The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 136 Changes in Morocco
  June 1726, 6, Rabat, Morocco.

The Moroccans gave the warmest welcome to the arrival of Qi's second task force support fleet. From the local governor to the local noble businessmen, as well as several highly respected elders of the True God Religion, they were all present. Not one of them was missing. Go to the dock to welcome the people from Qi.

Although the Allawi dynasty of Morocco angrily declared war on England in July last year because it could not bear the massive raids by the English navy on its coastal areas. However, due to the weakness of its own navy, it was unable to launch an effective attack on England. It could only stand aside and wave the flag, provide corresponding logistical assistance to the Qi expedition fleet, and place all hopes of defeating the English on the Qi people, and the entire The Moroccan waters also rely on the protection of Qi's navy to avoid the abuses of the English.

For being forced to be involved in this war, there is no trace of complaint among the Moroccans deep in their hearts. However, over the years, it has received a lot of material and financial assistance from the people of Qi, and it has benefited a lot from the Atlantic trade and Mediterranean trade opened up by Qi. As the saying goes, eating people is soft-spoken, and taking advantage of others is short-handed. Since the people of Qi are going to fight such a war with the English, they can only pinch their noses and passively participate in this war.

Furthermore, the close relationship between Qi and the Ottoman Empire also played a positive and effective role in easing the tension between them and the Ottomans in Algeria.

Ever since Barbarossa Hayreddin dedicated Algerian suzerainty to the Ottoman Sultan, the brave Selim I, two hundred years ago, Istanbul has strictly restricted Morocco's eastward development.

In 1701, after purchasing a large amount of Qi's ordnance, the great Sultan Ismail had the strength to challenge the Ottoman Empire. Regardless of the opposition of the Qi people, he personally led his army into the Sharif Valley.

Unexpectedly, they were attacked head-on by a coalition of Ottoman Guards in Algeria and local Berber cavalry. The Moroccan army was almost completely destroyed. Sultan Ismail was injured and almost became a prisoner of the Ottomans.

If it weren't for the Qi people to mediate, maybe the Ottomans would take advantage of the situation and mobilize a large army to counterattack into Morocco and destroy their Alawi dynasty in one fell swoop.

More than ten years ago, Morocco, with the help of Qi, captured the Spanish Canary Islands, completely eliminating the maritime threat in the southwest region of the kingdom.

Although the Qi people later took away the four western islands including Tenerife and La Gomera, the Moroccans still felt very satisfied. You must know that these islands have been under Spanish rule for more than three hundred years (from 1420 to 1479, Portugal briefly occupied La Gomera). With the maritime strength possessed by Morocco, it is impossible to conquer them alone. recover.

No, just a few months after the war started, the English used their powerful navy to take away three islands in the east including Gran Canaria occupied by Morocco, including many civil officials and several people on the above-mentioned islands. Hundreds of garrison troops were captured by the opponent.

Fortunately, the arrival of the Qi expedition fleet, with its powerful force, defeated the English navy stationed here and re-liberated these islands.

In the face of maritime threats from European countries and restrictions from the Ottoman Empire in Algeria, Morocco's Alawi dynasty attaches great importance to maintaining its traditional friendly and cooperative relations with Qi.

To put it bluntly, in this era of law of the jungle and the increasing rise of European powers, if we don't have a helping hand, I am afraid that the country will not survive and the people will not be protected.

When a group of Qi naval generals boarded the dock, they immediately felt the enthusiasm of the Moroccans.

In addition to a group of Moroccan dignitaries and priests on the pier, there were also more than two hundred new Moroccan officers and soldiers maintaining order, wearing imitation Qi army uniforms, round military caps on their heads, carrying long guns on their shoulders, raising their heads and chests, as if they were a group of people. The appearance of a deputy elite soldier.

The merchants who came to welcome him also brought a large amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as meat, poultry and eggs, to express their sincere condolences to the Qi officers and soldiers who came from afar.

Under the influence of many years of contact and public opinion, countless Moroccans are convinced of and yearn for Qi's wealth and its powerful military. More importantly, Qi is their staunch ally, defending Morocco and resisting foreign aggression, and has always been on their side.

In addition to a few warships moored at the pier, the harbor was full of sails, masts, and cannons. This was another powerful fleet sent by the Qi people.

