What is Coptic?

For the Copts in 1684, they certainly didn't know very well.

There are Baroque, Gothic, Byzantine, Ottoman, and of course, Ming, but there is no such thing as "Coptic", after all, as early as the time of Alexander, they were influenced by Greece, Rome and Arabia. The so-called "Coptic" did not exist.

However, this did not prevent Coptic scholars from making some attempts to eliminate the Arabic style of Cairo and Egypt as a whole, and to incorporate European styles such as the Baroque, and it did not matter whether it was Coptic or not.

It is important to remove the Ottoman influence on this country.

And what was the biggest influence of the Ottoman Empire on Egypt?

I am afraid that it is the administrative body, as early as the proclamation of the Kingdom of Egypt, Coptic scholars have begun to establish an administrative system, which is completely different from the provincial period, and of course different from the European countries, but similar to the Ming state.

But there are many differences with the Ming Dynasty, such as in addition to the prime minister, there is a deputy minister, as the deputy minister of Ampari is a priest, which is also the biggest feature of the current Egyptian government, many officials used to be priests, during the independence period, the Coptic Church has been playing an extremely important role, many priests have become warriors, and after the country's independence, they naturally entered the government and became senior officials of the government.

Amparli, who is the deputy minister, is also one of them.

"Minister Ding Pengjie, without your support, Egypt would not be able to become independent, and every one of us Egyptians will never forget the help from the Ming Dynasty."

In the Coptic-style palace, Amparli warmly greeted the Ming official in front of him.

This Ming official was none other than the first minister of the Ming State to Egypt, and although Egypt had not yet signed a peace treaty with the Turks, the Ming State had recognized them. Of course, from the origin of King Mark I, the attitude of the Ming Dynasty in Egypt has already been determined, and he is bound to become a supporter of Egyptian independence. As for the Turks, Daming didn't care at all, and even last year, Daming had withdrawn his envoy from Istanbul and sent him to Venice.

When the minister evacuated Istanbul, he directly stated that "the Ming did not recognize the Turkish occupation of Constantinople", this attitude intensified the relationship between the Ming and Turkey, and even led to the interruption of the Turkish opium trade.

Since the independence of Egypt, the Ming Dynasty has stood on the opposite side of the Ottoman Empire without hesitation, and now, the establishment of diplomatic relations with Egypt is a common thing. Although he is the minister of a big country, Ding Pengjie has a humble smile on his face.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, you are so gracious. We have a natural sympathy for the oppressed, and this is what sets the Ming apart from other countries, and we believe that when Egypt returns to the hands of its true masters, it can achieve real development......"

"Oh, my friend, you Ming people are always so humble. It is difficult to repay the kindness that your country has given to Egypt, even if you dedicate the whole of Egypt to His Majesty the Emperor. ”

Amparly said with some exaggeration. As he said, Egypt's independence could not have been achieved without the help of the Ming Dynasty. It is even no exaggeration to say that there is no Ming Chamber of Commerce to give tens of millions of taels of funding, no Ming acquiescence, no Ming guns, cannons, and money...... Egypt cannot be independent. Even now Egypt is ruled without the help of the Ming Dynasty. It's not just that the king of Egypt is from the Ming Dynasty, but more importantly, Egypt needs the financial assistance of the Ming Dynasty, and without the loan of the Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Egypt cannot even sustain itself. In this way, the significance of the Ming Dynasty to Egypt is self-evident.

From the Isthmus of Suez to the Cession of the Sinai Peninsula, the entire Coptic Church had agreed to cede it long before the war, and now they were ready to pay more, and of course, now, they also have some new plans.

Hearing this, Ding Pengjie shook his head again and again and refused.

"Your Excellency, you're really laughing. The Coptic revolt was to free itself from slavery, and the help of the Ming was also based on the friendship between the two countries, with the aim of regaining Egypt's freedom. If Egypt dedicates itself to the Ming Dynasty, won't Egypt's independence lose its meaning? This is clearly inappropriate. ”

"What's wrong with that?"

Ampari looked at Ding Pengjie and said.

"Your Excellency, without the generous help of the Ming Dynasty, Egypt would not be able to obtain freedom, our Majesty comes from the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, and this also means that there is an inseparable connection between Egypt and the Ming Dynasty, therefore, after a long discussion, the Coptic Church hopes that Egypt can become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and repay the gifts of the Celestial Empire with our submission and tribute!"

What's going on?

