Venice, Doge's Palace.
More than 20 people including Governor Micheli Steino, Councilor Tommaso Mosenig, Senate Momoa Rossini, Council of Ten Lorenzo Cornaro and others gathered.
Soon after, Bishop Francis and Father Johnson also entered the Government House.
Adam and William walked side by side and entered the palace of power in Venice.
Micheli Steino sent people to guard outside and ordered the door of the conference room to be closed. After everyone sat down and exchanged greetings, Micheli Steino looked at Adam seriously: "You said there is something related to Venice. The future, tell us now.”
Adam stood up, took out a map from the wooden box, and said seriously: "Before talking about this matter, I need to convey the greetings of Emperor Ming to you. Emperor Ming entrusted me to convey to the Republic of Venice that the Silk Road has If you want to do business and trade with the Ming Dynasty, you can go to the Ming Dynasty by land."
Governor Michael Steno and others discussed in low voices.
Mosenig stood up, shook his head and said: "Adam, we have received the news that Ming Dynasty has reopened the Silk Road, but it is not easy to trade with Ming Dynasty from the road. You should know the reason for this."
Adam knew that the reason lay with the Ottoman Empire.
Although Timur defeated the Ottoman Empire's Sultan Bayezid a few years ago, Timur did not really destroy the Ottoman Empire, nor did he kill Bayezid's sons.
In fact, from the day after Bayezid's defeat, his sons began to fight openly and secretly. They have been in a civil war for many years. Muhammad wanted to eliminate Suleiman in Rumelia. Musa of Dirne wanted to defeat Issa who dominated Bursa, and Issa wanted to eliminate Muhammad...
Coupled with the constant uprisings of the Turks, the Ottoman Empire was in chaos, and these chaotic areas happened to be Venice's land strategic points to the west.
Unless Venetian merchants took long detours, it would be difficult to ensure safe entry into Timurid's empire.
Adam smiled: "I was just entrusted by someone to deliver a message. The news on the Silk Road is not important. What is really important is another proposal from the Ming Emperor."
"Oh, tell me."
Governor Micheli Steno spoke.
Adam handed the map to William, who unfolded the map on his chest. Adam pointed at the map and said seriously: "Everyone, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty said that if Venice wants to build a stable and sustainable trade relationship with the Ming Dynasty, it should avoid the waste of time and manpower. Waste, speed up navigation, and allow Ming Dynasty and Venice to exchange goods in a shorter time."
Michaeli Steino narrowed his eyes. If Venice wants to become stronger, it is absolutely feasible to engage in long-distance trade. With a lot of wealth, you can build a large number of warships, achieve greater expansion, and maintain the power of Venice!
Venice really wanted to speed up trade with the Ming Dynasty and expand the scale of trade, but the Ming Dynasty was not next door. If you go today, you can arrive tomorrow. The long sea voyage makes the trade between them very slow.
Mosenig sighed: "I thought Emperor Ming had any good suggestions, but it turned out to be just empty talk. Adam, is this what you want to say about the future of Venice?"
Adam shook his head and pointed to the position between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea on the map: "The Ming Emperor suggested that Venice cooperate with the Mamluks to open a canal here so that Venetian ships can directly enter the Red Sea from the Mediterranean Sea unimpeded!"
"What?"
Cornaro exclaimed.
Rossini and others were also shocked. What an amazing idea!
"A fantasy!" Cornaro patted the round table, stood up, and said sternly: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't know anything, so he dared to speak nonsense and make random suggestions. This kind of idea is simply unreasonable!"
Governor Michael Steno is also a little worried. What kind of proposal is this? This is not a good idea and cannot be realized at all!
Amid the opposition and sarcasm, Mossenig stood up, raised his hand to stop the noise, and turned his gaze to Bishop Francis, who was observing: "The bishop has read countless books, so he must have other ideas about the canal, right?"
Francis came out of the darkness, looked at the governor and everyone in silence, and said: "It is not a fantasy to open a canal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, connecting the north and the south."
Cornaro frowned: "Bishop, how can such a ridiculous thing not be a fantasy?"
Francis smiled and reassured Cornaro: "Great commissioner, with a complicated history, will always be forgotten. As far as I know, during the twelfth dynasty of Egypt, Pharaoh Sinusret III ordered the excavation. A river named Suez connects the Red Sea and the Nile. The Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River, and the Red Sea are connected together to form a spectacular route, laying the foundation for transporting goods and trade from north to south and east to west."
