Wild North America 1846

Chapter 585 Without further ado

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 585 Without further ado

After receiving the report from his subordinates, His Royal Highness Tang Lixin, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, took it seriously and instructed the troops who were conducting military operations to dig out the Frenchman hiding in the dark and interrogate him secretly...

This batch of new legal rifles is not a trivial matter. If there are other rifles left out and have the ability to cause serious harm to the expeditionary force, they must be traced to the end.

This digging turned out to be a big melon.

Inside Sana'a

After two days of bloody clearing, the situation in the city gradually returned to calm. However, most of the people coming and going in the city were expeditionary force patrols with live ammunition, and locals were rarely seen.

Behind a certain mosque, there is an inconspicuous bungalow. You have to walk along the path on the side of the mosque and turn a corner to see it. It looks unremarkable.

Two officers came here with dozens of soldiers. One of the tall officers asked a cowering local man who was leading the way, "Is this right here?"

"Sir, I'm not sure if Mr. Sanjak is here. I just occasionally saw him coming here in disguise. I didn't dare to go in. I just guessed that he might be hiding here."

"That should be correct. Your Excellency is really well-hidden. We have searched almost all over the city, but we still can't find it." The tall officer said and winked at his soldiers.

I saw a few soldiers pushing the door hard, and the door was blocked from the inside and didn't move at all.

Immediately, a soldier took a few steps back, then put his running foot on the wall, flew up vigorously, grabbed the top of the wall and climbed up.

The soldier climbed up to the wall and looked into the courtyard. He happened to see a blond-haired European looking out, and immediately shouted: "Sir, there is a ghost here."

The European was startled and looked back in panic.

The soldiers climbed over the courtyard wall and opened the door. Dozens of armed soldiers swarmed in and quickly dug out all the people hiding in the small courtyard.

Not to mention... there are a lot of people hiding in this yard.

In addition to the five Frenchmen, there were also Sanjak Abdullah Faris and his family members as well as some of his henchmen, a total of 16 men and women. They were all dragged out by the soldiers with their hands behind their backs and placed in the small courtyard.

Kneel down on the ground.

"I want to protest strongly. You can't do this to us. I am a Frenchman Mitterrand..."

The leading Frenchman yelled and resisted, but was roughly hit in the face with the butt of a rifle by the soldiers around him. His mouth and nose were bleeding immediately and he was knocked to the ground. He seemed to be knocked unconscious all of a sudden.

Seeing this scene, everyone else became honest.

After a while

The short officer quickly came out with a smile on his face, pulled the tall officer aside and whispered, "Now we are digging for treasure. Do you know how good Mr. Sanjak is at making money? Search the room

There are eleven large boxes of treasures, including gold, silver, various jewelry, silks and satins, all worth at least this amount."

As he spoke, he opened five fingers on one hand and smiled like a weasel stealing a chicken.

Sanjak Abdullah Faris, who was kneeling on the ground beside him, looked ashen and wanted to cry as if he had lost his soul. He knew that his current situation was terrible.

The wealth accumulated over many years of hard work was worth more than 600,000 Tang Yuan, but now it was all looted.

These fierce Easterners would not even leave half of their lives to themselves. Since they dared to bloodbath the city of Sana'a, they would not mind squeezing one more little grasshopper to death.

Look at this scene

In order to prevent these atrocities from leaking to the public, there is a high probability that he or she will be executed secretly, whether he is a Frenchman or not.

Where does justice and justice come from in this era?

When the Tang Expeditionary Force launched a brazen attack on the city, Abdullah Faris knew something was wrong, so he hurriedly disguised himself and hid in this secret residence with his family, along with these French guys.

Abdullah Faris knew everything they were doing, but he was just pretending not to know.

Having ruled the city of Sana'a for so long, how could the Frenchman's little tricks be hidden from his eyes and ears?

The tall officer also had a happy face. Although all the seized property must be handed over in full, some will be left for the officers and soldiers in proportion. Everyone will benefit from it, but it's just a matter of more or less.

"Seal all the boxes, put a seal on them, and send someone to report the important discoveries here to the military department immediately. His Highness also attaches great importance to these French guys, and must start a secret interrogation immediately." He looked here and then looked next to him.

The mosque then ordered: "You will take people to clear out all the irrelevant people in the mosque. When people come from the top, we will interrogate them on the spot."

"As you command, sir!"

