Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 833 I am a Roman delegation sent by the Ottoman tribe. What is my relationship with the Qin Dynasty?

Most Seres, even those engaged in trade, would rarely travel as far as Rome. Therefore, they would likely not be very familiar with the situation of the Greeks.

However, in Seres, during the late Northern Song Dynasty, Rome faced both foreign invasion and internal strife within the imperial court. To take this situation even further, it's comparable to the situation of the Greeks. Therefore, by drawing an analogy and briefly describing the situation Rome faced at the time and the Greeks' absurd reactions, they can roughly understand why everyone was trying so hard to prevent the Greeks from returning.

When Zhu Yuanzhang first rose to power, he encountered numerous internal conflicts. The Red Turban Rebellion's failure was largely due to inconsistencies in command and the constant attempts by some to take advantage of the situation. So, explaining this to him, someone with his extensive experience and background from the late Yuan Dynasty, would likely be able to understand.

Of course, the reverse is also true. To help people from other civilizations understand the Song Dynasty, this analogy can also be used.

Initially, Shah Rukh sent envoys to Dadu (Beijing) to discuss how to restore diplomatic relations after the end of the internal strife there. Therefore, the envoy was someone he knew in Dadu. The Guo family knew him and hosted a banquet for the delegation. They chatted about various things, including Yelü Dashi, and then moved on to matters between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties.

The people of Central Asia at that time often couldn't distinguish between the various regions beyond "Peach Blossom Stone." This was because the rulers of the Western Regions and Transoxiana frequently identified themselves as people of Peach Blossom Stone—a prestigious title at the time. Over time, the area of ​​Peach Blossom Stone expanded, blurring the concept of its boundaries.

Shah Rukh's envoys, however, knew more about the situation there. But they still didn't have a real grasp of the Song Dynasty at that time. On one hand, they felt it was incredibly vast, but on the other hand, they always found it strange. A regime that could control the core area of ​​Peach Blossom Stone must have been a great nation, yet it collapsed so inexplicably; it was truly unbelievable.

So Guo explained to him the serious internal problems facing the Northern Song Dynasty at that time. Guo Kang then had a sudden inspiration and said that he knew a song that could perfectly describe the state of mind of the citizens in Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Everyone was very curious, so they urged him to quickly learn a few lines so that everyone could hear them. Guo Kang then sang:
"The Jin soldiers will come down from the city walls, but they will climb back up tomorrow."

If you pay the annual tribute, you'll still have the same debt next year.

The little black bird flew north and disappeared without a trace.
The two officials are like little birds, never to return.

......"

Everyone who heard it was quite moved, and the envoy said he could understand the citizens' dissatisfaction. However, the song sounded somewhat familiar, reminiscent of the music from Yarkand. Could it be that the music style in Bianliang (Kaifeng) was the same? If so, it seemed there was some truth to their claim that the people there also called themselves "Peach Blossom Stone."

Perhaps, in the face of such a situation, different civilizations around the world can even understand each other.

After learning more about the situation, the Ming Dynasty officials stopped saying anything and even felt some sympathy for them...

Later, Zhu Wenkui and his family fled to Dadu (Beijing), where they were taken in by Basil III. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he instructed the Ministry of Rites to declare themselves the "Purple Horde Khanate" and pay tribute again once the grassland transportation lines were restored.

Maritime trade was intermittent. Sometimes, when the Yuan dynasty in Java was powerful, they would block the way to Malacca, preventing the missions from reaching Malacca. The Yuan people did not make things too difficult for the tribute envoys, but they could not avoid paying "command flag money" and port duties, and they could only send their goods to Palembang to trade with the Yuan people.

To be fair, their prices were much better than in the Ming Dynasty—in earlier years, the price of the Ming Dynasty's "return gifts" was almost equivalent to robbery. Things had improved somewhat in recent years, but they were still severely inflated. Therefore, envoys from all countries would try to smuggle goods whenever they had the chance. Along the Ming Dynasty's coast, there were also many people engaged in this business, many of whom, openly or covertly, had connections with the Yuan Dynasty.

However, everyone also understands that the Yuan people lowered prices and even helped people smuggle goods from the Ming Dynasty not because they were kind-hearted, but simply because they were always the weaker party in the Yuan-Ming wars. In order to obtain more resources and more support, they had no choice but to adopt a humble attitude.

These merchants all preach free trade, but given the chance, they will definitely choose to monopolize, and they will most likely go even further than the Ming government. This is because the government and merchants are ultimately not in the same ecological niche, but these large merchants are genuinely going to "compete with the people for profits" with small and medium-sized merchants.

