The bloody palace coup d'état in the Kingdom of Oman meant that the history of this small Middle Eastern country had taken a fork in the road, and it was no longer the same trajectory as it had been.

Sir Teo Chi Seng unsurprisingly became Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Oman with the rank of Major General and concurrently served as the country's Inspector General of Police.

This is the idea that Xu Jinxun gave him, who has mastered the military and police forces of this kingdom, and is the real power person, with the ability to manipulate the change of government behind the scenes.

The trip was delayed for half a month, and Richard and his entourage refused a large amount of gold and silver wealth and beauties presented by Major General Zhang Zhicheng, and arrived by boat from Muscat to the dazzling star city of Yunzhong Province on the coast of the Red Sea ~ Fubo City (Massawa).

When the passenger ship approaches the port passenger terminal of Fubo (Massawa), you can see the magnificent buildings covering the valley flats along the coast, and the high-rise buildings look imposing as the mountains rise.

It is only the port area of the city of Fubo (Massawa), and the real urban core is deep into the valley, on a plateau more than 20 kilometers away.

Although it is located in East Africa, most of Yunzhong Province is located in the northeast of the Ethiopian Plateau, with an average altitude of more than 1,170 meters, bordering the Red Sea with a humid climate, and the climate is mild all year round, with an average of 18~27 degrees.

The largest city in the entire province is Fubo, with a population of 743,000 at the end of the period, which is more populous, more developed and has a better climate than the capital city of Cloudsdale (Alamas).

Due to its inland location, the climate of Yunzhong City is hotter and drier than that of Fubo City, with an average annual rainfall of 360 mm, which is almost at the same level as Gansu in China.

However, there is no shortage of water in Cloudsdale City, upstream of Laremaiche, and Tatai Kulalo are the birthplaces of the Congo River, with a total area of about 85,000 square kilometers and many tributaries, with abundant water.

to the beginning of the century

After 35 years of development, Aggloralis has a combined population of 582,300 people, making it the second largest city in the province after Fubo (Massawa).

This is also a characteristic of agricultural provinces, where the population concentration is far less than that of industrial provinces, the carrying capacity of cities is weaker, and more people are scattered in surrounding towns and plateau pastures.

With a total population of 3,376,300, 82 percent of whom are Chinese, 14.7 percent white, and 3.2 percent Arab, there is little sign of blacks in the province.

This is the best vast plateau pasture, where merchants from the Tang Empire have invested in factories for the production of milk powder, canning of beef and mutton food and fruit processing plants, using advanced European equipment.

Taking advantage of the developed railway and highway transportation in Yunzhong Province and the climate characteristics of the tropical plateau closest to Europe, a large number of agricultural and animal husbandry products and canned food are sold to Europe, and business is booming.

During the Boer War in South Africa, which had just ended a few years ago, the vast pastures and fruit processing factories around Cloudsdale won a large number of orders, amounting to millions of pounds.

Together with Eritrea and 126,000 square kilometers, the entire Yunzhong Province has a total of 210,000 square kilometers, and the total area is equivalent to the size of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai combined.

And the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which guards the passage of the Eurasian corridor, is forming more and more international influence.

Again, that's the same sentence

Even if it is strategically located, if the national strength is weak, it will not form a strategically significant control force.

For example, the Kingdom of Oman guarded the entrance and exit of the Persian Gulf, the island of Sumatra on the southern coast of the Strait of Malacca, which was originally under the control of the Dutch colony, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which Yemen and Eritrea jointly controlled.

The above-mentioned areas

In its original history, it did not play any role, not even 1% of its international influence, because the power of the littoral countries was too weak.

Now everything is different, these important strait passages are in the hands of the Tang Empire, and the Red Sea Fleet and coastal heavy batteries of the Tang Empire are placed there, and no world power dares to ignore its presence.

Even the German Navy, which is now developing rapidly, has surpassed the fleet lineup of the Tang Empire and ranks second in the world, and it still does not dare to enter the Red Sea without the permission of the Tang Empire.

Russo-Japanese War

The Tsarist Pacific Fleet, which rushed all the way to the Far East, gave up its plan to go to the Far East through the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait because of the joint blockade of Britain and Tang, and chose to detour the distant Cape of Good Hope.

As a result, the Tang Empire increased its international influence, and in today's world, it has become one of the four major powers alongside Britain, Germany, and France.

Among them

The British Royal Navy has the dominance of the seven seas, Germany is the strongest army country in Europe and even the whole world, France's navy and army are world-class, and the Tang Empire is firmly on the throne of the world's largest economic power, but its military strength is indeed weaker.

After the conquest of the East Indies, the Tang Empire went against the tide of the world arms race and began to disarm one after another in recent years.

As part of the disarmament plan, more than 330,000 members of the Royal Praetorian Guard were cut by a third, and a large number of retired officers and soldiers were settled throughout the East Indies.

