I

"The city is both large and beautiful. The gates of the palace all face the main square. The gates are very high, and above the gates are magnificent rooms decorated with patterns."

This is the description of the Persian capital Isfahan by a Russian businessman who traveled in Persia twenty years ago.

Abbas II, the Persian emperor, personally took the prime minister out of the palace and greeted the Chinese envoys on the square, paying far more attention than the Mughals.

Abbas II is only 20 years old, but has been on the throne for more than ten years.

The young emperor was prone to produce powerful ministers, but he was very lucky to meet two virtuous ministers in succession.

Due to Abbas I's perennial wars, the treasury was empty. The prime minister Sanu Tachi, who assisted the little emperor, rectified the internal affairs in an all-round way and cracked down on corruption. He was assassinated by nobles after five years of assisting the government.

The prime minister who was also master and father was murdered. The little emperor, who was only fourteen years old at the time, hated the domestic dignitaries to the bone.

The second prime minister was Caliph Sultan, who was a religious leader as soon as he heard his name. He was a good friend of the previous prime minister. Relying on its religious status and influence, he continued to assist the emperor in rectifying the internal affairs, relied on fighting corruption, continued to gather local power, and continuously strengthened the emperor's centralization.

Under the training and teaching of the two prime ministers, Abbas II became wise and kind, and at the same time a knowledgeable monarch.

In addition, his generous character is also related to family experiences.

His grandfather, Abbas I, although talented, was extremely suspicious. In order to prevent the prince from usurping the throne, he killed the eldest son and the second son, and blinded the youngest son. After his father succeeded to the throne, he did the same thing as his grandfather. He almost killed all the members of the Safavid royal family, and also killed the ministers of civil and military affairs with outstanding achievements, and then began to drink and smoke opium for a long time.

Born in such a family, King Abbas II has been trembling since he was a child, delicate and sensitive.

"Teacher, what do Chinese people look like?" Abbas II asked.

The Caliph said: "I have never seen it, maybe it is similar to the Mongols. But according to the news brought by the merchants, the current Chinese emperor is a young and promising founding monarch. In recent years, our products have become more and more popular. More and more are being sold to China. And more and more Chinese products are coming to Persia. Especially their cotton cloth, even across the ocean, is still as cheap and high-quality.”

Abbas II asked again: "Which country is bigger, Persia or China?"

The Caliph said: "This... I don't know either. Our merchants sent back news from Banten that the Chinese navy had defeated the Netherlands. This is a very good thing. In the future, merchants will be safer when they go to sea, and they can even directly communicate with Contact with China. In my opinion, a fleet should be organized and envoys should be sent to visit China.”

"Your Majesty, the Chinese envoy is here!" An eunuch trotted over to report.

Persia has always had a tradition of using eunuchs and eunuchs, and its eunuch system is even older than China. The use of eunuchs in Greece was learned from Persia.

Abbas II raised his eyes and immediately saw the envoys approaching from a distance.

Most of the 3,000 accompanying soldiers were left outside the city, and only 200 soldiers were allowed to enter the city.

Lu Tianxiang rode a war horse bought from India, and led the envoys to move forward slowly. She was wearing exquisite armor, and the two hundred soldiers behind her were all wearing plate armor, and they slammed on the ground.

Abbas II smiled and said: "A very majestic army."

After approaching, Abbas showed surprise. The leader of the Chinese mission was actually a woman.

But it was just a little surprised. Persia in this period was the most open era. The Persian queen who was following Abbas stood there openly, without a veil on her head at all.

Lu Tianxiang dismounted from his horse, brought Zhang Ruifeng and other civil officials forward, cupped his hands and said, "Lu Tianxiang, the Chinese imperial concubine of Datong, and the Chinese envoys have met His Majesty the Emperor of Persia!"

Hearing the translation, Abbas II was shocked and said: "It turned out to be the Chinese imperial concubine. It's a great honor to meet you. This is my wife Marlene. I think you can become good friends. This is my son Mirza, He wants to meet distinguished guests from afar."

