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Chapter 1045 The last piece of the puzzle

In addition, using Seychelles as a naval base can also provide some support to the distant Port of Enbird. A distance of 5000 kilometers can be reached in about 10 days.

If Enniao Port was attacked by a large-scale attack, theoretically it would only take more than 20 days for reinforcements from the Seychelles base to arrive. This speed is very fast even on land, not to mention across the ocean.

Which one should be chosen? Hong Tao did not act on his own. At present, the Navy Staff and the General Staff are conducting a comprehensive investigation. After completion, they will submit a report that lists the pros and cons of various aspects before making a decision.

As for the Arabian Peninsula and the east coast of Africa, the empire has no intention of getting involved in them in the short to medium term, and it is unclear whether it will consider it in the long term.

But they will regard it as an important trading partner, and include it in the category of product dumping sites along with the Indian Peninsula. If anyone wants to hinder the flow of trade, they will not hesitate to send troops, no matter who the leader is or what beliefs you have, they will be eliminated first.

The oceans from east to west in Asia were controlled and planned, but the empire was not safe because there was also a passage to the west on land. Only when this side was arranged could they feel at ease.

The first to bear the brunt is the Yarkand State. After more than ten years of assimilation, the effect is very significant, but there is still a distance from the goal. According to the assessment of the General Staff, it is not suitable to be included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty at present, and it will have to exist as a vassal state for the time being.

Bukhara and Kazakh Khanate further west tried to get their hands on Yarkand, but were beaten back. After a few attempts, they became more honest and their exchanges with the empire became normal. They would send envoys to the capital from time to time and allow Ming envoys to stay in their capitals.

In addition to military deterrence, economic benefits are also an important factor in their change of attitude. Every year, countless caravans leave the country of Yarkand and head west, and they all pass through the areas controlled by these two countries. In addition to taxation, it also drives the economic development of towns along the way, and the benefits are obvious.

The Safavid dynasty of Persia further west was not so easy to bribe. Their rulers did not oppose trade with the East. Not only did they resell a large number of goods produced in the East to the Ottoman Empire further west, but a large number of Persian caravans also transported goods produced in Persia, Türkiye and Europe to Kashgar for sale.

However, there is not much contact between the two countries in official exchanges, and the root cause is still religion. The Persian Imam, who believes in the Shia Islam, always believes that pagans are unreliable. They can do business with them, but not make friends with them. They are neither willing to send envoys nor allow them to be stationed. They are very stubborn.

Hong Tao had no choice but to let it go if they were unwilling to communicate. As long as the trade routes could be kept open and the interests of the empire were not harmed, it would be fine for everyone to live their own lives.

Compared with its control over the ocean, the empire was still not strong enough on land. There were still two uncontrollable factors, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Although the Russian Empire is still being harassed by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Crimean Khanate, it has already shown a trend of expansion and has great potential. If it cannot focus on the west, it will definitely pose a huge threat to the empire's trade route to Persia in the future.

Unfortunately, Hong Tao could not do much. Land was not like the sea. As long as the ship was good and the technology was strong, it could travel nearly a thousand miles in a day and night. A few thousand kilometers was not a big deal. It could be reached in a few sleeps. By occupying a few key ports, the control of the entire ocean would be transferred. Fighting on land was very labor-intensive and material-intensive. It required crossing thousands of mountains and rivers with two legs and overcoming various climates. In addition, a large number of people had to be stationed and governed after the battle.

The Imperial Army had the ability to push all the way to Europe, but it exhausted the country's financial resources, killed and injured tens of thousands of soldiers, and ultimately was unable to manage. It couldn't just burn down all the cities along the way, kill people, and then retreat, that would be a loss for both sides.

Therefore, diplomatic means were more often used to deal with the Russian Empire. One of them was to have the Dutch provide muskets and artillery to the Russian Empire and send technicians to help them build shipyards and cast cannons.

The purpose is simple, to provide the Russians with enough military force so that they dare to go west to compete with the Swedes and Poles and take back the Baltic Sea outlet that they have been dreaming about for many lifetimes!
Having an outlet to the sea is not enough, warships and merchant ships are also needed, which requires a lot of money. It will take at least ten years for the Russians to have all these equipped, and during this decade, the pace of eastward expansion will slow down or even stop.

The Ming Empire also had time to explore northwards. Whether it was useful or not, the land east of the Ob River was first planted and de facto belonged to the Ming Empire. Presumably, the Russians, who had economic and military needs for the empire, would not turn against them because of these wastelands, and the conflict would be eased.

The territories of the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Empire were far apart. According to later maps, there was no border between them from land to sea. Why was it listed together with Russia as one of the two uncontrollable factors?
This has to start with the map. Although the Ottoman Empire in the early 17th century was no longer in its heyday, its territory was still much larger than that of later Türkiye.

It includes Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, the Black Sea coast, parts of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. There are ports and cities along the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

In addition to its vast territory, the Ottoman Empire also had great ambitions. It not only wanted territory but also people's hearts, and it spared no effort to promote Islam. Its intention was the same as Hong Tao's, to assimilate the occupied areas, and it had already extended its reach to the Indian Peninsula and Southeast Asia.

The Ming Empire had been desperately trying to de-Islamize the Southeast Peninsula and Southeast Asian countries, and had long ago touched the reverse scale of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of last year, it destroyed the Aceh Kingdom, which it supported, and killed and captured a large number of Ottoman religious figures, soldiers and businessmen. Although it did not directly start a war, it was almost the same as starting a war.

In this way, if the Ottoman Empire did not cause trouble for the Ming Empire, Hong Tao would look down on their Sultan Murad IV. In comparison, the threat of the Ottoman Empire is greater than that of the Russian Empire.

Fortunately, the Ottoman Empire's mortal enemy Persia firmly blocked its path of eastward expansion from land, otherwise the Silk Road through Central Asia to the Middle East and Europe would have become more bumpy.

He was leaning back in the recliner with his eyes closed, but Hong Tao's brain didn't rest. Instead, it was spinning faster. He considered all the places in Asia, then stood up and walked to the large map on the wall to take a good look.

Finally, he picked up two small flags and stuck them firmly on the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Looking carefully at the text on the map, it was on two cities, Baghdad and Damascus! As if it was not enough, he ordered Wang Chengen:
"Ask the Advisory Office to send us information about the Ottoman Empire and Persia!"

(End of this chapter)