Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2183 Levant Conception

"I was thinking about my recent bad luck, so I don't want to have a fork on the way to Ottoman. As a result, something that I didn't want to happen just happened. It's really bad luck!" Dry land in Crete In the port of Asia, Cai Zhenguo, the special envoy of the East Coast Republic of China to Europe, said with a look of unhappiness.

He was sitting in a cafe near the pier at this time.Not far in front of him, the escort gunship "Xiazhi" that carried him was undergoing renovations.It had just weathered a storm that took some damage to its hull and had to divert its course to Crete to escape the bad weather.

Now that the rain has cleared outside, but the battleship is still being repaired, and because of the poor repair skills of the Turks and the lack of materials (their coastline is severely blocked, and the transport is intermittent), the battleship "Summer Solstice" may It will take some time to complete the repairs, so Cai Zhenguo is considering whether to leave here on a passing ship.

But the Turks at the port seemed happy to see East Coasters stranded there.Recently those pirates from Italy have been going around like mad dogs, constantly raiding the coastline of the Ottoman Empire, causing huge damage.Take the port of Chandia as an example. The city was threatened twice within a month. Once, several Catholic sailing ships intercepted an Ottoman merchant ship in the outer port, murdered people and dumped their cargo.The other time was more dangerous. The pirates once planned to attack the port, but they were repelled by the brave counterattack of the fort officers and soldiers. However, the Ottomans also lost a lot of soldiers and artillery, and because of the sea blockade, they could not be replenished in time, so they went to the port. Some people in Yagang are panicking now.

The arrival of the escort gunship "Xiazhi" changed everything.This battleship with dozens of cannons became the pinnacle of the sea in Gandia Port for a while, perfectly replacing the role of the fort, deterring criminals who might appear in the open sea.In this regard, the naval officers and soldiers on the east coast are also very helpless. Now they are more concerned about when the warship can sail again, rather than fighting pirates.Although the environment of Gandia Port is beautiful, it is too monotonous and boring. It is more fun to visit Smyrna Port or Istanbul, which has more beautiful women.

However, they also have some disdain for the naval strength of the Turks.They have also seen the equipment of the Italian pirates. Some galley warships are not very large in tonnage. They are not very strong in terms of protection or firepower, so their mobility is a little commendable in the big bathtub of the Mediterranean Sea. That's all.But it is this kind of non-professional warships driven by non-professional soldiers that can cause huge troubles in the coastal waters of the Ottoman Empire, exhausting their only navy, and severely hitting the offshore shipping industry.

During the Crete War, the main fleet of the Ottoman Navy was defeated by the Venetians near Naxos, and the coastal transportation of the entire empire collapsed.Even the Venetian fleet appeared off the coast of the capital Istanbul, and the dignified capital of the empire suffered from severe famine, which can be described as extremely embarrassing.After that, the Ottomans made up their minds to import many warships from the east coast, which reversed the situation in one fell swoop.

But nothing can stand the wind and rain of time.After the revived Ottoman fleet did not have enough funds for a long time, the warships on the east coast were damaged one after another. In the end, even the powerful "Bayezid" battleship disappeared, and the naval strength of the entire Ottoman Empire fell again. into the valley.Later, with the outbreak of a series of land wars, the Ottoman Empire had less and less financial resources to invest in the gold-eating behemoth of the navy. Therefore, it seems not so difficult to understand that their long coastline has now become a paradise for Catholic pirates.

"By the way, is the maritime trade in the Levant area still smooth now? Can the products of our country, Xinhua Island, be sold there normally?" Sipping the fragrant coffee, Cai Zhenguo suddenly thought of this question, so he asked .

The Levant region is generally located in the east of the Mediterranean Sea. It has always been a wealthy area of ​​the Ottoman Empire, and historical cities such as Damascus and Jesus Salem are located here.The Ottoman Empire set up the governor of Aleppo here to manage, and the rule is quite effective.Merchants from the east bank entered this place earlier to start trading activities, and have formed a relatively stable cooperative relationship with local merchants.Livestock, dried fruits, and spices in the Levant (different from the spices of the Dutch) have always been the favorite specialty products of the people of New China, and the tropical specialties of New China Island and the local industrial products of the east coast also have a wide market here. The annual trade volume is very large.

Of course, for the Ottoman Empire, the Levant region was important not because of trade, but because of its huge production of wheat.Whenever the Rumili region of the Ottoman Empire suffered from food shortages due to various reasons, a large amount of wheat from Egypt and the Levant would be shipped over, which became the most important weight to stabilize the situation in the empire.

The people on the east bank are also deeply involved in the grain trade in the Levant region, but they don’t use it for their own use. Instead, they introduce it to the above-mentioned areas to stabilize food prices when Italy, Spain and other places are in food shortage. serve the purpose.

"The trade in the Levant region is normal, but after the offshore transportation was affected, many things were diverted to the land route, and the backlog of goods was relatively serious." A businessman on the east coast who has been doing business here all year round said cautiously.

He has lived in Crete for several years. He has a small boat under his name and employs more than a dozen Greek sailors. He collects goods from the commercial station on the east coast of Athens all the year round, and then transports them to Crete for sale.Later, he built a large warehouse in the port of Gandia by using the profits from selling goods on the east coast, and went to every village and every manor on the island to select the wine, olive oil, cheese, and dried fruits they produced. Wait for the goods to be sold elsewhere.It is not an exaggeration to say that this gentleman has now become the top three businessmen in Crete, with strong assets under his name, which has aroused the envy of many people.

