1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 674 The Messenger of Ottoman

April 1652, 4, Han Chau, Dog Island (now Christmas Island, Australia).

"Our Ottoman Empire will naturally not admit defeat easily. We need to continue to wage war. Because what is lost in the war will naturally be gained from the war." Murat Salim Esenli showed a trace of fanaticism on his face , "As long as the true God blesses us, all pagans will eventually be trampled under our feet."

"However, even if the Hanzhou people are willing to sell this huge ship, how can we drive it back to the Mediterranean Sea?" Melih Gokchek frowned and said, "You know, it will take tens of thousands of miles of dangerous sea routes. , but also pass through Portugal, Spain, Venice and other pagan countries. They will not easily let us get a powerful super ship that can change the balance of power in the Mediterranean Sea!"

"There will always be a way." Murat Salim Esenli said with a smile: "The pagans throughout Europe will not provide us with this super giant ship, they will block everything for us, thinking about it all the time but we have a great God who will bless us with new strength. Now, I think, this Hanzhou can not only provide us with powerful artillery, but also change our weak sea situation. In the Mediterranean Sea, In Crete, our navy has lost its absolute advantage. Therefore, we need to introduce new weapons and introduce new forces."

"Okay, I'll go down and talk to the Hanzhou people." Melih Gokchek nodded helplessly.

As the two special envoys sent by Istanbul, Murat Salim Esenli and Merih Gokcek first traveled to Egypt by sea, then traveled by land to Suez, and finally took a group of more than ten Barbary pirates to transport special envoys. The "cargo" merchant ship, which lasted more than four months, came to Hanzhou, preparing to explore and visit this southern country that can provide a large amount of artillery and various exquisite industrial products.

Three days ago, the fleet sailed into the pier of Gouji Island, where they planned to stop for a whole day before arriving in the mainland of Hanzhou.In the afternoon, Murat Salim Esenli took a walk by the seaside with a group of entourages, just in time to see the battleship "Hanhe" of the Qi State Navy enter the dock and dock.Looking at the huge hull, with gun muzzles on both sides, it gives people a great sense of deterrence and oppression, and I can't help but yearn for it.

Murat Salim Esenli learned from the accompanying Qi officials that this giant ship was completely designed and built by themselves, and it also played a decisive role in the Second Han-Dutch War , successfully defeated the navy of the Dutch East India Company, and established Hanzhou's status as the top two in the region in one fell swoop.

In contrast to the Ottoman Navy, after the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Ottoman Empire was no longer able to form such a large fleet. Its command of the sea began to decline, and it gradually lost control of the Mediterranean Sea.In the Battle of Crete launched several years ago (1645), in the face of little Venice, the Ottoman army was unable to take it completely, and its weak navy was even more unable to blockade the island, allowing the Venetians to continuously attack the island. The deployment of new forces and various supplies to the island forced the planned short-lived battle to seize the island into a war of attrition that lasted for several years.

If the Ottoman Navy had a powerful sea fleet, it would not only be able to completely blockade Crete and end the endless tug-of-war with Venice, but also protect the coastal territories of the Mediterranean Empire and revive the Ottoman Empire's maritime glory.

During the war with the Habsburgs, Europe developed the Star Fortress, a type of low fortress built by Austria on the border that could only be breached by a long siege.Turkey appeared to be helpless against such fortresses, and the cannons used by the empire in the past were rendered ineffective.

However, two years ago, the Barbary pirates active in Algiers in the Mediterranean obtained many high-performance artillery from the far east, and many of them were 24-pound cannons, which played well in the small European battles for individual fortresses. The effect has attracted the attention of the Ottoman Empire.

The absurd and negligent Ibrahim I was deposed in 1648, and was succeeded by his 6-year-old son as Muhammad IV, but the government was controlled by his grandmother, the Queen Mother Kosem, who implemented "listening behind the curtain" ", During the reign of Kosem, the power of concubines and queen mothers in the Ottoman palace reached its peak.

Although the empress dowager, the grandmother of Kosem, actively interferes in the government, she has no ambition to govern the country, she just wants to maintain her own power and luxury life.I am endlessly bored with the Crete battle that continues to consume the country's wealth. I have issued instructions many times, asking the generals leading the army to end this endless battle as soon as possible and transfer the empire's military power to the increasingly severe Europe. battlefield.

