Osman patiently listened to the restaurant owner's explanation of the various high-tech products of the Tang dynasty. Because the dishes he ordered were the most expensive, he was obviously a big customer. The restaurant owner was also very happy to accompany Osman personally. He did not feel annoyed at all. It could be said that each of them was getting what they needed.
Because Osman was very interested in what the restaurant owner was talking about, he chatted with the restaurant owner for a whole hour. It could be said that he learned a lot. This meal was very worth it.
But at the same time, Osman also had a deep fear of the Tang Empire. This powerful and huge empire made him feel an indescribable pressure. He could feel that his strength was too small. At least, in front of the Tang Empire, he was so small.
If Osman had a little confidence in fighting against the Apus dynasty, he did not even have the most basic courage to fight against the Tang Empire.
The emergence of the Tang Empire made Osman understand a very important truth. There was always someone better than him. The opponents he had faced in the past were just weaklings with similar strength. The Tang Empire was the real strong opponent. In front of the powerful Tang Empire, Osman's strength was not worth mentioning at all.
After personally witnessing the strength of the Tang Empire, Osman was slightly disappointed. However, he was a veteran after all. Even if he was not in a good mood, Osman would not choose to escape. He was not hostile to the Tang Empire now, so there was nothing to worry about. He was just a little jealous in his heart.
"The Tang Empire really deserves its reputation! I should really go to the Tang Empire when I have time. Let's go to the port. "
Osman was full halfway through the meal. After paying, he led a group of subordinates along the street to the port. He was a little excited when he heard that he could see the Tang Empire's steam gunships at the port. The port was very busy.
Usually, it was crowded with people. There were many people doing business, and commercial ships came and went. It was a lively scene. After the Tang Empire fleet entered the port, there were even more people at the port. In addition to the businessmen doing business, there were also many ordinary people who came to watch the fun. Many of them had the same purpose as Osman. They even occupied the entire open space of the port, which more or less affected the normal commercial operation of the port.
Osman was tall. Even if there were many people in front of him, they could not block his sight. He saw the huge Tang Empire fleet docked in the port and unconsciously squeezed forward. The closer he was, the clearer he could see it.
Because of his tall stature, Osman easily squeezed into the crowd and walked to the shore closest to the port. He was only 20 or 30 steps away from the Tang Empire's ships.
From such a position, he could clearly see many details of the Tang Empire's steamships, which made Osman very satisfied. At the same time, he was also very shocked. He had seen large ships before. His expeditionary force landed in France by sea, but he had never seen a ship as huge as the Tang Empire's steamships. These ships of the Tang Empire were much bigger than the ships he had been on. Naturally, he was very shocked.
"This is the steamships of the Tang Empire. It's really shocking."
Osman looked at the attendant beside him and said with a smile on his face.
"General, the steamships of the Tang Empire are really big. If we also have such warships, we can run rampant in the Mediterranean."
The subordinate said enviously.
"Alas, it's a pity that all of this belongs to the Tang Empire, not us. We can only look at it."
Osman was a little unhappy and sighed.
"Woo, woo, woo …"
At this moment, the steamships of the Tang Empire in the port suddenly made a shocking sound, and a huge amount of black smoke rose from the middle of one of the steamships.
"Look, the steamships of the Tang Empire are about to leave. What a big black smoke!"
A commoner next to Osman shouted. He had been here for a whole day yesterday, and today he came to see the scenery again. It seemed that he could not get enough of it.
Soon, a steamship of the Tang Empire slowly drove away from the port. Although it was very slow, it was very imposing. It caused a lot of noise, and the onlookers were excited.
Osman looked back at the crowd, then looked at the departing steamship of the Tang Empire and fell into deep thought.
He was thinking about the possibility of cooperating with the Tang Empire. His current strength was still relatively weak. The small Spanish imperial court could not provide him with any support, and the Apus dynasty was relatively strong, which put a lot of pressure on him. Although he could rope in the Shi 'ite and other armed forces, all of them together might not be a match for the Apus dynasty. It would be very difficult to overthrow the Apus dynasty.
