Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 831 The Palaiologos Dynasty is indeed dead
However, in Guo Kang's world, the situation changed further with the addition of the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty could have easily controlled all diplomatic activities in the West by monopolizing "high-tech products." At that time, there were many things in the world that only Seris could produce.

Controlling the trade system based on productivity advantages and technological monopolies is not a difficult concept to grasp. Even the barbarians of Guo Kang's time had some understanding of this. Of course, the barbarians' level in this regard was far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, and they couldn't maintain their position for long before problems arose. Other barbarians, including Han Chinese who had become barbarized, also lacked effective methods. This may explain why people find the Ming Dynasty's control difficult to understand.

However, the emergence of various remnants of the Yuan Dynasty has broken this monopoly.

Putting aside other factors, even Guo Kang himself preferred doing business with the Yuan Dynasty because they were more "free trade" and would sell anything for a price. Conversely, even though the Ming Dynasty knew it could no longer monopolize many technologies and products, it still preferred to maintain a haughty demeanor. Therefore, doing business with the gentry of the Yuan Dynasty was much more comfortable.

At present, the Yuan and Ming dynasties frequently took turns controlling several ports in Southeast Asia. The natives were initially very panicked and would run away when they saw the army coming; but as time went on, they became familiar with both sides and even became too lazy to run away anymore.

Tang Sai'er told Guo Kang that when she traveled west by boat, she passed through Malacca and visited the palace of a local king. The king, seeing that they were escorted by servants from the Sun and Zhang families, assumed they must be important figures and treated them warmly. He even produced an account book, saying that he was a good partner of the Yuan Dynasty, providing them with timber year-round. He told them not to forget him if they ever had any big business opportunities.

However, Tang Sai'er and the others looked at the accounts and found that the dates recorded were all in reign titles like "Hongwu" and "Tianping." Li Li quickly reminded him that they must have taken the wrong book. The Tu Wang was very embarrassed and hurriedly found someone to exchange it, claiming that his temporarily recruited servants were too incompetent and illiterate, so they took the wrong book.

Li Li explained to Tang Sai'er that many local chieftains and tribal leaders did business with both the Yuan and Ming dynasties simultaneously. At first, there was some oversight, but over time, both sides became desensitized. Therefore, their account books, and even the local archways and flags, were kept in duplicate. Those who knew the truth tacitly avoided mentioning it.

As expected, the Yuan people accompanying him were not surprised by this, and did not even blame him. They just laughed at him, saying that his court was too rudimentary.

After they left the palace, Li Li took Tang Sai'er to the port, pointing out a plaque there and saying that its layout was definitely the same as in his hometown. Curious, Tang Sai'er lifted it and discovered that the plaque was double-sided; the front showed the province granted by the Yuan Dynasty, while the back showed the Pacification Commission of the Ming Dynasty. Li Li explained that this was because there weren't many craftsmen in the area who could carve Chinese characters, so since they had already hired someone, they simply had both carved—it saved money and was more convenient…

Under these circumstances, even if the Ming Dynasty wanted to establish a monopoly, it would have no way to implement it.

Nevertheless, one could still sense that the Ming Dynasty remained somewhat unwilling to accept defeat. Given the opportunity, they still wanted to maintain face and prove that they were different from the "barbarian dynasties."

While it may seem troublesome, it's not necessarily a bad thing if you really want to do business. Because during transactions, you don't have to worry about the other party offering strange prices—as long as there's a profit, even an outrageous price will attract merchants. The more troublesome situation is when the other party doesn't set a price, like those small cannons in the Ming Dynasty (literally), refusing to sell; and the most troublesome is when they change their price every day, arbitrarily altering it. Even the Mongols couldn't handle such unscrupulous barbarians…

The added value demanded by the Ming Dynasty was merely a matter of saving face. That's far too simple.

Although the Purple Horde was located in a remote area, they had the "Great Qin" brand—although it was just a brand, it was very effective in the distant Han lands.

Not long after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he specifically sought out a merchant who had been stranded in the Central Plains. This man, named Nikolai, had come to the region at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but due to the war, he was unable to return and remained there until the fourth year of the Hongwu reign. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote a letter for him to take back.

