The Ottoman Turks unified most of the ****** and established a powerful empire, but at its height, a rival Safavid dynasty emerged to the east.

This dynasty is like a wedge in the middle of the ****** world. As a result, throughout the sixteenth century, Turkey and Persia were in a state of hostility, which was defensive, if not offensive, but defensive. The two sides fought for 150 years in the Mesopotamian plain of Iraq, the South Caucasus and Kurdistan, and Asia Minor.

When the Safavid Empire was strong, its territory stretched from Khorasan in the east, to the Euphrates River in the west, to the Karakum Desert and the Aral Sea in the north, to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the south, including the whole of Iran, most of Iraq, part of the Caucasus, Turkmenistan, western Afghanistan, and southern Uzbekistan.

When the Far Eastern Company swept through India, it was at the height of the Mughal Empire. Emperor Shah Jahan continued to move in the direction of Afghanistan, capturing Kabul in 1638 and later important towns such as Kandahar and Herat. Therefore, after the Far East Company destroyed the Mughal Empire, it also occupied the territory controlled by the Mughal Empire at that time.

The Safavid Empire was also taken aback by the sudden collapse of the Mughal Empire. In this era, the military strength of the Mughal Empire should not be underestimated, and the Safavid Empire has also seen its powerful cavalry and firearms, and knows that it is so easy to destroy the Mughal Empire in such a short time.

In fact, the power of the Far East, of course, they have long heard of it, and the merchant ships of the Safavid Empire often go to Manila, the pearl of the Orient. Conducting overseas trade, I have long had an intuitive understanding of the strength of Far Eastern companies.

In particular, after the coup d'état of João, the Duke of Braganza of Portugal, he fought a 28-year war of liberation with Spain. In order to obtain external support, Portugal reached an agreement with the Far East, whereby Far Eastern companies traded with Portugal, and Portugal and France received the same treatment. It was possible to represent goods from the Far East and sell them in North Africa and Southern Europe, which also greatly improved Portugal's finances.

The Far East Company also exported a large number of advanced firearms and various war materials to Portugal, including advanced arquebuses, steel front-loading guns, bows and crossbows, cold weapons, armor, field food, medicines, etc., which greatly enhanced Portugal's military strength, and when the war with Spain, the firearms produced by the Far East Company completely suppressed the Spanish firearms.

Of course, Portugal could not get so much benefit for nothing, and they also took many colonies along the coast of East Africa according to a secret agreement between the two sides. All were handed over to the Far Eastern Company. This allowed the Far East Company to completely control the East African coast and occupy sea power in the Indian Ocean.

The very domineering of the Far Eastern Navy is no different from the hooligans and scoundrels of the underworld, which makes the merchant ships of all countries complain. But they can only crush their teeth and swallow in their stomachs, the powerful Indian Ocean Fleet in the Far East, with more than 100 capital sailing ships and warships, and a guerrilla fleet of more than 1,000 sailing ships, is also very strong.

These guys are a little nice. It was a guerrilla patrol fleet in the Far East, but in fact it was no different from pirates in private. As long as it is found that there are no foreign merchant ships flying the five-star red flag. Then they will pounce on them from all directions like a pack of wolves.

At present, the merchant ships of Europeans, Arabs, Ottomans, Persians, and other regions sailing in the Indian Ocean must pay taxes to the Far East Navy and receive a five-star red flag as long as they enter the Indian Ocean.

If a foreign merchant ship sailing in the Indian Ocean does not fly a five-star red flag, there is a good chance that it will be patronized by "pirates". In the end, the ship was wrecked and people died. It was even more remarkable if a foreign merchant ship wanted to enter the East, having to pay a fee of several thousand silver coins.

And they have to go only to the two seaports of Manila and Batavia, where they have to endure a new round of exploitation. It is because of all kinds of extortion of Far Eastern companies, spices, silk, porcelain and many other goods. It has skyrocketed in both Europe and the Arab region, and a large part of this is the fact that the cost of merchants along the way has increased several times.

Although the Far Eastern Army's practice in the Indian Ocean and the South Sea waters has a kind of bullying and hegemony. However, the Far East Navy is more reasonable, as long as they pay taxes, then they will be unimpeded all the way in the Indian Ocean and the South Sea, and they will not encounter harassment by pirates at all.

In fact, the Admiralty in the Far East is a pirate den, they occupy India-like sea power, how can they allow the existence of other pirate strength.

And these taxes also include the cost of insurance, of course, only the lowest level of insurance. As long as they pay taxes, when they encounter a storm, the Far East Navy will rescue them for free, and the cost of repairing the ship in the later stage is also free, and the ship can be sunk and can get a certain amount of compensation, which also gave birth to the business of the insurance market in Manila and Batavia, and now many foreign merchant ships will buy some insurance.

At present, the samurai army stationed in the Indian region is also actively preparing, and next year, most of the elite main forces will be assembled in the Indus Valley to launch a fierce attack on the Afghan region, and strive to completely solve the Afghan region before the Northwest Field Army has eliminated the Kazakh Khanate and the Burakha Khanate.

When the Northwest Field Army moves south to attack the Safavid Empire, the Samurai Army will form two attack corps to cooperate with the Northwest Field Army to launch an offensive in the southern part of the Safavid Empire.

The Northern Corps is attacking the Safavid Empire in Afghanistan, and the Southern Corps will be supported by the Admiralty to make a surprise attack on the Persian Gulf and land in the southern waters of the Safavid Empire.

At that time, the three attack corps of the Far Eastern Army, armed to the teeth, will be like three sharp swords, fiercely plunging into the deep inland areas of the Safavid Empire, and completely connecting the Central Asian region and the South Asian subcontinent in the Far East-controlled area.

In fact, the main reason why the Northwest Field Army postponed the attack on the Kazakh Khanate was that the battle line was too long, and the logistical supply pressure of the troops was too great. In fact, during the launch of the westward expansion plan, the logistical problems were already exposed.

Therefore, the Military Commission will take advantage of the period of annihilating the Yarkand Khanate and the Qinghai region in the south to make active preparations for a year, and then concentrate its forces on sweeping through Central Asia.

After the Northwest Field Army moved south to join forces with the Samurai Army, through the continuous material support of the rich Persian region and the Indian region, the supply of the Northwest Field Army in Central Asia was maintained, and the Northwest Field Army could continue to go north to the steppe region of Eastern Europe, and finally complete the strategic plan of the westward expansion campaign.

Occupying Central Asia and Persia and controlling the Persian Gulf is equivalent to the Far Eastern Company driving a nail in the Middle East.

At that time, the entire Central Asian steppe will be the pasture of the Far East, and a large number of Mongolian iron horsemen will also gallop across the steppes of Eastern Europe. The good days of the white skins of Europe are also over, and Russia will surely bear the brunt of the disaster, like locusts crossing the border, to be killed by the scourge of the Mongol legions. (To be continued.) )