"Where are you now?" Muhammad I took off his helmet, took out his fan and fanned himself, and asked a Mamluk next to him. It is already August of the 18th year of the Ming Dynasty, which is the ninth month of the calendar year.
.If we are in Anatolia, the weather has become cooler this season; but in hot Egypt, it is still so hot that people are sweating all over and want to peel off their own skin. It would be cooler if you wear a robe, but because of worry
The cavalry of the Ming Dynasty caught up, and Muhammad I could only lead by example and wear armor.
This was already the sixth day that he led his troops to escape from Cairo. Although he grabbed some boats that night to escape, there were not enough boats for all the soldiers. Muhammad I could only divide his soldiers into two groups to cross the river.
However, when the second group of soldiers crossed the river, they were blocked by the troops led by Tata I. Some of the soldiers failed to cross the river successfully. Coupled with the losses in the battle with the Ming army and the Castilian army in recent days, he came to Egypt three times.
There were only a little over 20,000 elite soldiers left, so of course all the auxiliary soldiers had to be thrown away. If it hadn't been for some Egyptians being trapped during this period, the usually aloof soldiers would have had to wash their own clothes.
After escaping from Cairo, Muhammad I took the shortest route back to Anatolia, and did not stop at all except for a night's rest and coercing the Egyptians. He even lost the artillery he brought with him in Cairo.
Later it became the trophy of the Ming army. Through this battle, he thoroughly understood how powerful the Ming Dynasty was. In addition, there was also the Kingdom of Castile, the largest naval power in the Mediterranean, and the Ming Dynasty. Unless they could form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty,
The Republic of Venice formed an alliance and plunged the Kingdom of Castile into disputes on the European continent, otherwise it would never take the initiative to start a war with the Ming Dynasty again.
"Your Majesty, this is Ismailia already." The Mamluk said. He was also brought here by Muhammad I. When Muhammad I wanted to evacuate, there was a man who was familiar with the local roads.
It would be better to force him to take a few Mamluks with him.
"Ismailia? Then this is already the Isthmus of Suez." Although Muhammad I could not recognize where this place was, Ismailia was one of the three most important cities on the Isthmus of Suez.
Smailia and Port Said, and the Suez Canal, which was built intermittently by the regime that controlled Egypt in history, will also pass through here. Not only that, because there is a small lake nearby, Ismailia is also two roads from Egypt to Palestine.
One (the other is along the northern coastline), the geographical location is very important.
"Your Majesty, are you just leaving Egypt like this?" Zahir said. After Ismailia is the West Egypt Peninsula, leaving Egypt; and the Ming army can only control the Suez Isthmus and will not pursue it too far. As long as it reaches the West
The Egyptian peninsula would be safe. But he was unwilling to leave Egypt just like that.
"What do you think we should do?" Muhammad I asked. Not to mention that Zahir was not willing, but neither was he. He led 30,000 elite soldiers to Egypt, not to mention annihilating the Ming army, but at least defeating them and holding them.
Cairo City; but the final result was to withdraw from Egypt in despair. Especially they were not defeated by the Ming Army, but had to withdraw because of the navy's defeat. He was not convinced by the Ming Army in his heart.
It seems that without the support of artillery fire, the combat effectiveness of the Ming Army is not stronger than the main force under his command, and he may not fail in this war.
"We will not return to Anatolia for the time being, but station troops in Palestine." Zahir said: "Since the main force of the Mamluks has been destroyed, the Mamluks in Palestine cannot resist our army, so they can take this opportunity to occupy Palestine.
After occupying Palestine, it can be said that this dispatch of troops has achieved some results, and it is not a failure. After the occupation, it will take several months to establish political power in Palestine and win over the powerful local people."
"The occupation of Palestine can indeed be regarded as the result of sending troops, but does this have anything to do with the Ming army?" Muhammad I asked.
"It does matter. Your Majesty," Zahid continued: "After the Ming army captures Egypt, they will definitely want to control the Isthmus of Suez. A canal has been built in the Isthmus of Suez. Although the tonnage of ships that can pass through is not large, once it is built, it will have a great impact on Europe.
It is of great use for the country to trade with the Ming Dynasty. I suspect that the reason why the Ming Dynasty allied with the Kingdom of Castile to seize Egypt was to build a canal through the Isthmus of Suez."
"In this case, it makes sense for our army to stay in Palestine. After establishing a foothold in Palestine, we can often send cavalry to the Suez Isthmus to harass and prevent the Ming Dynasty from building the canal. The Ming Dynasty only has a total of 20,000 soldiers and will not deploy them in Suez.
The terrain of the Isthmus and the Suez area, as long as they don't take the initiative to die, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to do anything to our cavalry."
