Cairo, the capital of the Ayyubid Empire, is also the largest city in Africa and the Arab world. Located at the southern end of the Nile Delta, across the Nile River, the city of Cairo is the political, economic, cultural, commercial and transportation center of the entire Arab world.

The city of Cairo is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is also one of the few ancient cities that has suffered the least damage from the war. Through successive dynasties, especially since the establishment of the Ayyubid Dynasty, the city of Cairo has been further expanded in scale and has become a well-known trade and cultural center, with a vast and magnificent area.

Mosques and minarets are everywhere in the city of Cairo. From the 7th century onwards, as Islam spread throughout West Asia and North Africa, the number of mosque buildings became one of the highlights of the city of Cairo.

For the Ayyubid dynasty, which ruled Egypt in the early 13th century, it was in the midst of internal and external troubles. Just in the past few years, the Ayyubid Sultan Kamil had to make peace with the Crusaders of the Sixth Crusade, ceding Jerusalem and the Acre Corridor to the Crusaders. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II re-established the Kingdom of Jerusalem and proclaimed himself king. Jerusalem, the land of dreams of Christians, has finally returned.

The alliance under the city directly chose to cede the holy city of Jerusalem, and the decline of the Ayyubid dynasty can be seen.

Since the Crusades, in order to recover Jerusalem, which was originally a Roman Catholic holy place in the hands of Islam, the Roman Catholic Pope launched this military campaign that lasted for nearly 130 years. The Crusaders established dozens of Crusader states in the areas they occupied, such as the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the Count of Tripoli, and others.

After hundreds of years of conquest, the Ayyubid Dynasty and the European coalition have come and gone, and their vitality has been greatly damaged. The powerful Ayyubid dynasty during Saladin's reign came into the hands of his next generation, because of frequent civil strife, so that the population of the territory was drastically reduced, and the important place of Acre Corridor and the holy city of Jerusalem was lost.

"General, what is the matter with the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty sending you?"

On the throne, Kamil, the Sultan of the Ayyubid Dynasty, who was over half a hundred years old with a white scarf and jewels on his head, stroked his beard and asked Liu Quancheng and his party gently.

"Dear Sultan Kamil, I, the Great Song Naval Master, have come here under the great trust of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, firstly, to make good relations with your country, establish an embassy in Cairo, and communicate with your country. The second is to negotiate with your country to buy this section of the desert between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea for trade. ”

After Liu Cheng finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the entourage carried a few boxes of things up and opened them one by one.

"This is a gift from the Son of Heaven of the Great Song Dynasty to the Sultan, please take a look!"

Porcelain, tea, silk, gold and silverware, pearl agate, dazzling, caused the exclamation of the Ayyubid slave owners in the palace.

The Great Song Dynasty, the kingdom of the Celestial Empire, is really rich and powerful.

"Thank you for the kindness of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty!"

Camille's face was flushed, and he was psychologically satisfied.

The dignified Emperor of the Song Dynasty, the emperor of the great eastern powers, was so polite to him that he was a little flustered for a while.

"General, what did you say just now, open an embassy and buy ...... Desert? ”

Camille waved his hand, and the gift was carried down.

"Sultan, the embassy is a post station, but it is used as a perennial garrison for the envoys of the Great Song Dynasty."

Liu Cheng nodded and said, unabashedly.

"To be precise, it is to buy the section of desert from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, which is nearly 200 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide, and then dig it through to facilitate trade between the East and the West, and collect customs duties. If the Sultan is willing, my Da Song is willing to pay 500,000 yuan for the cost of buying land. ”

"500,000 gold collars!"

"Just for a piece of desert!"

The slave owners in the main hall were all shocked and their eyes widened.

500,000 guan gold collar, equivalent to 50,000 taels of gold, to buy a meaningless desert, are these Song people crazy?

"General, why did you buy this paragraph? To dig through to the Mediterranean, this will cost a lot, I'm afraid 5 million gold collars are not enough! ”

Shajara Durhu, a major slave owner of the Ayyubid dynasty, asked suspiciously.

"If you want to dig through the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, you need not only 5 million gold collars, but at least 10 million yuan!"

"And even more!"

The slave owners in the main hall shouted.

Digging through the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, their ancestors tried, but they no longer had the ambition and the ability to do so.