Therefore, as an envoy sent by the Ottoman court, Murat Salim Esenli came up with the idea of ​​purchasing one for the Ottoman Navy after seeing the huge "Hanhe" battleship.You must know that in the entire Christian world, no country is willing to sell warships as combat weapons to the Ottoman Empire.

As for their European ally, France, due to geopolitical reasons, they do not want Ottoman's navy to be too strong, and naturally they will not support Ottoman's expansion of sea power.Then, this distant Hanzhou should be a good choice.
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On April 4, Pearl Harbor (now Broome, a small port town in northwest Australia).

When the [-] ships of the Barbary pirates arrived at the Pearl Harbor wharf, they were unexpectedly notified by the Ministry of Immigration and Commerce of Qi State that the "goods" did not need to go to Jianye City for delivery, but were delivered directly at Pearl Harbor.

More than 800 female slaves from Europe and Persia were placed in a temporary settlement in the city after a preliminary inspection, waiting for the transfer of migrants to the capital of Guizhou (now Perth, Australia).

In view of the large-scale drought and lack of rain in Hanzhou last year and this year, the production of food crops in the whole country except Guizhou Prefecture has been severely reduced. In order to alleviate the shortage of food supply in the northern and eastern regions, the distribution of immigrants this year has begun to go to Guizhou for the first time. Mansion and Weiyuan Island (now New Guinea Island) tilted.

Guizhou Prefecture directly obtained more than 4000 immigration quotas, accounting for nearly 8000% of the total immigration this year, and Weiyuan Island also received more than 4000 immigration quotas, and the remaining [-] immigrants were scattered in the north and east. Several prefectures and counties.

Therefore, in order to balance the male-female ratio in Guizhou Prefecture, the Immigration Department simply distributed all the female slaves sent by the Barbary pirates to Guizhou Prefecture, which made hundreds of residents of Pearl Harbor envious.

At present, Pearl Harbor is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Jianye Mansion. Last year, the Prime Minister’s Office of the Cabinet took over Wulin (now Derby Harbor in northern Australia), Pearl Harbor, Linhai Fort (now Port Hedland in Western Australia), and Jingjiang Fort (now Karratha in Western Australia) ), Xiningbao (now Caernarfon City, Western Australia) were spun off from Jianye Mansion and Guizhou Mansion to establish the Hanxi General Administration District, with Gu Sanping, the former magistrate of Zhenhai (now Dili City, East Timor) as the chief executive.

The entire Hanxi general area is extremely large, but the population is only 3000 to [-]. If the Ministry of Industry hadn't established a steel production base in Linhai, the entire area might not even have decent industrial facilities.At the same time, this is also the most arid and desolate place in the mainland of Hanzhou, and the food cannot be self-sufficient, and it is all supported by the Guizhou government.

The various coastal strongholds in this area generally only plant some dry crops, such as corn, sweet potato, potato, sorghum, sunflower, and a small amount of tobacco leaves.In addition, according to the guidance of the government's agricultural experts, some residents also tried to plant some medicinal materials such as Adenophora, Guanfangfeng, Silybum, Campanulaceae, Astragalus, Angelica, Lycium barbarum, Chuanshanlong, and Shayuanzi in dry land.

If coupled with the large amount of fruits and vegetables planted to provide daily supplies for the ships, the thousands of people in this area can also exchange some cash in their hands. Although the small life is not considered rich, it is more precarious than the Ming Dynasty. The situation is too strong.

A group of guests from the Ottomans met the local residents in Pearl Harbor. The clothes did not look very gorgeous, but everyone looked very energetic, and their faces were healthy and ruddy.What surprised the Ottomans even more was that the Hanzhou people seemed to have a freakish obsession with cleanliness. Whether it was the Isle of Dogs they stopped at before or this tropical seaside town, the residential areas and commercial areas would be cleaned up, without any There are no exposed garbage and sewage scenes like many cities in Ottoman territory.

It can be seen that their local government should manage the people extremely strictly, and also have absolute control, which can make the people under their jurisdiction compulsively obey any arrangement of the government.To keep a city tidy and clean, the officials of the Hanzhou people must have made great efforts for this.Although I don't understand why they have to spend so much energy on such a small thing, it gives all the guests an extreme sense of comfort.In other words, who doesn't like a clean and tidy living environment?

