Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The person responsible for trading horses with Qian Hu was a Bedouin tribe elder named Ahmed.

When asked about the price of the horse, Ahmed pointed to the Arabian horse behind him: "This is the best war horse of the Bedouin people. The red spots on its shoulders are the blood spattered when the Prophet was injured. Ours Three tribes came to sell horses, but among all the war horses of the three tribes, only this one is a true holy blood horse. "

Qian Su just smiled and didn't refute anything.

Ahmed sighed: "If it weren't for the difficulty of survival, we would never sell the Holy Blood Horse. Its coat color must be gray, and the red spots must be on the shoulders, otherwise it cannot be called a Holy Blood Horse. "

As he spoke, Ahmed began to tell the story of the Prophet who was wounded in battle.

The Arab businessman's translator said to Qian Su: "He did not lie. The Holy Blood Horse is indeed very rare, and Bedouins rarely sell it."

The horse breeder of the Ming Dynasty who went to sea with the ship whispered: "Although this horse is not bad, it does not appear to be outstanding among the more than one hundred horses. If the price is too high, it is better to buy a few more other horses." After all, what they consider sacred is of little use to us.”

Qian Wei said: "A gentleman will not take away someone's beauty, so just keep your holy blood horse."

Ahmed actually didn't want to sell it. He pointed to a white horse and said: "This kind of white horse is also very rare and extremely precious among all war horses. Although many war horses look white, when you look closely, they are gray. The one we brought here is truly white. It has white hair, pink skin, and dark eyes."

Caused by a genetic mutation, he didn't have any special abilities, but he didn't have any diseases either.

This kind of white horse is actually not useful in desert areas. Its pink skin is easily burned by the sun. The reason why the selling price is so high is simply because things are rare.

The horse breeder of the Ming Dynasty said: "This white horse is extremely powerful and can be kept as a horse breed."

Qian Su nodded and said: "Yes, I bought it. Let's talk about the price slowly."

The horses were inspected slowly one by one, and the horse breeder even opened the horse's mouth to see its teeth, and kept recording them in a small notebook.

Finally, the horse breeder asked: "What are the habits of horses like yours?"

"They're so smart that they learn bad things easily," Ahmed said.

"A bad learner?" The horse breeder didn't understand.

Ahmed explained: "If the training method is wrong, they will develop bad habits and even learn to be lazy and cheat. We Bedouin people all keep horses in our tents and share food with them. Live and develop relationships. They like to be close to people, and they will feel very lonely if they don’t get along with people every day.”

The horse breeder of the Ming Dynasty: "..."

The horse breeder began to organize his words: "I want to ask, it's very hot here, will the war horses be intolerant to the cold? My Ming Dynasty's war horses are all extremely cold-tolerant."

Ahmed shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Well, for a Bedouin who has lived in a tropical desert all his life, asking him about the cold is a bit out of line.

The horse breeder asked again: "Is it resistant to rough feeding? If the concentrated feed is gone during the march, how long can this kind of horse maintain its fighting strength?"

Ahmed said: "Our food is not abundant, and the horses sometimes eat better than their owners. If there is really no food, you can only let it eat grass. It will be no problem to keep marching for a few days. If the war horse follows It has a deep affection for its master and can starve with him until it dies in battle.”

It seems like everything has been said, and yet it seems like nothing has been said.

Horse breeders can only tend to tolerate rough feeding. After all, there cannot always be concentrated feed in the desert.

As for whether it could tolerate moisture, the horse breeder didn't ask.

Because all types of war horses are susceptible to illness in humid environments.

Unable to figure it out after a simple exchange, the horse breeder simply asked in detail how the Bedouin usually raised their war horses.

Ahmed carefully narrated all the details, and finally revealed the top horse training method: "There is a legendary method of training war horses. It is said that the prophet only gave the war horses a small amount of feed every day. After seven consecutive days of starvation, the war horses were released in groups. , let them go to the trough to grab food, and take the opportunity to train the discipline of the war horses. "

Let the war horse starve for seven days and it won't lose weight or get sick?

The horse breeder is very sure that this kind of horse can withstand rough feeding. He asked curiously: "Have you tried this method?"

Ahmed shook his head: "I don't want to try. The war horse is our most valuable asset."

The two sides bargained, and all the Arabian horses brought by the Bedouin were bought by the Ming envoys.

Including the so-called holy blood horse, there are 117 horses in total.

The Bedouin seemed a little reluctant to leave, and even held a farewell ceremony with the war horse.

The war horses behaved very humanely, neighing and restlessly, and some horses even struggled to follow their original owners.

This situation is extremely normal, because the Bedouins raise horses, and people and horses always eat and live together.

They don't have a dedicated stable, they keep the horses directly in tents.

After a few years of keeping a dog like this, it can become extremely close to its owner!

"Guests from far away, I hope you can treat these war horses well." Ahmed said.

The horse breeder said: "I will definitely do it."

The Bedouin loaded their camels with goods and gradually disappeared into the depths of the desert.

The horse breeder called his subordinates and discussed with the commander Zou Tong.

In view of the restlessness of these newly purchased Arabian horses, one person was assigned to each horse to take care of it and try to calm the horse's mood.

