Changfeng Thousands of Miles End Han Song

Chapter 944 The Alliance of Cats and Dogs
The impact of the drastic changes in the eastern world will never be spread only within the sphere of influence of the Lu Qi Empire. The reputation of Lu Qi and Emperor Lu has long since spread across the sea to Byzantium.

And the Tianfang world, which has undergone drastic changes due to the strong pressure from the east, has completely disrupted the history of the monogod world.

Take the Zanji dynasty, for example.

The latter was one of many small kingdoms that splintered within the Seljuk Empire.The founder was Imaddin Zanji, a military general who was born as a Turkic slave, hence the name.Zanji was originally a Turkic slave of the Sultan Maliksha [Sanjar's grandfather] of the Seljuk dynasty, and later served as the tutor of the prince of the Seljuk dynasty. When he was the governor of Basra, he suppressed a rebellion that attempted to overthrow the Sultan, and established meritorious service.

Sanjar granted him the title of Mosul (Mausile) Atabeg (Teacher, Protector), and he owned the three major cities of Aleppo, Haran, and Mosul.From then on, he established the Zanji Dynasty with Mosul as the capital.

Historically, Imaddin Zanji governed independently as the Sultan's tutor and protector, constantly expanding his sphere of influence.Frequently attacked Jerusalem, occupied Hama, attacked Antioch, entered Tripoli, and entered Damascus.In the end, he led the army to recover the city of Edessa, which was a sign of the second Crusade.

But now, Sancar integrated the entire Seljuk system, and Imaddin Zanji's influence was also full of it.Or rather, the threat from the east had awakened Imaddin Zanji.The latter knew very well what choice he should make at this time was the right one, so he concluded a contract with the Crusader Kingdom.

Not only that, the business contacts between the Seljuks and the Byzantine Empire have also become more numerous in these years.Whether it was the Byzantines or the kingdoms built by the Crusaders such as Jerusalem, they paid close attention to the Seljuk Empire.If the Great Seljuk Empire, which integrated many small Seljuk countries, attacked them, it would be an unstoppable disaster!

John II, who was the emperor of Byzantium at the time, was also happy to ease the tension with the Seljuks, and took advantage of Sanjar's eagerness to reach an armistice agreement with the same god world, and took back some territories in Asia Minor from the Seljuks. Recaptured a large number of Byzantine towns, cities and fortresses in Asia Minor peninsula occupied by the Turks.It also allowed him to concentrate on defeating the Pechenegs, Hungarians and Serbs in the Balkans.

Why the Pechenegs, Hungarians, and Serbs broke out with the Byzantine Empire does not need to be described in detail.You only need to know that the current John II is very stalemate with Hungary, and then Hungary, which has a weak influence in the world, is the most powerful country in Eastern Europe at this time.

Relying on his good military skills and flexible diplomatic and political skills, John II made the revival of the Byzantine Empire very prosperous, and the number of subjects under his rule has returned to 1000 million. The overall strength is already very good.

None of the Byzantine Empire, which was on the rise, and the Obaro countries further west, were wary of Lu Qi's strength.

In their eyes, the confrontation between Lu Qi and Tianfang World was a just battle, God's punishment for the heretics.Compared with the power of the distant Lu Qi Empire, they are more concerned about the increasing number of silk, porcelain, tea, rhubarb and glass mirrors in the market in recent years. These treasures in the past are not only more in quantity, but also better in quality.

Therefore, when Sancar sent a large-scale mission to Byzantium, he sent his close friend Aksukh, a Turkic, who was captured as a child after the city of Nicaea was broken and presented as a gift to John's father, Alexis I, founder of the Komnenian dynasty.Alex I believed that Aksuhe would be a good partner of his son, so Aksuhe was able to grow up with the prince in the imperial court.Immediately after John II ascended the throne, Aksukh was appointed Grand Commander, that is, commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army.He was also court advisor to John II.

The two sides held a perfect trade negotiation. The two participating countries signed a total of 36.3 Nomismata purchase contracts, and 72 Nomismata [gold coins] were equivalent to the same pound of gold.Pure equal exchange means that a Byzantine gold coin is roughly equivalent to two or seven silver coins, which is equivalent to 2.55 Lu Qi silver coins.But in the actual transaction, a Byzantine Nomismata can only be equivalent to two Lu Qi silver dollars.

This not only involves the exquisiteness of Lu Qi silver dollars and the almost indistinguishable purity of each silver dollar, but also involves the coinage techniques of the two civilizations of the East and the West at this time.But even so, this is not a small sum, directly creating a profit close to [-] gold coins, which made all Byzantine officials laugh from ear to ear.

Among the turnover of 36.3 gold coins, the largest volume is no longer textiles, but copper ingots, iron ingots, and a complete set of armor; the second largest sales volume is also leather goods, crude leather, and a large amount of grain.

