My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 706 Suez Canal

Seeing Zhu Zhanhe nodding and agreeing to give him the consignment rights of Dahan products, Mufas stood up excitedly and said loudly: "Great, as long as you agree, Prince, let alone one condition, it will be a hundred." I also agree to the conditions!”

However, as soon as Mufas spoke, he immediately realized that he had said too much, so he added awkwardly: "Of course, Prince, your conditions must be within a reasonable range. If it is beyond my ability, I will not agree to it even if I want to." Method."

"Don't worry, my conditions are actually very beneficial to both of our countries. If this condition is met, it will have a greater impact than the consignment rights for those products!"

Zhu Zhanhe said, waving to the side, and someone immediately brought up a screen with a map on it.

When Mufas saw the map on the screen, he felt it looked familiar. After looking at it carefully, he suddenly realized: "This seems to be a map of Egypt and the Mediterranean. The upper east corner is our Ottoman territory."

"Yes, this is exactly a map of Egypt. Mufas, when you come to us from the Ottomans, do you have to take a sea route first, then take a land route after arriving in Egypt, and finally board a ship in Egypt, cross the Red Sea and walk a while? The sea route can finally reach our big man?"

Zhu Zhanhe stepped forward and pointed at the map, drawing out Mufas's route from Ottoman to Dahan.

"Yes, we also want to reach Dahan directly by boat, just like the Black Sheep Dynasty, but unfortunately there is no route to Dahan in the Mediterranean. Maybe there is no route between our Ottomans and Dahan, so we can only go to Egypt and then take a boat. It’s very troublesome to reach Dahan.”

Mufas nodded immediately.

They first took a boat, then a horse, and finally a boat. There were not many people, but the goods they could carry were very inconvenient. For example, the mirror he brought back from Dahan last time was broken on the road due to frequent transportation. For a few pieces, he was so angry that he executed all the slaves who were carrying it.

"Actually, there is a route between the Ottomans and our Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Zhanhe said, pointing to the section of Egypt that connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, which is the location of the later Suez Canal.

"This is connected to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. If this is opened up, ships from our two countries can travel freely between the two countries. It will not only facilitate the flow of goods, but also strengthen the connection between our two countries. When necessary, even We can send troops to help each other!”

"You mean to reopen the Suez Canal!"

Unexpectedly, when Mufas heard Zhu Zhanhe's words, he directly called out the name of the Suez Canal, which shocked Zhu Zhanhe.

"How do you know the name of the Suez Canal?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked doubtfully, even suspecting that the other party had also traveled through time?

"Of course I know that the Suez Canal in Egypt has existed for a long time, but it was abandoned hundreds of years ago. The current stretch of the river is intermittent. If you want to open it up, it will probably cost a lot of financial, material and manpower!"

Mufas replied matter-of-factly.

In fact, Zhu Zhanhe did not know that the Suez Canal had been dug as early as BC. The name Suez came from the name of the Pharaoh who dug the canal. However, the canal was later abandoned and opened several times until the Arabs in the eighth century AD. The empire was finally abandoned.

However, although the Suez Canal is abandoned, some channels of this canal still exist. Mufas passed through Egypt several times and followed the river channel, so he is also very clear about the history of this river channel.

"It is indeed not easy to open the Suez Canal, but compared with the benefits after opening the canal, these investments are nothing. If you are willing, we, the Han Dynasty, are willing to cooperate with you, and then the two countries will work together to open the canal!"

Zhu Zhanhe said, stretched out his hand to take a picture of the map, and said to Mufas ambitiously.

If the Han want to reach Europe, it is too far to go around Africa. However, if the Suez Canal is opened, the voyage can be shortened several times. By then, they can also extend the influence of the Han to Europe. It is exciting to think about it.

"But... Egypt is now in charge of the Mamluks. If we want to dig a canal, we must get their support. This is not easy!"

Mufas was also a little moved, but at this time he was worried.

The Ottoman Empire is far from the great empire that spanned Europe, Asia and Africa in history, and Egypt has not been conquered by them. Therefore, it is neither reasonable nor reasonable to want to dig a canal on the territory of other countries.

However, Zhu Zhanhe smiled sarcastically and said: "Mufas, let's not tell secrets. The Mamluks are no longer the Mamluks who defeated the Mongolian cavalry head-on. If we want to deal with them, we will have to deal with them." Is it a problem?"

The Mamluk cavalry back then, which was once extremely powerful and the invincible Mongolian cavalry across the Eurasian continent, suffered a defeat at their hands. It was also the first time that the Mongolian cavalry was completely wiped out by the enemy in a field battle.

