There is the river Suez below. The entire Mediterranean Sea has dried up into an inland lake. Although the vast at this time because the Ottoman Turks occupied almost half of the Mediterranean coast, and for hundreds of years the Ottoman Turkey pursued a hostile policy towards Europe, blocking the land links between Europe and the outside world, European countries began to pay attention to the sea, but with the advent of the navigation of various countries, the original European traditional power system was broken one by one, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, these originally inconspicuous countries in Europe jumped up, and became the whole of Europe and even the world's top two powers. From the Cape of Good Hope, to the new route to India, to the Americas, and the success of circumnavigating the world, one route after another has been discovered, and harbors have been utilized, but it is just ridiculous that the European countries are keen on ocean-going adventures and geography, but the Mediterranean, which is closest to them, has not received enough attention in this period, even in ordinary times. A year of merchant ships entering the Mediterranean through the port of Gibraltar have not yet made a detour to the Cape of Good Hope to enter the New World.

In fact, this is not that the maritime empires do not pay attention to this sea area, but at that time, in the seventeen catties around the Mediterranean, in the region. Spain, France has another outlet to the sea, North Africa, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and other regions all belong to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, only one Italian peninsula remains, but the southern Italian region is not a prosperous place of commerce, merchants into the Mediterranean trade is unprofitable, except for the poor southern Italy to transport some goods, the Ottoman Turkish Empire does not allow European merchant ships to approach trade, Even during the period of the Ottoman Empire's alliance with Spain and other countries, there were no open seaports, and the maritime trade in the Mediterranean was almost negligible compared to the ocean-going trade of the whole world, and it was not until the gradual weakening of the Ottoman Empire and the opening of the Suez Canal that the trade in the Mediterranean gradually flourished.

The prosperity of the Mediterranean is closely related to the Strait of Gibraltar, as early as a century ago, the Spaniards realized the importance of the port of Gibraltar, and some even asserted that it will become one of the busiest ports in the world in the future, but it backfired, a century has passed, the port of Gibraltar has not entered the golden time of prosperity, but with the weakening of the Spanish navy and Spanish maritime trade, it has weakened even more, and now the Ming Dynasty has asked the Spaniards to buy the port of Gibraltar. The Port of Gibraltar was not an important port at this time, not even a medium-sized port for Spain, but it was also possible for Atano to understand that the commercial port might have prospered at some point and become one of the leading maritime transit points, but when? At least until the complete fall of the Ottoman Empire, but what about after the fall of the Ottoman Empire? Unless the Europeans become the masters there, another Arab power will emerge from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire with a policy that is probably the same as that of Europe, knowing that the Mediterranean is not just the inner courtyard of Europeans, but also has Catholics, Muslims, and many nomadic peoples who are not yet known to the world. Atano understood that all of this was almost an extravagant hope, and that no one would be willing to open up maritime trade with the Spaniards in the Mediterranean until the Mediterranean was not completely subordinated to European civilization.

Ah Tanoxiang began to hesitate, although the port of Gibraltar is an important place, but it is completely useless for the current Spain, and Spain has consumed countless resources in the perennial war, owes a lot of debts, the financial situation of the treasury is in danger of collapsing at any time, if you can get a fee for the purchase of the port, then the financial can naturally be slowed down, and for now, if there is a Ming naval division stationed in the port of Gibraltar, For the Spaniards, whose navy has long since declined, it is tantamount to an extra talisman, this business can be talked about, first see how much Da Ming can come up with, Ah Tano thought of this, and said quietly: "So, General Liu, how much price is your country willing to pay to acquire the Port of Gibraltar?" ”

Liu Er had already been instructed by Zhu Jun before the expedition, this expedition, the Strait of Gibraltar has been the Suez region is a key interest place, if it can be purchased from the Ottoman and Spain or obtained by signing an agreement, how much price can be agreed first, the Ottoman is a land empire, Suez and Gaza are nothing to the Ottomans with a vast territory, yes, in the negotiations, the Ottoman Empire in order to let the Ming Naval Division help them protect the enclaves on the southern and western Mediterranean coasts, but willing to cede a small piece of land in exchange for the peace of the sea frontier, and the Gibraltar area is completely different for Spain, Gibraltar belongs to Spain, secondly, the Spaniards can also realize the value of this land, more importantly, although Spain has been extremely weak, but still belongs to a maritime country, for the coastal port area does not have the same contempt as the Ottomans, yes, Liu Er understands that to obtain this land through peaceful means unless the Spaniards are excited, Otherwise, it would be difficult for the Spaniards to agree, and he estimated in his heart that the total amount of foreign debts owed by Spain to the Daming Royal Bank and the major banks was at least 800.