The Seljuks unabashedly showed that they were preparing for war in front of the Byzantines. John II expressed his surprise, because the leader of the Seljuk mission said that when necessary, they would continue to use Asia Minor Regional lands were exchanged for monetary and material support from the Byzantine Empire.

This is really good news for John II.

The Sultanate of Rum, which occupied Asia Minor, was a feudal state established in Asia Minor by a branch of the Seljuq dynasty.It was named because the people of Tianfang called Asia Minor under the rule of the Byzantine Empire Roma (meaning Roman).

As a branch of the Seljuk Dynasty, the Roma Sultanate will naturally not forget it at this critical moment.Although this sultanate has passed down several generations of kings, it actually achieved independence when the Seljuks were in chaos.But when Sancar wanted to bring Roma back into his sphere of influence, the current Mesud Shah could only obey.

The Sultanate of Roma was John II's most immediate threat in the East.The withdrawal of its power is a beautiful thing that John II dreamed of.

So, when the Seljuks asked him for 'military' support, John II was embarrassed.

It's not that he worried about offending Lu Qi because of this, but because this shipbuilder is different from other technicians and craftsmen, he is really sensitive.

Byzantium under his rule was not a naval power. When facing the maritime threats of the Seljuk and Fatimid dynasties, Byzantium relied more on the support of the Venetians.At the beginning of his accession to the throne, John II refused to recognize the treaty his father signed with the Republic of Venice in 1082, which generously granted the city-state of Italy unique trading privileges within the Byzantine Empire.However, the shift in policy was not due to economic considerations. At a time when Byzantium was especially dependent on Venetian naval aid, an incident involving the Venetians insulting members of the imperial royal family led to a conflict between the two sides.After Byzantium attacked Corfu in retaliation, John exiled the Venetian merchants in Constantinople.But this was further counterattacked by the Venetians. A Venetian fleet composed of 72 ships sacked Rhodes Island, Chios Island, Sams Island, Lesbos Island, and occupied Ioni Kefalonia island in the subsea.Eventually John was forced to compromise!
There are quite a few shipbuilders in Byzantium. After all, it has a long coastline, but it is always in a "stocking" posture, because John II worried that the news of his contact with shipbuilders would make the Italians feel threatened.

On the contrary, the Seljuks could send military assistance to Byzantium at the "critical moment of war", and Byzantium had to dispatch an army of 5000 people to rescue Seljuks, but it was a trivial matter.

Regardless of the fact that this is the period of the Crusades, monotheism is in full swing, and the burning feeling of faith is the strongest.In fact, John II in history had an alliance with the Seljuks.On the eastern front of the empire, his foreign policy was in the same line as his father's - that is, to provoke conflict between the Rumi sultans and the Danishmand dynasty, which controlled the northeastern part of the interior of Asia Minor.The Sultan of Roma also provided troops to support John II's attack on the Danishmand city of Castamuni.

So, don't regard your opponent as mentally retarded.

"Your Majesty, the empire is gradually recovering its former strength, but the Venetians are still showing off their power on our coasts, nibbling away at our islands in the Aegean Sea, and those greedy businessmen will never take the initiative to give up the slightest profit ." Aksuhe spoke at this moment.

"My dear Aksukh, you mean..."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Now we have enough strength to rebuild the Byzantine navy and rent craftsmen and shipbuilders to Seljuks. This not only helps our friends, but also trains our craftsmen. Wait until they return In Byzantium, the craftsmanship is even more exquisite, and they have been organized, and they will definitely create a large and strong fleet for Byzantium in the shortest possible time."

Numerous reports indicate that the navy will play a role in the war between Lu Qi and the Seljuks.Although Sanjar firmly believes that Luqi's army is the main force in the war, its navy should not be underestimated.

Because of technical reasons, the artillery made by the Seljuks has no combat effectiveness at all. The Lu Qi navy, which has an absolute advantage in combat power, can land at any location on the Seljuk coastline. This is a serious threat.Therefore, even though the Seljuk Navy is not the opponent of the Lu Qi Navy, they still have to go all out to prepare for the battle!

"In this case, I agree to your request. Although these conditions are harsh, Byzantium can accept them." John II stood up and said to the representatives of the Seljuks: "Finally, I wish your sultan good luck and hope See the Seljuk defeat the robbers from the east. Let God and the true God testify the friendship between Byzantium and Seljuk."

"Thanks to His Majesty the Emperor for his support, and may the friendship between Seljuk and Byzantium last forever. The true God will bless the great Seljuk, and those who defend their dignity with blood in front of the enemy will be blessed by God. You may not think that in the Strait On the other side, countless warriors are already sharpening their blades, and they are fearless to die. It is wishful thinking for the Chinese to step on our dead bodies to blaspheme the true God. And similarly, those who want to take advantage of the fire to loot and gain benefits from the empire are also wishful thinking!"

"God bless those who save themselves." John II finally said to the envoy: "I cherish the friendship with your country. Please bring back my sincere greetings and blessings to your Sultan."

(End of this chapter)