Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 248 A global empire spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa is unfolding!

However, while Zhao Shuo was worried about Zhao He's progress in Egypt, Zhao He was living a very comfortable life in Jerusalem.

Nearly half a year has passed since Zhao He captured Jerusalem and the eldest son of the Khan continued to divide his forces.

Zhao He did not continue leading the main force westward to conquer the Ayyubid dynasty.

There's no other reason than that sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting.

There are essentially two paths to attack the African continent from Jerusalem.

First, establish a navy in Syria, sail through the Mediterranean, and capture the Egyptian port of Damyat. Then, advance along the Nile River and capture Cairo.

However, Syria has a straight coastline and lacks good harbors, making its shipbuilding industry underdeveloped. Most importantly, the region lacks large timber to meet the needs for keels and massive vertical masts on large ships.

If Zhao He wanted to build a navy capable of rivaling the Ayyubid dynasty's navy using Syria's resources, it would not only be a long and arduous process, but also an impossible task.

Secondly, it enters the African continent through the vast desert region of the Sinai Peninsula, which stretches for 500 miles.

The Sinai Peninsula belongs to Egypt, but it belongs to Asia.

Marching through the desert is no easy task.

Not to mention, dozens of Bedouin tribes are entrenched in the desert of the Sinai Peninsula, which is 500 miles wide and nearly 1,000 miles long.

"Bedouin" is a transliteration of the Arabic word, which translates to "nomadic people living on the wilderness, people who move with the water and grass."

They were fierce, brave, and tenacious, becoming the fundamental force behind the unification of the Arabian Peninsula by the True God religion and the subsequent expansion of the Caliphate, and subsequently spreading to the vast desert regions of West Asia and North Africa.

It can be said that the Bedouin were the best source of soldiers when the True God cult was rising.

These Bedouin tribes of the Sinai Peninsula not only practiced true God, but several of their chieftains also died in the Battle of Baghdad, making them irreconcilably opposed to the Mongol army that had come from afar.

Zhao He's army had to cross this 500-mile desert region, facing not only the harassment of these Bedouins, but also the deadly threat of their destruction of water sources.

Therefore, Zhao He decided to first subdue these Bedouin tribes. This would not only open up the road to the Sinai Peninsula but also provide valuable desert cavalry, making ample preparations for the subsequent conquest of Egypt.

Thus, the precious grassland warriors came in handy.

Now, when it comes to real combat, Zhao He's troops are all handpicked Eight Banner soldiers, which are naturally superior to the steppe warriors.

However, in terms of long-term combat capability in harsh terrains such as deserts and grasslands, the Eight Banners soldiers were far inferior to the grassland warriors.

Mongolia has a saying about five domestic animals: horses, cattle, camels, sheep, and goats.

Camels, capable of traversing the vast deserts, were originally one of the means of transportation for steppe warriors. When the Western Xia Dynasty sought peace with Genghis Khan, it immediately presented him with 20,000 camels.

Riding camels into battle is a familiar practice for the people of the grasslands.

During this western expedition, Zhao Shuo's central army also had some camels to transport various logistical supplies for the army. Of course, the number was insufficient for actual combat.

But it doesn't matter, we can just steal the camels from those Bedouin tribes!
While steppe warriors might not be as skilled as Bedouin warriors in fighting across the Sinai Desert, they possess three major advantages.

First, telescopes and compasses. These two items not only prevented the Mongol army from getting lost in the desert, but also allowed them to spot the enemy first and detect their movements.

Secondly, the Bedouin people, generally speaking, were still in an intermediate stage between primitive and feudal societies, with extremely underdeveloped productivity. Their armor and weapons were far inferior to those of the Mongols, who had acquired the best of both Eastern and Western technology.

Thirdly, the Bedouin people were not a monolithic group; dozens of tribes governed themselves independently, leading to considerable conflicts. Zhao He even found several Bedouin guides for merchants in Damascus, offering them substantial rewards to serve as guides for the Mongol army.

So, in the dead of night, the Mongols raided an oasis in the desert and obtained a large number of camels, and the nightmare of the Bedouin people on the Sinai Peninsula began.

You Bedouins, aren't you capable of destroying the army's water supply? Well, we'll destroy your water supply first! We'll throw a large number of dead people and livestock into the water source, making it unusable for a short time.