This not only includes the cost of buying ships and weapons, but also the holes in the financial aspects and the military uniforms, hats and helmets ordered from the Ming Dynasty, etc., and it is precisely because of the Spanish financial inability to make ends meet and the foreign debt owed to the Ming Dynasty, Liu Er felt that the purchase of land was not impossible, he weighed it for a moment and said: "The land within a radius of 1,000 miles of the Port of Gibraltar belongs to the Ming Dynasty, which is used by the Ming Dynasty to build a military port, station the naval division, and help the master Spain to cruise in the waters near the Mediterranean, and the Ming Dynasty offered three million taels of silver, In addition, in order to show the traditional friendly relations between the Ming and Spain, after the future victory over Portugal, the Ming will support Spain's claim to the entire Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula includes Portugal and Spain, and the price offered by Liu Er really makes Spain excited, not to mention how much temptation the three million taels of silver has for the Spanish finances that cannot make ends meet, only this Ming support for Spain's unification of the Iberian Peninsula is also to support Spain's annexation of Portugal is definitely a heart-warming condition, although the war is still going on, and the eight characters have not yet been glimpsed, but for Spain, the Ming Dynasty's participation in the war sent such a vast sailor, no matter what the war situation is, With the continuous support of the Ming Dynasty, the victory of the anti-Dutch alliance was always inevitable, and Spain had spent so many resources and killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it would be better if they could get Portugal as compensation.

Ah Tano was moved, and at the beginning he still had a natural attitude to ask Da Ming's price. But Daming's price code is too high. Some, since the fall of the Armada and the independence of Portugal, Spain's strength has plummeted, and it has always been the long-cherished wish of many Spaniards to recover Portugal and establish the Spanish Empire, and now the opportunity is in front of him, how can Ah Tano let it go, but the skill of negotiation lies in the price of the sky to repay the money, Ah Tano pretended not to be tempted and said: "General, the land within a hundred kilometers of the port of Gibraltar seems to be too much, I think."

"That's not what we're talking about right now." Liu Er was very troubled by the negotiation: "If your country has the intention of selling, I will naturally send a special official from the Ministry of Rites to negotiate with your country."

Ah Tano then smiled and said: "Let you see the smile, since this is the case, then please invite the envoy of your country to come, Spain and the Ming are traditional allies, we have established a deep friendship in Luzon, we welcome any envoy of the Ming Dynasty."

Then the topic of the two turned to the movements of the Dutch and Portuguese fleets, and when it came to the Dutch and Portuguese fleets, Atano couldn't help frowning, and fell into the worry of the alliance fleet: "General, when will you be able to go to the island of Pies, I have a bad premonition, those damned Dutch and Portuguese crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, I'm afraid the target is to go to the island of Pierce, we have been trying our best to contact the two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Sardinia, according to their intelligence, Half a month after the departure of the Union fleet to the island of Pierces. There was a fleet passing by the southern shores of the two Sicilies, and they did not stop in the Italian peninsula, except for a few people from the Kingdom of Sicily who hurried by, and according to the fishermen's description, this fleet was supposed to be the Dutch and Portuguese fleets passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, and they had been heading eastward, surely with the aim of Pierce Island. ”

Liu Er listened carefully for a moment through Tsu Ze: "In this case, presumably there is still time to come, and when my Daming Sailor rests here, he will set off for Pias Island the day after tomorrow." ”

In the basement built of a boulder, Bai Cheng looked motionless and turned over the old wooden boxes of the base, several boxes were pried open by the soldiers, and the dazzling gold and silver utensils were revealed, Bai Cheng's brows stretched, and he couldn't help but say: "This time there is really no vain, come here, immediately move all these jewels out, go to the city to search for some chariots and horses to load the carts, and be ready to retreat at any time." ”

One of the generals clenched his fists and turned away.

Bai Cheng said again: "Let's register and make a book." ”

Several clerks were dazzled by the dazzling brilliance of these countless jewels, and were immediately shouted by Bai Cheng, and immediately came back to their senses, and there were already soldiers who had set up a few tables at the entrance of this tunnel, and the pen, ink, paper, and inkstones on the tables were all ready, just waiting for the treasures that were moved out to be registered one by one.

"My lord, what should you do with this person?" One of the generals on the side glanced at the stunned bishop and said to Bai Chengdao.

The county bishop turned a deaf ear to the voices on the side, just looked at the huge basement in amazement, he had always accepted the idea that this was the mausoleum of the Orthodox pastor of the past generations, and no one was allowed to approach or enter here, it is said that even if the previous great shepherd died, his body was carried in by the successor herd with a few deaf and dumb blind people, who would have thought that this was a huge treasure place, the exquisite ornaments, and the statue carved out of gold made the bishop understand, these should be left over from the Byzantine Empire.

