The Sun and the Lion

Just the next day, Assad quickly came to see Ibrahim with a report. The mission to Cairo had returned, and the foreign affairs vizier came this time to report on their diplomatic results.

Safavid's development of new relations with Durkadir and even entering the country to help expel the Ottoman army made Cansu Ghauri wary. He was not sure of Ibrahim's purpose of westward expansion. Due to Egypt's current weakness, Malik more than once Imagine Iran's current masters following Timur's example and invading Syria, only Ibrahim's attitude would not be as aggressive as his grandfather's.

The envoy entered the court of Saladin's castle and comforted Malik with the words prepared by Dewan in advance. Kansu Gauri calmly listened to all of Ibrahim's defense of peace and friendship between the two countries, and did not Difficult messenger.

He then changed the subject and negotiated trade issues. However, the envoys who came to Cairo did not have the relevant authorization and had to write down Malik's requirements and take them back to Isfahan.

Ibrahim took the document from the foreign vizier and curiously looked at what the Mamluks were going to do.

The most noble Sultan of Egypt and Syria, Custodian of the Holy Land, Protector of the Caliphate, to the King of Kings of Iran. The importance and protection of trade between our two countries is unparalleled by other countries...

After reading the Mamluk side's request, Ibrahim was surprised. The main clause was to amend the trade agreement and require Iran's exports to the Levant to be brought under the comprehensive control of the Mamluk government. It’s not just taxing it.

The plague decades ago, occasional famines and continued political turmoil have all caused huge losses to Egypt. The Mamluks' financial resources are dwindling and have been in a state of long-term tension. In addition to raising taxes on the people under their rule, successive Maliks have also Committed to making quick money from Mediterranean trade as much as possible to plug the holes in their accounts.

Monopoly can obtain the most profits. Saladin Castle naturally chooses to directly rely on its power to make money, forcing Italian businessmen to buy spices from official merchants at high prices. Private transactions are prohibited, and the quality of goods cannot be guaranteed. Customs officials will also charge additional taxes and even seize them. goods. Under such operational logic, even at the critical moment when Portugal threatened Indian Ocean trade, it only chose to respond to the decline in trade revenue by further squeezing the Venetians.

Fortunately, the trade routes soon returned to stability, preventing the Mamluks' financial revenue from declining. However, Malik was not satisfied with the slow recovery in revenue. Internally, he continued to purge the emir who was estranged from him to rectify domestic political affairs. At the same time, domestic financial resources will be reallocated. Externally, he plans to manipulate international trade to gain more benefits.

It happens that silk, one of Iran's main export commodities, has not yet been included in the monopoly system of the Mamluk government. Cansu Gauri intends to fill this loophole. Silk can not only be forcibly sold to Italian businessmen, but also the wealthy class in the country. There is a huge demand, and controlling the largest source of this commodity will undoubtedly make it easier for Cairo to amass wealth.

Is this the plan? It seems that the Sultan of Egypt is crazy about money.

Ibrahim thought about it and decided to compromise. It is not the time to offend Egypt yet. Safavid needs the Levant's trade routes to be smooth so that silk can be safely shipped to Western Europe at ports such as Iskenderun, Tripoli, and Beirut during wartime.

Moreover, Kansu Gauri's price was not low. He promised to purchase raw silk and satin at the Bazaar's market price, ensuring that local officials would not treat the Iranian businessman unfairly, as long as he had a trade concession issued by the Iranian court. Be treated favorably by officials.

However, Ibrahim planned to bargain some more, such as asking Egypt to increase the purchase price, or to allocate the profits from the monopoly trade to Iran. These were not mandatory requirements. Anyway, the Mamluks were willing to buy the silk at the market price.

Well, besides that, give me something else. Kamran, who was drafting a reply on the side, paused at his order. Ibrahim turned his attention to Assad and discussed: Giving a hundred strong men for free. What about the Rusbai slaves? And the donations to the Holy City of Mecca and the Caliphate.”

This gift is good, Your Majesty, but will it make those Circassian slaves think that our country is too weak? The foreign affairs vizier felt that this would easily give rise to unrealistic illusions in Cairo, thereby hindering the interests of the country. .

Ibrahim said confidently: Let's do it this way. I believe that old thing can carry it cleanly. A fool can't sit in Saladin's Castle for long.

As you wish, Your Majesty. Assad withdrew his objection.

That edict. Ibrahim turned to the clerk and asked for the document, and then handed it to Assad: You have a lot of new tasks, look for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com You have to take a look at this first, not yet It’s too late to send it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

This document was the diplomatic plan he drafted in one night. The mission took a boat to Venice on the Dalmatian coast, and then, with the help of a Venetian guide, walked overland across Croatia to Buda to meet with King Władysław of Hungary.

It will take at least several months on the road. In addition, it takes time to adapt and collect information without a complete understanding of the Balkans and Eastern Europe. A year and a half is considered a short time for the diplomatic mission to stay in Hungary.

After thinking about it for a night, he decided that it would take a lot of time to go there, and the efficiency of visiting one country alone was too low. After visiting Buda, the envoy could go north to Krakow, and on the way back south, he could ignore the risk and take a detour to Rome met the Pope and became familiar with the rulers who had conflicts of interest with the Ottomans, which was a good start for the development of further relations.

Assad was completely unfamiliar with the places and names on it. He only knew that this was a Christian country, so he started from there and planned to select from Dhimmi officials, businessmen and priests.

Your Majesty, since the target is a pagan country, it might as well send their believers directly. This can avoid differences in beliefs and customs, and also take advantage of the closeness brought by the same religion. He immediately told Wan Wan what he thought of first. King of Kings reports.

I won't go into details about who to choose. You just need to check carefully. There are only a few targets to visit. Let the envoys arrange the specific itinerary. For more details, you can consult the ambassador and the trade guild.

Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was responsible for receiving the Portuguese envoy who would arrive soon. Ibrahim did not want to receive this guest and suggested that the Vizier only need to send a deputy to have a few valuable exchanges with him. This envoy The status and situation of Portuguese India did not deserve to be treated with dignity.