The Rise of the European Emperor

Because of the last defeat, Mo Xingen was indeed a lot more careful this time. Moreover, after being attacked by the enemy cavalry before and after the last time, Mosingen also brought a lot of unicycles this time to form an array to block the onslaught of the enemy cavalry.

However, in the desert, unicycles are very difficult to walk. Because the sand is too soft, the wheels are easy to sag. Fortunately, the competent carpenters under the governor of Laayoune, Cotton, modified the wheels and made them very wide. In this way, the wheelbarrow is not easy to sink into the sand in the desert.

In addition, in order to reduce the physical strength required to push the cart, the unicycles that Mosingen brought this time did not carry too heavy things. Except for the four spears on the cart to resist the impact of the warhorse, each cart could not be placed Cargo over 200 lbs. Moreover, most of these goods are water...

These are high-temperature sterilized fresh water, which is not easy to deteriorate. The method of high-temperature sterilization is very simple-that is, after putting fresh water into the skin bag, it is directly thrown into a large pot and boiled. Of course, the cork of the water bladder cannot be plugged tightly. Because of thermal expansion and contraction, the boiled water bladder is easy to burst. Therefore, the mouth of the water bladder is generally clamped by a clip and lifted above the water surface of the steamer. When the steamer is boiled and the water in the water bag is almost sterilized at high temperature, a worker wearing leather gloves will take the water bag up with a clip, and quickly plug the bag with a cork to seal it tightly. Then, put some mud on it and dry it. In this way, a bag of water that can be preserved for several months is processed like this...

In this team, Mo Xingen brought a total of 400 Yu Dayou unicycles with spears inserted, wide-wheeled ones. When marching, Mosingen would bring another 400 slaves, pushing this wide-wheeled chariot, and following the 800 cavalry and 100 musketeers in the desert. There are not many things loaded on the wheelbarrow, but it is all very important food and water. Also, food is replenished as it passes through oases that replenish fresh water.

According to the principle of desert marching, Mosingen requires that those specially treated fresh water should not be used if they can be used. When passing through areas where fresh water is available, try to drink locally available fresh water. Of course, it is after the boiling water that has been boiled in a large pot has cooled down. The reserve water bag on the unicycle can only be used when walking in the depths of the desert and it is impossible to replenish fresh water.

In fact, this wide-wheeled Chinese-style wheelbarrow is not only a tool used by Mosingen to transport fresh water and to defend against enemy cavalry, but it is also intended to be used to transport black slaves in the future.

Of course, it is somewhat inappropriate to say that it was "transporting" slaves. Because, Mosingen's plan was to let the black slave push a wheelbarrow with fresh water. In this way, there is no need to work the camels to help carry the fresh water needed by the pack slaves.

The price of black slaves in the Songhai Empire is very cheap. A small bag of salt can be exchanged for a strong and honest black slave, which is much cheaper than that of the Portuguese. But the problem is that it is very difficult to cross the Sahara Desert with black slaves. The difficulty is how to transport the fresh water needed by black slaves.

If the traditional method is used, the camel will be burdened with a heavy burden if the camel is used to help carry the water bag. Moreover, you can't bring many black slaves at a time.

After all, camels have a limited capacity to carry up to 300 pounds.

And let the black slave push the cart by himself, it is more convenient. They push their own wheelbarrows with what they need to eat and drink without straining the camels. You can bring as many slaves back as you have wheelbarrows.

Before, it was difficult to traverse the desert because there were no unicycles with wide wheels. However, since Cotton's great carpenter Collier invented this very wide wheel that can travel freely in the desert, it is no longer difficult to load a wheelbarrow and walk in the desert. As long as you don't pack too much stuff, it's hard to get stuck in the sand. For example, a Chinese-style unicycle that can hold five or six hundred pounds can only hold more than two hundred pounds, so that it is easy for people to push it, and it is not easy to get caught in the sand.

In addition, Mosingen also came up with a trick - that is, the black slave is tied to the wheelbarrow with a chain. In this way, there is no need to worry about black slaves running away in the middle of the night. The main reason is that in the Songhai Empire, those black slaves are easy to take advantage of the unpreparedness and run away quietly in the middle of the night. After all, most of them were unlucky people nearby, prisoners of war or forced into slavery by the nobles of the Songhai Empire. As long as they left the territory of the Songhai Empire, those black slaves became more honest. After all, I'm not a local, so I don't dare to be arrogant...

...

However, in this expedition, Mo Xingen did not intend to bring many black slaves, but brought a group of slaves himself to help push strategic materials in the desert such as fresh water, so as to cope with the possible outbreak of battles in the desert. Moreover, these slaves have also received simple combat training. If necessary, you can also take out one of the four spears on the car, hide behind the car, and use the spear to stab the enemy's machete cavalry.

But that usually only occurs in emergencies, and Mosingen doesn't think that his 800 Mamluk slave cavalry can't beat the cavalry of the bearded merchants in North Africa. Because most of those scimitar cavalry were irregular tribal cavalry, who seemed to be brave, but in fact their quality was far inferior to those Egyptian slaves who had received regular Mamluk cavalry training.

What's more, Mosingen also trained these Egyptian slaves who had received Mamluk cavalry training in discipline and tactics in the past few months, making the slave cavalry more disciplined than the authentic Mamluk cavalry. In Na Huang's words, the team fighting level of these Egyptian slave Mamluk cavalry is no worse than that of the authentic Circassian Mamluk cavalry. They may not be the opponents of the authentic Mamluk cavalry in individual confrontations and small-scale confrontations, but there are many more, and they rely on the discipline and formation of repeated training in the past few months, and they are not worse than the authentic Mamluk cavalry.

As for the Arab tribal cavalry led by the bearded North Africans... Just ask if you are afraid of the Egyptian Mamluk cavalry who will charge the wall...

In order to facilitate the straight stabbing during the wall charge, all Mamluk cavalrymen from Egyptian slaves were changed to use relatively straight 65-type cavalry knives, which could stab and cut. Although a little unfamiliar at the beginning, these people have also been trained for many years, proficient in various weapons, and even learned how to use the straight sword of European knights, so it is not difficult to get started. After a few months, the 800 Egyptian Mamluk slave cavalrymen also adapted to the use of the Type 65 cavalry saber.

Under the circumstance that the personal force and tactics are completely crushed, Mosingen does not think that these 800 people will lose to the one or two thousand bearded North African tribal cavalry...

You know, in the original history, Austria has never lost to Turkey in a cavalry duel since it learned to use a straight knight sword to launch a wall charge. The Austrian cavalry in the 18th and 19th centuries could only be considered second-rate in Europe, not as good as the French and Prussian cavalry. Even, it may not be able to beat the cavalry of Tsarist Russia...

However, they are the traditional machete cavalry who can abuse Turkey, and since then they have beaten the "European bulldozer" Turkey into a chicken...

Of course, it was not the Austrians who really let Turkey down, but the fierce Tsarist Russia. Starting from Peter the Great, Tsarist Russia has launched many Russian-Turkish wars in a row, and abruptly crippled Turkey, the "European bulldozer".

But it is undeniable that Austria, which has been besieged by Turkey many times in Vienna, has no longer taken advantage in the conflict between the Balkans and Turkey since it mastered the wall charge, but began to take advantage...

However, Austria has been busy annexing Italy and competing with Prussia for the status of Germany's boss, so it has no energy to engage in Turkey. Later, I finally realized the reality, gave up Italy and began to turn around and annex the Balkans, but because of the assassination in Sanajevo, World War I was detonated, and it was defeated...