The Royal Army of the Tang Empire, with a total of more than 420,000 troops, reduced more than 80,000 troops, and the scale of the force was reduced to 340,000 again.

Compared to the vast territory of 22 million square kilometers of the Tang Empire, this number of troops is really too small.

However, this was a long-term strategy set by Emperor Richard during the reign of Emperor Richard, because the Tang Empire did not have any enemies around it that could threaten its national security, and there was no need to keep too large a standing army.

The Tang Empire's mature militia reserve system ensured that up to 13.5 million reserve soldiers could be mobilized in wartime, a staggering number that deterred the covetousness of any foreign power.

What's more, the Tang Empire is not without hole cards.

The tonnage of the main battleships of the Royal Navy fleet of the Tang Empire ranks third in the world, with a unified ship type, complete sequences of various warships, advanced technology and world-class training standards, and is a huge force that no one can ignore.

Any enemy who vainly attempts to attack the Tang Empire must first destroy the tough opponent of the Tang Empire's Royal Navy, and then break through the various straits controlled by the Tang Empire.

For example, if the European powers wanted to attack the Tang Empire, they first had to capture Suez City, which had become a fortress city, and secondly, send troops to occupy the entire territory of Yunzhong Province and occupy several coastal heavy batteries holding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

It is also necessary to send troops to control Yemen and Oman, because the Chinese forces in these areas are dominant, and it is difficult to make trouble in the rear.

That's the only way

Only then can the many passes leading to the overseas provinces of the Tang Empire be opened, and this is only the first step to victory.

The next step is to cross the vast Indian Ocean, break through the island of Sumatra occupied by the Tang Empire, the local military port and coastal heavy batteries, and open up the passage of the Strait of Malacca.

Come to think of it, these are all impossible combat missions that make people's scalps tingle, and almost no country in this world can do it, including Britain, Germany, France, and Russia.

Sum up

The Tang Empire, whether it is the mainland of the Americas or the overseas provinces, has no real enemy threat, and there is no need to retain too many military and armed forces, which is pure waste.

Compare it to

The strategic environment in which European countries are located is much worse, and the arms race between France, Germany, Russia, Austria, and Italy is becoming more and more intense, and all countries are increasing their armed forces one after another.

Even the weakest kingdom of Italy had a total army of 693,000 at the beginning of the century, a figure that was almost double the strength of the Tang Empire's army (note, the statistics do not include the Imperial Guard. ）

From the port area of Fubo City to the city, the road is spacious and magnificent, the tall street trees on both sides are planted in the green belt, and the road surface is paved with asphalt gravel layer, and the city is like a large garden like spring in all seasons, and the construction standard is very high.

On the city roads here, all kinds of cars shuttle back and forth, and the number of cars not only ranks among the Asian and African continents, but also exceeds that of developed industrial countries such as Germany and France.

From this alone, it can be seen that Fubo, as the most important distribution city on the Eurasian trade route, has developed into a city of trade, a city of shipping, and a city that never sleeps on the brightly lit Red Sea coast.

This not only attracted more and more Chinese immigrants, but also attracted a lot of white European immigrants, and even many wealthy businessmen and celebrities from Britain, France, Germany and other countries to come to Fubo City to buy land and buy real estate as a stable investment.

As an overseas province of the Tang Empire, the prices of various industrial products in Yunzhong Province are the price depression of the surrounding areas and even the whole of Europe.

Since there is no need to pay import duties, kerosene, diesel, and gasoline here are surprisingly cheap, and many European smugglers wholesale from Yunzhong Province and then smuggle them to Europe through various channels.

For example, in France, a high tariff of 85% is levied on imported kerosene, diesel, and lubricating oil, and the price is increased layer by layer after import, which leads to abnormally high local oil prices.

Oil smuggled from Yunzhong Province to Algeria can enter the French mainland in a grand manner, which also leads to the formation of Yunzhong Province ~ Algeria ~ French gold smuggling routes.

Countless traders have made huge profits from this, and they are all inseparable from the base camp of Fubo City.

Over the years, it has become almost the home of the world's smugglers, and the amount of goods traded each year is staggering.

So it's no surprise that the people here are particularly wealthy, with a higher per capita income than in metropolises like London and Paris, and the streets are full of cars.

In the city of Fubo

Richard and his entourage stayed at the Aladdin Temple Hotel, the city's most luxurious hotel, located halfway up a hill, with the top suites being individual palace-like estates.

These palace-style estates are all in the Arabic style, some occupy one or two acres, some occupy three or five acres, and some occupy more than ten acres, and the larger the area, the more luxurious and the price is naturally more expensive.

There were only 4 people in Richard's entourage, so they booked a luxurious manor covering an area of 3.3 acres, with a total of 17 servants in this manor, and the basic cost was as high as 580 Tang Yuan per day.

In addition to the base fee

Guests can enjoy any fine wine, any cuisine, French, Chinese, Arabic or British dark cuisine at the luxurious estate.