But none of the Greeks or Turks on the island dared to do anything to him, nor did they intend to do anything to him.The people on the east coast are the traditional allies of Turkey, and their influence has penetrated into every corner of Ottoman. Even on Crete, there are many Sheikhs or Bayi who are inextricably linked with the people on the east coast.It was easy to move the East Coast businessman, but the ensuing revenge was not simple at all, and no one wanted to take this risk.

"Without shipping, it is indeed a trouble." Cai Zhenguo nodded and said.

The Suez Railway built by the people on the east coast still plays a great role today, and it is the main line of communication between the Red Sea and the White Sea.It's a pity that this line is a light rail line, and what is running is not a steam train, but a horse-drawn railcar with a smaller capacity, which cannot provide a huge transportation capacity comparable to sea transportation.Moreover, after the goods were transported from the Red Sea port to the coast of the White Sea, in view of the current tense situation, local merchants basically chose to use camel caravans for land transportation, which further led to a backlog of goods and disrupted the originally relatively smooth business order. destroy.

Cai Zhenguo has even considered whether to build a light rail line to Aleppo in the Persian Gulf (near the later Basra Port) to ease the transportation pressure on the Suez light rail and reduce some land transportation distances.Because it is in a flat desert area, the construction cost of this light rail line is not too high, but the value is great.The layout of the East Coast people in the Middle East is gradually unfolding. The Rajputs in the Port of Salalah have established a firm foothold and gradually expanded outwards. The East Coast people have established a commercial station in the Port of Basra for decades. In addition, the East Coast Navy has recently taken a fancy to Bahrain Island and wants to build a stable base there, so it is time to build a comprehensive transportation network.

In fact, Cai Zhenguo is somewhat puzzled as to why the mainland is so persistent in wanting to control the Middle East.In his opinion, although the Middle East has a large population and the special products are still acceptable, but the local area is currently being overemphasized, and too many resources are invested, which is not worth it.At this time, he couldn't help but want to complain about Li Qing who was still "guiding" diplomatic work behind the scenes after retirement. This old guy is too obsessed with power and likes to direct blindly. He lived long enough!

But no matter what, the instructions of the veteran cadres still have to be taken seriously.Once the Navy acquires a strategic base on Bahrain Island (currently they are negotiating with the Persians), and at the same time expands its personnel and armaments in Basra Port, its control over the Persian Gulf will be greatly strengthened, and a brand new trade route exclusively for itself And it took shape.

This trade route generally started from Diu and Qiandao in northwestern India, crossed the Arabian Sea, and arrived at the port of Basra.The unloaded goods are loaded on humpbacks here, and then distributed across the Middle East via Baghdad to make a profit.Although this trade route mostly passes through arid areas, it seems that the profits will not be very rich, but considering that the people on the east coast can enjoy the benefits exclusively, the profits are actually quite considerable.

The only problem here may be that the distance from Basra to Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusalem and other places in the Levant is a bit far away, and the Ottoman Empire's control over this is not as strong as before. Will there be any risks in the middle.Well, it's not that there might be a risk, it's that there will be a risk!However, isn't this what many people in the East Coast would like to see?

If there is a risk, I have to send more guards!As for the origin of these guards, who knows!Moreover, now Cai Zhenguo has reason to suspect that if the mainland decides to build a light rail line from Basra to the Levant in the future, then the army may participate, and then send road guards under the guise of protecting the road workers.Cai Zhenguo carefully considered the current situation of the Ottoman Empire and the huge threat they might face in the future, and finally felt that it was not impossible for light rail guards to appear in the Middle East, so that the control of the East Coast people over the Middle East would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced, reaching a Maybe even the Ottomans can't reach the point, that would be a bit embarrassing.

"Forget it, forget it, don't think about such distant things, let's focus on the present first. There are a lot of troubles in the local area now, maybe when will I be free to manage the Middle East." Cai Zhenguo shook his head and thought : "The most important thing now is to bring about a complete truce between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venetia. When are those idiots in Istanbul still reluctant to part with the pots and pans on the Dalmatian coast, and they insist on tossing with the Venetians? A bunch of scammers."

Cai Zhenguo deeply understood that if Venice wanted to participate in the formation of the Northern Italian Allied Forces, reconciliation with the Ottoman Empire was a prerequisite and an obstacle that must be resolved.Cai Zhenguo was not very confident in persuading the Ottoman Sultan and Grand Vizier, because the way of thinking of these people was a bit strange to him.However, he is not without cards to play!The Ottoman Empire is now fighting everywhere, but its finances are in dire straits. It has been a long time since the people on the east coast will issue a second loan.If the Ottomans really can't do the job and don't want to give up the Dalmatian coast, then he doesn't mind postponing the loan!He had the power, and with good reason, to believe that the Ottomans were not so unwise.

Money weapons are often more effective than real knives and guns!

On September 1692, 9, after a long period of maintenance, the "Xia Zhi" sail escort gunship finally barely met the requirements for sailing.Therefore, under the reluctant eyes of the Ottomans in Gandia Port, this powerful warship carrying Cai Zhenguo, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, set sail and sailed to Istanbul. Start his arduous negotiation journey.

(End of this chapter)