"General, I think if we regain Daming City now, the Sultan of Osa will definitely come to take revenge."
"Here in East Africa, no matter what kind of provocation we encounter, Osa Sultan King Hashim will never give up. This man has great military exploits and once defeated King Solomon. So he is very proud. Even if we do not occupy Daming City, we will only
Even if Tadjoura is captured, he may send troops."
"So the general still needs to be careful."
Zhong Chongxiang is very similar to his father. Although he is only in his thirties, he is very steady in his work.
However, he is more proactive. After all, he is a young man and wants to seize this opportunity to rise to the top.
He would stay with Zhao Dazhi and take the initiative to help him with suggestions.
This is beyond the scope of a wizard's responsibilities.
However, Zhao Dazhi did not dislike him for overstepping his authority, but was very satisfied with this guide.
When the 112th Division attacked Daming City, Zhong Chongxiang even contacted the Ming remnants in the city, Liyingwaihe.
Of course, it is not difficult for the Renaissance Army to attack these small cities in East Africa.
But if someone cooperates, the damage to the city will be smaller.
"Do you know how many troops they can organize?" Zhao Dazhi asked.
"Returning to the general, the Osa Sultanate once organized more than 10,000 troops to fight against the Kingdom of Solomon. I think it is okay for them to organize 10,000 to 20,000 troops."
"And these Osa people make a living by herding, and almost all of them are soldiers. If the Osa Sultan wants to mobilize, this number may be even more."
"You said that the Osa Sultanate is in a hostile relationship with the Solomon Dynasty? How much do you know about the Solomon Dynasty?" Zhao Dazhi asked.
"Yes, General. The Solomon Empire is the most powerful country in this area and has existed for a long time. It is said to have a history of five to six hundred years."
"King Solomon claimed that they were the direct descendants of King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba. The Aksum Empire was also ruled by the Solomon Dynasty. Later the Zagwe Dynasty replaced the Aksum Empire. The Solomon Kingdom replaced the Zagwe Dynasty six hundred years ago, and Yeku
Nor Amrak established the Solomonic dynasty and named it the Abyssinian Empire."
"Originally, the Sultanate of Ossa was also part of the Abyssinian Empire, but the Mudato family was ambitious and used the power of external Europeans to break away from the rule of the Solomon Dynasty."
"The Solomon Dynasty has sent troops to punish the Mudato family many times, but they have failed, so they can only acquiesce in their independence."
This Zhong Chongxiang seems to be more knowledgeable than his father, and he talks about the surrounding humanities and historical allusions with great clarity.
"Actually, it's just the right time for them to attack us. We don't have time to wander on the plateau now. If we have time, we might as well build a base here." Zhao Dazhi knew very well that people like him are still outsiders here.
Close to the coast, he can call for fleet support at any time, but if he goes deep into the hinterland of the plateau, even if their weapons are more advanced, they may encounter unnecessary dangers.
A cautious person like Zhao Dazhi is obviously not willing to take such a risk.
So after taking control of Tadjoura Bay, he only stationed troops in some major coastal towns.
The main forces were not dispersed, but concentrated in their own hands.
There are less than 8,000 men in a division, and 5,000 men always fight by his side.
After completing its survey of the surrounding waters, the navy retreated into the bay.
The navy is now stationed in the bay where Daming City is located.
This is the base chosen by the Navy.
The future naval base of the Renaissance Army in the Gulf of Aden will be established here.
Dong Shuheng means that the future home port of the Indian Ocean Fleet will be established on Ceylon Island.
Two squadrons were also established, one stationed in Zanzibar City and the other stationed in Tadjoura Bay.
In this way, the Second Fleet formed a triangular chain, firmly controlling the entire Indian Ocean.
Yingfu's fleet should retreat to the Atlantic Ocean and play with itself.
Zhong Chongxiang is actually not worried about how much influence the Osa Sultanate's army will really have on the Renaissance Army.
He had seen with his own eyes how powerful the Renaissance Army was. Once the dark machine guns were fired, no matter how many people they had, they would be torn apart by bullets.
There are also so many artillery pieces that can fire quickly. The fire can instantly form a wall of fire.
He reminded him like this because he wanted to show his value in front of Zhao Dazhi.
