The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 127 Trip to Egypt

On March 1726, 3, in a fishing port on the east side of Lake Manzalay (today's Port Said, Egypt), an exploration team composed of dozens of people was conducting detailed research on the local geology, topography, meteorology, hydrology and other natural conditions. There are even several people rowing small boats to measure and record the water depth and ocean currents in the harbor. They seem to be making preliminary survey preparations for a major project.

Around the fishing port, there were more than a hundred mounted Muluk cavalry scattered around, guarding the entire expedition team to prevent those unruly tribal cavalry from coming to attack the autumn wind and accidentally injuring the lives of Qi nobles.

This season is the most pleasant season of the year in Egypt. The temperature is less than [-] degrees. The sea breeze blowing from the Mediterranean Sea and the warm sunshine give people a sense of leisure and laziness.

"Based on the optimal cost, it would be better to place the terminal point of the planned trans-Mediterranean railway here." Song Changfeng, deputy director of the Egyptian Railways Trading Company, closed the drawing in his hand, then turned to Zuo Wan, the head of the line survey team Chang said: "From the Port of Suez, through Ismailia, and then straight to here, it is almost a straight line, and the terrain along the way is flat, there are not many rugged mountains and valleys, the overall cost should be controllable very low, and the construction progress must be It will be quick too.”

"If the railway terminal is to be located here, it means that our railway trading company will have to invest a huge sum of money to expand this fishing port into a large-scale commercial port." Zuo Wanchang showed a worried look on his face. "However, this will create a fierce competition with the Damietta Port not far away, and the Ottoman trading company may not be happy to see this happen. After all, they have continued to control the Damietta Port for decades. Years of investment and construction have taken a lot of effort. You know, the Ottoman Trading Company, as the major shareholder of this railway, has absolute say and may veto our construction plan."

"If the Ottoman Trading Company is willing to invest more money, I wouldn't mind turning this railway around in Cairo and then repairing it to the Port of Damietta." Song Changfeng said with a smile: "But if it is repaired in this way, the entire railway mileage will exceed More than 300 kilometers, the budget will be more than twice as high. So, even if the Ottoman trading company has money in its account, it may not be able to come up with the extra budget for a while. Furthermore, the Ottoman Empire and the local governments of Egypt will also We may not be willing to let Qi State build such a long railway, lest it be controlled more deeply by us."

According to the preliminary agreement reached between Qi and the Ottoman Empire a year ago, Qi will fund the construction of a railway in Egypt that will connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, from the Port of Suez to the northern coastal ports.After the railway is completed, all railway rights and operating rights will be mortgaged to Qiguo Investment Trading Co., Ltd. to offset the other party's investment.

Well, according to today’s terms, both parties adopt the BOT cooperation model.This railway will be exclusively operated by the railway trading company established by Qi State for a period of 80 years.

Of course, if the central government of the Ottoman Empire or the Egyptian local government wants to obtain the operating rights of this railway, it is not impossible, but it needs to be redeemed at a 35% discount of the total railway investment after the Qi Railway Trading Company has been operating for [-] years. Back.

This planned railway has the same rights and interests as those gained from the construction of the Su (Eshiz)-Kaifeng (Luo) highway decades ago. Qi people also have the right to operate and manage land within five kilometers along the railway.

Naturally, in order to protect the safe operation of this railway, the railway trading company responsible for management and operation also obtained the right to form an armed road protection team.

The Qi people are keen on building roads, railways and ports in Egypt, certainly not because they are willing to do charity and help the Egyptian people escape poverty and embark on the road to wealth.Just as the words of Qi's consul in Cairo revealed the truth here: "Wherever my railway goes, that's where I occupy land."

What does that mean?Wherever Qi State builds roads and railways, that is the sphere of influence we control.

Moreover, it will be of great benefit to build convenient roads and railways, increase the construction of Egyptian ports, and import goods from the country.

Passing through Egypt and entering the Mediterranean Sea, Qi's goods can quickly reach Europe.This will save the most in terms of distance and time compared to going around the southern tip of Africa, then along the west coast of Africa, and heading to Europe through the rough Atlantic Ocean.

Some scholars and experts have also considered drawing on the ancient canal plan from thousands of years ago to dig a canal from Suez to the northern coast of Egypt to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and completely achieve unimpeded passage of ships.

However, this project is too huge and requires more time and money. Coupled with geosecurity considerations, the Qi people only talked about it but did not actually implement it.

