Chapter 840: Slow Action

In fact, this set has been played in India, after the makeover, repackaging, the essence of which is the same, that is, to let the people under the colony form a plate of scattered sand, and through bribery and threats, cultivate a new group of powerful people, let them govern the people of the colony. Of course, if a non-Persian nobleman was willing to join, the expeditionary force was also warmly welcomed.

All plans were based on the premise that the Ottoman Empire would be forced to sit down at the negotiating table and accept the loss of Egypt. At this time, the advantages of landing in Suez showed that if the Ottoman Empire was to retaliate, then the number of its troops could not be less, and a large army had to be assembled, and logistics had to be prepared, which would take a long time. If the Ottoman Empire adopted a passive defensive posture, then the expeditionary force could prepare unhurriedly, slowly encroach on the surrounding territories, consolidate the occupied area, and gradually advance towards Alexandria.

The expeditionary force's operational plan was planned and prepared for a long time, and after collecting intelligence from various parties, the General Staff made plans in two different directions. It would be best if it could attract the Ottoman army to attack, and wait for the rest of the effort to destroy the enemy's vital forces. If the Ottoman army did not come, the firepower of the expeditionary force could guarantee that no city would be able to withstand the artillery bombardment.

The second plan was undoubtedly a reluctant move, because in this part of Egypt, after the battle line was extended, the logistical pressure was enormous. Originally, there were no decent roads in this place, and fighting in such an environment for the modern army, which has very high logistical requirements, is undoubtedly a major test for the entire logistics system.

The current Egyptian Pasha is incompetent, and the army in Egypt is seriously short and the armament is lax. After hearing the news, it was decided to cover up the news. However, his subordinates advised him to exaggerate the number of enemy troops on the basis of concealment and the consequences of future defeat, so as not to be defeated. So a message about the Ming army entering the country, numbering as many as 100,000, returned to Istanbul.

When news of Suez reached Istanbul, the Ottoman sultan was furious. Ibrahim was called to the Sultan for advice, as the only Osma Empire nobleman who had penetrated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, Ibrahim said very firmly after learning the news: "You can't send troops, because there is no chance of winning." This argument was immediately refuted, and the argument of the opposition was simple: the mighty Osma Empire, with its vast territory and millions of soldiers. How can you accept such a shame, you have to fight back. Ibrahim, who was beaten into a capitulation by a group of oppositionists, had to retreat and give up arguing.

It is the easiest to move your mouth, but the aristocratic representatives of the main battle faction do not have the ability to lead troops to fight. Carla? Mustafa? The Pasha, recalled from Europe by the Sultan, stepped forward to form a large army. Fight against the invading Ming Empire's Middle East Expeditionary Corps.

Mustaca is not one of those powerful people who only talk and have been fighting in Europe for a long time. Militarily at least an insider. The Ottoman Empire later became known as the "sick man of Europe" in Europe, and its original origin was that after the defeat of Mustafa in Europe in 1868, the military strength of the entire country gradually declined, and the position of a huge country in Europe became insignificant.

At this time, Mustafa's defeat in Europe seems to have no chance, after being transferred back to Istanbul. The first thing he did was to take the initiative to visit Ibrahim. When the two met, Ibra was glad to say everything, and finally mentioned a problem, Suez was not suitable for the Imperial Army's labor expedition at all. If you force an attack. Defeat before the battle is almost a foregone conclusion. To this end, Ibrahim informed his men of the information they had brought back from Suez. Even if divided by two, the army of the Ming Empire was at least more than 50,000 people (intelligence work is difficult to carry out, so it is incomplete. Aside from the equipment factor, based on this incomplete intelligence, the elite Ottoman army needed at least twice as many troops to defeat the 50,000-strong Ming army. This speculation is based on the knowledge of the Egyptian Pasha, so it is blinded by mistake.

It is impossible for an army of 100,000 to go on the road alone, and so many people have to eat, and every day is an unbelievable consumption. There is certainly no shortage of supplies, and transportation is a big problem. Even in an army dominated by cold weapons, it is a huge number of people who eat horses and chew horses. Not to mention, the Ottoman Empire knew that the Ming army was mainly firearms, so how could it be dominated by cold weapons?

After the two discussed, they decided to play to the Sultan again, and the military affairs should not be taken lightly. This time, the results attracted the attention of the government and the opposition, and Ibrahim was once again pushed to the forefront, carefully reporting on the situation of the Ming Dynasty's national strength and army. At this time, the Ottoman Empire, in general, was still a European power, and the importance of this report did not meet the expectations of the two. In the final conclusion, Mustafa and Ibrahim joined forces, Mustafa served as the Egyptian Pasha, and Ibrahim cooperated with him to dispatch 100,000 elites to Egypt.

