Dominate the Country

Gilbert Murray stood on the bow deck of the ship, and the person next to him was Chen Huacheng. As a small sergeant, Chen Huacheng's importance is not worth mentioning, but the ship under his feet came from the Red Sea.

He was one of Zhu Xun's lieutenants, and Gilbert Murray was a German naturalized by the Ottomans. When the Chinese exploration team surveyed the Sinai Peninsula, Gilbert Murray was the Ottoman representative.

At this moment, both of them were holding telescopes and looking ahead. It has been several days since the ship left Jinghai. It has arrived in the coastal waters of Myanmar and has arrived at Yangon Port.

There were thirteen Ottomans on board the Egret, six Europeans, and the remaining hundred and ten were all Orientals, of whom twenty were Japanese.

"Sergeant Chen, there is an old saying in China that true gold is not afraid of fire. Now the test is coming. I hope we can give a satisfactory answer to His Majesty the Great Emperor, and also give a satisfactory answer to His Majesty the Sultan in the near future. Answer. God will bless us."

Chen Huacheng didn't say anything. His task was not only to deliver news from Europe, but also to the Ottoman canal. Because there are signs that the French want to launch an attack on Egypt, even if they destroy their good relations with the Ottoman Empire, they also want to occupy Egypt and seize the seaport on the other side of the land, so as to provide a way to cut off the British's Eastern route in the future. The most reliable foundation.

But is this the real purpose or just an illusion?

The French want to take action against Egypt, are they really aiming at Britain? They are not because of China...

However, Chen Huacheng is still very confident in Egypt's local defense and military force. Because the Ottomans had become vigilant, Ilam Pasha received a notice from the European Office and believed that the troops were now mobilized. He believed that the Ottomans could withstand the French attack.

It's dusk!

The golden sunshine shines on the sea, as if the Egret is covered with a golden coat. Murray was smiling. He believed that he and his party could reach Yangon Port before nightfall. Then in three days at most, their news will be sent to Nanjing and delivered to the hands of the Emperor of China.

…

The night was dark, and no other sound could be heard except the roar of the waves on the sea. The silvery moonlight added a touch of brightness to the darkness, but it seemed too little for the vast ocean.

More than a dozen small mountain-like warships were moored in the harbor of Crete, with waves lapping against the sides of the ship.

A little dim light cannot shine hundreds of meters away, and it is difficult for wind lanterns to shine even tens of meters away, but the invention of searchlights made everything possible. It's just that this port city belonging to the Ottomans is not very heavily guarded.

It was dark, and the Ottoman fleet, except for some people on duty, had all fallen asleep. But in the vast sea outside these dozen Ottoman battleships, a small French-Spanish joint warship has already arrived here.

If Zhu Xun, who had left Crete, was still here, he would definitely recognize this small combined fleet as the French-Spanish combined fleet that was chasing his Li Guang. The reason why the Ottomans were so careless about the small French-Spanish fleet not far away was also due to the Li Guang.

He confused the Ottomans and mistakenly believed that the main purpose of the French and Spanish was to pursue Li Guanghao.

You must know that since the Chinese warships were repaired and repaired, Zhu Xun has led them to frequently attack and harass the Spanish. After the Spanish switched to France, this small fleet has appeared on the coast of Northern Italy many times.

Although they never re-entered the French coastline of the Western Mediterranean.

…

Thames Estuary, London, deep night.

On a sailing boat, Dong Gao opened his eyes and looked straight at the roof that was within reach. He now presides over the work of the Office in Europe as deputy foreign minister, and now he encounters a problem.

——Napoleon Bonaparte.

This young man who graduated from China has a very smooth path.

Since he took office as the commander of the Italian Army in France last spring, he relied on the brave French revolutionary soldiers and his outstanding military commanding talents to achieve great victory and honor after only one year of campaign.

Of course, it cannot be denied that the Office in Europe gave Napoleon a certain amount of support. Especially when Napoleon first arrived, a large amount of military supplies helped him stabilize the morale and fighting spirit of the entire Italian Army.

On June 17, 1797, Austria and France formally signed the Treaty of Campo Formio in a small village northeast of Venice. The treaty stipulates that Austria will cede the Belgian provinces to France, and at the same time cede the Netherlands, Lombardy, and the land on the left bank of the Rhine. The Republic of Venice will be divided into two and divided between France and Austria. Some disputed territories in Italy will be divided equally between the two sides and will be recognized by the Austrian government. The puppet states such as the Shannan Republic and the Republic of Liguria supported by the French are independent sovereign states.

The signing of the Treaty of Campo Formio consolidated the French victory on the battlefield in the form of a treaty and legalized the French occupation of Italy. In more than a year, the French army captured 150,000 enemies, 170 military flags, 550 cannons, 600 field guns, 9 large gunboats, 12 small gunboats, 12 cruisers, and 18 transport ships. Under the slogan of liberty, equality and fraternity, the French replaced the Austrians and became the masters of all northern Italy.

Although all these achievements were not won by Napoleon alone, they were closely related to him.

