Ang Lee had been sailing in the Mediterranean for many days. He did encounter a lot of merchant ships on the way, but he did not encounter any Tang dynasty merchant ships. Most of the merchant ships he encountered were Arabian merchants, and a few of them were merchant ships from Europe. This situation was obviously different from the previous voyages.
After going south from Guangzhou of the Tang dynasty, most of the merchant ships he encountered along the way were from the Tang dynasty. There were not many merchant ships from other countries. But why was the situation reversed when he reached the Mediterranean? This was naturally because the canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean had not yet been opened.
The distance between the Tang dynasty and the Mediterranean was too far. Moreover, ships sailing at sea could not reach the Mediterranean. Therefore, in a short time, merchants from the Tang dynasty could not enter the Mediterranean, let alone enter Europe.
If a small number of Tang dynasty merchants had already entered Europe, it would not be strange. But a small number of merchants could not cause too much of an impact. So, Ang Lee did not see a single Tang dynasty merchant ship along the way.
The expansion of a country would be limited by geographical conditions. At the same time, the overseas trade of a country's merchants would also be limited by geographical conditions. After all, if there were no particularly good profits, no one would be willing to travel too far and cross mountains to earn the hard-earned money. In short, if the merchants of the Tang dynasty crossed the desert and went to the Mediterranean to trade, they would have to take a lot of risks. And the profits they could get might not be enough to tempt them. After all, the cost was too high, and it was very difficult.
However, if the canal of the Tang dynasty could be completed, the Tang dynasty merchant ships anchored in the Red Sea could freely enter the Mediterranean. Then, the situation would change. Because merchant ships could enter and exit freely, the cost and risk of trade would be greatly reduced. Moreover, people would not have to suffer too much. The number of merchants willing to trade in the Mediterranean would naturally increase on a large scale. Thus, the benefits of the Tang dynasty would be extended to Europe.
Because of this, when Ang Lee proposed to build a canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea of the Tang dynasty, almost everyone who knew about it was very excited. Especially the merchants, because it meant that they could make more money in the future. How could they not be happy?
The Grand Canal connected the two seas, making trade more smooth. Most people could benefit from this canal. The only one whose interests would be damaged was probably the Camel Gang, who was responsible for transporting goods on land.
In order to save transportation costs, goods from Europe were transported to the north of Egypt through big shopping malls. Then, they would go ashore from the place closest to the north of the Red Sea and be transported by land to the northernmost part of the Red Sea. Then they would be transported to the markets.....
Among them, sea transportation in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea were the cheapest. Only the land transportation was the most expensive. Moreover, it was also the easiest to encounter bandits. Many merchants were afraid of this stage, so they simply did not do business in the Mediterranean. They would wait for others to transport goods to them. Then, they would buy them at a high price and sell them to the places where they needed them at a higher price.
Because merchants would be robbed on this route, in order to protect their belongings, they would choose to hire bodyguards. This was a huge expense, which would greatly increase the cost of goods.
These bodyguards who were responsible for protecting the goods, as well as the bandits who made a living by robbing, did not want the Grand Canal to be built, because it meant that their business would be destroyed.
However, the will and determination of the Tang Empire would not change because of them. If they dared to oppose, they would be fiercely attacked by the Tang Empire. In addition, Altik and Osman on both sides had expressed their support for the canal plan of the Tang Empire. Naturally, these small forces could not make any trouble.
In short, the construction of a canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea of the Tang Empire was already an established national policy of the Tang Empire. No one could change the status quo.
Ang Lee was sitting in the cabin, looking at the drawings. Li Xiaolu was beside him, gently massaging Ang Lee's legs so that Ang Lee could relax.
"Ah! Why is the boat shaking? "
Li Xiaolu said in surprise when she felt the boat shaking more violently.
Although Li Xiaolu had seen waves on the sea before, it was inevitable that she would be surprised when she saw it again. After all, no one liked to encounter waves on the sea.
Ang Lee gently put down the drawings in his hand, stood up, and walked out with Li Xiaolu.
After walking to the deck, Ang Lee found that the wind outside was relatively strong, and there was a very powerful tropical storm in the sky ahead of them. Because they were not very close to the storm, Ang Lee's fleet was not affected too much. It was just shaking more violently than before, but it was not a big problem.
However, if they continued to get closer to the center of the storm, it would be very dangerous. God knew what would happen.
"Assistant Minister Li, there's a thunderstorm ahead. Let's pause for a while!"
A subordinate ran over to report.
Ang Lee nodded and asked, "Is there a port nearby for shelter? It's time for the soldiers to take a break. "
"Not far ahead on the left is the port of Benghazi. This port used to be occupied by pirates, but now it belongs to the Ottomans. The safety of the port is still guaranteed."
The subordinate said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Alright! Then let's go hide in Benghazi and let the soldiers relax. "
It was a good thing to kill two birds with one stone. Moreover, it was done under circumstances where they had no choice. Of course, it was a good thing. Ang Lee gave the order without hesitation.
The subordinate immediately went to pass the order, and the entire fleet quickly moved towards the port of Benghazi.
Li An was very familiar with the name Benghazi because this port was also very famous in the later generations. It was almost a very important commercial center, and it was precisely because of its importance that many people wanted to fight for this extremely important port.
In the fifth century BC, the Greeks built a port here. During the rule of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, Ptolemy III renamed Benghazi to Birinqi in honor of his queen. After that, this important port was occupied by the Romans, the Vandals, the Byzantines, and the Arabs one after another.
