[Today's second update]

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Deng Haonan did not want to stimulate Europe too early, so the Kazakh Gilligis (Kazakhstan) Khan, which had expanded to the west, stopped its westward expansion.

Further west of the Kazakh gilligis is the Aral Sea, which was the traditional control area of the ancient Western Regions. There are Bukhara, Yuekibe (Great Moon Kingdom), Kiva, Khorasan and other countries, to the south is the Mughal Empire, to the northwest is the Russian Empire, and further east is the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

At this time, the Ottoman Turkish Empire was still a first-class military power. Not only is it strong, but it also has a powerful alliance, which makes Deng Haonan dare not touch Central Asia lightly, so as not to provoke this powerful alliance.

In order to confront the Holy Roman Empire, France still abandoned the faith union between the Catholic countries and turned around to unite the Ottoman Turkish Empire, an Islamic state.

Both France and the Ottoman Empire had a strong enemy, Spain, and the two sides clashed not only at sea but also on land.

In this way, France and the Ottoman Empire, united by their hostility with the Spanish Habsburgs in central and southern Europe, became the most powerful alliance of the time.

It was a military and economic alliance in which the Ottoman Empire allowed France to trade within the empire without levying taxes. In fact, the Ottoman Empire was a fairly important and accepted form of government in Europe, and the Ottoman Empire entered into military alliances with France, the Kingdom of England, and the Dutch Republic against the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Habsburgs, and the Duchy of Italy and Austria.

These two major military blocs are no less than the military alliances of World War I and World War II, and even far surpass the latter two, because they are not only militarily allied, but also economically all-encompassing.

In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire's naval power was challenged by rising Western European powers, especially in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and the Moluccas, possessions from Spain and Portugal. As the Ottomans blocked the sea routes to the south and east, European countries had to find alternative routes. Therefore, France, the Netherlands and Britain would form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire and open up shipping lanes. The Spanish Empire had to take a detour, which caused the Spanish Empire and Portugal to continue to make enemies with the Ottoman Empire. Of course, the confrontation of religions is also one of them. On land, the Ottoman Empire was constantly expanding. But the progress is not too smooth. The army was plagued by the war in the Duchy of Austria and the war along the coast of the Persian Empire, and the resources, logistical supplies, and communications needed to sustain the war effort were difficult due to the long distances, making it difficult to maintain the army's proliferation.

With the death of Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire, the territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire gradually slowed down. The growth and development of Western European maritime power, as well as the sea routes from Europe to Asia and the New World, undermined the economic development of the Ottoman Empire. The military and bureaucratic structures that had worked well in the past have been mutated by the Sultan's misgovernance.

After the burning of Moscow in 1571, the Ottoman-backed Crimean Khan Daiulet I-Chelai planned to conquer Russia. But in the end, it failed, and the Russians have always known to the world that the conquest of Russia will eventually fail. The Russian Empire relieved itself, so it counterattacked, crossed the Caucasus, and directly engaged the Ottoman Empire, making the Ottoman Empire fight in all directions, east, west, north and south, and constantly consume national strength.

Despite these difficulties, Deng knew in his heart that the empire remained a major force of expansion in Europe until the Battle of Vienna in 1683, which marked the end of the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Europe.

European nations began to deal with the Ottoman Empire's control of overland trade routes. Western European countries bypassed the Ottoman trade monopoly and established their sea routes to Asia. The influx of silver from the New World led to the depreciation and inflation of the Ottoman currency, which had a severe negative impact on all strata of Ottoman society. Selim II's Grand Vizier Sokolu-Mohammed Pasha began the development of the Suez and Volga shipping lanes in an effort to save the economy, but these plans were later cancelled due to financial pressures.

Deng Haonan had a powerful cavalry force in his hands, which made the countries of the Western Regions uneasy. The countries of the Western Regions were already oppressed by the Ottoman Empire, and the rise of the Ming Empire made them even more nervous.

