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Chapter 1119 Feeling confident
But this time it was different. The city of Suez was very peaceful. Of course, this was relative. For a city in a state of war, it could be considered peaceful.

There were no nobles or wealthy people fleeing with their families, nor were there any confused civilians being escorted to the city walls by soldiers for defense. The people simply stayed at home with their doors closed, listening anxiously to the noises on the streets.

Some residents of taller houses simply ran to the rooftops and looked towards the port. When they really saw the large ships with masts towering into the sky and sails stacked in layers entering the port one after another, the anxiety and fear in their eyes faded a little, and they even smiled.

"Slow down, slow down... That's a cannon. If it falls into the sea, it will take a while to get it out! Piyali, tell your people not to get too close. These elevators are made temporarily and their performance is not very reliable. If they collapse, people will be crushed to death!"

Wang Datou stood on the dock and loudly directed the sailors to use a crane to unload the muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon weighing more than one ton from the cabin. In fact, he didn't need to get involved in this job, and he was not very proficient in it, but compared with the porters brought by Piyali, he was still very professional.

Equipped with sufficient muskets and commanded by disguised marine officers, the combat effectiveness of the Mamluk nobles' private army instantly increased by several levels. Coupled with their numerical advantage, the Pasha defenders were caught off guard and quickly took control of the entire city.

The Pasha's palace had to put in some effort. On the one hand, the Pasha's personal troops were indeed well-trained and equipped with a lot of muskets; on the other hand, it was also because the quality of the Mamluk nobles' private soldiers was too low and they were completely unfamiliar with the rules of hot weapons warfare.

After the fight broke out, they would often draw their scimitars and charge forward after firing a row of shots. As a result, they suffered many casualties from the volleys, but were unable to effectively strike the walls of the Pasha's mansion, which were neither too high nor too thick.

In desperation, Wang Datou had to order the removal of two naval guns from a cargo ship anchored in the port. A single salvo of fire collapsed the doorway of the Pasha's mansion. After two rounds of shooting, the battle began directly in hand-to-hand combat.

It wasn't that they didn't want to continue the bombardment, but the Mamluk private soldiers couldn't wait any longer. When they saw the gate collapse, no matter how the Marine officers shouted to stop them, they all rushed in. More than half of them even threw their muskets on the battlefield and replaced them with more convenient scimitars.

The merits outweigh the flaws. Compared with the loose discipline and backward tactics of the Mamluk private soldiers, the achievement of controlling and clearing the entire city in less than half a day was much more impressive.

The Sipahi cavalry of the Ottoman Empire, which was once feared by many, did not seem so invincible. As long as there were enough muskets and artillery, the Mamluks, or the Egyptians, could still win.

Of course, Wang Datou was not so optimistic. He did not see how the Bedouins fought in Tours, but he could clearly see the level of the Mamluk private soldiers. There would not be too many. If the strength of the Ottoman Guards Corps was 80% of the rumored strength, with 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, the city would not be able to be defended for even a day.

Even though they knew they couldn't defend the port, they still had to do their job well. The Navy provided more than 60 muzzle-loading smoothbore guns for the defense of Suez and Tours, as well as more than 400 gunners from Thalien and the Indian Peninsula.

Although these soldiers were not as capable as the Marines, they had received five or six years of military training and could at least operate the artillery and aim and fire correctly. If the Mamluk soldiers were to operate the artillery, it was hard to say whether they could hit the enemy. Repeated loading of the gunpowder would cause the gun to explode and destroy their own soldiers and the city walls.

"My dear brother, with these cannons, the Ottomans will never be able to capture Suez. As long as Suez can be saved, Ismailia and Mehsamah in the west will become independent one after another. The Egyptians don't like the Ottomans, not at all. At that time, you can use camel caravans to transport your goods to the seaside, load them onto Venetian ships, and exchange them for boxes of silver coins and velvet. You and your company will become the richest people in the world, may Allah bless you."

Piyali Bey really didn't know how to measure the army's combat effectiveness. Seeing the cannons being hoisted from the ship, the initial trepidation disappeared. Nearly a hundred cannons guarding the city, this treatment is not heard of in any other city except for huge cities like Baghdad and Istanbul.

In his opinion, war is about who has more cannons. With the help of the city walls, what can the Ottoman army do against hundreds of cannons? Now that safety is guaranteed, the next step is to fulfill the previous agreement, that is, to allow the merchant ships to unload their cargoes here, and then the Mamluk nobles will provide camel caravans to transport them to the Mediterranean.

The reason for being so anxious is not entirely for making money, but more for safety considerations. If there are goods to sell and money to be made, they will continue to invest in the Port of Suez without leaving any trace, thus ensuring the safety of the port.

As for businessmen, no matter how big or small, they all care about making money. Now he, his family, and several Mamluk Beys in Suez and their families are firmly tied to this Japanese captain who is likely to have the Ming Empire behind him.

"I am very touched that you can still remember the agreement at this moment. But don't worry, Suez City is not yours now. Only after defeating the Ottoman reinforcements or reaching a peace agreement will you have goods and business."

At this moment, Wang Datou didn't care what Piyali was thinking. What does it mean to let the wolf into the house? It's very simple. Just open the door and let the wolf into the house.

Now the gates of Suez City have been opened, and he and the Marines disguised as sailors are the wolves. When the wolves enter the house, they don't need to disguise themselves, and will gradually reveal their true colors. If the owner doesn't like them and they get in the way, they will bite them.

Fortunately, Wang Datou is not as ruthless as most of the imperial navy and army officers. It's not that he doesn't have any wolfish nature, but he knows how to conceal it. Now is not the time to completely abandon the local forces. According to the emperor's consistent style of doing things, he should not completely abandon them in the future.

The port of Suez, and even more nearby areas, would become overseas territories of the empire like the port of Thalín, and local people would be allowed to occupy a place, provided they did not get in the way and were willing to assimilate.

"Brother, I heard that the one leading the troops here is Tabar Ibrahim Pasha. He is the most loyal and fiercest dog around Padishah, and the main force in suppressing the rebellion of the Istanbul Guards. With more than 10,000 Guards and Sipahi cavalry, can Suez City really be defended?"

It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid at all. Given the name of the human shadow tree, after learning that the person leading the troops was the Grand Vizier of the Empire, Piyali did not show much fear on his face, but he was nervous in his heart.

(End of this chapter)