Seeing Zhao Dazhi answering him so confidently, he stopped saying anything: "General, the muskets and artillery equipped by those Osa people are from decades ago. I have seen that the weapons of our army are stronger than theirs."
There are too many of them, and it will be useless no matter how many people they bring to fight head-on."
"But if we go to attack Ossa City, there will still be some trouble. There are plateaus and mountains there. And there are no decent roads. I have been to Ossa City several times. It is known as a city on the top of a mountain. The terrain of this city is very
It is very dangerous. The Solomon Dynasty suffered a setback under this city." Zhong Chongxiang still reminded.
"What you said makes sense. We don't need to go there, and the land on those plateaus is of little use to us. Our Renaissance Army controls the largest land in the world. Our entire Greater China Circle occupies almost half of the world. No,
It’s just a little bit more mountainous.”
"But even if the Osa Sultanate is defeated by us this time, there is no guarantee that it will come to harass us in the future. We still need to find a way to solve it once and for all." Zhao Dazhi said.
His worries are not unfounded. These nomadic countries will recover quickly after a failure.
And they hold grudges the most.
If those people continue to harass us, it will definitely have a great impact on the subsequent construction work.
Zhao Dazhi is currently the top commander here, and he has to make long-term considerations.
"General, maybe we can cooperate with the Solomon Dynasty."
"The Solomons? Would they?"
Zhao Dazhi knew that most of these old empires were conservative and ignorant and difficult to deal with.
Moreover, these countries will be a little blind and arrogant, and if they want to talk about cooperation, it seems to be looking down on them.
"As long as we can win a battle, I think King Solomon will be willing to cooperate with us. When the time comes, I am willing to go to Abyssinia to contact King Solomon." Zhong Chongxiang volunteered.
"Okay, I'm sure about this. I'll give you an official position later. You can go to Abyssinia as the special envoy of the Ming Dynasty base." Zhao Dazhi gave Zhong Chongxiang a verbal promise.
Within a period of time after the sacrifice, a large number of people returned to Daming City one after another.
Some of them even cannot speak Chinese anymore, but they have family trees in their hands to prove their identities.
Zhao Dazhi asked Zhong Chongxiang to handle this matter, and also provided some properties and houses in the city to distribute to these people.
The entire Daming City gradually burst into life again.
After careful consideration, Zhao Dazhi decided to make this the center of governance for the entire Tadjoula Bay.
After the domestic engineering corps arrives, this will also be the focus of construction.
While Zhao Dazhi was staying in Daming City, planning the future development of the base.
Many people have paid attention to the sudden appearance of the Ba'ath Army in East Africa.
In Alexandria, Sam Mason-Smith, the representative of the Great Empire to the Khedive Kingdom in Egypt, is convening an emergency meeting.
"Everyone, I think everyone knows about the sudden appearance of the Renaissance Army and its occupation of the Tadjoura area."
"I think the Ba'ath Army's intention is very obvious, which is to block the passage from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Of course, it is not ruled out that they will start expansion in East Africa."
"If they are allowed to gain a foothold in Tajoura, the role of our construction of the Suez Canal will be greatly reduced." Smith expressed his concerns to those around him.
"Your Excellency, Consul, I think we cannot sit idly by and ignore this matter. Although the Tadjoura area is not large, it is just south of Upper Egypt. This is not only an issue that affects the future Red Sea waterway, but also affects our situation in Egypt.
The future layout will also have a great impact."
Whenever any European country becomes stronger, it will take action against Egypt.
The great emperor of Alexandria did it, the Romans did it, Napoleon did it, and the Chinese people have naturally coveted this place for a long time.
Muhammad Ali, the current King of the Khedive Kingdom of Egypt, was raised by the Chinese.
Nominally this is still an autonomous kingdom of the Ottoman Empire, but in fact it is a protectorate of the Great Empire.
The Mediterranean fleet of the Great Empire was stationed in Alexandria, with even a garrison of five thousand men.
Smith was nominally a consular officer, but in fact he was equivalent to the Egyptian governor of the Great Empire.
After suffering defeats on the subcontinent, the Great Empire paid more and more attention to the Egyptian region.