Their current friendliness is only because the Ming army is right next door. The Zhu family's own experience provides a clear example of what these Yuan Dynasty gentry could be like when they truly turned ruthless.

Therefore, we must not allow the Yuan people to monopolize the market, as long as there is an opportunity.

When the Ming Dynasty was first established, the area from the grasslands to Central Asia was very chaotic, making it difficult for caravans to pass safely. But by this time, the situation had stabilized considerably.

Timur's numerous military campaigns on the steppes altered the existing situation there. Moreover, after these wars, a new balance of power emerged, leading to a more stable overall environment.

The Purple Horde also accompanied Timur on several military campaigns, effectively quelling the chaos in the southern Russian steppes after the collapse of the Golden Horde and providing a good base for operations. Over the years, the steppe trade routes have finally been restored to normal.

Therefore, the Khanate found several Mongol chieftains skilled in business from Sarai and appointed them as envoys, calling themselves the "Purple Tent Khanate." They claimed to the Ming Dynasty that the King of Wu had previously followed the example of Wu Taibo and come to the West to persuade the various countries to pay tribute. They, the Mongols, were deeply moved and were therefore willing to follow the King of Wu and come to pay tribute again.

The delegation also brought many supplies as gifts. This time, it wasn't glass or similar items, but rather amber, bear skins, precious wood, and local specialties from the Rus' region, including several Slavic slaves skilled in singing and dancing. In short, it was clearly from the former territory of the Golden Horde. The delegation first arrived in Beshbaliq to meet with the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and then, under their guidance, mingled among many small Central Asian and steppe states, continuing their tribute mission. Before this, "Purple Horde Khanate" was merely a colloquial name, rarely used in official settings. Afterward, they specifically adopted the pseudonym "Purple Horde Khanate," claiming to be a tributary state brought in by the King of Wu, stating that in the past, their small size and weakness prevented them from engaging in diplomacy in distant lands. However, they claimed to be fortunate to have the protection of the Eternal Heaven, having profited from previous wars and gained control of the Rus'-Kipchak region, which was in a power vacuum after the collapse of the Golden Horde.

The Golden Horde, the previous rulers of this region, had always regarded the Yuan Dynasty as their suzerain. After their rise to power, various tribes said that now the steppe had a new Khan, and the east had a new Khan, so they also had to pay tribute to the east. Therefore, they came here specifically to express their gratitude.

The delegation from the "Purple Horde" did not depart from Dadu (Beijing), but was organized by Timur Sarai himself. The participants were all from steppe caravans operated by the Khanate itself, so there was not much activity in Dadu.

Even the preparation of caravans and the procurement of gifts and trade goods—literally tribute—were not left to the people of Dadu to worry about; instead, a prince was entrusted with the task. At the time, Johannes Nayan, the uncle of Tuohuan, who happened to be hunting nearby, was temporarily assigned this task.

This arrangement was suggested by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. She told others that her husband, Basil, had grown up in a perilous environment, always overly serious, and lived an excessively frugal life; and her son was much the same in this respect. Previously, when he was giving Anna a gift, he didn't know what to choose and ended up giving her a musket sold by a Yuan dynasty merchant. Letting such a person choose things would result in either him being too stingy or overly focused on practicality—he wouldn't be able to pick anything good.

Of the candidates, Johannes is the youngest, and since he can remember, the Purple Horde has always been on the rise. Moreover, he is a carefree prince who has rarely experienced competition or setbacks, and has hardly suffered any hardship from childhood to adulthood, so he is the most playful. Therefore, he should be in charge of this matter.

As expected, the mission was completed very well. The arrangements along the way and the final tribute payment went smoothly. Although the Ming Dynasty originated from anti-Yuan sentiments, it did not discriminate against or exclude the Mongols who came to pay tribute. On the contrary, the number of Mongol-affiliated khanates going to pay tribute to Nanjing was quite substantial. Following them was all that was needed to complete the mission.

In this way, there would be two quotas available to purchase important materials such as iron pots and porcelain from the Ming Dynasty.

Because the caravan had never departed from Dadu (Beijing), for a long time, the Ming Dynasty was truly unaware of the situation. Later, when Zhu Wenkui grew a bit older, Tuohuan took him to the Niangniang Temple, where they saw some artifacts recently brought back from the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Wenkui was very envious, saying he didn't have any of these, so Tuohuan took it upon himself to give him several porcelain vases.

