unclear

Chapter 1110 Lawrence of Arabia 2
The Ottomans controlled the Mediterranean-Red Sea passage by controlling Egypt, but because of the existence of Persia, they could not control the Mediterranean-Persian Gulf passage. This was hatred in their hearts, and it was a naked hatred, much purer than any religious sectarian dispute.

"Yes, sir! Students, go to Suez Port immediately and encourage Piyali to prepare for an uprising!"

Wang Datou felt like a good horse that had met its master. As long as he could display his talent, the hardship of traveling and the danger of being caught as a spy and killed were nothing to worry about.

As a spy, I could assist the emperor in making decisions about state affairs and be deeply involved in them, which gave me a great sense of accomplishment. The most valuable thing was that every time I offered advice, I didn't have to worry about being punished for saying the wrong thing, nor did I have to worry about being held responsible in case of failure.

When there was merit, the emperor would rush to give it to his subordinates; when it was his turn to take responsibility, the emperor would open his arms and protect his subordinates who had done their best to complete their work. With such a leader, it was impossible for them to lack motivation.

"Wait, I'll give you a code name, Lawrence of Arabia. All matters related to this operation must be identified by this code name, and the Navy, Army Statistics Department, and the General Staff must fully cooperate.

In addition, you must pay attention to your own safety and the safety of your subordinates. The Empire has not reached the point where it is helpless, so there is no need to risk your life. Remember what I said, man proposes, God disposes. Don't force things that cannot be done. Keeping your life and continuing to serve the Empire is the real way to relieve my worries. "

Seeing Wang Datou's excitement and enthusiasm, Hong Tao had to calm him down. In order to delay the Ottoman attack on Baghdad, it was worthwhile to pay some economic price, but losing his generals would be a loss.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace... Lawrence of Arabia, this seems to be a Western name?"

Wang Datou appreciated the emperor's concern and reminder, but he was a little confused about the code name. Why did they choose a European name?

"Don't ask too much, it's just a code name. It has to be far from related to the subject in order to confuse people!" Of course, Hong Tao couldn't say that what you were doing at that moment was very similar to what an Englishman did in later generations.

In the summer of the thirty-third year of the reign of Emperor Jing (1637), the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV personally led an army of 12 troops from Asia Minor and arrived in Baghdad after more than three months of long march.

After more than three months, even the Persians should have known about it. Baghdad had become a large fortress, with hundreds of cannons erected on the walls, and the Persian soldiers guarding the city were equipped with a large number of muskets purchased from the British and the Dutch, ready for battle.

If you ask why Murad IV chose to march east at this time, the answer is four words: it was a coincidence.

First of all, it was internal. Although the Ottoman Empire had a vast territory, a large population, and strong power, and was able to fight against many European Christian countries on its own without losing, its domestic contradictions were also very sharp.

Since Murad IV came of age and took power, he has been busy dealing with unstable factors to avoid the passive situation of fighting in the front and rebellion in the rear like last time.

Not to mention the distant past, the rebellions in Asia Minor alone consumed a large amount of manpower and material resources of the empire to quell them. But the stability at the moment is only temporary, and once the empire shows signs of fatigue, it will surely revive.

If you want to completely pacify this area, you must completely isolate it from the Persians and Arabs in the east. This is also one of the main reasons for attacking Baghdad and occupying Mesopotamia. Secondly, as an empire spanning three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, it sounds very beautiful and has many convenient conditions. But everything is multifaceted, and there must be good and bad.

As a Turkic regime, the Ottoman Empire was not accepted by many Christian countries in Europe and was regarded as a heretic and rejected. The same was true in Asia, where it was considered a black hand reaching out from Europe and was also resisted.

Fortunately, European countries were also at war and could not concentrate all their efforts on dealing with the westward expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the biggest enemy in the north, was facing constant harassment from Tsarist Russia and reached a peace agreement with the Ottoman Empire the year before last.

After dealing with the issue of the successor to the Principality of Transylvania (central and western Romania), they were finally able to free up their energy and manpower to attack their biggest enemy, the Safavid Dynasty of Persia.

In fact, the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Dynasty of Persia was more or less related to the Ming Empire, but not directly, but indirectly.

Hong Tao ordered an expedition to the north, which swept away the Oirat Mongols and the Outer Khalkha tribes like a whirlwind, allowing Tsarist Russia to witness the military strength and determination of the Ming Empire, forcing it to give up its attempts to expand eastward.

But a new empire must expand. If it cannot go east, it must choose other directions. At this time, the strategic position of Tsarist Russia was awkward, and it lacked seaports.

Without sea trade, Russia would not get enough nutrients. So Mikhail I and his ministers turned their attention to the west and south, namely the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. The former occupied most of the ports along the Baltic Sea, while the latter controlled most of the Black Sea coast.

After some analysis and consideration, the Tsar and his ministers still felt that the Polish-Lithuanian Federation was easier to deal with than the Ottoman Empire, so they began to expand westward.

In later times, the names of Poland and Lithuania were synonymous with weak and small countries in Europe, without much presence. But in the early 17th century, they were well-known European powers, second only to the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and France, and slightly stronger than Sweden and Denmark. England was not even on the list.

But it also had the same incurable disease as the Ottoman Empire: ethnic problems. There were too many ethnic groups, most of which were autonomous or semi-autonomous, which easily led to irreconcilable conflicts.

The Cossack group or class is a cancer growing on the body of the Boli Federation. If left alone, it will gradually corrode the body, but if you try to dig it out, it will be heartbreaking.

Before the Polish-Lithuanian Federation could find a solution, Tsarist Russia took advantage of the situation and secretly supported and instigated the Cossacks to rebel, while finding various excuses to stir up border incidents.

During the European Wars of Religion, the Polish Confederation was generally inclined towards the Holy Roman Empire. Although it did not send large numbers of troops to participate in major battles, it did a lot to distract the Ottoman Empire from moving north.

If the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation had not been in constant confrontation with the Ottoman Empire and had made occasional gains, which had consumed a large amount of the other side's manpower and energy, the Holy Roman Empire would not have been able to withstand being attacked from both sides, and the city of Vienna might have been filled with the sound of chanting.

(End of this chapter)