Chapter 168: Cannibalization (VIII)
In Europe and Arabia, opium was used as a miracle drug. Only Tang Qi understood this. To prevent opium from entering the Ming Dynasty, after driving out the Westerners in India, Tang Qi concentrated all opium cultivation in one area. All other opium was destroyed. At the same time, within the territory under his jurisdiction, Tang Qi stipulated that anyone found smuggling opium would be punished with death.
At this time, no one understood Tang's reason for doing so. They assumed Tang was taking such measures to permanently monopolize the industry. Tang's power was so immense that Ming merchants, while aware of the profitability of tobacco and opium, dared not violate the rules set by Tang. Since the seas and Southeast Asia were under Tang's control, and Tang troops were everywhere, even if those merchants wanted to break the rules, the risks involved were unbearable. You see, at this time, smuggling anything from Ming to overseas would yield a good profit, with many items earning far more than grass and opium.
Tang Li's measures, while on the one hand, tried to prevent these harmful things from harming Ming territory as much as possible, also brought Tang Li monopoly profits. Tang Li's second-largest industry was the shipyard. Although Tang Li now had six shipyards, the largest was still in Daming City, a factory with a workforce second only to the tobacco factory. Looking at the massive, unfinished warships, the Lord of Changping was amazed at the strength of Tang Li's men, but also became even more worried about the future of Ming.
The Lord of Changping didn't understand the importance of the ocean. However, judging by the sheer number of these massive warships, if Tang Qi's men attacked the capital, there would be no place outside the city walls that could withstand these warships and the large number of troops deployed beneath them. Later, the Lord of Changping watched Tang Qi's troops in action. The power of their artillery convinced him that even if the city walls were twice as strong, they wouldn't be able to withstand Tang Qi's attack. Cold weapons are simply no match for artillery, and no matter how strong a wall is, it will eventually collapse.
The young but intelligent Lord Changping saw it. The Tang prince had taken him to visit these places and military exercises simply to show him that there was not only a lot of money to support the war effort, but also irresistible weapons. The Tang prince wanted to show him that they were strong enough.
Over the next period of time, Tang Qi took Chang Ping to various places. What he saw impressed Chang Ping even more deeply. Life here was much better than in Daming. Negotiations between the two sides were at a standstill. Later, Tang Qi had to take Chang Ping to further explore the area because an urgent matter prevented him from returning to Daming City.
Let's begin with the construction of the Suez Canal. This region was originally under Turkish influence. At that time, Turkey was a powerful nation. The Ottoman Empire controlled a vast territory. At this time in history, Westerners were willing to provoke Ming Dynasty merchants, who organized colonial forces. In the early days, several of these forces suffered losses at the hands of the Turks. Later, Tang Qi's forces, in order to establish the Suez Canal here, engaged in several battles with the Turks. Faced with their powerful artillery and musketry, the Turks temporarily retreated.
The Turks' main opponents at the time were Western nations. Their main forces were concentrated in Europe. In the region where Asia and Africa meet, the Turks had few troops, primarily local garrisons. Although intelligence indicated that Turkey was a powerful nation, the Turkish army proved vulnerable in those battles. Even Tang Qi did not take the Ottoman Empire seriously. Because Westerners were wary of them, the Turks did not dare to concentrate their forces to confront Tang Qi immediately. Furthermore, Tang Qi's powerful weapons during those battles also deterred the Turks from acting rashly. Whether it was the navy, cavalry, or infantry, the Turks felt that no matter how many men they sent out, they would be sending themselves to die. Therefore, the Turks, cautiously, did not send a large force. Instead, they sent small groups of troops to test the strength of Tang Yu and his men, and at the same time, they also disrupted the construction of the Suez Canal.
After suffering losses at the hands of the Tang Dynasty, countries like Spain, Britain, and the Netherlands, seeking to seize colonial interests in the Indian Ocean, reached an agreement with the Turks to jointly counter the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's rapid rise reminded these Western powers of the Yellow Peril Mongols three hundred years earlier. Given the Tang Dynasty's rapid expansion, some Westerners had reason to believe that the rapidly rising Tang prince in Southeast Asia was a second Yellow Peril. Due to the Tang Dynasty's overwhelming pressure, these Westerners temporarily set aside their conflicts and began to seek every possible means to suppress the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Yu was merely a man who had risen to prominence quickly, relying on his acquired knowledge. He wasn't a qualified politician or military strategist. He only saw these nations as no match for him, but failed to grasp their combined might. The Turks alone wouldn't have impressed Tang Yu, even though their power far surpassed that of the Qing army. But at the moment, they were no match for Tang Yu. If it weren't so far away, Tang Yu would have annihilated or colonized Turkey long ago. If it weren't for the importance of the Suez Canal, Tang Yu wouldn't have stationed troops so far away.
