In the classical palace where you are staying

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, the Eleventh Prince, had the opportunity to meet with Major General Fan Pengfei, the deputy commander of the expeditionary force and the deputy commander in charge of the army units, a middle-aged senior officer with a somewhat tanned face, calm and capable.

In addition, Brigadier General Hu Changda, commander of the 3rd Royal Marine Division, Brigadier General Meng Hu, commander of the 4th Royal Marine Division, and the commanders of various regiments, all of whom were experienced generals transferred from the former Royal Army Field Division, have experienced dozens of battles large and small, and their command ability is extremely outstanding.

In addition, Viscount Zheng Huaishan, deputy commander of the expeditionary force, Colonel Pan Shouguo, chief of staff of the expeditionary force, and Colonel Liu Daqing, director of the joint logistics department, and the middle and senior commanders of the expeditionary force arrived.

In front of a group of subordinates

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin showed a calm atmosphere far beyond his age, and said to everyone with a solemn expression;

"By the imperial decree of His Majesty the Holy Emperor of the Tang Dynasty......"

All the officers immediately brushed their legs together, raised their heads and chests with a "horn", and raised their hands to salute in respect.

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin paused in his tone, and after looking around at everyone, he continued unhurriedly;

"No courtesy, take a break......

By His Majesty's affection, this Duke conferred the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, shouldering a heavy responsibility and the earnest entrustment of the people of the empire.

The ambition is to sow the glory of the empire, raise the prestige of our country and the prestige of the monarch beyond the waves of thousands of miles, deter the young people in all directions, and respond to any provocation with strong force.

The glory of the empire cannot tolerate anyone's obliteration.

As the commander of the expeditionary force, the Duke once again reaffirmed strict military discipline, ordered and forbidden, and the whole army worked together to seize the glory belonging to the expeditionary force.

Whoever violates the military order will be killed.

Cowering, no forgiveness!

Those who deceive the public with gossip will be killed!

Those who do not listen to orders will be killed!

Those who leave the army without permission will be killed!

This duke shoulders the heavy responsibility and does not dare to slack off a little, and hopes that all the generals will cooperate with me sincerely to defeat the enemy. Don't violate the military rules and precepts, then I can only take the head of the person who is above the subject to strict military discipline and punish the lawless.

Whoever dares to take a step beyond the thunder pool, I will kill them! It's unpredictable. ”

After a murderous Liwei, the faces of all the senior generals present changed, and they replied in unison; "The lowly rank is acting in accordance with the military order, and does not dare to go beyond the thunder pool."

"That's good......" His Royal Highness Don Li Xin's face softened when he said this, and after taking the lead in the center of the seat, his voice became much softer; Since there is a word in advance, then let's all sit down and discuss the next itinerary of the expeditionary force...... Sit down and talk, don't be so inhibited. ”

Slap and give a sweet date.

I have to say that the noble bloodline born in the royal family is extraordinary, and this set of tricks is very proficient, and the senior officers of the expeditionary force sat down one after another, and they did not dare to show the slightest difference on their faces.

In particular, more than 32,000 troops of the 3rd and 4th Marine Divisions of the Royal Marines were assembled in the port of New Xi'an, and tens of thousands of immigrants were assembled, including many grassroots colonial officials, engineers, railway survey technicians, doctors and teachers, various factory technicians, tractor drivers and logistics personnel, etc., as well as the wives and families of some immigrants, which involved a wide range.

in the port of Xi'an

It has also prepared ships to transport grain, building materials and other bulk materials for the expeditionary force, and ships to transport cattle, sheep, livestock and poultry, with a fleet of 51 ships, including 23 large and medium-sized migrant ships alone, with an average of more than 1,800 passengers per ship.

In addition to the 23 warships and cargo ships of the expeditionary fleet, the total number reached 74, and the sea voyage had to be divided into four large fleets, and the liaison and communication of the sea formations were a major problem.

Again, this is the result of a forced compression, otherwise the number of ships would be even larger.

The 3rd and 4th Royal Marine Divisions each had a cavalry regiment, and the horses needed were not carried with the ships, and this alone reduced the number of transports by seven or eight.

War horses are actually very delicate animals, and the mortality rate is very high in the harsh environment of transoceanic transportation, and it is not uncommon for them to die when they are transported to the ground.

Therefore, the empire has long been prepared, sending a small team of more than 100 people to purchase high-quality Arab war horses in Najd and Yemen, ready to be used in the war against Egypt.

These Arabian horses are more familiar with the arid and hot conditions, save a lot of money on transportation costs, and avoid the huge losses caused by deaths in the middle of the journey.

In this day and age

Limited by outdated meteorological observation technology, ships sailing in the ocean are often hit by bad sea conditions or typhoons. As long as the ship does not sink, most healthy migrants will be able to survive the stormy days and usher in a rainy day.

But the war horse is not necessarily, and the destruction of the whole ship is a high-probability event.

