Ten thousand cannons were fired at once, and Istanbul was beaten! (Part 1)

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In the last few months of 1636 AD, the White-Clothed Navy continued to expand its results in the Mediterranean and continuously controlled various ports in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. Ports such as Algiers, Tunisia, Tripoli, Beirut, Cyprus, Crete were all controlled by the White-Clothed Army. The so-called control means that the White-Clothed Army had long-term garrisons in these ports.

The coastline of the northern coast of the Mediterranean and the cities along the coast were also plagued by white naval warships. It includes Valencia and Barcelona in Spain, Marseille in France, Genoa and Venice in Italy, and Sweden in Greece. The local residents felt very frightened and gave up their homes and moved to the mainland far away from the sea.

As control of each port was successively obtained, the logistical pressure of the White-Clothed Army was immediately alleviated. Under the arrangement of the Logistics Department, a large number of merchant ships entered the Mediterranean in a steady stream. These merchant ships brought a large amount of supplies to the White-Clothed Army. The various troops of the White-Clothed Army also separated multiple ports for resupply to improve efficiency.

There are white naval warships cruising at the estuary of the Mediterranean and the northern coastal areas of the Mediterranean. The purpose of these warships is two. One is to drive out the enemy's warships to ensure the safety of the sea. The other is to show off your force purely. Cannons and giant ships always give people a very shocking feeling. Especially many cannons and giant ships gathered together, which was even more so. For a time, the whole of Europe was in extreme horror. European society retreated for almost thirty years overnight.

A rough calculation shows that in the Mediterranean, the White-clothed Army has concentrated more than 500 large warships, and the number of large merchant ships is more than 3,000. In addition to other ships, under the White-clothed Army, there are thousands of ships moving in the Mediterranean sea. Although the Mediterranean looks very large and there is no edge at a glance, after gathering so many warships and merchant ships, it still seems very busy. Looking around, there are ships everywhere.

Especially at the exit of the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar is like a stream of ships, endless. The Strait of Gibraltar is originally very narrow and the channel is not very ideal. The ocean currents here are very fast, which makes it difficult to control the ships. It often produces heavy fog, and it is impossible to see your five fingers. Therefore, when ships enter and exit, it is easy to have collision accidents. Especially when a large number of ships are crowded, the incidence of accidents can be said to be a straight increase.

In order to better maintain the order of ships entering and leaving, the White Navy had to set up special maritime traffic maintenance police here. Their only task is to manage the entry and exit of ships in the Strait of Gibraltar to prevent accidents. It is estimated that this is the world's first specially established maritime policeman. Not only is it unprecedented, it is probably also a last resort.

In addition to the necessary maritime traffic police, the White Army also stationed an army of more than 10,000 people in the northern protrusion of the Strait of Gibraltar as a military presence to protect the Strait of Gibraltar. The White Army has publicly announced that the control of the Strait of Gibraltar belongs to the White Army. Any ship trying to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar must be approved by the White Army. Otherwise, they will be arrested or sunk directly.

This area originally belonged to Spain. However, in the face of artillery fire of the White Army Navy, the Spanish army could not resist at all, so they could only watch the White Army Marines landed here. Then, a battalion of the White Army came to take over the defense. At this point, this area was forever controlled by the White Army.

The white-clothed army troops stationed in the Strait of Gibraltar were equipped with a large number of howitzers and mortars to prevent attacks from Spanish troops. At the same time, the Navy also stationed a fleet here to assist the army to completely control the Strait of Gibraltar. Faced with such a powerful invader, the Spaniards could only admit that they were unlucky.

After controlling the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean basically became the inland sea of ​​the White-Clothed Army. Any ships that were not approved by the White-Clothed Army would be arrested on the spot or sunk directly. The combined fleets of the Western powers did not dare to continue to stay in the Mediterranean and retreated to the North Sea one after another.

Since the history of mankind, no country has such strong strength to completely control the Mediterranean in its own hands and does not give others the chance to intervene. The Ming Empire is the first and unprecedented first. It is estimated that the current Western powers will regret it. If they had known what, they would not have fought with the White Army to the end. Judging from the current situation of the White Army, they would never be willing to withdraw their troops if they did not completely flatten Europe!

Dominating the Mediterranean once again demonstrated the strength of the Ming Empire. Apart from the Ming Empire with a huge population base, there was no second country in the world at that time that had such population potential. Warships and merchant ships required a large number of sailors to activate. According to the 300 people per warship and 50 people per merchant ship, it was a population of hundreds of thousands! Even if the Dutch had great skills, they could not break through this number.

In fact, at present, the number of large merchant ships registered by the Ming Empire has exceeded 15,000. This is only large merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons. As for medium-sized merchant ships with a displacement of less than 1,000 tons, and small merchant ships with a displacement of less than 500 tons, there are even more. Moreover, the number of merchant ships is still increasing.

After more than ten years of war, the Pacific and Indian Oceans have become the inland sea of ​​the Ming Empire. The Atlantic Ocean is estimated to become the inland sea of ​​the Ming Empire in the near future. The territory of the Ming Empire has expanded to infinite huge size. As the nominal emperor of the Ming Empire, the territory controlled by Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo is dozens of times that of the Ming Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

After implementing the constitutional monarchy, Zhu Changluo really put down his airs and regarded himself as the vase of the Ming Empire, which was the highest nominal existence. Once his mentality is correct, his life will naturally be comfortable. As long as he does not have the idea of ​​really seizing power, Xu Xingxia is also very respectful to his father-in-law on the surface. Since he is the nominal emperor, there is no need to be as strict as the previous emperors, even leaving the palace must be strictly controlled.

