Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 259: Deceiving Osman (seeking monthly tickets)
The capital of the Ottoman Empire was Constantinople in Eastern Rome. At this time, its official name was Costantiniya, but the Ottomans preferred to call it Istanbul.

Istanbul is located on the western shore of the Bosporus, the narrow strait that separates southeastern Europe from Asia.

The city itself is located on a small hill, with the Sea of ​​Marmara to the south, the Golden Horn to the north, guarding the entrance to the Dardanelles to the east, and overlooking the Thracian plains to the west.

Not only that, it is also the intersection of the Roman Empire's important military highway, the Via Egnandi, and the military highway in Asia Minor. It is the only way to Asia and the only way from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea.

The entire city is like a fortress built in heaven, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Zheng Sen looked at this great city carefully, and his East India Company draftsmen relied on their memory to accurately record the location of every city wall and artillery and the deployment of troops.

In order to draw the city defense map here later.

In the Middle Ages, such a city was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but now is the era of sailing battleships.

With its powerful naval guns, it may not be so difficult for China to capture this place.

But what he coveted even more at this time was the precious wealth here.

The Golden Horn Bay in the north of the city is a natural harbor with excellent conditions, with a total length of about 10 kilometers, a main channel width of about 460 meters, and many branch waterways for berthing of ships.

Since ancient times, it has been a place where merchant ships from all over the world have gathered, bringing wealth to the local residents, so it is called the "Golden Horn" (in Greek mythology, the horn of a sheep is a symbol of harvest and wealth).

It was a natural commercial city, and the Ottomans monopolized overland trade from Asia through Istanbul.

A large number of specialties from the Middle East, India and China are resold to various parts of Europe through here.

Due to religious factors, almost all of Europe was in a state of hostility to the Ottomans.

This also made the Ottoman Empire very isolated, so they cherished China as an important trading partner.

Ottoman Sultan Murad IV even invited Zheng Sen to the Topkapi Palace.

Topkapi Palace is located on a hill on the seaside of Istanbul, with the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn in front. It has beautiful scenery and is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The entire palace is surrounded by sea walls and city walls. It is simply a city within the city of Istanbul.

The "Ambassador's Room" can be said to be the most beautiful room in the entire palace.

The room is decorated with gold leaf ceilings, designer ceramic vases and carpets. The whole room is gorgeous and full of European style.

Murad IV entertained Zheng Sen's Chinese business group here.

The rise of the Safavid dynasty in Persia once again caused the Ottoman Empire to lose the Mesopotamia including Baghdad.

Coupled with the advent of the Age of Discovery, Istanbul's commercial status has been continuously weakened.

That's why Murad IV paid special attention to it.

After all, the East Ryukyu Company is also famous now, no less famous than the British and Dutch East India Companies.

Murad IV said: "Thank you to our friends from China for traveling thousands of miles to bring a large amount of porcelain and silk to Istanbul. You will definitely make your trip worthwhile."

Zheng Sen went directly to the topic. He said: "The damn Persians controlled Hormuz, which made it impossible for our goods to be transported from Basra (an important port in the Persian Gulf). We had to go around the Red Sea, which really wasted a lot. time."

"But at this time, their 30,000 elites have been besieged in Kabul by our main Chinese force, suffering heavy casualties. I believe that our Chinese army will be able to sweep across the Persian mainland soon, and the Persians will no longer be an obstacle to trade between us. !”

Murad IV had heard about the Chinese Empire's capture of the Yarkand and Ili Valleys.

However, he did not expect that the huge Mughal Empire would be conquered by China in such a short period of time, and he did not expect that the Chinese would already go to war with the Persians.

Murad IV had been plotting to regain the Mesopotamia including Baghdad. If it were not for the fact that the British East India Company was supporting the Safavid dynasty behind the scenes, he would have taken action long ago.

He seemed particularly excited when he heard that Persia was at war with China!
At this moment, he no longer concealed his ambition. Murad IV said: "It seems that the Persians are the common enemy of both of us. I wonder if your Chinese emperor is interested in carving up Persia together?"

Murad IV was not stupid. The Chinese had already begun to attack Persia. If they invaded the Mesopotamia like the Mongols did, wouldn't his desire to regain Baghdad be a waste?
He proposed to carve up the Persian Empire. On the one hand, it was easier for both parties to send troops at the same time; but more importantly, he wanted to agree on the sphere of influence and prevent the Chinese from crossing the border.

Of course, he knew very well the background of the Safi Dynasty. It was a huge empire with 5 new troops and more than 20 troops.

