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- Thousands of artillery fired together to level Istanbul! (superior)
(0861)
In the last few months of 1636 AD, the White Army navy continued to expand its achievements in the Mediterranean, continuously controlling various ports in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. Algiers, Tunisia, Tripoli, Beirut, Cyprus, Crete and other ports are all controlled by the White Army. The so-called control refers to the long-term garrison of white-coated troops in these ports.
The coastline on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as coastal cities, were also attacked by white-coated navy warships. Including Valencia and Barcelona in Spain, Marseille in France, Genoa and Venice in Italy, Sweden in Greece and other places. The local residents felt very frightened and abandoned their homes one after another and moved to the hinterland far away from the sea.
With the control of each port being taken over one after another, the logistical pressure on the White Army was immediately relieved. Under the arrangements of the Logistics Department, a large number of merchant ships entered the Mediterranean Sea in an endless stream. These merchant ships brought a large amount of supplies to the White Army. The various units of the White Army Army also separated multiple ports for supplies to improve efficiency.
At the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea and along the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, there are warships of the White Army Navy cruising. These battleships exist for two purposes. One is to expel enemy warships and ensure the safety of the sea area. The other one is a pure show of force. Cannons and giant ships always give people a very shocking feeling. This is especially true when many cannons and giant ships are gathered together. For a time, the whole of Europe was in extreme panic. European society, almost overnight, regressed by a full thirty years.
A rough calculation shows that currently in the Mediterranean, the White Army has gathered more than 500 large warships, and the number of large merchant ships is more than 3,000. Including other ships, there are thousands of ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea under the White Army alone. Although the Mediterranean Sea seems to be very large and cannot be seen at a glance, it still looks very busy after so many warships and merchant ships have gathered there. Wherever you look, there are boats everywhere.
Especially the outlet of the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, is like an endless stream of boats. The Strait of Gibraltar is inherently narrow and the channel is not very ideal. The ocean currents here are very fast, making it difficult to control ships. Heavy fog often occurs, making it difficult to see even one's fingertips. Therefore, ships come and go, and collisions are prone to occur. Especially when a large number of ships are crowded, the incidence of accidents can be said to skyrocket.
In order to better maintain the order of ships entering and exiting, the White Army Navy had to set up special maritime traffic maintenance police here. Their only mission is to manage the entry and exit of ships in the Strait of Gibraltar and prevent accidents. It is estimated that this is the first specially established maritime police force in the world. Not only is it unprecedented, it is probably also unprecedented.
In addition to the necessary maritime traffic police, the White Army also stationed an army force of more than 10,000 people in the northern protrusion of the Strait of Gibraltar as a military presence to protect the Strait of Gibraltar. The White Army has publicly announced that control of the Strait of Gibraltar belongs to the White Army. Any ship attempting to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar must obtain approval from the White Coats. Otherwise, you will be arrested. Or it could be sunk directly.
This area originally belonged to Spain. However, in the face of the artillery fire of the White Army Marines, the Spanish army was unable to resist at all and could only watch the White Army Marines land here. Later, a battalion of the White Army Army came to take over the defense. At this point, this area was permanently controlled by the White Army.
The white army troops stationed in the Strait of Gibraltar are equipped with a large number of howitzers and mortars to prevent attacks by the Spanish army. At the same time, the navy also stationed a fleet here to assist the army in completely controlling the Strait of Gibraltar. Facing such a powerful invader, the Spaniards could only consider themselves unlucky.
After controlling the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean has basically become the inland sea of ??the White Army. All ships that have not been approved by the White Army will be arrested on the spot or directly sunk as long as they are discovered by the White Army's warships. The combined fleets of the Western powers did not dare to stay in the Mediterranean anymore and retreated to the North Sea.
Since the beginning of human history, no country has had such a strong power to completely control the Mediterranean Sea in its own hands, without giving others a chance to interfere. The Ming Empire was the first. An unprecedented first. It is estimated that the current Western powers will regret it in their intestines. If they had known earlier, they shouldn't have fought to the end with the White Army. Judging from the current posture of the White Army, they will definitely not withdraw their troops until Europe is completely wiped out!
Dominating the Mediterranean once again demonstrated the strength of the Ming Empire. Except for the Ming Empire, which had a huge population base, no other country in the world at that time had such people.?Potential. Warships and merchant ships require a large number of sailors to move them. Based on the calculation that each warship is equipped with 300 people and each merchant ship is equipped with 50 people, that is a population of hundreds of thousands! Even if the Dutch have great abilities, it is impossible for them to break through this number.
In fact, at present, the number of large merchant ships registered in the Ming Empire has exceeded 15,000. This is only for large merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons. There are even more medium-sized merchant ships with a displacement of less than 1,000 tons, and small merchant ships with a displacement of less than 500 tons. Moreover, the number of merchant ships continues to increase.
After more than ten years of conquests in the north and south, the Pacific and Indian Oceans have become the inland seas of the Ming Empire. It is estimated that the Atlantic Ocean will also become the inland sea of ??the Ming Empire in the near future. The territory of the Ming Empire expanded to infinite proportions. As the nominal emperor of the Ming Empire, Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo controlled dozens of times the territory of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.
After the implementation of the constitutional monarchy, Zhu Changluo really put down his arrogance and regarded himself as the vase of the Ming Empire, the highest being in name only. Once your mentality is correct, your life will naturally become more comfortable. As long as he has no real intention to seize power, Xu Xingxia, on the surface, is very respectful to his old father-in-law. Since he is an emperor in name only, there is no need for him to be strictly controlled even when leaving the palace like previous emperors.
