1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3703

After leaving the Port of Jeddah, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they were worried about the prospect of occupying this place in the future.

The local Arab people have had extremely firm religious beliefs for thousands of years. This belief even transcends their own race, culture and values, and is even higher than the status of the country's monarch.

In the areas under Hai Han’s rule, no religion will be allowed to override the Executive Committee, and religious leaders will not be allowed to have a huge influence on the people. When Hai Han wants to establish a ruling area in the Red Sea region, it will inevitably have conflicts of interest with religious forces, and there will inevitably be a contest.

This kind of competition is not as easy to determine the winner as on the battlefield, and it is bound to be accompanied by a long-term ideological struggle. However, the cruelty of this struggle is not necessarily much less than that of a bloody battlefield.

Qian Tiandun recalled the various large-scale wars that took place between Europe and Asia during this period. They were often caused by religious disputes and used the excuse of conquering heretics, and would last for years or even decades.

The rear base of the special operations division is thousands of miles away. For the vast West Asia region, it is at most a vanguard with strong combat effectiveness, but it does not possess truly overwhelming strength.

Unless the country consciously invests more resources in this region in the future and gives the special operations division more support and authority, it will be possible to establish a ruling area belonging to Hai Han here.

Of course, if Qian Tiandun wants the country to make such a decision, he must first prove to everyone that this place has corresponding development value.

Three days after leaving the port of Jeddah, the fleet arrived at the Sinai Peninsula at the northern end of the Red Sea.

The Sinai Peninsula is where Asia and Africa connect. This triangular peninsula, wide in the north and narrow in the south, is about half the size of Fujian. To the north is the Mediterranean Sea, and to the east are the Gulf of Aqaba and the Negev Desert.

On the west side of the Sinai Peninsula is the Gulf of Suez, the key area that the Hai Han fleet will visit on this trip.

The underground of the Sinai Peninsula is rich in mineral resources, and it was also one of the famous oil producing areas in later generations. However, at this moment, there are only Bedouins herding sheep and camels here, and there is nothing related to industry.

The Gulf of Suez, sandwiched between the Sinai Peninsula and the African continent, is long and narrow, with a length of more than 600 miles from north to south, a width of about 30 to 90 miles from east to west, and a waterway depth of more than 20 feet.

It took the fleet less than two days to reach the end of the Gulf of Suez and the final destination of the journey, Port Suez.

"My Lord, I don't know why, but when I came here, I suddenly felt like I had reached the end of the world!"

Hearing Gao Qiaonan's feelings, Qian Tiandun nodded in agreement and said, "After all, the Gulf of Suez is a dead end, and the Red Sea is an even bigger dead end. We have been marching in this dead end for many days and finally reached the end. It is inevitable that people will have such a feeling."

"But in fact, 300 miles north of Port Suez is the Mediterranean Sea. It is a vast sea area comparable to the South China Sea, with countless countries and city-states. It is a completely new world. Countries like Portugal and Spain, which we are familiar with, are both located on the Mediterranean."

Looking at the port of Suez on the distant coast, everyone in the group felt full of ambition and an urge to do something.

"A 300-mile canal can connect the two worlds. Your Excellency's planning of such a feat will surely go down in history in the future!" Li Yuande took the opportunity to compliment him. Qian Tiandun raised his hand and pointed to the port and said, "This is the end of the fleet, but it is not my end. After entering the port, I plan to go ashore and go inland for a detailed investigation. The journey may take several days. Is there anyone willing to accompany me?"

Li Yuande and Dong Shangyi immediately responded and vied with each other to go with Qian Tiandun.

The mature and prudent Gao Qiaonan said: "Sir, this place should be the territory of the Ottoman Empire, but I don't know if they are willing to give this convenience."

Qian Tiandun said: "Whether Osman is willing to let us go, we have to try to find out the answer. Yuande, Shangyi, you two will follow me to visit the local governor later."

They were both overjoyed when they heard this and quickly agreed.

The two of them had missed many of the fleet's visits to the Persian Gulf because they were negotiating with the Xihu tribe, which was a great pity. This time, they finally had the opportunity to follow Qian Tiandun during their visit to the Gulf of Suez, so they naturally couldn't miss the opportunity again.

The Hai Han fleet had a good record of visiting Ottoman ports such as Basra and Aden, and did not encounter too many difficulties when docking at the Port of Suez. The port even set aside a special dock area for this huge fleet to dock.

Of course, it is hard to say whether this is to provide convenience for the Hai Han fleet or to make it easier for local garrisons to monitor the movements of this armed fleet.

After Qian Tiandun landed, he took Li Yuande and Dong Shangyi, as well as a cart of gifts, to visit the local governor. Gao Qiaonan stayed at the port and arranged for the sailors and soldiers to take turns to rest.

Of course, these thousands of Hai Han people would not be allowed to enter the city together with the permission of the local government. In fact, the Ottomans only allowed a hundred people from the fleet to enter the city every day, and the others could only move around in the port area. It can be seen that the Ottomans were somewhat wary of the arrival of these uninvited guests.

The value of the gift that Qian Tiandun prepared for the governor of Suez was far greater than the gifts sent at Basra and Aden. The purpose of his trip was not only to build closer relations or sell arms, but also to obtain permission from the other party to pass through nearby areas and even the Nile River Basin.

After accepting Qian Tiandun's generous gift, Regent Ilhan's attitude was indeed very warm, and he even affectionately called Qian Tiandun "my Eastern friend."

Qian Tiandun also took the opportunity to propose that he hoped to be allowed to lead a team deep into the heart of Suez to inspect this land route to the Mediterranean for the arrival of subsequent Hai Han merchant caravans. He also planned to go to the lower reaches of the Nile River to see the once glorious Nile civilization.

Since Ilhan accepted Qian Tiandun's gift, it would be a shame to make things difficult for him on this matter.

However, although Ilhan agreed to Qian Tiandun's request, he still set some restrictions for him.

Qian Tiandun could not bring more than 100 people with him, and they had to be accompanied by an Ottoman guide throughout the journey to prevent them from entering certain "restricted areas" that were not suitable for foreigners to enter. The entire journey could not exceed one month. If they needed to stay in the Ottoman territory for a long time, they had to return to the Port of Suez to handle the formalities.

These two restrictions were no problem for Qian Tiandun. He even took the initiative to ask Ilhan to recommend a reliable horse and carriage company so that he could prepare for the next trip. Ilhan also understood the other party's hidden meaning. There was no doubt that Qian Tiandun wanted to use this opportunity to give him another benefit.