The Rise of the European Emperor

As early as last year, Marin had arranged for his subordinates to be responsible for the preparation of the Egyptian trade route. To this end, Marin also ordered shipbuilders from Venice to build two 500-ton galleys suitable for sailing in the Mediterranean.

Of course, the galleys Marin asked for were not the same ones that these craftsmen had built. The difference is that the galleys required by Marin are equipped with artillery. Therefore, these experienced Venetian shipbuilders need to improve the galley and increase the gun position.

However, after all, they have built many galleys, and the specific data of the ships are still very clear. So they built the two ships together. After the main body was completed, they were improved and some gun positions were added.

At the same time, they also absorbed the experience of the previously built "Hoffmann-class" 500-ton battleship (previously, Italian craftsmen participated in the manufacture of battleships), thinned the galley hull, increased the mast, and increased the lower deck. gun door.

After more than half a year of hard work, hundreds of Italian shipbuilders and local shipbuilders have finally built two 500-ton galleys, which can not only hang larger jibs, but also use row oars to row manually, which is very suitable for Sailing in Mediterranean areas with weak winds and frequent stoppages.

However, because there are many rows of oars on both sides of the galley, it needs to swing and row in naval battles. So, this affects the placement of the gun emplacements a lot. In the end, the craftsmen tried their best to get rid of 22 gun positions, 10 on the left and right, one at the beginning and one at the end. In naval battles, up to 12 artillery pieces were involved.

Also, galleys require a lot of manpower. The same 500-ton ship, the Hoffmann-class battleship, only needs 60 sailors to control the sails. For two 500-ton galleys, not only 60 sailors are needed to control the sails, but also 120 rowers are needed to row the row oars. Rowing the row oar is hard work. It is said that many galleys on the Mediterranean Sea in Venice bought many slaves to paddle. Among them, many ships bought tall and strong Russian male slaves from Kaffa in Crimea, locked their feet, and arranged to be responsible for rowing on board.

Marin had no slaves at the moment, so he had to recruit a group of strong men to row the oars, and some sailors to control the jib. The two galleys, in addition to requiring 120 rowers and 60 sailors (including the captain) each, were each equipped with 50 gunners and 70 musketeers for self-defense.

In this way, the crew of the two galleys reached a total of 600 people. However, because of the large number of people, they are not afraid of pirates at sea.

It is only 1501, and the Barbary pirates who dominate the Mediterranean have not yet emerged. They will not appear until decades. In this era, the overlord of the Mediterranean is still Venice.

However, Spain is also quite powerful. Spain now occupies Sardinia and Sicily, and even recently divided the Kingdom of Naples with the French, gaining control of the southern part of the Kingdom of Naples.

It can be said that Spain has become the hegemon of the western Mediterranean, while Venice dominates the eastern Mediterranean to the east of Italy, and also occupies the Greek island of Crete and the island of Cyprus near the main island of Asia as its colonies.

However, Marin heard from Jewish merchants in the Mediterranean that although the Venetians occupied the Eastern Mediterranean, they still had to give Spain some face. If a merchant ship or two flying the Spanish flag goes to Egypt and other places to trade, the Venetians will not stop it. After all, Spain now occupies the southern part of the kingdom of Naples, the outlet of the Adriatic Sea. If not necessary, the Venetians are also reluctant to tear up with Spain.

As it happens, Marin has the title of Count of the Wilderness of Spain. So Marin decided to let the two galleys fly the Spanish flag, stick to the Mediterranean and African coasts, and go to Egypt to trade.

As for those indigenous African pirates, there are some, but they are not strong in this era. With 600 people on two ships, they can definitely drive away those indigenous pirates.

Of course, the two ships entering and leaving the western gateway to the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, still need to say hello to the Spanish official. Moreover, Marin also intends to use Spain's colony of Ceuta on the Moroccan side on the southern side of the Strait of Gibraltar as an important stop to replenish fresh water and food. After all, he also has the title of Count of the Wilderness of Spain, and this can still be done.

To this end, Malin specially sent Kohler, holding his own letter in hand, to go south to Spain to negotiate with the Spanish court. Malin specifically instructed that this should be done by Prince Juan, not by the cunning Spanish kings. Because, whether it is Ferdinand II or Isabella I, they are all old foxes. If you ask them to do it, there may be waves.

But looking for Prince Juan is different. Marin has saved his life, so Prince Juan is naturally fond of Marin. In addition, as the only son of the two kings, Prince Juan already has the power to participate in politics. He can do this little thing.

Once the formalities are complete, the two galleys will fly the Spanish flag and enter the Strait of Gibral directly. After arriving at the port of Ceuta, they will continue along the coast of Africa and head east to Egypt for trade.

