"Cheap but effective offshore defense ships, and using them to guard Ali Pasha's heart in the Red Sea is no small feat!"
"It's not that they are arrogant, but they know that Britain, Rakshasa, and France are not fuel-efficient lamps. If they don't have a few good guys to save their lives, they will not be able to serve as great powers."
"Great powers? Just rely on Egypt?"
"Daozi, don't look down on Egypt. Egypt is not weak. Lower Egypt plus Egypt covers an area of no less than 3 million square kilometers. Most of the Red Sea belongs to Ali. It would be great if we can capture Syria and Baghdad." Including Najd and Hijaz on the Arabian Peninsula, the land area is 6 million square kilometers, and among them, Lower Egypt, Syria, and Baghdad have been prosperous and prosperous places since ancient times."
"Shao'an, I didn't expect you to be an expert in Egypt!"
"That's right. I was a military attaché at the embassy in Constantinople. I'm familiar with this area of West Asia and North Africa."
On the battleship Tang Wang, Zhuge Weidao, Li Chenghui, Chen Jian, and Guo Xiaobao were watching the landing at Qeshm while discussing the terms of the Egyptian Governor Ali Pasha.
Ali's conditions were not addressed to the Persian Gulf Fleet, but to the Ming Dynasty court. However, the Ming court still asked the Navy Ministry to send a telegram to the Persian Gulf Fleet regarding the request for military aid, and asked the Fleet Headquarters to give suggestions.
To be honest, Ali Pasha's requirements are not too high, but his ambition is not too small either. He is not willing to be a chess piece, let alone a chess board, but wants to turn around and become a chess player!
To be a chess player here in the Middle East, it is not enough to have a reasonably powerful modern army. You must also have a capable navy that can block the Red Sea, a maritime transportation artery, at critical moments - this Ali Pasha did not choose the Suez Canal, but chose the Red Sea to start, which was obviously something he had carefully considered.
The Suez Canal was not easy to capture. Several fortresses were built along the canal, stationed by British, French, Austrian, Prussian, Rakshasa, Turkish, and Egyptian armies. The Ming Dynasty could have garrisoned troops, but at that time, the Ming Dynasty was still cowardly and happy and did not get involved.
If Egypt wants to move the Suez Canal, not only will it be difficult to fight, but it will also offend a large number of foreign powers - because once the Suez Canal starts fighting, no one will even think about it!
But if we start on the Red Sea, the situation will be different. The entrances at both ends of the Red Sea are relatively narrow, but the inside is also two to three hundred kilometers wide! If you fight here, you can still get past by taking a detour.
In addition, the length of the Red Sea is more than 2,000 kilometers. Both sides of the strait are either already controlled by Ali Pasha, or they can easily be controlled by Ali Pasha. Therefore, Ali Pasha only needs to deploy a "small pool fleet" composed of shallow-water heavy gunships, third-class cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo speedboats in the Red Sea, so that Ali Pasha can have enough chips when competing with the great powers. .
With chips, he might win more sovereignty for his Arab Empire! And if a country with several million square kilometers, spanning two continents, Asia and Africa, with a population of 10 to 20 million, and oil will be discovered in the future, can be truly independent, it will definitely become a great power in the future.
However, it is impossible for a "small pool fleet" to win sovereignty for Ali Pasha once and for all!
Because naval technology will definitely develop rapidly in the next twenty or thirty years, even if the Ming court really gives Ali Pasha good things, it will be impossible to maintain his status as a great power for three to five years.
Even if Ming Dynasty equips today's shallow-water gunboats, torpedo boats, third-class cruisers, and destroyers with gas steam torpedoes and airships, they will still be useless and obsolete equipment in three to five years.
Thinking of this, Zhuge Weidao smiled and said: "Let's do this. We have four Four Heavenly Kings ships that have been converted into shallow water heavy gunships. We can give him two, give him two third-class cruisers, and let the court see the destroyers and torpedo boats." You can also give him some airships. With so many good things, Ali Pasha should dare to jump out and fight for the future of a great power for the Egyptian people."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bridge of the Tang Wang suddenly burst into joy.