Bai Cheng glanced at the bishop and raised his eyebrows: "Since he has already revealed the secret here, we have also promised not to kill him, and to keep all the secrets, so let's take him with us and bring him back to Daming."

"Yes." The general grabbed the back of the bishop's robe and lifted it gently, the bones of the county bishop's body were a few taels heavy, and he was lifted off the ground at once, he shook his senses, remembered his situation, and hurriedly said: "General" General, I didn't see anything, I, you promised to let me go, I'm just a priest, I

"Take it down." The general trickily put the concubine down on the ground and instructed a few pro-soldiers.

Bai Cheng found a box and sat down, as soon as they attacked the city of Rostow, they immediately let people lead the way, now that the matter is settled, the stone in the heart is put down, only to feel a little weak, a personal soldier brought a glass of hot wine: "My lord, it's too late to make tea, here is the wine found from the Duke's mansion, the brothers have warmed it for you, you will drink some to relieve your fatigue." ”

Bai Cheng nodded, thinking that there were a lot of good things in the duke's mansion, and even the glow-in-the-dark cup of wine should have been brought, he took a sip gently, but felt that the hot wine was like a bit of a bird's smell, so he frowned and put down the glow-in-the-dark cup, and said to a few generals who followed: "This is not a place to stay for a long time, after the Russians know the news of the fall of this city, they will definitely draw troops to attack, these red-haired people are not afraid of the governor, we have 50,000 elite soldiers, and the main forces of the Russians are deployed in the west to fight with the Ottomans, I'm afraid I can't draw many troops for a while, but it's also very troublesome, Wang Xincheng, you have more brothers to go around to report, if there are Russians coming, if the number is small, you go to intercept, the number of people, come to report immediately, in addition, ask people to wait near the port, when I come to meet the Ming sailors, and immediately report, here is embattled, let the brothers are fortified, the red-haired people in the city are guarded, when the matter is urgent, it can also be used as a hostage, We were ordered to attract the main Russians back to the west, so that they would not have time to take care of Siberia, and of course, it was also a big deal to transport this treasure back, and there must be no mistakes. ”

"Yes, the Governor commanded, and the brothers naturally did not dare to slack off." A guerrilla officer said with a smile, the dragoon regiment has come all the way day and night, and I don't know how much suffering it has suffered, and the officers present are actually tired.

Bai Chengdao: "If this is not the case, divide a part of the soldiers to rest first, and then get up and take turns when the resting soldiers are full, let the battalions boil more hot water, soak the feet of the brothers, and then send some people to find some coal and firewood.

"Okay, let's all go back to the camp to take care of the soldiers, and those red-haired people should also be guarded carefully, by the way, Yang Longzhen, you take a team of people to the port of this city to see if you can recruit some ships, let's load these treasures on the ship first, and then the sailors will come to pick them up, and we can also leave immediately, no need to delay too much."

The one called Yang Long really nodded, and Bai Cheng sighed: "The first time our dragoons came out to experience a battle, it must not be taken lightly, this mission, even if it is the soldiers of the dead dragoons, do you understand?" ”

"Understood." All the generals agreed to the promise together, and then resigned one after another.

The Siberian offensive was carried out very smoothly, it was originally deserted, and there were originally two Cossack cavalry garrisons with a total of 23,000 people, but after all, they were only cavalry, and the number was small, where did they dare to fight with the continuous more than 200,000 Ming troops, so they could only keep retreating and let people send letters to Moscow, hoping that Moscow would send a large army to reinforcements.

The Ming army was divided into three routes, marching separately, leaving some garrison soldiers where they passed, and then leaving a part of the migrating population, just like sowing seeds, and 50,000 cavalry battalions of the Liaodong Legion, the cavalry battalion of the Beiping Legion, and the Mongolian cavalry battalion of the Liaodong Legion nearly 50,000 people were reduced to zero, patrolling back and forth in this vast land to spy on each other, as a purpose for exciting reconnaissance, a month's effort, the entire Siberia was almost included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that the immigrants are too few compared to this vast land, and the Ming Dynasty has requisitioned some immigrants from the Guannai, and even some are prisoners who have been imprisoned, they have been freed, and they must also move into Siberia to become a member of the Xinjiang Construction Corps, and the Ming Dynasty has gradually established a hundred households in this place, almost every hundred miles there is a camp of the Xinjiang Construction Corps hundred households, the imperial court means that the migrants will be implanted in Siberia in the form of a hundred households, scattered in the land of Guangbao, After all, the land here is vast and sparsely populated, and the conditions are very harsh, if there are too few people living in the group, it is easy to be in danger, but if there are too many people, the immigrants are not enough to cover the whole of Siberia, which is why there are 100 households in the Xinjiang Construction Corps.

It's so cold, my hands are frozen.

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