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Chapter 5 The Canal Strategy

As July approaches, the scorching heat gradually comes. Goa does not have the ice-type air conditioner like that in the capital. This is simply a torture for Zhu Cijiong, who has been used to the refreshing summer. At this time, he just wants to deal with everything in South Asia and return to the capital quickly.

At this time, nearly a month has passed since the war, and the situation in South Asia is becoming increasingly stable:

The First Legion of the Expeditionary Force, the Second Legion of the Expeditionary Force and the Guanning Army have taken over the entire Mughal Empire;

The three reserve forces were also transported to Dhaka and Delhi by railway. As for Kandahar, we had no choice but to walk, and the Yunnan reserve forces were on their way to Kandahar;

The local officials dispatched by the Ministry of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty were gradually in place, and the plans he set were also being implemented gradually;

Everything was about to get on track. Zhu Cijiu thought about it and left the First Legion of the Expeditionary Force in Kandahar to prevent the sudden attack of the Persian Empire. The Second Legion of the Expeditionary Force was transferred to Xingchenggang to maintain the stability of the Nanyang. As for the other legions, they all returned to the Ming Dynasty to rest.

Just as he was about to summon all the troops to return to the Ming Dynasty, an unexpected man came to Goa.

This man is a capable general under Wang Zhengnan. He is currently the governor of the Jinyiwei. Zhu Cijing sent him to the Ottoman Empire to spy on information. Why did he run over?

As for why he was sent to the Ottoman Empire to spy on intelligence, it has to start with the canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

As early as when he went to the continent for the first time, Zhu Cijiu had the idea of ​​building a canal. However, at that time, Spain was too busy to take care of itself. Portugal had not yet recovered, so no one cooperated with him. It was too unrealistic to ask the Ming Dynasty to dig a canal alone across the ocean, so he had to postpone the plan.

By the time he went to the continent again last year, Spain had gradually recovered its vitality and Portugal had successfully independent. Moreover, the three countries also signed an alliance treaty, and the conditions for building the canal were ripe. Therefore, Zhu Cijing specially asked Xiao Jiucheng, who was in charge of intelligence spy on the continent at that time, to send someone to the canal planning area to inquire about intelligence.

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

To be honest, Zhu Cijiu 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 it, so naturally someone knows it. When Xiao Jiucheng asked him to inquire, he immediately knew that the trouble was so big that the canal would be difficult to build!

The Ottoman Empire during this period was simply outrageously strong. They had defeated the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Portugal, Tsarist Russia, and Persian Empire;

Their territory spans the Eurasian continent and its territory is even larger than that of the Holy Roman Empire;

They had muskets, artillery and battleships. Even their navy defeated the navy of the European powers many times and dominated the Mediterranean!

Faced with such a monster like Ultraman, Zhu Cijiujiu's depression was imaginable. He immediately signaled that Xiao Jiuzheng would find a way to invade the Ottoman Empire to see if there is any possibility of a peaceful development of the Grand Canal.

As for the war with the Ottoman Empire, Zhu Cijiu has never thought of this. He is making an international joke. He went to war with such a powerful empire from a distance from the ocean. The transportation of food, grass and supplies alone can make people squirt blood. What's more, they are not vegetarians, and they don't know whether they can do it or not!

Unfortunately, the news that Xiao Jiucheng came back at that time was simply desperate. The current Ottoman Emperor Murad IV was an extremely powerful and cruel person who was determined to expand outward and never thought of compromising with the surrounding countries. More importantly, he was also an extremely outstanding military strategist and rarely suffered defeats. He was even a strong man with amazing martial arts skills. He could not get close to him at any time, and he could not even be assassinated.

Faced with such a monster-level empire and such a monster-level emperor, Zhu Cijiu had to shelve the plan to build a canal indefinitely, but only made Xiao Jiucheng pay attention to the situation of the Ottoman Empire at all times, and once he had the chance, he would report it immediately.

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

Zhu Cijing immediately recruited him to the study and asked anxiously: "Ninety percent, is there any good news?"

Xiao Jiucheng bowed excitedly and said, "Emperor, great news, Murad IV suddenly died of illness, and his brother Ibrahim I succeeded to the throne."

What good news is this? Brother and brother are still there. It's normal. Zhu Cijiong asked in confusion: "Is this Ibrahim I easy to talk to?"

When Xiao Jiucheng heard this, his face looked strange and replied awkwardly: "Return to the emperor, Ibrahim I was not a good thing to talk about. He was a little abnormal in his consciousness and basically didn't care about state affairs. Now the power of the Ottoman Empire is in the hands of several of his confidants who deceived him."

When Zhu Cijing heard this, his eyes lit up and said with great interest: "What do you mean is that someone among his confidants can bribe it?"

Xiao Jiucheng nodded and said, "According to Weichen's investigation, his confidants are all lustful people. As long as they can afford money, they can do anything!"

This is easy to deal with. Zhu Cijiu said excitedly: "It's great, immediately send someone to contact his confidants to see if you have any hope of buying the land with money."

Xiao Jiucheng replied without hesitation: "Emperor, this is not something to ask, it is absolutely possible. They dare to sell the fiefs of nobles, and what are they afraid of such a small piece of canal?"

It has actually become corrupt to this level, okay, Zhu Cijing asked anxiously: "Then how much do you think you can buy that place?"

Xiao Jiucheng said carefully: "This minister also considered, first bribing a nobleman from the Ottoman Empire, and then bribing Ibrahim I's confidant through this nobleman and buying this place as the fief of the nobleman. In this case, it would cost about two million taels."

Zhu Cijiu heard this and 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 the trick. What's more, after the canal is dug, troops will be sent to garrison. How can a powerful empire tolerate other countries garrisoning on their own territory? It must buy the land completely and buy it in the name of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, it may cause disputes before the canal is dug."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiucheng said in embarrassment: "This is not impossible, but the money spent is probably more than two million taels."

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

Xiao Jiucheng thought about it carefully and said carefully: "In this case, you must bribe all the confidants of Ibrahim I, which will cost at least seven or eight million taels!"
Chapter completed!
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