People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 935 3 years

Chapter 935 Three Years

Three years later in the medieval world.

Ivan and Fulke were sailing on a huge galley in the Red Sea.

Over the past three years, the situation in Central Asia has undergone tremendous changes.

Three years ago, the Khitans, led by Quchulu, stopped the Tatars from advancing westward. Although it was a Pyrrhic victory, it still brought great prestige to the exiled prince.

Even within the Khitan people themselves, many nobles were intimidated by the powerful strength displayed by the Tatars and believed that only Kuchlug could lead the Khitans to defeat such a formidable enemy.

Subsequently, relying on the trust of the Zhilugu Khan, Kuchlug seized power a year later, placed the Zhilugu Khan under house arrest, and nominally still honored Yelü Zhilugu as Khan, but in reality, the Naiman tribe exiles he brought from the east had become the new rulers of the Western Liao.

After that, Kuchlug devoted all his efforts to military preparations, allying with Khwarazm in the west, attacking the Ghurid dynasty in the south, and forging an alliance with the King of Kings of Eran Shahel, making intensive preparations for a new war with the Tatars.

Unfortunately, in the new round of Tatar westward expeditions, the enemy was clearly no longer the small-scale skirmishes of the past, but an army of 100,000 men pressing in.

Having completely conquered the Jin Dynasty and integrated the newly conquered territories, the Tatars' strength had expanded to a new level.

After a year of preparation for war, Quchulu led the Naiman tribe and fought the Khitans for just over six months before being defeated and killed.

Just like the mantis that tries its best to stand up straight in front of the eagle and keeps waving its arms in provocation, all its plans and resistance are crushed to pieces as if it were a joke.

Fortunately, Ivan's tribe was merely a vassal tribe and was never incorporated into the core of the Western Liao's rule. In addition, due to his timely defection, Ivan's tribe not only did not suffer much loss, but also greatly increased its strength by taking over a lot of the former Khitan people's pastures.

The following year, the Tatar army, led by Jochi, defeated the combined forces of Eranshahr and Khwarazm, and now controls the entire Transoxiana region. They are also expanding rapidly by conquering cities and territories in the Persian region.

Jochi, who had captured Eranshahr, heard of a great power in the west called the "Southern Fulin Empire," which had replaced the Green-Clad Arabs. It had an army of over 100,000, vast territory, a prosperous economy, and rumors that it tamed dragons to fight.

Fearing that this country might invade with a large army while the Tatars were still establishing themselves in Persia, Jochi sent Ivan and Fulke, his most knowledgeable subordinates about this great western power, as envoys to this country.

The two men, accompanied by three hundred elite troops, escorted the Tatar delegation south by ship from the Persian Gulf, rounding the Saracen Peninsula and entering the Red Sea.

Upon entering the Red Sea, the number of ships encountered increased dramatically.

The deeper one goes, the more often one sees merchant ships flying the Crusader flag. These Frankish merchant ships coexist peacefully with the Saracen merchant ships, neither disturbing the other, and the two are remarkably harmonious.

Occasionally, enormous warships flying Crusader flags appear, carrying huge ballistae and with designs quite different from traditional galleys. They move at high speeds, which puts a great psychological pressure on visitors.

With our massive oar-sailed warship, we'd be no match for these Frankish sailing ships; we'd only be able to take a beating.

"I never imagined that the Red Sea trade route would be so prosperous under Frankish rule."

Ivan stood at the bow of the ship, somewhat moved.

The Franks were known for their bravery, but lacked business acumen. He had assumed that the Red Sea trade routes would decline and fall into ruin after the Franks replaced their former Ayyubid dynasty.

Fulke's expression was somewhat complicated. He had once fought under the banner of the Crusaders, and those merchant ships, in addition to the cross flag, also displayed the coat of arms of the families to which the ships belonged. Judging from their styles, many of them were familiar to Fulke.

If you were to go up and ask them, you might find that they are related by blood.

The Persian captain explained with a bitter face, "Ever since these infidels occupied Egypt, they have organized several large-scale expeditions. Those Franks sailed out of the Red Sea and headed south, taking over many trading posts and city-states along the African coast. Now, the Indian Ocean is no longer just the domain of us Zoroastrians."

Ivan thought to himself, no matter how bad the Franks are, they probably can't compare to the Tatars.

The two should really clash, have a dog-eat-dog battle.

If the Tatars suffer a major defeat, he can seize the opportunity to raise an army, occupy the Transoxiana region, and then become king and ruler.

evening.

Ivan and Fulke sat in the cabin, drinking fermented grape juice. Ivan was also holding a string of prayer beads belonging to a Khitan nobleman. He said with some worry, "We will soon arrive at the Frankish port of Ella, but I have a bad feeling about it."

Fulke reassured him, "Don't worry, His Majesty Lothar is a tolerant monarch; he will not make things difficult for us envoys."

Ivan lowered his voice: "Fulke, do you remember how the Tatars turned against the Khwarazmians back then?"

Two years ago, Kuchlug attempted to make a treaty with Khwarazm to jointly resist the Tatar army.

