Chen Ding secretly sneered in his heart, whether he was confused or not, it was his father/emperor Lao Tzu who said it.

"Father, the entire black people in the whole of America are afraid of no less than five million people." This is a huge number, and now it controls the two million people in Chen Han's hands, plus the blacks in the entire South America, as well as the blacks in the lighthouse country, there are really so many. Although this number is not enough for the population of a province in China, I don't know when the number of Chinese in the Americas will reach this number.

"It would be an astronomical amount of money to transport such a large amount of money from the Americas back to Africa, but no matter how big the cost is, it depends on whether it is worth it." Anyway, in Chen Ding's opinion, it is worth it. Because his dad would probably think it was worth it, then he would dare to gamble.

"The African continent is vast, and it is very wild and backward, but backwardness does not mean poverty."

Needless to say, the Nile Valley in Egypt, but what about the Sudan region? It's a treasure trove of resources. Guinea on the west coast of Africa is known as the Gold Coast, and although the Horn of Africa (Somalia in China) is indeed barren and unusual, other places are very profitable.

That place is at least better than the Celestial Peninsula, isn't it?

"If the empire can build a vassal state there, it will not only be able to take the lead in Africa in the future, but also in Egypt and the Suez Canal." In this way, in addition to Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, Chen Han's interests in Africa will be more reliable and reliable.

Chen Ding's definition is 'long-term'.

In the long run, this is naturally worth the expense. Moreover, with Chen Han's current national strength, it is not difficult to build a transportation fleet of 1,200 large ships. That ship can carry five or six hundred people, and one or two hundred ships can carry 100,000 people at a time. Even Chen Han can hire civilian ships to transport it, which is not an impossible thing in general.

Even before that, these blacks could sit down and promise them honest work on Chinese farms and mines, and that they would be given a certain amount of living and a small amount of money. Most of the value of labor is reflected in the form of points, which can tell them bluntly that in the future, in their own land, these points can be exchanged for land.

And the best performers can also become aristocrats in the future.

That would be a great asset.

Chen Ding's thought made the entire court silent, no matter how irritable and eager his little brothers were under the calm expressions on the surface, Chen Ming was really deep in thought.

Chen Ding's method ......, not bad. It can even be said that it is beneficial but not expensive. Will the wealth created by millions of blacks be as much as the wealth of that huge fleet?

And Chen Han can also establish a vassal state of his own in Africa - this is a plan he never thought of, but if you think about it carefully, it is impossible. And there will be other wonderful uses that cannot be told now.

It's not just a Suez Canal, it's an Egypt. In the long run, this could even resist the encroachment of Westerners on Greater Africa.

If in the future, if Chen Han occupies the south, and another country is located in the middle, such as Tanzania, and Egypt and the Ottoman Empire are located in the north, the whole of Africa will not dare to be preserved, but the east coastline of Africa can be preserved. On the other hand, does this half of black Africa belong to China?

"The human heart is really insatiable. With the South Seas, I want to look at Oceania, with the Americas, and now I think of Africa! ”

Chen Ming's face changed, he shook his head halfway, and smiled bitterly in his heart. In his original calculations, Africa was reserved for Europe, and the Europeans in the provinces jumped over the wall after completely losing their territory in the Americas. Chen Ming only intends to have a certain amount of power in Egypt, and it is not a colony yet, but a pro-Chinese indigenous dynasty, but a few years ago he wanted South Africa, and now he wants half of Black Africa.

There are a lot of gold mines in South Africa, but where is there less gold in Zimbabwe?

Thinking about it like this, it can only be said that Chen Ming is greedy, but he can't restrain the greed in his heart, he really wants it. And he felt he had the power to get it.

Chen Ding let out a breath in his heart, the bet he made was a win-the change in his emperor's face had already explained everything.

Ever since he had something to do with the Grand Duke, Chen Ding felt that his father's attitude towards him had changed a little. Later, this speculation became a reality, but Chen Ding could no longer get away from the Grand Ducal Party. Because he knew very well what his father was, he would never see the wind and rudder.

And now this one, he's gambling.

Chen Ding's heart was a little shaken, the glory of his eldest son in these years made him unable to bear the result of being 'bored' by his father. This is not only due to political considerations, but also because of personal emotional issues.

So when Chen Ding was far from 'gambling', he gambled.

Political tendencies steer the wind that Chen Ming doesn't like, but what about the specific handling of government affairs? Isn't it also a means to do what you like?

And now Chen Ming's reaction made Chen Ding breathe a sigh of relief. He also felt that his limelight in the court this time would definitely have a great reversal and impact on the situation.

……

In the twenty-eighth year of Chengtian, the third day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The Orange River Basin in southeastern Africa, in the middle of a mountainous range.

Chen Han's expeditionary force had just finished a fierce battle with the local Sutuo people.

In the aftermath of the battle, the nameless mountain range was in ruins, and a sub-tribe of the Sutuo tribe known as 'Bamokotli' became history, and the wooden fence of the tribe's residence was surrounded by purple-brown bloodstains.

The Sutuo people used primitive bows and arrows, javelins, a few modern front-loading muskets, and a few cannons to resist the attack of the Chen Han expeditionary force, armed to the teeth, and they showed valiant, but to no avail.

