Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Smuggling to the Ming Dynasty

Text Chapter 521 Negotiation

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Selim I did not let Jiao Huangzhong and others wait too long. Just after they arrived in Damascus and rested for two days, they received news that Selim I would receive them on the third day.  During these two days, Jiao Huangzhong and others were not idle. Instead, Suleiman personally took them to visit the city of Damascus. Especially the production workshop of Damascus knives was the focus of Jiao Huangzhong and others' visit. After all,  They have also been famous for this peerless sword for a long time, especially the officers of the Ming cavalry, who wanted to own a real Damascus scimitar. Suleiman did not disappoint them, as long as they used it  Important members of the group were given a Damascus sword as a gift from him.  Waiting until the morning of the third day, Mr. Zhuohuang Zhong counted the gifts he had prepared again, then put on his Ming Dynasty official uniform and paid homage to Selim I in the temporary palace in Damascus.  Jiao Huangzhong was also very curious about Selim I. After spending the past few days with Suleiman and talking with other Ottoman officials, he finally figured out what kind of monarch Selim was. In fact, according to the  From a Confucian point of view, if a monarch like Selim were placed in the Ming Dynasty, he would definitely not be able to escape unfavorable comments such as a "tyrant", "military", "cruel and easy to kill", etc. Not to mention other things, just because he killed his father, brother, and  The evil deeds of killing his son and nephew are enough to be scolded by historians for a hundred years.  However, as the saying goes, do as the Romans do. For the Ottoman Empire, Selim¡¯s actions were not a big mistake at all. After all, it was a tradition passed down by their throne, and others could not blame them at all. Moreover, although Selim was warlike,  , but it built the entire country extremely powerful. According to the current development speed of the Ottoman Empire, I am afraid that within a few years, a powerful opponent will appear in the west of the Ming Dynasty, just like the equal opponents of the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire.  It is precisely because of this.  Therefore, when Jiao Huangzhong met Selim I, he also showed enough respect. After bowing to Selim I according to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, he presented the gifts he brought from the Ming Dynasty. Most of these gifts were from the Ming Dynasty.  Products such as silk, porcelain, and tea are definitely important gifts, as well as some handicrafts made of gold and jade.  As well as pearls, corals, etc. produced in Nanyang, it can be said that everything is priceless.  Selim was very happy when he saw such a rich gift from Ming Dynasty. He smiled and accepted it, then greeted Emperor Jiao Huangzhong, and then went straight to the topic: "Ambassador Jiao. I don't know what you guys are doing.  "You have traveled thousands of miles to come to Damascus to see me, but what's the important thing?" Selim grew up in the army. Even after becoming the Sultan of the Ottomans, he still had a military temperament and pursued efficiency in everything he did.  , even when talking, I like to be straightforward.  He always hates other people making detours with him.  Jiao Huangzhong had already learned about Selim's temper from Suleiman, so he did not speak in riddles like in the Ming Dynasty officialdom. He also answered directly: "Dear Sultan, our Emperor and the Supervisor have sent me this time.  When I went to the West, I initially planned to visit the Mamluk Dynasty and discuss with them the reopening of the Suez Canal. However, when I arrived in India, I heard that your country had launched the third Eastern Expedition and defeated the Mamluk Dynasty.  Although your country has not yet been able to completely capture Egypt, in my opinion, this is just a matter of time. So after thinking about it, we decided to come directly to visit the Sudan and discuss the Suez Canal with the Sudan.  !¡± Jiaohuangzhong had figured out Selim¡¯s temper before.  He knew that the most important thing when talking to a person with a military background was to be frank and direct, so he did not hide the fact that he was preparing to go to the Mamluk Dynasty as an envoy. After all, anyone with some brains would do it.  The purpose of their mission can be deduced from the time. After all, when they left the Ming Dynasty, the Ottoman and Mamluk dynasties were still at peace. Unless the Ming Dynasty could predict it, otherwise they would have to go to the Mamluks if they wanted to dredge the Suez Canal.  Gram Dynasty.  Sure enough, when Selim saw Jiao Huangzhong being so frank, he couldn't help but smile a little, and looked at Jiao Huangzhong with a bit of admiration. Then he smiled and said: "Ambassador Jiao is really discerning. The Mamluk dynasty has already  It is indeed not difficult to defeat them, but it is not a trivial matter to dredge the Suez Canal again. What conditions do you intend to use to convince me? " Selim is naturally right to attack the Mamluk dynasty this time.  He made a detailed investigation into the affairs in Egypt, and the transportation route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea was the focus of his investigation. After all, this was the main route for the circulation of commodities between Asia and Europe, and the Mamluk Dynasty controlled this transportation line.  , can earn huge profits every year, which also makes the Portuguese very jealous. For this reason, the two countries have been fighting a war for a full ten years, and until now, there has been no winner.    In addition, Selim also knew that the Suez Canal had been opened as early as more than a thousand years ago in ancient Egypt. However, due to some reasons, the canal was sometimes open and blocked until the Arabs a few hundred years ago.  During the imperial period, the Arab Empire that had just conquered Egypt immediately ordered the dredging of this ancient canal. As a result, the canal has been used for nearly two hundred years. Unfortunately, due to some reasons, the canal was once again abandoned. Now the Ming Dynasty hopes to reopen it.  The purpose of dredging this canal must be to facilitate their merchant ships to reach the Mediterranean, but he really wanted to know what conditions Daming would use in exchange for his consent. After all, dredging this canal again would require a lot of manpower and material resources, and it would be of no benefit.  He will definitely not do it.  Jiaohuangzhong heard that Selim did not refuse directly, but asked for benefits first. This cheered him up. He sat up straight and said: "Dear Sultan, if the Suez Canal can be opened, then no matter our Ming Dynasty  Either the East represented by your country or the West represented by your country can be communicated directly through the sea. There is no need to go around the entire Africa like the Portuguese did. In this way, it will not only promote economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, but also precious  The country can also collect taxes on the Suez Canal. In this way, your country is equivalent to owning a golden waterway, and the annual tax revenue is a huge amount of wealth. With such a huge benefit, won¡¯t the Sudan be tempted?¡±  At this time, Jiao Huangzhong paused for a moment and then continued: "In addition, I heard that there are constant conflicts between the Portuguese and your country. Although Portugal is a small country, it has become a famous power in Europe through the benefits of maritime trade. Apart from us on the sea  No one except the Ming Dynasty is its rival, but if your country can dredge the Suez Canal, the Portuguese's control of sea trade will definitely plummet. When the national power declines, your country will also lose a strong enemy. This is simply killing two birds with one stone.  So I can't think of any reason for the Sultan to refuse?" Hearing Jiao Huangzhong's words, Selim shook his head and said: "Ambassador Jiao is right. If this canal can be repaired, the tax revenue alone will be huge in the future.  income, and it can indeed weaken the strength of the Kingdom of Portugal, but the Suez Canal has been abandoned for hundreds of years, and some rivers have become flat land. It would take unimaginable manpower and material resources to dredge such an ancient canal. We  The Ottoman Empire has been fighting for years, and the country is not rich. It simply cannot spend so much money to build such a canal. " Seeing Selim clearly asking for benefits, Jiao Huangzhong also felt quite helpless, but he also knew that,  If you want Selim to agree to this matter, you must pay accordingly, otherwise the other party will never agree. After all, for the Ottoman Empire, whether to build the Suez Canal has little impact, and repairing it will only add another source of wealth.  Even if the road is not repaired, you can still make money through land transportation. But for Ming Dynasty, if there is no canal, it will never be possible to transport goods directly to Europe, and it will always be exploited by the Portuguese in the middle.  Thinking of this, Jiao Huangzhong could only grit his teeth and said: "Dear Sultan, if you are willing to dredge this canal again, then our Ming Dynasty will send some technical officials to help your country explore and survey this canal. I guarantee that they will  They are all the best technical officials. If they help you build the canal, you can definitely save a lot of manpower and material resources! "The Ming Dynasty may lack other technical talents, but it will definitely not lack water conservancy talents, because the Yellow River is the most important river in the Ming Dynasty.  The various rivers led by the rivers are constantly experiencing disasters. In order to control these harmful rivers, the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty gathered a large number of water conservancy officials. It was not a big problem for them to design a canal. You must know that in the Sui Dynasty, a grand canal was built in the Central Plains.  , the length of that canal is several times that of the Suez Canal.  But Selim was obviously not satisfied with the bargaining chip offered by Jiaohuangzhong. The first reason was because he didn¡¯t know what Ming¡¯s technical strength was. What if the officials he sent were not as good as his own?  Although Second Jiaohuangzhong said it nicely, he sent technical officials, which did not cost much at all. Selim even felt that instead of sending a few technical officials, it would be more cost-effective for Ming Dynasty to send some civilians.  "Ambassador Jiao, if the Ming Dynasty wants us to build the Suez Canal, then don't impress me with such conditions that have no real benefits. We also have many water conservancy scholars in the Ottoman Empire, and their strength is no worse than that of the Ming Dynasty. We are now  What is needed is money to build the canal!" Selim said straightforwardly again. If the Ming Dynasty did not give him a satisfactory price, he would never agree to build the Suez Canal.
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report