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Text Chapter 517 Selim the Ruthless

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    The city of Damascus on the Mediterranean coast has experienced many wars and vicissitudes. Whenever war comes, this commercial city located on the main transportation route between Egypt and Asia will be greatly affected. The most recent one was more than a hundred years ago.  Timur, a Turk from Central Asia, severely damaged the city. He moved all the craftsmen in the city to Central Asia. As a result, this city, which is famous for its commerce, was in extreme decline. Even Damascus's most famous knife skills  All were greatly affected.  In the following hundred years, Damascus ushered in the rule of the Mamluk dynasty. Although this dynasty was very corrupt, Damascus miraculously restored its prosperity. In particular, the Damascus knives produced here were sold as far as the Far East.  The Ming Dynasty in the land, and became the favorite of monarchs and generals everywhere.  However, today Damascus is caught in the flames of war again, because the Ottoman Empire, which destroyed the Byzantine Empire decades ago, launched the third Eastern Expedition. This time they set the target at the Mamluk dynasty, which occupied Egypt and part of Asia.  Damascus was one of the most important cities of the Mamluk dynasty in Asia, but it was captured by the Ottoman Empire in one fell swoop. This also marked that the Mamluk dynasty lost its territory in Asia, and only Egypt was left under its rule.  Selim I rode on a tall Arabian war horse and entered the historic ancient city of Damascus with a smile on his face. This city is one of the most famous commercial cities on the Mediterranean coast. It witnessed the Roman Empire and Byzantium.  The empire was replaced by the emerging Arab Empire. It also experienced its heyday during the Umayyad Dynasty. It was also severely destroyed by the Abbasid Dynasty. It also witnessed the Arab national hero Saladin's defeat of the European Crusaders. Today, this  The city ushered in a new owner, the great Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire.  Selim I was the ninth sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Because of his harsh methods of governing the country, he was called the "Cold One" by the people of the empire. He was just fifty years old this year.  Although he has passed the peak period of a man, Selim I on horseback does not look old at all. The Arab robe on his body does not hide his strong figure. When sitting on the horse, his back is straight.  The gray hair on his temples and the deep wrinkles on his forehead indicate that this strong monarch is no longer a young man.  Selim I is very proud now.  Originally, he was still hesitant about his third western expedition. Although the Mamluk dynasty fought with the Portuguese for ten years in order to compete for land transportation from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. It can be said that this war made the Mamluk dynasty suffer.  Greatly weakened, the Portuguese once had the upper hand, but in the past two years, the Ming Dynasty, which was far in the east, suddenly began to expand at sea.  They actually defeated the Portuguese fleet one after another. As a result, the strength of the Portuguese was weakened. The Mamluk dynasty once again gained the upper hand, and its control over Asia was also strengthened a lot. Therefore, Selim I had nothing to do with this Eastern Expedition.  confidence.  But just when Selim I was hesitating, the Mamluk dynasty did not know where they got the news that he was going to conquer the Mamluks. As a result, they took the initiative to attack the Ottoman Empire.  This finally helped Selim I make up his mind to start a territorial war with the Mamluk dynasty in the Damascus region of West Asia. As a result, the elite Mamluk cavalry had long lost its valor and was actually beaten by Selim I.  After a great defeat, the West Asian coast of the Mediterranean represented by Damascus finally fell under his rule.  Thinking of the Mamluk cavalry he had defeated before, Selim couldn't help but smile. He didn't expect that the Mamluk cavalry, which was so powerful in Europe and Asia, had declined into this state. He had only charged once.  He defeated the opponent's troops that were comparable to his own, and after the opponent's defeat, he immediately gave up the territory on the Asian side, which allowed him to occupy the city of Damascus under his feet without much effort.  Speaking of the Mamluk dynasty, like Selim¡¯s Ottoman Empire, they were both Islamic kingdoms that split from the huge Arab empire.  When the Arab Empire split, it encountered the Mongols who were sweeping across Europe and Asia. As a result, not only was Baghdad massacred by the Mongols, but the contemporary caliph was also wrapped in a blanket and trampled to death by a horse.  But although the contemporary caliph is dead.  However, the highest title in Islam, Caliph, was inherited by the Mamluk dynasty and passed down from generation to generation. Although the title of Caliph has long lost the power it once had, it still has unparalleled appeal in religion, so Saili  In addition to wanting to bring Egypt under his rule and restore the huge territory of the Arab Empire, the most important thing Mu I wanted to do during this eastern expedition was to seize the title of Caliphate.  