Chapter 382 Prosperity
The day when the Korean and Japanese delegations arrived in Mecca was also the day when Muslims were holding a festival.

Then, the Korean and Japanese delegations saw a scene that they would never forget: tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Muslims, all went to Mecca to make pilgrimage.

If you don’t know, you might wonder what these people are doing.

Are you fleeing?

Still migrating?
Or is there a war in the north?
It was not until I asked someone who knew about this that I realized that these devout believers were going to worship the God in their hearts.

I can only say that it is really scary to see them kneeling so devoutly.

It is more terrifying than the death of Blue Sky and the establishment of Yellow Sky.

Now all they need is someone who can lead them.

however……

Muhammad’s bloodline has now died out, leaving no descendants or successors.

Even if someone comes out now and says that he is an illegitimate child, how can you prove it to everyone?

But let me be honest!

Even today, Muslims are leaderless.

But it’s like a powder keg.

One day someone might come out and light a fire, and it might catch fire again.

However, those Muslims who have joined the Song Dynasty’s army may be better off.

Because their land and their enjoyment were not given to them by Allah as stated in the Quran, but by the Song Dynasty.

There are even some people who have said that if there really is a God in this world, then this God must be the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

of course!

This may just be something the older and younger generations say to each other in anger.

However, it is also clear that when ideas and civilizations collide with each other, some cultures are strengthened, while others begin to gradually collapse and disintegrate.

even……

In a few decades, many young people may not even know what the Quran is.

Because the Song Dynasty did not allow printing at all.

Just like how they treated the descendants of Muhammad, I will raise you, but you cannot marry. When you die of old age, your bloodline will naturally be cut off.

only……

Although Da Song has done the best he could.

however……

In recent years, there are still many people who preach secretly.

after all……

Since ancient times, where has there been no oppression?

Even the Song Dynasty has it.

And where there is oppression, there is resistance.

These people must be ready to overthrow the rule of the Song Dynasty again.

It’s just that the power of these people is still very small, so small that it is not noticeable at all, and has not been discovered yet.

After crossing the canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, we arrived in Egypt in Africa.

As a former transportation hub, Egypt in Africa was undoubtedly a bustling city with people.

But since the opening of the canal, ships and goods no longer have to pass through some cities in Egypt, Africa, so this area has become a bit desolate.

This is mainly because there must be fresh water where people live, and fresh water must rely on rivers.

However, there are no rivers around the canal, only sea water.

This means that even if people here want to move to live near the canal, they cannot do so.

In fact…

The opening of the canal is definitely not good news for the people in Egypt.

But what can we do?
After all, the decision-making body is in Constantinople, and even Egypt has to listen to Constantinople.

Today’s Egypt has almost become a second-rate city.

At most, we can only make use of the value of the grain they produce.

Therefore, when the delegations from Goryeo and Japan looked around, they could hardly see any tall and magnificent buildings. It was almost an oasis, and everyone was farming.

On the contrary, on the other side of the canal in Jerusalem, business seemed to be more prosperous than before.

One is that believers must go on pilgrimage, and pilgrimage requires eating and drinking, and all kinds of services.

This has created many conditions for the development of business.

Don’t tell me yet!

There are people selling steamed buns and opening restaurants here in the Song Dynasty.

Another reason is that passing merchants and travelers are sometimes not in such a hurry and do not need to go to Constantinople in one go, so they will find a place to stop the ship and rest.

And Jerusalem is just such a place where you can take a temporary rest.

Of course, Jerusalem is not without its faults.

One is that the place is too small.

Another problem is that water resources are too scarce and of poor quality.

Therefore, compared with the Egyptian region, it cannot be said to be much better.

All I can say is that everyone is the same.

In the future, if the business becomes so prosperous that Jerusalem can no longer sustain it, they might consider building a small port town in Egypt, Africa.

now……

As the war ended, a large number of defensive city walls were demolished.

Only a few fortresses where Song troops were stationed still retained their defensive capabilities.

This also means that even if you want to start a big rebellion in the local area, you can’t do it.

Because you have no defenses at all, what can you use to rebel?

When they arrived at the Arabian Peninsula and Jerusalem, the scene was completely different for the Korean and Japanese envoys.

It’s completely different from India.

But the only drawback is that most of the people here still speak Arabic.

and……

Very few people can speak the Chinese language.

On the contrary, in North India, even a street vendor can speak fluent Song dialect.

After discussion, the envoys of Goryeo and Japan could only guess that Solange was the capital of North India after all, with many people from the Song Dynasty living there. If you wanted to do business with the people of the Song Dynasty, you had to learn to use the language of the Song people, which naturally gave the other party the motivation to learn.

On the contrary, places like Jerusalem are remote and not the capital.

Moreover, the number of people from the Song Dynasty who came here was relatively small, which naturally resulted in far fewer people here who could speak the Song language.

of course!

With some people from the Song Dynasty also doing business here, it is estimated that it won’t take long before this place will be slowly assimilated.

Later, when the envoys from Goryeo and Japan arrived in Constantinople, they found that, just as they had expected, not only the Arabs, but even the Seljuks could speak the language of the Song people fluently.

The emperor of Constantinople also warmly received the group.

The group was completely shocked by the buildings in Constantinople.

Although in fact, India’s architecture is enough to shock them.

But the ones here are obviously less religious and more friendly to the people, so they are even more surprised.

In Constantinople, buildings with two or three floors were very common.

