle of the night."

Everyone was amazed.

On the way here, they also passed many cities. Although they were not allowed to enter the city, they could see the bright lights in the city at night.

After entering the Sifang Pavilion one after another, the envoys of the three countries were arranged in several courtyards, and officials came to teach them how to use various daily necessities.

Then, dinner was brought to them.

Prince Laszlo devoured the rich but not extravagant dishes.

Princess Anna was slightly more elegant, and her manners during meals were almost as good as Xie Yan's maid.

"This place is like heaven." Princess Anna sighed.

Prince Laszlo smiled and said, "As long as my sister marries the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, she will be able to enjoy it endlessly in the future."

Princess Anna asked, "Will the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty be an old man?"

"Not an old man," said Prince Laszlo. "I have been asking around on the road, and I finally found out yesterday that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not yet an adult."

No mistake, one post, one content, one book, one bar!

"A child?" Princess Anna said.

Prince Laszlo said, "About your age. But the men of the Ming Dynasty seem to be able to marry many wives, just like the barbarians over there."

The royal nobles of Hungary were also a group of barbarians two or three hundred years ago.

To this day, polytheism still exists in Hungary, and many villages and tribes practice polygamy.

The next day, the envoys of the three countries began to communicate with the Honglu Temple, and were taught various audience etiquette.

The Kipchak envoys came to pay tribute and served as guides for the envoys of the other two countries.

The Cuman envoys came to submit, hoping to become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty and allow the Ming Dynasty's Buddhism, Taoism, and Nestorianism to spread.

The Hungarian envoys came to establish diplomatic relations and tried to marry the Ming Dynasty royal family, and by the way, obtain some Ming Dynasty firearms technology. (Hungary has been a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire for decades, and envied the firearms owned by the Holy Roman Empire.)

The three countries planned to completely cease fire and do business together under the witness of the Ming Emperor - the Silk Road!

A few days later, Princess Anna put on the most gorgeous clothes and followed her brother to the palace to meet the emperor and the empress dowager.

A hundred years ago, Hungary and France married, and Gothic clothing and French literature were introduced.

Her dress was tight on the upper body, especially the waist was very thin. The skirt below the waist suddenly became fluffy and big. The whole body is like an "A" shape.

However, this kind of skirt has no bone support, not as exaggerated as the Age of Exploration.

She is only fourteen years old, but her breasts have already taken shape, and the low-cut neckline can vaguely see the cleavage.

The hairstyle and headdress are very interesting. At first glance, they are similar to Zhao Yazhi's version of White Snake, even the veil behind the bun is very similar.

After entering the imperial city, changing carriages, they got lost and finally saw the little emperor and the empress dowager.

First, the Kipchak envoy came in to pay homage.

The Kipchak people expressed their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and promised again that if there was a rebellion in the western part of the Seven Rivers Protectorate, they would accept the Ming Dynasty's call without hesitation.

Moreover, they would bring their own food and weapons without the Ming Dynasty court giving them money and food, and kill all the rebellious desert religion grassland tribes.

Empress Dowager Ye expressed great relief, accepted the tribute of the Kipchak people, and gave them a lot of silk, cotton cloth, tea and spices.

The Kipchak envoy was overjoyed and thanked her again and again.

These Kipchaks were indeed loyal. They had submitted to the Ming Dynasty for decades and had never rebelled. Instead, they assisted the Ming Dynasty in suppressing rebellions many times.

When Emperor Dingtai suppressed the Seven Rivers Rebellion, the Kipchaks sent 5,000 cavalry and did not ask the Ming Dynasty for money and food. Of course, Emperor Dingtai also gave a lot afterwards.

Then the Cuman envoys came in and expressed their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty as a vassal in the future, just like the Cumans.

They also offered five beautiful women to the young emperor as concubines - although the Cumans had a tribal alliance leader, they were still a mess as a whole, and the chiefs of each tribe planned to offer their daughters.

Finally, after a lot of arguing, the five most powerful tribes each offered a noble lady. Each noble lady brought a few maids as a dowry.

"Are you willing to accept various sects?" asked Empress Dowager Ye.

The Cuman envoy said: "We know the Buddhism, Taoism and Nestorianism of the various Kipchak tribes. These sects do not conflict with our beliefs. We believe in ancestors and natural gods. Several tribes close to Hungary have even accepted Western Catholicism."

Empress Dowager Ye nodded and smiled: "Very good, the Ming Dynasty accepts your loyalty."

The Cuman envoy said: "If there is a rebellion in the Seven Rivers Protectorate of the Ming Dynasty, we Cumans are willing to send troops, but the Ming Dynasty needs to pay some money. We have a good reputation and often accept employment from Rome (Byzantium) and Hungary."

Empress Dowager Ye smiled but said nothing.

These guys became vassals, but they actually asked for money to help fight, which is no different from those Karluks.

I'm afraid they didn't come to the Ming Dynasty to expand the mercenary business!

Empress Dowager Ye also accepted their tribute, and instead gave them some property, and asked the Ministry of Rites to send an envoy to confer the title of Cuman King.

With the Ming Dynasty conferring the title of king, the leader of the Cuman tribal alliance truly had a legal system with appeal. They can further integrate the tribes, continue to serve as mercenaries, and expand their territory to the northwest (there are a lot of principalities established by Slavs there).

The Ming Dynasty did not project its military power there, but its political influence was already sufficient!

Both sides get what they need.

The Cumans need the legal system and Silk Road trade provided by the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty spread Buddhism, Taoism, and Nestorianism through the Cumans, and also spread Confucianism. These Cumans currently own one-fifth of Ukraine in later generations.

Imagine that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism spread to Ukraine...