After six months of wandering, the expeditionary force came and went, and finally landed in Cape Town two months ago. By this time, the British had left, and the rights of the Cape colony were returned to the hands of the Dutch, but the Dutch were obviously unable to parry the Chen Han expeditionary force that killed them.

It's just that they got the news early that gold, silver, livestock and other materials have been transferred to the interior of South Africa. While Chen Han left some of his men to defend Cape Town, the main force sailed back to the east coast of the Cape Colony by boat, landed at the port of Natal [Durban Port], crushed the local Mtetwa tribe, and incidentally wiped out a small tribe called 'Zulu', which numbered only one or two thousand.

Over the next two months, the expeditionary force conquered the Langani, Ndewandwe, and Quab tribes in the Eastern Cape, and advanced hundreds of kilometers inland into a highland and mountainous area, where they encountered a new enemy, the Sutuo.

For South Africa, Chen Han's late autumn season is summer, the scorching sun is scorching, but it is a day before the corpse can be buried, and the smell of corpses has already diffused throughout the nameless mountains.

A large number of vassals and captured Bamokotli people, under the personal supervision of the expeditionary force, began to clean up the corpses and at the same time began to build houses.

Shen Shiying, who led this army, learned something from the locals that made him very curious, the Bamokotli tribe was famous among the local indigenous tribes for producing transparent gemstones.

In Shen Shiying's eyes, this transparent gemstone should be a diamond, that is, a diamond. The former is the name given by the current Emperor Chen, who is said to have several large diamonds in his hands and is known as a rare treasure.

Therefore, Shen Shiying felt that it was necessary for him to establish a semi-permanent garrison of the expeditionary force in this place.

In the col on the side, huge earth pits were filled with corpses, all of which belonged to the local tribe, of course. The remains of the vassal army were placed halfway up the southern slope of the ridge.

Although the expeditionary force won this battle, the number of casualties was higher than that of the plains, and the casualties of the vassal army reached one-third of their own number.

There is no way, this place is too far away from the sea, and Shen Shiying is a little light on the enemy, if he doesn't underestimate the enemy, he will not only bring a battalion of expeditionary troops and a vassal army of 2,000 people, and start his own conquest of the Sutuo people.

Of course, the South African expeditionary force was not as numerous as the Americas, but one or two thousand men could be easily gathered. The entire South African Expeditionary Force had 5,000 marines.

This time the battle was dangerous. Although the Bamokotli tribe was broken, the Sutuo tribe within a hundred and ten miles around it was waiting to be slaughtered, but Shen Shiying fought very hard in this battle.

If it weren't for the last moment, Shen Shiying used a bayonet to force the vassal army to keep charging up the mountain, and after a full hour of hand-to-hand combat, this cottage is still in the hands of the Bamokotli people.

Without artillery, it would not be easy to achieve brilliant results in this mountainous situation. These natives just threw stones down the hill with enough strength to withstand the attacking troops. The Bamokotli also had muskets in their hands, and some of them were able to fire volleys, which could not be done overnight. According to the captives, there were Europeans in their tribe, but after the war, when the battlefield was cleaned, Chen Ming did not find a single European corpse.

It's just that this Bamokotli is only a branch of the Sutuo tribe, and the power in the hands of Molomi II, the great chief of the Sutuo tribe, is definitely stronger than the Bamokotli.

Shen Shiying didn't dare to attack the interior of the South African plateau easily, although he didn't know that there was a European army called the 'Battle of Issandrwana' in the original time and space Yingzu War, the biggest defeat of the European army in Africa in three and a half centuries, but as an experienced officer, he wisely stopped his steps. Although he was well aware that he was not done yet, reason told him that he had to stop attacking.

There are no less than two million people in the South African plateau, which is not a small number.

He had people build an offensive on the tribal ruins of the Bamokotli and establish a permanent garrison for the expeditionary force, not entirely for the diamond resources here, but also for a defensive posture.

He had to wait until he had prepared the follow-up forces before he could continue to sweep the Sutuo people.

At the same time, he also needs to relax the pressure on the vassal army and let them taste some sweetness. In the previous battle, more than a third of the 2,000 vassal army were killed and wounded, and the casualties were too great. In particular, dozens of people who escaped were dealt with by military justice and had their heads cut off in public. Although it is a military law and military regulations, in the end, it is a bit of a momentum that does not regard the vassal army as a human being, and if this is the Wehrmacht, it is absolutely impossible to cut off dozens of heads at once.

Even if he is sentenced to death in a military court in the future, it will not be possible to directly cut off his head on the battlefield.

It's ruthless, and it seems to be too chilling for the vassal army. These people are also human beings, and they also have their own joys, sorrows, and hearts.

Shen Shiying was a veteran of leading troops, and immediately realized that the military spirit of the vassal army was a little turbulent, but he did not use strong means to suppress it with iron and blood, but decided to relax some of the halters and give the vassal army a little benefit.

For example, the benefits promised to the vassal army before were immediately fulfilled for them.

Give their families the land, and give them their own cattle and livestock. Shen Shiying directly took the spoils captured by Bamokotli as a reward, and for a while, the low morale and turbulent morale of the vassal army were swept away.