Thinking of becoming the caliph of the entire Muslim world in the future, Selim couldn't help but feel excited and looked at the land of Damascus under his feet.There is also a kind of greed in the glory. Today he can conquer Damascus and tomorrow he can conquer the entire Egypt. In the future, he can even recreate the glory of the Arab Empire and build a huge empire again, making the Mediterranean once again become the center of the Muslim world.  Inland sea.  Because of the corruption and incompetence of the Mamluk dynasty, Selim easily conquered Damascus. Therefore, this ancient commercial city did not suffer much damage. Except for some damage on the city walls, most of the facilities in the city are still intact.  Even the people of Damascus in the city did not flee, but welcomed Selim's arrival calmly. After all, the people here have long been accustomed to the change of rulers, and Selim and they are both Muslims.  , as long as they do not resist, they will not cause a massacre by the other party. The only difference is that a ruler is replaced, which does not have much impact on Damascus.  Selim rode a horse and patrolled the city of Damascus. This will be one of his bases for ruling West Asia in the future, and it will also be the rear area for attacking Egypt. In addition, it is on the main transportation route between Asia and Europe, and it is a good place for commerce.  It is very prosperous, and it is also the only way to make pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina. Countless people pass through here every year, and the tax alone is a large amount of income, which will provide him with great convenience in attacking Egypt.  After touring Damascus, Selim came to the residence prepared for him in the city. This was originally the mayor's residence where the mayor sent by the Mamluks lived, but the Mamluk mayor had already been there during the previous siege.  During the war, he was trampled to pieces by Ottoman cavalry, so his mansion naturally became Selim's temporary residence. However, it is said that after the mayor's wife heard that her husband had been killed, this tough Mamluk woman unexpectedly  He killed all his children and then died in the hall of the Mayor's Mansion, so when Selim arrived, he could still faintly smell the smell of blood floating in the Mayor's Mansion.  According to the tradition of the Ottoman Empire, Selim had been living in the army before becoming the Sultan. Moreover, he was physically strong and had amazing martial arts skills. He soon won the title of warrior on the battlefield. Even now that he has become the Sultan, he still uses  A soldier's requirements constrain himself. For example, he doesn't care much about his residence and food. In his opinion, as long as the place he lives in can be protected from wind and rain, and the food can satisfy his stomach, as for other requirements, they don't matter at all.  It's just not necessary, so he never cares where he lives.  In the next few days, Selim led the army to be stationed around Damascus. On the one hand, the Mamluks had ruled Damascus for nearly three hundred years. Although the Mamluk army retreated to Egypt, Selim was still worried about Damascus.  There was a problem, so the army was ordered to temporarily garrison the area.  In addition, Selim's army rushed from Asia Minor to Damascus. The army was already a little tired and needed a good rest. Moreover, he wanted to conquer Egypt in one go, but it was not that easy. He had to make corresponding preparations in advance.  , which also requires a period of preparation.  And it is worth mentioning that during this period, the Portuguese were defeated by the Ming Dynasty in the Indian Ocean. Although it weakened some of their strength, it also made them pay more attention to the land transportation line from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. According to Saili  According to the news that Mu received, the Portuguese seemed to be accumulating strength and preparing to defeat the Mamluks in one fell swoop. But now the situation has changed. The communication line from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean happened to be the junction line between Selim and the Mamluks in Egypt, so Selim  Mu also had to pay attention to the actions of the Portuguese, so as not to be taken advantage of by the Portuguese when he had a war with the Mamluks.  However, what Selim I did not expect was that not long after he captured Damascus and the news from Portugal had not yet been sent back, he suddenly received a piece of news that surprised him, because there was an army from far away.  The envoy from the Ming Dynasty actually entered the Red Sea, then landed southwest of Damascus, and came all the way to Damascus where he was.  Selim was no stranger to the distant country of the Ming Dynasty. Especially in recent years, Ming Dynasty products have flooded the Ottoman shopping malls. From precious silk and porcelain to cheap cotton, sugar and other commodities, there are merchants from the Ming Dynasty.  It was shipped from distant countries for sale, and Selim also knew that the Arab Empire also had a war with the Central Plains Dynasty before the Ming Dynasty. As a result, they were lucky to win and gained control of Central Asia. However, they later fought with the Central Plains Dynasty.  The accompanying Mongols came from the Far East and destroyed the entire Arab world. I just don¡¯t know why the Ming Dynasty suddenly sent a mission this time?
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