Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 669: Patriarch, Archbishop and Caliph Making Dumplings Together
Guo Kang's reaction seemed to be beyond the expectations of Meltem and the others. However, perhaps because he was usually easy to talk to, they did not give up and continued to try to persuade him.

"Didn't you say before that women should be allowed to participate more in social organizations to increase social output?" Joanna asked curiously, "Why don't you allow her to participate in management now?"

"Because management work is different from production." Guo Kang shook his head. "If she is good at farming, weaving, or has skills and knowledge, I will reward her, or even let her lead a group of people to do professional work she is good at. But the position you recommended her for includes the part of making special judgments, which is another different field. Before she shows enough reason and fairness, I can't make a decision casually, otherwise, it will be irresponsible for the reputation of Rome."

"Why don't we just treat her as a role model and let her keep her previous position?" Lady Jeanna suggested, "This is indeed the local custom. If we abide by these customs and don't change them at will, the locals will trust us more."

"Local customs cannot be destroyed at will, but they cannot be followed unconditionally either, otherwise we won't be able to make any changes and this place will remain the same as before." Guo Kang pointed out: "If this continues, and they continue to live the same life as before during the Mamluk rule, it will be worse for the local people, right?"

"Besides, there is more than one custom in Egypt, and some schools of law believe that women should not be allowed to hold these positions. Everyone can interpret it according to the doctrine, so who is right? At this time, it makes sense to choose either side. It shows that traditions and customs should also be used selectively."

"We have to find a direction for change, right?" Meltem also asked, "Since we want to organize women's production, we have to give them a path to rise, so that everyone has something to look forward to. This model should be beneficial to the overall goal of increasing output. It's not a harmful custom."

"If it is beneficial, we should keep it, but your logic is wrong." Guo Kang told her: "If the more management power women hold, the more they can improve social output, then the Wu Zetian era must have been the most productive era in history - you see, this is definitely not logical."

Meltem couldn't answer either. After thinking for a while, he still didn't know what to say.

Tuohuan wanted to smooth things over, but at this moment, the guards outside the door ran in again and said that several allies came to ask for a meeting.

"Who is it?" Tuohuan asked.

"It's Archdeacon John and Grand Master Roberto," the guard reported. "They said that the Roman Bishop's envoy has arrived, so they came to ask for an audience and hope to discuss the arrangements for the next meeting."

"Oh, they were invited by Patriarch Wang. His ship just arrived at Alexandria the day before yesterday." Guo Kang thought for a moment and told Tuo Huan, "Bishop Gabriel of the Coptic Church also returned to Egypt two days ago and said that representatives of the Ethiopian Church are on the way. In addition, the Caliph has been waiting in Cairo. Once everyone arrives, we can hold a meeting."

"Fortunately, it went smoothly." Tuo Huan nodded and said to the guests, "I have understood your situation. We have many major issues to deal with, whether it is the integration of the church or the arrangements to deal with the plague, which involve the lives of many people and the future of the country."

"When Guo Kang'an does things, he can only take the overall situation into consideration. Some things will definitely offend people - not to mention others, even I have to make a painful decision and make a lot of concessions. Some decisions may seem to be unfair to you, but in the final analysis, it is for the good of everyone. Of course, if you are still dissatisfied afterwards, you can come to me again. I will find a way to help you arrange it."

"As for religious issues, you don't have to worry. We have invited many elders to hold a meeting to resolve conflicts. Old Mr. Nasreddin will also come. If you feel that our interpretation of doctrine is not authoritative enough, you might as well ask him. You can't be so untrustworthy as to distrust his wisdom."

"Huh? You even invited him out?" Meltem was a little surprised.

"We have had many exchanges with him before, so we are old acquaintances." Tuohuan told her: "When Emperor Timur's uncle Timur went on an expedition to Syria and Asia Minor, Mr. Nasreddin accompanied the army. When everyone discussed how to deal with the city of Damascus, he was the first to speak to the old emperor's uncle, and finally helped all parties to negotiate a compromise so that the city was spared from destruction. Later, the old emperor's uncle withdrew his troops and handed over the Syrian area to us. He also helped mediate and made a lot of efforts to stabilize the situation. From then on, we became familiar with each other."

"After the death of the old uncle, Samarkand fell into civil strife, so Mr. Nasreddin left the palace and lobbied everywhere, trying to dissuade the out-of-control warlords. After Shah Rukh stabilized the situation, he left Persia and traveled to more distant places. Later, he was invited to serve as abbot of the Great Mosque in Mecca, which happened to be not far from here. We contacted him in advance and asked him to help stabilize the situation and consult him on some religious issues."