Don't you Bedouins value camels the most?
"Without camels, it is unimaginable to live in the desert. Nomads rely on camels for nutrition, transportation, and trade. Bride dowries, ransoms for murderers, gamblers' bets, and chiefs' wealth are all measured in camels."

Then we'll target the camel breeding season and make your livelihoods miserable!

You Bedouins, don't you believe in the true God and swear to be our enemies to the death? Then let's see if your necks are harder or our knives are sharper!
Wherever the Mongol army went, all the tribes' camels were taken away, water sources were polluted, men were killed, and women were enslaved!
After nearly half a year of fighting, the Bedouin people on the Sinai Peninsula finally lowered their arrogant heads.

……

……

Jerusalem, Solomon's Temple.

This is the largest building in Jerusalem, originally the Al-Aqsa Temple of the True God, for the followers of the True God. Later, during the Crusades, an agreement was signed with the Ayyubid dynasty, and Jerusalem was given to the Europeans. This building was converted into Solomon's Temple, and a vaulted hall, 70 meters long and 30 meters wide, was built on its south side.

Now that Zhao He has become the master of Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon has naturally become the location of Zhao He's central army.

As the morning sun shone into the Temple of Solomon, Zhao He opened his eyes. Lying beside him was a beautiful young girl.

Her name was Nadia, and she was not a beautiful lamb from the West sent by the Roman Catholic Church, but rather the little princess of the Bedouin Anazar tribe.

To demonstrate their submission, the Anazar tribe not only offered twenty beauties, led by Nadia, but also sent their chieftain's son, Lebnahan, to Jerusalem as a hostage.

Of course, those few European beauties are also quite nice.

To ensure these beauties could successfully complete their mission, the Vatican carefully studied Eastern customs and determined that it was impossible to send a group of "beautiful lambs" who would never bathe.

These four Western beauties dyed their hair in the golden yellow that is popular in Europe today, wore Cortázar robes with belts, and Sukor robes on top, which were both clean and neat and full of exotic charm.

Faced with the Westerners' flattery, Zhao He did not refuse, after all, he was not a man who was indifferent to women, but he did not show much pity for these beautiful lambs.

He was taught by his father from a young age that conquering the world was far more attractive to him than conquering women; women were merely there to satisfy his normal needs.

The same applies to Nadia.

"Your Highness, you're awake!"

Upon hearing Zhao He's movements, Nadia quickly got up and helped him wash up.

Her clothes were in disarray, yet she was extremely careful.

Grilled lamb, wheat pita bread, rose cheese rolls, chilled yogurt... After having breakfast served by Nadia, Zhao He, escorted by five hundred armored soldiers, headed out of Jerusalem.

There, his army, which was marching west to Egypt, had been waiting for some time. To his left were his 35,000 regular troops. Although Zhao He's army had suffered considerable losses in the Battle of Baghdad, he would naturally gain a large number of vassal troops as he invaded Syria from Iraq.

It was not difficult to add the best of these vassal armies to the Eight Banners.

To the right were seven thousand Bedouin vassal troops and more than seventy-eight thousand camels.

Although the Bedouin people are poor, they still have many camels. For them, camels are like sheep to the people of the grasslands—essential resources for production and daily life.

Now that the Bedouin people of Sinai have submitted, Zhao He gave an order that half of the warriors and camels from all the tribes must be contributed to participate in this westward expedition.

These warriors were both an important force in Zhao He's conquest of Egypt and hostages in his hands.

"Warriors of the Bedouin..."

Zhao He stood on the already erected command platform, his gaze fixed intently on the Bedouin warriors below.

Naturally, there was a Bedouin guide who had previously sided with Zhao He, who translated his words to the Bedouin warriors.

Do you know how wealthy Egypt is? Do you know how beautiful the women there are?

"Know!"

The seven thousand Bedouin warriors responded loudly.

They were located in the desert between Syria and Egypt, in other words, in a key section of the Silk Road.

They usually herd livestock while collecting protection money from merchants and travelers, and sometimes they also act as desert bandits.

How wealthy Egypt is, how beautiful its women are—others may not know, but don't they?

"Do you want to go to Egypt and rob them outright, seize their wealth, and win over their beautiful women?"

"Think about it! Even in your dreams!"

The Bedouin warriors shouted even louder.