The arrival of the armored battleship "Liying" made all Moroccans even more proud. This battleship is made entirely of steel, with cold armor and thick gun barrels, all of which exudes a strong and chilling atmosphere. Even those who have not studied naval ships can conclude based on its appearance alone that there is currently no one in Europe. If a battleship has the strength to confront it, this ironclad ship will be invincible.

Yan Chuansong, Chief of General Staff of the Expeditionary Fleet, Liang Yuanfu, Commander of the Second Task Force Support Fleet, and other senior navy generals straightened their navy uniforms with the help of orderlies, then wore white gloves, carried the general's command knife, and spoke with a smile. He greeted the Moroccan officials and garrison generals who came over and greeted them one by one.

"General, their eldest prince, His Highness Ahmed Dahabi, is also in Rabat." Gan Shouyong, the commander of the Black Guards stationed in Rabat and Xuangjie Colonel (Major), walked up to Yan Chuansong and whispered: "He Hoping to have an informal meeting with the General.”

"Why is it an informal meeting?" Yan Chuansong asked calmly while continuing to wave to the Moroccans on both sides with a smile.

"He hopes to get the full support of our Qi military."

"Get the full support of our military? What does that mean?"

"The current Sultan Ismail is seventy-nine years old."

"Huh?" Yan Chuansong's eyelids twitched a few times when he heard this, "The eldest prince can't wait to take over? At this time, Morocco can't afford chaos!"

"Sultan Ismail has been in bed to recuperate since May and is no longer able to see things." Gan Shouyong said: "It stands to reason that at this time, the eldest prince with the right to inherit should be allowed to supervise the country's governance to stabilize the domestic political situation. But the old sultan didn't like the eldest prince very much, and wanted to pass the sultan's throne to his favorite young prince named Ali bin Ismail. Therefore, Dahabi was quite anxious. He is trying his best to win the support of all forces in the country. And our country, Qi, is also the target of his efforts."

"This matter of changing the throne should be under the control of our Qi State's diplomatic minister in Morocco."         "Minister Ding is more attached to the eldest prince of Italy. This is not only related to the legal inheritance of the eldest son, but also to our Qi State. The country's important interests in Morocco lie in the future." Gan Shouyong said: "This Prince Dahabi is the only heir who is not controlled by the black slave army. In addition, he also expressed to us that he is willing to transfer more business interests to our country of Qi. and political interests. He was even willing to negotiate for the expansion and final status of the entire Canary Islands and the two Mediterranean ports of Tianmen (now Ceuta, a city in North Africa, Spain) and Shayang (now Melilla, a city in North Africa, Spain). Conduct friendly consultations with our country, Qi."

"Oh?" Yan Chuansong raised his brows with a real smile on his face, "What about Tangier?"

"General, are our appetites too big?" Gan Shouyong said with a wry smile.

After occupying the two strongholds of Tianmen and Shayang, the Qi navy was equivalent to locking half of the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. However, these two strongholds are too small, not deep enough, and cannot achieve basic food self-sufficiency. If they fall out with the Moroccans in the future, they will easily be besieged from land.

What is even more worrisome is that if one day the Moroccans collude with a certain maritime power and launch attacks from both land and sea directions at the same time, then the Qi people stationed here will not even have room to move around and can only sit back and wait for death.

Therefore, in recent years, in addition to constantly asking the Moroccans to allow them to expand their borders and increase the depth of defense in the above two places, Qi State also wants to take Tangier into its pocket, one on the left and one on the right. It defends the important fortress on the southern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar, thus controlling this golden waterway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Think about it, once this move is realized, what benefits and influence it will have!

At that time, a large number of Qi people will migrate to these places to settle here. It is best to reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people to occupy a magpie's nest and replace the local settlers here. If the main ethnic group has been changed, coupled with the strong centripetal cohesion of our country Qi, and if the national strength remains undiminished, even if the Moroccans want to take back these places in the future, it will be extremely difficult, and they can only let the power of our country Qi persevere. Enter this place.

"Okay, on behalf of the military of Qi State, I will meet with this great prince who is seeking to ascend to power." After getting on the carriage, Yan Chuansong immediately made a decision.

At present, in addition to the traditional aristocratic group and religious forces within the Moroccan Alawi dynasty, there is also a huge military group established by Sultan Ismail during his decades of conquests in the north and south.

