1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 867 The Power of the Red Sea
December 1671, 12, Sinai Peninsula, at the foot of Mount Sinai (also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Moses).

The appearance of St. Catherine's Monastery looks like an ancient castle, surrounded by tall walls made of stone, old and mottled, and the church in the courtyard is repaired with golden light.The walls, pillars, roofs, and gates of the main church have lifelike carvings of ancient emperors, sages, birds, animals, fish, insects, flowers, plants and fruits.The altar inlaid with gold in the church has bronze statues of Jesus and Saint Catherine lying on their backs.

It is said that the monastery has lasted for more than 400 years since it was first built to the present. Since the sixth century, although it has experienced Arab invasions, European Crusades, and Ottoman rule, it has not been injured and is still well preserved. , so that all the visitors couldn't help but be amazed.

"My lord, they don't allow us to take those ancient paintings."

Captain Renyong (Lieutenant) Liu Chengfeng of the black-clothed guard was curiously looking at the well called the Well of Moses in the monastery. A Mamluk cavalry rushed over and reported to him with a strange accent.

"Oh?" Liu Chengfeng withdrew his gaze and looked at the Mamluk cavalryman, "Are they trying to raise money?"

"My lord, they are not... saying that those ancient paintings and paintings were donated to their gods by the emperors and nobles of European palaces." The Mamluk cavalry replied respectfully: "In addition, there are some manuscripts and scriptures. They We are also forbidden to take it away."

"Ancient paintings and manuscripts can be eaten!" Liu Chengfeng sneered, "These ascetic monks are too pedantic. What they cultivate here is the heart and god, and those ancient paintings, manuscripts, and scriptures are just tools.  … Go and call the commanding officer sent by Al Pasha, and let him do some persuasion work for those ascetic monks."

As the most important spy agency in the Qi State, the black guards stationed in various places not only spy on local politics, geography, and people's sentiments, but also have the task of collecting local classics and cultural relics.

Liu Chengfeng heard about this Christian holy mountain in the hinterland of the Sinai Peninsula - Mount Sinai, and the famous St. Catherine's Monastery at the foot of the mountain last year.Therefore, he began to prepare for a visit, and collected some ancient books and cultural relics with more historical significance, and then transported them back to the local museum in Hanzhou for collection.

In addition, those former Christian local residents either converted to true God or were forced to leave, and even the number of monks in Sinai has gradually decreased, so that today, there are only less than 40 people left, and they often face the dilemma of shortage of supplies .

A few months ago, Liu Chengfeng and a treasurer of an Ottoman trading company took a boat from Taixing Fort (now Sharm El Sheikh at the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula) to Al (now the city of Tour on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula), and spent a small amount of money. Then he also agreed to do business with him, first get the local Pasha.

"Who knows!" said the officer of the naval officer, "It is said that the relationship between the Ottoman officials and the local Arabs is quite tense. If you know that the Ottomans have changed hands and leased Aden to us, it is hard to guarantee that you will not have a different idea." Therefore, the commander of our squadron is prepared to seize it directly by force if it fails to take over peacefully."

According to the order of General Qi, Mahmoud Hamdi needs to select some cavalry from among the more than [-] Slavic slave soldiers selected, and the Mamluk cavalry recruited along with them will be used as a part of the army to receive Aden. Mobile forces to deal with possible raids by local tribal cavalry.

Mahmoud Hamdi, the deputy captain of the Guang'an Fort Guards, glanced at it, nodded indiscernibly, and then continued to turn his head to observe the cavalry that kept coming.

Among the slaves from the Nanwu Prairie, there were many Cossacks with excellent riding skills. Although their style of play was rough and their coordination was poor, they were barely usable after a little training.I believe that under the cover of the fierce artillery of the Qi army, it is no problem to defeat the tribal cavalry several times.

"Won't there be a big fight? Would you like us to send some guards from Taixing Castle to go with you to help out?"

Winter in the Sinai Peninsula is the most comfortable season of the year. The temperature is between 20°C and 25°C, which is cool and pleasant.Taixing Fort is located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, surrounded by mountains and the sea, where the two golden coasts of the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet. The soft sandy beaches, warm sea water and abundant sunshine all year round make people feel refreshed.In the sea not far away, there are dense coral reefs and living corals, as well as a variety of marine animals and plants inhabiting the coral reefs. The underwater wonders are bizarre.

