Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 421 Ottoman's Trip ([-])

The roads in the Ottoman Empire were pretty bad.Although the Sudan claims to be the successor of the Roman Empire, and also inherited the tradition of the Romans to vigorously lay the road network in the empire, but in the 17th century today, many roads built in the early years have long been seriously damaged.

Gao Mo and his party rode on the muddy road, and a slow ox cart or mule cart passed by the roadside from time to time.Occasionally they saw caravans of camels, the volatile animals that the Ottomans seem to have enjoyed in all their wars with the Europeans.They are extremely heavy-duty, don't care about muddy ground, don't get tired or thirsty much more than horses, and require minimal care. In the 15th century, the Ottoman army used a large number of camels to carry military supplies instead of traditional horse-drawn carts, which made their advancement extremely fast.Later, even farmers in Greece and other places discovered the benefits of camels, and they also raised some camels for use.

The horses that Gaumo and others rode were produced in the Rascek region on the south bank of the Danube River in Bulgaria.This kind of horse is resistant to rough feeding and is especially adapted to the hard, rugged mountainous rocky terrain widely distributed in the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, it is widely used in the Balkan Mountains, and even the cavalry units of the Ottoman Empire use this horse in large numbers.

"Many years ago, Suleiman had stipulated that the construction of the domestic road network must enable government couriers to travel from one place to another within a few hours, and be able to find replacement horses or accommodation. However This system has gradually failed to work." Seeing Gao Mo and others struggling on the rough road, Hassan explained with a little embarrassment: "Many local nobles, especially those from the Rumily area The nobles are not very keen on repairing the roads that have been in disrepair. These barbaric Christian lords think that the poor condition of the roads can strengthen the defense of their territories. And the ignorant peasants think the same. will be able to prevent the tax officials from approaching their villages. All this has led to a sharp deterioration of the road condition, which has caused great inconvenience to the military movement in our country. His Majesty the Sultan has now paid attention to this problem. He has ordered We have begun to renovate the domestic transportation and road network, and this is also part of our cooperation agreement with your country, isn't it?"

"Yes, poor road facilities not only affect national defense security, but also affect economic development. The Balkan mountains are full of mountains and are not suitable for digging canals, so they can only rely on land transportation. If the roads are in this state , the wood, grain, livestock, wool, animal skins and other materials deposited in the vast inland areas of your country will not be effectively used. These should have been exported in large quantities in exchange for money, but now they are all rotten in the closed countryside. It's really a pity." Gao Mo said with a sigh of regret.

The cooperation that Hassan mentioned is actually only an intention at present, far from an agreement.The Ottomans requested to import a large amount of building materials such as asphalt and cement to the Eastern Republic, and at the same time hired some technical personnel in road traffic construction. ) high-quality road, and if the road is in good condition in the future, both parties may continue to extend this road to Plovdiv.

Gao Mo was of course ecstatic about this request made by the Ottomans, but the Ottomans tied it with the construction of the "Bayezid" battleship, which made Gao Mo scratch his head.Although he is a special envoy with full powers, he dare not agree to such an important event without authorization, and must first ask the country for instructions.But this negotiation, it can be carried out in advance, especially when the Ottomans bundled many commercial interests with the construction of battleships, they can't mess up other commercial exchanges because of this matter, right?

A close minister of the Sultan of the Ottoman court revealed to Gaumo through Hassan that if the people on the east bank allowed the construction of the "Bayezid" battleship for the Ottoman Empire, they would allow the people on the east bank to build the battleship "Bayezid" for the Ottoman Empire. Shops were built in Smyrna, Burgas, and Suez to sell various commodities, and at the same time, trade in female slaves could be carried out.In addition, they even allowed people on the east coast to invest in the construction of a freight track railway located in the Kaffa (Immediately Chi) iron mine. If this railway proves to be very efficient after it is put into operation, His Majesty the Sultan will use it Buy it, and then promote the railway of the East Coast people in major mines across the country.Of course, all the above-mentioned attractive commercial interests require a prerequisite-the construction of the battleship Bayezid. If the people on the east coast are unwilling to export this powerful battleship to the Ottoman Empire under pressure, then all will give up.In the future, people on the east coast will only be allowed to deliver a limited number of goods such as cloth, leather goods, and weapons at the ports of Smyrna and Suez, and other in-depth commercial exchanges will be prohibited.

