It was early November in the ninth year of Taiping in the Ming Dynasty.
Four Arab dhows loaded with Persian wheat and Persian coal respectively sailed into Muscat Port, which was full of steam warships. However, the masts of these four Arab-style sailing ships loaded with Persian wheat and coal were hung prominently. It bears the Dajin Dragon Flag and the envoy flag of "The Imperial Envoy of Dajin with Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Power".
And those who got off one of the Arab dhows transporting wheat, surrounded by a group of yellow mandarin jackets, turned out to be the foreman of the Kingdom of Jin, the Minister of Secrets, He Shen and Lao Zhongtang, the Grand Bachelor of Taiji Pavilion.
He Shen was born in 1750 in the Western calendar, and he is already 80 years old this year. However, his body is still strong and he can still travel around the world for the Kingdom of Jin. This time, he flew to Tehran on an airship of Dakin HNA, then took a carriage to Ahvaz in southern Persia, adjacent to the Persian Gulf, where he bought two cargoes of coal and two cargoes of wheat, and then set sail to Mas Carter, helped Zhuge Weidao.
Yes, here to help. The colonists were enthusiastic people. If they didn't just stay at home, they would travel thousands of miles to help others.
After Zhuge Weidao invited him and the old man to his residence in the east courtyard of the Black Prince's Mansion, he sipped the Arabic coffee brewed by Ah Li himself and made his intention clear: "Brother Daozi, I am here to give you and the Ming Dynasty this time." I'm here to help! No, I heard that you are short of coal and food here in Muscat, so I sent you 1,000 tons of Persian wheat and Persian coal. You guys can use it first. If it's ok, go back. I will arrange for someone to deliver it to you!"
After Zhuge Weidao heard this, he burst into laughter. He looked up at He Zhongtang, who had cultivated immortality and had a childlike appearance, and asked with a smile: "He Zhongtang, has the king of Persia agreed to your help?"
He Shen shook his head and said with a smile: "To be honest, that Fateh Ali Shah is a little ignorant. He feels that our country, the Great Jin Kingdom, wants to exploit his poor country and is not willing to let me, the Great Jin Heavenly Soldiers, enter the field with dignity."
"Haha," Zhuge Weidao smiled, "Then this is a foolish king!"
He Shen nodded in agreement: "Yes, he is a foolish king! His uncle who was a father-in-law left him such a good fortune and brought him to this point. My emperor really can't stand it, so he just wants to see his brother I helped him out of friendship, but I didn’t expect that he didn’t know what to do. This is really embarrassing!”
"It's really difficult, what should we do?" Zhuge Weidao asked with a smile.
He Shen frowned, "That's right, this foolish king doesn't know how to be decent himself, so someone has to help him show his dignity!"
Zhuge Weidao asked again: "Who is this person?"
He Shen stretched out his finger and pointed at Zhuge Weidao, then pointed at himself, and said with a smile: "Of course you, the Ming Dynasty, went to the Ming Dynasty with our Ming Dynasty to serve him. If he doesn't know how to be decent, then he will Can’t have it anymore.”
"That makes sense," Zhuge Weidao nodded, "Then I wonder how our two families can help Persia together?"
He Shen said: "There must be division of labor and cooperation in this matter. Some people pretend to be evil people, and some people pretend to be good people." He glanced at Zhuge Weidao, "Brother Daozi, do you think I can pretend to be a evil person in this way?"
"It's a little bit worse," Zhuge Weidao said with a smile, "You are so kind and kind-hearted, and you don't look like a villain. If not, I should pretend to be the villain!"
He Shen twirled his beard and said with a smile: "Then let me pretend to be a good person! Brother Daozi, do you know how to pretend to be a bad person?"
"I know, I know," Zhuge Weidao nodded, "I will send two Arab sailboats to Qeshm Island to buy salted fish. Maybe someone will get lost on the island, and then I will send a few marine battalions and a few We sent an armored cruiser to look for it! After searching for it, we drove away all the Persian garrison on Qeshm Island! Do you think this is okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay." He Shen nodded repeatedly, "After our golden soldiers enter Persia, we will persuade the King of Persia to sell Qeshm Island to the Ming garrison! With this island, Hall The Strait of Muz is easy to block. If the British fleet comes, Daozi, you can lead the fleet to hide in the Persian Gulf, and then block the Strait of Hormuz with mines, and you can sit back and relax."