The soldiers acted quickly, setting up a blockade in the surrounding areas, clearing out irrelevant personnel, and imposing strict martial law on the area.

Under severe torture, the situation soon came to light.

Mitterrand and Santos, two Frenchmen, were originally businessmen doing business in the Middle East. They traveled between Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Yemen all year round. They were also tasked with collecting local intelligence.

The scope includes military politics, tribal conflicts, economy and culture and other aspects, and it is a loose peripheral staff affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is not unusual in today's era. Businessmen, scholars, adventurers and sailors from the old colonial powers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands often shoulder such tasks to collect humanistic intelligence about the places they pass for reference and decision-making by the colonial government.

Mitterrand and others played such a role. Their main business was doing business and collecting some intelligence on the side.

This time I received the order from the top

Carrying a batch of new rifles and supplies with the Egyptian envoy, the purpose was to stir up unrest in Yemen against the Easterners, make the expeditionary force untenable in the area, disrupt its supply plan, and create as much trouble as possible.

Based on Mitterrand's confession, the expeditionary force quickly retrieved a cache of weapons, including more than 520 brand-new legal Chasebol 1866 breech-loading rifles, to prevent them from being left outside and causing greater harm.

As for more information, Mitterrand and others are just small chess pieces on the periphery and do not know the inside story of France's policy in the Middle East.

But these are enough to determine France's position.

It is no secret that Britain, France and other countries do not welcome the Tang Empire's expansion into the Middle East, nor do they welcome the emergence of a new international player in the region. They have a strong sense of resistance.

In the division of shares before the official opening of the Suez Canal, France once held an absolute majority of 52% and retained a strong military presence in the Suez Canal to safeguard its own interests.

As the second largest shareholder, Datang Empire holds 44% of the shares. It neither has troops stationed in the canal zone, nor does it have commercial or extensive production and operation activities. It is restricted to the field of pure financial investment, making it difficult to exert greater influence.

Britain's hard-line squeeze was the biggest variable. After some wrestling, Britain became the largest controlling shareholder of the Suez Canal, possessing substantive power to control the entire canal, and its policies have become tougher.

Not to mention the Tang Dynasty and other countries, even France, which has worked hard for more than ten years to dig the Suez River and is one of the third largest shareholders, Britain still refuses to give it.

This made the Tang Empire more aware of the importance of garrisoning troops in Egypt. Only a military power could increase its voice in the canal zone, otherwise it would be empty talk.

This was the expedition to Egypt, a military expedition carried out by the Tang Dynasty in order to maintain a long-term military presence in the canal zone.

The purpose of developing the Eritrean colonial area is to establish a stable logistics base for Egypt's long-term military presence and avoid being choked by Europeans.

Whether it is Port Said at the southern end of the Suez Canal or Port Suez at the northern end, they are both very close to Europe, with extremely convenient transportation and convenient supply of supplies.

So why establish an Eritrean colony?

This involves the issue of logistics supply for long-term military garrison. As a world power, the Tang Empire paid great attention to sustainable development and self-sufficiency when formulating its foreign colonial policy to avoid being choked by outsiders.

France is the most obvious example. During the reign of Napoleon III, France followed Britain and conquered the world, and also won brilliant colonial achievements.

However, after being strangled by the British in the Suez Canal, the operation of the French Governor-General's Palace in Saigon in Indochina became difficult and could only maintain the current situation. Wanting to further expand the depth and breadth of the colony was tantamount to wishful thinking.

This is because Britain felt the threat from the Indochina Peninsula. In order to maintain the security of the eastern flank of the Indian subcontinental colony, the British colonial army took the initiative to invade Burma. Through the first and second colonial Burmese wars, it greatly expanded the eastern flank of the Indian subcontinental colony.

side safety margin.

At the same time, in the nearby Kingdom of Siam, the power penetration of the British, French, Tang and other powers was relatively serious. The British and Tang Dynasties agreed to maintain the independent status of the Kingdom of Siam in order to curb the spread of French colonial power in the Indochina Peninsula.

There is both cooperation and competition, and they also take precautions against each other. This is the relationship between the great powers in the world today, and it cannot be summarized in simple terms of good or bad.

Some British people have always hated the power of Tsarist Russia, but on the issue of invading Xinjiang and Tibet, the two countries have maintained relatively tacit cooperation.

