Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Fulk went out with gold and silver coins. He originally only wanted to buy some oriental treasures and inquire about that mysterious country.

Now we can only put the gold and silver coins in the oasis and send a team of infantry soldiers to guard them. Then he took his army and his wife and all rode to the vicinity of the fortress—negotiating if they could, and escaping on horseback if they couldn't.

Helim Fortress was built not long ago and is the southernmost stronghold of the Crusaders.

Fulk stopped a few miles away from the fortress and sent someone to contact the Ming officials. The two sides agreed to send ten people each to talk in the wild.

Cheng Yu, Yu Yunwen, Hu Quan and other envoys are still in Seljuk. The leader of this group is called Qian Wei.

Qian Sui was the third son of Qian Jingzhen, the former Song Dynasty prince-consort. His father recommended Ju Ming for his poetry, and his eldest brother also had some friendship with Ju Ming.

Before that, he had been working as a minor official, rising to the sixth rank in circles.

For the sake of his future, Mao Sui recommended himself to go overseas as an envoy, hoping to be promoted after returning home.

"Your Excellency is the king of this place?" Qian Su didn't even know what a Crusade was.

Fulk was observing the cavalry beside Qian Su. Except for the slightly short horses, the weapons and armor were all elite. He did not dare to make a move rashly, so he responded on horseback and said, "Hello, I am Fulk, the King of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. What is your title?"

After translating, the Arab businessman reminded: "They value the title. If the title is too low, they may not discuss it again."

Qian Su smiled coldly: "My father is the Duke of Kang of the Song Dynasty, and my mother is the eldest princess of the Song Dynasty. Now that we have arrived in the Ming Dynasty, I don't bother to talk to you about titles. Any envoy in the Ming Dynasty is more noble than the kings of you foreign countries. !”

The Arab merchant said: "The person in front of me is also a noble. His mother's identity is placed in the East and is equivalent to the sister of the Roman emperor. His father is a duke."

After Fulk listened to the translation, he immediately stood in awe, saluted again and said: "I am very happy to meet you. Since you are such a noble nobleman, we can seriously discuss the ransom."

"Fifty thousand taels of silver are needed to redeem the fortress, and one tael of silver cannot be less." Qian Su said.

The Arab merchant translated: "More than 130,000 Jerusalem silver coins, not even a single silver coin is missing."

Fulk said: "I only give 30,000 silver coins. If more are needed, I will lead the army to take it back with my own hands!"

Qian Su smiled and said: "You are always welcome."

Fulk asked: "You came from the far east, can you keep troops to guard the fortress?"

"If you don't want to redeem it, I can sell the fortress to Green Clothes Dashi." Qian Wei said.

Fulk laughed: "That king of Egypt? He is a famous tyrant who is only interested in killing people. He slaughtered the nobles of his country wantonly, and no local nobles dared to go to the royal city. He would not pay to buy the fortress because he would not pay for it. I can’t keep it either.”

Qian Wei lowered the price and said, "Forty-five thousand taels of silver."

Fulk said: "40,000 silver coins."

"See you on the battlefield." Qian Zhen turned around.

"Wait a minute!" Fulk shouted.

Qian Su asked: "Have you thought clearly?"

Fulk said: "I will only give you 50,000 silver coins, but I promise to buy all your goods."

Qian Su questioned: "Do you have that much money? Your country seems to be very poor."

Fulk said: "I paid to buy some treasures first, and soon sent the subsequent gold and silver coins. After this trade is successful, I can buy Ming goods for a long time in the future."

Fulk certainly didn’t have that much money, but the merchants of the Mediterranean did!

After the Crusaders captured Jerusalem, they killed all the local pagans and the city was seriously lacking in population.

While they continue to lure immigrants from Europe, they also lure persecuted Christians in Syria.

Gradually it became popular, and merchants also appeared.

Merchants from Genoa, Pisa, Venice and other countries established communes (commercial districts) in various Crusader cities and helped the Crusaders transport European immigrants who had been deceived.

The four maritime republics of Italy all signed trade treaties with the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Crusaders launched a frenzied attack to capture Halim and established a fortress at the port of Halim in order to have access to the Red Sea and obtain oriental goods from Arab merchants.

However, the Crusaders did not have any decent fleet in the Red Sea, and the Egyptians did not allow merchants to trade in the Crusaders' ports.

Fulk suddenly had a flash of inspiration and decided to turn a bad thing into a good thing!

The conflict between him and his wife is nothing more than a conflict between the interests of outsiders and local nobles.

As long as you can buy Daming goods for a long time, you can resell them to Italian merchants. The huge commercial profits can be shared with the local nobles, and at the same time, they have made good friends with the four Italian Maritime Republics.

If the sale is concluded, Fulk's status as king will be stable.

Qian Su thought for a while and said, "Okay. We can leave the matter of redeeming the castle aside until we finish the transaction."

Fulk asked, "Can I go to the fort to inspect the cargo?"