"It's just that later, due to various reasons, the canal was abandoned. Twelve hundred years ago, this canal was continuously rebuilt, improved, then destroyed, and rebuilt again, until it was abandoned by the Abbasid Caliph Mansur. Yes. "Certainly, there is a precedent for digging a canal to connect to the Nile and allow ships from the Mediterranean to enter the Red Sea directly without changing ships."
Cornaro was a little unbelievable: "So, the Ming Emperor's proposal is not false?"
Francis nodded heavily: "If history has not deceived me, then the words of the Ming Emperor cannot be said to be false. However, in the far east, someone could come up with such a shocking idea. It seems that this emperor is not simple... …”
Adam shook his head, it was not simple!
The Venetian fleet could only wander around the Mediterranean, but the Ming Dynasty's navy had passed through countless seas and made several voyages. They even opened up bases on the voyage routes and built large ports and supply warehouses.
And behind all these achievements, stood the Ming Emperor Zhu Yunwen. This emperor was at the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period. He had incredible courage and wisdom, and his eyes were profound.
These people have never been to the Ming Dynasty in person and do not know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is. He laughed at Emperor Jianwen, oh, how ignorant he was.
Seeing that everyone stopped talking, Adam said bluntly: "The canal from the Nile River to the Red Sea cannot last forever. The idea proposed by the Ming Emperor is to directly dig the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to form a new canal without passing through the Nile River."
"this?!"
Everyone was shocked.
If we use the Nile River, the amount of the project is not too large. If we talk to the Mamluk Dynasty, it may be feasible. But if a new canal is dug directly, the amount of work will be unimaginably huge!
This is nearly four hundred miles!
How much manpower needs to be mobilized and how many years will it take to excavate it?
"Is this really possible?"
Bishop Francis was also a little skeptical.
Governor Michael Steno stepped forward and stared at the map carefully: "What a grand idea, but has he considered whether it is feasible? Even if he recruits 100,000 people, can it be dug out within ten years? ?”
Mosenig was bitter: "Ten years? How difficult!"
Cornaro rejected the Ming Emperor's proposal: "This idea is really crazy, so crazy that it is unfeasible. The Mamluk dynasty is now weak, and it is even less possible to recruit a large number of manpower to dig the river. No matter how many conditions we offer, it will No matter how much wealth they have, they will not agree."
Mossenig agreed with Cornaro's point of view that the Mamluk king Nasir al-Din Faraj was no longer in glory.
Eight years ago, Timur defeated Faraj in Damascus. If there had not been a rebellion in Baghdad, which forced Timur to return, Faraj would have been captured by Timur.
Farage has not had a good life these years. Four years ago, his brother briefly seized the throne, but Farage regained power and controlled the Mamluks.
The Mamluks now really need wealth, but the Mamluks will not accept Venice's proposal. If we don’t talk about anything else, let’s talk about faith, which is an insurmountable gap.
The Mamluk dynasty believed in Islam, while Venice believed in Catholicism. One had Allah on his head, and the other had God on his head. They really couldn't talk about the same thing.
The conflict of beliefs is sharper and more difficult to reconcile than the conflict of interests.
Governor Micheli Steino sighed deeply and prepared to end the meeting: "It seems that the Ming Emperor's proposal is not suitable for us. Venice will continue to trade with the Ming Dynasty according to the Venetian way. We understand his good intentions. "
Adam looked at William.
William put away the map and said softly: "There is another news. The Ming Emperor sent a vassal king to Levia State (Africa). It is not clear where exactly, but it is certain that these people are Ming sergeants. It possesses powerful force and cannot be ignored.”
"What, is the Ming Dynasty planning to conquer Levia by force?"
Governor Micheli Steno grew serious.
William shook his head: "According to the intelligence we have along the way, the Ming Dynasty Navy fleet will never easily initiate a war and is welcomed by the countries along the way. Our knowledge of Levia State only exists in the north of it, and the Ming Dynasty's army Probably in the southern part of Leviathan."
Mosenig frowned and said to William: "The south is the south. It doesn't matter if the Ming Dynasty is there. What does this have to do with us?"
Adam took out a gold coin, threw it on the table, and listened to the sound of the gold coin and said: "Everyone, the opening of the canal was a proposal of the Ming Emperor. According to our understanding, all the proposals proposed by the Ming Emperor, except Feitian, are None of them failed. I suspect that the arrival of the Ming army was probably to prepare for the canal."
"What is Daming's motive?"
Bishop Francis asked in confusion.
Adam pointed at the gold coins: "Of course it's profit. We hope to purchase goods from Ming Dynasty and resell them for profit. Ming Dynasty also hopes to obtain more profits by selling goods. Opening the canal is beneficial to us, and it is also beneficial to Ming Dynasty."
