Wild North America 1846

Chapter 590 "Treaty of Cairo"

Author: Portuguese toothless

Sending Chinese immigrants to the new colonial area of ​​Eritrea would not consider the North American mainland of the Tang Empire, which was too far away. It would almost circle half the world, and the money consumed would be staggering.

This transoceanic expedition to Egypt, even though many cost-saving measures were adopted, the entire expedition still cost a huge 130 million Tang Yuan, which almost ate up the imperial government's financial surplus for several years, and owed tens of millions.

Among them, huge transportation costs account for the majority.

A more cost-effective immigration method is to recruit immigrants from Paradise Province, Lan Fang Country or overseas Chinese living in various countries in Indochina. The voyage can be shortened to 8,000 to 11,000 kilometers (note: departure ports vary), thereby saving a lot of immigration funds and

The ticket price has been reduced to an acceptable level.

Another method is to operate cargo ships on Eurasian flights. Cargo ships need to build special cabins to carry immigrants. Compared with specialized large-scale immigration ships, the environment is cramped, the riding experience is poor, and all aspects of food security are not in place, leading to immigrant mortality.

higher.

The only advantage is that the ticket price is low, and many Chinese with empty pockets are willing to take the risk.

The rise of the Tang Empire in North America in the current era has greatly improved the situation of overseas Chinese and established an image of being strong and not easy to mess with.

It is not easy to enjoy the same higher treatment as white people in the colonies of the old powers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands, which reflects the true international status of the Tang Empire.

three months later

April 17, 1872

The Port of Massawa is draped in red and green with festive colors, ushering in the grand completion of the wharf and the naming ceremony of the new city. The builders beat gongs and drums and used traditional Chinese festivals to celebrate this grand day.

A tall steam loader and unloader stands on the wide and flat pier. It uses steam-powered hoisting steel cables to lift large cargo to the pier, which greatly enhances the port's cargo handling capacity.

The freighters that arrived in the Gulf with the expeditionary force have already unloaded various large-scale equipment. Some rice mills, oil mills, sawmills, flour mills, and food factories have been put into production or are in the process of equipment debugging. The progress is quite gratifying.

The cement plant with the most technical difficulty is also in the equipment installation stage and is expected to be put into trial production by the end of the year to solve the current shortage of building materials.

The 5,500-ton French cargo ship "Tritland" docked at the pier, carrying thousands of tons of cement and steel, arrived in the bay. This is the most vivid example of the economic development driven by the construction of Massawa city and port.

Mediterranean trade can easily reach the Red Sea port of Massawa as long as it crosses the Suez Canal. It only takes 10 days to sail from the French port of Toulouse, making travel very convenient.

A straight trestle about 162 meters long and 20.5 meters wide extends into the bay, capable of berthing nearby 10,000-ton ships with a draft of 13 meters, making Massawa Port a modern port with internationally advanced standards.

In the hinterland of the port, in addition to rows of tall warehouses under construction, a large area of ​​flat land is paved with gravel, which is the open-air cargo yard.

From the dock to the city more than ten kilometers away, there is a straight gravel boulevard. Street trees have been transplanted on both sides of the road, and bridges have been built across streams. It has the atmosphere of heavy investment inside and out.

In the city in the distance, hundreds of houses have risen from the ground, forming a large-scale urban appearance, creating a city almost out of thin air.

All that remains is continuous construction, expansion of city size and population, and a bright star city on the Red Sea will be born.

The road from Massawa to the City in the Clouds on the plateau is much shabby. It is just a 6-meter-wide dirt road, but there are no shady street trees, and there are no drainage ditches or milestones on both sides of the road.

But every once in a while or when you encounter a fork in the road, one or several guide wooden signs will be nailed to the big tree on the roadside, indicating the way to a certain town.

The scale of the city has begun to take shape, and agricultural advance teams have been dispatched one after another to divide the acres and start collective reclamation. Mainly in the eastern Massawa area and the surrounding areas of Yunzhong City, the number has accounted for more than 1/3 of the Chinese immigrants.

More than 30 villages and towns were built one after another, and cattle, sheep, and wheat seeds were also distributed. The wheat seedlings were planted quickly. By the end of the year, before the rainy season came, the first crop of grain, melons and fruits would be harvested, and considerable achievements in reclamation were seen.

In order to divert water from the river for irrigation, various agricultural advance teams are concentrating their efforts on building windmills.

Tall windmills have been erected one after another. The windmills can not only divert water for irrigation, press oil and grind flour, but also pound and thresh rice. They are extremely important agricultural production facilities in the village and have become a unique and beautiful landscape in this area.

On the pier, a colorful tent was set up to watch the ceremony, and tables for offering sacrifices to the three animals of heaven and earth and incense candles were placed. The surrounding gongs, drummers, dragon and lion dancers were already ready, and were separated from the circle by heavily armed soldiers.

Inside the circle are the Imperial Expeditionary Force and senior government officials, who collectively greet His Highness Tang Lixin, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, who came specially to attend the celebration. They and his party have just arrived on the "Bad Wind" armored cruiser.