Of course, the Mamluk cavalry was able to defeat the Mongols mainly because their army was three to four times that of the Mongols. But even so, it was an amazing achievement to be able to stop the Mongols from their western expedition. This battle It prevented the Mongols from invading Africa and became a turning point in Mongolia's westward expansion.But the Mamluk cavalry, which was extremely powerful back then, has long since declined. The Mamluk dynasty they established has become even more decadent. There are many military nobles in the country, and there are constant conflicts between them.

At the beginning, Timur directly sent troops to defeat the Mamluk Sultan's army, and looted the Syrian area under Mamluk rule, turning the entire place into ruins, which has not been restored until now.
It can be said that the current Mamluk dynasty can only survive in Egypt.

Mufas is also a smart man. When he heard Zhu Zhanhe's evaluation of the Mamluks, he immediately understood what he meant.

In fact, the Ottoman Empire has always coveted Egypt. Because outward expansion is the national policy of the Ottomans, as long as they are countries in the Mediterranean area, they are within the scope of their expansion. In a few decades, the Ottomans will send troops to destroy the Mamluks. , successfully ruled Egypt.

Although the Ottoman Empire has not yet used troops against Egypt, it has begun to infiltrate Egypt. Some governors in Egypt have even secretly defected to the Ottoman Empire.

For example, Mufas was able to pass through Egypt smoothly and travel between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea because a governor who ruled this area had been successfully bribed by the Ottoman Empire.

"Your Highness, do you mean that we jointly send troops to capture Egypt in one fell swoop, and then try our best to open the canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean?"

Mufas thought for a long time, then raised his head and asked Zhu Zhanhe.

"There is no need to destroy Egypt, as long as we control the key area connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Of course, it would be best if you can send troops alone. If not, we big men don't mind cooperating with you to send troops."

Zhu Zhanhe replied with a smile.

Although he said it beautifully, Zhu Zhanhe actually knew very well that the Ottomans were at war with the Venetians. In addition, they were facing pressure from Timur and the Black Sheep Dynasty in Asia, and there were other enemies in Europe. .

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire could not mobilize too many troops at all, and could only cooperate with the Han Dynasty to attack the Suez area. As long as the Han Dynasty sent troops, it would be able to get a share of this golden waterway.

After hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Mufas once again showed a pensive expression. After a while, he said solemnly: "Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. I can't make up my mind for a while. I need to go back." We will make a decision after discussing with the people in the mission!”

"No problem, this incident is indeed a bit sudden, and it is related to the future diplomatic relations between the two countries. You can go back and consider it carefully before making a decision!"

Zhu Zhanhe nodded immediately.

Although Mufas did not agree immediately, Zhu Zhanhe could see that the other party was also very moved. He went back to find someone to discuss, probably more to discuss how to cooperate with the big man and how to distribute the benefits in the future.

After the serious talk was over, the two chatted while drinking.

At this time, Mufas suddenly smiled mysteriously at Zhu Zhanhe and said: "Your Highness, you gave me many gifts last time, including a mirror worth thousands of gold, and when I come here this time, I have specially prepared a gift for you! "

"Oh? Then I want to see what gift you have prepared for me?"

Zhu Zhanhe also showed interest when he heard this.

Last time Mufas gave him a statue of Athena, which he liked very much. He specially placed it in his study and admired it from time to time. If the other party gave him a few more Greek statues, he would definitely be even happier.

Mufas clapped his hands outside at this time, and immediately several Ottoman warriors came in leading a white horse. The horse was tall and strong. Even if you don't understand horses, you can tell that this is definitely a horse. A thousand-mile horse.

But the key is not the horse, but a woman sitting right away. This woman is wearing a white dress, with thick long brown hair, no flaws can be seen on her fair skin, and a face as big as a palm with delicate features. To the extreme, it looks like an elf falling into the mortal world.

"The horse is a good horse, but this man..."

Zhu Zhanhe glanced at Mufas a little embarrassed. It wasn't that he didn't like beauties, it was just that the big man was prejudiced against Hu women. He was also a prince, and it would not sound good to have Hu Ji by his side.

"Your Highness, this woman is not an ordinary person. She is the daughter of the Doge of Venice. When we were fighting with Venice, we accidentally discovered her traces and captured her. It is said that she is a famous beauty in Venice, with countless nobles Everyone is vying to propose to her, but no one can succeed. Unexpectedly, this beauty has become our prisoner, and this time we just gave it to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Mufas smiled and told the origin of this Greek beauty.

(End of this chapter)