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Chapter 1050 Digestion and Absorption
Why did they have to involve the British? It was simple. The Ottoman Empire was considered a public enemy in Europe, and no country was willing to trade with it. But there was one country that was an exception: Britain!

In 1581, Queen Elizabeth officially issued a trade patent to the Near East Company, allowing the company to trade with Ottoman Turkey for a period of 7 years. The queen herself also secretly invested 4 pounds in the company, accounting for half of the company's total assets.

In 1592, it was renamed the Levant Company and obtained the right to trade in Constantinople, Syria and Asia Minor. It mainly dealt in silk, wool fabrics, leather, fruit and other commodities, with an annual transaction volume of more than pounds.

As a pagan and a foreigner, the easiest and safest way to sneak into the Ottoman Empire without attracting attention is to find a merchant ship of the Levant Company. Wang Datou has extensive connections in this regard.

"Wait... British, British... You must be careful when you arrange for people to contact the British this time. When I was on patrol, I encountered the British and Spanish fleets in Enniao Port. I accidentally sank several ships and captured many prisoners.

It won't be long before this incident spreads to Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships throughout Asia. If the British want to retaliate, not only will they not help you, they may even stab you in the back."

When it comes to the British, Hong Tao is a bit embarrassed. Having just defeated their fleet, he wants to use their merchant ships to sneak into the Ottoman port. This is too arrogant. The British will not dare to come for an open naval battle in the short term, but it is not difficult to find an opportunity to trick the merchants of the Ming Empire.

"Ah! The British and Spanish fleets... were sunk accidentally?" Even though Wang Datou was in the most core department, it was still the first time he heard such shocking news.

Don't be too careful when the emperor says it's easy. Even the smallest ocean-going sailing ship weighs more than 200 to 300 tons and is not made of paper. Several of them sank at once. This is too careless!

"Don't ask about things that you shouldn't ask. The court doesn't know yet. I want to have a few more days of peace and quiet!"

When Hong Tao left the fleet, he issued an order to strictly block the news except for the participants. It was obviously a victory, why didn't they want more people to know? Two words, annoying.

During the more than 30 years since he ascended the throne, the ministers in the court have changed two or three times. They are loyal enough and do not have much opposition to the new policies, but his attitude towards war has not changed fundamentally. He still holds the idea that peace is the most important thing.

They always think of using military means when they are forced into a situation with no way out. They don't have the slightest idea of ​​taking the initiative to attack and gain maximum benefits, and they resist the mention of war from the bottom of their hearts.

When the emperor went on tour, the ministers also believed that safety was the first priority, and it was best not to play the drama of the emperor personally leading the army. If they knew that he had gone out and destroyed a country and defeated the fleets of two countries, it would be difficult for them to go out again in a negotiated manner.

So they kept it a secret for as long as they could, and enjoyed themselves for as long as they could. When the ambassador to England was driven back by Charles I, he would make up a lie and say that he was not in the fleet at the time, but was commanding from Port Enbird, and get away with it.

"Your Highness, rest assured. The students sent over are all peripheral intelligence agents. Most of them are mercenaries hired by the Portuguese from Europe, and some are merchants from Arabia. Until they gain a foothold, no official member of the Advisory Office will show up."

Well, since the emperor didn't allow him to ask more questions, Wang Datou could only suppress his curiosity and briefly introduce the preliminary plan. After getting the approval, he quickly left. He had to go to the Navy General Staff while it was still early and chat with his acquaintances. The emperor said that he couldn't ask, but he didn't say that he couldn't listen passively. What if someone was quick to talk and copied it?

With the end of the three-day imperial conference, the war in the north that took place in the early 31st year of Jingyang officially came to an end. The Ming Empire won a complete victory, and from then on, the names of Wala and Outer Khalkha Mongols would become history.

But there are more things to do next, and they are more complicated. First of all, the army needs to rest, change defenses, expand, and replace some 24-year-old rear-loading needle rifles. It is also necessary to make more reasonable adjustments based on the original defense zones for the newly occupied areas.

The original Northern, Northeastern, and Northwestern Dusi were abolished, and the new Northern Dusi covered all the land north of the Altai Mountains and Lake Baikal to the Arctic Ocean. The Ob River was the boundary on the west side, which basically covered most of Siberia.

It is currently unknown what towns and how many people are in the specific jurisdiction, and it is not even marked on the map, it is completely blank. But it has temporarily belonged to the territory of the Ming Empire, not only does it need to be stationed, but it also needs to be surveyed and constructed, and it must be guarded by troops.

The Northern Command was composed of the 2nd/3rd Army Guard and the 3rd Army Cavalry Guard, which only existed on paper, totaling more than 1 people. The commander was Yuan Datou, a fourth-rank general of Mingwei, and Sun Dapao, a sixth-rank lieutenant of Chengxin, the commander-in-chief of the staff.

It seems a bit difficult to guard most of Siberia with more than 1 people. In the era without railways and airplanes, marching in this frozen or swampy area would be a nightmare no matter what season it is, and it is impossible to deploy flexibly.

"Find a suitable place to build a military fort along the east bank of the Ob River, dig deep cellars to store food, at least enough for one year. Divide the defense zones between the military forts, patrol along the river on weekdays, do a good job of vigilance, and avoid being ambushed, frozen to death, or starved to death. Basically, the mission is completed.

In the future, if conditions permit, we can build several small docks along the Ob River and use the river water to transport supplies from upstream in the summer. We can also build some horse trails to facilitate transportation between military forts.

I don't ask you to control such a large area. It is enough to prevent the Russians from invading from the west. Don't worry. Even if the Russians come, there won't be too many. A few hundred is the limit. If the climate there is not too bad, and considering that the soldiers need to be rotated frequently, one guard will be enough. "

Facing the questions of Yuan Datou and Sun Dapao, Hong Tao gave very specific instructions. There was no deception at all, it was all based on experience. In his previous life, he had wandered around Siberia for nearly a hundred years with hundreds of millions of zombies. He wouldn't dare say that he had stepped on every inch of land, but it would not be an exaggeration to convert it into kilometers.

With the current level of productivity, it is impossible to fully develop Siberia. Even if all the tax revenue is invested every year, it will still be the same after 50 years. Man can conquer nature is just an inspiring slogan, and decision makers should not take it seriously.

God is fair, and treats everyone the same in the same place. So the Russians also have to face a lot of climate debuffs, and they can't gallop across this land either.

The real role of the Northern Military Command is not to fight, but to assert sovereignty and explore. If they can survive the first year safely and not suffer too many non-combat casualties, it will be a great achievement. In addition, they can also train a force that can fight in the cold climate of the north, which may be useful in the future.

(End of this chapter)