Today, Napoleon is very proud of himself. He has achieved a great victory rarely seen in history and enjoys high prestige among the French and Italian people. A general who can win a battle will always gain great popularity among the masses. He opened several newspapers to praise himself and became the ruler of Italy in essence. He held many titles such as military commander, statesman, and diplomat. He regarded himself as a conqueror and legislator. He was like a skinny sea beast curled up, suddenly stretching out dazzling tentacles when the tide came.

Napoleon lived in the luxurious Montebello Castle near Milan and lived a very luxurious life. His interests and activities went far beyond the military. The young general began to shift his focus from the war to the political situation in France. He had the most powerful army in his hands, and was surrounded by a group of brave and skilled generals who trusted him very much. The city administrators and nobles of various states in Italy fell at his feet and flattered him. Napoleon brought his elder brother Joseph, several brothers and sisters, and his mother to his side to share the glory and wealth with him. He assigned positions to some people and established a small court in Montebello.

At the same time, Napoleon's political ambitions also expanded rapidly. He was no longer a general of the victorious republic, but a conqueror who acted according to his own will.

Not long ago in May, Napoleon fabricated a political event. General Bernadotte of the Italian Corps stationed in Trieste claimed to have seized the documents of the royalist Count Entreg, indicating that General Pichegru was preparing to rebel. At that time, Pichegru had a dispute with Consul Barras, who was also Napoleon's closest political ally, over the candidate for the Minister of War. The two sides had deep prejudices. After the news came out, the political atmosphere in Paris suddenly became tense.

It was from Napoleon that Dong Gao learned about France's plan to launch an expedition against Egypt. At first, Dong Gao did not believe it. It was too ridiculous. There was such a long distance between them. Moreover, Egypt's military force was not only the local Mamluks, but also the garrisons of the Ottoman Empire, and behind them was the full support of this great power spanning Asia, Africa and Europe.

Unless Istanbul was willing to give up the entire African territory, the Ottomans would have to fight a bloody battle with any intruders in Egypt.

Dong Gao certainly would not take Napoleon's "reminder" as a joke. So he notified the Ottomans as quickly as possible. But Dong Gao did not know whether the French's "Arabian Nights" strategy was related to China?

In the past two years, there has been a rumor about the Chinese on the European road.

After all, the land of Egypt is a bit too special, and so many people are exploring the ruins of the ancient canal along the Sinai Peninsula. It is impossible to completely block the news.

The Ottoman Empire is not a monolithic entity.

Now Dong Gao was somewhat suspicious. The French suddenly wanted to attack Egypt. Did they want to stop China? Many, many people knew about the close friendship between Ilam Pasha and China.

Confirming this point was more important than the French really sending a land and sea expeditionary force to attack Egypt.

However, despite Napoleon's current glory, he might not be able to participate in these things. More importantly, even if he knew something, he could not confess everything to the European Office.

…

The iron-ribbed wooden-hulled paddle steamer Dongfang was one of the two test-box warships built by Jiangnan Shipyard. The displacement of 550 tons made it an absolute dwarf compared to the sailing warship, but this warship was already the pinnacle of Jiangnan Shipyard at the moment.

200 horsepower, speed of 22 miles/hour, can last for more than five hours, and can run at a speed of more than 25 miles/hour with a tailwind, with 120 crew members.

The proposer of the iron-ribbed wooden hull was undoubtedly Emperor Chen.

Chen Ming didn't know how many years it took Westerners in history to come up with the iron ribs and wooden hulls, but he remembered it clearly in his mind.

All-iron paddle steamers are a bit too advanced and too wasteful. Iron ribs and wooden hulls are very good.

Just paint a few more times - there will be serious corrosion between wood and pig iron, which will affect the life of the ship. The problem seems to be in the places where nails are connected. Corrosion will spread from those places, and paint is useless. But Chen Ming didn't think of sticking to the iron ribs and wooden hulls.

Wait for 20 or 30 years, and it will be an all-iron ship.

The captain of the Dongfang is Ruan Yuan, but he is not a soldier, but a researcher at the Ship Research Institute and an academician of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Although Ruan Yuan is only in his thirties, he studied under the famous scholar Hu Tingsen in Yangzhou at the age of eight, and moved to Yangzhou Mituo Temple Lane at the age of nine to study under Qiao Shuyou. Later, after receiving new-style education, he had deep attainments in mathematics, astronomy, geography, and surveying.

Dongfang is still an experimental ship, not a real warship.

Today, the Dongfang blew its whistle early in the morning. As an experimental warship and a paddle steamer, it attracted attention in the Huangpu River.

At a quarter past six in the morning, thousands of people in Wusong Port watched the Dongfang slowly accelerate.

When the Dongfang, which had not yet raised its sails, slowly started, the dock cheered like thunder.

"My God, that weird thing is moving." Although the roar of the engine and the splash of the waves were not the first time to prove the success of the Dongfang, the crews of many European merchant ships at the dock still shouted in surprise.

The Dongfang successfully entered the sea outside the Yangtze River estuary.