The eastward expansion of the Ottoman Empire and the westward expansion of the Ming Empire are sharp contradictions that are difficult to dissolve.

Both sides saw this, so they invariably stopped their expansion, making the countries of the Western Regions a buffer zone between the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Empire, so as to prevent the two countries from fighting each other.

Deng Haonan stopped the westward expansion, in addition to being a little worried about the Ottoman Empire's Sipasi cavalry, but also for the Suez Canal.

The Ottoman Empire did not have the money to dig the Suez Canal, but Deng Haonan had money and knew the huge profits of the Suez Canal.

"The prince is going to dig the Suez Canal?"

Lin Feng and the others gathered in the imperial study, and the landscape paintings on the huge screen had disappeared into a huge world map, marking the current territorial boundaries of the countries of the world, as well as their colonies, and some borderless lands.

This map took Deng Haonan a lot of time to draw, and it was basically drawn by Deng Haonan himself with his memory. The existing map of the countries in Guò was then corrected and the modern place names above were replaced by ancient ones.

This map is considered top secret, so there is only one copy in the Imperial Study, and even the military department does not have access to this map. If Lin Feng and the others want to study, they need to ask Deng Haonan and go to the imperial study to take a look.

It's not that Deng Haonan is stingy, but because this map involves too many secrets. The longitude and latitude lines on the map, the situation of various countries, mountains and rivers all belong to the strategic level, and any military strategist who obtains this map will undoubtedly control the strategic deployment of the country for a long time.

The reason why it has such a great effect is that in this era, transportation is inconvenient and communications are not developed, and the military strategists of various countries can only be confined to their own countries, and the situation of foreign countries is almost blank.

By grasping the geographical location and stakes of countries around the world, it is possible to know which national teams are safe on their own, which are dangerous, or which countries will become a threat in the future, and then unite with security allies to fight dangerous enemies.

On the world map, Lin Feng and others can see clearly that there are now two routes from Asia to Europe, one is to take the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and the other is to take Cape Eleanos, the southernmost point of South America.

The route is clear and clear at a glance.

The Suez region, which leads from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, was marked with a large asterisk by Deng Haonan, indicating that it was the area that Deng Haonan was determined to win.

Of course, there is also an asterisk in Panama in Central America, which is also the place where Deng Haonan is determined to win, but the trade in the Americas is only limited to Mexico, and there are not as many countries as the eastern route.

"If the Suez Canal is built, the voyage from Europe to Asia will be cut in half. In the past, it took a year or two to arrive, after the successful excavation, it can be reached in half a year, if it is fast, it will arrive in three months, and it can go back and forth twice a year, and the cost of digging this canal will be recovered in a few years! ”

Deng Haonan has not yet explained his military and strategic value, and Lin Feng and others are dumbfounded by just talking about economic value.

The military value does not need Deng Haonan to say, Lin Feng and others have already thought of it. Once the Suez Canal is controlled, it is equivalent to opening the door to Europe, and the Ming fleet can be easily delivered to Europe, and the military influence of the Ming Empire will also expand to every corner with the advance of the fleet.

"Is it just that the Ottoman Turkish Empire is willing to give us the right to excavate?"

Chen Yaoming raised the most critical question, that is, Egypt is now under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and the Ming Empire wants to intervene in it, and I am afraid that the Turks will not buy it.

Deng Haonan said: "Let's talk to them first, it's best to talk about it, and if we can't talk about it, we will think of other ways!" ”

Something else?

Lin Feng and the others, you look at me, I look at you, they all think that they are going to start a war against the Turks.

"Now the situation in Southeast Asia is still dragging on, the countries of the Western Regions are blocking the advance of the imperial army, if you want to start a war against the Ottoman Empire, you must first stabilize the countries of Southeast Asia and the Western Regions!"

