Wild North America 1846

Chapter 795 Muscat
more than a month later
Muscat, the capital of the Kingdom of Oman

Muscat is located at the crossroads between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, the Arabian Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast.

The city is surrounded by mountains and rivers, guarding the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The terrain in the valley is beautiful and lush with vegetation, and its geographical location is very important.

After arriving in Abu Dhabi by boat from Kuwait, Richard and his party stayed for several days. From Abu Dhabi, they followed a camel caravan through the Gobi desert at the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and arrived at Muscat, the capital of the Kingdom of Oman.

Abu Dhabi is now a Chinese town with a population of more than 8 people. Its main businesses are herding, smuggling and fishing. It is also another important town in the Persian Gulf where Chinese mercenaries gather.

The mercenaries here mainly provide force protection for caravans smuggling to the Kingdom of Iran, and are also the base camp for smuggling to the Kingdom of Oman.

Due to the weak military force of the Kingdom of Oman, the economy of the entire kingdom is almost monopolized by Chinese smugglers.

When Richard and his party arrived here, they witnessed the domineering Chinese caravan. Although the goods brought by the camel caravan had not paid border duties, they still entered Muscat City with great arrogance.

The Omani Kingdom guards standing at the city gate acted as if they had not seen it and allowed the camel caravan to enter, even skipping the interrogation process.

The entire Kingdom of Oman originally had a population of just over 60. After a large influx of Chinese immigrants, the population exceeded one million at the beginning of this century.

In Muscat, Mandarin is the most widely spoken local language. If local Arabs don’t know a few words of Mandarin, they can’t even buy anything.

There are many Chinese-style buildings in Muscat. In addition to the traditional large mosque, you can see all kinds of Chinese-style buildings with cornices and brackets. The streets are full of Mandarin with southern and northern accents, as if you have arrived in a remote small city in the Tang Empire.

The Arab tribes, who were living in primitive tribal living conditions, suddenly accepted the baptism of advanced Chinese civilization and developed a feeling of worship as high as the mountains.

The tribal elders and chiefs here are proud to be friends with wealthy Chinese businessmen. Intermarriage is a common phenomenon, and they are all willing to embrace them.

The proliferation of exquisite porcelain, daily necessities and industrial products from the Tang Empire is undoubtedly the basis for a better life.

Compared with migrating and nomadic in the long yellow sand, sitting in a beautiful courtyard, drinking a cup of tea, writing some calligraphy and painting, and listening to the music of the piano, isn't this kind of life desirable?
The complete crushing of backward civilization by advanced civilization has caused the upper-class princes and chiefs of the Kingdom of Oman to flock to it. The Yutang faction has absolute strength and can influence the political situation of this country.

Coupled with the sharp increase in the proportion of the Chinese population and Chinese mixed-race children, the Arab population has invisibly decreased sharply.

There are only so many Arab women, and those Arab herdsmen at the bottom are so poor that they have nothing to eat.Of course they are not as attractive as wealthy Chinese, that is obvious.

After the heavily armed camel caravan arrived in Muscat, it attracted a large group of children following it, as happy as a festival.

When they arrived at the carriage and horse shop, the team leader took out a bag of hard candy and gave each of the local children a piece of candy. The children shouted excitedly;
"Thank you sir for the reward, long live the Tang Empire."

Hearing these weird Mandarin accents, Richard walked over and asked the team leader, "Boss Wang, did you teach the children to shout like this?"

"Oh, your distinguished sir, this is what Sir Zhang, the president of the Oman Chamber of Commerce, has stipulated. You can give some small favors on weekdays, but you must let the children talk about it often so that it will have a subtle influence."

"Haha... interesting." Richard continued with a smile.

At this time the leader said again;

"Our Sir Zhang is a retired military officer who participated in the Battle of Suez City. He has business dealings in Yunzhong Province and Kuwait. He is one of the top bosses in Muscat.

Please wait a moment, Your Excellency, I have sent someone to notify you.

Sir Zhang knows that distinguished guests from the empire have arrived, and he will definitely come to greet them personally. It won't take long. "

"In that case, let's wait." Richard is now doing as the Romans do, and his attitude is quite modest.

not for a while
I saw several carriages driving down the street, and there was a black car in the middle, surrounded by more than 30 Chinese guards on horseback and with guns, all of them looking fierce.

This huge scene made everyone in the market avoid it.

This lineup made Richard speechless. The great nobles of the empire and the royal children would not engage in such a big battle when traveling.

After the convoy stopped

A wealthy businessman who had already gained some weight got out of the black car in the middle. He had a gold chain pocket watch hanging on his silk coat and several gemstone rings on his hands. He felt like a rich man.

The team leader hurriedly introduced this person as Sir Zhang, then walked forward to greet him and said something like this.

Richard stood there without moving, and Xu Jinxun stepped forward to greet him.

But this Sir Zhang was also a well-informed person. From the moment he got out of the car, his eyes were fixed on Richard and he could not look away again.

Richard just stood there quietly with his hands behind his hands, his spontaneous aura was outstanding.If you don't have enough majesty and aloofness, you won't be able to learn it anyway.