The Persian emperor who was only 20 years old, his eldest son was already 6 years old...

This prince named Safi Mirza was the next Persian emperor, Suleiman I, and the Safi Persian Empire was in the hands of this man.

The Mughal royal family loved Persian culture very much. Although the two countries often fought wars, the royal families had intermarried for a long time.

The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan had four sons, two of whom married Persian princesses. He even wanted to marry his granddaughter to his grandson, so as to ease the conflict between the two princes - if the grandson and granddaughter were not too young, the marriage would have been possible.

And the granddaughter named Zebnisa is proficient in Persian poetry, and she is extremely beautiful, and her name even spread to Persia. The Persian emperor Abbas II sent envoys to propose marriage to his son. Zebnisa asked to meet the man first, but refused to marry a man he did not know. This Mughal princess, because of her high vision, never married until her death.

Empress Marlene brought her son forward and greeted the Chinese envoy in a graceful manner.

The two sides introduced the main members to each other, Zhang Ruifeng took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "His Majesty the Emperor of Persia, His Majesty of our country specially prepared a gift for you."

The gift is very simple, a telescope, a clock, some bolts of silk, and some pieces of porcelain.

In addition, there is also a letter written by Zhao Han, which was also translated into Persian.

Abbas II liked the table clock very much, which is far smaller than the European table clock and has a more accurate minute hand.

After reading Zhao Han's autographed letter, he learned that in the previous Persian dynasty, members of the royal family fled to China after the country was destroyed.

Abbas II was very happy, and immediately invited the envoys to enter the Palace of Forty Columns.

The Palace of Forty Pillars in Persia actually has only twenty stone pillars, but when reflected in the water, there are forty pillars. This palace is very beautiful, it was just completed a few years ago.

The imperial guards of the Persian emperor were all tall and mighty, and the source of soldiers mainly came from the Caucasus region. In addition to cold weapons, they are also equipped with a large number of matchlock guns, which they learned from fighting Ottoman for a long time.

After entering the palace, the envoys were arranged to stay and rest for a while before going to the banquet in the evening.

Of course, armor could no longer be worn at the banquet, and everyone, including Lu Tianxiang, changed into silk clothing that could represent China.

Abbas II and his wife, Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng, the four of them sat down facing the table. There are no stools, just sit directly on the carpet, and the rest of the staff sit behind them.

The singing and dancing came on stage very quickly, but the angle was a bit awkward, so everyone had to turn around to enjoy the singing and dancing.

The secularization of the Safavid Persian dynasty can be seen from singing, dancing and food.

The dancers are not only not covered with veils, but also extremely revealing. The drinks served were all good wine, which was not allowed by the doctrine, but the Persian nobles seemed to be used to it.

While enjoying the wine, enjoying the singing and dancing, while chatting.

Abbas II rarely talked about the military, focusing on poetry and art. Pan Wei, who was born in a rich family, came in handy again, and after communicating with the Indian crown prince, now he knows how to talk nonsense with foreign nobles.

Gradually, the two sides talked about the calendar, and the calendars of the two countries were surprisingly similar, and even everyone had twelve zodiac signs.

Zhang Ruifeng said: "The Chinese zodiac signs include rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig."

Abbas II said: "Our country's twelve zodiac signs include rat, ox, leopard, rabbit, whale, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig."

"Hahahahaha!"

Members of both sides laughed, because it was such a coincidence. Among the zodiac signs, except for individual animals, even the order of the zodiac signs is the same. There must have been close exchanges between the two countries in history.

This made Abbas II more interested in China, and even suggested royal intermarriage. He said: "My eldest son is six years old this year, and my eldest daughter is four years old this year. I heard that the Chinese emperor is also very young. Why not let my son, Marry his daughter as his wife, and his son marry my daughter. After the intermarriage of the royal families of the two countries, the relationship between the two countries will definitely be brought closer."

