Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 545 Yuan Shen, start! The Age of Discovery is closed!

Guo Kang actually disagreed with Sun Shiwan's suggestion.

Tianzhu is too far away. Now that the Purple Horde Khanate is mobilizing troops on all sides, it has no energy to take care of a place like this. Even if the expedition to Egypt goes smoothly, if you can capture the ports in the Red Sea, you are qualified to enter the Indian Ocean. Whether it can gain a firm foothold and whether it can establish transportation lines and supporting industries of sufficient scale is still unknown.

To establish a foothold in Egypt is not necessarily less difficult than operating in the Ross area. Guo Kang's current idea is to gather a group of people, designate an area, and slowly operate it. Strategically, it is not to rule Egypt, but to participate in Egypt's "competition for hegemony" by "holding the caliph to order the emir." When conditions permit, further control will be taken there.

If Egypt is so difficult, there is no need to think about places further away. To get out of the Red Sea, you need to do some business at the outlet. This place has Ethiopia on the left and Yemen on the right. Since classical times, it has been a place where two traditional powers, Persia and Ethiopia, have competed. The geographical location is very sensitive, and the conflicts between various ethnic groups and religions are also very acute. Interfering there will cause a lot of trouble.

However, to maintain a stable channel so that military power can be projected into the Indian Ocean, it is impossible to ignore this place.

For maritime power, warships are only one aspect of hard power. The other is a system of ports and supply stations. The latter is even more important and requires longer-term operations and hundreds of years of investment.

The so-called "hundred-year navy" in later generations is not so much the fleet and talents, but the management of this overseas territory system, and the latter is much more complicated. For example, if you want to maintain this port network, you must not only be able to build ports and fortresses, but also handle the relationship with the indigenous people.

It is simply unrealistic to station superior forces in every port. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on a small number of troops to ensure the suppression of the indigenous people, and to save costs by letting them work as much as possible. Therefore, a group of capable officials are also needed to manage, win over and intimidate the indigenous people from the upper levels, and drive the lower levels. To be honest, these are very delicate tasks and require an in-depth understanding of the local social structure, religious beliefs, conflicts of interest, etc. Only with such a group of "local contacts" and military suppression can the normal operation of this network be ensured.

So, can the Purple Horde Khanate do it now? Guo Kang thinks it is impossible.

Most port settlements are losing money. Only by scraping the land and sucking blood from a few places - such as Mumbai, India, Bangladesh, and southwest India - can we achieve overall profitability. It can even be said that India is the driving force behind the great voyage. The entire era of sea power was actually the result of everyone catching India and killing it...

After leaving the Red Sea, the next traditional transit point is the Strait of Hormuz at the door of the Persian Gulf. The Portuguese also came here, and later fought wars with the British and Dutch there to protect this transit place. The Persians on the shore were also involved, causing them great trouble.

Moreover, this kind of network is also very fragile.

Thinking about it this way, it can explain why there have been few powerful maritime hegemons since ancient times. Because this threshold is really too high.

It was very difficult for them at that time. Now, it is even more unrealistic for the Purple Horde Khanate to go on an expedition to maintain this port. Compared with later generations, their maritime power at this time is not significantly different from that of surrounding countries. Guo Kang had no idea whether he had the military power to engage in the ocean battle.

At the mouth of the Red Sea, the local economic situation and geographical location were pretty good. Even later, countries starting from Western Europe, bypassing the entire African continent, and entering the Indian Ocean all wanted to set foot here and establish a base. The Purple Horde Khanate set out from the Eastern Mediterranean, and certainly could not give up this shortcut.

Historically, it was only because of the decline of the Persian region and the generational difference in military superiority that this place was controlled by the Europeans. If you run over now, you are asking for trouble. The gang of grass-headed kings in West Asia can't defeat the main force of Zi Zhang, but that doesn't mean they can't defeat your small expeditionary force. How this place can be maintained by then will be a problem.

Due to over-reliance on profits from a few places, all nodes will become a drag on continuous money burning if there is a slight fluctuation like this. If it is not dealt with in time, the entire sea power network may collapse. All I can say is that this thing is too unstable.

And those port networks that are losing money cannot be lost. For example, places like the estuary of the Red Sea and the estuary of the Persian Gulf mentioned just now. The place itself may be barren and unprofitable, but what if the Yemenis next to us cut off the route? Or maybe the Persians suddenly upgraded their martial ethics and blocked the Strait of Hormuz? Then, this Indian Ocean route, which has been proven to be the best since ancient times, will also be cut off directly.

At that time, the Portuguese's combat effectiveness was already outstanding. Venice, the Ottomans, and Indian states once joined forces to fight against them, trying to expel this new player, maintain the original Eastern trade routes, and safeguard their own interests. As a result, none of these people together had ever fought. The traditional Mediterranean trade routes have gradually declined since then.

It can be said that the opening of the so-called new sea route actually has nothing to do with the blocking of trade routes by the Ottomans. After all, for merchants, the money to buy the routes from the Ottomans and the Portuguese are the same thing. It is even difficult to say who is more cruel and harsh. This trade route is no longer working. In fact, the Portuguese are too good at fighting...