Tsarist Russia focused on Xinjiang, and Britain focused on Tibet, while the Tang Empire maintained a strong opposition. By sending weapons, funds and other means to Zuo Zongtang, it frequently exerted diplomatic pressure on the above two countries.

In the situation in Northeast Asia

The British and Tang Dynasties maintained close cooperation and were highly alert to the attempts of Tsarist Russia to move south from the three eastern provinces and the Korean Peninsula. While stabilizing the domestic situation in Fusang, they also sent a clear signal to Tsarist Russia; they would not hesitate to send the British and Tang Expeditionary Forces to fight if necessary.

Sana'a Bay Camp

"Your Highness, look..." After the deputy commander, Major General Duan Pengfei, made a report, he carefully solicited His Highness's opinions.

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin waved his hand gently, and Major General Duan Pengfei immediately understood and promised in a low voice, "I know what to do if I am humble." After saying that, he quickly turned around and left, disappearing outside the door of the camp.

It is unfair to deal with all those involved in the smuggling of French rifles, including the French, the Ottoman Empire sent to Sanjak Abdullah Faris, his family and confidants in Yemen, and the local people who led the way.

The practice of leaving trouble for later.

In this era, the security in the Middle East and the Near East was chaotic, and incidents of murder and robbery occurred from time to time. Istanbul, the center of the Ottoman Empire's rule, was far away in Europe, and it was beyond the reach of its jurisdiction.

Several French guys died, what's so surprising?

As for the British businessmen who are not involved for the time being, don't touch them. Regarding the turbulent situation in Yemen, the British can only speculate but can't provide any real evidence. At the most, they can just start a lawsuit on the basis of lip service?

His Highness Tang Li Xin temporarily put aside the matter. After walking around the tent with his hands behind his hands for a few times, he suddenly stopped and frowned slightly and said, "Qing Da, the Egyptians are now actively preparing to deal with the expeditionary army. I

I don’t want to leave too much preparation time for them. What do you think?”

"The Army's 4th Division has just rested for two days. The mess here in Yemen has not yet been cleared up, and the advancement of the Eritrean colonial area has not yet been completed." Is it too hasty to go out at this time?" Colonel Liu Daqing has a steady personality.

people expressed different opinions.

His Highness Tang Li Xin turned his head, looked at Colonel Pan Shouguo and asked, "Brother Shouguo, what do you think?"

Colonel Pan Shouguo is the eldest of the three, he is 31 years old this year. After considering his tone, he said cautiously;

"I agree with His Highness's opinion and immediately embark on an expedition to Egypt.

The main source of unrest in the Yemeni region has been eliminated. The next step of restoring security and collecting horses can be carried out at the same time, and the 3rd Royal Marine Division can be responsible for it. There is no need for a large fleet to be stationed here.

The horses currently collected can be shipped as soon as possible. The current number is more than 7,900, which should be able to meet the combat needs of the 4th Royal Marine Division. The horses collected in the future can be sent to Egypt in batches. This is not a contradiction.

Moreover, after capturing the city of Suez, our army was able to seize a number of horses and mules, so the logistics supply aspect will basically not affect the overall situation.

As for the opening up of the Eritrean colonial area, it can be carried out separately, and capable officers can be dispatched to take charge of the planning. The rice seeds sown in March will be mature by early June.

In my opinion, we can do both at the same time."

Hearing Colonel Pan Shouguo's unambiguous answer, His Highness Tang Li Xin looked very happy. He clapped his thighs and stood up and said with a smile, "That's it. I'll have to trouble Brother Daqing to sit in the rear and steadily advance the colonization."

The Eritrean region plan is to establish a stable rear base camp for our expeditionary force. In this way, the army will have no worries!"

"Thanks to His Highness's respect, how can I not do my best in this humble position?" Colonel Liu Daqing solemnly performed a military salute and accepted this important task.

"Pass my order; the expedition to Egypt fleet will immediately step up its supplies and set off in three days with the goal of the trip's destination, Port of Suez." His Highness Tang Li Xin waved his hand and ordered with high spirits.

"I humble my duty and obey my orders."

"End the vacation of all fleet officers and soldiers, assemble the combat fleet and prepare to set off. Tomorrow morning we will take oath to go out. This commander will lead the expedition fleet to take the lead in wiping out the Egyptian sampans and controlling the waters around Suez City."

"I humble my duty and obey my orders."

(End of chapter)