In the Song Dynasty, the city was the equivalent of a customs office, and an important part of its duties was to manage foreign trade affairs, including the initial reception of envoys from foreign vassal states.

In April of the second year of Xining, as soon as the south wind blew, an overseas envoy arrived, which was said to be a big food from the West.

The Great Eclipse, that is, the A/Rab Empire, this Lin Zhao knows. Straddling Asia, Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Poland were both powerful empires in the inland sea, and their territory was far above that of the Song Dynasty, and their national power should not be underestimated. Back then, even the powerful Tang Dynasty was defeated by the Great Cannibal in the Battle of Talas.

However, Da Shi is still more respectful and friendly to the Song Dynasty, after all, they are all world-class powers, and there are still any disputes and conflicts. The most important thing is that the Song Dynasty was rich and had too many exquisite goods, which made them yearn for it. Fine silk and porcelain, in particular, were the most popular in the West, bringing them high profits and attracting many Arabic merchants.

As early as the founding of the Song Dynasty, it was pointed out that the Silk Road was blocked because of the entrenchment of major forces in the northwest. The Great Cannibals explored the way to and from the Great Song Dynasty by sea, and the merchant Suleiman and the navigator Ibn ? Wahhabi merchant ships sailed into Guangzhou via the Maritime Silk Road. Since then, countless large food merchant ships have traveled to and from the southeast coast of the Great Song Dynasty, and Hangzhou is also one of them.

In several cities where the city has opened a port, there are some big cannibals to live, and in the later Yuan Dynasty, Quanzhou also has the "Fanfang" inhabited by the A/Labos.

It stands to reason that the arrival of the Great Food Envoy should be a good thing, but the bad thing is that two groups came at once, both said to be from the Persian Gulf, yes; A/Rab's Abbasid envoys, and did not recognize each other. Then they accuse each other of being fake, disputes arise, and problems arise.

One of the two great food envoys is fake, if you don't distinguish the truth from the false, won't it become a diplomatic joke? Although the Great Food and the Great Song Dynasty are separated by 108,000 miles, there is no direct contact, but once a joke is made, it will definitely damage the reputation of the Heavenly Empire! This kind of thing is naturally not allowed to happen, and it is bound to be very troublesome to deal with!

Now that both sides are accusing the other of being fake, but they can't produce evidence, the matter of this distinction is naturally handed over to the Ichizo Division, who deals with the trade affairs of the foreign domain.

In fact, it stands to reason that the best institution to be responsible would be the Honglu Monastery, after all, people claim to have come on behalf of the Abbasids, and it is a diplomatic matter. But you can't always send them all to Bianjing, you must know that one of the roads must be fake, and it will be difficult to clean up when the time comes, and when you arrive in the capital, it will really make the Celestial Empire embarrassed...... Moreover, the two big cannibals are also righteous in their words, if they don't distinguish clearly, they will never leave Hangzhou City. There is no way, Lin Zhao can only take over this mess and distinguish between the real and fake envoys...... Lin Zhao couldn't take care of the murder of the smuggler for the time being, after all, his energy was limited, so he confessed to Su An to continue to investigate the relevant clues, and he went to meet the Arabs/Rab people by himself.

Early in the morning, they rushed to the Yamen of the City Division, and the two groups of Arabs in the lobby sat down on the left and right, staring at each other, motionless, and not giving in to each other. This is completely understandable, after all, someone pretending to be himself will be furious at whoever he puts on him. Lin Zhao was curious about the fake side, where did he get such confidence?

Even when Lin Zhao arrived, the A/Rab people were not moved at all, not to mention standing up to greet them, and even saying hello felt redundant.

Shouting, isn't the shelf small? If there were other officials, he might still be angry, and Lin Zhao's mentality was relatively peaceful.

Seeing the arrival of the promotion officer, the little officials were in tears, these white-skinned and white-robed Fanbangs were really difficult to serve, and now someone is finally in charge.

The little official seemed to want to complain a few words, but Lin Zhao didn't want to hear it, so he waved his hand and motioned for him to leave directly. Then he strode into the hall with a specially favored "tongue man" and said with a smile: "Friends, welcome to come. ”

"You are an official of the Song Dynasty?" Seeing Lin Zhao coming in in a green official robe, a robed A/Rab man finally asked aloud, although the tone was strange, and he spoke really Chinese, so that he couldn't even use the "tongue man" who was in charge of the translation, but it was much more convenient.

"Do you speak Chinese?" Lin Zhao looked at the man on the left who was talking and asked with interest.

The Naa/Rab people finally got up and said, "Yes, I often trade between you and me, and it is important to learn your Chinese language." What's more, the contemptible people admire your culture very much, so they try their best to learn. ”

This reason is very sufficient, this guy also speaks Chinese quite fluently, and it is not easy to learn this level, but it is really difficult for him.

"You are the envoys of the Great Eclipse?" Lin Zhao asked softly.

