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

Chapter 254 A Million Corpses Lie Down to Repair the Suez Canal!

Of course, building the ninth wonder of the world also requires skill.

The more than 600,000 people who knelt and surrendered were first driven to the wilderness outside Cairo and settled in 127 camps. Each person could barely survive on thin porridge with grains of wheat that could be counted one by one each day.

Then, register their identities and addresses, and ask them to disclose the amount and whereabouts of their property.

The Han army and the Balu camp began ransacking homes, and traitors with hidden assets were dragged out of the camp and beheaded on the spot.

The entire process lasted for ten days.

During these ten days, the remaining population in Cairo was counted, and there were more than 187,300 people left.

More than 30,000 able-bodied men in the city were mobilized and the Amur Shinto Temple, which had been the first to launch the rebellion, was moved to a barren site.

These young and strong men were the main force in building the ninth wonder of the world.

Ten days later, a group of rebels from a camp were driven to this white land and sacrificed their blood to the foundation.

Then, rebels from one camp after another were brought over, beheaded on the spot, and became building materials for the entire pyramid.

Of course, building this pyramid of heads required other materials. Not only did it require truckloads of soil and sand, but it also required quarrying massive stones from Mount Muqattam, making it a considerable undertaking.

Fortunately, some of the 30,000-plus able-bodied men were Roman Catholics who had suffered oppression from the Christian Church in various ways and paid heavy taxes. Now that the Christian followers in Cairo had suffered such a great blow, they felt extremely pleased.

Others, though members of the True God Cult, were undoubtedly cowards since they hadn't participated in the rebellion. Seeing so many corpses only made them more subdued.

In addition, with Cairo's population decreasing so drastically, food supplies were plentiful. Not only were the more than 30,000 able-bodied men well-fed, but there was also surplus food to supply their families, and these people worked very hard.

Finally, a month later, a magnificent pyramid began to take shape on the site of the Temple of Amur. It wouldn't be truly completed until at least a year later.

Even just the prototype is amazing!

It was at this time that Turki, the chief of the Anazar tribe, arrived in Cairo with seven thousand Bedouin camel riders and set up camp outside the city.

Turki, who is the father of Lebnahan and Nadia.

Given Turki's status, it was impossible for him to be received by Zhao He immediately, but he could bring fifty men into the city to rest.

Shortly after entering the city, Turki was shocked by two pieces of news.

One is the pyramid built by these more than 600,000 people. 600,000 people! The total number of men, women, and children in the Sinai tribe is less than 100,000.

Upon hearing the number 600,000, Turki was startled, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

What would have happened to the Bedouins if they hadn't obediently submitted?
Turki was utterly terrified.

Another piece of news was the enormous wealth gained from suppressing the rebellion.
The suppression of the rebellion was too easy; fundamentally, it was thanks to the Battle of the Pyramids. However, the soldiers who participated in the Battle of the Pyramids but not in the suppression received very little spoils afterward, which was unfair.

Therefore, Zhao He decided to allocate a portion of the spoils of war to reward the troops who did not participate in suppressing the rebellion.

Turki estimated that each of the Bedouin warriors who had followed Zhao He on the expedition received a reward worth five camels.

Five camels—that's about all the wealth a poor Bedouin family has.

Ten camels are enough to marry a beautiful Bedouin bride.

Not to mention the immense wealth these Bedouin warriors would acquire by following Zhao He in conquering the Nile Delta and later the Nile Valley in Upper Egypt.

Disobeying the Crown Prince has far too high a price to pay!

Making money by following the Crown Prince is just too easy!
Turki could easily imagine how envious and jealous the seven thousand Bedouin warriors stationed outside the city would be of those who had fought alongside the Crown Prince after hearing this news, and how eager they would be to serve him.

No?
Even he himself was eager to try!

Originally, Turki didn't harbor much ill will towards Zhao He's conquest of the Bedouin. After all, the Anazar tribe was originally only the second most powerful Bedouin tribe. Zhao He's conquest of the Bedouin dealt a devastating blow to the most powerful tribe, the Hiidti tribe, allowing the Anazar tribe to rise to become the most powerful tribe in the Sinai Desert.

Countless times, Turki secretly rejoiced.

Now, Zhao He's actions have convinced Tuerji to firmly bind himself to Zhao He's cause.

Therefore, when Turki was summoned by Zhao He, he spoke on behalf of himself and all the Bedouin tribes in the Sinai Desert, expressing his loyalty to Zhao He.