Zhu Changluo now goes wherever he wants, and he doesn't know how comfortable his life is. He is not old and in good health, so traveling far away is not a problem. Recently, he just returned from Japan and stayed in Taiwan for a few months, and was preparing to go to India. In Japan, Zhu Changluo and his brother Zhu Changxun have been together for several months. The dispute between the brothers has been eased, and the relationship has long eased. It can be said that they meet very happily.

The only thing that the White Navy feels about the beauty is that all warships and merchant ships have to circle the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa before reaching the Mediterranean Sea. This voyage is very far, exceeding 45,000 miles. Such a long distance is a serious torment for all warships and merchant ships.

Moreover, due to the changing wind direction of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, the speed of ships sailing on the east and west coasts of Africa is quite slow. From Leizhou Peninsula to Kalihet in the Indian Ocean, it takes at least four months. If you often encounter headwinds, you may need to walk for half a year.

Obviously, such a transportation route is indeed too far. Not only does it take a lot of time, the cost is also very high. It takes half a year to get from the Leizhou Peninsula to the Mediterranean. It takes another half a year to return from the Mediterranean. A merchant ship can only transport supplies once a year. With such utilization efficiency, even Xu Xingxia, who is rich and powerful, can't help but vomit blood.

If it weren't for the support of a giant like the Ming Empire, the White-Clothed Army would not have launched such a huge offensive. The cost of so many warships and merchant ships would be like flowing water. It is estimated that tens of thousands of taels of white silver a day. At present, relying on the rich seizures of various places in the White-Clothed Army can barely support it. However, in the long run, it is indeed not a solution. We must find a way to change it.

This change is of course the Suez Canal.

Xu Xingxia has made it clear that he will prepare to dig the Grand Canal in the eastern part of Cairo. As an engineering exploration worker in the early preparation stage, he has entered the Red Sea. The new Grand Canal will communicate with the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. In this way, ships do not need to detour the Cape of Good Hope and do not need to walk tens of thousands of miles of sea routes, which can greatly shorten the time and cost.

Think about it, if the Suez Canal is really opened and the Red Sea and the Mediterranean is communicated, merchant ships from the Leizhou Peninsula can reach the Mediterranean in at most three months. Returning from the Mediterranean is at most three months. A merchant ship can travel twice a year. In other words, the transportation efficiency is doubled. If it is to dispatch troops, the speed is faster. This is very beneficial for strengthening the control of the White Army in various parts of Europe.

However, excavating the Suez Canal is not a trivial matter. The white-clothed army should not be ready in all aspects. Xu Xingxia only knows that the Suez Canal in history had more than 100,000 people died during the excavation, which was full of bones. As for how it was excavated and what kind of engineering problems it involved, I don’t know. These are all related affairs of exploration personnel and engineering personnel. Xu Xingxia estimated that it would be a few years later when the Suez Canal was officially excavated.

...

In early 1637 AD, the white-clothed naval warships arrived in the outer waters of Istanbul. The white-clothed army troops also arrived at the city of Istanbul and occupied the coastal ports around Istanbul. They once had a war with the Ottoman team. With the support of naval artillery fire, the Marines easily defeated the enemy's attack.

At this time, Istanbul was also heavily armed and was on high alert. The remaining troops of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and coalition forces from various European countries were all assembled here. Their primary goal was to defend Istanbul. If Istanbul was captured, the future war situation would be in a passive position throughout Europe.

After repeated attacks by the White Army, the elite troops of the Ottoman Turkish Empire were almost exhausted. The Sultan's personal soldiers were less than 50,000. All the Sipahi cavalry were killed in battle. The other cavalry were also dead. The rest were all defeated soldiers. The royal senior officials spent a lot of effort and gathered an army of 300,000 people.

Because the white-clothed army arrived fiercely and captured all other territory of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, there were not many fanatics that could be gathered in Istanbul. All of them were less than 500,000. Moreover, the morale of the fanatics was greatly affected. After receiving countless devastating blows, even the idiotic fanatics had deep doubts about whether the true god existed.

The troops from various European countries are the new forces. As the saying goes, when the white-clothed army is coming, the Western powers have to send a large number of troops to try to prevent the white-clothed army from entering Europe from land. The troops they sent are all elites from various countries and have not been hit by the white-clothed army, and their morale is still relatively high. In addition, their equipment is also quite excellent, and they are basically equipped with Minnie guns.

Istanbul is the first front of the European Union. The Western powers hope to block the white-clothed army's pace of progress towards the west in this ancient city. If their plan is successful, Europe will be able to be preserved. If their plan fails, Europe may sink from then on. The white-clothed army is very likely to do what the Huns and Mongols could not do in the past. Therefore, the Western powers dare not take it lightly.

Before the arrival of the White Army, the entire Istanbul was already controlled by the European Union. As long as the defense line could be established, defense lines had been set up. In order to fight against the White Army, the armies of the Western powers, in addition to mobilizing the most elite troops to participate in the war, were also as advanced and powerful as possible in terms of weapon equipment.

In Istanbul, there were at least tens of thousands of artillery concentrated in European countries. Among them, there were thousands of artillery guns with the largest caliber. This was the most powerful artillery of the Western powers. The 800-pound cannon, which was converted into a caliber of 305 mm. This was definitely the largest artillery gun in the world at that time.

The largest artillery in the White Army has only 155 mm. In other words, it is only 80-pound artillery. The difference between the two is really the difference between heaven and earth. Of course, the calculation method of the two is Guan Gong fighting Qin Qiong, which is completely different. In addition, one is a smoothbore cannon and the other is a rifled cannon, which is not comparable. One uses solid bombs and the other uses explosive bombs, and its power is incomparable.

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Chapter completed!