To be honest, with the increasingly prosperous Red Sea-Mediterranean trade, Egypt's status in the eyes of the Qi people has become more and more important. If it were not for the traditional friendly relationship with the Ottoman Empire, Qi would have swallowed this territory long ago. In the belly, it is one of the overseas territories.

As for the Pasha and Mamluk ruling classes in many parts of Egypt, the Qi Kingdom did not reject them very much. After all, they had been living with the Ottomans for 200 years and had not lived a good life.The Ottomans imposed various heavy taxes on Egypt, which caused local trade to shrink and the economy to be extremely depressed. Not to mention the ordinary people living a miserable life of eating chaff all day long, even the Mamluk masters did not have much money left in their hands. They had to be recruited by the Ottomans to Basra to fight with the Persians. Even when the Ottomans suffered defeat in Europe and there was a shortage of troops, they were pushed to the front line to meet the European guns.

After the Qi people came to Egypt, they brought prosperity to trade and the economy, making the whole of Egypt suddenly rich. Of course, those who became rich were the upper-class Mamluk rulers.

In the past, in order to compete for territory and population, pashas from various places attacked and killed each other, making themselves bloody. Even if they took stock during the New Year, they didn't seem to have grabbed much.

But now, following the people of Qi, using the Mamluk cavalry under his command to protect their safety, providing the mules, horses and people under their control to them as coolies, and converting the fertile fields into cotton, there is no need to fight and kill, it is easy You can earn a lot of gold and silver just by lying down.

Not to mention, the people of Qi also brought a large number of luxury and rare things, such as porcelain, silk, tea, clocks, glass, perfume, pearls, ivory, spices, ambergris, and various industrial products, making these products always popular. The Mamluk nobles, who were in a state of ignorance in the Middle Ages, immediately bathed in the sunshine of modern civilization and enjoyed the life that only those Ottoman nobles in Istanbul had.

As a possession of the Ottoman Empire in North Africa, Egypt was not actually ruled by the Ottoman Empire in the true sense.Many Egyptians themselves believe that even if Egypt became a province of the Ottoman Empire, it would still be a relatively independent "sovereign" country.

In this case, we Egyptians follow the wealthy Qi people, and we don't seem to need to look at the Ottomans' eyes.Besides, isn’t the Ottomans’ current largest financial backer and foreign aid also from Qi?
Just as the exploration team had lunch and was lying under the shade of the trees, enjoying the afternoon sunshine, a messenger from Damietta Port broke the tranquility.

"The English are coming." Song Changfeng read the emergency report in his hand, smiled bitterly, and then said to Zuo Wanchang: "They organized a huge expedition fleet and joined forces with the Republic of Venice to reach Damietta Port. You Inform all personnel to prepare to evacuate this area and we need to return to Damietta Port immediately."
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March 3, Port of Damietta.

After decades of continuous expansion, the entire Damietta Port has become quite large and can accommodate more than 25 ships at the same time.At the same time, there are five forts on both sides of the Nile River, totaling more than 60 coastal defense heavy guns, ensuring that no enemy can think of attacking the port from the mouth of the river.

There are also two strong fortresses in the port of Damietta.The fortress can garrison more than 2000 troops - of course, due to the restrictions of the Egyptian local government, only 500 troops are garrisoned on weekdays. The structure is solid, and the entire body is made of cement, strips of stone and thick bricks. Even if an army of tens of thousands of people comes to attack, it may not be able to shake it in the slightest.

A week ago, the English fleet suddenly came in. After capturing several merchant ships and fishing boats near the mouth of the Nile River, it suddenly broke into the Nile River and prepared to go up to the port of Damietta to capture the most important stronghold of the Qi people in the Mediterranean.However, when dozens of coastal defense heavy guns on both sides of the Nile roared in unison, the English's attempt to fight quickly was immediately abandoned.After half an hour of artillery bombardment, it was unknown whether the Qi people's forts were damaged, but one English Royal Navy warship was sunk and five were damaged. They exited the Nile River in embarrassment and parked in the open sea.

In the following days, the British army launched another landing operation.More than a thousand Scottish Highlanders soldiers, under the cover of naval guns, boarded dozens of small boats and quickly rushed to the shore. Then they crossed the waist-deep tidal flat and marched hard towards the shore.

Perhaps fearing the huge power of British naval guns, the Qi people and Egyptians on the shore did not launch a counterattack when the British troops landed, allowing the troops ashore to successfully establish a landing site.

Three days later, the landing troops, who had taken a short rest, formed a neat marching column and headed towards the city of Damietta a few kilometers away.

