Chapter 599 Seven Years' War·Continued

The golden desert is vast, and the continuous sand dunes enrich the undulating face of the waves on the sea. A line of camels traveled in it, just like a small boat sailing on the vast ocean. Xie Qinggao felt so small.

No wonder camels are called the ships of the desert!

Xie Qinggao glanced at the scorching sun above his head. He didn't know when he would reach the westernmost end of the Red Sea. He also didn't know whether there would be Chinese merchant ships or Western merchant ships in Suez Port at this time. But he had to rush back to China as quickly as possible to send precious news back to China.

The situation in Europe changed too fast.

In the middle of February of the Gregorian calendar this year, the French suddenly announced that they officially recognized the United States of America as an independent country. From that moment on, Marquis Lafayette, Gilbert de Motille, became a hero of the entire Old Continent. This descendant of a noble family whose ancestors had fought with Joan of Arc against the British, the 19-year-old marquis whose father was killed by British shells in the Seven Years' War, the son-in-law of the fifth Duke of Noailles, chartered a whole ship and was recorded in history as the first person to volunteer to participate in the North American War.

When the Chinese delegation arrived in Europe last year, the anti-British atmosphere of the French was not so hot, and Lafayette was even arrested by King Louis XVI, although it was not known whether it was a real arrest or a fake arrest. But this year, after Christmas, the reaction of the whole of France rose again.

Then in February of the Gregorian calendar, France became the first country in the world to recognize the United States.

But if Gao Yanming could still bear this news, he would not immediately send people across the entire Mediterranean to land in Alexandria, Egypt, and then the Ottoman Empire would send guides and guards to escort the envoys across the Sinai Peninsula, the narrowest part between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and then quickly take a ship to China.

Then in March, a series of events happened that made Gao Yanming unable to sit still.

Catherine II's St. Petersburg had been opened to the Chinese delegation, but the first country from central Europe to step onto the stage of the "Armed Neutrality League" built by Tsarist Russia was the traditional British ally, the Dutch.

Not Prussia, not Portugal. It was the Netherlands!

Then Catherine II once again made it clear that Russia opposed Britain's maritime hegemony.

Then in March, news of the Battle of Saratoga spread back to Europe from the New World, and the North American Continental Army achieved a brilliant record. The greater significance of this war is that it gave the French the confidence that the Americans could persist in "victory", which is the biggest reason why this battle was called the turning point of the North American War. Almost at the same time as receiving this news, France officially declared war on Britain at the end of March.

The North American War has officially developed from a fight in a corner to an international war.

Gao Yanming could no longer sit still, and immediately sent Xie Qinggao, who was the secretary of the mission, to lead a squad of soldiers as guards and set off quickly to the country.

At this time, it was too dangerous and too long to take a sailboat to the west coast of Africa, cross the dangerous Cape of Good Hope, and then reach China through the waves of thousands of miles.

So the route chosen by Xie Qinggao and his party was to cross the Mediterranean, travel by land to the western end of the Red Sea, and then it would be best if they encountered a Chinese merchant ship so that he could return to the country as soon as possible.

There were too many uncertainties in this, but this was definitely the safest and most time-saving route.

Fortunately, the two great powers of Britain and France would not intercept Chinese ships. And China and the Ottoman Empire had already reached an alliance.

After Xie Qinggao landed in Alexandria, he stayed in the port for only two days and then quickly set off. All the needs and uses were arranged by the Egyptian Pasha.

The endless desert was like a yellow sea, the sun shone on it, thousands of points of light shone, and the yellow sand in the distance really looked like a mountain of gold.

It is very hot here. Under the scorching sun, waves of heat rise in the desert, making it difficult for people to breathe. No wonder people here wear such thick clothes and veils.

The yellow desert is flat and spreads all the way to the horizon. Where the sky and the earth meet, endless sand dunes rise and fall. It is nothing but yellow. For the first time, Xie Qinggao knew that the ordinary green in the past was so lovely.

But this is not the biggest problem.

The problem is that when the strong wind blows here, sand flies and the sky is dark. The world of yellow sand makes it impossible for humans to stand.

And there are whirlwinds in the desert, one after another, rolling up the yellow sand high, like a column of smoke rising from the ground, spinning and running in the desert.

