Chapter 886 Opening up a New Route
The 60,000 pirates who invaded Friendship City surrendered before the afternoon passed.
Nearly 30,000 pirates were buried in the city during this battle. After the war, the entire outer city was in a mess, with corpses everywhere, and a strong smell of blood permeated the streets and alleys.
Gu Xiuwen, the guard of Friendship City, took up the responsibility to clean up the city, appease the people in the city, put out the fire, count the casualties and financial losses, and everything was in order.
The restless hearts of the people gradually stabilized.
In the City Lord's Mansion, Ouyang Shuo, who had won the battle, was not happy and had a serious face. One thing that was defeated in this battle was only a group of pirates, there was really nothing to show off. Second, Farah escaped again, which made Ouyang Shuo very frustrated. There are many suspicious clouds behind the three incidents, as if there is an invisible hand manipulating everything secretly.
The attack on Friendship City was no accident.
Although the pirates were repelled this time, it had a huge impact on the reputation of the "Commercial Capital" that Friendship City had worked so hard to establish, and even the reputation of the great shipping line.
As the news spreads, this negative impact will gradually spread, and it will be difficult to eliminate it in a short time.
Just imagine, facing a city that may be attacked by pirates at any time, would ocean-going merchants dare to stop here for supplies? Facing an uneven air route, how many businessmen would hesitate?
The answer is obvious.
Behind this attack, the goal was directed at the commercial foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty, and the intentions were not without sinister.
In the afternoon, the commander of the Black Snake Guard sent the Black Snake from Rabat to Friendship City in a hurry. Ouyang Shuo's instructions to Black Snake were simple: "Give me a thorough investigation and find out who else is involved in this pirate attack on the city."
Intuitively, Ouyang Shuo suspected that there should be Farah's internal support in Somalia.
"promise!"
Black Snake did not dare to neglect at all, and immediately mobilized capable forces, starting from the interrogation of the captured pirates, and followed the clues to find out who was behind the scenes.
The captured second leader naturally became the key interrogation target of the Black Snake Guards.
It's just that Ouyang Shuo knows very well that Farah is the key figure, the soul figure in the pirate group.
Therefore, Ouyang Shuo ordered the former Mediterranean Fleet, which had been renamed the Atlantic Fleet, to arrange for the fourth and fifth formations to cross the Mediterranean immediately and rush to the Gulf of Aden to arrest the "Pirate King" Farah.
Only by taking down Farah, completely eradicating the evil [Sirius Pirates], beheading them for public display, and bringing them to justice, can we restore the lost reputation of Friendship City and ensure the prosperity of the Great Airline.
This time, Ouyang Shuo will never let the tiger go back to the mountain again.
In the study of the City Lord's Mansion, when Ouyang Shuo was thinking about the situation in the Gulf of Aden, Xu Chu came to report: "Your Majesty, the division head of the Friendship City Security Division is asking to see you outside the door."
When Ouyang Shuo heard this, his brows twitched, and he lost his temper immediately, and said in a harsh voice: "He still has the face to come to see this king? Pass down the order, don't have to see him again, immediately take this person into custody, and hand him over to the Privy Council's Military Jurisdiction." .”
In this battle, a mighty garrison regiment, with the convenience of occupying a favorable location and a strong city to defend, lost the outer city in less than three hours in the face of the siege of 60,000 pirates. It really lost the Great Xia Dynasty. face.
Although the pirates are cruel, it is also an objective fact that the garrison divisions are neglected in training on weekdays and improperly commanded in wartime. It would be impossible for another security division to be in such a mess.
In such a situation, how could Ouyang Shuo not be angry.
"promise!"
It was rare for Xu Chu to see the king so angry, so he didn't dare to say anything, so he could only mourn in silence for the division commander. It's fine if he doesn't come to see him, and the king might give him a lighter sentence; now that he's at the point of a gun, no one can help.
From the poor performance of the Friendship City Security Division, Ouyang Shuo even thought of other security divisions.
"It seems that it is necessary for the Privy Council to conduct a major assessment of the garrison divisions in various regions." Ouyang Shuo secretly thought in his heart that the lack of local military equipment is a taboo of the dynasty's rule.
…………
That night, Ouyang Shuo hosted a banquet in the City Lord's Mansion in honor of the big businessmen in Friendship City.
To be invited by King Xia is really a blessing for businessmen.
Ouyang Shuo's move was naturally to appease the merchants, minimize the impact of this attack on the trade in Friendship City, and restore the merchants' confidence. Originally, the city guard Gu Xiuwen would have to step forward in this matter, but Gu Xiuwen's step forward and Ouyang Shuo's step forward have different effects.
In Nuo Da's banquet hall, Ouyang Shuo toasted, and the audience fell silent instantly. Ouyang Shuo looked around at the big merchants, and said, "This time Friendship City was attacked by pirates, and the imperial court will not tolerate it. The Dynasty's Atlantic Fleet has set sail and will arrive in the Gulf of Aden in a few days to completely wipe out the [Sirian Wolf Pirates] and return one of the pirates to the Gulf of Aden." Peaceful."
"Xiawang Shengming!"
The merchants were overjoyed. They have been doing business in the Mediterranean Sea all year round, and they are well aware of the prestige of the Atlantic Fleet. They know that if this fleet makes a move, the [Sirius Pirates] will not be spared this time.