Even if more than a dozen people live in one room, it is very easy.

It can be said that it has a different style compared to Srivijaya, India, and the Arab region.

I can only say that it is particularly beautiful and grand.

At this moment, Constantinople has restored its population.

It turned out that a large number of wealthy families from other regions were also moved to Constantinople.

This was very common in ancient China. For example, after the establishment of the Han Dynasty and even after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, there was a policy of moving a large number of wealthy households to the capital.

This also made Constantinople return to its original heyday in an instant.

only……

The original inhabitants of Constantinople were all white people.

Now the race has changed.

Instead, there are a lot more Song people, nomadic peoples, and Arabs.

You can even see Indians.

However, it is said that Indians are very dishonest and too cunning when doing business. Therefore, most local people are very reluctant to do business with Indians.

Of course!
As Orientals, they have always used a relatively private space when going to the toilet. Many of them are somewhat uncomfortable with the Western practice of squatting together in a large pit.

This is their evaluation after trying Western toilets.

In fact…

Many people in the Song Dynasty were not used to it, so they often built separate toilets for themselves.

But sometimes, when you are out there and you don’t have the conditions, you can only make do with what you have.

The current population of Constantinople, including those on the move, is estimated to be close to 700,000.

Don’t feel it’s too little.

after all……

Constantinople is a place that is highly dependent on external supplies for food. The more people there are, the greater the threat may be.

If your food supply is suddenly cut off from outside, then no matter how strong your city is, it will be useless to be afraid.

therefore……

to be frank.

The more people gather in Constantinople, the more worrying it becomes.

In today’s peaceful times, there is certainly no problem.

But what if a war breaks out suddenly?
The larger the population, the faster people die.

of course!

Say so.

It is also difficult to say what external force there is that can completely prevent other places from transporting food to Constantinople.

only……

In order to ensure the safety of waterways, Constantinople had to maintain a large navy for a long time.

Once upon a time…

Zhao Xin only wanted to fight to the west, so he certainly paid little attention to the north of Constantinople and the north of the Black Sea.

To this day, a number of principalities and kingdoms have been established in the northern part of the Black Sea.

This is something that needs to be dealt with urgently.

However, although it is called a principality or a kingdom, in fact, it is only at the level of a county in the Song Dynasty.

Should we exterminate them all, or keep them alive?

this is a problem.

Zhao Xin had mentioned a long time ago that the area north of the Black Sea could be used as a granary.

The reason why it had not become a granary before was because there were many nomadic people living here.

At that time, when the Eastern Roman Empire was in power, it at most built a small trading post in the northern region of the Black Sea.

Then let it develop.

But now, generally speaking, European countries have plans to reduce the number of these ethnic minorities.

Of course, we can no longer allow these people to develop freely here.

Even if these people want to recognize Constantinople as their suzerain state, Constantinople has to consider whether to keep the other party.

The population of the entire northern Black Sea region might be one million? Two million?

Anyway…

If we don’t take care of it now, when the population really increases, it will be difficult to control.

This is not!

When the envoys from Goryeo and Japan arrived, Constantinople was holding a meeting to discuss whether to nip the threat in the bud.

In fact…

Some principalities in the northern Black Sea are also desperately building castles.

And it is of a military nature.

You are like this!
Of course, Constantinople could also see this as a provocation.

However, Constantinople’s behavior of interfering even when I build a castle was considered too much by the principalities north of the Black Sea.

They said that they built it to defend against wild beasts, but in reality, since both sides felt that the other’s words were full of deception, there was no trust between them at all.

The principalities north of the Black Sea said, I have no hostility towards Constantinople, I even want to join you.

However, Constantinople said, if you want to join us, you must first demolish your military fortresses.

But people are not fools, so it is impossible for them to agree to such unreasonable conditions.

to this end……

This side of Constantinople.

Fleet, including the Army.

Now they are gearing up for it.

after all……

In the eyes of many officers, the enemy’s strength is not worth mentioning at all.

Whether he could get promoted and make money depended on this war.

It’s not wrong to think so.

After all, what strength could a principality in the north of the Black Sea have?

Some say it is a principality, but in fact it would be good if it had a hundred thousand or even a hundred thousand people.

If you divide it by five, you get an adult male, and at most the other side can only get 20,000 people.

And not all of these 20,000 people may be equipped with armor and weapons.

On the other hand, they are armed to the teeth.

Chopping the opponent is just like chopping melons and vegetables.

But there is one thing to say.

Over the years, as the economy moved to Constantinople and the Maritime Silk Road took away many of the benefits of the Silk Road, areas further east of the Black Sea, such as Khwarezm on the east side of the Caspian Sea, became even poorer.

This also made some nomadic peoples here become more restless.

Since ancient times, there have been many examples of nomadic peoples invading Europe and Central Asia.

nowadays……

After so many years of peace, the population of nomadic peoples on the grasslands has increased again. How to better handle the relationship between the two has become a critical issue for Constantinople.

The Song Dynasty’s approach was to send all the surplus population away.

But in Europe, such conditions may not necessarily exist.

In fact, the other side’s upper nobles should have been left in Constantinople.

Local matters can be controlled remotely.

only……

Their chief is not stupid either.

If I leave you in Constantinople, even though there will be good food and drink, wouldn’t that make you a puppet?

Besides, no matter how good the place is, it is not as good as your own doghouse.

Even though the conditions in Khwarezm itself were not very good, it was better than being locked in a birdcage.

(End of this chapter)