choke element

Chapter 1053 Baghdad (Part )
At the moment, everyone was trapped in the palace, looking around at the layers of palace walls, as if they were under house arrest. Fortunately, there was no shortage of daily food and treatment. A variety of fruits, cheeses, pasta, and meat were provided in various ways, which really demonstrated the style of a great country. The men and women in charge of serving were also respectful and did not treat them badly, but they did not say anything extra. The members of the delegation tried to give them some gifts in private, but they were all terrified and refused repeatedly. The silk handkerchiefs and embroidery that have always been sought after by people could not be given away, so naturally they could not be accepted or won over.

Two days later, a member of the delegation pretended to be ignorant and rushed out through the side door where servants carried feces and urine every morning. He was immediately stopped by soldiers wearing fish-scale armor and robes. The soldiers ignored his shouting and did not use their weapons. They just formed a human wall to block the door and sealed it immediately after the barrels and buckets were taken away.

This diplomatic mission was arranged several years ago. Politically, it represented the first official contact between the two great powers of the time, and it was related to the prestige of the Great Zhou. In the Great Zhou, all political forces and economic groups, including the emperor, had high hopes for it because they all saw it as an important opportunity to get rid of the Great Zhou's financial predicament.

In recent years, the Great Zhou has not deliberately expanded its territory, but the neighboring countries are inevitably in turmoil, and the Great Zhou needs to come forward to preside over and appease the people. As time goes by, the territory continues to expand, the people under its rule are hundreds of millions, and the financial expenditure is rising, becoming increasingly stretched. Unfortunately, the income from maritime trade, which is recognized as a profitable source of income, has not increased for several consecutive years. Not only does it fail to fill the financial gap, but sometimes the court has to work hard to send senior officials to maintain the survival of various overseas outposts.

The various agencies in charge of customs, customs, and trade in the Zhou Dynasty sent people to investigate why this happened. At first, they thought that some country had stolen the craftsmanship of the Zhou Dynasty and counterfeited it. Later, they suspected that pirates were rampant and blocked the sea route. In the end, the more they investigated, the deeper they found out that the real reason was that Arabia, which had been absorbing the products of the Zhou Dynasty like a bottomless pit, was troubled by internal and external troubles, and its national power was declining, and it could not buy the mountains and seas of goods produced in the Central Plains.

There were signs of this situation several years ago. The number of Arab merchants who once spread all over the South China Sea was drastically reduced. It is said that this was because the Caliph, who was under pressure from insufficient military forces, promised many sea merchants the title of Sultan or Emir and asked them to return to serve.

At that time, no one in the Great Zhou took it seriously. After all, no one could extend their eyes and ears beyond the vast sea. The Chinese people's understanding of Arabia has always been that it was a behemoth that had been entrenched in the West for hundreds of years. The trade routes and supply bases that Arab merchants withdrew from were almost simultaneously controlled by Han sea merchants. For their own interests, the sea merchants were sometimes not in a hurry to report their progress in this regard to the court.

The rapidly growing Hanerhai merchant fleet transported goods directly to Arabia and even Baghdad in the following years. This is like using a rice spoon to force-feed the patient with a prepared meal. The meal is so delicious that even if the patient has a poor appetite, he will force himself to eat a few more bites. When the feeder finds that the patient really can't eat, it is no longer a matter of appetite, but a deep-rooted disease or even a terminal illness.

Therefore, the real purpose of the delegation's visit was to ensure the financial benefits of the court at all costs at a time when the Arab Empire was rapidly weakening, to guarantee the jobs of countless factories and craftsmen in the Great Zhou, and to find a way out for the growing handicrafts in the Central Plains.

There are two specific methods. Either, you can use sufficient deterrence or benefits to hold the heads of the people in power in the Abbasid Dynasty and force them to eat as much as they can until their intestines are rotten and they die of old age.

Or, they could hold the Arabs' heads down and force them to reveal the direction of resale of the goods purchased from the Central Plains, so that the Great Zhou could track them down and do business on their own.

But now the situation is that I can’t do anything and am under house arrest?

After a few days, not only the top leaders of the delegation, but also the ordinary members were anxious.

Traveling thousands of miles on the sea can easily make people lose control of their emotions. Riots and vendettas often occur on merchant ships because the crew cannot bear the pressure and find a reason to explode. The navy of the Great Zhou Dynasty is known for its strictness, but sometimes it is difficult to avoid it. However, the patrol range of the navy is limited, and senior naval generals including Shi Tianni often launch a crackdown on wild people or rebels in a certain place... Everyone knows that it is nothing more than providing an environment for the soldiers to vent their anger.

