Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 520 Tianji Star Seeks Help Again
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month in 1625 was the Lantern Festival.
Normally, he should take a day off, but as an emperor, how could he have a legal holiday?
After Zhu Youdong got up that day, Fang Zhenghua came to report: The Ottoman Empire's envoy Abdul Wahid came to Beijing again and requested an urgent audience with His Majesty the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor of China, the Grand Vizier of my country once again presents you with a personal letter."
"oh?"
To be honest, since the first contact with Ibrahim in 1621, the exchanges between the two sides, although not frequent, have been generally fruitful.
The Ming Dynasty, after getting the first-hand information from Iprahin, had already produced the first light machine gun in the second half of 1623. After the military got it, they were very satisfied and have now started mass production.
Not only that, thanks to Iprahin's guidance, the material science of the Ming Dynasty has made great progress, such as the quality of the manufacture of artillery steel and armor steel has been significantly improved. The progress of material science has also brought hope to the development of submachine guns. At least on New Year's Eve in 1624, Zhao Shizhen patted his chest and guaranteed that the first submachine gun of the Ming Dynasty would be available by March 1625 at the latest.
The popularity of celluloid brought about great changes in the lifestyle of the people of the Ming Dynasty.
In terms of sports, in just a few years, the whole country and even the entire East Asia region were full of ping-pong tables and billiard tables. Young men and women in the Ming Dynasty were very keen on these two sports. As a result, the situation in the country in the past few years, where scholars were weak and women with bound feet swayed in the wind when they walked, was further improved.
In daily life, celluloid has entered thousands of households: the widespread use of celluloid has replaced heavy wooden rulers with lightweight plastic rulers. The frames of glasses were originally made of wood and very heavy. Now with celluloid, the frames of glasses are also very light. People who wear glasses can finally wear glasses for a long time without causing fatigue to their ears and nose bridges. Fountain pens have also gradually begun to be promoted because of celluloid. Various musical instruments have also reduced their weight and improved their sound quality because of the arrival of celluloid. In addition, the popularity of celluloid on various containers such as ordinary furniture and kitchens has greatly changed the daily life of the people of the Ming Dynasty.
The uses of this raw plastic are so wide that the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Wang Shaozheng, excitedly told Zhu Youdong: Just the product of celluloid, from production to transportation to sales, the entire industrial chain can provide the country with new tax revenue of no less than five million silver dollars!
In short, the Ming Dynasty gained a lot from Yiprahin.
Of course, on the one hand, he owed a favor, and on the other hand, the existence of the Ottoman Empire at that time was in the interests of the Ming Empire. Therefore, Zhu Youdong did not show any stinginess in supporting this matter.
In the fourth year of the Tianqi reign (1622), the national steel production of the Ming Dynasty reached 530,000 tons. Zhu Youdong directly gave the remainder to the Ottoman Empire: starting from the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, 30,000 tons of crude steel were provided free of charge every year.
In addition to steel, there was also food: an annual quota of 3 million stones of rice and flour ( equivalent to 180,000 tons, equivalent to giving nearly 10 kilograms of food to every person in the Ottoman Empire every year).
To be honest, such a large amount of transportation is a great test and burden on the transportation capacity of both sides. To a certain extent, the ordinary commercial transportation of the Ming Dynasty was suppressed because of the need to ensure that such a large amount of food was transported to the Middle East as soon as possible.
However, it was precisely because of this income that Ibrahim was able to reduce the national grain tax to almost nothing during his reign: in this way, the vast Ottoman peasant class, no matter who his followers were, were grateful to Ibrahim.
Filling the stomachs of the common people is the foundation for Ibrahim, the powerful official, to gain a firm foothold. Without Ibrahim, it is estimated that Osman will not be able to hold out for long in front of the EU... Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, Zhu Youdong has to grit his teeth and continue to deliver!
…
In Ibrahim's letter, he first detailed the EU's preparations and the Ottoman response. He also said with certainty that, based on the enemy's armaments and the intelligence of his own intelligence personnel, it was clear that the EU would go to war in March.
Zhu Youdong had nothing to say about Philip's deployment: If he were to become the leader of the EU, he would basically play the same game, advancing from the north to the south, and giving full play to the advantages of the navy. But he disagreed with Ibrahim's deployment: Who can guarantee that the EU army will definitely come to Jerusalem? What if the other side's troops turn around and land directly in Istanbul? You don't have control of the sea. Their soldiers rely on the navy to advance rapidly, but your soldiers have to rely on their feet to climb the Anatolian Plateau - it's a small matter for soldiers to climb the plateau, but what about your equipment?