This is a poison wrapped in honey.Gao Mo lamented a little, and the Ottomans' obsession with battleships was surprising.Maybe this has something to do with the situation they are facing. A while ago, their sultan just led an army to attack Crete, and the war should still be going on.Perhaps they were afraid that the Pope would once again call for the formation of the Allied Christian Army at the request of the Venetians, and another naval battle of Lepanto in the Aegean Sea area, which would completely defeat the Ottoman Navy.Therefore, they urgently need this kind of giant ship that can almost be called a sea fortress.

Speaking of this, everyone is already very clear about it.Now Gaumo is waiting for a domestic response, and the Ottomans are waiting for Gaumo's response.Before that, the two sides were still discussing some other business cooperation, such as female slave trade and so on.

The Bulgarian countryside is very desolate. On both sides of the road, there are tall grasses everywhere and animals haunting the grass.The height of many weeds is almost up to people's elbows. It is amazing how fertile the land is and also shocked by the low level of development here.

A village loomed not far away.Gao Mo and others rode over, only to see that the farmhouses in this village were extremely simple.The local Bulgarian farmers often cover the woven branches and walls with leaves, which is a real hut, not much better than the Xhosa houses that people on the east coast first saw in South Africa.I heard that the farmers in Wallachia are even poorer and more backward. They often just dig a hole in the ground, and then build a roof over the hole to form a house.Many of their agricultural tools, such as plows and wheels, were still made of wood, with little progress in 1000 years.Today, with the increasing development of Western Europe, they have fallen far behind the times, and this is actually the epitome of the entire Ottoman Empire today.Although on the surface it is still as splendid as flowers blooming brocade and fire cooking oil, but in essence it has begun to slowly fall behind and collapse.

Such a big empire market is a market suitable for the development of people on the east coast!Gao Mo quickly made a judgment. This empire is slow, conservative and huge, and its understanding of industry and commerce is quite superficial.This can be seen from the fact that their economy was initially dominated by Jews and Armenians, and later by foreign capital such as Britain and France. Britain and France lay on the huge body of the Ottoman Empire and sucked blood for hundreds of years. Domestic industry, so people from the east coast can also do it!And this will start with the dumping of goods on the east coast in the Ottoman country and the gradual infiltration into the construction of Ottoman infrastructure such as ports, roads, and mines, and the premise of all this is to agree to the cooperation requirements of the Ottoman navy.

damn it!Now the crux of all problems is here.Gao Mo had a headache. In fact, he was inclined to cooperate with the Ottomans, and the French were not a good partner.They are a rising power, with their own ambitions, and their views on many things are quite advanced, so the business of the people on the east coast is destined to not last long.

But the Ottoman Empire is different. Their recent decentralization system makes it very difficult for them to make any national changes. Moreover, the country has a queen dowager in the palace and a grand vizier outside the palace ( In addition, there are many local warlords, the unruly and rebellious Ganishari Guards who have repeatedly rebelled and abolished the Sultan, making this huge empire feel chaotic.All these things made Gao Mo keenly feel that as long as the various forces in Ottoman's country are slowly settled, and some of the benefits are transferred to everyone to make a fortune together, it may really be much easier than doing business in France.At least the decline of this multi-ethnic country, which is full of problems, is inevitable from the current point of view. Under internal and external troubles, perhaps they will cherish the cooperative relationship with the people on the east coast more.

Turn the Ottoman Empire into the number one market for East Coasters!Just like the later India is to Britain, let the Ottoman Empire become the jewel in the crown of the East Coast Republic ruling the world. Gao Mo has such an impulse faintly.

Most of the residents in this village are Bulgarians, and a small number are Turks.It can be seen that the two ethnic groups get along relatively well, which can be seen from the frequent visits between women of the two ethnic groups.Moreover, many Bulgarians in this village are Christians, while the Turks are prostitutes. This can be played together. I have to admire the secularization of the Turks is quite good.But today's situation is obviously developing in the opposite direction. Secularization is fading, religious ideas are rising, and the future of the Ottoman Empire is confusing.

"Your 'goods' are in the camp behind the village. There are pagans who owe taxes all the year round. Now we start collecting women from their families as taxes." Hassan turned to Gaumo and said.

(End of this chapter)