The man immediately replied aloud: "Yes, the great caliph sent us to the Song dynasty to buy fine silk and porcelain. ”

"Oh!" Lin Zhao nodded and asked again, "Then what did you bring?" ”

"We ...... On the way, we encountered pirates in Guri, and all the goods were robbed, but only a few of us escaped...... I'm sorry......" This A/Rab man lost his spirit, and he spoke in a slurred manner, extremely embarrassed, and his expression was just right, and it seemed to be very real to watch.

Guri is the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula, where you met pirates? Lin Zhao didn't know if pirates were so rampant in this era. The most direct information from this person's mouth is that they have no proof of identity, not even a greeting gift. However, it may be true, and this kind of thing is not uncommon in ancient times, and it should not be biased because of this.

Lin Zhao nodded, and then asked the person on the right: "You are also the envoys of A/Labor?" ”

This group of people was obviously more arrogant, and they were not moved at all, Lin Zhao motioned for the tongue man to translate. The person led by the other party muttered a lot, but he didn't understand it at all.

The tongue man translated: "They say that they are the envoys of the Great Food, but this is not the one who came to congratulate His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty on the orders of the Sultan, and we have brought Alexander's spices, precious stones, and many gifts. ”

Oh? This one sounds even more tempting!

Congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor on his accession to the throne, this reason will be very useful and have a sense of superiority when the officials of the Celestial Empire hear it. Spices and gems are delicate and valuable, but they are relatively unimportant, and the most important thing is dignity. It's just that Zhao Ji has been on the throne for two years, and these people have come to congratulate him, it seems...... Also, one says on the orders of the Sultan, the other says on the orders of the Caliph, what is the name of the ruler of the Arabic Empire? It's a little weird.

The man on the right said in the language of A/Rab: "A/Rab and the caliph exist, but they are no longer what they used to be, for we Seljuks have taken Baghdad...... The caliphate is just a symbol, and the whole empire is up to us, the Sultan......"

When the left side heard this, his face changed slightly, and then he tried his best to return to normal, and said: "Nonsense, the mighty empire is ruled by the great caliphate, how can the Seljuks be the opponent of the A/Rab warriors?" ”

What's going on? Lin Zhao vaguely remembered that he had watched some documentaries about the Arabic Empire, but in the 11th century, it looked like the Persians had invaded the Arabic empire, and then ...... True, in 1055 AD, the Seljuks invaded Baghdad and eliminated the Bouweich dynasty established by the Persians, driving out the Persians. As a result, he was regarded as a savior by the Abbasid caliph of the Arabic dynasty and canonized him as a sultan, and the power of the empire fell into the hands of this sultan. As for the Caliph as the spiritual leader and symbol, if the situation were worse, he might become a puppet.

If so, then the identities of these two envoys are intriguing!

Lin Zhao asked the A/Rab people on his right, "You said that you came to congratulate His Majesty the Emperor on his accession to the throne?" ”

The tongue man translated the man's recollections: "Yes, I have heard that the benevolent Emperor of your country has died, and a new Emperor has ascended to the throne...... The Sultan ordered us to congratulate! ”

Lin Zhao asked, "Benevolent Emperor, do you mean His Majesty Renzong?" ”

"Yes, he is a kind and kind old man, and now his son is the emperor of your country, right?"

Benevolent old man, naturally it can only be Song Renzong!

The Naa/Rab on the left immediately laughed and said, "Emperor Renzong has been dead for several years, and his son Emperor Yingzong has also passed away, and his grandson has been emperor for two years, so you have come to congratulate, haha!" ”

"Uh...... How so? The envoy on the right sighed: "What a misfortune, may Allah bless your country!" ”

Lin Zhao turned to look at the envoy on the left, and said with a smile: "It seems that Your Excellency knows our country very well!" ”

"That's a natural ......," the man realized a problem.

A/Rab and the Song Dynasty are thousands of miles apart, and the news is so well-informed? Although it has been five or six years since Emperor Renzong's death, it does not mean that they can get news from far away in the Middle East due to the inconvenient transportation and extremely backward communication.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Taizong used the era name Qiande, and he didn't want to destroy Hou Shu a few years later, only to find that Wang Yan, the former lord of Shu, had already used this era name. At the same time, in the land of China, it is just separated by the mountains of Bashu and the royal year, and such important news is still so closed, not to mention a foreign country thousands of miles away.

Therefore, although the envoy on the left reacts quickly, it makes people suspicious.

Sure enough, the envoy on the right explained: "I'm sorry, my country is thousands of miles away from your country, and in the past two years, piracy has been rampant in the Guli area, and merchant ships often come and go...... In addition to congratulating you, we have come to your country this time with a very important mission, which is to restore trade. ”

Immediately, he also took out a series of documents and vouchers to prove that he was sent by the government, which appeared to be true and effective, and his credibility naturally increased greatly.

The number of Arabic merchants who have traveled to and from the port in recent years is well documented from city to city, and lies are easily debunked. If so...... The results seem obvious!

Lin Zhao didn't penetrate on the spot, he decided to test again! He was even more curious, why would anyone pretend to be an envoy? What is the purpose?

(To be continued)