Wild North America 1846

Colonel Lei Xiao's trip is to travel to the Middle East and conduct military exchanges and visits to the region, which is one of the daily tasks of the military department.

The second is to verify the combat capability of the assault wolf armored vehicle in the arid desert area. The relevant tests were mainly carried out in Yunzhong Province for as long as one year.

Kuwait City is not the destination. In the next step, Colonel Lei Xiao and his party will go to Baghdad as a special military delegation of the Tang Empire, and return after passing through the Kingdom of Persia.

The Ottoman Army learned all the military regulations of the German Army, and the Navy copied the British Royal Navy. They were also willing to learn from the advanced experience of the Tang Empire Army.

The Kingdom of Persia is a place where the competition between Britain and Germany is relatively fierce, but it also often conducts military exchanges with France, Tang and other countries, and maintains a balance of power diplomacy among the world powers.

After staying in Kuwait City for a few days, Colonel Lei Xiao roughly figured out the characteristics of the city;

This is a city formed by a collection of smugglers, big and small. It implements city self-government, and the 13-member municipal council elected by everyone manages the city.

Among the 13 people, there are seven Chinese, two British, one French, and three local Arab tribal chiefs, who together form the municipal council, which basically reflects the local population structure.

The place is on the edge of the Ottoman Empire and is a paradise for adventurers.With smuggling business as its main business, its business tentacles extend to the inland of the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Oman, and the scale is quite large.

Basically, every 5 to 7 days, a large ocean-going ship arrives at the port of Kuwait, unloads a variety of goods from the ship, and then divides them up among various smugglers.

The large ocean liner comes from Fubo City, the largest port in Yunzhong Province along the Red Sea coast. It is located in the main route of the Eurasian route. Exported specialty products and materials imported from Europe all have to go through this Red Sea route.

Freighters on the Europe-Asia route often stop at Fubo Port for supplies and unload some cargo.Load up with special products from Africa or the Middle East, and then set sail again to complete the rest of the voyage.

Fubo City is now developed into the Red Sea region from the largest entrepot trade port in Northeast Africa. Most of the goods needed by nearby Ethiopia and Sudan are transshipped from this port.

The port of Kuwait is the trade distribution port of the entire Gulf region, accepting the distribution and sales of goods from Fubo City, and exporting local specialties to Fubo City, such as camels, horses and Arab women.

Camels, horses, and mules are important pack animals, and purebred Arabian horses are extremely valuable. There is a strong demand for these from the outside world, and they can be sold no matter how many they have.

As a result, Kuwait has formed the largest livestock market in the entire Gulf region. Every year, millions of mules, horses, camels and other large livestock are traded, and there are countless cattle and sheep, all of which are transported to Fubo Port or Sana'a Port by returning sea ships.

Local tribal wars often produce captives. Whether the Ottomans or the Persians have a tradition of human trafficking for hundreds of years, there is ample supply.

In Yunzhong Province and other overseas provinces of the empire, Chinese immigrants have always had a strong desire for young women, and the shortage is met from the population trade.

So this is also a very profitable business, which has been in existence for more than 20 years, and its scale is expanding.

Sir Mai Guangmin is the deputy mayor of the Municipal Council. He is a well-known local squire. While running his own smuggling business, he shoulders certain urban management responsibilities.

this day

He brought Mr. Enzo, the British mayor, to the manor, and met Colonel Lei Xiao respectfully.

The British-born mayor, Mr. Enzo, is also a citizen of the Tang Empire. He served in the army in his early years and was a member of the 2nd Division of the Royal Marines. He participated in the Battle of Suez Port with His Highness Tang-Li Xin, King of Pingxi.

This guy is a British person who sells dog meat. He married a Han wife and gave birth to several mixed-race children. He can speak fluent Shandong Chinese because his wife is from Lu Province.

"Is he also a smuggler?"

Colonel Lei Xiao was wearing a light white linen coat. When he came out, he saw Mr. Enzo's typical British appearance, bald eagle nose, and couldn't help asking questions.

Instead of Sir Mai Guangmin answering, Mr. Enzuo clasped his fists skillfully, made a bow first, bent down and nodded and replied;

"Your Honorable Lord, please ask me. I am a small businessman in the kerosene trade. I have a small capital and little profit. It is not worth mentioning. It makes the nobleman laugh."

Damn it, this guy!
There have never been small merchants in the kerosene trade. From Europe to the Qing Dynasty to the Indian subcontinent, kerosene is a typical trade of the rich, and the poor cannot afford to light lamps.

The main markets of Kuwait are in the province of Baghdad and the Kingdom of Iran. Even if a dozen or so kerosene smugglers divide up this huge market, everyone's business will not be small.

Every barrel of kerosene shipped inland is worth a fortune.

"You don't need to be polite, let's all sit down and chat." Colonel Lei Xiao raised his hand for a while, and sat down first, and then asked after comfortably raising Erlang's legs; "What's the matter with you today... ?"

"I'm mainly here to visit the nobleman, and I brought a few carts of gifts. A mere gift is not a respect. There is also one of my daughters who is here to serve the noble lord..."

Speaking of here
Mr. Enzo waved to the outside, and a beautiful girl with chestnut hair and slim figure walked over.

