Chapter 22: The Colony of Cyrenaica (I)

An open-air terrace in the Royal Palace of Minoa, in the city of Knossos, Crete

Under the cloudless clear sky, the young king, dressed in fine clothes, leaned on the railing and looked up at the sky, watching the huge airship gradually move away with a melancholy expression.

The golden daughter of the Nile, and the gods who brought countless magical goods, finally bid farewell to the island nation.

The Queen Mother, who was also dressed up, looked at her son, who had just recovered with a little worry, "...... I'm sorry, dear Minos. I know what your heart is looking forward to. If it were only the daughter of the Nile, I would rather have offended the king of Egypt than detain this golden girl and make you princess, for the Egyptians are the kings of the desert, but they are powerless to compete with us at sea. But the problem is ......"

“…… I know, Mother. We must not anger those gods who can soar into the sky and create countless miracles. ”

Minos waved his hand and said to the Queen Mother very calmly, "...... Not to mention that they have not only saved my life, but also brought great benefits to my country. Our country cannot be so ungrateful. As the king of Minoa, I will not harm the country with my own selfishness.

Please don't worry, dear Mother. I've known since I was a kid that life can't be all right. I should be very satisfied to be able to get back to my health and out of bed. Being able to spend time with my long-missed daughter of the Nile these days, and seeing so many unheard of novelties, is even more unexpected for me, and I really shouldn't be greedy and extravagant...... What's more, thanks to the generosity and consideration of those gods, even if the Nile daughter returned to Egypt, she would be able to talk to me often......"

“…… Even when she returns to Egypt, she will talk to you often? How is this possible? The Queen Mother frowned in confusion. Minos was just about to open his mouth to explain, but he heard a golden gadget on the stone table not far away, and suddenly began to make a sharp sound of "tick tick tick".

Then, at the signal of King Minos, a flaxen-haired palace maid picked up the video communicator that was screaming "Di Di Di" and walked over cautiously. Minos reached out and pressed a red switch on the bottom of the thing, and a big smile on the screen appeared on the screen.

“…… Yo Minos, was it happy to see me calling so quickly? After I'm gone, you're going to have to keep up your energy, yes, I'm at sea, and you can see dolphins down there, so I'm going to move the camera over......"

Looking at the delicate appearance of the golden girl smiling and moaning on the screen, the young and ignorant Minos couldn't help but be stupid for a while......

At the same time, Wang Qiu, who was in the wheelhouse of the airship, was also satisfied to see a new line of handwriting on the "Book of Crossing":

“…… End the Minoa Kingdom plot early and get 15oo bonus points. The total points are 47ooo points, please keep up the good work. ”

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After about a day's air journey, the traversers' airships flew down the Mediterranean Sea to the coastal fishing villages of the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. But instead of continuing their return to the southern Egyptian capital of Thebes, they had Princess Carol and her retinue aboard6 and return home on a local Egyptian ship. He took off again and sailed west along the coastline of North Africa.

Along the way, you can see the ocean on one side and the desert on the other.

-- The scorching sun scorched the hot sand, and when you looked up, there were countless sand dunes in front of you, undulating and endless sand dunes, forming this vast and endless desert.

This is the Sahara Desert, the most vast thirsty place on the planet. It stretches from the savannah in the south to the Mediterranean Sea, forming a yellow-brown coastline. In this barren desert, only a handful of nomadic people on camels survive.

Anyone who looks at North Africa on a map should have the first impression that it is big. It seems that this place is larger than the whole of Western Europe. Combined with the history of North Africa and Europe competing with each other across the Mediterranean Sea for more than 2,000 years, it is easy to get the false impression that this is a region with great potential. It is even possible to play the leading role in the world's geopolitical game as a chess player in global competition.

However, if we look closely at the map, we can see that the hinterland of North Africa is now marked with the word "Sahara Desert" in five large characters running from east to west - that is, the entire hinterland of North Africa is basically covered by this uninhabitable dry land. The geographical structure of this "embroidered pillow and a pack of grass" is somewhat similar to that of Australia, Siberia and Canada. Aside from the excitement of the fanatical expansionists who only look at administrative maps, I am afraid that little will change in the past history and in the foreseeable future.

As with the flashy Limit Lands, only a fraction of them can be chosen if humans are to build large-scale settlements in North Africa. In other words, there are only a few areas in the whole of North Africa that can meet the minimum requirements for the survival of human civilization.

Obviously, with the extreme heat and drought of the Sahara Desert in North Africa, the first factor that determines its geographical location value is "water" -- where there is water, there will be a large number of human beings. Where there is more water, there will be the center of geopolitical civilization. From this point of view, the human settlements of North Africa can only exist on a large scale in two regions: one is the northeast of Africa, where the Nile Valley fed the ancient Egyptian civilization; The other is on the northwestern edge of North Africa, in the towering Atlas Mountains.

Relying on the Mediterranean vapour intercepted by the majestic Atlas Mountains, on the southwest coast of the Mediterranean, the ancients were given a long strip of green land for living - this is the birthplace of Carthage, the famous maritime power in history, which was also designated as the African province of the ancient Roman Empire, and in modern times, it has formed the three kingdoms of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia...... Of course, in the 14th century B.C., the land of North Africa was still asleep in the long darkness of savagery and ignorance, and had not yet enjoyed the light of civilization. The Phoenicians, who would establish Carthage in the future, were still trying to build ships and sail to sea in their homeland in Palestine, and only a small number of barbarian peoples roamed among the ravines and vegetation of the Atlas Mountains.