"It's certainly very good that you think that way."

Zhao He nodded slightly and said, "Actually, when I conquered the Bedouin tribe, I had another method that I didn't use. If you are still stubborn after half a year of killing, I might have to burn down all the oases in the Sinai Desert."

"Burn...burn down the oasis?"

The ecosystem in an oasis is extremely fragile.

It's easy to burn down an oasis, but to restore it would probably take hundreds or even thousands of years, or it might never be restored.

Can the Bedouin people really go without food and water and wait for the oasis to recover over such a long period of time?

If Zhao He really does this, the Bedouin people of the Sinai Desert may lose their homeland forever!
The thought of such a terrifying scene sent a jolt through Turki, who quickly stood up and kowtowed heavily to the ground.

He said, “I always felt that the Crown Prince favored us Bedouins, and was much kinder to us than to others! Now it seems that the Crown Prince favors the Bedouins even more than I thought. The Bedouins in the Sinai Desert are all willing to die for the Crown Prince!”

Zhao He waved his hand and said, "Get up. Actually, there are still many opportunities for you Bedouins to serve me. Uh..."

As he spoke, Zhao He called out loudly, "Someone, bring me the pearl branch."

"Yes."

Before long, Pearl Branch entered the main hall.

Zhao He said, "Why don't you tell Turki about the situation on the African continent?"

"Yes."

For both East Asians like Zhao He and the Bedouin tribes of the Sinai, the African regions south and west of the Ayyubid dynasty were largely unfamiliar.

However, the Ayyubid dynasty, located on the African continent itself, had many connections with various major powers on the continent.

To survive, Pearl Branch diligently sought Zhao He's favor, and in recent days, based on various materials from the Ayyubid Dynasty, she drew a map of Africa for him. Since Zhao He and Turki couldn't communicate without a translator, Zhao He simply ordered someone to bring Pearl Branch over and explain the situation on the African continent.

"The Crown Prince called this continent south of the Mediterranean Sea Africa."

"In North Africa, west of the Ayyubid dynasty, there were also the Hafs, Zayan, and Marin dynasties. Today, the Zayan and Marin dynasties are still fighting for land."

"The largest power in East Africa is the Solomon dynasty, which controls the Ethiopian highlands. There are also two smaller powers: the Sultanate of Ifat and the Sultanate of Mogadishu, all three of which are at war."

"The largest country in West Africa is the Mali Empire, also known as the Land of Gold, which has numerous gold mines. The discovery of these gold mines alone makes its ruler one of the richest monarchs in Africa."

"We have fairly good intelligence on the situation in Central and Southern Africa. We only know that there are some tribal alliances there, and the Kilwa Sultanate is quite powerful."

Pearl Branch showed Turki a detailed map of Africa and marked the location of the Sinai Peninsula on it.

Compared to the vast African continent, the tiny Sinai Peninsula is insignificant, not to mention that the Bedouin people do not occupy the entire Sinai Peninsula, but only the Sinai Desert.

How much wealth could the Bedouins gain from participating in such a war?
After hearing Pearl Branch's introduction, Turki's eyes lit up, and he said, "Could it be that the Crown Prince intends to wage war on the African continent? All the warriors of our Bedouin tribe in the Sinai Desert are willing to die for the Crown Prince!"

Zhao He shook his head slightly and said, "There's no rush now. The African continent is barren, except for the gold mines of the Mali Empire, which are somewhat interesting. After conquering the Ayyubid dynasty, our army's main direction of advance will still be Eurasia. Your current task is merely to cooperate with the Eight Banners army to destroy Upper Egypt."

"However, the African continent will eventually come under my control. There are many deserts here, and I will have plenty of opportunities to use your Bedouin warriors!"

"Yes!" Turki nodded emphatically.

Zhao He waved his hand and said, "Go back and rest! Shi Tianze will send someone to contact you later and tell you where to advance. Once you get to the front lines, follow the instructions of Deputy Commander Hai Rige, understand?"

"understand!"

Turki kowtowed again, accepted the order, and left.

Logically, Pearl Branch should take her leave now.

However, she continued, "Your Highness's country spans tens of thousands of miles, and maritime transport is of paramount importance. I have been studying various materials about Egypt these days, and now I have a plan to offer to Your Highness."

"Go on."

"The ancient Egyptians built canals several times to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, linking the Red Sea with the Nile River. In this way, ships could travel from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea via the canals and the Nile River."