The Ottomans stayed in this small town for five days. Under the kind persuasion of several Barbary pirate leaders, they bought many beautiful white pearls from the local residents and prepared to present them to the many nobles in Istanbul.These crystal clear white pearls are not only large in size and delicate in skin, but also have thicker layers of pearls and rounder roundness. They are really the best gifts for the nobles of the Ottoman court.

Lying on the white sand gently washed by the turquoise sea, drinking honey wine (sugar cane wine) brewed in Hanzhou, eating unique grilled fish, completely relaxing in this quiet town, let those who come from afar The Ottoman guests feel infinitely comfortable, and even feel nostalgic and return.
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On May 5, a fleet of Barbary pirates arrived at Jianye Port, the political and economic center of this southern mainland country.

After some rigorous inspection and interrogation, two guiding boats took their group of more than ten ships to the dock on the west side of the port to dock, and then several dock officials welcomed the Ottoman envoy to a nearby guest house for a temporary rest, waiting for the diplomatic department reception.

After more than ten years of development, Jianye Port has become the port with the most advanced facilities and the most scientific planning in the entire Nanyang region. There are more than ten long cement trestles extending into the bay in the entire port berthing area, which can satisfy 60 docks at the same time. Many large ships.Numerous tall booms stand on the edge of the pier, providing efficient loading and unloading services for many cargo ships entering and leaving the port.

A cement breakwater several kilometers long blocks the impact of the turbulent waves in the bay, encloses the entire harbor basin inside, and at the same time maintains a stable water surface in the port, ensuring that the port is protected from bad weather, so that ships can berth safely and Operation.

On the southeast side of the wharf, there are two huge repair docks, which can provide overall repair and maintenance services for any type of merchant ships coming from afar at any time, ensuring the continuous voyage capability of the ships.

"The Hanzhou people don't know how many people were mobilized and how many huge rocks were excavated to build this port to such a large scale?" Murat Salim Esenli pointed in the direction of the port and said with a smile.

"Master Esenli, the Hanzhou people didn't dig so many boulders to build this port." Amari, who has been to Jianye Port twice, said softly: "Those buildings that look like boulders are all It was built from a building material known as cement. Many cities and fortresses of the Hanzhou people used this material on a large scale, and it was very strong and durable. Even if it was bombarded by artillery, the damage caused was very slight."

"Oh?" Esenli's face changed, "Can we get this building material called cement?"

"...Perhaps, some price needs to be paid." Amari said with some uncertainty.

"The price?" Eisenli nodded. Our great Ottoman Empire has tens of millions of people, a vast territory, countless rare treasures, and inexhaustible mineral resources. This little Hanzhou gets everything we want.Most importantly, they will gain the friendship of our Ottoman Empire, and on this alone, Eisenli sees no reason for this country to refuse their request.

Honglu Temple, who was in charge of foreign affairs in Qi State, responded very quickly. Less than an hour after receiving the report from the dock officials, a young minister of Honglu Temple brought several masters of ceremonies and a team of patrolmen to pick up the Ottoman envoy. Three carriages drove towards the State Guest House in the city.And the Barbary pirates who came to deliver the trade goods went to the trading house in the city, preparing to contact the Ministry of Commerce and Trade of the State of Qi for the goods to be exchanged.

Jianye City has been expanded three times, covering an area of ​​nearly four square kilometers. The first defensive city wall has become the dividing line between the inner and outer cities. The population of the city has reached more than [-], and more than half of the country's large commercial companies and factories are concentrated. , and became the political, economic and cultural center of Qi State.

"Is it true that there are no beggars and refugees in Hanzhou, or did they purify the streets on purpose because of our arrival?" Murat Salim Esenli looked out of the car window at the still neat and clean urban environment, and couldn't help asked curiously.

"My lord, I think there may be no beggars and refugees in Hanzhou." As the translator of the Ottoman envoy, Ma Huaiyu said with a smile: "Hanzhou is sparsely populated and lacks labor. It is impossible for beggars and refugees to exist. My lord, You see, the Hanzhou people are making full use of those disabled people who lack legs and feet, how can they waste any of them?"

Murat Salim Esenli looked in the direction of Ma Huaiyu's finger. Two men without arms were directing several indigenous people, pushing and pulling two rickshaws, and were clearing up the garbage piled up nearby along the street. The convoy that came all the way here looked over curiously, without showing any distress on their faces.The baggy blue denim (denim) they wore was old and faded but not dirty.

"Hanzhou is really a magical country. I think we, the Ottoman Empire, can get a lot of things we want from here."

(End of this chapter)