"Hey..." Lu Jianxin smiled mischievously, "There are deserts everywhere here, except for camels and sheep, there is nothing valuable. Thinking about it, the city of Aden has been prosperous for hundreds of years. The place where the Wa'er people stop during their pilgrimage must be richer. If there is a fight, they can get some oil and water for the brothers."

"Go and select slaves with combat experience, we need at least 300 of them." A navy military officer (captain) ordered Lu Jianxin, the captain of the Taixing Fort guard: "In addition, more than 30 of you in Taixing Fort We will also take away the original Mamluk cavalry."

"It's not enough to fight a big one. The local tribal armed forces in Aden probably don't have many people, and they can make up a thousand people. We brought these slave soldiers, plus Xuanling Island and Guang'an Fort (now Djibouti) City) and hundreds of armed guards in the two places, you can handle it no matter what....You want to follow the past to pick up some bargains?"

Afterwards, they hired more than a hundred camels locally, and transported all the packed items to Ale, and then shipped them back to Taixing Fort.
-
On December 12, Taixing Fort.

A group of heavily armed Mamluk cavalry and musketeers stood on the pier, watching their arrival with great interest.Judging from their faces, there are local Egyptians, Indians with darker skin, and of course, some Qi people with oriental faces.

This stronghold is located on the west coast of the Gulf of Aden in northeastern Africa. It guards the Mandeb Strait, the southern gate of the Red Sea. Or ships that go south from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and bypass the Cape of Good Hope all pass through this place, and its strategic position is very important.Therefore, Guang'an Fort, including the port and the shore, was not handed over to private commercial companies for management, but was directly brought under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Navy, and has been under military control.

Unexpectedly, the monks in the monastery expressed their opposition and wanted to prohibit their plundering in order to protect the long history and culture of the monastery.

The collection of historical classics and cultural relics from all over the country by the Qi State, and then transported back to Hanzhou for proper preservation, has been carried out since the immigrant period of the Ming Dynasty more than 20 years ago, and has formed a practice.

Obviously, this stronghold is under the control of the people of Qi just like the Port of Suez that passed by a few days ago. These bought slaves will be the coolies of these strongholds, pouring their blood and sweat here little by little. , and finally died silently in the desert far away from his hometown.

In the end, under the persistent and fearless persistence of these ascetic monks, Liu Chengfeng and his group only took away less than one-fifth of the ancient paintings, colored paintings, and ancient classics in the monastery.

He exchanged for the "abandoned" books and cultural relics in the monastery on the grounds of funding food, cloth, spices, sugar, and other large quantities of living materials.

"...You merchants and guards, you really got into the money's eyes!" The navy captain heard this, and couldn't help but cursed with a smile.

Half a month ago, he brought a dozen guards, led by local Pasha armed personnel, rode horses and camels, and traveled more than [-] kilometers inland to the St. Catherine Monastery.

As a war slave bought back by the Qi people, Vladislav Vaschuk had no intention of enjoying the beautiful scenery and pleasant weather here. Crimea, came to this warm coastal stronghold, everyone is exhausted.

Although in 626 AD, the Prophet Muhammad issued a protection order for this Christian monastery with his hand, which saved the monastery from war and persecution when the Arabs and Ottomans invaded Egypt.However, the local True God believers don't like the existence of this heresy building very much. Although it will not destroy it, it is impossible to actively protect it.

In the barren land a few miles away from the city, more than a hundred cavalrymen are galloping on horseback, practicing various cavalry formations.Vladislav Vaschuk rode on a galloping horse, and when he quickly passed a wooden stake on the sidelines, he swung a knife and slashed at it fiercely. Two cuts, the movements were extremely clean and neat, and after the horse was beaten away, it left behind a cloud of smoke and dust.

To be honest, Vladislav Vaschuk was full of doubts deep in his heart when he heard the words conveyed by the translator.You must know that no matter in Tsarist Russia or in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, all serfs will always live a precarious life under the cruel oppression of landlords and nobles.Otherwise, they would not be a Cossack.