Liu Hu said: "The countries of the Western Regions are vulnerable, and the army only needs to dispatch cavalry to wipe them out!" As for the situation in Southeast Asia, isn't it very good now! ”

The war situation in Southeast Asia has been deliberately dragged by Deng Haonan because Deng Haonan saw the weaknesses of several major East India companies.

The major East India Companies, including the Dutch, survived on maritime trade. Now that Southeast Asia was at war, the Dutch could not trade, and the Dutch East India Company suffered heavy losses. However, the Dutch blocked the Strait of Malacca, preventing the East India Companies of Britain, France and other countries from trading with Daming and nearby countries, causing the East India Companies of all countries to suffer heavy losses.

Now Deng Haonan ordered the Pacific Fleet to stay in the Subic Naval Base all the time, and called it a repair warship to the outside world. In fact, it was deliberately dragged. Let the Dutch East India Fleet and the multinational combined fleet always be on high war alert, so that in the state of war, the trade of all countries has stopped, and the losses will continue to increase as long as the war does not end.

On the contrary, the Pacific Trading Company can take the route of the Americas and ship the goods directly to Europe for sale, which not only makes more profits, but also suppresses companies from other countries. Invisibly, Deng Haonan figured out the tactics of weakening the major East India companies.

The war situation in Southeast Asia is in a stalemate, so there is no need to worry, the longer it drags on, the better it will be for the Ming Dynasty.

Deng Haonan said: "The countries of the Western Regions are indeed easy to deal with, but the problem is that once we make a move against the Western Regions, the Ottoman Empire will not sit idly by. The Ottoman Empire's Sipasi cavalry was an elite cavalry feared by all of Europe, and the Mongol cavalry was no match for them! ”

"Then let's use the black armor elite cavalry and infantry artillery!"

Liu Hu waved his hand and said, "The Western Regions are full of deserts and grasslands, and the infantry artillery suffers when they fight there. ”

Deng Haonan added: "The terrain in the Western Regions is too high, and the soldiers in our current army are not suitable for plateau combat, and rushing up is equivalent to sending them to death!" ”

Lin Feng and Liu Hu didn't know about this kind of thing, and Zhang Pu, who had been silent on the side, nodded and said, "What the prince said is right!" Just as the soldiers of the north went to the south to fight and did not accept the water and soil, so it is the same as the people who lived in the low places suddenly ran to the high mountains! ”

Zhang Pu looked at Deng Haonan with admiration, the more he was with Deng Haonan, the more he found that his knowledge was far less than Deng Haonan. Deng Haonan in front of him is like a collection of a subset of scriptures and history, with everything in his chest.

"How so?"

Liu Hu looked at Zhang Pu puzzled, and the latter explained with a smile: "There is a way that Shu Road is difficult to go to the blue sky, which means that the Sichuan terrain is high, and the mountains and mountains are difficult to walk. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is on top of the Sichuan, that is, higher than the mountains of the Sichuan. The old man walked through the Western Regions when he was young and knew the truth very well! ”

Deng Haonan really wanted to explain to them that it was a matter of atmospheric pressure. But when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back, and explained this to them, can he explain it?

The answer is clearly no! They can't understand, but they are even more confused. Although Zhang Pu's explanation was a bit far-fetched, Liu Hu and others still accepted it with suspicion.

"In short, if our army wants to fight in the plateau area, it must camp its troops on the plateau for more than five or six years, and wait until it adapts to local life. Or recruit soldiers directly from the highlands and train them for a year or two. ”

Deng Haonan set the tone, that is, infantry artillery could not be used in the Western Regions in a short period of time, and the black armor elite cavalry was not suitable. Only the Mobei Mongol cavalry is suitable for plateau operations, but the Mongol cavalry is obviously not the army under Genghis Khan back then, and the current Mongol cavalry can deal with some weak and small, and it is still bad to deal with the Ottoman Empire's West Paxi cavalry.

Of course, the outcome of the war is not absolute. In time, the Mongol cavalry could also make a comeback.

"Since it is impractical to start a war in the Western Regions, what should be done?"

