The third stop was a bit far, and when the whole fleet had burrowed out of the Red Sea, it began to sail northeast along the coastline of the Arabian Peninsula, exploring as it went, and it took fifteen days to cover more than 2,000 kilometers to the north side of the Allah Peninsula. This is the hometown of Metini and Arin, and the approximate location is the port of Muscat, which was later called the Sultanate of Oman.

The fleet entered the Gulf of Oman with much easier access than into the Gulf of Aden, where Arab maritime merchants were often present in the port of Kabalan and were familiar with the ships and flags of the Golden River State. Although they don't necessarily want these big ships to come to their own territory to grab business, the difference in strength between the two sides is too much, and they won't have any thoughts.

This is the benefit of understanding each other, a lot of trouble is caused by the two sides are not clear, do not understand, once everyone has communication, see clearly who the other party is, what they do, what kind of character, some troubles will follow.

When he arrived at Alin's house, Hong Tao was a little bolder, so he landed with the Marines and visited Alin's house. This time Hong Tao sent a heavy gift, a full three boxes of flat glass, not looking at the face of the monk to see the face of the Buddha, Martini is also a governor who has made a great contribution in the empire, he will not be able to come back in a short time, and he should help him honor his parents.

Matini's father was very religious, and the first thing that came to mind when he had good things was his god, and he thought it disrespectful to Allah to put such good things in his own home, and donated all three boxes of glass to the largest mosque in the city, or in the name of Hongtao. As a result, Hong Tao had to meet the local sultan king again with a warm and nonsense meeting, and then sent out a box of glass. Give the bearded sultan home to decorate his palace. In return, he received ten camels and a fine dagger.

"Old Sai. What is the difference between a sultan and an emir? Leaving the palace, Hong Tao began to ask questions again. The Arab world is also magical and alien to him, and there are many things that need to be patched up.

"There is no difference in rights, the emir was appointed by the caliphate and nominally a subordinate of the caliphate. Sudan does not need to be appointed by a caliphate, does not belong to any country, and is independent. Said replied succinctly, making the difference between the two clear in one sentence.

Until now. Hong Tao probably figured out the political system of the entire Islan world. Their caliphs and imams were equivalent to the emperors of the Song dynasty, but with an additional religious responsibility. Further down is the emir, this title is a bit similar to our festival envoys, the military, civil affairs, and the appointment and dismissal of officials within the jurisdiction are grasped with one hand, and they are called local warlords more vividly. An emir ruled over many tribes, and the leaders of these tribes were called sheikhs. But when the tribe was too big and independent of the dynasty, the sheikh became a sultan, which probably means king. Sultans are big and small, and the big ones are like the Ayyubid Dynasty and the rulers of the Ottoman Empire are also called Sultans. A small country like Oman is also called Sudan.

But these appellations are limited to Arabs. And it's still Sunni, if you go to the Shia, Turks, Persians, and the Is\Lan countries established by the Serre masters, there are some changes, but the meaning is roughly the same.

Now Hong Tao is also the one who owns ten camels, and he is still the best camel, so his curiosity begins to throb again. Why go? He wanted to go to the Bedouin tribe, and it just so happened that the people of the Ayin family had Bedouin friends, and the tribe that had sold the Hongtao Arabian horse was just right. And they were not far from the port of Muska, only five days away, and they walked on camels for five days.

For this five-day trip, the whole port of Masca was busy, Alin's family was a merchant, and there were not so many camels at home, Hong Tao had to go with three hundred marines, and more than fifty camels were needed to carry food and fresh water alone. This emperor still loves the people like a son, and none of his soldiers can walk, one person has a camel. There are not so many idle camels in the whole of Masca Harbor, so they can only be hired at high prices everywhere.

It is not enough to hire camels, Hong Tao also has to require the camels to be clean and free of parasites. So outside the city of Maskar Harbor there was a large field of tents and a large field of camels, which were specially hired to wash the camels. There are too many camels to wash in a day or two, so you have to live here and brush them for several days.

It's not the end of the camel, since it's a trip in the desert, you have to have a travel look, it's definitely not appropriate to wear a navy uniform, you have to follow the local customs, and you have to buy an Arab robe and wear a headscarf, which is perfect.

"Oops...... It's very powerful, it's a bit of Lawrence, let's go! Hong Tao himself changed into an Arab robe, put on a turban, sat on a camel and looked at his team, and then looked at the dozens of guides, servants, and bodyguards provided by the Al Yin family, and felt very satisfied. The Marines also wore belts with bullet and ****** magazines on them, and two short spears pinned to their belts, which were tied to the camels. Dressed like this, it looks much better than carrying a waist knife.