Now Zhu Changluo can go wherever he wants, and his life is so nourishing. He is not too old and in good health, so traveling far away is not a problem at all. Recently, he just returned from Japan, stayed in Taiwan for a few months, and was preparing to go to Tianzhu again. In Japan, Zhu Changluo and his brother Zhu Changxun spent several months together. There is no successor dispute between the brothers, and the relationship has long since eased. It can be said that they are very happy to see each other.
The only flaw that the White Army Navy feels now is that all warships and merchant ships must go around the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa to reach the Mediterranean Sea. This journey is very long, more than 45,000 miles. Such a long distance is a serious hardship for all warships and merchant ships.
Moreover, due to the changeable wind directions in the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, the sailing speed of ships on the east and west coasts of Africa is quite slow. It takes up to two months to get from Leizhou Peninsula to Kalihet in the Indian Ocean. But it would take at least four months to get from Calihaite to Madeira. If you often encounter headwinds, it may take half a year.
?Obviously, such a transportation distance is indeed too far. Not only does it take a lot of time, but the cost is also very high. It takes half a year to get from Leizhou Peninsula to the Mediterranean Sea. It will take another half a year to get back from the Mediterranean. A merchant ship can only transport supplies once a year. Such utilization efficiency made even Xu Xingxia, a wealthy man, unable to help but vomit blood.
¡°If it weren¡¯t for the support of a behemoth like the Ming Empire, the White Army would not have been able to launch such a huge offensive. The cost of so many warships and merchant ships is like running water. It is estimated to be tens of thousands of taels of silver per day. At present, relying on the rich seizures from various places by the White Army, it can barely survive. However, this is not the solution in the long run. There must be a way to change.
This change, of course, is the Suez Canal.
Xu Xingxia has made it clear that he is preparing to dig the Grand Canal in the east of Cairo. As engineering exploration personnel in the preliminary preparation stage, they have already been stationed in the Red Sea. The new Grand Canal will connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. In this way, ships do not need to go around the Cape of Good Hope and travel tens of thousands of miles by sea, which can greatly reduce time and costs.
Think about it, if the Suez Canal was really opened to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, merchant ships from the Leizhou Peninsula would be able to reach the Mediterranean in up to three months. Returning from the Mediterranean will take at most three months. A merchant ship can make two round trips a year. In other words, transportation efficiency has been fully doubled. If it is to mobilize troops and generals, it will be faster. This is very beneficial to strengthening the control of the White Army over various parts of Europe.
"However, digging the Suez Canal is not a trivial matter. In terms of technology, capital, manpower, and material resources, the White Army is probably not ready yet. Xu Xingxia only knew about the Suez Canal in history. During the excavation, hundreds of thousands of people died, which can be said to be a pile of bones. As for how it was excavated and what kind of engineering problems were involved, I don't know. These are matters for the relevant explorers and engineers. Xu Xingxia estimates that it will be several years before the Suez Canal is officially excavated.
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At the beginning of 1637 AD, the White Army naval warships arrived in the waters outside Istanbul. The white-coated army troops also reached the city of Istanbul and occupied the coastal ports around Istanbul. They once fought with the Ottoman Empire. Supported by naval artillery fire, the navyThe team easily defeated the enemy's attack.
At this time, Istanbul was also densely populated by troops and heavily guarded. The remaining armies of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, as well as allied forces from various European countries, were assembled here. Their primary goal is to defend Istanbul. If Istanbul is captured, the whole of Europe will be passive in the future war situation.
After repeated attacks by the White Army, the elite troops of the Ottoman Turkish Empire have been almost exhausted. There are less than 50,000 Sudanese soldiers left. All the Sipaxi cavalry were killed. The other cavalrymen were also dead. The rest are all defeated soldiers. The top brass of the royal family spent a lot of effort to gather an army of 300,000 people.
Because the White Army arrived with great force and captured all other territories of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the number of fanatics that could be gathered in Istanbul was not much. All added up, it's less than half a million. Moreover, the morale of the fanatics has also been greatly affected. After suffering countless devastating blows, even the most idiotic fanatics will have deep doubts about the existence of the true God.
The troops from various European countries are a new force. The so-called cold lips and teeth were cold. When the White Army attacked with great momentum, the Western powers had to send a large number of troops to try to prevent the White Army from entering Europe from land. The troops they dispatched were all elites from various countries. They had not been attacked by the White Army yet, and their morale was relatively high. In addition, their equipment is also quite sophisticated, and they are basically equipped with mini guns.
Istanbul is the first front of the European coalition. The Western powers hope that they can stop the White Army from advancing westward in this ancient city. If their plan succeeds, Europe can be saved. If their plan fails, Europe risks sinking from there. What the Huns and Mongols were unable to do in the past, the White Army is very likely to be able to do. Therefore, the Western powers did not dare to take it lightly.
Before the arrival of the White Army Army, the entire Istanbul was already controlled by the European coalition forces. Wherever a line of defense could be set up, a line of defense had been set up. In order to fight against the White Army, the armies of the Western powers, in addition to mobilizing the most elite troops to participate in the war, also made their weapons and equipment as advanced and powerful as possible.
In Istanbul, there are at least hundreds of thousands of artillery pieces from various European countries. Among them, there are thousands of 800-pound cannons with the largest caliber. This is the most powerful artillery of the Western powers. For an 800-pound gun, converted, the caliber is 305 mm. This was definitely the largest caliber artillery piece in the world at the time.
The largest caliber artillery gun owned by the White Army is only 155 mm. Converted, that's an eighty-pound gun. The difference between the two is truly the difference between heaven and earth. Of course, the calculation method between the two is Guan Gong versus Qin Qiong, which are completely different things. In addition, one is a smoothbore cannon and the other is a rifled cannon. There is no comparison. One uses solid bullets and the other uses explosive bombs, and their power is also completely different.
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