Faintly

Sir Zhang seemed to have seen how the high-spirited Prince Tang Li Xin of Pingxi scolded Fang Qiu.

As a young officer, he used to accompany His Highness.This scene has been deeply engraved in my mind and I will never forget it.It seems that by some coincidence, Emperor Richard, who conquered the world with his immediate conquests, has always been the idol worshiped by many princes, and they imitate him in every move.

"Extraordinary citizen Zhang Zhicheng has met the distinguished Sir Li. It is the greatest honor for the Kingdom of Oman that you can come to Muscat City." Sir Zhang looked particularly respectful and gave a deep salute with his hands clasped in fists.

Richard simply held his hand and said calmly without bending his waist: "Mr. Zhang, you're welcome. Li is passing through your place, so I won't bother you."

"No, sir, your words are serious. We ordinary people like us can meet distinguished guests from the empire and receive lessons in person. That is a wonderful thing that we can't ask for."

Speaking of here
Zhang Zhicheng respectfully stretched out his hand to guide me and said, "Dear Sir, this is not a suitable place for long conversations. Could you please move to the thatched cottage and have a cup of tea and talk slowly?"

"So good."

Since the merchants here were rushing to greet him, Richard knew that this person had no ill intentions, so he nodded his head in a good-natured manner, and walked naturally to the black car to stand next to him.

When Zhang Zhicheng saw this, he walked up quickly as if he suddenly remembered something, opened the car door with both hands, and made a "please" gesture.

Richard sat in naturally. Xu Jinxun looked at Zhang Zhicheng with a respectful expression speechlessly, sighed and sat in after him.

These local businessmen are as smart as monkeys, and their eyesight is really amazing. You have to admire them.

An escort officer opened the passenger door politely and sat in.

The remaining officer patted Zhang Zhicheng's shoulder lightly and said, "Boss Zhang, don't look at it. Let's sit in the carriage at the back together."

"Hey, good."

Only then did Zhang Zhicheng react and followed the officer to the carriage behind him. As he walked, he pointed at the armed guards around him and said;
"Everyone of you, please be careful. You are as stupid as a camel, and you don't have any eyesight. I am unlucky, sir, for raising a bunch of losers like you."

The two of them got on the carriage one after another, and the remaining strong men loaded their luggage into the carriage in a hurry. Then, under the escort of armed cavalry, the group of carriages and horses drove towards the city.

after half an hour
An extremely gorgeous and large white Babylonian-style castle manor, shaded by green trees, with clouds of beauties holding trays in their hands. This building is not inferior to the palace in the slightest, and is even more luxurious.

Under the continuous dome of the outer palace, on the long Arab-style table, various tropical fruits, grapes, cantaloupes, candied fruits, and dried fruits are placed as high as a hill.

All kinds of wine, Western whiskey, Martell, champagne are available, and tea is also available.

Richard sat calmly in the center, with 12 beautiful Arab women dancing in front of him, and not far away there were more than 10 musicians playing hard.

This is what Sir Zhang Zhicheng calls a "thatched cottage" and a "cup of tea", and the gap is too big.

The Chinese never like to show off, and they describe their residences with modest words such as "three or five humble rooms," "a thatched cottage," and "humble house."

Xu Jinxun looked helpless and joked: "Mr. Zhang, isn't your thatched cottage a bit too grand? Even when I saw it, I was very moved."

"Ashamed, ashamed. I live in such a humble place and can't stand on the stage, which makes Master Xu laugh." Zhang Zhicheng replied with a smile.

He doesn't treat everyone like this, but Sir Sir Li put great pressure on him today, and his aura was too strong.

It makes people suddenly yearn for the heavenly kingdom of North America.

What is Muscat?
It wasn't even considered a remote part of the empire, but Zhang Zhicheng was a full citizen of the Tang Empire and was rated as a local gentry in Yunzhong Province. This was something he had always been proud of.

However, the competition in Yunzhong Province is too fierce and the involution is severe. His main base and the market he controls are still in the Kingdom of Oman.

Here, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Oman is not as useful as him, because he employs more than 3 people, owns vineyards and large-scale breeding farms covering more than 2 acres, as well as more than 10 quarries and large-scale grain and oil warehouses. The only flour mill in the Kingdom of Oman, with industries spread throughout the country.

When it comes to doing business, nomadic Arabs don't have such a mind.

Twenty years ago

Zhang Zhicheng could exchange a plastic bucket with the desert tribes here for a camel, an iron pot for ten sheep, and then transport them back to Yunzhong Province to make a lot of money, gradually accumulating huge wealth.

Of course, there is no such good thing now.

These stupid Arabs suffered a lot and became shrewd.

But no matter how smart he is, compared with the Chinese merchants who have twists and turns in their belly, leeks are still very easy to cut, and they can be cut one after another.

This means that the British are keeping a close eye on it, and the Imperial Colonial Department does not support the subversion of the Kingdom of Oman and hopes to continue to maintain this original ecology.

Don't believe it, he really has this ability.

Otherwise, Zhang Zhicheng had long wanted to overthrow the regime of the Kingdom of Oman and enjoy being the king himself.

(End of this chapter)