Beauties of all skin tones, Arab belly dancers, blonde strippers in France, handsome little white faces, as long as you can think of the enjoyment of drunken gold fans, there is nothing that cannot be provided.

Of course, this comes with an additional fee.

Having said all this, the Aladdin Temple is not omnipotent, because a Huangmei opera troupe ordered by Richard can't be taken out.

Not only the troupes of Huangmei Opera, Peking Opera, Cantonese Opera, and Kunqu Opera can't be used, but even the beautiful Chinese women in the troupe can't get together.

For this reason, the chief treasurer of the Aladdin Temple also came to solemnly apologize and explain the reason.

Because these beautiful Chinese girls are so sought-after, as long as they get to the Aladdin Temple, they will be redeemed by a rich businessman after singing for a few days, and they will be bought home as aunts' wives.

I can't keep as much as I get.

In this rich businessman city of Fubo, there are many wealthy Chinese businessmen, are they short of money?

The answer is no.

What they lack is the woman they like, preferably beautiful, well-read and Chinese, so wouldn't it be nice to marry home as a wife or an aunt's wife?

In Yunzhong Province, blonde and blue-eyed Caucasian women are not uncommon at all, as many as they want.

However, these ghost women do not speak Chinese, have different living and eating habits, and are unwilling to be bound by the strict rules and regulations of Chinese families, and conflicts often occur.

It's okay to act on the scene once in a while, just marry and go home.

This has also caused a shortage of Chinese women in Yunzhong Province, and the price has always been high.

Ordinary Chinese or low-level newcomers do not have the opportunity to marry a Chinese woman. Most of them first buy an Arab woman as a concubine, and have children and develop slowly.

When the conditions are met, the media is marrying a Chinese wife.

There is really no way, so marry a Caucasian woman, fortunately, there are many Italian immigrants in the local area, and you don't need any bride price to marry home.

But a wealthy businessman and a local upper-class figure who is really capable must have a Chinese wife to be decent, so as to be worthy of his status, so as not to be ridiculed.

Richard couldn't laugh or cry after listening to the explanation, in today's world, the rise of the Tang Empire has brought about a widespread butterfly effect.

The strong empire made the Chinese more confident, and the whites also looked up to it, which is all the influence brought by the empire's strength.

The Fusang Kingdom, the younger brother of the Tang Empire, was unable to take care of itself in the Russo-Japanese War that had just ended.

The Tang Empire has a population of 185 million, and its GDP is the sum of Britain, Germany and France, and the latest statistics have reached 46.2 billion Tang Yuan, which is a very amazing achievement, accounting for about 27.6% of the world's total share.

The per capita income level is on par with that of Britain and Germany, and about one-third higher than that of France.

The reason why the GDP is so high is that after more than 50 years of industrialization, the Tang Empire has become a very mature industrialized country with a complete range of industries.

Second, because the Tang Empire has a large population, it has more and more stamina in continuous development, its development is getting smoother and smoother, and the domestic market is becoming more and more prosperous.

The size of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire ranks third in the world, and the size of the Royal Army ranks ninth in the world, both of which are real military forces.

After the Russo-Japanese War

The total number of troops in Fusang once swelled to more than 1.17 million, and although it has now begun to retire on a large scale, it is still more than three times the size of the Tang Empire.

The total strength of the armies of Russia, Germany, and France is about 1 million people, and the strength of the armies of Japan, Britain, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Ultraman ranges from more than 1 million to more than 700,000, and the strength of the armies is quite strong.

With a total army of 340,000 troops, the Qing Kingdom temporarily ranked ninth in the world with a total army of 340,000 troops, and this is only the strength on paper.

As the Tang Empire once again entered the period of Taoguang and obscurity, it reined in its edge and appeared more as a trade country

In today's world, dominated by the European powers, there is correspondingly less hostility.

By contrast, the aggressive Kaiser Wilhelm II was anything but subtle, and he exclaimed in public conversation;

"The world's colonial powers, dominated by Britain, France, and Tang, should fully take into account the concerns and interests of the German Empire. Leaving some colonial space for those who come after them to develop is something they must consider at the moment. ”

"Some countries occupy a wide range of colonies all over the world, and the actual degree of exploitation and utilization is pitiful, which is a deformed international reality, and it is urgent to change the status quo......

Such a hard-line attitude is undoubtedly showing the sword against the arrogant Britain, France, Tang and other old colonial powers.

The British reaction was particularly violent, with Chamberlain, the Minister of the Colonies, openly declaring; "Any provocation to the current international order is an absolutely intolerable offense, and the British Empire will resolutely retaliate."

What a joke!

How could the mighty British Empire, which had ruled the world's oceans for two centuries, allow the German Empire, which had only been established since 1870, to provoke?

Edward VII was the maternal uncle of Kaiser Wilhelm II, but he was a staunch supporter of the London government on this issue, which led to the beginning of a decades-long period of cold weather for the British and German royal families.

(End of chapter)