As for the guide, Marin had already found it. Marin spent a lot of money to buy several Jewish businessmen who traveled between Europe and Egypt all the year round, let them lead the way, and was responsible for contacting local businessmen in Egypt.

The Egyptian route is too important to Marin. Whether it is the natural soda needed to make glass or the thenardite needed to make paper and boil pulp, Egypt is very rich. The soda wadi near Cairo was one of the most important sources of natural soda in Europe prior to the advent of the Lublanc soda process. And thenardite, because the chemical industry has not yet developed, no one wants it in Egypt, and it is discarded as waste. Only a small number of alchemists will use thenardite for alchemy research. As long as Marin wants to buy it, Egyptian thenardite is plentiful and cheap...

In addition, Egypt has a lot of cheap wool. Although the wool of Arabian breeds is not as good as that of Spanish Merino sheep, it may not be as good as the wool of British fine-wool sheep. But, that's also wool. The point is, because people in the Arab region are popular for grazing, sheep are everywhere there, so it's very cheap...

In Egypt, in addition to the Nile River Basin, which is mainly engaged in agriculture, other areas, including Jerusalem, Hejaz, Syria and Lebanon, which are also under the control of the Mamluk Dynasty, are all areas dominated by nomadic farming. These areas do not have too much wool. After importing it, it can also be processed into resistant woolen textiles...

In any case, opening up the Egyptian trade route is a very important thing to Marin. Therefore, Marin attached great importance to this, and sent two ships with a huge scale of 600 people. You must know that the expedition fleet of Columbus and Amerigo had only a few dozen people aboard...

In addition, the reason why Marin wants to open the Egyptian route is not only for the needs of economic interests, but also for political considerations. At present, Egypt is still under the control of the Mamluk dynasty. However, more than ten years later (1517), the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt will be destroyed by Ottoman Turkey.

Ottoman Turkey is the mortal enemy of Europeans. If Ottoman Turkey controls Egypt, trade between Egypt and Europe will be abolished. But if the trade with Egypt was abolished, then Marin would not be able to obtain Egypt's natural soda and thenardite. In this way, Marin's glass industry and paper industry have to stop, which is absolutely unbearable for Marin.

Therefore, Marin intends to strengthen the Mamluk dynasty by selling some high-quality steel knives and armors, and even some muskets and artillery to the Mamluk dynasty.

In fact, the reason why the Mamluk Dynasty was eliminated by Ottoman Turkey was not that the Mamluk Dynasty was too weak, but that the Ottoman Turkey was too strong...

And once the Ottoman Turkey occupied Egypt, the consequences would be even more serious. Because, the Ottomans will continue to the west, control the coast of Libya and Algeria. Since then, the famous Barbary pirates will be born, threatening the safety of European merchant ships.

Moreover, after the possession of the food production areas of the Nile River Basin in Egypt and Syria under the control of the Mamluk Dynasty, the national strength of Ottoman Turkey will be greatly increased. It was after the annexation of the Mamluk dynasty that Ottoman Turkey had no worries, and officially started the model of all-out attack on Europe, and besieged Vienna several times...

Marin doesn't care whether Turkey occupies Syria or not, but in Egypt, Marin doesn't want to be occupied by Ottoman Turkey. After all, the Ottoman Turks and the Europeans were extremely antagonistic, and when that time came, Egyptian trade would cease.

The Mamluk army might not be able to beat Ottoman Turkey in the wild. However, Marin decided to teach the Mamluks to build strong fortresses and planned to secretly sell them artillery to offset the artillery advantage of the Ottoman Turkey. In this way, even if the main force of the Mamluk dynasty was defeated by the Ottoman Turks, with the help of fortified cities, artillery and muskets, they could still hold on, so that the Turks could not be defeated.

You must know that the Austrians, relying on the strong city of Vienna, only used more than 10,000 people to forcibly block the siege of hundreds of thousands of Turkish troops. The Mamluks were much stronger than Austria. As long as you master the technology of building a fortified city and have enough guns, you can rely on the fortified city of Cairo to resist the attack of the Ottoman Turkey and keep the Nile River Basin. The Nile River Basin is an important source of natural soda and thenardite in Egypt. As long as the Mamluk dynasty kept the Nile Valley, Marin's interests were guaranteed. As for the rest of the Mamluk Dynasty, Marin died? Even as long as the Mamluk Dynasty kept the Nile Valley, Ottoman Turkey would stop its westward march. At that time, the Barbary pirates in Libya, Tunisia and Algiers will not appear...