The Sun and the Lion

After sending Francesco off, Mira summoned the viziers to discuss this diplomatic issue. Everyone's opinion is highly unanimous - at present, in the Venetian-Ottoman War, Safavid has no motive and no ability to intervene and help.

Although Ibrahim did not mobilize all his troops in his eastward expedition to Guregani, after deducting some of the red heads who migrated to various provinces and stationed in villages, it was still questionable whether the great emir could provide 20,000 cavalry. If you are fighting small forces like Durkadir, Abkhazia, and Circassia, you will naturally be able to do whatever you want, but it will not be enough to fight against the Ottomans or Mamluks.

Moreover, the Ottoman red heads are still organized by the dervishes of the order. Only the religious authority from the Sheikh can send them. The remaining viziers and Sadr have no authority to give direct orders, and it is difficult to persuade the Safavids in the Ottoman The dervishes instigated riots.

In the end, everyone came to the conclusion that Safavid could only agree to the Venetian's request to send an ambassador. What they can do now is continue to strengthen business ties with Venice and introduce professional talents.

Francesco waited uneasily in the guest room in the castle for a full week. During this period, he and several entourages, accompanied by eunuchs and guards, visited various places in Tabriz, especially the largest bazaar and blue bazaar in the city. Color Mosque.

"Today happens to be the day of Judah. ​​Like the Saracens in Egypt and Syria, they went to the mosque to pray together in the afternoon. They used the same language as the Saracens when praying, but their preaching speeches were in I heard I didn’t understand the local language, but the mullah on the stage was very emotional and full of gestures. It wasn’t until I asked the guide on the side that I found out that the mullah on the stage was guiding everyone to use the most vicious words and curses they could think of to inflict on several people. A very sinful person.”

"The market in Tabriz is very prosperous and has a complete range of goods. I can find all the goods I have seen in Aleppo and Alexandria here, in sufficient quantity and at favorable prices. Any merchant can buy goods from here and traffic them back Italy, Germany and other places can achieve profits comparable to those of our country."

When passing by the slave market, he looked at the black, white, male and female slaves behind the slave traders, and he had the idea of ​​​​purchasing. As an envoy who wants to live in a foreign country for a long time, it is best to buy a few slaves to facilitate life. He did this in Aleppo, except that slavery was legally prohibited in the republic, and he sold all his slaves to the Cretan slave market when he left office.

Yes, slavery was prohibited in Venice, but the human trade was still flourishing. Crete, which was far away from the mainland and was at the center of the sea route, was the center of Venice's human trade.

When several slave traders noticed a richly dressed Frank looking at the slaves on display, they all stepped forward to sell slaves to Francesco. The two sides began to negotiate in Arabic.

The goods in the Persian slave market can be mainly divided into two categories - one is composed of Georgian, Armenian, Circassian and other Caucasian ethnic groups from the Caucasus and a small number of Slavs who changed hands with the Astrakhan Tatar slave traders. white slaves and black slaves from Ethiopia and the East African coast, resold from local traders by Arab and Persian merchants.

As he spoke, several slaves were led to Francesco. They were only wrapped in a blanket. After being lifted off, the slave merchant checked the physical condition of the slaves in front of him.

The slave trader saw that the foreigner was luxuriously dressed and had many followers, so he only showed him the ones with the highest prices. Francesco first selected a very expensive Circassian slave girl, and then bought several castrated ones to serve as servants.

After returning to the room, he wrote down what he saw in Tabriz intermittently like a traveler, and planned to send it back to Venice after sorting it out.

At this time, the eunuch who acted as a guide during the day knocked on his door: "Your Excellency, Your Highness comes to inform you to attend tonight's banquet, which is in the hall."

Francesco, who was leaning on the desk, raised his head: "I understand."

He has been waiting for another summons from the Safavid court, and the banquet held by the royal family should be attended by many dignitaries. For diplomats, making connections is a necessary part of the job.

Before setting off, the Senate prepared a large amount of property, which was used to make friends with various dignitaries in the Safavid court, except for those presented to the King of Kings. At the same time, diplomatic funds will also be sent to him through the Aleppo consul every year. Gifts and bribes are common methods of Venetian diplomacy.

Francesco hid his draft, walked out of the guest room, walked through the corridor decorated with tile murals, and came to the courtyard, waiting for tonight's banquet.

…………

Trabzon on the same night. Selim did not have any distinguished guests to receive in the palace, there were no rioting Turkmens, and there were no businessmen who came to appeal and ask him to handle disputes. In addition to the new taxes, look for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com Kostantiniya The war has nothing to do with him. In the small court of Trabzon, the most important thing for him personally was to pray to God that his Suleiman would live healthy to adulthood.

However, the guard suddenly reported the secret agent requesting an audience, interrupting his rest time.

"Your Highness, I have no intention of disturbing your rest, but an urgent message has been sent from Tabriz." The spy respectfully handed the secret letter to Selim with both hands.

Selim was a little surprised. He knew that his espionage network had suffered a heavy blow not long ago. Almost all the spies in Kurdistan were wiped out, and many messengers were buried in a dunghill in a certain village while delivering messages.

Only the agents in Tabriz survived in an official capacity, but they were closely monitored and it was common for messengers to be intercepted.

After opening the secret letter, he quickly glanced through it. The general content of it was as follows - a group of envoys from the Christian world appeared in Tabriz. They were guessed to be Venetians. It was also possible that they were other enemies. Very small.

Francesco took off his disguise in Tabriz and came to the attention of Ottoman spies when he kept visiting the city. However, the spy's status was too low and he had no way to inquire about the country of the mission and the attitude of the Safavid court. content of the talks.

After reading this, Selim was sure that the mission that appeared in Tabriz must be related to the Venetians - Venice has long controlled passenger transportation services between the holiest places in Christendom, and Venetian galleys carry a large number of pilgrims and pilgrims every year. Travelers go to the Levant.

Whether it was the Holy See or the King of Hungary, if they wanted to send envoys to the Levant or even further east, they would inevitably have to deal with the Venetians.

"This letter must be delivered to Kostantinye."

"yes."