"Your Majesty!" Han Xing realized that the topic had turned to him, and immediately bowed (shēn).

"Ah, Count Segard! Richard has mentioned you to me before and said that you are an experienced German aristocrat! Fully capable of assisting him in completing his plans for Egypt! George III took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes (located on either side of the bridge of his nose, near the corners of his eyes, the second section of old-fashioned eye care (cāo) is to rub the eyes (xué)).

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has given me a good reputation!" Han Xing immediately bowed his head and said.

"Well, then, Count Segard, I'd love to hear you about your plans to colonize Egypt!" George III pointed to the world map on the wall and said to Han Xing.

Obviously, this can be regarded as a test for Han Xing, to see how good he is.

Han Xing immediately came to the map, cleared his throat, and said, "Your Majesty, as you can see, Egypt is located in the eastern Mediterranean, connected to the Red Sea, and has been an important node of trade between the East and the West since ancient times. If Egypt could be taken, a shortcut to India would be opened, and the British fleet would no longer need to go around the Cape of Good Hope! And it will be able to grasp the hub of trade between East and West, and in the long run, Britain will completely surpass the European countries, leaving them far behind! ”

George III nodded with great satisfaction and approval, obviously, Han Xing's opinion is in his mind, the independence of the North American colonies has dealt a great blow to Britain, and if India is lost again, the great "(rì) Empire", I am afraid it should be renamed "(rì) Fallen Empire" or "Sunset Red Empire"!

But isn't the United States, even on the other side of the Atlantic, still independent? If there is an uprising in India, far away from the world, it will only be more difficult to suppress than in the United States, so it is especially important to open up a fast track.

This is the main reason why George III agreed to Richard's proposal, because this plan is indeed feasible, and the benefits brought by George III also make George III excited, if it is really successful, he can even use Egypt as a springboard to colonize the entire Middle East, and finally extend his influence to the East!

Otherwise, even if he is his own son, he would not be stupid enough to squander his wealth and army on meaningless things (qíng), would he?

Richard on the side hurriedly gave Han Xing a look behind George III's back, "Hey, didn't we say that we would let George III give up this plan?" Why are you still talking about his benefits? Don't you forget your mission? ”

Han Xing only gave him a (xiōng) smile and continued: "Your Majesty, as I said earlier, there are many benefits to colonizing Egypt, but there are also some things that need to be considered. Richard immediately perked up, obviously, he knew that Han Xing had gotten to the point.

"First of all, to get to Egypt, which is located in the eastern Mediterranean, we must pass through the spheres of influence of Spain and France, of course, given that the British Empire has already occupied Gibraltar, Spain has nothing to worry about! And France, which at this time is in the chaos of the Revolution, will probably not interfere with our plans! But ·····"

"It is precisely because France (shēn) is in chaos that I will consider Richard's proposal!" George III bothered his cheeks in contemplation, and suddenly spoke.

"But we have another problem, and that is the Ottoman Empire! They have always monopolized the trade between East and West, and they regard the whole of the Middle East as their territory, and I am afraid they will not let us pass through easily! Han Xing pointed his finger at the Ottoman Empire Road on the map.

In fact, the beginning of the Age of Discovery, largely because of the Ottoman monopoly, European countries began to try sailing, trying to find a new route to the East.

"They are rotten and backward, and it is difficult for them to pose a threat to the Royal Navy!" George III said very firmly, and his words were full of confidence.

Of course, Han Xing didn't dare to offend him, so he immediately bowed slightly and said, "Of course, Your Majesty!" But we have to think about the problem of supply, even the invincible Royal Navy cannot protect every supply ship! ”

Seeing that George III nodded silently, Han Xing continued: "We have another problem, and that is the local Mamluks in Egypt!" Of course, they are also no match for the Royal Army! Their weapons are old and outdated, but they have horses and they are fighting on their own soil, and if they do not engage in a decisive battle with the Royal Army, they will resort to (sāo) harassment tactics, which will pose a serious threat to our already strapped logistics supply lines! ”

George III had fallen silent, and Richard behind him was silently applauding Han Xing, who continued: "In order to conquer Egypt, we need to dispatch at least tens of thousands of soldiers!" And this conquest may not end in the short term, under the dual threat of the Ottoman navy and the Mamluks in Egypt itself, coupled with the climate of Egypt (rè) and the endless desert, Richard's plan may not be feasible (xìng) in the short term! ”

"Are you suggesting that I abandon this plan, then?" George III said in a deep voice, then turned (shēn) to Richard, "Richard, I thought your friend and you were on the side!" Why would he let me abandon this plan? ”

Richard immediately had an idea: "Father, this is what I admire about Count Segard!" A true good friend doesn't just tell you the benefits of one thing and then instigate you to do it! He will tell you the two sides of 事 (qíng), explain the pros and cons, and then leave the choice to you! ”

George III nodded and said, "That's true, Richard, I'm glad you have such an upright and honest friend!" Instead of being like George, the people around him (shēn) would just pì and say all kinds of nice things to him. Even instigated the relationship between our father and son! With that, George III slapped the table hatefully.