After Zhu Wenkui brought the gifts back, Princess Ma examined the porcelain's date and found it to be very recent. However, Java had been at war recently, and there shouldn't have been any maritime contact. Furthermore, it was unlikely that land caravans would have privately resold porcelain intended for gifts. Nevertheless, the exact reason remained unclear.

Later, after more contact, they discovered that "Da Qin Guo" was actually the name of the merchant caravans these "Romans" used when traveling by sea; and "Zi Zhang Han Guo" was the name of their merchant caravans used when traveling by land...

Moreover, Mertem and his associates frequently visited the Guo family's residence and court, and a group of Turkmen from Asia Minor also took the opportunity to become acquainted with the Purple Horde Khanate. They discussed with Toghon and others that when the Sultanate of Rum had not yet completely collapsed, it had been a vassal state of the Ilkhanate and had paid tribute to Dadu (Beijing). When paying tribute, they referred to themselves as "Rum," which is actually the local pronunciation of "Rome." Therefore, besides "Da Qin" (the Roman Empire), there should also be records of "Rome" in the Central Plains.

Previously, when the Purple Horde paid tribute, they referred to themselves as "Da Qin" (Great Qin). This was because the Khanate itself believed that "Da Qin" was the Chinese name for "Rome" in the Central Plains.

Furthermore, to establish a friendly relationship, the envoys sent were all cultured individuals selected by the Khan's court. Upon entering the Ming Dynasty, they communicated directly with the Khan in Chinese. The Ming people found this astonishing, as they genuinely hadn't expected the legendary Qin Kingdom to be so "Chinese-like," even teaching Chinese and using Chinese characters. For these reasons, the records are very clear, eliminating any issues of translation misunderstanding.

After reviewing the records, they discovered that even when the envoys met Zhu Yuanzhang (Khan Khaganate) in person, they explicitly referred to themselves as "Da Qin Guo" (Great Qin State) in Chinese, without ever mentioning the Chinese characters for "Rome." Therefore, this name can now be used.

Before them, there was already a Greek-Balkan style "Great Qin" tribute mission; later, there was a Mongol style "Purple Horde". Now, everyone can cooperate to form a Turkic style "Roman" tribute mission and take another tribute quota.

The various Bey states in Asia Minor all had some connection with the Sultanate of Rum and could send people to pay tribute. However, these states were too small to gather enough resources for the tribute mission, and they probably wouldn't earn much money there either. Therefore, they decided to elect the Purple Horde as the leader, with the latter responsible for organizing the mission and caravan, while the other states would contribute envoys, translators, guards, and other "actors."

According to the plan, they would take the route of Babylon-Persia-Khorasan-Transoxiana-Eastern Chagatai, which differed from the previous two routes. Therefore, they needed to make preparations in advance along the way, arranging the journey in the name of the Beys to provide cover for the mission and prevent the Ming Dynasty from discovering it.

As for the chief envoy, a suitable candidate needs to be found. The diplomatic officials from the Purple Horde are all too bookish and overly "Qin" (the ancient Chinese state). The representatives from the various Bey states are all businessmen, accustomed to smooth talk and appearing to be cunning merchants. In short, while these people are indeed skilled in diplomacy and certainly capable of completing the negotiations, none of them seem to fit the profile.

Finally, someone even brought in the Ottomans.

After being utterly defeated by Timur, several remnants of the Ottoman forces fled to the mountains surrounding Bursa and established themselves as kings. The largest of these was led by Bayezid's eldest son, Mehmed Chelebi. After examining them, envoys from various countries concluded that these men, with their distinctly Turkic bandit appearances, were perfectly suited for the position.

Therefore, everyone finally decided that Ottoman would play the role of Rome and go on a mission to the Ming Dynasty to try to secure another tributary position.

However, thanks to the activities of Zhu Wenkui's family, the Ming Dynasty's understanding of the Purple Horde Khanate increased rapidly. Zhu Wenkui and others also tried to persuade Tuohuan that there was no need to continue this work. After much persuasion, the matter was eventually dropped.

Of course, the people of Xiaoya were still quite disappointed. Especially the Ottomans, who remained defiant, telling Zhu Wenkui and the others that they were a Roman mission and had no connection to the Qin Dynasty. Zhu Wenkui could only try to evade the issue and eventually managed to cover it up.

While these events are somewhat dramatic, the place was ultimately too far away, and the Ming Dynasty couldn't hold out much longer... Even the "Great Qin Kingdom" and the "Purple Horde Khanate" weren't abolished because sea routes were indeed difficult to navigate, and the two had never actually appeared together...

(End of this chapter)