Chapter 1037: Messenger of Peace: Datang Western Company
The Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century was at its peak, because the Ottoman Empire during this period had a very outstanding monarch, Suleiman I.
Since this person succeeded to the throne, the Ottoman Empire has ushered in a renaissance and has a strong military force. How strong is it?
Their army can defeat neighboring countries, and their navy is not weak. For a certain period of time, they controlled the Mediterranean, and even Spain was helpless in the confrontation!
The Ottoman Empire, with its powerful military power, completely controlled large areas of territory such as the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt, and directly blocked the trade routes from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden to the Mediterranean Sea, allowing the Ottoman Empire to gain a lot of wealth.
For Western European countries, the powerful Ottoman Empire stood at the junction of east and west, cutting off land trade between China and the West. This was also the direct reason that prompted Western European countries to actively explore routes!
If the overland trade channel from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean was smooth, why did they have to travel across the ocean and go all the way around Africa to the East? They set out from the Atlantic Ocean and headed westward, trying to find a new route to the East.
All of this was based on the assumption that the Ottoman Empire controlled the key areas of the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt where the east and west met, and then levied extremely high taxes on passing caravans.
The Ottoman Empire, which controls the strategic location where the east and west meet, has earned a lot of wealth from this. With this wealth, it has built a strong military force and developed a good culture, allowing the Ottoman Empire to stand for thousands of years.
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Ying Zihua didn't know much about the situation in the Ottoman Empire!
Although he has information about current European countries compiled by the Royal Institute of Technology, and also collected some information about the Ottoman Empire from the Portuguese and Spanish who came to China, most of these information are relatively superficial.
Before seeing it with his own eyes, Ying Zihua remained doubtful about the authenticity of the information!
At the same time, they also maintain a certain degree of vigilance against the Portuguese and the Ottomans, who are considered extremely evil by the Spanish!
So when he led the fleet into the Gulf of Aden, he did not foolishly lead all the ships in the fleet directly into the port. Instead, he prepared to send a small ship to test the situation first.
What should you do after testing the situation?
This depends on the reaction of the Ottomans. If the attitude of the Ottoman officials at the local port is good, then the two sides will have a basis for cooperation. See if they can sign a business cooperation agreement or something like that. It would be best to set up a place as a place for business and trade.
stations, supply ports, etc.
If the local Ottoman officials had a tough attitude, then Ying Zihua would have to consider the risk of entering their port.
After all, the situation of Ying Zihua's fleet is not very good now, and his mission is not to reach an agreement with the Ottomans. He is just here to explore the route. There is no need to take unnecessary risks. When the time comes, he should
Zihua could directly find a small port in a remote place, take a simple rest, and then head south again!
It didn't take long for the three ships led by Ying Zihua to arrive in the middle of the Red Sea, which is also the southernmost sea area of the Ottoman Empire. On the north coast of the Red Sea, there is a city with great influence in the peninsula: Moga (
mecca).
Of course, Ying Zihua and the others are not going to Moga, they want to go to Jeddah Port!
When Ying Zihua's fleet appeared outside the port of Jeddah, as expected, it immediately aroused a strong reaction from the local indigenous people. More than a dozen ships quickly came out of the port. These ships had strong Mediterranean characteristics, and It is different from the Western-style Galen boats that are common in the sea.
Ying Zihua has seen this kind of situation many times. When he was in India before, he also entered the local indigenous ports several times for supplies. The local indigenous people were always making such a fuss, as if they were sure that they were coming to attack the port. Same.
A bunch of fools, even if our Datang Western Company wants to launch a war, we will have to bring a huge fleet. What can I do with a few lonely ships? I, Ying Zihua, can at best test the situation.
Of course, if the defense strength of their port is not good, then Ying Zihua will not waste the opportunity, fire a few rounds of volleys, let them charge a little money, and sell or lease a piece of land to him for a symbolic fee to build the Trading station.
Okay, let's put it this way, it actually makes sense for these natives to be so wary!
But this time, speaking out of conscience, Ying Zihua really had no intention of starting a war. After all, the Ottoman Empire was a regional power and a potentially good trading partner. If peaceful trade could be carried out, it would be a great advantage to the early Tang Dynasty. Very important for Western companies.
As for what will happen after the Tang Dynasty Western Company has established a foothold in this area, nonsense, it will definitely launch a war and expand the colony. This question still needs to be asked?
Therefore, this time, it was rare that Ying Zihua did not directly let the two cruisers come forward, opened the gun windows, revealing dozens of dark cannons, and fired several salvos at the port!
Instead, they sent a small boat over and prepared to have a good talk with the local Ottoman officials.
However, what happened next made Ying Zihua a little angry!
