(0861) In the latter months of 1636, the White Coats Navy continued to expand its gains in the Mediterranean, successively 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 means that the white-clothed army has been stationed in these ports for a long time.

The coastline of the northern shore of the Mediterranean, as well as the cities along the coast, were also attacked by the warships of the White Navy. These include Valencia and Barcelona in Spain, Marseille in France, Genoa and Venice in Italy, Sweden in Greece, and more. Residents were so frightened that they abandoned their homes and moved to the mainland, far from the sea.

With the control of various ports in hand, the logistical pressure of the white army was immediately relieved. Under the arrangement of the Logistics Division, 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 have also separated multiple ports for replenishment and improved efficiency.

At the mouth of the Mediterranean, as well as in the northern coastal areas of the Mediterranean, there are warships of the White Navy cruising. The purpose of the existence of these warships is twofold. One is to expel the enemy's warships and ensure the security of the sea area. The other is pure showing of force. Cannons, giant ships, always give people a very shocking feeling. This is especially true when a lot of artillery ships are gathered together. For a time, the whole of Europe was in a state of extreme panic. European society, almost overnight, went back 30 years.

Roughly calculated, at present, in the Mediterranean, the white-clothed army has concentrated more than 500 large warships, and the number of large merchant ships is more than 3,000. In addition to other ships, there are thousands of ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea under the White Army alone. Although the Mediterranean Sea seems to be large and invisible, it is still very busy with so many warships and merchant ships. As far as the eye can see, there are boats everywhere.

In particular, the outlet of the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, is simply like a flowing water, and there is an endless stream. The Strait of Gibraltar is already narrow, and the shipping lanes are not ideal. The currents here are fast, making it difficult for boats to control. It often produces heavy fog, and you can't see your fingers. As a result, ships come in and out, and collisions are prone to occur. Especially when a large number of ships are crowded, the incidence of accidents can be said to have skyrocketed.

In order to better maintain the order of ships entering and leaving, the White Navy had to set up a special maritime traffic maintenance police here. Their sole task was to manage the entry and exit of ships in the Strait of Gibraltar and to prevent accidents. It is estimated that this is the world's first specially set up maritime police. Not only unprecedented, but also unprecedented.

In addition to the necessary maritime traffic police, the White Coats also stationed an army force of more than 10,000 men in the northern salient of the Strait of Gibraltar as a military presence to guard the Strait of Gibraltar. The White Coats have publicly announced that control of the Strait of Gibraltar belongs to the White Coats. Any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar must be approved by the White Coats. Otherwise, they will be arrested. Or maybe it's just a sink.

This area originally belonged to Spain. However, in the face of the artillery fire of the White Army Navy, the Spanish army could not resist at all, and could only watch the White Army Marines land here. Subsequently, a battalion of the White Army came to take over. At this point, this area has been controlled by the white-clothed army forever.

The Army units of the White Army, stationed in the Strait of Gibraltar, were equipped with a large number of howitzers and mortars to protect themselves from attacks by Spanish troops. At the same time, the Navy also stationed a fleet here to assist the Army in taking full control of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the face of such a formidable invader, the Spaniards could only consider themselves unlucky.

After taking control of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea became essentially an inland sea for the White Army. All ships that are not approved by the White Army, as long as they are discovered by the White Army's warships, will be arrested on the spot, or simply sunk. And the combined fleets of the Western powers did not dare to continue to stay in the Mediterranean, and retreated to the North Sea.

Since the history of mankind, no country has had such a great power to completely control the Mediterranean Sea in its own hands, without giving anyone else the opportunity to interfere. The Ming Empire, was the first. The first of its kind. It is estimated that the current Western powers are going to regret their bowels. If they had known how, they should not have fought the White Army to the end. Looking at the current posture of the white-clothed army, it will not completely flatten Europe, and will definitely not withdraw its troops!

Dominating the Mediterranean, once again showed the strength of the Ming Empire. Except for the Ming Empire, which had a huge population base, there was no second country in the world at that time with such population potential. Both warships and merchant ships require a large number of sailors to be driven. According to the calculation that each warship is equipped with 300 people, and each merchant ship is equipped with 50 people, it is a population of hundreds of thousands! Even if the Dutch have great ability, it is impossible to break this number.

In fact, at present, the number of large merchant ships registered in the Ming Empire has exceeded 15,000. And that's just for large merchant ships with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons. As for 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, there are even more of them. Moreover, the number of merchant ships continues to increase.

After more than ten years of southern conquest and northern war, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean have become the inland seas of the Ming Empire. The Atlantic Ocean is estimated to become an inland sea of the Ming Empire in the near future. The territory of the Ming Empire expanded to infinitely huge. As the titular emperor of the Ming Empire, the territory controlled by Taichang Emperor Zhu Changluo was dozens of times that of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.

After the implementation of the constitutional monarchy, Zhu Changluo really put down his shelf and regarded himself as a vase of the Ming Empire, the nominal supreme existence. If the mentality is correct, the child will naturally live comfortably. As long as he doesn't really have the idea of snatching power, Xu Xingxia is also very respectful to his old father-in-law on the surface. Since he is the nominal emperor, there is no need to be like the previous emperors, and even the exit from the palace must be strictly controlled.