Zhu Yuanzhang's letter has been preserved in both places. It says: "Since the Song Dynasty lost its Mandate of Heaven, Heaven has ended its national destiny. The Yuan Dynasty rose from the northern desert and ruled the Central Plains for more than a hundred years. Heaven also cut off its Mandate of Heaven because of its incompetence and debauchery."

"The turmoil in the Central Plains lasted for eighteen years. When heroes were just rising up in various places, I was just a commoner from Huaixi. I launched a righteous cause to save the people. By the grace of Heaven, I was given civil and military officials. I crossed the Yangtze River to the east and trained my troops in Jiangnan for fourteen years. In the west, I eliminated Chen Youliang, the King of Han. In the east, I captured Zhang Shicheng, the King of Wu. In the south, I pacified Fujian and Guangdong and recovered Sichuan. In the north, I conquered Youyan and other places, stabilized the order of China, and restored the original territory of China. I was supported by my subjects and ascended the throne as Emperor, establishing the country as 'Great Ming' and the reign title Hongwu. It has been four years since then."

"Now, envoys have been dispatched to inform all the countries in the four directions. Only your country of Fulin is far away in the Western Ocean and the notice has not yet been delivered. I hereby dispatch your people, Niegulun, to carry the edict to inform you. Although I am not as wise and virtuous as the ancient kings who could make all nations feel grateful for my benevolence, I must let the world know my desire to unify the four seas. Therefore, I hereby issue this edict to inform you."

In Guo Kang's past world, Ming Dynasty records state that the Kingdom of Fulin indeed sent envoys back to pay tribute once. However, they "never returned" after that, seemingly disappearing altogether. This is because the fourth year of the Hongwu reign was already 1371, and the Eastern Roman Empire was only a few years old at that time, and was also embroiled in internal strife; sending an envoy at all was quite an achievement.

As for their complete disappearance from Ming Dynasty records, the exact timeline is uncertain. However, it's reasonable to speculate that the Palaiologos dynasty had likely already died by the time Ming Dynasty historians expressed their doubts…

However, in today's world, the one who received this letter was the newly emerging Purple Horde.

Nicholas himself was somewhat sentimental, after all, when he left his hometown, several Greek kings were still engaged in a civil war, and when he returned, Constantinople had already been renamed. Nevertheless, he still gave the edict to the only person who could still receive it, thus completing his mission.

Afterwards, the Khan's court summoned all the intellectuals they could find to begin reading and understanding Zhu Yuanzhang's edict. Finally, under the guidance of Guo Gai and others, they roughly clarified several important aspects.

In Guo Gai's view, this edict was not merely a diplomatic note, but a meticulously crafted political declaration and a statement of legitimacy. Its audience was not only the distant Eastern Roman Empire, but also all people—this "open letter" was not only for the Romans, but also for the domestic populace, neighboring states, and even future generations.

Therefore, its core purpose was to establish the legitimacy of the Ming dynasty's "Mandate of Heaven." The letter first emphasized that the demise of the Song and Yuan dynasties was due to the loss of this "Mandate of Heaven," that Heaven had actively abandoned them. His own success, however, was attributed to "the spirit of Heaven"—likely a matter of "being favored by the Heavenly Father." Through this, he attempted to demonstrate that the establishment of the Ming dynasty was not a chance military victory, but rather the will and arrangement of Heaven. His entire process—from being "the ruled" to "rescuing the people through rebellion," and then to being "promoted" as emperor—was also an act in accordance with Heaven's will.

Of course, if it were just this part, it would be easy to understand. After all, this idea of ​​the divine right of kings is pretty much the same all over the world. But besides that, Zhu Yuanzhang clearly also cared a lot about national sentiment.

In his letter, he specifically pointed out that the Yuan Dynasty originated in the "desert" and its method of seizing power was "entering the country to rule." For old scholars like Guo Gai, this was a classic example of "profound meaning in subtle words," defining the Yuan Dynasty through a few carefully chosen words.

Prior to this, the Purple Horde knew very little about the Ming Dynasty because their rise to power had been so rapid. In 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang at Poyang Lake, thus becoming the most powerful force among the various warlords at the end of the Yuan Dynasty for the first time. Just five years later, in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang declared himself emperor and established the Ming Dynasty. In the same year, the Ming army captured Dadu (Beijing) and drove out the Yuan court. Even in the Central Plains, this was considered extremely rapid, let alone in distant Rome.