The Bedouin are all fierce and warlike, do not recognize any laws outside of tribal traditions, and do not obey any government except their own chief.

Their society was described as a "society without government." Clan ties based on blood relations formed the basis of their society. Through blood ties, they united families into clans; clans into tribes. To strengthen their power, they further united tribes into tribal alliances.

These people were lawless, eager to plunder, and had no psychological burden whatsoever.

If you knew Egypt was wealthy, why didn't you plunder it before? Was it because you didn't like it?
There was no other reason than that they were too few in number, poorly equipped, and poorly organized. They couldn't defeat the Syrians to the north, nor the Egyptians to the west. They could only rely on the unique terrain of the desert to extort and even rob merchants.

The Ayyubid dynasty was helpless against the Bedouins in the desert; as long as they outwardly submitted and didn't go too far along the Silk Road, they were left alone.

Nowadays, Zhao He will not tolerate these Bedouins.

He declared that these Bedouins not only had no right to collect protection money on the Silk Road, but that the raiders would also die.

If it cannot be determined which tribe committed the crime, all suspected Bedouin tribes shall be wiped out!
Today, the only way for Bedouins to make a living besides raising camels is to join Zhao He's army, conquer cities, and share the spoils of war.

Zhao He continued, "Besides Egypt, there are countless other wealthy countries waiting for us to conquer! Are you willing to follow me in conquering the world and gain your glory and wealth?"

"I am willing to die for the Crown Prince!"

The seven thousand Bedouin warriors answered in unison, their voices like thunder.

Barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue, and these Bedouins are even more so.

It is impossible to win their genuine loyalty by trying to bribe them with any benefits.

They only care about whose camel is fast and whose knife is sharp!
The Mongols displayed their unparalleled martial prowess in the Sinai Desert, and these Bedouin warriors naturally submitted to them.

Then, Zhao He would provide them with sharp weapons, ample logistics, and enforce military law, using wealth and honor as bait, thus creating the best desert cavalry.

What is a global empire?
This is a global empire!
Those who resisted were killed; those who submitted were gathered together to serve the best of all races, their strengths used appropriately, and their weaknesses prevented from disrupting the order of the entire empire.

Then, Zhao He turned to look at the direction of the 35,000 regular troops and said, "North of Egypt lies the vast Mediterranean Sea. To the east of the Mediterranean Sea is Asia, to the west is Europe, and to the south is the African continent. This place can be called the center of the world! Are you all willing to follow this crown prince to take this center of the world, bring glory to your ancestors, and make your names go down in history?"

In this era, there were originally no terms like Asia, Europe, and Africa.

However, Zhao Shuo already possessed these concepts and had taught them to Zhao He long ago.

During the six months of rest in Jerusalem, Zhao He had, of course, already educated his soldiers about the importance of Egypt and the concept of the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa.

"willing!"

Thirty-five thousand soldiers answered in unison.

Zhao He continued, "To boost the morale of the entire army, following the example of Baghdad, the commander of the first thousand to capture Cairo will be awarded the title of 'Cairo Sword' and a 'Cairo Sword' medal."

"In addition to the rewards due to meritorious soldiers, the commander of the thousand-man unit will also award all soldiers one hundred taels of silver and a 'Center of the World' medal."

"After we take Egypt, we will form a new ten-thousand-household unit with this thousand-household unit as its core, and the leader of this thousand-household unit will become the leader of the new ten-thousand-household unit. All other meritorious soldiers in this unit will naturally be promoted."

"Thank you, Prince!"

As soon as Zhao He finished speaking, all the soldiers present were eager to fight and cheered.

Baghdad didn't receive a title or medal, but Cairo did!
Moreover, this "center of the world" medal sounds much more impressive than the "Baghdad Vanguard" medal!

Just for this medal of "center of the world", we have to fight hard for it!
"Then, let's go!"

"Yes!"

Boom~~
The army numbered 35,000, with an average of four horses per person, totaling nearly 150,000 horses. There were also 7,000 Bedouin vassal troops and over 70,000 camels carrying large quantities of military supplies.

With Zhao He's command, nearly 50,000 troops and more than 200,000 livestock left Jerusalem and, after thirteen days, crossed the Sinai Desert, officially setting foot on African soil.

Zhao Shuo's kingdom is about to become a superpower spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa!

(End of this chapter)