Daming Military Empire

Chapter 414 The Canal Strategy
As July approaches, the scorching heat is gradually approaching. Goa does not have the ice-block air conditioners in the capital. This is a kind of torture for Zhu Cijiong, who is used to a refreshing summer. Once everything is settled, hurry back to the capital.

At this time, nearly a month has passed since the Great War, and the situation in South Asia is becoming more and more stable:
The First Corps of the Expeditionary Force, the Second Corps of the Expeditionary Force and the Guanning Army have taken over the entire Mughal Empire;

The three reserve corps are also being transported to Dhaka and Delhi one after another by railway. As for Kandahar, it has to go through, and the Yunnan reserve corps is on its way to Kandahar;

The local officials dispatched by the Ministry of Officials of the Ming Dynasty are also gradually in place, and the various plans set by him are also gradually being implemented;
Everything is about to be on the right track, Zhu Cijiong thought about it, and left the First Corps of the Expeditionary Army in Kandahar to prevent a sudden attack by the Persian Empire, and the Second Corps of the Expeditionary Army was transferred to Xingcheng Port to maintain stability in Nanyang. Return to Daming to rest.

Just as he was about to summon all the troops to return to Daming together, an unexpected person came to Goa.

This person is Wang Zhengnan's capable general, Xiao Jiuzheng, the current governor of Jinyiwei, Zhu Cijiong sent him to the Ottoman Empire to spy on information, how did he come here?
As for why he was sent to the Ottoman Empire to spy on intelligence, it had to start with the canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

As early as the first time he went to Europe, Zhu Cijiong had the idea of ​​building a canal. However, at that time, Spain was too busy to take care of itself, and Portugal had not yet returned to the country, so no one cooperated with him at all. Daming was asked to dig alone across the ocean. A canal was too unrealistic, so he had to postpone the plan.

By the time he went to Europe last year, Spain had gradually recovered, Portugal had also successfully become independent, and the three countries had also signed a treaty of alliance. The conditions for building the canal had gradually matured. Therefore, Zhu Cijiong specially asked Xiao Jiuzheng, who was in charge of spying in Europe at that time, to send someone Went to the canal planning area to inquire about information.

As a result, the situation was not optimistic, and the entire planning area of ​​the canal was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire!

To be honest, Zhu Cijiong was not very familiar with the Ottoman Empire at that time. He only knew that it was a relatively powerful empire. As for how powerful it was, he really didn't know.

But it doesn't matter if he doesn't know. Of course someone knows. He asked Xiao Jiuzheng to inquire, and he immediately knew that the trouble was serious. The canal would be very difficult to build!
The Ottoman Empire during this period was so strong that they defeated the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Portugal, Tsarist Russia, and the Persian Empire;

Their land spans Eurasia, and their territory is even larger than the Holy Roman Empire;

They have muskets, artillery and battleships, and even their navy has repeatedly defeated the navies of the European powers, dominating the Mediterranean!
Faced with such an Ultraman-like monster, Zhu Cijiong's depression can be imagined. He immediately signaled that Xiao Jiuzheng should find a way to break into the Ottoman Empire to see if there is a possibility of peacefully developing the Grand Canal.

As for going to war with the Ottoman Empire, Zhu Cijiong has never thought about it. What kind of international joke is it? To go to war with such a powerful empire across the ocean, the transfer of food and supplies can make people spurt blood, not to mention that they are not vegetarians. I don't know if I will do it or not!
It is a pity that the news that Xiao Jiuzheng came back from the inquiry at that time was simply desperate. The current Ottoman Emperor Murad IV is an extremely powerful and cruel person. The most important thing is that he is also an excellent military strategist, he is rarely defeated, and he is even a strong man with amazing martial arts skills. Even a dozen strong men can't get close to him, and even if they want to assassinate him less than.

Facing such a monster-level empire, facing such a monster-level emperor, Zhu Cijiong had to shelve the plan to build the canal indefinitely, but let Xiao Jiuzheng always pay attention to the situation of the Ottoman Empire, and report it immediately if he had the opportunity.

Now, Xiao Jiuzheng actually ran over in person. Could it be that there was some huge change in the Ottoman Empire?

Zhu Cijiong immediately recruited him to the study, and asked eagerly, "Jiucheng, is there any good news?"

Xiao Jiuzheng cupped his hands excitedly and said: "Your Majesty, great news, Murad IV died suddenly, and his younger brother Ibrahim I succeeded to the throne."

What kind of good news is this? It’s normal for a brother to be a younger brother. Zhu Cijiong asked puzzledly: "Is this Ibrahim I easy to talk to?"

When Xiao Jiuzheng heard the words, he showed a strange face, and replied awkwardly: "Back to the emperor, this Ibrahim I is not easy to talk about. His mind is a bit abnormal, and he basically doesn't ask about state affairs. Now the power of the Ottoman Empire is in the hands of him. in the hands of a few of his cronies."

Zhu Cijiong's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and he said with great interest: "Then you mean that someone among his cronies can bribe him?"

Xiao Jiuzheng nodded and said: "According to Weichen's investigation, his cronies are all greedy and lustful. As long as they can afford money, they can do anything!"

This will be easy, Zhu Cijiong said excitedly, "Very well, immediately send someone to contact his cronies to see if there is any hope of buying that piece of land with money."

Xiao Jiuzheng replied without hesitation: "Your Majesty, you don't need to ask, it is absolutely possible. They even dare to sell the fiefs of the nobles. Why would they not dare to do so in such a small area like the canal?"

It has become corrupted to such an extent, okay, Zhu Cijiong asked eagerly: "Then how much do you think you can buy that place?"

Xiao Jiuzheng said cautiously: "This humble minister has also considered, first buy off a nobleman of the Ottoman Empire, and then through this nobleman buy off the cronies of Ibrahim I, and buy this place as the nobleman's fiefdom, in this case , about 200 million taels."

Zhu Cijiong heard the words, thought for a while, shook his head and said: "This is not possible. They are not blind. Once the canal is dug, someone will definitely find out the tricks in it. What's more, after the canal is dug, troops will be stationed. How can a powerful empire It is possible to tolerate other countries stationing troops on their own territory, but they must buy that piece of land completely in the name of Ming, otherwise, I am afraid that disputes will arise before the canal is dug."

Hearing this, Xiao Jiuzheng said in embarrassment: "This is not impossible, but I am afraid that the money spent will be more than 200 million taels."

Zhu Cijiong said indifferently: "How much is it, you can roughly estimate it."

Xiao Jiuzheng thought about it carefully, and said cautiously: "In this case, you must buy off all the cronies of Ibrahim I, at least seven or eight million taels!"

It’s only seven or eight million taels, what’s the point? If you’re forced to go to war with the Ottoman Empire, it’s probably more than seven or eighty million taels. Zhu Cijiong said directly: “I’ll prepare 800 million taels for you first, and you can just talk about it. It doesn’t matter if you have more !"

(End of this chapter)