The construction of the Suez Canal, contracted by a French company, was begun by the concession of the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Pasha. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 23txt. Egypt was not an independent state at this time, it was actually a territory belonging to the Ottoman Empire, with a viceroy system.

The Ottoman Empire, which had completely different religious beliefs, was in a state of exclusion from the West, and the two sides fought for hundreds of years, and even Habsburg Vienna was threatened by the Ottoman army.

However, when the industrial revolution in Europe began, the powerful empire in the Middle East immediately showed fatigue, especially in the face of the old northern enemy, Tsarist Russia, the Ottoman Empire gradually changed from an active attacker in the past to a passive beater.

The Crimea region was taken away by Tsarist Russia, and in the end, Tsarist Russia still wanted to fight for the Black Sea into the Mediterranean Sea, and the Tsarists in Istanbul actually wanted to get involved, which led to the Crimean War that collapsed Tsarist Russia.

The aura of empire has faded, and the reality must be accepted even if it is not accepted, and the Ottoman Empire began a long road of reconciliation with Europe, which is the background of the times when France was able to obtain the right to dig the Suez Canal.

When the Ottoman Empire was strong, he would not dig such a waterway to make it easier for Europe to communicate with Asia, and he wished that the Europeans would circle the Cape of Good Hope every day.

But at this time, when the Ottoman Empire was beaten by Tsarist Russia and could not find the north, he could only bow to the Europeans who came to support.

It is worth mentioning that the Crimean War broke out in 1853 and ended in 1856, and the time when France obtained the right to dig the canal was applied for in 1854 and granted a concession in 1856.

Smart people should be able to see clearly what is going on at a glance, France is using the Crimean War to threaten the Ottoman Empire, if you don't give the canal, then you won't help you fight, and whoever cares about you will not be occupied by Tsarist Russia.

"All great power rivalries are all calculations, calculating the enemy and calculating the allies, and it will not be finished until the last bit of oil and water is squeezed out...... How can there be any real friendship between countries? It's all......

Xiao Lotian recalled the history of the canal in his mind, and muttered softly in his mouth, but these words were heard by the king of Zaichun and Shangtai beside him.

"Master, what are you talking about? What's wrong with the French? What's wrong with the governor of Egypt?"

"Oh? Did I say it...... Haha, I'm reminiscing about the history of the canal! Do you know how many bones are buried under this canal?"

The two shook their heads desperately in surprise, Xiao Letian sighed and pointed to the river in front of him, "In 1859, the French began to hire a large number of Egyptian laborers with very low wages to go into the depths of the desert and start digging the river ......"

"The work is extremely hard and heavy, the desert climate is very harsh, fresh water is scarce and there is not even enough food...... A large number of migrant workers died of starvation and thirst, but the French never had mercy on the lives of these natives!"

"If a group dies, a group of new people will be tricked to come and replenish it, isn't it just for the untouchables in the colony to be consumed! There is also disease, there is no medical security at all, lung disease, dysentery, heat stroke is the most prevalent disease on the construction site, and there have even been several plague ......"

"How many people died? I heard that a single typhoid fever can take the lives of tens of thousands of migrant workers, and a single cholera? It is estimated that there are countless more......

"No one cares about the lives of these people, and the French don't even want to count them, but Egypt is a semi-colonial country, and the Ottoman Empire still has a governor in charge of the country, and our diplomats have come up with a rough estimate after searching for information in many ways......"

"How much?" asked Jae-chun and King Sang-tae eagerly.

"More than 120,000 people...... Xiao Letian said coldly.

Hiss...... The two gasped: "So many deaths, 120,000 people died in 19o kilometers of canals?"

"Haha...... What do you think? This is the real world, and there are only more bones sunk in the sand than this, not less!"

"Chantai, when you enter Egypt, remember to be careful of the French......!

At this time, the fleet was approaching the port of Suez, which was the southern entrance to the canal, but the lookout shouted as soon as it approached the shallow water.

"Black Flag...... There were a lot of black flags on the docks! Most of the trestles were empty, and merchant ships were anchored at sea......"

The people on the deck rushed up and built a pergola to look at the 6 places, and sure enough, at the end of the line of sight, there was a faint strange black flag fluttering, and after a while, the British vanguard fleet came to the flag, and everyone was stunned as soon as they translated.

"There is a severe plague in the port of Suez, and local officials have asked us to stay away from the port ......"

Xiao Letian was stunned for a moment, "What are you talking about, what is coming from! I just talked about the plague in the desert, and now there is a plague in front of me?"

"Let the accompanying Doctor Buck and Yellow Evil Doctor Gu Lai prepare to cook Chinese medicine soup for our soldiers to take precautions...... Lao Tzu is still counting on my good boys to go into battle to kill the enemy, but I can't reduce my troops here for no reason!"

Dr. Buck is already an old friend of the Chinese people, and he has taken Dr. Huang to study the topic of Chinese and Western medicine exchange in recent years, and the Chinese have successfully solved the problem of blood group matching over the years, and blood loss and blood transfusion therapy has been popularized among the Chinese people.

And Huang Xie Yi also has a secret team is studying a new discipline, that is, bacterial virology, Xiao Letian's ideal is to let the Chinese take the lead in finding the secret of penicillin, this is a high-tech against the sky, if anyone masters it first, not to mention how much money is earned, at least the combat effectiveness of the army will be improved by several steps.

Doctor Buck and Doctor Huang were not on the Zhiyuan, but on another accompanying supply ship, treating many seasick soldiers suffering from heat stroke along the way, and they also carried a medical team of nearly 8o people, half of whom were women.

Life along the way is monotonous and boring, there is no war, there are not too many wounded to be treated, Huang Xie Doctor and the others are itching in their bones, and today I heard that there is a task one by one excitedly.

When we arrived on the Zhiyuan, Dr. Buck said strongly, "I must go ashore!" I don't know what kind of plague disease this is without personal contact with the patient...... It is impossible to prescribe effective prescriptions!"

"No, no, no, I'm worried about your health! You are all treasures of the future medical community of the Chinese people, I can't let you take risks!" Xiao Lotian said categorically.

The Yellow Evil Doctor smiled evilly, "Yuan is too worried, for doctors, any time is a battlefield...... Especially after I started studying bacteriovirology, I realized that there are so many killers around us!"

"We have our own set of protection measures, please believe in our professionalism! This is also a great opportunity for us to accumulate practical experience, please don't stop it!"