Those Ottomans actually used small-caliber artillery to fire at the traffic boat sent out by Ying Zihua. Although it was only a small-caliber shotgun and did not hit the traffic boat at all, it still affected several people in the traffic. I was so frightened that I turned around and paddled hard to escape!
At this time, Ying Zihua had an angry look on his face: "These damn barbarians actually dared to intercept the traffic boat he sent over. What a pity. It was just a traffic boat of only a few tons and didn't even have artillery. This is A symbol of peace!"
But these damn barbarians actually opened fire and attacked the peace envoys of Datang Western Company!
Absolutely intolerable!
Our Datang Western Company has never been actively attacked by the enemy. Along the way, Ying Zihua has always taken the initiative to attack others, and we have never been actively attacked by others!
So at this time, the rationality that Ying Zihua had maintained before disappeared in an instant. Damn, just now he was thinking about talking business and seeing if he could sign a few peaceful trade agreements, but now it's all nonsense!
Business does not require a friendly trade agreement to be done. After placing the fleet in the enemy's port and sending thousands of people to land to kill the enemy, you can still do business!
Datang Western Company had done this before in Nanyang, Myanmar, and India!
And now, Ying Zihua finally had the idea of doing business peacefully, but it was ruined by these inexplicable Ottomans!
He immediately said with a dark face: "Barbarians are barbarians, incomprehensible, incomprehensible!"
"Send the order, fire the cannon, and let them know that the ships of the Tang Dynasty Western Company, the peace envoys of the Heavenly Kingdom, cannot be attacked!"
As Ying Zihua's order was conveyed, the dozens of cannons on the sides of two cruisers and a 680 armed merchant ship opened fire!
The rumble of cannons rang out in this small port!
Until now, Ying Zihua still couldn't figure out why these Ottomans attacked him. He clearly showed no hostility. Even if he wanted to attack the port with arms, it would not be now.
In the end, Ying Zihua could only explain it as barbarians being unreasonable!
Ying Zihua was confused, but the Ottomans opposite were extremely frightened!
Why, because they were attacked by a group of pirates three days ago, or to be more precise, a Portuguese fleet disguised as pirates, but the Ottomans were not stupid, and they could tell at a glance that they were Portuguese.
Three days ago, a Portuguese armed merchant ship took advantage of the fact that the defenders in the port were not paying attention and pretended to enter the port to do business. As a result, it opened fire. Dozens of artillery fired at the unsuspecting Ottoman port defense force.
Beaten to pieces.
That is to say, their ground power was pretty good. After the Portuguese landed, they felt that they couldn't do it, so they grabbed a handful and ran away!
Three days later, that is, today, three huge ships appeared in Jeddah Port again. It was obvious at a glance that these ships had a huge number of artillery pieces. The first thought of the Ottomans was, those damn Portuguese.
The human pirates are back again, and they have brought even stronger reinforcements.
Although it was a misunderstanding, the Ottomans on the opposite side didn't know, and neither did Ying Zihua, so the two sides started fighting on this sea!
It's just that this naval battle is a one-sided naval battle!
The Ottoman ships on the opposite side are not large. Although they are flexible, their firepower is very weak, and there are not many large-caliber artillery at all!
As for the three ships of the Datang Western Company, two of them are professional warships. The firepower of the two cruisers is enough to cover the entire port. Moreover, the maneuverability of the warships of the Datang Navy is not comparable to that of Galen ships.
So, needless to say, the next result was that after the Osmen lost several ships, the remaining ships retreated to the port. Ying Zihua's fleet followed them, facing the port and several ships on the shore.
A place that was obviously an artillery position carried out a wild bombing!
The rumble of cannons continued for more than an hour!
In the end, this poor port was reduced to ruins!
At this time, Ying Zihua said: "It's so damn unlucky that I can't do good business and you have to force me to use force!"
Then he turned to his subordinates and said: "Go down and quickly organize a landing, control the port, look for supplies, and see if you can find craftsmen and materials for emergency repairs!"
Although this small port was destroyed, Ying Zihua was not careless!
Although the defense force of this small port is not strong, and most of the dozen or so small boats that resisted just now have been destroyed, this is a foreign country after all, and who knows if more barbarian troops will come later, so he needs to hurry up.
Replenish your supplies, repair your ship, and get going!
As for occupying this miserable place, he has no interest at all!
It can't be said that he is not interested, but rather that he is powerless. His fleet only has a few hundred people in total. It is a bit difficult to seize the port city of a regional power. To be honest, it will be a bit troublesome to hold it in the future.
When the landing force composed of marines and sailors from Datang Western Company began to land, many fast horses also galloped out of the port. They were envoys, carrying letters hastily written by local officials!
The letter said that the damn Portuguese are coming again, with more than a dozen large ships and thousands of people. Hurry up and send troops for reinforcements, otherwise the port of Jeddah will be completely destroyed!