In the sixteenth century, the Turks ruled this port for three hundred years. After that, it was changed back to its original name of Benghazi. In the future, during World War II, the two major military forces fought fiercely in this area. It changed hands five times and was finally occupied by the British.
Because it was a small coastal town, Benghazi's status was not very high. The real cause of its rise was in the middle of the twentieth century, which was the development of the oil industry. After all, Libya had oil, and Benghazi was an important port for oil exports.
In the era of the Tang dynasty, Benghazi was just a port. Moreover, its scale was not large, and its status was not very high. The areas that extended inland did not find oil, which was an extremely important resource. Therefore, for the Ottomans, this place was not particularly important. It could only be regarded as a port in their territory.
The reason why Ang Lee immediately felt familiar with Benghazi was not because of how important this place was, but because Benghazi in the future belonged to a country called Libya. In this country called Libya, there was a powerful person called Gaddafi, who was also a very crazy person. He once wanted to buy powerful nuclear weapons from Hua Xia. It was simply arrogant to the extreme.
Nuclear weapons were important to a country. How could they be casually sold to others? This would not work no matter what. However, this guy called Gaddafi actually wanted to buy nuclear weapons from Hua Xia Empire. This was simply too arrogant. Even the ancestors of Hua Xia said that this Gaddafi was too arrogant.
Gaddafi's arrogance and Libya's oil production gradually made Benghazi prosper. From a small port town, it gradually became the trading center of the entire Africa. The progress was not small.
What made Benghazi even more famous was that with the fall of Gaddafi, various forces in Libya began to fight for Benghazi. Thus, Benghazi fell into a long period of war. Reporters from all over the world also rushed to Benghazi to report the situation here. As a result, the international news of all countries naturally saw a place called Benghazi. Thus, it was difficult for Benghazi not to become famous.
After that, there was an even more serious turmoil. The embassy base of the most powerful country in the future was raided by militants hidden in Benghazi, causing a tragedy of many deaths. This tragedy was even filmed into a movie, which further increased Benghazi's fame.
As for the turmoil in Libya, it was because the country's old royal family opposed the tribal nobles, wealthy merchants, and the financial groups of the government. They resigned from the government and were dissatisfied with the dictator of Libya, Gaddafi. Thus, they formed a temporary government and started a civil war with the most important city in the north, Benghazi, as the capital.
Why did these people oppose Gaddafi? Naturally, it was for their own interests. Because their interests were violated by Gaddafi, they rebelled against this dictator in order to protect their own interests.
However, they would never have thought that their actions would bring great losses to the entire country. Many people in this country had no choice but to flee to the world and become homeless children. In addition, their resistance also gave many terrorists an opportunity to make this country a hotbed for the development of terrorism. In short, since the rebels began to rebel, the entire Libya, including Benghazi, which was very familiar to people all over the world, suffered great destruction. The cities and villages were all in ruins.
In other words, they shouted that they would overthrow the dictator for the interests of the people, but the final result was that all the people suffered.
There was a very good saying in the history of Hua Xia: there was no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn Period. In other words, all the wars in the Spring and Autumn Period were launched for their own interests, and none of them were for the interests of the people.
The Tang Dynasty fleet did not panic at all. They followed the predetermined route and moved step by step toward the port of Benghazi.
Due to the influence of the tropical storm, it soon began to rain. Of course, Ang Lee's ship was not spared. It soon began to rain. However, because the distance from the center of the storm was a little far, the rain had just begun, so the rain was not heavy. Only the wind was a little strong. The wind and rain mixed together made people feel that it was very fierce.
Ang Lee stood on the deck, opened his arms, and shouted, "Let the wind and rain come more fiercely! Haha! "
This behavior surprised everyone, but they had long been accustomed to Ang Lee's occasional crazy behavior, so they did not think there was anything wrong with it.
"The wind and rain are already very strong. Assistant Minister Li, how much more wind and rain do you need? Don't you want to hide in the cabin?"
Li Xiaolu covered her forehead with her palm and asked with a smile.
The wind was really strong, blowing Li Xiaolu's hair up. It looked beautiful. At least, in Ang Lee's eyes, it was really beautiful.
"Little beauty, don't you think it's a special feeling to stand in the wind and rain? Have you ever been in the rain? "
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
"In the rain? Why would I be in the rain? I'll get sick."
Li Xiaolu obviously did not want to be in the rain, so she said.
"It's okay. As long as we take a hot bath after being in the rain, we'll be fine. Let's be in the rain together! Let's feel the taste of bathing in nature. "
Ang Lee suddenly had an idea. Standing in the rain that was getting heavier and heavier, he raised his head to feel the baptism of the wind and rain.
As long as you promise me that you'll never leave me, I'm willing to do anything for you. As long as you're willing, I want to take you through the world of ice and snow. I want to take you to the most passionate island in the world. As long as you promise me that you'll stay with me for the rest of your life, my world will be beautiful because of you. No matter how many thorns we encounter on the road, I hope you know that I'm sincere to you. No matter how sad or happy the end result is, I'll always be here waiting for you with no regrets. "
Ang Lee held Li Xiaolu in his arms while being in the rain. Then, he leisurely sang a song. It was a good song that was often heard in the future. At least, Ang Lee liked this song very much. It was really good. It was a soul song.
"What song is Assistant Minister Li singing? It's really good!"
Li Xiaolu asked enviously.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "This is a song from my hometown. It's called Star Plucking. Isn't it very good?"
"Although I don't understand it, I think it's very good. The tune is very beautiful."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