The Bedouin left for two days, and Damascus came to trade again.

Damascus, like Aleppo, nominally belongs to the Seljuqs, but has been independent for decades and is the frontline against Western invasion.

They brought many local products, but the Ming envoys could only see two: Damascus rose essential oil and Damascus steel.

Damascus steel is made of Utz steel from India, which is wrapped with wrought iron and forged repeatedly.

Qian Su didn't know the details and called this kind of steel "big food iron".

…

It lasted until autumn, and the goods were almost sold out.

Qian Su got the ransom, returned the fortress to Fulk, led the fleet to the Red Sea port, and waited for Chen Wo to come from Egypt to join him.

Chen Wo brought back a large number of Egyptian academic works, as well as various specialties from around the Mediterranean.

After they met, they did not leave immediately.

Continuously, Arab traders brought souvenirs from East Africa and sold them to the Ming Dynasty fleet in the Gulf of Aden - mainly ivory, furs, gems, ebony, grain, fruits and vegetables, etc.

After loading, they headed to the Gulf of Oman to wait. Cheng Yu, Yu Yunwen and others came from Seljuk to join them.

If you choose to return at this time, you will actually face headwinds and currents in the northern Indian Ocean.

But as long as you pass the faith, it will become a wind and water. There is no need to wait here for half a year.

You can't leave immediately, you have to wait until November of the lunar calendar, otherwise you may encounter a big storm.

This is information provided by Arab merchants. The northern Indian Ocean has the most storms from March to May and August to October of the lunar calendar. June and July of the lunar calendar are the best months to travel to the east, as the winds and rivers are smooth and you won’t encounter any storms.

Some Arab merchants chose to go with the Ming Dynasty fleet.

Seljuk Sultan Sanjar also sent a ship to accompany him, carrying envoys, scholars, and gifts to the Ming Dynasty.

Along the way, each country presented its credentials, formally established equal diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty, and sold some of its own local products.

Until they arrived at the Kingdom of Solange, they not only presented their credentials, but also sent a delegation of thirty people to accompany them.

Later, the Chalukya dynasty sent an envoy of thirty-five people.

The Chola Dynasty directly sent three ships carrying a large amount of cargo and envoys.

…

Island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

The new king who came to power in the coup also presented his credentials at the port.

Although the new king was very reckless, he was beaten badly by Ming Dynasty last time and tried to ease diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty.

"So, as I expected, right? The king's uncle really rebelled." Zhu Xiaozhong said with a smile.

Cheng Yu said: "Take the prince and help Xilanchi recover the country!"

Yu Yunwen brought the navigation chart: "The prince has no prestige, and I'm afraid I won't be able to defend the country if I help him restore it. We must garrison the Victory City. We don't need too many, just five hundred people."

"Is it cost-effective to station troops so far away?" Hu Quan asked.

Yu Yunwen said: "Food and wages are provided by the King of Ceylon, and the money and wages are drawn from port taxes."

Cheng Yu asked: "The soldiers are alone overseas, I am afraid it will be difficult to maintain military morale."

Zhu Xiaozhong smiled and said: "Leave the soldiers on Salmon Island behind. They are all prisoners of the former Song Dynasty, and all of them have eaten people. Their wives and children were taken to Japan before, and some even married their wives in Japan. Next Bring their wives and children here for the first time, and allow them to marry again on the island of Ceylon.”

Yu Yunwen said: "If you control Ceylon Island, you can control the waters on the Indian side. It is best to ask the court to dispatch a few warships to stay here after returning home."

"Srivijaya is still in the way," Yingxuan said.

Yu Yunwen said: "They are ordered not to intercept the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, and not to buy or sell the goods of the Ming Dynasty by force. If they do not obey, they will have an excuse to start a war. At that time, the surrounding vassal countries will be brought together to fight. Those countries are both vassals of the Ming Dynasty and are independent from Srivijaya. Come out. They have been suppressed by Srivijaya and are definitely willing to send troops."

Yingxuan said: "If troops can be stationed in Sriwijaya and Ceylon, the route from the southernmost tip of India to Guangzhou will be unimpeded."

Cheng Yu said: "The cost of the garrison cannot be allocated by the imperial court, otherwise it will not be sustainable. We must occupy the port to collect taxes and use commercial taxes to support the garrison. Not only will we not waste money, but we will also have surplus to pay to the national treasury."

Yu Yunwen pointed to the Bangladesh area: "It would be best to occupy a port here."

There are two ports there, one is the outer port of Calcutta and the other is located at the outlet of the Barisal River.

As for Chittagong, it was a wilderness at this time and had always been a gathering place for pirates.

Hu Quan said: "The rainy season there is extremely hot and humid, and the garrison may have many sick people."

Yu Yunwen said: "Take your time. First, occupy a port in Ceylon Island and Srivijaya. Then select some soldiers who are accustomed to the humidity and heat, and go to Sena State (one of the states in Bangladesh) to occupy the port. Three ports are in hand. , then the sea route will be smooth.”

These three ports are in the shape of an irregular triangle and can be reached directly in two or two.