"However, the canal is very prone to silting up. It could remain navigable when Egypt was a strong nation. But as the country declined, it was gradually abandoned."

"Your Highness is a man of great talent and ambition. Reopening the canal would be of great benefit to the country!"

Pearl Branch worked hard to gain Zhao He's favor and, after several days of deep thought, came up with the suggestion to build a canal.

In her mind, even if Zhao He didn't immediately adopt her suggestion, he would seriously consider it.

Unexpectedly, Zhao He shook his head and said, "The water volume of the Nile River varies too much throughout the year. Even if the canal is built, it will be difficult to maintain. Besides, the journey from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea via the canal and the Nile is too long."

Pearl Branch said, "Then what does the young master mean..."

Zhao He stood up, pointed to the map, and said, "I plan to dig a canal here, between the Sinai Peninsula and the Nile Delta, at the point where the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are closest, directly connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea!"

"Your Highness has great ambition. But...but...such a massive project must...must cause many deaths, right?"

The location of this canal is not exactly right next to the Nile Delta; in many areas, the entire area within a radius of 45 miles is desert.

Moreover, although this canal is the closest point between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, it is still much longer than the canal that would connect the Red Sea and the Nile!

It's easy to imagine how many Egyptians would have lost their lives because of the construction of this canal!
Pearl Branch, sold into the Baghdad court at a young age, didn't even know her own ethnicity, so of course she wouldn't feel sorry for the Egyptians. But the number was just too enormous, so she couldn't help but whisper a reminder.

Zhao He snorted indifferently and said, "The canal you mentioned can be called the Pharaoh Canal. The canal I want to build can be called the New Canal. Originally, I was still a little undecided about whether to build the Pharaoh Canal or the New Canal."

"However, in the Cairo rebellion, more than 70% of the military and civilians participated. What about other cities in Egypt? Or even the many cities in neighboring Syria?"

"The loyalty of these people is highly questionable. In that case, let's build this new canal! The more dead people there are, the better! I want to use hundreds of thousands of corpses to build a canal connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, laying the foundation for the empire's strength!"

Before Zhao He's western expedition, Zhao Shuo had certainly told him about the idea of ​​digging a canal in Egypt to connect the Eurasian and African continents.

There are two options: the Pharaoh Canal and the new canal, which is the historically famous Suez Canal.

Although Zhao Shuo improved gunpowder, the project was still enormous given the technological level of that era.

Zhao Shuo hadn't decided whether to build the Pharaoh Canal temporarily or to build the Suez Canal directly, leaving it to Zhao He to decide.

This Cairo rebellion prompted Zhao He to make up his mind.

He had been quite lenient with Cairo after its surrender, but even the lowest-ranking Cairoans participated heavily in the rebellion.

Zhao He gained a deeper understanding of the barbarians' fear of power but not of virtue.

Since Zhao He has already built the pyramid where over 600,000 people kowtowed, there's no need for him to continue with appeasement.

Zhao He estimates that after conquering the Ayyubid dynasty, Egypt would still have four to five million people remaining. Adding neighboring Syria, that would bring the total to six to seven million.

How many people will die during the construction of the Suez Canal?
Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands?

Even if millions die, Zhao He is willing to do it!

Of course, building the Suez Canal requires not only a massive amount of manpower but also a large number of technical personnel; the resources of Egypt and Syria alone are insufficient.

Besides, such a large project requires a huge amount of money and silver, and it also needs Zhao Shuo's support and approval.

Zhao He waved his hand, dismissing Pearl Branch, and then began writing a letter to Zhao Shuo.

He certainly maintained frequent correspondence with Zhao Shuo; for example, after the Battle of Baghdad, Guo Kan was granted the title of commander of ten thousand households.

However, Zhao He had to write a letter to Zhao Shuo first, and only after Zhao Shuo gave his approval would he choose a suitable time to officially appoint Guo Kan as a commander of ten thousand households.

Now that Zhao He wants to build the Suez Canal, he naturally has to write to Zhao Shuo.

"Father, I, Zhao He, led an army of 30,000 to fight the Ayyubid dynasty at the foot of the pyramids, annihilating their main force. Cairo has surrendered... These barbarians fear danger but do not cherish virtue; their bodies and lives need not be spared. I intend to build a new canal, directly connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, using the countless blood and tears of foreign peoples to build the foundation of our nation's strength. I beg Your Majesty's permission!"

(End of this chapter)