He did not think that the Chinese could easily occupy Persia, so he believed that the Chinese also needed his ally.

Zheng Sen said: "His Royal Highness Li Shizu, the second prince of China, is now outside Kabul. His Majesty the Sultan may wish to send an envoy to sign an alliance with His Highness. I believe that the friendship between the two countries will become even deeper."

Murad IV also meant this. On the one hand, it took time for his army to assemble.

On the other hand, he also needs to send someone to Kabul to verify the actual situation to ensure that he has not been deceived by the Chinese.

After all, declaring war on Persia would offend the British, so he had to be more cautious about this matter.

Of course, another important reason that prevents him from sending troops to Baghdad is economic factors. The Ottoman Empire is currently fighting on multiple fronts.

It has almost reached Vienna in Europe, and the Mediterranean coast of North Africa and the Crimean Khanate are also fighting against European countries, so finances are very tight.

Zheng Sen's business group immediately paid a tax of 20 Chinese silver coins to Murad IV. In his opinion, it was undoubtedly a cash cow.

With the increase in trade, Chinese silver coins were gradually accepted by European countries due to their high silver content, easy identification, and difficulty in counterfeiting.

It has a tendency to become the universal currency in this era.

At this time, the Spanish had almost exhausted the silver mines in Mexico, and China had become the world's largest silver producer by virtue of Japan's huge silver reserves.

Of course, there are also gold mines in Manila, Japan, and India. China's current gold output is also well-deserved to be the first in the world.

It can be said that China is the "gold and silver empire" in the true sense.

Not only that, China has become the world's largest trading country by virtue of its three traditional export weapons of porcelain, silk, and tea, as well as new products such as glass, perfume, cement, and steel.

Therefore, Murad IV hoped that the East Ryukyu Company could be based in Istanbul.

He said that he would open a special unloading area for Dongliuqiu Company at the dock, and would even send troops to escort them to ensure that Dongliuqiu Company's caravans could pass unimpeded within the Ottoman Empire.

Murad IV is so sincere, the East Ryukyu Company naturally desires it.

Putting aside the huge market of the Ottoman Empire itself, China's relations with European countries are now very tense.

Especially with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, they may fall out at any time.

With the Ottoman Empire as a trade route, even if Western European countries unite to boycott Chinese trade in the future, Chinese goods can continue to be sold to all parts of Europe through Istanbul.

It was also in the interests of the Chinese Empire to open up Ottoman trade routes.

Moreover, His Majesty and his father had previously discussed the idea of ​​digging a canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Once this canal is dug, these inconspicuous places in Egypt will soon become important battlegrounds for military strategists with great commercial value.

However, I am afraid that with the financial resources of the Ottoman Empire, this matter cannot be accomplished. This canal can only be developed by China.

Now it was time to take advantage of Murad IV's request for help and take the opportunity to acquire the land near the canal.

So Zheng Sen said: "This time my caravan transported the goods ashore from the Port of Suez on the Red Sea, and then the camel team traveled for a full month and a half before arriving in Istanbul. This is really inefficient."

"I intend to lease Port Suez on the Red Sea and Port Said on the Mediterranean. And build a road for transporting goods between the two ports, so that the goods of the East Ryukyu Company can be transferred overland from Port Suez to Port Said. Then take the sea route directly from Port Said to Istanbul.”

"The delivery cycle of goods will be shortened a lot."

Zheng Sen's words made Murad IV's eyes light up. If this road is built, the period for transporting goods from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean will be greatly shortened.

It will definitely make Istanbul more prosperous.

Moreover, those two ports are not big ports now, so it is not impossible to lease this area to the East Ryukyu Company.

After getting a rent from the East Ryukyu Company, the military expenses for the troops sent to Baghdad will be secured.

He said: "This area is a key area connecting Cairo, Egypt, to Damascus. If it is fully leased to the Eastern Ryukyu Company, it may block the empire's transportation."

Zheng Sen said: "The East Ryukyu Company will invest a lot of financial resources to expand these two ports and complete the construction of roads. After the completion of the construction, the Ottoman Empire will benefit. This will greatly enhance Istanbul's commercial status."

"As for the transportation problem that His Majesty the Sultan is worried about, our East Ryukyu Company only rents the port and land. This area is still owned by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman caravans and material transportation are naturally unimpeded."

Seeing that Murad IV was still hesitating, Zheng Sen said: "East Ryukyu Company can pay the annual rent of 200 million Chinese silver coins. I can give the first year's rent to His Majesty the Sultan now."