The sand waves surge forward, like an invisible giant hand, kneading the sand sea in various ways.

Xie Qinggao also saw what a mirage is for the first time in his life. It was probably the effect of sunlight and cloud shadows. This vast desert turned into a clear blue sea. He even saw seabirds and a merchant ship passing by. The flag was flying a conspicuous red flag, which was a Chinese ship.

Xie Qinggao was so sad at that time.

The Chinese ship in the mirage was so far away that it was out of reach.

The ruthless sun spit out onto the earth without any cover like a flame, and the desert was baked like a steamer. But when the sun set, a round sunset was attached to the ridgeline of the desert, making the earth dark and revealing layers of deep red;

At that moment, the yellow waves supporting the setting sun seemed to solidify, and the entire golden ocean fell asleep.

Writing is one of Xie Qinggao's hobbies. He hopes that one day he can write his own "Records of the Western Regions" like Xuanzang.

Compared with the more vast America, Xie Qinggao is not interested. He is interested in the West. He believes that the center of the world is still on the ancient continent of Asia and Europe, one end in the east and the other in the west.

He traveled all over the Western countries with his own feet and used his pen to record the mountains, rivers, geography, customs and people along the way. Before he died, this book could be published. He did not expect to have such a lofty historical status and significance as "Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" or "Xu Xiake's Travels", but it was enough for this life.

The desert is very vast, and he was willing to come to the Arabian World before.

However, the anxiety in his heart now did not give him any nostalgia and interest in the desert in front of him. He wanted to grow a pair of wings and fly to the western end of the Red Sea in the blink of an eye. Get on a ship back to China and rush to China quickly.

Any diplomat knows what the war between Britain and France means to China. Whether it is the Sino-British negotiations or the subsequent Sino-Russian negotiations, it has great strategic significance.

Don't think that Xie Qinggao doesn't know some secrets because of his low status. There have been some gossips circulating in the delegation.

The emperor had long expected that Britain and France would have a war...

China would also take action if Britain and France went to war...

The South Seas, which entered from Zengmu Island, has always been a sensitive topic in China's diplomacy.

Britain and France have never stood together with Spain and the Netherlands on the issue of the South Seas, but a qualified diplomat must not only look at the small piece of land in front of him. Now it is not the Qing Dynasty.

Spain has been the younger brother of the Gallic rooster in Europe for a hundred years. After the Glorious Revolution, the Dutch joined Britain and became a major creditor of London. It has been a hundred years.

These four countries are in an absolute alliance. In the face of China's problems, Spain and the Netherlands have also reached an alliance and become a bridge between Britain and France. The difficulty for China to solve the Nanyang issue does not lie with Spain and the Netherlands, but with Britain and France behind them.

But now Britain and France are fighting, and it is unknown how many years this war will last.

Newspapers all over Europe are using "Seven Years' War Continuation" as headlines, and the Dutch have even abandoned their good friends, set up a sign for themselves called the Armed Neutrality Alliance, and mixed with the Russians. The British are in big trouble!

But this news is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for China to solve the Nanyang issue. Even if the news can be passed on one day earlier, it is of great significance.

…

Chen Ming in Nanjing City did not know that the situation in Europe had changed dramatically.

The "significance" of communication seemed extremely critical at this moment. Unfortunately, it is unknown when this news, which is greatly beneficial to China, will reach his ears.

…

Even Chen Yaqiang, the captain of the Chinese merchant fleet docked at Mocha Port, who belongs to Lingnan Trading Company, did not know at this time that there was a small group of Chinese people working hard on the distant Sinai Peninsula.

Since China and the Ottoman Empire reached an alliance on the Russian issue, Chinese trade has been gradually opened up in the Arabian world.

Speaking of which, the history of exchanges between China and the Arabian world can be traced back to the original Silk Road, and the later Maritime Silk Road was also opened by them. During the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, countless Arabian people settled on the coast of China. Although the impression they left on China at the end was so ugly and sinful.

But the Arabian people and the Pu clan who settled in China also suffered retribution for this.

Not to mention that the Pu family was later bloodbathed by the Mongols, after Zhu Hongwu founded the country, he designated the Pu family in Quanzhou, Fujian as a rebel party, and banned people with the Pu surname from studying and becoming officials. In one fell swoop, the Pu family disappeared.