Now Zhu Changluo can go wherever he wants, and he doesn't know how nourishing his life is. He is not very old, and his health is not bad, so going out is not a problem at all. Recently, he had just returned from Yuben, stayed in Taiwan for a few months, and was ready to go to Tianzhu again. In Yueben, Zhu Changluo and his brother Zhu Changxun got together for a few months. There is no heir dispute between the brothers, and the relationship has long been eased, and it can be said that they are very happy to see each other.

Now the only fly in the ointment felt by the White Navy is that all warships and merchant ships have to go around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa, in order to reach the Mediterranean. The voyage was a long one, more than 45,000 miles. Such a long distance was a serious ordeal for all warships and merchant ships.

Moreover, due to the variable wind direction in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, the speed of ships on the east and west coasts of Africa is quite slow. From the Leizhou Peninsula to Kalhiit in the Indian Ocean, a maximum of two months. But from Caliheit to Madeira, it takes at least four months. If you often encounter headwinds, you may need to walk for half a year.

Obviously, such a transportation distance is indeed too far. Not to mention the time it takes, the cost is also very high. From the Leizhou Peninsula to the Mediterranean, it takes half a year. It will take another half a year to come back from the Mediterranean. A merchant ship can only transport supplies once a year. With such an efficiency of utilization, even Xu Xingxia, who has deep pockets, can't 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 an offensive of such a huge scale. With so many warships and merchant ships, the cost of consumption is like running water. It is estimated that it is tens of thousands of taels of silver in a day. At the moment, relying on the abundant seizures of the white-clothed army, it can barely be supported. However, in the long run, it is indeed not the solution. Something has to be done.

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 eastern part of Cairo. As an engineering explorer in the preliminary preparation stage, it has been stationed in the Red Sea. The new Grand Canal will connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. In this way, the ship does not need to go around the Cape of Good Hope, and does not need to travel tens of thousands of miles by sea, which can greatly shorten the time and cost.

Think about it, if the Suez Canal is really opened and the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are connected, merchant ships from the Leizhou Peninsula will be able to reach the Mediterranean Sea in three months at most. Returning from the Mediterranean, that is, three months at most. A merchant ship that can go back and forth twice a year. In other words, the efficiency of transportation has been doubled. If it's a troop deployment, it's faster. This is very beneficial for strengthening the control of the White Coats over all parts of Europe.

However, the excavation of the Suez Canal is not a trivial matter, and the white army should not be ready for technology, capital, manpower, material resources, and all aspects. Xu Xingxia only knows that the Suez Canal in history was excavated, and more than 100,000 people died, which can be described as a lot of bones. As for how it was excavated and what kind of engineering problems were involved, it is not known. These are all matters related to exploration and engineering personnel. Xu Xingxia estimates that when the Suez Canal is officially excavated, it should be a few years later.

…… At the beginning of 1637, the warships of the White Navy arrived in the waters outside Istanbul. And the army units of the White Army, which also reached the city of Istanbul, occupied the coastal ports around Istanbul. At one point, they were at war with the Ottomans. With the support of naval fire, the Marines easily routed the enemy attack.

At this time, Istanbul was also densely armed and heavily guarded. The remnants of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, as well as allied armies from various European countries, were assembled here. Their first goal is to hold Istanbul. If Istanbul is captured, the future war situation, the whole of Europe, will be in a passive position.

After repeated blows by the white-clothed army, the elite army of the Ottoman Turkish Empire has been almost consumed. The Sultan's own army was already less than 50,000 strong. All the Sipahi cavalry were killed. The rest of the cavalry also died. The rest are all remnants of the defeated army. It took a lot of effort for the top of the royal family to gather an army of 300,000 people.

Because the White Army arrived in a rage and captured all the other territories of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the number of fanatics that Istanbul was able to assemble was also not much. All combined, it is less than half a million. Moreover, the morale of the fanatics has also been greatly affected. After receiving countless blows to the Destruction Caste, even the most idiotic fanatics have deep doubts about the existence of the true God.

And the armies from the European countries are the new force. When the White Army was attacking, the Western powers also had to send a large number of troops to try to prevent the White Army from entering Europe by land. The troops they sent out are all the elite of various countries, and they have not yet suffered the blows of the white-clothed army, and their morale is still 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 forces. The Western powers hoped that they could stop the westward advance of the white-clothed army in this ancient city. If their plan succeeds, Europe will be able to survive. If their plan fails, Europe risks sinking from then on. What the Huns and Mongols could not do in the past, the white-clothed army is very likely to do. Therefore, none of the Western powers dared to take it lightly.

Before the arrival of the White Army, the whole of Istanbul was already under the control of the European coalition forces. Wherever a line of defense can be set up, a line of defense has been set up. In order to confront the white-clothed army, the armies of the Western powers, in addition to mobilizing the most elite troops to participate in the battle, are also as advanced and powerful as possible in terms of weaponry.

In Istanbul, at least 100,000 artillery pieces of various types were concentrated in various European countries. Among them, there are thousands of 800-pound guns with the largest caliber. This is the most powerful artillery of the Western powers. Eight hundred pounders, converted to a caliber of 305 mm. This was definitely the largest caliber artillery in the world at that time.

The largest caliber artillery owned by the White Coats Army was only 155 mm. Converted, that's an eighty-pounder gun. The difference between the two is really the difference between heaven and earth. Of course, the calculation method of the two is Guan Gong vs. Qin Qiong, which is completely different. In addition, one is a smoothbore gun and the other is a rifled gun, which is also not comparable. And one uses a solid bullet, and the other uses an explosive bomb, and the power is also incomparable.

(To be continued)