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Chapter 1152: Battle of Fau Harbor 6
As Ding Shun had worried, facing the Ming army that had landed and set up camp in an orderly manner 2 kilometers away, the Ottoman army did not choose to attack rashly, but remained huddled in the trenches and ignored them, which made the Ming army's camping process extremely smooth.

Just as Hong Tao gathered a group of officers in the tent to discuss how to deal with the trench formation of the Ottoman defenders, a group of Ottoman officers also gathered on the minaret of the mosque north of Fao City. Surrounded in the middle was the highest commander here, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Tabar.

At this time, he was holding a monocular telescope in both hands, using the height of the minaret to look at the Ming army camp 2 kilometers away. Several officers around him were doing the same thing.

The telescope, judging by its material, workmanship and appearance, looks very much like one produced by the Ming Dynasty, but I cannot be sure. This thing was invented and manufactured quite early, more than 20 years ago, and has been updated for seven generations and dozens of models.

The eight models of the last three generations are currently for military use and will not be sold to the public. However, the more than 20 models of the first four generations have been separated from military use and could be produced and sold at will as early as ten years ago.

In ten years, both Europeans and West Asians had enough capabilities to imitate it. Even without the glass industry, qualified lenses could not be mass-produced, and the output was limited by manual grinding.

As long as you are willing to spend money, purchasing some finished products at high prices from maritime merchants from various countries can meet the needs of the army. At least it is not too difficult for each senior officer to have one.

This is called technology diffusion. As long as there is not much effort to keep it secret, or as long as the application field is relatively broad, all technologies will naturally spread around, and the speed depends on its demand.

Telescopes are not daily necessities, but they are in great demand in some areas, such as the shipping industry. With more and more civilian commercial ocean-going ships, as captains, sailors, helmsmen, and lookouts, who doesn't want to be able to see more than ten miles out at sea? Sometimes it can really save lives, the lives of a whole ship.

Even though Hong Tao was not happy about his unique technology spreading to the enemy too quickly, he could not watch the people of the Ming Dynasty lose their ships and people because of a few miles of vision loss. After weighing the pros and cons, he had to make a compromise.

Some advanced models are included in the list of military products and are not allowed to be manufactured or sold by civilians. Other older models can enter the civilian market after obtaining registration and approval from relevant departments.

It's not just the telescope. As the scale of trade activities grows, technologies like the manufacturing of new sailing ships, machining, casting, smelting, refining, etc. are all facing the same situation.

If we do not want to become a stumbling block to economic development, most technologies need to be partially open. Once they are open, it will not stop others from learning and imitating them. If we do not make progress, we are likely to be surpassed.

"Grand Vizier, why not launch an attack when the Ming army lands?"

An officer of the Guards Corps put down his telescope and watched as the Ming army leisurely set up camp outside the city. They even ran several hundred meters away to cut down the few trees nearby and lit dozens of bonfires. He felt a little excited.

"You should ask Commander Ali, he knows exactly how many guns those tall ships are equipped with and how far they can fire.

The Empire's navy in the Persian Gulf was destroyed by them. If I order an attack on the landing Ming army, it would be like letting the soldiers face the shooting of hundreds of artillery pieces. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would be very grateful for your gift, but the Sultan would probably hang you!"

Tabar did not put down the telescope, and answered his subordinates' questions while looking. These guards were elite soldiers who had followed the Sultan for a long time, and many of them were veterans who had been recalled after retirement. They had rich combat experience, but a narrow vision. They spent more time fighting against Christianity in Europe. They were very familiar with the European way of fighting, but knew little about the Ming Empire.

In fact, his own understanding of the Ming Empire was not comprehensive, mainly because he did not expect to meet them so soon, but there were some issues that could be understood without too much understanding.

Half a month ago, the imperial navy generals had just returned from a great defeat. More than a dozen double-row warships and hundreds of sailors were lost in one morning. The murderer was the Ming Empire Navy warship anchored in the Arabian River at that time.

According to the sailors who managed to escape, the guns on those warships not only had a long range, high accuracy, and high firing frequency, but were also extremely powerful.

The Ottoman Navy's paddle boats, which were also equipped with naval guns, were no match at all. They were concentratedly fired upon before they even got within firing range. A few hits would almost destroy a paddle boat.

Everyone knows that it is easier to gain an advantage by launching an attack while the enemy is not yet firmly established, but the landing point of the Ming army was neither far nor near, just out of the range of our artillery.

If they launched an attack at this time, they would not be the ones to gain the upper hand. The Ming army was probably trying to use the defenders' tactics against them, deliberately luring them to attack, and then using naval guns to kill a large number of them.

"The Grand Vizier is right. Take a close look at that thing in the sky. It is so evil, like a devil from hell. And I am sure there are people in the big basket hanging below it. Our every move cannot escape the attention of those people.

They must have been cast under a spell by the devil, an evil spell. It is better not to attack rashly before we find out the truth. I think the devil should not get too close to this city. With the mosque here, Allah will protect us!"

At this time, a bearded man wearing mail armor spoke. He stood on the side of the Grand Vizier, but the explanation he gave was full of religious color and sounded reasonable.

"What about a night attack? In the dark, the Ming army's naval guns will lose their accuracy. Look at the trenches they dug. There are only two thin trenches. If one of them is breached, the entire trench will be in a passive position."

The guards officer was not convinced. In his opinion, the enemy's advantages in artillery and observation could be offset, but the disadvantage in tactical quality was obvious. The night was the best judge, which could reveal the true nature of all the strong appearances and weak inner strengths.

"General Dervish, when night falls, your Guards Corps will launch a night attack, and Mustafa Bey will lead the Sipahi cavalry to support you.

If you can break through the first trench of the Ming army, I will lead the main force to attack the Ming army camp from the north and west, and try to drive all the enemies into the Shatt al-Arab before dawn."

Faced with the repeated requests of his generals, Tabar Pasha could not stop them and not only agreed to the night attack plan, but also made more comprehensive arrangements. The generals were right. Judging from the scale and shape of the trenches, the Ming army did not seem to have much experience in land warfare.

(End of this chapter)