After visiting Java, they will officially cross the Strait of Malacca, and in the process of crossing the strait, they will go to Sumatra to invite the last country, Srivijaya.
Java is very far away, with a journey of nearly 2,000 kilometers. It took the delegation ten full days and they encountered wind and rain on the road before arriving in late March.
During the Chunhua period, Java sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to pay tribute. It took them 60 days to reach Dinghai County, Mingzhou, which is later known as Zhenhai County, Ningbo.
Because it was too far away from the Song Dynasty, the journey of that diplomatic mission was nearly 6,000 kilometers. Therefore, since the Chunhua period, Java has never paid tribute to the Song Dynasty again.
However, communication between the two sides is still quite frequent.
Because Java and Srivijaya were sworn enemies and attacked each other, both sides wanted to win the support of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, although no envoys were sent, merchants traveled back and forth to trade. Java merchants often sued Srivijaya for bullying them.
Srivijaya was also afraid of being blamed by the Song Dynasty, so during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, they built a Buddhist temple in Palembang to celebrate Zhao Heng's birthday. Emperor Zhenzong of Song specially gave him a bell and inscribed on it: "Wanshou Chengtian".
These two countries can be said to love and hate each other.
Upon hearing that the Song Dynasty envoys had arrived, King Ellangka of Java also warmly welcomed them.
This person is a woman, the daughter-in-law of the former king Murocha.
Because Murocha and his son were killed in the war with Srivijaya, and his grandson was young, the royal family had no heir for a while, so Airlangka inherited the throne.
During this period, the war between Java and Srivijaya had ended with Java's defeat. Srivijaya's influence spread throughout the entire island of Sumatra and occupied the western part of Java, becoming unprecedentedly powerful.
Knowing the purpose of the Song Dynasty envoy's visit, Ellangka first replied politely that she was willing to go to the Song Dynasty, but was afraid that if she left, Srivijaya would take the opportunity to attack, so she wanted to refuse.
However, Tan Wenxue told Ai'erlangka that if they became a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty would protect them, and if Srivijaya dared to invade, they would be destroyed.
After hearing this, Ellangka knew that he had no reason to refuse, so he readily agreed.
After three consecutive stops, Champa, Borneo and Java successfully completed their tasks.
In fact, during this period, there were more than just three countries, namely Brunei, Java and Srivijaya, in places like the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
However, the other countries were recorded as countries, but in fact they were tribes that obeyed these three regimes, just like the Liao Dynasty, whose main body was Khitans, but there were also many Jurchen, Bohai, Menggu and other tribes under it.
So basically, inviting these three countries is enough.
In early April, the Song Dynasty delegation set off again. This trip took a month and covered nearly 4,000 kilometers. They were finally about to leave Southeast Asia and head to the Indian Ocean from the Strait of Malacca.
This itinerary was roughly within the mission's expectations.
Because the journey to Southeast Asian countries is about 4,000 kilometers, which takes one month. After leaving the Strait of Malacca, it is about 4,000 kilometers to the Indian Peninsula, which also takes about one month.
Then we entered the Persian Gulf from the Indian Peninsula, which was also a distance of 4,000 kilometers and still took one month, so three months to go and three months to return, which was a very smooth process.
However, the court took into account the possibility of accidents along the way, such as encountering storms, so it gave them an extra four months, allowing them to return before the end of the year.
Seeing that the journey was going smoothly, Tan Wenxue and his companions were very happy. The delegation stayed in Java for two more days, replenished some fresh water and food, and then sailed towards the Strait of Malacca.
The capital of Srivijaya was in Palembang, not on the coast, so a few days later, the delegation arrived at the mouth of the lower Musi River.
After discussions between Tan Wenxue and Wang Shining, they decided to leave the fleet at the estuary, and the main members of the delegation would take the Guangzhou and sail south along the river to Palembang.
The Musi River is very wide, has a large flow rate and is very deep. It can accommodate 10,000-ton ocean-going ships. In later generations, it became an important trade river in Palembang, Indonesia, and the Song Dynasty's envoy fleet could easily pass through.
However, due to the large water flow, ordinary ships lacking mechanical power were slow to go upstream. They were afraid of wasting time, so they used the Guangzhou, which relied on steam power to travel faster.
After making this decision, the group immediately took action.
The Guangzhou then went ahead at full speed, using full engine power, rumbling towards Palembang.
Palembang is only 80 kilometers away from the seaport. With the horsepower of the Guangzhou, it can be easily reached in just half a day.
They set out in the morning and arrived in Palembang at noon.
On April 7, the climate in Southeast Asia was hot, or rather very sultry, in early summer. There had been a heavy rain two days before, and the water flow of the Musi River had risen sharply, with floods spreading.
Amidst these rolling waves, the Guangzhou could see from afar a vast riverbank carved out by the river.
At the foot of the mountain on the far side of the river is a vast plain.
The plains are lush and green with dense forests, and there are many villages along the way. Due to the abundance of water and the lack of land, most of the houses are built on the water, with bamboo houses built on pillars, and some are even bamboo rafts.
The shore is mostly covered with fields, with paddy fields crisscrossing each other. The local residents have slightly dark skin and stand in their houses on the water, looking at the huge monster on the river in surprise.
"Doctor, commander."
Pu Jin, a prominent Srivijaya merchant, pointed to a city on the distant riverbank and introduced it to them: "That is Old Port, the capital of Srivijaya."
"Yes, it is magnificent."
The two of them observed through the telescope and were still very moved.
They never expected that there was such a prosperous country at the end of the South China Sea.
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