Although they had gleaned some fragmented information from fleeing gentry, the specifics remained completely unclear. Everyone knew that a new Central Plains dynasty was destined to influence the entire world in every way, so ignoring it was unavoidable. But what exactly was the Ming Dynasty's origin, and what were its intentions? No one truly understood.

In the eyes of the Yuan gentry, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have gone mad. One moment he would go around making pronouncements, saying he also missed the Yuan Dynasty, that he didn't intend to destroy it, but that destiny was predetermined and beyond human control, and that refusal was futile. He even feared the lingering power of the Yuan Dynasty and actively courted its remnants. But on other occasions, he persecuted the gentry, implemented discriminatory policies against Mongols and Semu people, and declared his irreconcilable hatred towards the barbarians. In the end, no one could understand what the Ming Dynasty was really thinking.

The Purple Horde was actually a newly emerging regime, not the same as the khanates of the previous Mongol dynasties. Whether it used the Mongol name or the Roman name, it didn't really matter. Moreover, Europeans had always feared the Mongols, so this name was quite effective…

However, judging from the attitude expressed in this letter, Zhu Yuanzhang preferred to position the Yuan Dynasty as a foreign regime. Correspondingly, the Ming Dynasty's achievements were described as "pacifying Youyan in the north, establishing peace in the region, and restoring the old territory of China"—the Youyan region was originally the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, so it is clear that the "China" to be "restored" did not include the Yuan Dynasty.

Therefore, when dealing with the Ming Dynasty later, they probably couldn't emphasize their Mongol identity and would have to focus on the Qin Dynasty. Even the Purple Horde itself could learn from Zhu Yuanzhang's slogans and actions.

Zhu Yuanzhang devoted considerable space to detailing how he unified the Central Plains and recovered lost territories. This served two purposes: demonstrating his strength and emphasizing his commitment to unification. Moreover, this unification was not merely the unification of the Central Plains. Under the traditional Chinese concept of "the king has no outside," it was, in effect, a unification of the "world" order centered on the Central Plains.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically stated that all countries in the world had already learned of this, except for the Romans, who were the furthest away. Informing the Romans was also to demonstrate the integrity of the system and to show that the Ming Dynasty, as the new "Celestial Empire," bore the responsibility of informing and governing the world. Finally, he simply stated directly that he had the "intention to pacify the four seas." Of course, the Ming army couldn't actually conquer the entire world; this implied that he intended to establish a new world order.

Although this statement may seem aggressive, and to those outside the Central Plains it might appear overly domineering, the Romans actually found it appealing...

According to Guo Gai and others, Zhu Yuanzhang portrayed himself as the restorer of Chinese civilization and territory. This approach elevated the Ming Dynasty beyond a mere dynastic change, transforming it into a national liberation and cultural revival. Clearly, this greatly enhanced the regime's legitimacy and appeal. Moreover, this was an ideal that the Romans had cherished for centuries.

The difference between this and the Ming Dynasty is that, regardless of Zhu Yuanzhang's boasting, he actually achieved it. Constantinople, on the other hand, had only recently stabilized from internal strife, and its future was uncertain. Therefore, this influence wasn't limited to the Han Chinese; it could even affect the Romans. This kind of impact was probably something Zhu Yuanzhang himself hadn't anticipated…

In retrospect, the letter indeed circulated beyond the court and became extremely popular among the common people, even making Zhu Yuanzhang himself an "idol figure" in Rome. Greeks and Bulgarians sometimes named their children "Hongwu," presumably to venerate some kind of saint. Considering that many were named "Batu" or similar names back then, it's understandable…

The diplomatic strategy of the Purple Horde towards the Ming Dynasty was basically finalized after understanding Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude.

Soon after, the Khanate dispatched an envoy led by the Greek nobleman Gregory Samiotis. Samiotis was extremely eloquent and had been building momentum for the Ming Dynasty even before arriving.

They also discerned another layer of meaning in the letter: if it was an open letter addressed to everyone, why write it specifically to the Romans? The "Kingdom of Fulin" was far away; everyone knew of it during the Han and Tang dynasties. Sending the letter wouldn't establish a military alliance like the Han dynasty's strategy of rallying allies against the Xiongnu, nor would it directly establish trade relations like the Tang and Song dynasties. Therefore, the purpose of this matter was undoubtedly political.

In short, Rome also held some special significance for the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)