“You’ve even prepared this…” Meltem was greatly surprised.

"Otherwise. This is an important war related to the development of the entire country. We must be as prepared as possible in all aspects." Tuohuan shook his head and said with a smile: "Each department has so many people to support, and they receive so much salary from the court every year, and eat so much food paid by citizens. If they can't do anything, wouldn't they just be eating dry rice?"

After hearing what he said, Meltem and the others had no choice but to say goodbye and leave. Tuohuan still waved goodbye to them cheerfully.

"I have a bunch of guests waiting in line here, so I won't see you off. Miss Jeanna, please say hello to Brother Wenkui for me. He has been working hard recently. By the way, I have an event this afternoon at the square of Khan Khalili Bazaar. You can also go and join in the fun."

Jeanna thanked him again, and then they left together. When they went out, they saw a few people wearing cross burqas discussing something outside the tent. Jeanna and Joanna went up to greet them, while Meltem was still talking to himself, muttering something.

"What are you thinking about?" Nafisa couldn't help asking.

"Grandpa Nasreddin is coming." Meltem said happily, "I grew up listening to all kinds of legendary stories about him. Even in our country, there are many stories about him using wisdom to defeat various lords. But after all these years of running around, I have never seen him."

"I've also heard about it from people at school. To be honest, I was a little confused at the time and thought the story was a bit exaggerated." Nafisa said truthfully: "In the story, he always made the Emir and the Bey speechless with just a few words, and even forced them to accept his mediation. In Egypt, even the Caliph did not have such confidence to make those warlords and lords obey him. I don't know how prestigious he was and how he did it."

"He is Timur's most trusted advisor, and one of the few people who can be friends with the 'cripple'." Meltem pointed out: "The Beys are just stronger than ordinary people, so how dare they offend him. Not accepting his mediation is probably an active opportunity to give Timur a reason to come to mediate..."

"...Okay." After hearing this, Nafisa understood immediately.

"When the old man comes, we'll go talk to Brother Kang again." Meltem made arrangements for her: "We didn't take it seriously today, and we didn't plan the words well, which led to this situation. We must prepare well next time and not act on impulse like this again."

"Forget it." Nafisa shook her head and said, "To be honest, I'm a little afraid of him... Anyway, it's not impossible in the current situation. If he really doesn't let me do it, I can also do what he says and participate in engineering or teach. With these options, I don't have to worry about my livelihood."

"Ah? Not really?" Meltem was very surprised.

But before he could finish his words, Jeanna and Joanna ended their conversation and came to share the news they had just heard. Meltem did not continue to ask.

On the other side, after briefly answering their questions, Butler John, Grand Commander Roberto and others, led by the guards, entered the tent.

The two sides exchanged a few pleasantries and quickly got down to business.

"Cardinal Matteo has arrived at Alexandria." Roberto said, "Before, Patriarch Wang sent someone to inform us that the Knights should go to greet him. But now we still have a lot of work to do in Cairo. If we all go to Alexandria, we will have to stop for a while. Where do you think we should go first?"

"You two can each bring ten knights and go over there." Tuo Huan said, "Actually, we are just going to show our support, but since it is your leader who is here, it would be bad if we don't go. Most of the work here is now done, so it doesn't matter if we have fewer people."

"At present, the work of clearing out the gangs has actually come to an end. The remaining thing is to prepare to fight the plague." Guo Kang also told them: "This matter is too dangerous, so I can't order you to participate. I have also issued a warning to the locals. I will only organize them to participate if they are willing to stay. So, just go and do your own things. The rewards for the previous tasks will be sent to you soon."

Steward John and Grand Captain Roberto thanked them and then asked, "Are there any other tasks during the reception that we need to prepare in advance?"

"Nothing else." Tuo Huan said, "We will hold some activities, and you two need to participate as representatives. There are many sects coming this time, so remember to be cautious and don't get into conflict with others."

"No problem, no problem. We will definitely control our men." John assured him, "But what kind of activity is it?"

"I haven't thought about this yet." Tuo Huan scratched his head and admitted, "For the time being, I plan to have everyone cook a meal together, such as making ravioli, to show solidarity and cooperation - but it hasn't been confirmed yet. I will notify you when it is decided."

"Yes!" Although he didn't understand why he had to make ravioli, Roberto agreed immediately.

(End of this chapter)