While Khwarazm outwardly agreed, it secretly seized the opportunity after the war began to plunder and occupy Khorasan and other areas under the rule of the Western Liao.

Therefore, the Tatars and Khwarazm initially maintained peace, each keeping to their own interests and feasting on the corpses of the Western Liao. The Tatars even sent envoys to visit Khwarazm.

As a result of this visit, the two sides broke off all pretense and began to fight each other.

Fulke hesitated before saying, "It seems that the Tatar Khan wants to adopt the monarch of Khwarazm as his son."

Ivan spread his hands: "That's right, I'm worried that our Khan still wants to do that. No matter how benevolent your Frankish Emperor, His Majesty Losa, is, how could a man like him tolerate such humiliation?"

"He's a bastard, so I might tolerate it, but his arrogant and fierce subordinates might not."

Ivan wanted to see the Franks and Tatars fight to the death, but that didn't mean he wanted to sacrifice himself as a flag-bearer.

Fulke also wavered.

Although he had pledged allegiance to a new boss, what impressed Fulke was only the Tatars' powerful military might and sharp swords.

Fulke still couldn't have any expectations regarding the Tatars' cultural level and vocabulary.

"How about we open the letter and take a look? The craftsmen in Jerusalem are quite skilled; perhaps they can open the letter without damaging the sealing wax."

Ivan shook his head: "Are you crazy? This letter of state is sealed by a Tatar shaman. Anyone who tries to open it will be seen by the Tatar shaman. And what good will it do you if you open it? Will you rewrite it or abandon your tribe and go into exile overseas?"

He sighed and said, "Right now, all we can do is pray that these Tatars will learn from their last mistake."

Early the next morning.

Ivan and Fulke were awakened by the surprised shouts of the Persian sailors.

They came to the deck and found that the opposite bank was a lush, dense forest, with a faint sweet fragrance in the air. Amid the cries of seagulls, hundreds of merchant ships with various sails were being guided into the harbor in an orderly manner by their navigators.

Fujianese ships from the East, Saracen dhows, and cogs of Latin merchants—all sorts of vessels, merchants dressed in vastly different clothes and with strikingly different appearances—were haggling with their customers in the harbor.

The tax collectors, led by their guards, were visiting each boat.

They are collecting import duties, which are levied on ships regardless of whether they unload or trade in the port of Ella, as long as they dock.

Where are we?

"If this is Port Ella, then isn't the Sinai Peninsula on the other side?"

The two rubbed their eyes, the dizziness from days of boating making them feel as if they were in a dream.

"No mistake, that is the Sinai Peninsula. Legend has it that the Frankish emperor planted a sacred tree in Transjordan and the Sinai Peninsula respectively, and since then, the barrenness has been dispelled and the vast land has become fertile."

The Persian captain muttered to himself, "I never thought the legend was true. Then this Frankish emperor must really be a prophet or a saint."

On the ship, the people of Ivan's tribe and the Tatars of the Kheshig army were also so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths.

They had never seen the Sinai Peninsula before and were awestruck by the richness of Port Eila. There are many good ports in the Persian Gulf, but none can compare with Port Eila at this moment.

One of the guards muttered under his breath, "Is this where the royal tent of Nanfulin is located? If we take this place, I wonder how many cattle, sheep, and women we can plunder."

As for men, he didn't mention them at all.

According to Tatar tradition, they would naturally kill everyone on the wheels of a cart.

Another kheshig laughed and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't plunder this city. Instead, I would bring it under my rule, and all the artisans, chefs, and beauties in the city would serve me. I would live in that tower."

He pointed to the Siegfried Tower, his eyes filled with longing: "That must be the place in the world closest to the Eternal Heaven."

Fulke couldn't help but cough and said, "Gentlemen, this is just a port city in Southern Fulin. Alexandria is much more magnificent. We are here to establish diplomatic relations with Southern Fulin, not to provoke them. If you enter the city, please be sure to restrain your behavior."

"Bah! How dare you, you audacious barbarian, lecture me!"

"No matter how wealthy a port may be, it is still just a country inhabited by a flock of sheep people. As everyone knows, the sheep people are rich but weak and are born to be plundered by Tatar warriors!"

Both men were arrogant and haughty, but they were soon severely reprimanded by the leader of the Kheshig.

Unlike the Kheshig from those small tribes, this leader came from the Golden Family. Although he was only a deputy envoy, everyone knew that he was the true envoy in the eyes of the Great Khan, a discerning eye to go to the legendary and extremely powerful Southern Fulin Kingdom on his behalf to distinguish its true strength from its weaknesses.

If the Southern Fulin Kingdom is strong enough, then we should first befriend it, and even tolerate its military intervention to occupy the Mesopotamian Plain, which is currently beyond our reach.

Although the Southern Kingdom of Fulin is wealthy, its military is weak. We should wait until we conquer Persia before leading our troops directly to this country.

If the southern steppe is impoverished and desolate, not even worthy of being plundered, then change course and head north to conquer the vast western grasslands.