Chapter 642 The situation along the coast of the Red Sea
Chapter 642 The situation along the Red Sea coast
"Merokus doesn't ask the commander what he wants to do, but he will try his best to help him."
"I only hope that after the matter is completed, the commander-in-chief can reward Merochus with more silk."
Merochus said respectfully.
Su Chen smiled: "That's easy to say, I have plenty of silk!"
"Actually, you don't have to do anything, just be a qualified person!"
"By the way, I'm quite curious about the customs, the power structure and other things in this area,"
"It's okay on the way. Tell me more about this."
Su Chen and others behaved like a normal caravan, heading west along the north coast of the Horn of Africa.
Supply and trade at various ports along the way,
We also encountered two waves of pirates on the way.
Su Chen couldn't help but think of this. In later generations, this was also the place where pirates were most rampant in the world.
But this time, the Somali pirates grabbed the wrong target.
Xue Rengui, who was dressed as an African black man by Qiao, brought the Tang Marine Corps, which was also black,
Let the pirates taste the anger of the Tang Dynasty's famous generals!
The pirate's knife struck Xue Rengui and the Marines, leaving only a shallow white mark.
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty had one sword at a time.
The pirates all ran away, and Xue Rengui chased them with bows and arrows.
The lightweight yet solid aluminum alloy armor is simply not something that a pirate's scimitar can break through.
The ones worn by the Marine Corps are still specially made to reduce weight as much as possible without reducing defense.
And if you accidentally fall into the water, just click the buckle on the waist, and the armor can be easily removed from the body, preventing the person from falling into the bottom of the sea.
"Merochus, have there always been so many pirates here?"
Su Chen asked.
Merokus sighed: "Since I took over the family's merchant ship, there have been a lot of pirates!"
"After the cannibals came, they became even more rampant."
"I heard from my grandpa that it was not like this when the empire was still there,"
"At that time, we were trading between Egypt and Tianzhu, and even the Persians couldn't compete with us."
"There are not many merchant ships on the coast now."
By observing the coast and asking Merochus,
Su Chen also roughly understood the situation in the Horn of Africa.
Although the big cannibals have occupied this land, they don't seem to pay much attention to it.
Only a few officials were dispatched, and there was no mention of governance. It seemed that they deliberately made the place a mess.
There are quite a few missionaries.
Su Chen estimates that the cannibals are planning to use religious brainwashing first, and then send people to manage them.
This is the most trouble-free approach for an empire that combines politics and religion.
"Did you often trade with the Egyptians?"
"Yes, Marshal, Egyptians like spices, silk, and fine wine very much..."
The fleet continued westward and arrived at the westernmost end of the Gulf of Aden.
Su Chen remembered that in later generations there was a very large and very famous port city here.
But now the place is deserted, and there is not even a human habitation along the coast.
To the north from the western end of the Gulf of Aden is the entrance to the Red Sea, the Mandab Strait.
The fleet carefully crossed the strait and entered the Red Sea.
It’s not that I’m worried about anything else, it’s just that Merokus told Su Chen that there are reefs everywhere here.
Every year, merchant ships hit the rocks and sink here.
Su Chen was happy that the Great Eater didn't send anyone to guard such an important strait!
Su Chen made the fleet circle around the two small straits in the east and west, but he didn't see any people on the surrounding shores.
Merokus told Su Chen that because both sides of this sea area were deserts, no one was watching over it.
Entering the Red Sea and continuing north, the fleet arrived at a port called Dolensa.
Merochus lamented there that few ships now passed through this once busy port.
Su Chen has no time to care about the rise and fall of the Ham people's port city.
Call together several of the main officers who follow you to discuss the next plan.
Su Chen decided to take most of the people to continue northward along the Red Sea, and at the same time sent people back to report the news to Liu Rengui and others.
Inform the fleet of the situation in Mandab Strait.
A small boat in the fleet turned around, and Yuchi Baolin and Zhang Daan returned with several marines.
Now that we have entered winter, the sea is relatively calm, and there is not much risk in returning a ship.
Even if they encounter pirates, they can basically be solved with the strength and wisdom of Yuchi Baolin and Zhang Daan.
The others continued northward with the fleet, and Su Chen was planning to visit Egypt.
This place that once gave birth to the ancient Egyptian civilization was later conquered by the Assyrian, Persian, and Roman empires.
The ancient Egyptian civilization had been cut off long ago, and now it has been occupied by cannibals.
Su Chen was going to see how the big cannibal ruled this place.
According to Merochus, the cannibals drove away the Romans in Egypt a few years ago.
It was the center where the great cannibals controlled the North African countries, and many troops were stationed there.
After the fleet went all the way north into Egypt, Su Chen did not find many cannibals at several ports along the coast.
Merochus said that the great cannibals were concentrated in Cairo and the cities along the Mediterranean coast.
Su Chen finally understood along the way that the Great Eater didn't have much defense in his hometown along the Red Sea coast.
This made Su Chen so happy!
Su Chen thought for a while, but actually this can't be blamed on the cannibal's carelessness.
The east coast of the Red Sea and the west coast of the Dashi Peninsula are basically mountains and hills.
The land is inherently barren and sparsely populated.
The Dashi Peninsula was unified for just over ten years.
Persia and Byzantium had been fighting back and forth here for decades.
After years of war, the Red Sea trade routes were basically cut off.
Now that the cannibals are busy conquering the surrounding wealthy cities, who will send troops to guard these places where birds don't shit?
Merochus told Su Chen that if you go north along the Red Sea and reach the end, there is a large port city in Egypt called Atqua.
It is less than three hundred miles away from Cairo.
Su Chen opened the map and took a look,
Brewed, it has all reached the end of the Gulf of Suez!
After thinking about it carefully, Su Chen decided to continue heading north.
It is impossible to go to Cairo, but before the fleet arrives, it is necessary to visit all the Egyptian cities along the Red Sea.
At the same time, we have to go and see what is going on in the Sinai Peninsula to the north.
At the same time, Yuchi Baolin and Zhang Daan returned to the Mandab Strait.
"Hey, it's a good thing that the Big Eater didn't set up defenses here, otherwise our fleet would have been really troublesome to get in!"
Zhang Daan let the dhow sail slowly around the reef, usually taking detailed notes in a notebook.
He couldn't help but sigh.
"Shut up and quickly draw the sea map! We can go back and notify the fleet to come."
Yuchi Baolin said to Zhang Daan: "It's not good for you, captain, to go and learn painting from a few scholars!"
"Let's see how you tell your father when you go back. There will be no one in your Zhang family in the military anymore!"
Zhang Daan laughed and said: "Humph, you know nothing!"
"The Navy may have a few less captains, but it will definitely have me as a navigator. I have a position that even Mr. Cheng would envy!"
"It's you, I heard the commander say, you are the worst off among the first batch of our military children who joined the navy."
