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Chapter 1108 Inspiration
"I think the chances are slim. Safi Shah was a tyrannical man. After he ascended the throne, he killed almost all the princes in the royal family and purged the meritorious officials. This way, the throne was temporarily consolidated, but the country's policy formulation and military command were lacking in talent.

On the other hand, although Murad IV of Osman treated his brothers and sisters in the same way as Safaishah and killed the Grand Mufti, which caused dissatisfaction among many Muslim ulema, he was obviously much stronger than Safaishah in military and political affairs.

Even if the Persians thickened the walls of Baghdad to eight meters and dug the moat wide and deep, without an experienced, bold and careful general to lead the entire army to reinforce, no strong city would be able to hold out for long in the face of artillery.

There is no such general among the Persians now, as they were all killed by Safi Shah. The remaining ones are either too young and energetic but lack experience in major battles, or too old and incompetent.

If the Persian army had not been prepared before the Ottomans arrived in Baghdad, facing an Ottoman army several times larger than their own, the final winner of the battle would most likely have been Murad IV.

Wang Datou was obviously well prepared. He explained the advantages and disadvantages of the two countries without much thought and made a comparison. The conclusion was very unfavorable to Persia, mainly because he was not optimistic about Safi Shah of Persia.

"If the intelligence from the Advisory Office is not too biased, I agree with your analysis. Now the question is, if the Empire does not send troops directly, is there any way to help the Persians defend Baghdad?"

Hong Tao really has nothing special when it comes to the countries in West Asia. He has been to America, Europe, and Africa in his previous lives, but he has rarely been to West Asia, let alone studied its history in depth.

Even though we have crammed together a lot of intelligence collected through the Advisory Office and the Naval Statistics Department in recent years, we are still unable to accurately judge the strengths and weaknesses of each party at the critical moment, and can only make logical inferences based on the existing data.

“The Persian army had a complex composition, most of them were recruited on a temporary basis, the literacy rate was low, and the ability to accept new weapons and new tactics was insufficient.

The Kurds are very warlike, but they are casual by nature and have lax discipline. Even if they are given muskets, they are unwilling to be restricted by formations and prefer to charge like the Mongolian cavalry. It is difficult to form an army in a short period of time.

Even if Persia had an army that was proficient in using and equipped with a large number of muskets and artillery, its poor logistics system would make it difficult to support a long journey, and the preparation period would be very long.

What's more troublesome is that many Persian troops are controlled by local emirs. Some are willing to provide food and troops, while others are not. It is difficult to reach a consensus and form a joint force. In this regard, Safi Shah is not as resourceful as his grandfather, and he only inherited cruelty and suspicion. "

The emperor's meaning was very clear. It was not appropriate for the Ming Empire to directly intervene in the war between the Ottomans and Persia, but it did not want the Ottomans to win, at least not too easily.

But Wang Datou still could not satisfy the emperor's small needs. The situation in Persia was more complicated and chaotic than it seemed on the surface. If it were not for the sudden emergence of Abbas I and the fact that the Ottomans turned most of their attention to Europe, Persia might have been destroyed long ago.

"Oh, this is a bit difficult! Even if the Empire wants to intervene, it can't find a suitable excuse. Even the Persians won't formally make a request. This situation is very unfavorable to the Empire. No matter what the outcome of the war is, both sides may regard us as enemies."

Hong Tao agreed with Wang Datou's in-depth analysis. To build a strong army, it is not enough to just get better weapons, but a complete system is needed. Persia obviously does not have these conditions and cannot be relied upon in the short term.

Can we send the imperial army to the battlefield? Technically speaking, there is no problem, and we don't need too many. Two guards landing from the Persian Gulf will be enough. But war is not only about technology, but also about calculating gains and losses.

If you act rashly without a formal invitation from the Persians, you will not only not be thanked, but will also be criticized. At that time, the Ottomans will accuse the Ming Dynasty of interfering without reason, and the Persians may also regard the Ming Dynasty as taking advantage of the opportunity, which is like a rat in a bellows, getting bullied from both sides. This is why the ancients always looked for a suitable excuse before going to war. The so-called righteousness is not entirely empty. The moral high ground is also the high ground. It is better to occupy it than to be at the bottom of the mountain.

"...Your Majesty, I have an immature idea that may cause some trouble for the Ottomans. But I am not very confident. I don't know whether I should tell you or not?" Wang Datou also understood what the emperor was worried about. Now was the time for his subordinates to display their talents.

"If you have anything to say, just say it. I will judge for myself. Don't learn the bad habits of Wang Chengen and others."

Hong Tao waved his hands impatiently, not taking it too seriously. Wang Datou was just an intelligence chief. He was indeed capable, but he didn't have much talent in controlling the overall situation. But it didn't hurt to listen. Hearing both sides would make you wiser.

"After being ordered to contact the Kurds in Persia, the student went to the port of Colombo. By drinking and chatting with the local Portuguese and merchants from various countries, he roughly understood the origins of the Ottoman Empire and found an opportunity to take advantage of."

Seeing that the emperor was willing to listen to him more, Wang Datou opened his briefcase, took out a small notebook with a whale skin cover, opened it and spread it on the table, reading as he spoke.

"An opportunity to take advantage of? Sit down and talk slowly and in detail."

Seeing this behavior, Hong Tao dared not underestimate it. Wang Datou had a very good memory. Usually, he would report to the palace without a script, and would only look through the materials when it came to particularly detailed and complex data.

Now he was actually looking at the information while speaking, which showed that he was not particularly familiar with the content and had not made sufficient preparations in advance. It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea, or inspiration.

"Yes... Before the Ottoman Empire, the overlord of the Arab region was the Mamluk Dynasty. Its territory included Egypt, the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, and both sides of the Red Sea. It was only after the Ottomans defeated the Mamluk Dynasty that they dominated the discourse power in the Arab region.

However, as His Majesty said, if the ethnic composition of a country is too complex and there is no effective assimilation, problems will arise over time. The Ottoman Empire seemed very powerful, but in fact it was full of internal crises, mainly ethnic issues.

There are many tribes in the hinterland and east of the Arabian Peninsula. They are basically hostile to the Ottomans and often engage in armed riots. However, most of these tribes fight on their own and cannot form a large scale. Before the Ottomans send troops to suppress them, they are defeated by the tribes in the west of the peninsula who surrender to the Ottoman Sultan.

But the situation in Egypt was different. Although the Mamluk dynasty was destroyed, the Mamluk nobles did not die with it. Most of them became officials appointed by the Ottoman Sultan, responsible for local security, taxation and military.

The management style adopted by the Ottoman Sultan was completely different from that of His Majesty. Every time he conquered a dynasty, country or ethnic group, he would ask the other party to swear allegiance, and then appoint a Turkish noble as governor, called Pasha.

Under the Pasha were the Bey, Wali and Emir, all of whom were Mamluk nobles and local Egyptian ethnic leaders. The Ottoman Sultan basically did not interfere in the local administration, only requiring taxes to be paid on time.

(End of this chapter)