:dingdiange:
On May 13th of the 12th year of the Qingli period, the envoys of the Song Dynasty left the Chola Dynasty with satisfaction, carrying an arms order.
The delegation gained a lot from this trip to the Indian Peninsula.
Their next destination was the Chalukya Empire located on the west side of the Indian peninsula.
Afterwards, they went north through the Solanki Dynasty and the Samarra Dynasty, then entered the Persian Gulf and arrived at their destination, Baghdad in the Middle East.
At this time, they were only more than 2,000 kilometers away from their destination. According to Tan Wenxue's estimation, if everything went well, they would arrive in Baghdad in late June.
They will stay there for a month and leave at the end of July. Because they will not need to visit other countries on the return journey, except for stopping at ports along the way to replenish supplies, they will travel at full speed for the rest of the time.
Therefore, they should return to the Song Dynasty within three months, and at the latest by early November.
Even if there are delays along the way, even if it's a two-month delay, we should still be able to bring envoys from various countries to participate in the grand celebration on January 1st of the following year before the end of December.
Although the round trip time of nearly ten months is indeed a bit rushed, at least for now everything has been smooth, and the itinerary and process are all as planned.
Soon, about ten days later, in late May, they rounded the Indian Peninsula and arrived at the Later Chalukya Empire.
The later Chalukya dynasty is the Maharashtra state of India in later generations. Its capital is called Kalyani. In later generations, it has another very famous name - Mumbai!
It was midsummer and the Indian peninsula was extremely hot, with scorching sun, clear skies and white clouds. The sea was azure and clear, and the pier outside Kalyani was bustling with activity.
This season is the busiest time for sea routes. Hardworking Arab merchants travel to various ports on the Eastern route. From time to time, huge fleets of ships can be seen on the sea, slowly approaching with the power of the monsoon.
There were people coming and going on the dock, many ships were docked on the side, and many dock workers were coming in and out, carrying all kinds of spices and goods. The smell of Indian specialty spices lingered on the dock for a long time.
Compared with the Chola Dynasty, although the military strength of the Later Chalukya Dynasty was slightly inferior to that of the Chola Dynasty in the south, it actually had more advantages in economic and trade.
Because it was closer to the Arab Empire, most Arab merchants would go to Kalyani to buy spices, then go south around the Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka, then go east through the Bay of Bengal and go directly through the Strait of Malacca.
The advantage of doing this is that there is no need to waste time crossing the Palk Strait between the Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka to reach the capital of the Chola Empire, Oraiyur, and the journey will be relatively shorter.
So in this situation, the Chalukya Dynasty was richer than the Chola Dynasty.
Therefore, even though its martial virtues were slightly inferior to those of the Chola Dynasty, it was the largest and most populous country on the Indian Peninsula, as well as the richest country, and was able to hold its own against the martial-virtuous Chola Dynasty for a hundred years.
It can be said that if the Chalukya Dynasty and the Chola Dynasty were placed in the East, then the Chola Dynasty was like the Liao Dynasty, and the Chalukya Dynasty was an enhanced version of the Song Dynasty.
During the more than a hundred years of fighting, the two sides rose and fell at the same time, and were finally destroyed by other rising dynasties.
The two countries are old rivals who have been loving and hating each other for a hundred years.
At this moment, the Song Dynasty's envoy fleet passed by a southbound Arab merchant fleet several miles away, and then the mighty fleet sailed into the port.
The port officials were also very surprised to see such a large fleet and hurried over to ask what was going on.
Soon, the ship's translator and guide, the wealthy Chalukya merchant Payara, got off the ship to negotiate with the other party.
Upon learning that the other party was an envoy from a great country in the far east, the port officials did not dare to neglect the matter and immediately reported the situation to the King of Chalukya.
Like Jatiraja Chola I, King Sumitravara I of Later Chalukya also immediately stopped what he was doing and personally came to greet him with a group of monks, nobles, princes and ministers.
Just as the Chola Dynasty gave its reasons, the Later Chalukya Dynasty also had no conflict of interest with the Song Dynasty. On the contrary, they had a complementary relationship in trade, so they treated the Song envoys very warmly.
Welcoming King Samishvara I, the delegation first passed through the slums outside the port and then entered the city of Kalyani.
This place is indeed much more prosperous than the Chola Empire's capital, Oraiyur. Not only is the city larger and more populous, but it also has a strong commercial atmosphere, with all kinds of shops and stalls scattered throughout the streets and alleys.
Walking on the streets is like walking in the kingdom of spices. There are white pepper, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, black cumin, green fennel seeds, cumin, cinnamon, grass fruit, cardamom, Sichuan pepper, coriander seeds, etc. It is overwhelming.
Various local people wearing headscarves and Arab merchants shuttle between them, making Kalyani one of the important hubs of global trade today.
It can be said that in addition to several top-ranked commercial cities in the Song Dynasty, such as Bianliang, Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, Kalyani was already a very prosperous trading city at that time.
After all, although the Middle East is the main gathering area for Arab merchants, wars there are too frequent. Even though there are world-class commercial cities such as Baghdad and Tehran, the damage caused by repeated wars has made it difficult for them to continue their prosperity.
So perhaps Kalyani is not the most commercially prosperous city in the world, but it is definitely one of the most stable cities.
Even during the Hundred Years’ War with the Chola Empire, both sides only affected the borders, not the capitals in the hinterland.
"Dear guests from afar, on behalf of the Chalukya Kingdom, I welcome you."
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