After a while, he came back to his senses and nodded at Han Xingdao, "Go on, Count Segaard!" ”

"As I said earlier, there were many difficulties in colonizing Egypt, and one of the most serious was that the ancient Suez Canal had dried up! Even if it did not dry up, it would not be possible to provide enough water depth to support the passage of ships with an extremely deep draft! We will have to manually dig a new Suez Canal on the site of the ancient Suez Canal, which will be a huge, long and expensive project! If, I mean, we can't maintain our occupation of Egypt for long, we may well become a wedding dress for someone else! (Historically, it was Napoleon III of France who dug the Suez Canal, which was later picked up by the British)"

Han Xing also kindly compared the length of the Suez Canal, which is only a few centimeters on the map, but at least a few hundred kilometers in reality!

"So, Count Segard, in your opinion, there is no need for Britain to colonize Egypt?" George III tapped his fingers on the table.

"No, on the exact contrary, I think it is absolutely necessary for Britain to colonize Egypt! Egypt is a priority, and it can be a bridge between the British Isles and India far to the east! Only by taking Egypt will Great Britain have a chance to truly become a real (rì) empire and world hegemon! Han Xing's tone began to become impassioned, and even Richard, a mad demon of the (ài) country, was infected by Han Xing's tone, and his face was excited.

George III was also surprised, but Han Xing was very proud in his heart, "Hehe, this is the result you want!" This is the so-called 'hamburger tactic', the best way to express opposition is not to directly say that the other party's point of view is not good, you must first praise the other party, and then put private goods in it, focusing on amplifying the disadvantages. ”

"However, I personally recommend sending a small force to investigate, collect (qíng) newspapers, build a good front station, and even prepare supplies in advance, and win over the local *** nobles to find allies for Great Britain!" Han Xing finally threw out his opinion.

George III was a cautious man who did not like to take risks. Although he was attracted by the magnificent pie of colonial Egypt in a short period of time, he also had a lot of worries and doubts in his heart when he thought about it carefully! Since the independence of the United States, George III has become more cautious than in the past.

"Count Segaard, I appreciate your offer! It's up to you to lead the expedition to Egypt for newspaper collection and geological surveys! I'm sure you won't let me down! George III ordered directly to Han Xing.

"What? How did it end up on me? What am I doing wrong? I'm just here to do a favor, to make a random suggestion, I'm not even an Englishman? My fake (rì) ah! My vacation! No! What iniquity have I created! "Han Xing's heart is really (yù) crying without tears, okay, the pit he dug himself, and he buried himself in it again!

"By the way, I heard him talk about your territory (qíng), and I can help with that! After all, Paderborn is just a river away from Hanover. His Majesty George suddenly added.

Apparently, he was hinting that "whether you can get your own territory back or not depends on how well you complete this mission!" ”

"Fuck the territory! Who cares! I don't want to go to Egypt, what is there to do in that place other than sand and mausoleums? It's stuffy and stuffy, and there are a lot of terrible diseases raging! Han Xing wanted to say this, but he didn't have the courage to refuse a king's request, so he nodded mechanically, indicating that he would be happy to serve.

George III didn't doubt him, but Han Xing was just too happy and surprised to react.

After His Majesty George left the room, Richard gave Han Xing a "deserved" watch (qíng), and Han Xing had to reluctantly say, "At least our King His Majesty will not send an army to Egypt in a short time!" I thought he would at least choose a British ** bad! Why me? ”

"Let me tell you so! This cheap dad of mine is far more terrible than you see! You are the proposer of this plan, and you are not well-known in England, and you have a request from him, which makes you the best person to carry out this plan! Richard patted Han Xing's shoulder and said.

"Be happy! You're going to travel at public expense! Rest assured, all kinds of scholars and hundreds of sailors on that shipload will listen to your orders! As if to appease Han Xing, Richard said to Han Xing.

Wait, a boat! And scholars and sailors! Han Xing suddenly thought of something!

"This trip doesn't seem to be as bad as it seems!" Han Xing smiled slyly.