"Success!"
"Landed successfully!"
"The Persian Gulf is ours!"
Zhuge Weidao raised the telescope in his hand and took a look. It turned out that the marines who landed on Qeshm Island had raised the sun and moon flag of the Ming Dynasty at a small fishing port on the island.
Although it was an expected result, it was a new territory after all, and the soldiers could record one more achievement in their merit books!
Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Caspian Camp of the Kingdom of Jin.
The eight flags are flying, and the warriors are like a forest.
The powerful 80,000-eight-banner troops, wearing warm hats and neat mandarin jackets in four colors of blue, white, red and yellow, stood silently. These blue, white, red and yellow mandarin jackets are the new military uniforms of the Eight Banners soldiers. They were purchased by Emperor Daoguang for his subordinates after receiving compensation from the British (Indians).
Although it is still "ancient costume", it looks much stronger than the cotton armor gun helmet, and it is also much lighter.
The clothes have been changed, and the equipment has certainly become much better. Rifles, machine guns, pistols, waist knives, grenades, and all kinds of marching equipment were all on their backs or hung on the bodies of the soldiers.
In addition, the establishment and organization of the Eight Banners Army has also improved. The 80,000-strong Eight Banners Army is now organized into four divisions. Each division has a large establishment of two brigades and four regiments. The division headquarters also has an artillery regiment and an engineering regiment. , baggage corps and cavalry regiment, each division has more than 20,000 men when fully loaded.
It is worth mentioning that the direct artillery regiments of these four divisions are very powerful! It is no longer the original use of light artillery with 70mm and 75mm calibers to make up the numbers - it used to be that that kind of troops were fine for fighting mobile warfare in Central Asia, but they were not enough to fight hard battles.
By sending mercenaries to participate in the Eighth Rakshasa-Turkish War, the Kingdom of Jin already knows how the truly fierce land wars in the world are fought!
Therefore, Emperor Daoguang spent a lot of money after the rails were laid to Xianmen Pass (originally this "rail" was to be laid to Rakshasa, but later Rakshasa disagreed, and Daoguang changed his mind, so it was laid to Xianmen Pass). A lot of money was spent to introduce 155 mm caliber towed howitzers from the Ming Dynasty. Each division's direct artillery regiment has a battalion of 155 howitzers, a total of 12 guns.
In addition, a division's direct artillery regiment also has two battalions of 120mm howitzers, and each battalion is also equipped with 12 cannons!
Together with the four already formed Eight Banners Army Divisions, there are a total of 144 large-caliber barrel artillery pieces over 100 mm. As for light artillery and mortars below 100 mm, the number is even greater.
Standing on a high platform with loudspeakers and looking at the 80,000 elite soldiers below and the cannons and machine guns spread out, Emperor Daoguang felt so proud!
With this strength, if the bearded king of Persia really doesn’t know what “decency” is, then the Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers will have no choice but to teach him decency!
After taking Persia, Daikin realized his dream of more than a hundred years - once again having access to the sea!
Although the Kingdom of Jin has no spare capacity to build a powerful navy for the time being, with Haikou, is it still afraid of not having a navy? It's just a matter of time.
When the navy is established, Daikin will become a great power! And he, Daoguang, will also become the most outstanding emperor in the history of Dajin!
With him, the great emperor, breaking the Jin Dynasty's dilemma, the future of Jin Dynasty should not only include Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu, and Xuantong, right?
Thinking of this, Emperor Daoguang took a step forward, stood in front of the microphone of the loudspeaker, opened his throat and shouted: "Warriors of the Eight Banners, I have just made a divination, and it is very auspicious, and the benefit is in the southwest, and the dragon is trapped in the sea. , powerful in all directions! The time has finally come for our Kingdom of Jin to rise up and become a great power! I now order you and other Eight Banners athletes to march towards Persia together. Our Kingdom of Jin is now about to enter the Persian Kingdom!"
(End of chapter)
