The Suez Canal was built by a French company and was chartered by Pasha, the governor of Egypt in the Ottoman Empire. During this era, Egypt was not an independent country. It was actually a territory belonging to the Ottoman Empire and implemented a governor-general system.
The Ottoman Empire, which originally had completely different religious beliefs, was in a state of rejection of the West. The two sides had been fighting for hundreds of years, and even Habsburg Vienna had received threats from the Ottoman army.
However, when the European Industrial Revolution began, this powerful empire in the Middle East immediately began to show signs of fatigue, especially in the face of its old enemy in the north, Tsarist Russia. The Ottoman Empire gradually changed from an active attacker in the past to a passive one.
The Crimean region was taken away by Tsarist Russia. In the end, Tsarist Russia also wanted to fight for the strait from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The Tsarist Russians in Istanbul also wanted to get involved. This was the Crimean War that caused the collapse of Tsarist Russia.
The aura of the empire has faded, and the reality has to be accepted. The Ottoman Empire has begun a long road of reconciliation with Europe. This is the background of the era when France was able to obtain the right to dig the Suez Canal.
When the Ottoman Empire was powerful, he wouldn't even die to dig such a waterway so that Europe could communicate with Asia more conveniently. He also wished that Europeans would go around the Cape of Good Hope every day.
But at this moment, when the Ottoman Empire was beaten by Tsarist Russia and couldn't find its way out, he could only bow to the Europeans who came to support him.
It is worth mentioning that the Crimean War broke out in 1853 and ended in 1856, and the time when France obtained the right to dig the canal was to apply for it in 1854 and obtain the charter in 1856.
A smart person should see clearly what's going on at a glance. France is threatening the Ottoman Empire with the Crimean War. If it doesn't give you the canal, it won't help you fight the war. Who cares whether your capital will be occupied by Tsarist Russia.
"All major power rivalries are based on calculating calculations. After calculating enemies, they also calculate allies. If they don't squeeze out the last bit of oil and water, it won't be over... How can there be any true friendship between countries? It's all nonsense. oh……"
Xiao Letian was recalling the history of the canal in his mind and muttering softly to himself, but these words to himself were heard by Monk Zaichun and King Shangtai beside him.
"Master, what are you talking about? What happened to the French? What happened to the Governor of Egypt?"
"Oh? Did I say it... Haha, I am recalling the history of the canal! Do you know how many bones are buried under this canal?"
The two shook their heads in surprise. Xiao Letian sighed and pointed at the river in front of him. "In 1859, the French began to hire a large number of Egyptian migrant workers at extremely low wages to enter the depths of the inaccessible desert and start digging rivers..."
"The work is extremely hard and arduous, the desert climate is very cruel, fresh water is scarce and there is not even enough food... A large number of migrant workers died of hunger and thirst, but the French never pity the lives of these indigenous people!"
"If a group of people die, just trick a group of new people to come over to replenish them. Aren't the untouchables in the colony just for consumption? There are also diseases. There is no medical protection at all. Lung disease, dysentery, and heatstroke are the most popular diseases on the construction site, and even There have been several outbreaks of plague..."
"How many people have died? I heard that a case of typhoid fever can take away the lives of tens of thousands of migrant workers. What about a case of cholera? It is estimated to be countless..."
"No one cares about the lives of these people. The French are not even willing to count the numbers of these people. But Egypt is a semi-colonial country after all. The Ottoman Empire also has governors who govern here. Our diplomats searched for information from many sources and finally concluded I got a rough estimate..."
"How much?" Monk Zaichun and King Shangtai asked eagerly.
"More than 120,000..." Xiao Letian said coldly.
Hiss... the two of them gasped, "So many people died? 120,000 people died in a 190-kilometer canal?"
"Haha... what do you think? This is the real world. The number of corpses sunk in the sea of sand can only be more than this, not less!"
"Shangtai, when you enter Egypt, be sure to be careful of the French! Remember..."
At this time, the fleet was gradually approaching the Port of Suez, which is the southern entrance of the canal, but unexpectedly, the lookout man shouted as soon as he approached the shallow water area.
"Black flags... there are a lot of black flags on the pier! Most of the piers are empty, and merchant ships are anchored at sea..."
People on the deck crowded together and built arbors to look towards the land. Sure enough, there was a strange black flag fluttering faintly at the end of the sight. After a while, the British vanguard fleet sent a semaphore, and everyone was stunned when it was translated.
"A serious plague occurred in the Port of Suez, and local officials asked us to stay away from the port..."
Xiao Letian was stunned. "What are you talking about? I just talked about the plague in the desert, and now there is a plague in front of me?"
"Ask Dr. Buck and Dr. Huang Xie, who are accompanying us, to prepare Chinese medicine soup for our soldiers as a precaution... I still expect my good boys to go into battle to kill the enemy, but we can't reduce our numbers here for no reason!"
Dr. Buck is already an old friend of the Chinese. He and Doctor Huang Xi have been mainly studying the exchange of Chinese and Western medicine in recent years. Over the years, the Chinese have successfully solved the problem of blood type matching, and blood transfusion therapy has been widely used in China. Popularity of the nation.
Moreover, Dr. Huang has a secret team that is studying a brand new subject, bacterial virology. Xiao Letian’s ideal is to let the Chinese be the first to find the secret of penicillin. This is a high-tech that defies heaven. Whoever masters it first No matter how much money you make, at least the combat effectiveness of the army will be improved by several levels.
Dr. Buck and Dr. Huang Xiyi were not on the Zhiyuan, but on another accompanying supply ship. Along the way, they provided medical treatment to many soldiers suffering from seasickness and heat stroke. They also brought with them a medical team of nearly 80 people, half of whom were Female soldiers.
The life along the way was monotonous and boring. Without a war, there wouldn't be many wounded people to treat. Huang Xiyi and others felt itchy in their bones. When they heard about the mission today, they all got excited and geared up.
When we got aboard the Zhiyuan, Dr. Buck made a strong statement, "I have to go ashore! If I don't personally contact the patient, I won't know what kind of plague it is... and I won't be able to prescribe effective prescriptions!"
"No, no, no, I'm worried about your health! You are all the future treasures of the Chinese medical community, and I can't let you take risks!" Xiao Letian said firmly.
Doctor Huang Xie smiled evilly, "The head of state is overly worried. For doctors, it is a battlefield at any time... Especially after I started studying bacterial virology, I realized that there are so many killers living around us!"
"We have our own set of protection measures. Please trust our expertise! This is also a great opportunity for us to accumulate practical experience. Please don't stop us, head of state!"