For half a month, five large and medium-sized armed merchant ships from Taixing Fort and Xuanling Island gathered in Guang'an Fort. In addition to bringing a large amount of supplies to the naval base, they also brought in more than 2000 armed personnel. and immigrants (slaves).The sudden gathering of a large number of people immediately crowded this small city with a radius of less than [-] meters to the brim.

This Taixing Fort, established five years ago, is an important commercial base under the Ottoman Trading Company, and can radiate the entire Red Sea coast through this place.After years of development, there are more than 260 permanent residents here, but there are only about [-] people from Qi, and the rest are local Egyptians and laborers imported from India.

Therefore, when these eastern-faced Qi people announced to them that they would be exempted from being freed after five years of service, and also granted a piece of land, Vladislav Vaschuk was in despair.Perhaps the degree of exploitation of these Qi people will be far more than that of the Ottomans, so that most of them will not be able to live beyond five years.

All kinds of handwritten rare books, original books in the monastery library, and many ancient manuscripts written on papyrus, as well as ancient scrolls in Arabic and Turkish, regardless of their value, let alone whether they can be understood , Packed and sorted in one go, stored in wooden boxes one by one.

When they crossed the Mediterranean Sea and arrived at a small fishing port in Egypt, a well-known oriental announced to them that as long as they served them honestly for five years, all of them would be freed and granted them a piece of land. For land that can be held permanently, you only need to pay [-]% of the harvest on the land every year.

As for the slaves of the Crimean Tatars or the Ottomans, the end will be even more tragic. Not only will everyone be deprived of their faith, but they will also live a life that is not as good as cattle and horses. Few people can live for ten years , or die under the whip of the master, or die in the cold winter night.

These steadfast monks originally thought that these outsiders gave them a lot of living materials out of their incomparable respect for the gods of Christ, and they were not afraid of traveling long distances to come here.Unexpectedly, they had the intention of looting various ancient books and cultural relics in the monastery.

"Traveling thousands of miles is only for money. We gave up the comfortable and comfortable life in Hanzhou because we want to earn more money overseas and accumulate a rich family business for the young and old! What do you think, sir?"
-
On December 12, Guang'an Fort.

There is a squadron under the Qi State Indian Fleet stationed here, with four warships, which are used to safeguard Qi State's commercial interests in the Red Sea and the coastal areas of East Africa.

"Sir, are you going to fight the local Arabs in the process of taking over Aden?" Lu Jianxin asked curiously.

After discovering that there were still thousands of ancient paintings and colored paintings hanging on the walls and corridors of the monastery, Liu Chengfeng ordered the accompanying Mamluk cavalry guards to pick some relatively intact ones and prepare to pack them away together.

Taixing Fort controls the key point of the Strait of Tiran and controls the gateway to the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba. Its strategic location is important.There are many small islands and reefs in the nearby sea, and the narrowest part of the deep water channel is only more than 300 meters. There are wharf forts and a stone military fortress built here.

Guang'anbao and its surrounding areas have a tropical grassland climate, with only two seasons of cool and hot throughout the year. April to October is the hot season, with an average temperature of 4°C-10°C, and the highest temperature can sometimes reach above 31°C; November to March is the cool season, with an average temperature of 35°-40°C.Moreover, there is little rainfall in this area, and the average annual rainfall is only about 11 millimeters.For this reason, several rainwater collection ponds were specially built in Guang'anbao City for the agricultural production and daily life of more than 3 local residents.

Thinking of artillery, Mahmoud Hamdi couldn't help sighing secretly.In the Battle of Suez five years ago, these Mamluk cavalrymen, who boasted of being brave and unparalleled, fell in front of the formation like moths to a flame under the fierce artillery bombardment and volleys of guns from the Alignment.More than ten years of combat skills are so vulnerable to firearms, and their lives are harvested by huge projectiles or tiny lead in an instant.

He believes that even if the Qi army only dispatched less than 600 people to Aden this time, they can still easily control the situation there with sharp firearms.

As for bringing their more than a hundred cavalry, it is nothing more than to kill those tribal armed forces who dare to offend Qi after establishing a victory, so as to show their power.

Oh, may God bless them.

(End of this chapter)