"What do you think of the Caliph's request?"
Baghdad, early July.
This was the fourteenth day since the delegation arrived in Baghdad.
The Song Dynasty delegation will stay in Baghdad for more than a month.
Because they needed to inform the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo and the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople.
This task was given to Saladin.
Along the way, everything went smoothly as planned, without too many delays or setbacks.
The only unplanned thing was waiting in Port Lunger for nine days, wasting at least seven days.
Fortunately, there is still plenty of time.
If they go a little further, they can even choose to leave in September.
In this way, we only need to replenish supplies along the way and do not stop in other countries. We can return to the Song Dynasty in three months at most.
It was only the beginning of December at that time. It was more than enough time to travel from Guangzhou to Xiangyang, then take the train back to Bianliang, and return to report at the end of the year.
During these eight days, they were warmly received by the Buyid Emir Abu Mansur Frad Sotun, especially after a demonstration of artillery was given to him.
The delegation accepted all arms orders and signed the contract quickly. Now they just had to wait for the reply from the Fatimid Caliphate and the Eastern Roman Empire.
Unexpectedly, just this morning, the Abbasid Caliph Kaim sent his confidants over, hoping that they could help him restore the monarchy.
"Strange, why would the Caliph ask us for help? Isn't he afraid that we will tell the Emir?"
"Yes, I heard that this Caliph is a Sunni. He has always been at odds with the Shia Emir of the Buyid Kingdom. Since he is controlled by them, can't he ask others for help? Aren't there a lot of Sunnis?"
"I guess he's desperate and is trying anything he can think of. Back then, when Emperor Xian of Han was threatened by Cao Cao, wasn't he forced to seek help from Liu Xuande and others to eliminate Cao Cao?"
"I don't think so. I heard Saladin say that the largest Sunni state now is the Seljuk Empire. Think about it, if he asked the Seljuk Empire for help, wouldn't he still be the Emperor Xian of Han?"
"That makes sense. We are outsiders. If we help him restore the monarchy, we won't be able to control him. He has a high reputation in the country. As long as he breaks free from Baiyiguo's control, he will naturally respond to the call. The Seljuks are also Sunnis, and the Caliph is the head of the Sunni sect. His status is equivalent to that of the president of the Buddhist and Taoist Associations of the Great Song Dynasty. Once the Caliph is in power, the Seljuks will not dare to disobey him. Only in this way can they truly hold power."
After the Caliph's envoy left, Tan Wenxue, Zhang Youwei and several assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussed things together in the cabin.
Everyone analyzed a lot of things one by one.
If the ancients did not have such knowledge, they would definitely not be able to figure it out.
However, Zhao Jun gave them guidelines from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requiring them not only to analyze the customs and practices of the other country when they went on diplomatic missions, but also to understand the other country's power structure and social system.
So after arriving in Baghdad, they often investigated the local situation, and from time to time went out under the guise of trade to inquire about local things and record them one by one.
As outsiders, they certainly didn't understand the truth so quickly, but they had the traitor Saladin leading the way.
In addition, the local Arabs actually hated the rule of the Daylamites and favored the religious leader Kaim in religious beliefs. Naturally, they were not so disgusted when faced with the inquiries of the Song people.
In this case, we can naturally analyze why the Caliph asked the Song people for help.
"It seems that, as we have investigated, the Emir's power has declined significantly and he is completely unable to resist the Seljuks. Otherwise, the Caliph would not have come to us."
Zhang Youwei said thoughtfully.
Tan Wenxue laughed and said, "We are not Liu Xuande. At that time, Liu Xuande and his men had no troops, no power, and no influence. It was extremely difficult for them to help Emperor Xian of Han. Now it is very easy for us to help the Caliph."
"The question is whether to help or not?"
Zhang Youwei looked at everyone and asked a soul-searching question.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Logically speaking, as envoys abroad, they should not interfere in other countries' internal affairs, so they should naturally ignore such matters.
But the problem was that the Caliph gave too much.
Not only did he promise to open ports and actively develop trade with the Song Dynasty as long as the Song people helped him restore the throne, he also placed large orders for arms and was even willing to send envoys to the Song Dynasty to pay tribute. The conditions were extremely generous.
The most important of these was the one about sending envoys to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty.
You should know that the Abbasid Dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in the history of the Arab world, without a doubt.
Stronger than the previous Umayyad dynasty.
Although the territory of the Abbasid Caliphate was not as large as that of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate was more like a feudal system with only nominal territory, while the Abbasid Caliphate actually controlled the largest territory.
The Abbasid dynasty later declined and split, but it lasted much longer than the Umayyad dynasty.
Therefore, to this day, the status of the Abbasid Dynasty in the Arab world is equivalent to that of the Zhou Dynasty in the East, and it is the overlord of many vassal states.
All Islamic countries, except the Fatimid dynasty, which had declared itself a king and appointed itself as caliph, had to respect the caliph openly, including the Buyid dynasty, which was also a Shiite dynasty like the Fatimids.
Therefore, the Abbasid Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were, at least on the surface, two empires of equal level, just like the Roman Empire. Although it was divided and both sides were fighting for orthodoxy, it was still an empire.
As long as the Abbasid Dynasty was not completely destroyed, its status would still be on par with that of the Song Dynasty due to its religious status and the glory of the previous Arab Empire.
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