"If you're not afraid of being killed, just come with me." Qian Su said with a smile.

Fulk said: "You came all the way, certainly not to kill people. If you want to occupy the land, you don't have to occupy the barren Hailim. So, you are here to make money. I let you make money, but you won't Killing me will protect my safety."

Qian Su nodded and said, "You are a smart person."

Fulk sent people back to the oasis to get the gold and silver, and then took his wife and army and followed Qian Su straight to Helim Fortress.

There were still two or three miles away from the fortress, Qian Su said: "Your army is not allowed to go any further. You can bring up to 30 people to the port with me."

There are not many Ming army troops in the castle, only three hundred people.

But there were still 600 sailors who came ashore and entered the castle to assist in the defense.

Fulk and his party of thirty were not allowed to enter the fortress and were taken directly to the transport ship to inspect the goods.

Boxes of different kinds of goods were lifted out, the boxes were pried open and the samples were placed on the deck.

"God, what kind of treasure is that?"

Queen Melisande's eyes were shining, and a glass mirror in front of her was reflecting the sunlight.

Fulk asked, "Can my wife come and see it?"

Qian Su smiled and said, "Of course."

Melisande carefully held up the glass mirror. The size and purity of this mirror were far inferior to the one presented to the Seljuk Sultan.

But it was enough to drive Melisande crazy.

The Queen of Jerusalem, the future Queen of Jerusalem, looked at her beautiful face in the mirror and couldn't help but want to cover her face and cry.

Fulk asked: "How much does this cargo cost?"

Qian Wei said with half truth and half lies: "It is not easy to make, and it is worth five thousand taels of silver. Look at its frame, there are two taels of gold wire embedded in it. Not only is the craftsmanship of this wire inlay top-notch, it is also top-notch. The big pearl on it is also a good product. The mirror is polished with the best natural crystal, which can only be polished by the imperial craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty. As for the paint on the back, this is a secret that cannot be revealed. We traveled tens of thousands of miles and only brought it with us. Three mirrors.”

Not just three glass mirrors, of course, but a full thirty, and they were all for sale along the way.

A country only sells one side, and everything is rare and valuable!

As Qian Su explained, Melisande finally discovered the pearl: "Is this a pearl?"

"Otherwise, what do you think it is?" Qian Su said, "This pearl is very supernatural. It naturally grows into a flower pattern, and it is like a flower radiating light from the sun."

Cultured pearls!

This technology existed in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Buddha pearls appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Just carve the Buddha out of some kind of material, then stuff it into a pearl clam and raise it for a few years. It was still able to fool European nobles until the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Melisande looked at the pearl carefully, and the more she looked at it, the more she felt it was real.

The price is 5,000 taels of silver, which is 13,333 silver coins.

Of course it's expensive, but it's also cheap.

This is a glass mirror that cannot be found in the West, and it is also embedded with natural flower-shaped pearls!

Melisande held the glass mirror in her arms and said to her husband: "Buy it, and I will make peace with you and recognize you as my husband and my king."

"Okay." Fulk agreed immediately.

Neither husband nor wife are fools. They have been fighting openly and covertly for several years. Unless one party dies suddenly, neither party can win.

Now that there are many treasures from the Ming Dynasty, they can work together and make a lot of money by reselling the goods.

Melisande held the mirror and whispered: "This thing is priceless. Those republic merchants will go crazy. Just show it as a sample, don't sell it to them, and don't say there is only one mirror. They will definitely return to their respective republics and use it. Ships brought in countless amounts of gold and silver, begging us to bring them for trade.”

"You can't let businessmen come here," Fulk said.

Melisande said: "Of course not, this port is ours. But we don't have enough money, so we can borrow from them. The more money who borrows, the greater the share of the rationed goods!"

The couple who used to be stupid before now start to discuss how to make money together, and they also have to act like a loser.

Fulk smiled and said: "Let's go look at other treasures."

Mirrors are scarce here, so it's natural to trap them to death.

However, silk and porcelain have market prices. Although they are extremely expensive, they cannot be treated as fools.

"Silk, such beautiful smooth silk!"

"Praise for the china. I eat with it every day!"

Melisande put the mirror back and continued to look at the goods samples. Suddenly she touched the velvet and said, "What is this?"

Qian Su smiled and said: "Velvet."

Melisande suddenly said: "Are you from the Ming Dynasty in Seris?"

Qian Su nodded: "Yes."

"Do people there wear silk?" Melisande asked.

"Many civilians can also afford it," Qian Wei said ambiguously, "We have a variety of fabrics for everyone to choose from."

Melisande turned to her husband and said, "I remember that there was a Roman scholar who visited Jerusalem ten years ago. He told me many stories in the classics, including Siris. He said that the king of Siris, the real His title is the King of Kings, not the son of the God of the Sky!”

Fulk murmured to himself: "The King of Kings? No wonder such a precious treasure can be brought out for trade."