Soon after the expeditionary fleet arrived in New Xi'an, several more freighters arrived, carrying adventurous North American cowboys, also destined for Egypt.

In the martial environment of the Tang Empire

These North American cowboys can always be seen in a series of large-scale military operations over the years, such as the war against the United States, the war against Mexico, and the desert expedition in South America.

The typical attire of a North American cowboy is a wide-brimmed cowboy hat on his head, a floral handkerchief tied around his neck, a leather jacket or a rugged denim jacket, a bullet belt around a three-finger-wide cowhide belt around his waist, and one or two revolvers. Wearing pointy scalp boots with spurs, the outfit is almost synonymous with tattooed gangsters and violent maniacs.

Once the North American cowboys come out in droves, it will definitely mean big trouble.

This group once went to North America to participate in the desert expedition, and the word of mouth was mixed, but the good thing is that many North American cowboys have made a fortune through hard work and achieved a legendary experience.

And some North American cowboys robbing their own pastures and booty, drunken provocation and trouble, indiscriminate killing of innocents and other vicious incidents emerge in an endless stream, most of which are also related to these bohemian North American cowboys.

The most egregious case is a group of roaming North American cowboys, after being received by the Chinese manor owner, actually drunk the manor owner's family, and then killed more than 20 Indian workers on the manor, regardless of gender, and cut off their ears in exchange for rewards.

After this

The Andean Viceroyalty abolished the policy of killing the Indians in order to prevent these North American cowboys from taking advantage of the loopholes and disturbing the peaceful life of the local settled estate owners.

Even so

In the vast wilderness villages and towns of South America, the Indians did not dare to go out of the manor, for fear that they would lose their lives if they went out.

Objectively speaking, most of the North American cowboys are good, and only a few are vicious and unruly.

It was an adventurous society, from retired soldiers, to nobles and commoners, to young people who had been spurred on by the legendary experience, and it was this wave of people who followed the expeditionary force to Egypt.

For them, the expeditionary force will neither accept nor refuse, and can provide them with accommodation, food, and other conveniences, but will not bear the consequences of their deaths.

If necessary, you can also send out a reward for these cowboys to fight together.

Regardless of the fact that there are only more than 1,300 of these cowboys, there are a steady stream of followers behind them, and they are basically light cavalry, many of them are skilled in warfare, and it is a place where dragons and tigers are hidden.

These North American cowboys go to Egypt at their own expense, and they can't afford to go without a little money.

But even the difficulties they face can't stop these North American cowboys from seeking the thrill of war and an adventurous life, and accompanying the army is their favorite thing to do.

After the middle of December 1871

The expeditionary army was divided into four fleets and set off one after another, heading for the distant Arabian Peninsula and embarking on a vigorous journey of conquest.

After a long journey, on January 21, 1872, the first fleet arrived in the Sena Gulf of Yemen, on the Red Sea coast, where it anchored.

At this time, the bay of Seine was just a very simple smuggling port, with a wooden trestle that stretched out into the sea for more than 80 meters, capable of berthing dhows of two or three hundred tons, or small sailing ships of several tens of tons.

No matter how big it is, it can only be parked in the bay, and it is impossible to get close to the trestle with a shallow draft.

The arrival of the fleet caused a stir in the city of Sena, and many Yemeni locals flocked to the beach to watch the excitement and point and talk, numbering in the thousands.

Some Arabs with guns were also involved, with a hostile and wary look, as if they did not welcome visitors from afar.

To be cautious

The advance convoy laid down a dozen small sampans, armed sailors came ashore with guns, and a landing ground was established to isolate the locals.

Soon more soldiers came ashore between the small sampan and the anchorage and the shore, and the expeditionary fleet sent men familiar with the Arabic language ashore to understand the situation and try to get in touch with the small detachments that had arrived earlier.

Soon they got a shocking message;

More than 40 people were killed in the attack, most of whom were locals hired by the team, and more than 70 remained in a strong local compound, and about 10 were wounded.

Most of the Arabian horses purchased by the team were also looted, and a total of about 2,700 high-quality Arabian horses were missing, and less than 400 horses remained.

It is said that several chiefs of the local tribes in Yemen were red-eyed, so they joined forces to rob these high-quality war horses, which is a lot of wealth!

Viscount Zheng Huaishan, the commodore in charge of the advance fleet, was furious when he heard this, and immediately sent 500 soldiers into the city, relieved the siege of the local armed forces on the small detachment's house, and rescued the people who had been struggling for more than a month.

After a detailed inquiry, the situation quickly became clear.

It wasn't a few chiefs who were jealous of the locals who had gotten false rumors, but a squad of merchants from Egypt who had been hired to attack the horses that had been collected for months.

Egypt, as a native of North Africa and the adjacent Arabian Peninsula, was very well-informed, and when he learned that a group of Orientals had come to collect war horses near the port of Sena in Yemen, he realized that it was probably related to the expedition of the Tang fleet to Egypt.

So preemptively, it turns out that the war has already begun thousands of miles away.

(End of chapter)