alternatehistory.com

I know I already asked this before, but to get some new answers, I posted again.

In the year 97 CE (AD), the Chinese sent a man named Gan Ying west to make contact with the Roman Empire. He made it as far as south-western Iran, but then merchants who wanted to control the trade between China and Rome told Gan Ying that it was a two year trip across a huge sea to get to Rome. What if a merchant had told the truth, and contact had been made? The English language could be Chinese based (or gone), instead of German and Latin. Would Christianity have become a major religion (it was still small in CE 97, anything could happen)? What about Islam (gone)? Would the empires fight (probably not), merge, increase contact (China did like its secrets...), or remain indifferent to the other empire. Would the Americas have been discovered so early, because Columbus wouldn't need to go looking for a route to China? Any ideas?
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