The "Bad Wind" armored cruiser slowly docked, and the mighty sailors stood along the sides of the ship. When the commander-in-chief, His Highness Tang Lixin, led the crowd to appear on the cruiser, firecrackers burst out on the dock.

, the cheers were deafening.

The gongs and drums team played cheerful gongs and drums, and the lion and dragon dance teams followed closely, starting a lively performance...

"As soon as I say goodbye, Brother Daqing has already created a huge scene here. He is indeed worthy of being a mainstay!" His Highness Tang Li Xin took in everything in the bay and couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes.

He waved frequently to the welcoming crowd and senior officials on the shore.

All the achievements made by Colonel Liu Daqing are the result of the commander-in-chief's strategic planning.

Major General Fan Pengfei and Brigadier General Zheng Huaishan looked at each other and smiled, and then said jokingly: "Your Highness has so many talents in his hands that the expeditionary force is now prosperous. Whether it is Suez City, Sana'a City, or Massawa, now the three Red Sea

All the city and land are under the control of my expeditionary force! It is true that it cannot be separated from His Highness’s central control and overall control of the overall situation!”

"Hahahaha... I just followed my father's glorious footsteps and did some trivial things. It's not worth mentioning."

"Your Majesty raised tens of thousands of troops to attack the enemy, raise the country's prestige beyond the waves of a foreign land, and boost the ambition of the empire. Isn't this a trivial matter?"

"That is also the result of the great help of all my colleagues. How can I live alone?" His Highness Tang Li Xin's face was glowing at this moment, and he walked down the gangway in high spirits.

After the imperial expeditionary force bloodyly massacred the cities of Sana'a and Suez, it greatly shocked the Egyptian government and the public. Ismail Pasha, who had always been pro-European, had to lower his head, admit defeat, and beg the British to mediate and negotiate a peace.

Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Najd, Jordan, Lebanon and other regions in the Near East and North Africa have suffered from invasions by powerful powers in history, from the Carthage Empire to 11 European Crusades, from the Arab Empire to the Ottoman Empire. In history

Having been bullied by foreigners, obedience has become a habitual action.

In the peace talks that immediately began, the Tang Empire, adhering to its usual strength, directly issued more than a dozen peace treaties, the most important of which was the "Tang-E-Cairo Treaty" signed on March 28, 1872 after repeated wrangling.

The "Contract of Cairo" had several major provisions;

The first article is that Egypt admitted its defeat, opened up the city of Suez and surrounding areas as a garrison for the Tang Empire as compensation, and established a total of eleven Royal Army and Royal Navy bases, enjoying exclusive garrison rights.

The second article is that the Egyptian government shall not interfere in the civil and economic affairs of Suez City and surrounding areas. This area is set as an exclusive concession of Datang and enjoys independent economic, trade and public security rights.

The third article is that Ismail Pasha solemnly apologized to the Tang Empire for his previous insults and compensated the seized ships 1.1 million Tang Yuan for losses.

The fourth article is that Egypt will pay 21 million in Tang and Yuan war compensation, which will be paid off gradually over 20 years, with an average annual interest of 4.9%, and the Suez City customs revenue will be used as collateral.

Article 5 is Egypt's promise that subjects of the Tang Empire will enjoy fair property rights, business, study tours and other civil rights, as well as consular jurisdiction and other priority rights.

Article 6: Datang and Egypt will sign a series of cooperation agreements in commercial, financial, cultural exchanges and military areas to expand and deepen cooperation between the two...

In addition, a series of other contracts were signed, and the Tang Empire finally inserted its foot firmly into the Middle East and took root here.

during the negotiation process

The British and French once united to oppose the Tang Empire's garrison plan, shouting that "they will not hesitate to use force when necessary", "the situation of the Suez Canal being divided and smelted is unacceptable", "keeping the canal open and open is the lowest demand" and other remarks, for peace

Negotiations created a lot of stress.

However, the Tang Empire adhered to its consistent tough style, and at the same time made practical moves to increase its troops, threatening to attack important core cities such as Cairo, and finally achieved most of the goals that met expectations without any danger.

The biggest regret is that there is less war compensation, but for a poor and weak agricultural region like Egypt, it really cannot squeeze out much oil and water.

In fact, the Tang Empire was not at a loss either.

I received this huge war compensation with a term of 20 years, an annual interest rate of 4.9%, and a total of 21 million Tang Yuan. When it expires, the total amount of principal and interest will be doubled.

After the bloody massacre of Sana'a and the two cities of Suez, the imperial expeditionary force plundered 50,000 to 60,000 young Arab women and collected 27,000 war horses, more than 8,000 cattle and hundreds of thousands of sheep, as well as a large amount of grain and oil.

With centuries of accumulated wealth in the area, this is a staggering amount of property.

The combination of these Arab female populations with expeditionary force soldiers and Chinese immigrants can quickly reproduce offspring and stabilize the overall social structure of the Eritrean colonial zone, which is of great significance.

Not to mention the vast areas of land in colonial areas and concession areas, which will become a new paradise for Chinese immigrants in the future. New cities and villages are rising one after another, and huge war investments have been transformed into major strategic and geographical advantages. How can we say that we are suffering a loss?