Lin Feng and Liu Hu were both in a dilemma, and Deng Haonan said at this time: "Negotiate first!" How do you know that the Ottomans did not agree without talking about it? ”

Deng Haonan sent a delegation to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and whether or not it could be negotiated, it would take a year to go back and forth.

Deng Haonan is determined to win the Suez Canal project, and even if the negotiations are unsuccessful, he will find a way to seize it. Not only can it obtain huge economic benefits, but it also has extremely high military value.

Britain used 100,000 troops to defend the Suez Canal, and the competition for the Suez Canal in the two world wars was extremely fierce, which shows the importance of the canal.

Deng Haonan wants to dominate the world and quickly project troops. And the Suez Canal is the key to the rapid delivery of troops.

After the mission to Constantinople left, Deng Haonan sent two more teams.

A team followed the Pacific Trading Company to Europe, this team was composed of officers and soldiers of the Admiralty, led by Rear Admiral Yang Chen, and went to Europe Britain and France to take over the two battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, and brought back the two battleships and the craftsmen who learned shipbuilding technology in the two countries safely.

The two battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, which were immediately built in three years, were about to be completed, so the Admiralty specially sent Yang Chen to Europe to hand over the procedures.

These two first-class sail battleships are of great significance to the Ming Imperial Navy, and Deng Haonan attaches great importance to them.

The two first-class battleships represent the highest shipbuilding technology in Europe, and the Dingyuan was designed by the famous French shipbuilder Longuewell and built by the Royal Naval Shipyard Senazaire in France. The design displacement is 1200 tons, and the full load displacement is 1700 tons. The high-quality oak from the Baltic Sea coast is used, and the construction standards are high.

The Dingyuan reflects the superb shipbuilding level of France, while the battleship Zhenyuan reflects the superb shipbuilding level of the United Kingdom. With a full load displacement of 1,500 tonnes, the Zhenyuan is built using oak from the Kent Forest and oak from the Sussex Forest. As the same class of warship as King Charles I of England, it is self-evident that it represents the highest level of British shipbuilding.

For the Pacific Fleet, the two battleships were like a rain after a long drought. And the craftsmen who also learned to build battleships in England and France were the treasures of the Ming Navy. Once they return to China, the Ming Empire's navy will build its own first-class battleships, and at that time, the Ming Empire's navy will really stand up and be equal to the Western naval powers.

Before Yang Chen set off, he was specially received by Deng Haonan, as the first batch of high-achieving students who graduated from the four-year program of the Imperial Military Academy, he became the executor of this mission because of his excellent school performance.

Yang Chen was very excited, so excited that he couldn't say anything when he faced Deng Haonan, just a strong salute. A lot of the words that were originally prepared were all lost in the end, and they were completely forgotten, just mechanical answers.

"Yes!"

"Resolutely complete the task!"

"Never fail to live up to the principal's expectations!"

……

It wasn't until Yang Chen boarded the armed merchant ship to Europe that he was still thinking about Deng Haonan's entrustment.

There are more than 200 officers who went to Europe to take over the second ship of Dingzhen with Yang Chen, all of whom graduated from the Imperial Military Academy in four years, and all of them have excellent assessment results and one year of internship experience.

Originally, the Admiralty was going to transfer personnel from the Pacific Fleet, but because the Pacific Fleet was now in a state of war and could not afford to lose against the Dutch East India Fleet, it only transferred 600 sailors with actual combat experience from the front line and 800 recruits from the maritime training ground to replenish it.

Yang Chen and his entourage went to Europe with the fleet of the Pacific Trading Company, which was equipped with twenty frigates in addition to being armed merchant ships this time, but did not use the flag of the military. When he went, he happened to be commanded by more than 1,600 naval officers and sailors including Yang Chen. When he returned, he would be escorted by two first-class battleships from Dingzhen, and the large quantities of gold, silver, and jewelry brought back by the Pacific Trading Company would be safer.

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