However, the influence of religion on politics is indeed difficult for a Chinese, especially a Han Chinese, to understand. What if Philip, under religious pressure, knew that it would be best for his army to sail directly to Istanbul, but still insisted on heading for Jerusalem?
Never mind, it would be best if you two could use your pig brains to fight each other.
"So," Zhu Youdong raised his head after carefully reading Yiplahim's handwritten letter, "Is the EU going to mobilize troops in March this year?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Our Grand Vizier once again implores you to increase your assistance to our country."
In Yiplashin's letter, he clearly told Zhu Youdong: 200,000 versus 500,000, plus he had only been in office for a short time and was still a powerful official. This battle was really difficult to fight. Therefore, he asked Zhu Youdong to directly support him with three to five divisions.
Zhu Youdong certainly couldn't agree to such a request: To be honest, after reading Ibrahim's letter, his first reaction was whether to withdraw the division he had stationed in the Ottoman Empire. They were sent there to fight, but that was just to let them participate in low-intensity local conflicts or evenly matched battles - there, fighting was not the main purpose, but to understand the application of weapons on the battlefield and train the troops in actual combat. He really didn't expect that the European Union would mobilize such a huge force. In this way, if his division really went to the battlefield, it would probably face a siege several times its own. MD, by then the whole army would be wiped out, and there was no point in training a fart army!
Therefore, he was unwilling to continue to increase the stakes. If there is no steel, it can be re-made; if there is no grain, it can be re-planted. If the men of the Ming Dynasty were gone, it would be too troublesome: more than 10,000 mothers would have to carry their babies for ten months, and then raise them for eighteen years, and the country would have to spend huge sums of money on training for two or three years before they could be restored.
Understand that we are just temporary allies who have come together for the sake of interests. Even if you survive this wave and even kill Philip in the end, we are still competitors who we must kill as soon as possible!
Fortunately, as a time traveler, Yiplashin could also guess Zhu Youdong's thoughts. So in the letter, he also said: If Zhu Youdong is reluctant to send out troops, then please send him guns and ammunition directly - in recent years, the caliber of military equipment of both sides has been agreed upon. When the weapons of the Ming Dynasty arrived in the Ottoman Empire, except that the fonts on the weapons were in Chinese characters that the locals could not read, they could be used directly.
Zhu Youdong thought this request could be agreed to: on the one hand, Ibrahim started too late, and in the early stage , he focused on developing light industry in order to accumulate funds. Therefore, the production capacity of gun factories and the like was indeed insufficient. Facing this unprecedented war, the Ottoman Empire’s own gun factories might not be able to afford the daily consumption. On the other hand, the bullets of the Ming Dynasty killed young people in Europe through the hands of the Ottomans, while the young people of the Ming Dynasty could die less or even not die. Such a situation is very pleasant to think about.
Of course, Yiplashin still hoped that Zhu Youdong could send troops directly. So he did not forget to tempt him at the end of the letter: You see, I have thirteen new divisions, twelve of which have been sent to the outer line. The only one left in Istanbul is the Chinese division. What I said before, if I fail completely, let your men take my life, is still valid.
However, Zhu Youdong did not fall for such temptation: compared with Tianjixing's talents, he valued the lives of his soldiers more.
"I am fully aware of your country's Grand Vizier's request." After thinking for a while, Zhu Youdong looked up and said to Wahid, "It's just that this matter is of great importance, and I need to discuss it with my important ministers. Your Excellency should know that today is the Lantern Festival for us Chinese, and it is really not easy for me to urgently summon all the important ministers. So..."
"Yes, I understand. However, I ask His Majesty the Emperor to have mercy on our country as it is about to be invaded like never before. Send reinforcements as soon as possible."
"Your Excellency, do not be too anxious. I will convene a State Council meeting tomorrow to discuss this matter."
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Today is a traditional Chinese festival. When my country's Grand Vizier sent me as an envoy, he calculated that my arrival time would be around this time, so he asked me to bring a gift for Your Majesty."
Gifts? In fact, he and Ibrahim had often exchanged gifts in recent years. But unlike Ibrahim who would often send him beautiful women from Europe, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and even black Africa, he still couldn't break through the bottom line before he traveled through time: he was always instinctively unwilling to treat his compatriots as goods and send them back and forth.
In short, thanks to Iprahin, he has slept with women from three continents in recent years. But after sleeping with them, he still feels that his queen and concubine are the best.
Speaking of which, today is the Lantern Festival. At noon, the entire imperial family in Beijing will gather together for lunch. Thinking of this, Zhu Youdong became a little anxious: "Thank you, Grand Vizier of your country. Fang Zhenghua, please ask the duty personnel of the Ministry of Rites to arrange the next matter. I want to return to the palace."