Between the Nile Delta and the Atlas Mountains lies the arid and barren Libyan desert. At first glance, this coastline, which is not sheltered by tall mountain ranges, can neither intercept enough ocean moisture nor ensure an adequate supply of surface water; It is also difficult for the coastal plain to withstand the invasion of sandstorms in the south. So with the exception of a few scattered oases and the nomadic herders who live there, almost everywhere is dead and lifeless. But if you look closely at the satellite map, you will see that on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, in the middle of the Nile Delta and the Atlas Mountains, there is a tiny green space - this is the ancient Greeks who crossed the sea to colonize Cyrenaica, or Benghazi in modern times.

In the North African theater of World War II and the Libyan civil war in the 21st century, it has been repeatedly mentioned by the news media.

This is the place that Wang Qiu, Ma Tong and Doraemon and other time-travelers chose in this ancient era after some careful investigation, careful selection and repeated discussions, to the Japanese refugees in the apocalyptic world of the "School Apocalypse".

――Of course, strictly speaking, this doesn't seem to be a good place.

Therefore, when the more than 200 Japanese immigrants arrived here, they were severely shocked by the harsh natural environment.

-- Gray sand and dust filled the air, slightly choking, and the summer sun pierced through the dust, shining on the gravel pavement, steaming on the dry earth. In the distance, the scenery twisted and shook violently due to the heat radiation...... Miyamoto, who is an immigrant leader, spat on the ground, spit out the sand in his mouth, and looked down from the top of the mountain, and now in this damn Gobi Canyon, except for the desert is stone, except for the stone is dust, and at the end of the horizon, there is a golden sand dune. Only on the Mediterranean coast behind is there a touch of intoxicating green, which contrasts sharply with the earthy yellow purgatory just a stone's throw away, drawing a clear dividing line.

“…… Here it is...... Our future home? It's so desolate, is this still a place where people can stay? ”

The former Japanese police officer snorted from his nostrils with some dissatisfaction, and complained to Wang Qiu, Doraemon and others as if he was angry.

-- Indeed, compared to the rainy and humid green forests of the Japanese archipelago, the environment in Cyrenaica is quite miserable.

On the coast of Africa between ancient Egypt and Carthage, Cyrenaica was the only place that could be inhabited by a large number of humans. To the south of it is a real sea of dead sand, a forbidden area for life. In addition to the occasional scattered white bones, there are also huge sand dunes that are seven or eight hundred feet high, and it is almost impossible to find a gerbil, a scorpion, or even a thorn. Its northern part is basically a plateau. Because of the evergreen bushes and other plants that grow on the plateau, it is also called Green Mountain. It is also the only place in the whole of Cyrenaica that has vegetation that can be used for human survival.

But even in the Green Mountains, the natural environment is quite harsh. The climate here is complex and varied, and is basically divided into dry and rainy seasons. The annual precipitation is 5oo mm, which is barely enough. The problem is that precipitation is generally concentrated in the three months of winter, resulting in short, violent thunderstorms and flash floods. This torrent poured down and rushed out of countless riverbeds, but unfortunately the water was too high to keep any water, and it didn't take long for even the riverbeds to dry up

-- The riverbed of Cyrenaica, like the fjords of Norway and the lakes of Finland, is the most distinctive feature of this land.

As a result, the Green Mountains and its coastal plains were covered with countless river beds and valleys, cutting the earth into fragments and littered with huge gravel and pebbles, and until modern times it was impossible to build a mountain road, and the inhabitants had to rely on camels and donkeys to maintain transportation.6

In addition, in Cyrenaica, the north-westerly wind blows all year round, which is hot and dry, and it is uncomfortable. But it is nothing compared to the hot winds that blow from the heart of the great desert of the south - the terrible hot winds that blow the yellow sand from the great desert of Libya all year round, blowing the yellow sand from the green mountains and the coastal areas, and even blowing all the way across the Mediterranean, blowing the sand into Italy and France in Cyrenaica, and anything that is exposed, no matter how tightly you cover it, including your watch, will be blown into the layers of fine sand by this hot wind.

Moreover, Cyrenaica has frost and snow in winter, but the temperature can climb to 40 degrees Celsius in summer, which is really not a suitable place to recuperate. In many areas of the Green Mountains, there are no trees that grow at all, except for the Mediterranean cypress, which is drought-tolerant and wind-resistant.

In short, this is a land that tests human perseverance - not that it cannot survive, but it is definitely not a comfortable life.

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Therefore, after witnessing the barrenness and harshness of the land of Cyrenaica, Miyamoto began to retreat in his heart.

-- Although the civilization of West Asia is already very well developed, it has masters along the eastern Mediterranean coast from Egypt to Turkey. However, in these years, the European Big 6 was still very empty, and no country was born in later generations, and even Greek civilization had just appeared in a rudiment. From Britain to France to Italy, there are vast areas of land to cultivate and build cities, so why stay in this part of North Africa and eat sand?

Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the fear of hardship in the hearts of all Japanese refugees cannot be said to be completely wrong.

After all, North Africa, with its scorching sun and yellow sand, is far from the humid and rainy Japanese archipelago.

Relatively speaking, it seems that it is still the northern shore of the Mediterranean, and the natural environment on the European side is even more beautiful in the eyes of the Japanese.

However, in this barbaric age when there is no law and order, and all the words are based on force, other human beings are sometimes more dangerous than the natural world.

For the more than 200 Japanese immigrants who were sparsely numbered, weak, and had no support, plus the more than 100 female slaves from various countries who had just been bought, with their little power, there was really no safer colony than Cyrenaica in this wild and turbulent world.

――“…… Mr. Miyamoto, I know that the natural environment of Cyrenaica is indeed far from your hometown. And on the other side of the Mediterranean, the European Big 6 does have a better natural environment. But the question is, can you hold your ground over there? ”

Wang Qiu persuaded very sincerely, "...... You know, for a small group like you, safety comes first."

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