However, the Tang Empire in front of him was very powerful. If he could cooperate with the Tang Empire to fight against the Apus dynasty together, wouldn't his chances of winning be much higher?
Even though Osman had no connection with the Great Tang Empire and did not have any friendship, friendship was formed in the process of interaction. Just because there was no friendship in the past did not mean that there would be no friendship in the future. As long as there were common interests, friendship would form. This was an unchanging truth.
Osman was thinking about what the Tang Empire wanted. As long as he knew what the Tang Empire wanted, he would be able to find an opportunity to cooperate with the Tang Empire. If he could not provide any benefits to the Tang Empire, then why would the Tang Empire support him to fight against the more powerful Apus dynasty?
"The Tang Empire fleet has entered Aden. What do they want to do? Is it land or wealth? "
Osman whispered to himself.
"General, I know a little about what the Tang Empire fleet has been doing along the way. They seem to have a high demand for land. This time, they are entering Aden. I'm afraid that they want to seize the land of Aden."
His subordinate said.
"But I heard that the Tang Empire has already stated that they are passing by Aden. Do they want to annex Aden?"
Osman said.
"General, how can you take their words seriously? The Tang Empire has said that they are passing by, but it may not be true. They are just saying. "
His subordinate said.
Osman said, "Is that really the case? If so, we can help the Tang Empire. But I don't know how to contact the officials of the Tang Empire."
"General, why do you want to help the Tang Empire? What benefits will it bring us?"
His subordinate asked in confusion.
Osman smiled slyly and said, "Benefits naturally need to be exchanged. Since we have chosen to help the Tang Empire, we naturally need the Tang Empire to help us. We are just using each other."
"General, are you planning to ally with the troops of the Tang Empire to fight against the Apus dynasty?"
His subordinate asked in a low voice to avoid being heard by the people next to him.
Osman nodded slightly to show his agreement. He had such a plan.
"General, you don't have to worry about this matter in person. Let me contact the officials of the Tang Empire! General, you only need to stay behind the scenes to avoid exposing your whereabouts and being discovered by Altik. That will be troublesome. "
His subordinate said.
Osman nodded and looked at his subordinate. "I will stay in the hotel. You are responsible for contacting the officials of the Tang Empire. Whether we can get in touch with the officials of the Tang Empire or not, we have to give it a try. How can we not try such a good plan?"
"Yes, General. We will go to the residences of the officials of the Tang Empire and find a way to get in touch with them. General, just wait for our good news."
His subordinate nodded, and several people went to Ang Lee's residence together.
Li An was enjoying the scenery on the streets of Aden City in his car. He wanted to visit every single street in the city. That way, he would be able to better understand the city, which would make it easier for him to take over in the future.
Ang Lee had promised that he was just passing by with his fleet and had no intention of forcibly occupying Aden City. However, what he said might not be true. The Tang Empire needed such an important port very much. How could he let it go? He just couldn't rob it openly. That would be too violent, and it would arouse the disgust of the people and merchants of Aden City. It would also arouse resistance, which would be detrimental to the reputation of the Tang Empire.
Now, the situation of the Apus Dynasty was very unstable. If Ang Lee wanted to occupy Aden City, he could find a chance. Even if he didn't, he could temporarily rent the port without pressure. After all, the army had already entered the city. Would Altik have the guts to drive away the soldiers of the Tang Empire? Of course, he didn't have the guts.
Ang Lee wasn't in a hurry at all. After all, the strength of the Tang Empire was there. If he wanted to achieve his goal, there would always be a way.
In order to get a better understanding of the situation around Aden City, Li An sent out many groups of people to scout the area. He also sent out steam cannons to get a better understanding of the sea situation and to find a better location for a port.
