My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 752 Good News

"Great victory! Great victory in Egypt!"

A cavalry galloped over, and pedestrians on the street dodged. Many people looked at the direction in which the cavalry was galloping away in confusion.

For the people of Xijing, a great victory is not unusual. After all, everyone knows that the Han Dynasty is now powerful and has almost no opponents in the surrounding countries. But where is this "Egypt"? Most people have never even heard of it.

The document reporting the victory was quickly sent to the palace. After Zhu Zhanhe received the news, he rushed to Wuying Hall immediately. He saw Zhu Gaoxu holding the document reporting the victory with an excited face. When he saw Zhu Zhanhe, he immediately greeted: "Zhanhe Come on, these two boys Zhu Yong and Zhang Zhong really did not disappoint!"

"What my father said is that after taking Egypt this time, as long as the canal is opened, Europe will be just around the corner!"

When Zhu Zhanhe mentioned Europe, his eyes were full of excitement. Although the earth is big, there are not many places where civilization can really arise. As long as Europe is captured and their development process is interrupted, the world will only be It will be the world of big men.

"Here, Zhanhe, please take a look. This victory report is written in great detail!"

Zhu Gaoxu then handed the good news in his hand to Zhu Zhanhe.

Zhu Zhanhe also only received the news of Egypt's victory, but did not know the history of the war, so he took the victory report and read it carefully.

This victory report is indeed very detailed. It started with Zhang Zhong and the others entering the Red Sea, then taking the Port of Suez, and then Zhu Yong sent troops to Cairo and joined forces with Mufas to capture Cairo.

After capturing Cairo, Zhu Yong and Mufas sent troops respectively to wipe out some remaining Mamluk forces in Egypt. The next step was for the two sides to divide their respective spheres of influence according to the original agreement.

In addition, the good news also mentioned that Mufas and Zhu Yong have begun to have people explore the canal and plan the route for digging the canal. Although the original canal is abandoned, the river channel is still there, but some places are too blocked and need to be cleared again.

“The Suez Canal is still under exploration, and we don’t yet know how long it will take to dig it out.”

After reading the good news, Zhu Zhanhe said with some regret that he urgently wanted to know the opening time of the Suez Canal so that he could prepare early.

"It's probably going to be soon. After all, the canal has been there for a long time, but it was abandoned. It shouldn't take a few years to dredge it."

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and said, everyone in the Ming Dynasty is no stranger to canals. In order to move the capital, Zhu Di once sent people to dredge the Grand Canal. At that time, the Grand Canal was also seriously blocked, and it took several years to dredge it again.

Zhu Zhanhe also felt that it made sense. The reason why the Suez Canal cost so much in later generations was that, first, the people who dug the canal were limited in strength, and second, as hundreds of years passed, the canal became even more clogged.

In contrast, some sections of canals are still usable. All that is needed is to reopen the blocked parts, so it shouldn't take too much time.

"By the way, after conquering Egypt this time, we have to manage it well. How do you plan to govern Egypt?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Zhanhe again at this time.

Egypt is the first overseas enclave of the Han Dynasty, and it is jointly governed with the Ottomans. If one of them does not go well, it is likely to be swallowed up by the Ottomans. After all, there is no friendship between countries, even if they have signed an agreement before. Conditions are of no use either.

"Our biggest advantage is the navy, so I plan to use the Port of Suez as our core in Egypt and build it into an important military and commercial port..."  Zhu Zhanhe was already prepared for this matter, even in Zhu Zhanhe When Yong and Zhang Zhong set out, he already had a plan for the future governance of Egypt.

As the southern port of the future canal, the Port of Suez will only become more important in the future. Therefore, it will become the core city of the Han Dynasty in Egypt. At the same time, it will encourage domestic businessmen to go and do business. It is estimated that it will not take long to firmly establish Suez. It's in your hands.

Of course, the premise is that the Han Dynasty must station heavy troops in the Port of Suez to intimidate the Ottomans. Otherwise, the prosperity of the Port of Suez will definitely attract the covetousness of the Ottomans.

After listening to Zhu Zhanhe's plan for Egypt, Zhu Gaoxu nodded with satisfaction at first, but then asked a question: "Your idea is good, but have you ever thought about it? Egypt is so far away from us, just to go there." The trip will take a month or two. If something changes in Egypt, we won’t have time to react."

"Father, don't worry. I have already built a steamship that is extremely fast. It can be reached from Beizheng Port to Egypt in a few days. It is faster than a galloping horse on land!"

Zhu Zhanhe said with a slight smile.

Propeller steamships have not yet been built. Although paddle steamers have many shortcomings, they can already be used for sea navigation, at least there is no problem in conveying messages.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanhe planned to open a steamship route specifically to travel between the Han Dynasty and Egypt. The main purpose was to transmit information. Of course, it could also carry some personnel to facilitate the exchange of information between the two places and strengthen the Han Dynasty's control over Egypt.

"The steamship you are talking about is the strange ship you made man-made at Beizheng Port?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked in surprise when he heard this.

He knew about steamships, but had never seen one. He only knew that such ships were very fast, but he did not know that they were so fast that they could reach the Port of Suez in a few days.

"Exactly. If my father has time, you can go to Beizheng Port to experience the steamship for yourself. The speed will definitely exceed your imagination!"

Zhu Zhanhe immediately smiled and nodded.

In fact, Zhu Zhanhe really wanted to drive the steamboat to the Ganges River next to Xijing. However, although the Ganges River is famous, some sections of the river are relatively shallow, so only small boats can be driven on the river. The current steam engines are too bulky, resulting in the size of the steamboat. It is too big and the draft is too deep, so it cannot be driven to the Ganges River.

"Hearing what you said, I really want to see with my own eyes what this steamship looks like?"

Zhu Gaoxu also showed an interested expression when he heard this. If there were such a fast ship, it would be more convenient for Dahan to expand overseas. No wonder Zhu Zhanhe paid so much attention to overseas.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's interest, Zhu Zhanhe immediately gave him a detailed introduction to the situation of steamships and the future development prospects of propeller steamships. This also greatly impressed Zhu Gaoxu. He did not expect that the emergence of a steam engine would actually give him The big man brought about such a big change.

Just when the father and son Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanhe were chatting more happily, they suddenly saw someone coming to report: "Your Majesty, Prince, the former Ming Dynasty Uncle Prince Chengshan came to the palace to ask for an audience!"

(End of this chapter)