The restless heart gradually calmed down.
Ouyang Shuo went on to say: "The imperial court is responsible for guarding the land. You trust the imperial court, so you stopped for supplies in Friendship City. The imperial court will compensate you for the losses caused by this pirate attack. Tomorrow, you can go to the city lord's mansion to register the loss truthfully. , after verification, compensation will be made immediately."
"This……"
The businessmen looked at each other in blank dismay, they didn't expect such a good thing. According to the general rules, even if the court does not make any compensation, the businessman has nothing to say. This kind of full compensation is simply unheard of.
"Thank you King Xia for your kindness!" The merchants were so grateful, especially those who lost a lot in this battle, they almost shed tears. Although the ocean trade is profitable, if all the goods are robbed, it may be a loss.
The court's move has saved the future of many businessmen.
Ouyang Shuo nodded. His move was similar to "buying bones with thousands of dollars". He would rather spend a little money to restore the businessman's confidence in the imperial court. This is more important than hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
With this good news, the next banquet will be a joy for both guests and hosts.
*************
Ouyang Shuo bought people's hearts in Friendship City, never thought that there would be another bad news the next day.
The fourth and fifth formations of the Atlantic Fleet were ordered to cross the Mediterranean Sea, but they were collectively protested by the Mediterranean lords, and they even did not hesitate to suspend the ongoing negotiations.
In their words, "Since the Great Xia Dynasty has promised that the Atlantic Fleet will no longer set foot in the Mediterranean Sea, it should keep its promise from now on. This move by the Atlantic Fleet is undoubtedly a breach of contract."
"We deeply doubt the sincerity of the Great Xia Dynasty," Caesar said.
In desperation, the negotiating team forced Zi Luolan to urgently ask Ouyang Shuo for instructions on how to deal with this matter.
When Ouyang Shuo heard the news, he was speechless for a long time, but this time it was the Great Xia Dynasty's fault.
"It's just, isn't the timing too coincidental?" Ouyang Shuo couldn't help feeling suspicious. Whether there was any connection between the negotiation and the pirate attack on the City of Friendship, Ouyang Shuo couldn't easily come to a conclusion now.
Last night, Ouyang Shuo made a promise to the businessman to send the Atlantic Fleet to destroy the pirates. If he breaks his promise, it will be a slap in the face, and all the previous efforts of Ouyang Shuo will be in vain.
Faced with this predicament, Ouyang Shuo finally set his sights on the southernmost tip of the African continent, where there is a magical place called the Cape of Good Hope.
Before the Suez Canal was dug, the route from Europe to Asia could only go from Western Europe through West Africa, and then bypass the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to reach Asia. The Cape of Good Hope route became the only sea route for Europeans to go to the East.
After the opening of the Suez Canal, although the role of this route has been weakened, it is still an indispensable and important channel between Europe and Asia. Some giant ships cannot pass through the Suez Canal and must detour here.
When it comes to the Cape of Good Hope route, we have to mention the famous Crusades in European history.
In the first millennium AD, great changes began in Europe. Roman Catholics hoped to drive the Christians out of the Middle East. The Crusades launched by the Holy See began in 1096 and lasted for about two hundred years.
The emergence of European armies in the Middle East promoted the development of ocean trade in a disguised form.
Italian merchants in places like Venice made war fortunes by transporting and supplying supplies for the warring parties. At the same time, when the Crusaders returned to Europe, the spices, perfumes, silk, steel and medicines brought back from the Middle East became the most sought-after products in Europe.
Ocean trade led to the rise of towns and created a large number of wealthy European merchants.
The power of European countries continued to grow. They set up armies and governments, and the taxes paid by taxpayers were enough to maintain the operations of the armies and governments.
By the fifteenth century, European countries were ready to go out and explore.
The Portuguese were the first to act. In 1400, they wanted to control the spice trade with the East, bypassing the middlemen in Venice and Arabia, and doing business directly with the East.
If they can go directly to Asia by sea to buy these goods, they can greatly increase their profits.
Portuguese explorers have been to the west coast of Africa, hoping to find a route to India and East Asia, and they finally reached the southernmost tip of the African continent - the Cape of Good Hope.
Compared with the Suez Canal, the Cape of Good Hope is not an ideal route.
Because the Cape of Good Hope is just at the confluence of the warm current of the Indian Ocean and the cold current of Antarctica, the strong westerly jet current creates turbulent waves all year round. In addition to the damage caused by storms, there are often "killing waves" here.
The front part of this kind of wave is like a cliff, and the back part is like a gentle hillside. It frequently appears in winter, and the rotating waves caused by polar wind are added from time to time. When these two kinds of waves are superimposed, the sea conditions will be even worse. Moreover, there is also a strong coastal current here. When the wave meets the current, the entire sea boils like a boiling pot, and ships sailing here often suffer disaster.
Therefore, the Cape of Good Hope has become the most dangerous navigation area in the world.
Ouyang Shuo's plan to let the Atlantic Fleet bypass the Cape of Good Hope, open up the Cape of Good Hope route, and reach Somalia by detour, is also a helpless choice.
To wipe out the [Sirius Pirates] is related to the reputation of the dynasty.
As the king of the Great Xia Dynasty, Ouyang Shuo kept his word. Since he made a promise to the businessman, he must fulfill it. Otherwise, he would be breaking the trust of the people and the world.