Hearing what Heshen said, Zhuge Weidao nodded heavily and said: "Okay, this matter is settled. We will send people to Qeshm Island to buy salted fish immediately!"
The entrance to the Strait of Hormuz is very narrow, between Ras Al Khaimah and Qeshm Island, and the narrowest point is more than 50 kilometers. If forts are built at both ends and cannons with a range of more than 20 kilometers are deployed, it can almost be blocked.
Of course, the current artillery technology is a little bit uninteresting, but as long as mines are placed in the middle of the more than 50 kilometers of water, 25 kilometers are blocked, and the remaining 20 kilometers are divided by 2, which is more than ten kilometers of water. For shore-based large-caliber cannons, this is not a problem at all.
So after entering Muscat, in addition to worrying about the demolition and construction of the pirate beach in Ras Al Khaimah, Zhuge Weidao was discussing with his staff how to get Qeshm Island. This island is actually Oman and the disputed islands of Persia. Supporting the Sultanate of Oman to rob it seems to be more legally defensible.
But what happens after you grab it?
If the sovereignty of the island belongs to Oman, how will Ming Dynasty get it? Concession land? Or a territory sale? The former has great consequences. Once the lease expires, it may be repossessed! The latter is also problematic. The sale of the disputed island to a third party must be agreed by both parties to the dispute. Otherwise, what if the party that does not agree takes it back in the future?
The importance of Qeshm Island is comparable to Temasek Island, Batam Island, Suez Canal, and Gibraltar. It will be the most important maritime node in the world in the future. It must be controlled as much as possible in the hands of the Ming Empire itself. It is not safe to be controlled by vassal states or in the form of concessions.
Egypt, Alexandria.
The day after Heshen visited Muscat, Zhuge Weidao's brother, the Ming Dynasty's consul general in Alexandria, once again sent surprising news to Ali Pasha - the Jin Kingdom was about to send troops to Persia!
"What? The Kingdom of Jin is going to enter Persia?" Ali Pasha, who was wearing a cool Arab robe and holding a goose feather fan of the same style as Zhuge Military in his hand, was stunned when he heard this. "What does Daoguang want to do?"
"Daoguang wants to go to the sea... This has been the dream of the Jin Kingdom for more than a hundred years!" Zhuge Wei said, "Pasha, please don't hesitate to wait any longer. If you wait any longer, Baghdad and the Holy Land will not be occupied by Oman. It means falling into the hands of Persia. What will you do then? Are you willing to be the governor of Egypt for the rest of your life?"
"But..." Ali Pasha frowned, as if he was still hesitating, "The British Consul General has made it clear that the territory and sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, except for Greece, are intact!"
"Pasha," Zhuge Weidao said, "the British have no power to interfere... As long as you successfully capture Damascus, Baghdad and the Holy Land, and support the Hashemite family of the Holy Land as caliph, you will have the great mission of rebuilding the Arab Empire. status.
What can the British do to you then? Send troops to Baghdad? None of their fleets could enter the Persian Gulf.
It is impossible to send troops to Damascus. The Rakshasa fleet is still in the Eastern Mediterranean. The British will not want to conflict with the Rakshasa people there.
As for Egypt, it is impossible to be attacked by the British, because when the Suez Canal was built, the Ming Dynasty, France, Britain, Rakshasa, Austria, and Prussia jointly guaranteed that Egypt will always belong to you and your descendants. "
Ali Pasha glanced at Zhuge Weixue and finally revealed his trump card: "Consul General, the Arab Empire must have a navy to protect itself. We cannot rely on the guarantee of great powers for our safety. We must become great powers! Your Ming Dynasty is willing to help Do we build a navy? But we can’t afford battleships right now, can you give us a cheap but effective offshore defense ship? I need them to hold the Red Sea.”
(End of chapter)