Generally speaking, as long as it was a coastal area, there would be a large number of ports. However, due to the terrain and the depth of the coast, not all ports were suitable for anchoring large ships. Some shallow bays could only be used for anchoring small fishing boats. Medium and large merchant ships couldn't be anchored at all.
It was because of this natural limitation that good ports were highly valued and developed into large port cities step by step.
However, the Tang Empire already had dredgers. As long as they invested enough resources, they could dig out a good port even in shallow waters. However, in this case, the cost would be enormous. Using machinery to dig out a port was not the same thing as a natural deep-water port. Using manpower to dig out a large deep-water port would consume a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources. It was something that many people were unwilling to do.
The reason why Li An had set his sights on Aden City was because of its excellent harbor. It was a natural deep-water harbor, and with some modifications, it would be able to accommodate more ships. If he were to build a harbor in the shallow waters next to it, he would have to expend a lot of resources.
However, the Gulf of Aden was a large body of water with a long coastline. It wouldn't be difficult to find a good port. If he could find a few natural ports that were worth digging, it would be very good. In that case, he wouldn't have to fight to the death in Aden City.
Since he was new to Aden City, he had to consider the issue of safety. Therefore, Ang Lee wasn't in a hurry to eat at the restaurant in Aden City. After looking around the streets, he returned to his residence.
Outside Ang Lee's luxurious residence, a few burly men were poking their heads out. They didn't look like good people.
Someone was spying on them. How could such behavior be tolerated? The bodyguard captain in charge of security immediately led a few soldiers over.
"What are you doing?"
Ang Lee's guard asked.
"We are General Osman's guards."
"Osman? I don't know him. "
Ordinary soldiers of the Tang dynasty naturally didn't know Osman.
"We want to see your commander. We have something to discuss."
Ang Lee's guard said disdainfully, "The one living here is Assistant Minister Li. You can't see him just because you want to. If you have something to say, just tell me."
"This … Fine! General Osman admires the Tang dynasty very much and wants to be friends with the Tang dynasty. It would be great if we could ally with the Tang dynasty. Our general wants to be friends with a high-ranking official of the Tang dynasty. "
"Your general is called Osman, right? What a high-ranking official! How many soldiers does he have? "
The guard asked.
"He's already a high-ranking official. He used to have 50,000 soldiers, but now he only has 20,000. He's stationed about 20 kilometers northwest of Aden City!"
Osman's guard replied.
"Oh, seems like he's a high-ranking official! Don't worry! When Assistant Minister Li returns to his residence, I'll report this matter to him. "
As the guard spoke, they saw Ang Lee's convoy returning.
"You guys can leave first. When Assistant Minister Li is willing to see you, I'll let you know."
For safety reasons, the guard chased away several of Osman's subordinates to prevent them from affecting Ang Lee's residence.
When Ang Lee got out of the car, he saw several irrelevant people being chased away by the guard. However, because these people looked insignificant, Ang Lee didn't pay too much attention to them and strode into his residence.
After being out for half a day, he would definitely be thirsty. As soon as Ang Lee entered his residence, Yun 'er and White Fox very considerately served him some juice to quench his thirst.
"It's too hot. Do you have ice? Add some ice. "
Ang Lee touched the small bowl and felt that it wasn't cold at all.
"Alang, it's not good for your body to drink cold all the time. It's better for you to drink room temperature!"
White Fox said with concern.
"Fine, fine. It's fine as long as it quenches my thirst."
Ang Lee picked up the small bowl and drank the entire bowl of juice in one go.
In the tropics, you could lack anything but fruits. There were so many types of fruits that you couldn't count them all. It was too easy to eat fruits. Drinking fruit juice was also a form of frugality. After all, the price of fruits in the tropics had always been relatively low. What Li An had just drunk was the cheapest coconut juice.
"Assistant Minister Li, there were a few people outside the door who claimed to be Osman's subordinates …"
The guard came in to report the situation. Before he could finish, Ang Lee quickly interrupted, "Osman? Osman from the Umayyad Dynasty?"
"Oh my god, dynasty? I don't know? "
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