Of course, so many European powers favor the Egyptian region.
Not because of the pyramids here or the long history here, but because of the bread.
Yes, it's bread.
Throughout the history of Europe, most wars have been fought over bread.
The staple food of Europeans is bread. People’s lives cannot be separated from bread.
There will be bread, but it won't fall from the sky.
The periodic flooding of the Nile River made this place the earliest wheat producing area in the world.
It is still the main wheat producing area to this day.
The ancient Egyptians began to grow wheat, barley, bake bread, and even brew beer five to six thousand years ago.
Beer and bread were the staple food of the ancient Egyptians. Of course, beer at that time was brewed with leftover bread, like bread porridge.
In an era when fertilizers were not yet popular, the silt brought by the Nile River's periodic flooding was the best fertilizer.
If it were not for the food problem, European countries would not go to Donghua every year to exchange real gold and silver for bird droppings.
In fact, with the development of industry, a large number of people are engaged in industrial production, and the land lacks intensive farming.
At this time, with the improvement of medical conditions and the benefits brought by industrial production, the population experienced explosive growth.
As a result, food pressure has become increasingly serious.
The Chinese people have already been laying out their plans in Egypt.
They even used the Crimean War to exchange privileges in Alexandria, Egypt, from the Ottoman Empire.
Alexandria was the largest port in the Mediterranean at this time.
What this place meant to the Ottoman Empire was what Shanghai meant to the Manchus.
Just last year, the old king of Egypt passed away. The Chinese people supported the new king's ascension and turned the Egyptian Khedive Kingdom into their quasi-protectorate.
Smith can even directly influence the Kings' decision-making.
"Of course we have to take action, but how to solve it? The country is currently negotiating a ceasefire with the Ba'ath Army. We cannot send troops by ourselves, otherwise it will affect the decision-making of the new cabinet and we will all have to live with it." Smith said with a frown.
.
"Hmph... I think this new cabinet is a surrender cabinet. If you want to fight in the subcontinent, we are too far away and lose the geographical advantage. But if we want to put the battlefield in East Africa, we can transport troops from the Mediterranean. It can
Using the abundant supplies in Egypt may not necessarily defeat the Ba'ath Army," said a young military attaché named Williams.
"Williams, please pay attention to your words. If you are so radical again, I will send you back to the country." Smith glared at the young officer, who was the son of a noble friend of his.
He got into the bad habit of some aristocratic children with their eyes above their heads.
These young people grew up in the glory of their fathers. In their eyes, only the Great Empire defeated the arrogant Napoleon the Great and defeated the European military police Tsarist Russia.
In their eyes, the Great Empire is still the greatest empire in the world on which the sun never sets.
They did not see the price their predecessors paid for these honors.
They don't know how the Great Empire tolerated it when Napoleon was at his most powerful.
Even the most powerful empires must learn to be forbearing. Most of those great empires that were blindly tough became short-lived.
Just like Alexander the Great in history, he blindly expanded and finally died.
The same is true for Napoleon. If he could tolerate it for a while after facing setbacks and give the French a chance to recuperate, he might not be able to continue to be the number one power in Europe.
Smith continued: "Although we can't do it ourselves, we can let the Egyptians do it, and the Ottoman Empire will probably be dissatisfied with it."
"We have some problems with the Ottomans recently. They may not listen to us, Mr. Consul," another diplomat said.
The Ottomans were not fools. They knew what the Japanese were doing in Egypt.
The fall of Egypt from the control of the Ottoman Empire was largely caused by the Chinese.
The newly appointed Sultan Aziz is a mature politician.
He knows the tricks of the Europeans.
Therefore, during this period, the Ottoman Empire deliberately distanced itself from the Great Empire and moved closer to the French.
He purchased warships from the French, added them to the Black Sea Fleet, and hired French officers to help them train the new army.
What Aziz didn't know was that it was this new army that ultimately ended the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
These are all things for later.
At this time, the influence of the French people on the Ottoman Empire was at its weakest.
"Your Excellency, Consul, I think it is better for King Ali to send troops south to attack Tadjoura from Lakh Ayitu. Now that the Renaissance Army has not gained a stable foothold, it is the best time." The diplomat suggested.