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In December of the eleventh year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, after a long journey of more than two months, the delegation sent by the Song Dynasty from Gaochang finally arrived at Balasagun of the Eastern Heihan Kingdom.
The reason why it took more than 60 days to travel the 1,500-kilometer journey was because they suddenly encountered a snowstorm when they passed Bars Khan.
For this reason, the delegation had to stay in the local area for almost a month and only set off after the snow stopped.
In the Western Regions, where it can snow even in June and July, and the journey is so long, it is common that we cannot set out on the journey for a year or two.
Fortunately, after going through many hardships, they finally arrived at their destination.
The location here was later called Tokmak, a city in the northern part of Chuy Province, Kyrgyzstan. In the Tang Dynasty, it had another name - Suiye City!
Although it was winter, the Chu River Valley where Balishagun lived was as warm as spring. The land here was fertile, the products were abundant, and the climate was pleasant. Therefore, it became not only the capital of the Kara Khanate, but also the capital of the later Western Liao Dynasty.
There is an endless plain in the river valley. Bashishagun still uses the city of Suiye. The city is not big and is also made of rammed earth. The overall area is about the same as a county town in the Song Dynasty.
According to Xuanzang's records, the city of Suiye was built in imitation of Chang'an, but the circumference of the city was only six or seven miles.
This means that the length and width are about 23 miles, and the area is about 2 square kilometers, which is very different from the area of nearly 90 square kilometers of the Tang Chang'an City.
However, the architectural style inside still retains some Tang Dynasty style. The newly built buildings are in Central Asian style, with dome houses, loess brick walls on the outside, arched bricks and stones on the upper floors, and pointed lattice windows, which are a bit of exotic art that combines Chinese and Western styles.
The Song Dynasty delegation also included Sun Youtong, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites, Li Tao, a doctor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Liu Bingyan, a deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Although the mission was to visit three countries, since the three countries were in the same direction, sending three delegations would be a serious waste of finances, so the entire mission was taken care of by them.
In Kucha, they recruited guides from the Black Khanate, and when they entered the territory of the Black Khanate from Wochi County and arrived at Bars Khan, a county on the border of the Black Khanate, they contacted the local officials of the Black Khanate Kingdom and informed the Black Khanate King of the news of the delegation.
At this moment, outside the city of Balisagun, Suleiman, the Khan of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, personally came out of the city to greet them, showing extremely warm treatment to the Song Dynasty delegation.
Suleiman was a middle-aged man of about forty years old, with a thick mustache and a shaved chin. His head was wrapped in white cloth and he wore a black robe. He had an extremely strong figure.
When he saw the delegation, he first stepped forward to greet them warmly, then placed his right hand on his chest, spoke in the local language, and bowed slightly, as if to express his respect to the Song Dynasty.
The guide, who also served as a translator, was a Black Khan merchant. He explained to the group, "His Majesty the Great Khan welcomes you all who have come from afar. May the Prophet bless you all!"
"The Khan is polite!"
Sun Youtong, Li Tao, and Liu Bingyan hurriedly bowed to Suleiman in the Song Dynasty's custom of saluting.
Suleiman stretched out his hand towards the city behind him and said something else.
The translator said, "Your Majesty invites everyone to enter the kingdom. A banquet has been prepared for everyone in the palace."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
No one called him Your Majesty.
Because in the Song Dynasty, "Your Majesty" was an exclusive title for the emperor.
The countries that paid tribute to the central dynasty were called vassal states, which were on the same level as the princely states, and these people were to be addressed as His Majesty the King.
Therefore, in the early Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo was one of the vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, and its king Gao Jianwu was called this by the envoys sent by the Tang Dynasty, which made Gao Jianwu very happy.
Basically, at that time, there were only three countries in Asia that were committing fraud.
Among them, two of them, the Yue Dynasty and the Goryeo Dynasty, called themselves kings to the suzerain state, and called themselves the Emperor to the people.
The other is Japan, which did not recognize the vassal relationship at all, but only came to the Tang Dynasty to steal cultural knowledge, relying on its language and writing barriers to deceive the Tang Dynasty emperor.
The rest of the countries still abide by this agreement.
After all, strictly speaking, the three countries that engaged in fraud were agricultural civilizations that were more heavily influenced by Chinese culture. They were well versed in Confucian culture and knew the relationship between them, so they tried to cover up their mistakes.
The peoples in the Western Regions, the northern grasslands, and the Northeast were not that seriously sinicized. They were still fishing, hunting, and nomadic peoples, and did not have a deep understanding of Confucian culture, so they basically did not care about the differences.
Led by Suleiman, his entourage and many ministers, the delegation entered the city in a grand procession.
Li Tao looked around.
The geographical location of Suiye City is really beautiful. In the dead of winter in December, the snow-capped mountains in the distance are covered with snow, and there are white-headed peaks everywhere, but the valley is warm like spring and not particularly cold.
He couldn't help but praise it, "This is such a great place. Even in December, in the dead of winter, with a cold wind blowing down the valley, there's still green grass. It's truly fertile soil."
The translator told Suleiman this, and his expression changed slightly. He then quickly replied, "How can a remote place compare to the prosperity of the Song Dynasty? The envoys have come a long way and must have worked hard. Come with me and rest."
Everyone felt strange.
He said this as if he was urging everyone to go in, as if there were assassins lying in ambush between the tables, ready to take their lives at any time.
But then I thought, if I really wanted to take their lives, why would I wait until the dinner table?
They didn't bring a large army, but they had more than a hundred followers, so it was easy for the Black Khan Kingdom to kill them.
So I put this doubt aside and entered the city.
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