Lu Tianxiang replied: "The royal families of the two countries are intermarried. We cannot make decisions. We must return to China and ask His Majesty the Emperor for instructions."

Abbas II said: "My sons and daughters are still very young, and I am waiting for the Chinese emperor's reply."

Lu Tianxiang said: "We still have to go to Europe, maybe we will return to China later."

Abbas II said: "It doesn't matter. Our businessmen often go to India for trade, and they can reach Banten in the east as far as they can. I will send envoys to visit the emperor in China with the boat. I will also send scholars to China. Learning poetry and painting, Chinese poetry and painting, must also be very exciting."

The Persian emperor was extremely hospitable and liked to intermarry with foreign royal families and like to send envoys to communicate with each other.

Moreover, some speech does not go through the brain.

While talking, Abbas II asked, "Does the Chinese emperor have a younger sister?"

Asking this question made Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng a little confused, unable to follow the other party's train of thought at all.

Abbas II said: "If the Chinese emperor has a younger sister, I hope to marry one as a concubine. I will love her very much."

Zhang Ruifeng replied: "I'm very sorry, His Majesty has only one younger sister, and she was married a few years ago."

"Oh, what a pity," Abbas II said again, "my sisters are already married, otherwise they can marry the Chinese emperor as concubines. In this case, I can only let my son marry a The Chinese princess, the Safavid royal family has the blood of the Chinese royal family. It is exciting to think about it, China is mysterious and ancient. After having the blood of the Chinese royal family, the Safavid royal family will definitely be even greater."

This guy has blood collection addiction?

It is said that the royal intermarriage on the Persian side is similar to that on the European side. Over the past few decades, Persia has intermarried with the Mughal royal family while fighting with the Mughals, which has not affected their brains on the battlefield in the slightest.

For the next two weeks, Lu Tianxiang kept communicating with the Queen of Persia, while the King of Persia discussed art with the civil servants of the mission.

This is the most nourishing day for the envoys. Although the Persian countryside is poor, the city is civilized and prosperous. Except for the unappetizing food, all other conditions are not even lost to Nanjing.

Even Cai Yuncheng, who was born as a poor peasant, had great goodwill towards Persia because of Abbas II's warm hospitality and the prosperity and civilization in the city.

When they left, Abbas II learned that they were going to Ottoman, and immediately reminded: "Ottoman's female sultan was assassinated and died last year. At this time, Ottoman is at its most chaotic. If you go there, you will have to go all the way. Be careful, because the Ottoman royal family can no longer control the local army."

"Female Sudan?" Zhang Ruifeng was extremely surprised.

Abbas II nodded and said: "In the past hundred years, Ottoman has produced a large number of female sultans."

After repeated questioning, Zhang Ruifeng finally figured out that the so-called Ottoman female sultan was actually the empress dowager. Just like the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were a bunch of little emperors, and the empress dowager monopolized the power for a long time, even if the emperor became an adult, he would not hand over the power.

Moreover, the origins of these female sultans can also be described in various ways.

Like the very famous Sultan Shrem, a Pole who believed in the Orthodox Church. She rose up as a female slave, stood out from the fierce palace battles, and finally became the empress dowager who monopolized power.

And the Empress Dowager Safiye, a slave girl of Venetian nobility. During her reign, the relationship between Ottoman and Venice was as good as wearing the same pair of pants.

The Empress Dowager who was assassinated last year was called Kesem Sultan.

One of her sons reigned for seventeen years and the other eight years, all of which were controlled by the Empress Dowager. After her grandson succeeded to the throne, the Empress Dowager was in power for several years, and the noble ministers finally couldn't bear it and killed the Empress Dowager.

The empress dowager died, the little emperor was young, and the Ottoman nobles began to fight for power. Now the country is in chaos.

Ottoman at this time is known as the "Sudanese Women's Era", and it will last for more than a hundred years.

Don't look at the nobles who killed a queen dowager at this time, there will be a new queen dowager in power, and it will be another female slave from Poland.