Hong Tao can't command the army, let alone learn any art of war, and his arrangement is very simple. Langya's adjutant led fifty marines to walk a hundred meters in front in a two-way column, which was considered a striker. Lang Ya and himself followed the large army in the rear, and then divided fifty people to guard the camel team and artillery carts that transported supplies behind.

In order to increase his sense of security, Hong Tao deliberately brought three deck guns on this trip. The camels could not pull the carts, so they were drawn by six horses. Not only can this thing be used against cavalry with shotguns in field battles, but it can also be used to shoot walls and gates with solid bullets in siege battles. However, after watching the port of Muska, Hong Tao has dispelled this idea. The Arab cities don't seem to pay much attention to the construction of city walls, and the port of Masca is slightly better than Aden, with a circle of earthen walls, but there is no need for cannons, and the earthen walls are less than a man high.

"Your Majesty, why don't you wear such a big robe? On such a hot day, sweating in my summer uniform, can I take it off? Lang Ya is not used to the wide Arabian robe, in his opinion, a short-sleeved top and shorts are the right choice for hot days, and a layer on the outside is not even hotter.

"Yes, I don't force it, but don't let the soldiers take it off yet, and when it's time to eat at noon, if you don't feel comfortable wearing it, then we won't wear it." If you feel comfortable wearing it, don't toss. Hong Tao himself didn't know what it was like to wear this big robe, which was said to help people avoid sunburn and keep their bodies hydrated in the hot and dry climate of the desert, but he never rushed to conclusions about things he hadn't tried himself.

This time it was Hong Tao again, and before noon, Langya put on his robe and turban again. The heat here is different from Hainan Island, Luzon Island, Java Island, and Kalamba, and you can't see sweat at all, not that you don't come out, but just after you come out, it is evaporated by the scorching sun and dry hot wind.

If there was no silk robe to block it, not only would you have to drink water often, but your skin would not be able to stand it, and Langya would have turned into a lobster in two hours, and her whole body would be red. It is estimated that he should regret it at night, the skin that has been slightly burned will be itchy, and this taste has been tried by Hong Tao. Regular fishing, especially those who go to the sea, can't escape this fate, even if they put on sunscreen.

The road from Maskar to the Bedouin tribe says that the desert is not a desert, that the Gobi is not a Gobi, and that there are even small oases in some places, and it is impossible to tell what the terrain is, anyway, it is not very comfortable. Even if you wear a big robe, you can only feel a little better, but in fact it is still uncomfortable. As soon as the sun comes out, everything is hot, and touching the short gun hanging from the belt can burn the skin on the hand. The oncoming wind will make people feel that their nostrils are full of fire, their throat and eyes are always dry, and their voices are hoarse.

No wonder the Arabs here are slow in everything, and under such natural conditions, if they are quick tempered, they will not be able to live. Not only people are chronic, but camels are the same, they walk as if they have something on their minds, they take one step at a time, and the average speed is less than five kilometers per hour, which is similar to walking on their own.

Hong Tao controlled his mouth for the first time, no longer talking nonsense, he was about to fall asleep sitting on the back of a camel, and only in this hazy state did he feel less uncomfortable. At this time, if no one else followed, he wanted to go home directly, and he had to walk forward for five days, which would kill him!

It's so uncomfortable just to walk like this, if you fight the Arabs in this area, you can imagine the difficulty, it's no problem to occupy the city, it's no problem to clean up the perimeter of the city, but if you want to go deep into the desert to defeat these nomadic tribes, I'm afraid you have to have planes to do it. Of course, if there is a traitor, it is another matter, and the Belt and Road Party is a must for any colonist.

But the worst thing is not during the day, but at night. The temperature in the desert did not exceed ten degrees at night, and the temperature felt even lower, and in the early hours of the morning, there was still fog and dew, and the soldiers standing guard outside were covered in blankets and were wet and shivering. The inside of the tent was not much better, the temperature was bearable, but the little bugs that came out of the sand couldn't bear it. In one night's work, more than a dozen soldiers were bitten by scorpions, but fortunately, the accompanying Arabs had medicine to treat this, and they did not die.

In addition to scorpions and poisonous insects, colds and flu have also become the second major trouble encountered by the marines, and they can't even figure out whether they are typhoid fever or typhoid fever, and the treatment is half the effort. Looking at those marines who had a headache and cough and runny nose all day long, Hong Tao felt that he was really not a general who led thousands of troops and horses to fight in all directions, and it was better to stay at sea, where was his own territory.

(To be continued.) )