The disasters brought by the Mongols and the rise of European sea voyages directly ruined the rice bowls of Arabian merchants.

Now the exchanges between China and the Arabian world are no longer these Arabian people driving ships thousands of miles to China, but Chinese people traveling thousands of miles to Arabia with goods.

Mocha Port is an extremely important port in the Red Sea region. It is located on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. From the 15th to the 17th century, it was the world's largest coffee trading center.

Even in later generations, Chen Ming is familiar with the name of "Mocha Coffee".

Although after entering the 18th century, with the beginning of coffee planting in other regions, the business opportunities of Mocha Port have been greatly lost, but in this area of ​​the Red Sea, Mocha Port of this era is still one of the most important ports.

The locals, that is, the Yemenis, just drove out the invasion of the Ottomans at the beginning of the last century, and then coffee planting and trading made this place the richest place on the Arabian Peninsula.

From the perspective of the entire history, this period is already their last good time.

It won't be long before Britain and France will fight here, and after the Napoleonic Wars, the greedy eyes of the British will be fixed here. Although Mocha Port was completely finished at that time, it doesn't matter, not far from Mocha Port is Aden Port.

It will become the center of the British in the Arabian world!

But now, the people here don't feel a trace of worry.

Although Mocha Port has lost the prosperity of the last century, it is still a prosperous trading port. Two hundred years of prosperity and trade have brought economic prosperity and improved the living standards of the people here.

The local indigenous nobles and big businessmen have extremely extravagant lifestyles. Chen Yaqiang had heard about it before he came, but he was suddenly enlightened after seeing it. The houses of these nobles and wealthy businessmen are full of gold and silver products. The servants wear clothes of different quality but exquisite workmanship. The kettles are inlaid with gems. The soft pure wool carpets are sold for at least 500 yuan in China, but here, as long as they are sprinkled with a little stain, their fate is to be replaced.

In addition to the local traditional barbecue, there are also grilled fish, bread, cheese, plus some fresh vegetables and olives...

Food is due to history. In many places, it is not that you can eat well if you have money.

The wealth of people here is quite external.

Silver tableware, a waist knife inlaid with gems, gold and silver thread patterns embroidered on clothes, the translucent ruby ​​on the headscarf is full of temptation, and the gold rings on all ten fingers are inlaid with gems. This is not a nouveau riche show-off, but a religious and customary system.

And the graceful dancers are constantly sent to Chen Yaqiang's hands, and giving female slaves to distinguished guests is also their style.

It must be said that the two hundred years of planting and trade have made the diet here influenced by the West to a certain extent. But these Yemenis who are still happy and free at the moment will never think of how miserable their descendants will be when the next century comes.

If Chen Ming hadn't appeared, the current world is that the average living standards of all classes in Europe are rising rapidly, while other places are the opposite, especially the Arabian world and the East. And this trend between the two sides is still accelerating.

Chen Yaqiang has just arrived here. They have three merchant ships, all of which are traditional Chinese sailing ships. So they can come to the Arabian world at this time.

Lingnan Trading Company's plan is not to continue to expand its influence and market in the surrounding areas, but to seek a foothold.

Their goal is the Port of Aden.

Since China and the Ottoman Empire opened exchanges, the exchanges between China and the world of Arabia have been constantly strengthened. Seeking a long-term foothold has become a major task of China Foreign Trade Corporation, and Lingnan Trading Company has set its sights on Aden.

There are no British involved here yet.

It is an unknown place in Yemen, but it is absolutely excellent as a seaport.

It is between the Aden Peninsula and the Little Aden Peninsula. The Aden Peninsula and the Little Aden Peninsula on both sides are like two arms, protecting the Port of Aden in the middle, not only preventing big waves from rushing into the port, but also preventing the monsoon from the northeast and southwest. The port is calm and ships can pass and dock smoothly all year round. The water area is large and the water is deep.

The goods on the three ships brought by Chen Yaqiang this time are more like gifts to open up connections than to do business.

He didn't know now that, thousands of miles away on the Sinai Peninsula, Xie Qinggao, who was burdened with a heavy responsibility, was walking painfully under the scorching sun...

The world is so ingenious, and time is so ingenious...