"Dear Sultan, ladies and gentlemen, if my ship of the Great Song Dynasty goes to Europe, it must go south around the Cape of the Storm, not to mention the great wind and waves, and it will have to go thousands of miles, and the last few sea ships have been swallowed up by the wind and waves. Therefore, it is not so expensive to cross the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea in comparison. ”

Zhao Chongxuan explained softly.

"I see."

The slave owners suddenly realized and nodded their heads.

Cape Storm is the Cape of Good Hope at the southwest tip of Africa, where stormy waves are constant all year round, in addition to storm hazards, there are often cliff-like "killing waves" appearing, and ships sailing here are often shipwrecked, so it is not difficult to understand that the Song people wanted to avoid the most dangerous sailing sections in the world.

"General, I'm afraid not. If I had sold this paragraph, what would the people of Egypt think of me? I'm afraid I, the Sultan, and they won't be able to do it anymore. ”

Camille smiled slightly, not knowing whether it was true or not.

The Song people occupied so many places in Africa that the garrison probably numbered tens of thousands. They want to buy this desert again, not to plot against Egypt, right?

"Respected Sultan, the Great Song Dynasty is sincere, 500,000 gold collars, which is already a lot. Besides, this section is a desert, not a good place, not a holy place Jerusalem, and no one should pay attention to it. ”

Pu Shouchen replied cautiously, specifically mentioning the holy place of Jerusalem.

Even the Acre Corridor and the Holy Land of Jerusalem were ceded to the Roman Emperor, so why should he care about this desert where birds don't?

"General, the rent is okay. If you want to buy it, I'm afraid it's a little difficult. ”

"If you buy it, I'm afraid it won't work. General, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. ”

"General, buy this desert, you won't use it to make us enemies, will you?"

The slave owners shouted.

"Dear Sultans, ladies and gentlemen, it would be a pity if you could not sell it. So how about my big song rental? Is it always possible to lease the 200-kilometre-long and 10-kilometre-wide stretch of desert from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean? ”

Liu Cheng advanced and retreated, and Pu Shouchen translated loudly, which made the slave owners in the hall stunned again.

"Rent?"

Camille was also stunned. Is there still a matter of renting someone else's land?

"Yes, rent, this part of the desert is still your country's. What do you think of the annual rent paid by my Great Song to Egypt of 20,000 yuan? ”

Pu Shouchen continued Liu Cheng's words.

He had sensed that the slave owners, including Camille, had been moved.

"General, is there no other choice but to sell and rent?"

Finally, the leader of the Guards, Ai Yibek, asked.

"If you don't sell or rent, then you can only take the last way, that is, the Great Song Dynasty and your country cooperate with each other to jointly develop this section of the canal."

According to Liu Quan's meaning, Pu Shouchen translated loudly.

"Cooperate with each other?"

It was Ai Yi Bek again, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, the two sides will cooperate to dig the canal together, and after digging it, it will be mutually beneficial."

"How to cooperate?"

This time, Camille couldn't help but ask, and was also interested.

"Dear Sultan, your country provides part of the labor and is responsible for digging, and we are responsible for exploration and providing food. After the canal was dug up, customs duties were charged on passing ships, and both sides made half of the profits. But the premise is that it must be operated by us. ”

Pu Shouchen paused for a moment and continued:

"However, excavation can take years, even decades. During this period of time, the Sultan and you will have no income. ”

For these arrogant and lascivious slave owners, as long as they arouse the greed in their hearts, what else can they not do?

Sure enough, the slave owners in the main hall, including Camille himself, were lost in thought.

This kind of pie-in-the-sky thing, maybe only a behemoth like Da Song can do it. After this village, it is likely that there will be no such shop.

And they can't guess even if they want to break their heads, even if the Great Song Dynasty opens the canal, what disadvantage can it have for them? On the contrary, perhaps because of the canal, they can still get a piece of the pie.

In other words, if the Great Song Dynasty wants to use troops against them, there is no need to toss like this.

"Honorable Sultan, the Ayyubids have long been exhausted from the long wars of the Crusaders. The excavation of the canal can at least solve the problem of feeding more than 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands of people in China. After the canal was opened, merchant ships from the East and the West came and went, which was beneficial to Egypt. ”

Liu Cheng opened his mouth, and Pu Shouchen continued to speak, killing people and punishing his heart.