Two million Chinese silver coins, this is a lot of income.

With this money, he will have the military expenses for his expedition to Baghdad.

The Chinese are willing to pay to build their own roads, so why not?

Even if this place becomes prosperous in the future, the worst case scenario would be to take it back. Will these Chinese people be able to make a difference in their own territory?

In the end, Murad IV could not resist the temptation of money and leased Port Suez and Port Said, as well as a large area of ​​land between the two ports, to the Eastern Ryukyu Company.

It's just that Murad IV would never have dreamed that Zheng Sen had never thought about building roads at all. He just dug a canal in the name of building roads.

As long as the canal is dug, the Chinese navy will be able to quickly and freely sail between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean through the canal.

The later the Ottomans find out about this, the better.

By then, the East Ryukyu Company will not be able to make a lot of money by guarding this canal and collecting "road money" from passing ships.

Of course, he wanted to report the good news to his father Zheng Zhilong and His Majesty Li Xianzhong as soon as possible.

After all, building a canal is a huge project that requires the construction of a large number of fortifications along the river to ensure China's control over the canal.

Not only does it require huge funds, but it also requires a large number of troops and laborers, which is not something he can solve.

After receiving the rent delivered by Zheng Sen, Murad IV immediately issued a mobilization order, ordering the Ottoman Empire's legions to assemble towards the Transcaucasus and the borders of the Mesopotamia.

Be ready to go to war against the Safavid dynasty of Persia at any time.

At the same time, the envoys he sent rushed to Kabul to sign an alliance with the Chinese Empire to jointly attack Persia, and to agree on the spheres of influence of both parties.

When they came back, they chose to take the sea route from Istanbul to Alexandria, Egypt, and then rush to Suez Port by land.

The fleet of the Chinese Empire is gathering there and on standby.

When the Ottoman envoys boarded the huge sailing battleship, they were also shocked by this new type of warship.

The Ottoman navy frequently fought against the navies of Venice, Genoa, and France and Spain in the Mediterranean.

He knew very well that this new battleship had far greater firepower than the traditional European galleons.

No wonder the Chinese were able to expel the British East India Company from India.

Fortunately, the two sides are currently in an alliance, but the power of the Chinese Empire is too huge, and the Ottoman Empire must also be vigilant enough.

The fleet sailed all the way from Suez to Karachi, a port city on the west coast of India.

Zheng Sen spent nearly three months on the road.

Although three months have passed, the envoy sent to Beijing has not returned yet.

Li Shizu estimated that his father should have received the message from the messenger.

Although the messenger has not yet sent back the news about his father, the heavy artillery he is waiting for has been transported to the front line of Kabul by sea.

The envoys of the Ottoman Empire were actually prepared for not being able to sign the treaty immediately. After all, the Chinese emperor was not on the front line in Kabul.

Therefore, his most important mission was to determine with the second prince of China how the territory of the Persian Empire should be divided.

As long as both parties reached an agreement on dividing the territory, it didn't matter if the contract was sealed a little slower.

Murad IV could not wait to regain Baghdad. He knew that China would not have many troops around Kabul.

Therefore, the plan he proposed was for the Ottoman Empire to annex the entire Transcaucasus, Mesopotamia and most of Persia controlled by the Safavid dynasty.

The Afghan region controlled by the Safi Dynasty, the Khorasan region in the northeast of the Persian mainland, and Bandar Abbas in the southeast were handed over to China.

However, as compensation, China could annex the Bukhara Khanate, a subsidiary state of the Safi Dynasty, and control the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins in Central Asia.

Regarding this proposal, Li Shizu did not answer directly.

He told the Ottoman envoy that there were 35000 Persian main forces and 1200 Western mercenaries in Kabul.

As for the Covenant and other Chinese troops who captured Kabul, they went to the city to talk.

Kabul is a fortified city with many defenders and many cannons.

Li Xianzhong asked the envoy, how long would it take for the Ottoman main force to conquer the city?
The envoy hesitated and said, "If it were the main force of the Ottoman Star and Moon Army, it would take at most ten days to capture this city, regardless of casualties!"

It was obvious that the envoy was bragging. If the defenders in this solid city did not surrender voluntarily, it would be difficult to capture it even with a superior force within a month.

Li Shizu said with a smile: "In half a day, if the Chinese army has not entered Kabul before three quarters noon, then we will divide Persia according to your plan!"

The messenger said excitedly: "Then we have an agreement!"

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(End of this chapter)