After reaching a temporary rapprochement with Western powers, the Turks aggressively assembled an army of 300,000 to seize Suez. Given Turkey's current strength, assembling a million-man army would have been no problem, but its elite troops numbered between 300,000 and 400,000. Furthermore, even without a temporary rapprochement with Western powers, the Turks were hesitant to deploy their entire army to Suez. Mobilizing 300,000 elite troops would have required the full strength of Turkey.
In order to guard against the Westerners, Tang Yu had already mobilized 10,000 regular troops and 30,000 auxiliary troops to the Suez Canal. With the military fortifications built in advance, it would not be a problem for these people to resist 30 Turks for a period of time. When the intelligence personnel learned that the Turkish
When the intelligence reached the Suez Canal City, Zheng Chenggong and Zheng He were stationed in Suez City with their troops. Originally intended to intimidate Shah Jahan in India, they became timely reinforcements for the Suez Canal City. However, Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Dingguo lacked the power to mobilize tens of thousands of troops without Tang Yu's orders. So, after receiving the intelligence, they sent people to deliver it to Tang Yu as quickly as possible. At the same time, they also sent people to encourage Ming merchants in Africa and India to lead their colonial troops to the Suez Canal.
Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong, with the troops they were authorized to mobilize, rushed to the Suez region immediately. Ming merchants had reaped significant benefits from the war with the Tang army. Seeing another major battle approaching, they were not afraid and instead led their colonial troops to the region. Even Zheng Zhilong, fearing that arriving too late would cost him his own gains, led 30,000 men to Suez.
In the eyes of Ming merchants for years, Tang Qi's army was invincible. Furthermore, the weapons these merchants possessed were no less powerful than those of Westerners, though inferior to Tang Qi's. After these men gathered in Suez from all corners, their force numbered as many as 200,000. Although they had never fought a major battle, they had certainly killed many. After all, occupying a territory as a colony was inevitable without encountering resistance. These colonial armies, organized by Ming merchants, had also seen much bloodshed. Furthermore, many of these merchants' colonial armies had been trained by retired veterans of Tang Qi's army, giving them some fighting ability. This, in turn, contributed to the widespread and widespread dominance of Ming merchants.
By the time Tang Qi received the intelligence, a major battle had already begun in Suez. At the outset, the garrison of only 40,000 men faced an elite Turkish army of 300,000. The fighting was indeed arduous. It was also the most arduous battle Tang Qi's army had fought in years, and also one of the heaviest losses. The fortified positions were slowly lost under the powerful Turkish offensive. The situation improved slightly after Zheng Chenggong and his army arrived with approximately 10,000 men. Zheng Chenggong and his men brought hundreds of land artillery pieces, adding to the hundreds already in the garrison. This large number of artillery pieces finally hindered the Turkish offensive. A few days before the first Ming merchant colonial army arrived, the Turks had suffered nearly 30,000 casualties. The Turks, who had originally thought they could easily win, once again felt the terrifying power of Tang Yi's army. These weapons, which were not meant to be withstood by human flesh and blood, also brought down the morale of the Turkish soldiers. Their originally fierce attacks were much weaker.
With the arrival of reinforcements, the tide of war quickly turned in Tang Qi's favor. Previously, these colonial armies, organized by Ming merchants, had only profited from Tang Qi's forces, thus never having had a chance to demonstrate their combat effectiveness. This time, these colonial troops, who had become murderous during their colonial activities, demonstrated their formidable strength in this battle. These ragtag forces, like a pack of wolves, nearly annihilated the Turkish troops in their final counterattack. Only a single Turkish cavalry unit escaped with their lives.
The Ming might have everything but lacked men. It wasn't that the Ming weren't good at fighting; rather, corruption in the Ming army robbed it of its fighting power. At the Battle of Suez, the colonial army organized by Ming merchants was no less numerous than the Turkish army. Their weapons and equipment were all muzzle-loading muskets and some muskets, slightly superior to those of the Turks. These Ming colonial soldiers were desperate men, and many of them killed during their colonial campaigns. While their organization and discipline weren't as good as those of regular armies, they were initially deployed under Dingguo's command, relying on military fortifications and gaining an advantage. Later, when the Turks tried to retreat, their morale soared, inspired by their victory, that the colonial troops, fearing the Turks would flee and deprive them of a share of the spoils, charged forward with unparalleled valor.
For once, the Turks truly unleashed a Yellow Peril. These colonial troops, driven to rage, seized upon this resounding victory and began wreaking havoc on Ottoman territory. Many colonial troops had suffered at the hands of the Turks in previous colonial campaigns, and this time they were determined to exact revenge. Wherever they went, the Turks left nothing behind. Furthermore, some colonial troops, having been on the sidelines, later joined in the looting. Their numbers grew, truly terrifying the Turks, who were unable to mobilize their forces. By then, it was too late to annihilate these colonial troops.
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