"The Roman Empire and you both want to retake the Holy Land of Jerusalem, and war between the two sides is inevitable. But war is about money, do you want to have trouble with money? If the war resumes, do you have the money to fight? ”

Pu Shouchen's words silenced the slave owners in the main hall, and Camille frowned thoughtfully.

"If there was a war between the Ayyubids and the Roman Empire, would the Great Song Dynasty support me Egypt?"

Finally, Camille opened her mouth and asked softly.

Jerusalem, the Roman Empire and the Egyptians, both sides of different faiths, but there is only one holy place, no one will give in, and the war can only end with the victory of one of the sides.

"The Great Song Dynasty and Egypt traded and exchanged exchanges, and they were friendly trading countries, and the Great Song Dynasty also respected the beliefs of the Ayyubid Dynasty and would never interfere. In the event of a war between the Ayyubid Dynasty and the Roman Empire in Europe, the Great Song Dynasty was willing to provide firearms, warships, and officers to help Egypt train soldiers. I think we will have a very pleasant cooperation. ”

Liu Cheng's words made Camille and the slave owners smile, and Camille nodded with satisfaction and said:

"The Song army was able to defeat the Tatar army, and its strength was naturally trustworthy."

He may not care about the strength of the Song army, but he also doesn't want to offend the Great Song court. After all, as the monarch of a dynasty, it is impossible to make enemies everywhere and become the target of public criticism.

The leader of the Guards, Aybek, was still cautious, and continued to ask:

"General, I thank Da Song for his help. If the Tatar army came to attack my Egypt, would you be willing to help? Also, are you really renting this part of the space just for business? ”

"Dear friends, my Great Song Dynasty and Egypt are both ancient civilizations, and they will always be friendly with each other. Could it be that I have traveled thousands of miles to plot against Egypt? What are the benefits of doing so for my Great Song? If you want land, there are many in Nanyang, so why bother to buy a section of desert at the expense of the people? Isn't this asking for trouble? ”

There are no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

Liu Quan's heart flashed this sentence unconsciously.

"As for the Tatar army coming to attack, as for Europe, my Great Song is willing to provide firearms, warships, and officer training."

Aibek nodded, already impressed.

The firearms of the Great Song Dynasty are fierce, and it would be great if Egypt could be reinforced.

"Merciful Sultan, after the canal is dug up, it will also benefit the people of the dynasty under your leadership, and the Great Song Dynasty wants the benefits therein, not war. The ceremonial state of the Great Song Dynasty is willing to make a national covenant and become a brotherly country with Egypt to help and support each other! ”

Zhao Chongxuan saw the stitches and continued to reassure the slave owners.

"General, if it is rented, can the rent be increased? Is that 10 kilometers too wide? ”

Camille was obviously moved and asked directly.

"Dear Sultan, if it is sold, my Great Song can rise a little more. If it is rented, 20,000 yuan a year, I am afraid it will be difficult to increase. After all, digging the canal, I don't know how many years it will take, my Da Song has been investing. As for the width of 10 kilometers, the main thing is that the canal is to be explored, from south to north, not necessarily in a straight line. ”

Liu Cheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as you can reach a cooperation with Camille, whether you buy or rent, you will finally have a reason to develop with peace of mind.

In fact, he did not understand why the emperor was so polite to Egypt. If you want this section of the place, you can directly occupy it. On the contrary, the emperor hated all European countries, especially England.

"Sultan, it's just a desert, ten kilometers and thirty kilometers make no difference. We, the Best family, will not stand in the way. Only a big country like the Great Song Dynasty can have such national strength. ”

Best said slowly, decompressing Camille.

"General, if you sell it, how much gold collar can Da Song get?"

Shajara Dur, the great slave owner, couldn't help but ask again.

"Honorable Sultan, everyone, in view of the friendship between you and me, my Great Song can only contribute a maximum of 700,000 gold collars, and no more."

"If the width reaches 30 kilometers, how much gold collar can you give?"

Camille couldn't help but join in.

Even if the Song people could dig through the canal and occupy the canal, it would only be a small country of less than 6,000 square kilometers, and what could they do with the powerful Ayyubid Dynasty?

Besides, this is their territory, and they are not afraid of the Song people's intrigues.