This girl has typical mixed-race features, with a sharp face and a pair of beautiful big eyes that flicker. She stood in front of Colonel Lei Xiao without hesitation, and looked at him curiously.

Mr. Enzo was taken aback, and immediately reprimanded;
"Caroline, don't be presumptuous, and you still have to salute the honorable lord, it's all because of my lax discipline.

I'm not bragging about this girl, there is no one in ten miles and eight villages who is more beautiful than her.

Under my teaching, this girl can speak English, French, Arabic and Persian. If you keep it by your side, my lord, it will definitely be useful. "

After a few reprimands for her father, the girl named Caroline was deeply blessed. Colonel Lei Xiao's eyes flickered, and he raised his hand with a smile and said; "Miss Caroline, you don't need to be polite, your language talent seems Very good, they are exactly the talents needed for future visits to Baghdad and Tehran, and there are a lot of places to rely on."

"Then am I from you or from the delegation?" Caroline suddenly asked boldly.

This question not only stopped Colonel Lei Xiao, but also surprised Mr. Enzuo, who quickly interjected and reprimanded: "Presumptuous, you girl, you don't dare to talk nonsense in front of the honorable lord."

Mr. Enzuo then smiled apologetically at Colonel Lei Xiao, and said with some self-blame; Your honorable lord, forgive me a lot."

"It's okay, it looks like she has an innocent and straightforward personality, which is very good." Colonel Lei Xiao smiled forgivingly. This fiery and bold beautiful girl named Caroline really won his favor.

after chatting for a while

On behalf of Kuwait City, Mr. Enzo expressed to Colonel Lei Xiao that he hoped to convey his desire to be recognized and accepted by the empire.

"Hehe... this is a good thing!" Colonel Lei Xiao chuckled lightly, and nodded without hesitation;

"Admiring the prosperity of the empire, yearning for it, this is a sign of the prosperity of our Tang Dynasty, and the subjects of the empire are all honored!
I can forward this matter to the Colonial Department and the Prime Minister on my behalf, and I will surely get a positive response soon.

Considering the complex historical entanglements in the Gulf region, this matter cannot be accomplished overnight, but the empire's firm determination to safeguard overseas colonial interests will change, and its determination to safeguard the interests of citizens will not change.

here……"

Colonel Lei Xiao paused for a moment, organized his words a little before continuing;
"Although this place is remote, the surrounding area is the Gobi desert where there is no grass and the land is barren. But fortunately, it is located on the main road of the bay, and it is a good place to radiate influence to the Mesopotamia from here.

Based here, it will have an important influence on the Gulf region.

Echoing the city of Sana'a in the Cloud Province of the Red Sea region, it is one body with two sides, and it will establish the empire's sphere of influence in the Arabian Peninsula, which is very good.

Don't worry, I'll state my opinion and urge relevant government parties to pay attention to the region's call for attachment. "

"Thank you, Lord Lord, the gratitude of the more than [-] subjects in Kuwait City from top to bottom is beyond words..."

Mr. Enzuo and Sir Mai Guangmin both bowed and gave a deep salute. After getting up, their faces were filled with relief and joy.

The two of them were happy from the bottom of their hearts, finally able to see the hope of being blessed by the empire.

Although he said that he was not afraid of Lord Pasha of the Baghdad province of the Ottoman Empire, after all, he felt guilty in his heart, and the helpless Duckweed felt really bad.

In case someday
Lord Hussein Pasha of the Baghdad province lost his mind and gathered an army of tens of thousands to attack. If he would not die, he would be maimed, and the family fortune he had accumulated for decades was in vain.

Fighting kills people, and it costs money. It seems absurd to anyone that an isolated city of Kuwait is resisting the huge Ottoman Empire.

Don't think that Mr. En Zuo and Sir Mak Kwong Min are so stupid that they are scrambling to give away the precious daughter of the family. In fact, these two are the real ruthless people.

Once you have identified the honorable lord in front of you, how can you let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
The two of them directly studded all their wealth. If the daughter has this blessing and can be considered by the nobles to be included in the mansion, regardless of whether it is a concubine or a concubine, then it will be a step up to the sky.

Although the empire has perfect laws to protect the property and interests of merchants, it is an indisputable fact that the social status of merchants is low.

If you want to achieve a class leap, in today's increasingly mature society of the Tang Empire, it is simply as difficult as climbing to the sky.

In the early days of the empire's founding, His Majesty the Emperor often rewarded nobles and important ministers for military merit in large numbers, but those good days have passed, and they will never return.

25 年前
His Royal Highness Tang-Li Xin, King of Pingxi, led an expeditionary force to conquer Yunzhong province along the Red Sea coast and the Port of Suez in Egypt. He was only awarded seven noble titles, most of which were low-level nobles such as viscount and baron.

Later, the imperial family sent troops to conquer the Luzon Islands and Cuba, and did not confer a few nobles. The same is true for the expansion of North America in recent years. It is becoming more and more difficult to advance to the noble class with military exploits.

As for the Merchant's House, hehehe... just stay and go, this kind of good thing will definitely not happen to them.

The feudal system of the empire was strictly hierarchical. Even marriages were mostly between the royal family, between nobles and nobles, and ordinary people could not squeeze into that superior circle, let alone fantasize about it. (end of this chapter)