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Chapter 1172 Persian Gulf Mediterranean Company 2
Whether they can work together to create brilliance is a matter for the future. At least everyone has shown their sincere yearning and efforts, and it is not just words, but also real actions.

More than 4000 local militiamen who were abandoned by Tabar Pasha and the Ottoman regular army were fighting a bloody battle with the Ming army with their weapons held two hours ago, but in the blink of an eye they turned into caravan guards escorting the new company.

The soldiers who just wanted to bite each other to death and even had the blood of their comrades on their bodies, now gathered together, talking and laughing, each taking out small gifts and food, and exchanging what they had in the simplest barter mode.

Some of them will become colleagues in future work. The company has decided to hire Ming army officers as the backbone, provide systematic training for the guard team, and purchase a batch of Ming army weapons to expand its strength in order to more effectively protect the company's property.

In order to commend Lisboa for his outstanding work, Hong Tao allowed Wang Chengen to add the wool spinning mill project to the agency agreement when signing the agency agreement. He allowed the Persian Gulf Mediterranean Company to purchase the corresponding equipment and hire a certain number of skilled workers in the Ming Empire to build a wool spinning mill in Basra.

Although the ethnic groups in West Asia are very skilled in animal fur processing technology and woolen products are everywhere, their output is a major flaw compared to modern industrial products.

The wool spinning mill's machines cannot produce high-end goods, but they can better ensure product consistency, while reducing costs through scale and winning by output. As long as the quality is not too bad, it will soon occupy a large market share and the profit will be very considerable.

On this point, even if the two parties hardly speak the same language, they can reach an agreement in a very short time just by relying on the ambiguous explanations of the translator.

Then a group of Baiyi masters started a heated argument over whose land the factory should be built on. If there had not been a foreign emperor present and his men were good at fighting, they would have started out fighting.

"Your Majesty, the generous Emperor, as your most loyal believer, the board has decided to do its utmost to provide assistance to the army. If you can stay here for a few more days, you will see the tribal warriors who have been summoned coming from all directions.

They will become your Majesty's messengers, spreading your achievements to the tribes and villages along the way, appeasing those who are willing to submit, and eliminating the rebellious people whose hearts have been invaded by the devil. "

Lisboa also had high hopes for the factory, but unfortunately he had no land and was not eligible to compete with the Bayi masters for it. After thanking him profusely, he took the initiative to bring up the topic of the army attacking Baghdad, as if there was something else behind his words, and his eyes flickered with some expectation.

"This was their idea, wasn't it?"

Compared with the surrendered general Dervis, Hong Tao preferred to talk with Lisboa, mainly because they could communicate in Latin. The meaning of words in this language was relatively simple, and it was not easy to play double entendres, which made it less troublesome.

Lisboa's suggestion was very explicit. After removing a bunch of flattering adjectives, the central idea was immediately revealed. The Bayi masters in Basra were summoning their troops from nearby and planned to go to war with the Ming army.

Why? It is nonsense to publicize one's own achievements. The real purpose is to appease the loyalists and eliminate the rebellious ones.

Basra is located at the border of the Arab and Persian regions. Although they all believe in the same religion, there are numerous sects within it. The chanting of the sutras can differentiate the sects, and they dislike each other based on whether they chant aloud, how loudly they chant, and the pitch of their voices.

But they had to endure it even if they didn't like it. Everyone was about the same in strength, and each had their own occupied areas. No one could completely subdue the other, let alone annex and rule. Now the opportunity came, the Bayi masters in Basra wanted to take advantage of the power of the Ming army and subdue the tribes that they had not dealt with or were hostile to before, or simply kill and annex them.

"Your Majesty is as wise as the legend says. It was indeed they who proposed it. I didn't intend to hide it. Just when I was about to explain, Your Majesty saw through it."

Lisboa, relying on a face thicker than a city wall, explained the phrase "fishing in troubled waters" as a small oversight in the order of language, and he did it in a particularly sincere way, with not a distracted look in his eyes.

"Two days. I only have two days. Tell them not to worry. More Ming troops have landed at Fao Port and will arrive here soon. If you have any ideas, you can discuss them with Chief of Staff Ding. He will stay and coordinate the arrangements."

In fact, regardless of whether Lisboa agrees or not, Hong Tao hopes to see the local forces fighting each other. If there is no conflict between them and they all live in peace, trouble will come. The eggs are not cracked, how can the big green bean fly survive?

In addition, although the local militia forces are not very strong in combat and do not even have uniform military uniforms and standard equipment, they can become perfect vanguards and guides to pacify and temporarily manage the villages and towns along the way, so that the Ming army does not have to kill people along the way.

As for whether setting off two days later would give the remnants of the Ottoman army led by Tabal Pasha more time to deploy defenses in the cities along the way, the answer is yes. But even though we knew this, we had to wait because the environment had changed and we could no longer use the experience of Faw Port and Basra City mechanically.

Continue upstream from the city of Basra for about 60 kilometers and you will reach the end of the Shatt al-Arab River. From here it is divided into two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, one in the north and one in the south, 200 to several dozen kilometers apart, extending side by side to the northwest.

In fact, as long as the water is deep enough, the navy can transport nearly 10,000 officers and soldiers of the vanguard troops along the two rivers at the same time, and they will be able to catch up with the remnants of the Ottoman army soon. Moreover, they are advancing with heavy equipment and are not tired at all with a full set of equipment.

But the problem lies in the depth of the river. There is a long section of the Tigris River that is very flat and the water depth is only enough for rowing boats to pass. It is very unfriendly to armed cargo ships and warships with deeper drafts.

The situation on the Euphrates River is much better. According to intelligence from the Naval Statistics Department, armed cargo ships and Qin-class warships can go upstream from the city of Basra and reach Fallujah, more than 500 kilometers away.

But there is one question that is still uncertain: which river Tabar Pasha will follow? Moreover, there is a plain between the two rivers, with no shelter or obstruction, and it can be crossed at any time.

In this case, there will not be enough naval ships responsible for transporting and escorting the vanguard troops. The safest way is to wait for the arrival of the follow-up main force, and then divide into the north and south to advance simultaneously.

According to the report from the navy communication ship, Du Wenhuan's vanguard has landed at Faw Port, and the main force should arrive in two days. Hong Tao does not plan to wait for Du Wenhuan to lead his troops to Basra before leaving, but he cannot be too far away. These two days are time for Du Wenhuan to collect rowboats.

(End of this chapter)