This was true for the merchants and the army, and it was also difficult for the diplomatic mission to avoid it. Even if the diplomatic mission was carefully selected, as long as they were human, they could not escape human nature. Sure enough, a few days later, the guards in the diplomatic mission suddenly quarreled with each other. Soon the quarrel escalated into a fight. This action attracted the participation of their friends, who either stopped them or retaliated. When the Arab soldiers who were monitoring them outside the palace rushed in to calm the situation, a big fight involving hundreds of people was almost out of control, and at least dozens of people were bleeding and fell to the ground groaning.

The captain who led the troops in didn't know what to do when he saw this situation, so he had to go back and call the Emir who was in charge of supervising the palace to discuss how to deal with it.

The emir was very cautious at first and said that even if there were wounded, they could not leave the palace. He brought two interpreters with him, and even what Yuan Haowen said had to be translated by the two interpreters and then recorded. But Yuan Haowen did not cause him any trouble. Instead, he apologized to him, admitted that he had mismanaged the palace, promised to deal with the wounded on his own, and enforce strict discipline.

When the emir relaxed a little, Yuan Haowen said, "Although we are willing to wait patiently for the Caliph's reception, after traveling thousands of miles by sea and being under house arrest, all the members of the delegation are irritable. Moreover, although the food supply has not been scarce in the past few days, it is not the taste that the Han people are used to. He asked the emir if he could think of a way to find a cook from the Han merchants' gathering place, gather some ingredients, and cook some hometown-style meals to comfort the water chestnuts and perch?"
Emile wanted to object subconsciously, but seeing that the wounded were still complaining and cursing, and Yuan Haowen's polite and courteous words, and quoting from classics, his attitude finally softened a little.

He said a few words in a deep voice, and an interpreter said, "It is absolutely impossible to ask a cook to come here. You can make a list of the ingredients you want, and we will buy them and send them to you. We will also give you firewood, and you can cook by yourselves."

Yuan Haowen was overjoyed, and immediately took out a pen and paper to make a detailed list. The interpreter took the list, and the emir said again, "Baghdad should have everything, but the current situation is special. If you can't get everything together or there are a few things missing, don't complain."

"Why would you complain? We can't thank you enough!" Yuan Haowen agreed and ordered someone to bring gifts to Emir. This is the proper etiquette for asking someone to do something for you, and it is the same rule in the world.

Although the Caliph and the court ministers had issued strict orders to prohibit internal and external communication, the Emir had already agreed to supply food, so he had to make a fuss about such a small matter, as if he was deliberately showing off to the envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Besides, China is the richest country. Would getting something from the envoys be worth the reward for serving the country for several years?

Emir hesitated and showed a reluctant look, and finally took half a step forward, and the small box in Yuan Haowen's hand fell into his arms. Then he loudly ordered his subordinates to go and buy as soon as possible.

After half a day, Emir did not show up, and the captain who had come in to check the situation came. He brought a convoy consisting of several carriages and dozens of servants. They unloaded several piles of food in the square in front of the palace, including rice, noodles, fresh meat, specially packaged seasonings, and mobile stoves for making fire and cooking.

Shi Tianze went over to take a look, rummaged through a few boxes, and said happily: "Everyone, there is still bean paste and black bean sauce here! I haven't tasted them for a long time since the batch loaded on the ship was eaten up!"

The members of the delegation came up to see the familiar seasonings, and were all delighted. They could not communicate with the servants who were loading the supplies, but that did not stop them from waving and gesturing, and taking out some small items around them and stuffing them into the servants' hands to show their gratitude.

The servants initially refused, but when their captain showed his enthusiasm and put something in his arms, they stopped refusing. For a moment, the field was extremely lively, with people on both sides moving things back and forth.

When the transportation was completed, the Arabs left the palace, and the officials of the delegation stood in front of the boxes on the ground. Yuan Haowen said to everyone: "We made a lot of noise when we entered the city, and the Han merchants in the city must have heard about it. Smart people should know that these materials are for us. Do you think there is anything we need in these boxes?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Tianze had a sharp eye and had already pulled out a cloth rope from the edge of a box. He unfolded the cloth rope and saw a few lines of words on it. It should be to avoid outsiders from seeing the clues. The font was in cursive script, and it was tied up and tied. At first glance, it looked like ink splashes. Everyone present had studied seriously, and they all sneered:

"No wonder, it turns out that the Mongolian delegation arrived first."