The latter, in particular, has a strong influence on many aspects related to national policies, foreign exchanges, and the succession of the sultan.

The military group is divided into three forces: the Black Slave Royal Army, the Mujahideen Corps, and the Royal New Army.

The Black Slave Royal Army was formed shortly after Ismail succeeded the Sultan. In order to quell the rebellious tribal forces in various places and respond to the invasion of European foreign colonists, the Black Slave Army was gathered across the country. He redeemed the black slaves from their original owners and made them the Sudan's private slaves. These black people had no blood or political connections with the local political factions and only showed loyalty to the Sultan.

In order to make the black slaves loyal to the Sultan, they were required to swear an oath to the "Records of Hadith of Bukhari", so they were named "Abid Bukhari", which means Bukhari's slaves.

At first, these "Abids" lived together in Mishra Raimul. Their children were called "sons of the army" and were sent to Meknes at the age of 10. The boys received five years of intensive military training, learning crafts, riding, and using spears and muskets, while the girls learned to do housework. By the age of 15, boys after training were assigned to various regiments, and girls became their spouses. Their marriage must be approved by the sultan and registered. When the children are 10 years old, they are sent to Meknes for training, and so on. Another source of supplementary "Abed" was the recruitment of blacks from the Pasha District of Timbuktu, or expeditions to the Sahara to capture blacks.

So far, the total number of this black slave army has reached more than [-] people (including a large number of elderly people, women and children), of which more than [-] people live in Meshra Laimule, and [-] people live in In Meknes, the rest live in important towns and fortresses across the country.

Relying on the powerful combat power of the black slave army, Sultan Ismail was able to firmly control Morocco. He was in power for more than fifty years. During his reign, he crushed countless conspiracies and rebellions that coveted the Sultan's throne, making his Personal power and prestige became synonymous with the Alawi dynasty.

The people of Qi once made a fair evaluation of this. The reason why the Moroccan regime remained so stable was the personal authority of Ismaili and the loyalty of the black slave army.

When facing the threat of war, the elders of the True God Religion in Morocco recruited believers across the country under the instructions of the Sultan, and spontaneously took up arms to launch jihad against the enemy. Well, to put it bluntly, this armed force is Morocco's paramilitary organization and militia. Although their weapons are backward and they have not received professional military training, they are large in number and have a high will to fight, inspired by the teachings of the True God. During domestic peacetime, the Mujahideen Corps only maintains a skeleton military strength of more than [-] people.

The Royal New Army is a modern army established more than [-] years ago under the guidance of Qi's military advisors. Its weapons and equipment all use Qi's ordnance, and its daily military training is also handled by Qi's instructors.

Although the number of the New Army is not large, only about [-], it is organized into a staff headquarters, eight musketry battalions, an artillery battalion, and a cavalry battalion. However, because it is an all-firearms unit, it has undergone some modern transformation. , the combat power absolutely surpasses all other troops.

"So, you want us to exert a certain influence on the new royal army, so that we can obtain sufficient military support when we succeed the sultan?"

After Yan Chuansong met Prince Dahabi, he asked this question directly without making too many greetings, and then stared into his eyes with burning eyes.

After hearing Yan Chuansong's question, the fifty-eight-year-old prince Ahmed Dahabi's slightly cloudy eyes immediately revealed a glimmer of light. He gently touched his chest with his right hand and said in a low voice: "What your Qi country wants, only I can satisfy it. I only hope that our country can go through a smooth transition of power, without killings, endless revenge, or changes in the political situation that will affect ordinary people." A peaceful life. As for inheriting the throne of Sudan, it is not my original wish, but among my many brothers, no one is more suitable than me and more in line with the traditional inheritance system. Of course, as for how to control this country, And no one has more experience than me.”

"Our fleet will be stationed in Rabat for five days. During this period, you can return to Meknes and prepare for what you want to do." Yan Chuansong nodded and said: "We in Qi also hope that the political situation in Morocco will not change. If there are too many changes, we also believe that your experience and knowledge are enough to control this country."

"General Yan, I am very grateful to you Qi for the clear choice you have made." After hearing this, Dahabi calmed down and said with a smile: "I believe that our Alawi dynasty is not only now, but also In the distant future, we will always be your Qi country’s most sincere partner.”

(End of this chapter)