In this way, the history of the Ottoman Empire once again changed passively. Originally, the main target was in the European direction, and a readjustment was made. In fact, the direction of development of the entire Ottoman Empire was not in Africa, but in the Caucasus and Vienna. If it weren't for the behemoth of the Ming Dynasty this time, the Ottoman Empire would not have taken it so seriously.

The Sultan's intention is to win this battle as soon as possible, and then negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty to avoid this big country from becoming an enemy for a long time. This proposition, it must be said that the Sultan is still a very insightful monarch. What you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table. Everyone knows this truth, in a special era in history, that is, "I am the Qing Dynasty", the Sino-French war was obviously the winner, but it was compromised at the negotiating table. This is a relatively rare phenomenon in human history.

Because of the importance of the opponent, the preparation period naturally increased, catching up with the aging period of the Ottoman Empire, the government was corrupted, the people were superfluous, and the work efficiency was low. It took a long time to prepare for so many things, and a month later, all the personnel and supplies of the Middle East Expeditionary Force were disembarked. After establishing a solid line of defense, the terminal expansion project was launched, laying a solid foundation for subsequent material transportation.

Yin Jie, the commander of the expeditionary force on the ground, has always been very careful, even if the news of the opponent is delayed, it will not affect his solid defense, and at the same time, he will send small troops with strong mobility to attack everywhere. The storage of large supplies needs warehouses, the army needs barracks, and in general, the army is still busy. In comparison, the fleet commanded by Zheng Sen looked boring.

In the Red Sea region of this period, there were simply no worthy targets for strikes. In a small fishing village on the coast, there are some small fishing boats left on the sea, and the cannon bombardment is not enough money for shells. The only task of the naval fleet is to ensure the security of the entire region. In fact, this task is the same as nothing, which ocean-going merchant ship in this era is not neatly armed. Ordinary pirates saw the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, and they didn't have time to hide. Even if they encounter pirates, with the power of the new 75-caliber rear-mounted rear-mounted guns, ordinary European warships will not be able to take advantage, let alone ordinary pirates.

Therefore, the entire fleet is in a state of idleness, and can only take turns to attack and patrol and train troops. Zheng Sen, who has the heart to fight, is extremely boring. It took two months for the Suez Expeditionary Force command to receive news that a cavalry unit had moved 200 kilometers to the northwest and found some signs of a small Ottoman army.

There was no Suez Canal in this era, and naturally there was no Port Said. The Ottoman Turkish army could only transport to the port of Alexandria via the route of the inner Cyprus side of the Mediterranean. The whole process was very difficult, so now the army of Mustafa and Ibrahim is still floating at sea, and has not yet reached the port of Alexandria.

And at this time in Cairo, the encounter of a small group of cavalry directly led to a large area of panic. The wealthy fled and went north to the port of Alexandria, where many fled back to Egypt. On the other hand, the small group of cavalry of the expeditionary force, because of the size of only one squad and the military order to avoid contact, did not dare to stay longer, and turned back.

The information brought back clearly shows that from Suez to Cairo, no trace of the enemy was found. This information made Yin Jie tangled, and after two months of landing, he did not wait for the expected enemy counterattack, and the plan aimed at waiting for work at ease seemed to be about to go bankrupt. The Ottoman Empire on the map was large, and the entire Arab world was under its rule. Despite having a strong army, the supply of the entire army depends on transportation from India, and if the food problem can be solved on the spot, the logistical pressure in the future will be greatly reduced.

Let's put it this way, Yin Jie and the entire staff system of the Ming Army did not have a clear understanding of the operational efficiency of the Ottoman army. Based on the invincible ideology, it leads to the same sluggishness of action here. After receiving the results of this cavalry reconnaissance, Yin Jieli decided to send an infantry division to advance along the main road to Cairo in the northwest direction.

The original intention of this plan was to advance to the Nile River basin and strive to produce food on the spot and ease the logistical pressure. What is called local food, the simple four words, full of cruel meaning. For Egypt, the real value is in the Nile Valley, where there is no other output but sand.

Considering that in the process of fighting in foreign lands and formulating the plan, it was repeatedly emphasized that step by step should be the camp, not seeking merit, but seeking no fault.

Two Japanese infantry divisions, one in front of the other, advanced steadily, seized valuable targets, and were able to solve the food problem on their own. Don't look at Suez not far from Cairo, in China and India, it can be reached in five days at most. (To be continued......)