Previously, the British army captured Alexandria almost without bloodshed, capturing more than [-] Egyptian soldiers, and the more than [-] residents in the city did not make any move to resist.

Therefore, the landing force commander Major General Basco Hodges also looked forward to an easy and great victory.Although, this Damietta is a port city leased from Qi State and is a key node in the Red Sea-Mediterranean trade they operate, so it must have relatively complete defense facilities.

However, he hoped that the suddenness of the British expeditionary fleet's attack would cause huge flaws in the opponent's defense, and failed to mobilize and assemble more armed personnel in time to defend the city.

At Hodges' insistence, more than 20 army troops and more than [-] artillery pieces were successfully sent ashore.Moreover, all the troops went straight to the city of Damietta without any rest. He used such devastating military power to exert strong military pressure on the defenders in the city, preferably forcing the opponent to surrender without a fight. .

However, when the British army arrived at the city at 3 pm that day, they were surprised to find more than [-] Qi troops arrayed neatly in front of the city of Damietta. On both wings of the array, there were five to six hundred soldiers. Fierce Mamluk cavalry.

At this time, Major General Hodges, commander of the British landing force, was suddenly in a dilemma.

Why are there so many troops here?

Moreover, look at the appearance of those soldiers, they are all regular troops wearing Qi military uniforms, not the kind of mercenaries who can only fight with the wind!

Just when Major General Hodges was hesitant to retreat to the seaside, the Qi army took the lead in launching an attack.

Dozens of heavy cannons and howitzers arranged on the city of Damietta were like thunder, making violent roars almost at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, more than 30 army artillery pieces that were pushed to the front of the array also fired one after another, and dense rain of bullets hit the middle of the British army like hail.

Major General Hodges was also a veteran of the War of Spanish Succession, and had followed John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, to personally participate in the Battle of Houshtat.In that battle, the Anglo-Austrian forces to which they belonged were not afraid of enemy artillery fire, bravely attacked, and broke through the French and Bavarian coalition defense lines in one fell swoop, killing 2.8 prisoners. After the war, they won the highest honor award from Parliament.

But he never thought that he would be bombarded by such intensive artillery fire under the city of Damietta.Moreover, unlike what they faced on the battlefield in the past, which were all ricochet and impact damage from solid bullets, the artillery shells fired by the Qi people were all explosive shells. Every artillery shell that landed on the team could kill dozens of people. The casualties caused the entire army to faintly show signs of collapse.

Major General Hodges immediately issued an order that he would regret for the rest of his life. The entire army charged as a group, followed by artillery.

Amid the sound of drums and trumpets, three thousand British soldiers lined up in musket formations, braved fierce artillery fire, and slowly advanced toward the city of Damietta.He hoped to defeat the Qi army on the opposite side with his heroic and fearless charge, just like he did at Haushtat 20 years ago, defeating the enemy in face-to-face volley fire.

However, he still underestimated the firepower of the Qi people and overestimated the endurance of his own soldiers in the face of death.When the Qi army ignored their own artillery bombardment, they also marched towards each other in neat steps, and when they were still more than 200 meters away from their own front line, they fired three rounds of musket volleys, making the British soldiers in the ranks like the wind. They all fell to the ground like waves of wheat.The British soldiers ran away uncontrollably. The dense artillery and ultra-long-range musket fire made them lose the courage to attack.First there were sporadic escapes, and then more soldiers rushed to follow, turning and running towards the seaside.

The final blow to the British army was the charge of more than a thousand Mamluk cavalry. They waved their scimitars in their hands, galloped on their horses, and chopped down every British soldier with his back exposed to the ground.

In this battle, 400 British officers and soldiers, including the commander of the landing force, Major General Hodges, were captured and killed. Less than [-] soldiers managed to escape to the seaside.

In order to save face, the British army angrily sent several warships into the Nile estuary again and violently bombarded the forts on both sides.

Not surprisingly, the British warships were repulsed by the waiting forts and hurriedly withdrew from the estuary with numerous scars.

Although the Qi people defeated the British landing force under the city of Damietta, the port was completely blocked by British warships. Whether they were Dutch merchant ships or French merchant ships, they were blocked by British warships and were not allowed to enter the port. Shipping goods.

Looking at the mountains of supplies waiting to be transported in the port, the people of Qi were certainly frowning, but what was even more anxious were the military supplies officials stationed here in Istanbul.

The Ottoman Empire troops are fighting the Austrians in Wallachia and Moldavia, but urgently needed ordnance supplies and a large amount of food are stranded here. Isn't this going to delay the war!
(End of this chapter)