"If the Ming Dynasty is successfully prevented from building the canal, the cost of trade between Europe and the Ming Dynasty passing through the Suez region cannot be reduced, and it may not be lower than passing through the Crescent Zone. In this way, at least part of the trade channel can still be in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and the Empire
You can have a stable financial source." Zahir finally said.
This strategy was thought up by the two of them in the past six days. Although it was impossible to defeat the Ming army by force and cause Ming Dynasty huge losses, they did not give up the idea of causing trouble for Ming Dynasty. After careful analysis, they believed that Ming Dynasty
One of the main purposes of occupying Egypt was to control the Isthmus of Suez and build a canal, so they came up with this strategy.
"You originally had this idea." Muhammad I smiled and said, "Very good." If Zahir and Zahid encouraged him to send out the main force to fight the Ming army again, he would definitely not agree. After all, war
The outcome is hard to predict. If defeated, the whole country will be unstable. But if he just proposes harassment and prevents the construction of the Suez Canal, not only will there be no loss, but also a source of wealth for the empire will be preserved. Of course he will agree.
"As soon as the army takes over Palestine, you will implement your strategy." He added.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zahir and Zahid agreed, with happy expressions on their faces.
At this time, the rest time was over, and all the officers and soldiers continued to move forward. Muhammad I also got on his horse. He was riding on the horse and thinking about what trouble he could cause to the Ming Dynasty. 'Not only can it prevent the construction of the canal,
You can also send cavalry across the isthmus to harass Egypt, plunder food, gold, silver and various wealth from local villages, so that the Ming Dynasty cannot rule Egypt peacefully. However, you cannot send soldiers to do this, as it will reduce combat effectiveness. You can start from
The Mamluks of Palestine selected their men...'
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard something coming from the air. He raised his head and looked eastward, but saw nothing. Just when he was a little strange, he heard a voice coming from beside him: "Your Majesty, be careful!"
Hearing this, he subconsciously looked south and saw three big iron balls flying towards him. He immediately turned his horse's head and avoided the three big iron balls. But the people next to him
He was not so lucky. Zahir was hit by a big iron ball and fell off his horse. He was dead when he saw it.
"Zahir!" Muhammad I shouted. Although Zahir had not been in the Ottoman Empire for a long time, because he was loyal to him and worked hard, Muhammad I trusted him very much. At this time
It was a bit sad to see him die in battle.
"Your Majesty, this is not the time to be sad. These three big iron balls must have been fired by the Ming army through cannons, indicating that there is an ambush by the Ming army nearby. You must leave here as soon as possible." Someone advised.
"No, find the people who launched these three big iron balls immediately and kill them!" Muhammad I shouted.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The two generals agreed immediately, turned their horses and led the troops in the direction from which the big iron ball came.
But at this moment, several projectiles were suddenly shot out from under the pile of sand a few feet away, hitting Muhammad I, Zahid and others. Muhammad I shook his body and then fell off his horse.
, die with eyes closed.
…
…
"..., this time we sent troops to Egypt, we brought three cannons with very high shooting accuracy, all of which were carefully built by craftsmen. The shooting accuracy means that we can accurately calculate the ability of the shells fired by this cannon through measurement.
The error of arriving at the place is no more than one foot. I sent people with these three cannons to ambush near Ismailia, which was the place he must pass when returning to Anatolia. If Muhammad I led his troops through,
Just fire cannonballs to bombard him. There is a small forest nearby, and you can observe with clairvoyance hidden in the woods."
"In addition to these three cannons, I also specially selected a soldier who has a deep hatred against the Tianfang believers and wants to kill all the Tianfang believers to lie in ambush nearby. He holds three short fire blunderbuss and can kill or injure people within thirty feet. As for him,
How to ambush him depends on the local conditions." Cao Xing told the Ming army's preparations for the ambush of Muhammad I.
"This doesn't guarantee that Muhammad I will be killed, right?" Alfonso, who still didn't know that Muhammad I was dead, said.
"Of course it's not guaranteed. But even if it fails, the loss will not be big. There is a lake near Ismailia, and there are boats on the lake. Three artillery pieces can be loaded onto the boats and evacuated." Cao Xing said nonchalantly. It turned out to be Li Jiqian.
I proposed it out of boredom, and it doesn't matter if it doesn't succeed.
"But if Muhammad I is really killed, the impact will be too great." Alfonso said: "He is only twenty-seven years old this year, and the eldest son is only thirteen years old. After his death, the Ottoman Empire is likely to
Falling into chaos again, just like what happened after the death of his father Bayezid I. The situation in the entire Mediterranean will change again, of course, in our favor."
"Then I hope Muhammad I will be beaten to death." Wen Di said with a smile.