Looking at this deputy minister in surprise, Ding Pengjie's eyes were full of surprise, before coming to Egypt, he had not received this information, after all, as far as he knew, the Coptic Church had always insisted that the crown must be awarded by the church. The Ming Dynasty has vassal states, but its monarch must be canonized by the Ming Emperor.

But after a moment of surprise, he said with a smile.

"The church's decision was really unexpected."

Speaking of Ding Pengjie, he said in a helpless tone:

"However, I can't be the Lord in accepting such a major matter as a subject country, I am only a minister to Egypt, but I can forward the decision of the church to the country, and the court will make a decision in the end."

"Of course, that's of course."

Ampari said again and again.

In fact, the reason why the Church made this decision was also after nearly a year of discussion, and now it has directly bypassed Alexander and others, and the reason is because of Turkey, the Turks are quelling the uprising in the Balkans and other places, and once they have their hands free, it is conceivable that they will definitely send troops into Egypt again.

Egypt may be able to defeat one, two, three or even more Turkish attacks, but it is impossible to defeat the Turks consistently, after all, Egypt's population is limited, only a little more than three million people, of which less than half are Copts, and the war is going on to the end, even if the Copts win the battle, they will lose the war.

Therefore, the internal controversy of the church finally reached an agreement - to declare himself a vassal to the Ming in exchange for the protection of the Ming Dynasty, and then to negotiate peace with the Turks under the mediation of the Ming Dynasty. In the whole world, only the Ming can force the Turks to sit down at the negotiating table.

Therefore, Ampari offered to be a vassal to the Ming Dynasty. On the issue of vassals, the church has considered very clearly, and can find a common ground between coronation and canonization, and then the two sides will negotiate to ensure the legitimacy of the coronation of the king by the Coptic Metropolitan and the authority of the canonization of the Ming Emperor.

Of course, all this requires further negotiations, and Ampari has also considered that the Celestial Empire may refuse, and now judging from the minister's answer, he believes that just as the initial speculation, the Celestial Empire will not directly refuse, after all, for the Celestial Empire, the dignity of the Celestial Empire makes them not refuse the vassalage of a small country, as long as the Celestial Empire is still the Celestial Empire, then there is absolutely hope for the matter of being a vassal.

After more than a year of dealings, Ampari already thinks that he knows the Celestial Empire very well and understands the rules of the game of the Celestial Empire, he looked at the minister in front of him and emphasized again.

"Please don't doubt the hearts of the people of Egypt!"

Seeing that the deputy prime minister looked like "Muhua", Ding Pengjie lowered his voice and said to him.

"Your Excellency, I know the admiration of the people of Egypt for the Celestial Empire. If you don't mind, as your friend, I would like to kindly give you some advice. ”

"Of course, my friend, if you have any advice, don't hesitate."

Ampari said bluntly.

"Then I'll say a few more words."

Ding Pengjie said slowly.

"It seems that Egypt has chosen to submit to the Celestial Empire, which is naturally a good thing, and I believe that the Celestial Empire has never rejected the desire of foreign nations, but it seems that it is more appropriate for this proposal to be proposed by the king of Egypt."

The smile on Ampari's face froze after he reminded him, and he said after a moment.

"The reason why I propose it is because in the Kingdom of Egypt, I represent the Church, and His Majesty the King's status as a member of the Ming royal family makes it unsuitable to make this request, so the Church hopes that the Church can petition the Ming Dynasty and convey our wishes to be ministers."

The reason for this...... What a liar!

I'm afraid no one will believe it!

Of course, Ding Pengjie would not believe it, and he even saw another possibility from the request made by Ampari, the deputy prime minister, - there was a certain difference between the church and the Wang family.

This really made Ding Pengjie guess correctly, there are indeed many differences between Ampari, who represents the church, and Alexander, who represents the secular power, especially on the issue of religion, the differences between the two sides have always been very large, but both sides understand that Egypt needs the support of the Ming Dynasty, so the church will make concessions on the issue of ministers.

"Of course, the Church's considerations are undoubtedly appropriate,"

Ding Pengjie said with a smile.

"So, I think that if the church wants to have this consideration, it should first reach a consensus within Egypt, and then send a mission to make a request to the Ming, what do you think?"

"Your Excellency means that if we send a mission to make a petition, Da Ming will accept it?"

"How so?"

Ding Pengjie's words paused for a moment, and then said.

"I think the first step in Egypt should be to show its own desire to be the first to do so."