1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3705

It was not the first time that Murat, the leader of the carriage and horse team, came to the Great Bitter Lake, but he really couldn't understand why these Hai Han people were interested in this barren land with no grass.

Some Hai Han people were walking around the lake holding long poles with rulers on them. They would stop from time to time and put the poles upright on the ground, as if marking something.

Although Murat didn't understand, he subconsciously thought that these Hai Han people might not be doing anything good. He went to find Qian Tiandun to argue, but Qian Tiandun just told him indifferently that the investigation team settled the fees with the carriage and horse company on a daily basis, and even if they stayed in the Great Bitter Lake, they would still pay the carriage and horse company in full.

The actions of the Hai Han expedition team did not violate the agreement between Qian Tiandun and the Ilkhan in the slightest. The Great Bitter Lake was neither a sensitive military restricted area nor did it have any indigenous residents who could come into conflict with the expedition team. There was really no reason not to allow them to operate here.

Murat couldn't understand it, but a clerk at the carriage shop did understand what the Hai Han people were doing. He had participated in road construction projects before, and had seen similar operations during the survey phase.

After hearing the report, Murat immediately found Qian Tiandun again and asked him directly whether he was surveying the topography of the Great Bitter Lake.

Qian Tiandun frankly admitted: "I have already told Lord Ilhan when we met that the purpose of our trip is to investigate the trade route from Suez Port to the Mediterranean. Considering the transportation cost, we must try to find the shortest route, and it is natural to survey the terrain."

Murat said: "There is already an official road from the port of Suez to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Are you planning to build another road besides the official road?"

Qian Tiandun said: "If there is a suitable opportunity, I would really like to try it. Maybe there will be other more efficient routes, but we can only be sure after we complete the survey."

Murat shook his head and said, "Even if the government allows you to enter this area to engage in trade activities, that is different from building a road. Whether it is Constantinople or the Port of Suez, they will probably not allow you to engage in actions such as road construction."

Qian Tiandun smiled but said nothing. If he had to wait for the approval of the Ottoman Empire before building the canal, then this mega project would probably be difficult to start during his lifetime.

Although Qian Tiandun has not yet figured out a perfect way to advance the implementation of the Suez Canal project without going to war with the Ottoman Empire, he will never sit there and wait for the opportunity to come.

Qian Tiandun believed that the best opportunities can only be created by oneself, not given by others, so even before the construction of the canal was even started, he had already organized an investigation team to survey the canal route.

Qian Tiandun actually didn't know when these survey data would come in handy, but he knew that if he didn't do it, the opening of the Suez Canal might be delayed by hundreds of years.

Moreover, by that time, if Hai Han wants to intervene in the construction and operation of the Suez Canal, the difficulty will probably be no less than it is now, and it is very likely to face more intense competition.

No matter how Murat doubted, Qian Tiandun and his party stayed at the Great Bitter Lake for three days and completed the survey of the surrounding environment before continuing on their journey.

However, the expedition team only walked northward for most of the day, only 30 or 40 miles, before they stopped again. The reason was the same, because there was another lake here - Lake Timsach. But the area of ​​Lake Timsach was much smaller than that of the Great Bitter Lake, so it did not take too much time to survey. The expedition team only stayed there for one night, and completed the survey work by noon the next day, and then continued to move north.

The further north you go, the more green you see. Large tracts of farmland begin to appear among the yellow sand.

Murat introduced to Qian Tiandun that they had entered the Nile River Basin and all the green here was a gift from the Nile River.

The area of ​​the lower Nile plain is much smaller than that of the Mesopotamian plain where the city of Basra is located. Both places gave birth to brilliant civilizations because of their abundant water resources.

However, at this time, both the Mesopotamian civilization and the Nile civilization were in their respective decline periods, and thus fell into the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

From Lake Timsah to the north, it is basically flat. It is on the edge of the Nile Delta, but even if the river water diverted here is extremely limited, it is enough to turn it into a paradise with lush water and grass.

Since leaving the Indian Peninsula and entering the Persian Gulf, the members of the expedition team have seen nothing but yellow sand, and have never seen so much green, or such a large area of ​​crops. Seeing such a scene now, they can't help but marvel at it, and marvel at the wonderful means of the Creator.

And there are tens of millions of acres of such fertile land in the lower reaches of the Nile River.

It is not difficult to understand why the Ottoman Empire launched an attack on Egypt and seized the Nile Delta, which was Egypt's lifeline.

Even if only half of these fields were cultivated, they would be enough to feed tens of millions of people. For the Ottoman Empire, which spanned three continents, this was a huge granary.

Not to mention the Ottomans, even the well-informed Qian Tiandun, after seeing the natural environment here, could not help but secretly calculate that if Hai Han sent troops to seize this place, it should be able to rely on the unique conditions here to attract many people who love farming and growing crops from the country to immigrate here.

There are many traditional Egyptian villages along the way, and Qian Tiandun also visited a few of them. The locals seemed a little numb to the arrival of the foreigners in the inspection team, as if their lives would not change because of their presence.

After all, their ancestors used to farm for the Pharaohs, and now that the Ottomans have come to rule here, they have only changed the recipient of their grain. No matter who is the owner here, their lives will not change much.

Qian Tiandun believed that the locals' farming techniques were still at a relatively primitive stage, and were basically supported by the fertile soil of the Nile Delta. It was not difficult to imagine that if Hai Han's advanced agricultural technology were introduced here in the future, it would inevitably be another dimensionality reduction attack.

Although the farming technology is not very good, the advantage is the innate conditions. As long as there is no war, the output of this place is enough to feed everyone. The market price of grain is even nearly 20% lower than Qian Tiandun's estimate.

The population density here is obviously far greater than that of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, and even the entire Red Sea that the expedition team had previously visited. It is even not inferior to some coastal areas under the jurisdiction of Hai Han.