In the history of Guo Kang's world, the Portuguese intervened in the conflict between Ethiopia and the Adal Sultanate when they established the Indian Ocean route. However, the fighting ability of the indigenous people in this place was far from comparable to the African tribes they often saw along the way. In the end, Portugal lost a lot of people, and Vasco da Gama's son also died here, but still failed to gain a foothold.

Perhaps because of this, after Britain, no one tried to build a new sea power system. After that, the so-called maritime overlords just took advantage of the war to seize the British's ready-made port network, and actually had no ability to operate it themselves. This system has no successor.

Guo Kang even felt that this kind of maritime hegemony and port network may not be an inevitable direction of development, nor is it a unique skill that can be learned. Instead, it is a special case of a specific era and does not need to be imitated.

Besides, even if they really wanted to learn it, it should be the Javanese who wanted to learn it, not the Purple Horde Khanate to join in the fun. In comparison, the Purple Horde Khanate in western Thailand is actually similar to China. Both the business methods and expansion ideas are very "traditional". But Javanese Yuan is a different path. In Guo Kang's view, their approach may be more suitable for managing India.

How can one maintain one's combat effectiveness while ruling India? In fact, there is already an answer. The Delhi Sultanate is such a successful example.

Although it rules the Indian region, Indians will never be allowed to join the main army of the Delhi Sultanate. Instead, they insisted on introducing Turkic Gulam soldiers from their hometown in Central Asia to maintain the army.

Relying on this simple and effective method, the kingdom lasted for two hundred years. A hundred years after the founding of the country, it was able to defeat the Chagatai army on the southern expedition many times. The famous leaders Haidu and Duwa who had competed with the Yuan Dynasty many times were defeated by them. It can be seen that this set is really useful.

Guo Kang had previously learned about the military and administrative system of the Javanese Yuan from Tang Saier and Luo Guanzhong. Under their system, the main soldiers and the servants were strictly separated.

Moreover, Mr. Luo also said that the Javanese Yuan regime has been reflecting on the reasons for the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty. They believe that the main reasons can be divided into two parts:
First of all, the Mongolian social system is too backward and it is difficult to maintain a stable political system. Once a few outstanding talents die, even the inheritance rules cannot be properly maintained. As a result, the center of the imperial court will be in chaos for a long time, and big problems will naturally occur. It can be seen that the Mongols are not suitable to be the leaders of the Yuan Dynasty, and they should all be kicked out.

Secondly, there was a rebellion by the local Han people. This is the most direct reason for the demise of the Yuan Dynasty. The group of people who rebelled at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, if nothing else, this style of fighting was too wild. Even under the banner of the Song Dynasty, it could scare people to death and make the Javanese gentry feel guilty to this day.

And throughout history, over the past two thousand years, the rebellious people have become more and more capable of fighting. At the end of Qin Dynasty, Chen and Wu were quickly killed by the army. By the end of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court was overwhelmed, but heroes from all over the country raised troops and could quickly wipe out the Yellow Turban Army. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, local powerful people were unwilling to fight Huang Chao, fearing that their strength would be damaged in the battle. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the mob even began to chase the officers and soldiers, which was outrageous.

Perhaps because of changes in the balance of power, prominent figures in various places are losing face more and more.

In the early days, it might not be a bad thing for local powerful people if the imperial court was over, because they could seek to ascend to power on their own. Even if no one rebels, the wealthy families will take the initiative to seek a higher status; after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was difficult for the powerful to seek the world on their own, and they could only support an agent who was capable and easy to speak to represent the interests of their own group; and When the Yuan Dynasty fell, even if some gentry pinched their noses to support Zhu Chongba, he didn't appreciate it very much. It sounds nice to say it, but in fact, whenever there is an opportunity, he will find trouble for the gentleman gentlemen, which really lacks professional ethics. If this continues, God knows what situations we will encounter in the future. You won't turn around and attack them with a knife, right?

Moreover, what if in future generations, instead of relying on the high-level scholars raised by various wealthy families, they can conquer the world only by relying on those scholars from lower class backgrounds? Is it still necessary for a wealthy family to exist?
Javanese has indeed conducted in-depth reflection on these issues. Even Mr. Luo, who had temporarily worked as a minor official there for several years, knew a lot about it.

Regarding these two issues, Javanese Yuan also came to two conclusions respectively. First, it is necessary to eliminate negative influences and let those Mongolians who cannot afford to be supported get out of the Yuan Dynasty. Secondly, what is the point of the Yuan Dynasty praising the Mongols when they have nothing to do? There is no profit, and it is disgusted by others. Policies need to be changed to promote the most capable Han talents.

For them, the advantage now is that since they are not in the Han area and there are not many Han people, this idea is really feasible. As time went by, it even felt like the Han people were not enough, so some standards were relaxed. These old people from the Yuan Dynasty in Han China and the Sinicized people from Southeast Asia became their basic base of "Chinese people".

In practice, it may be that while meeting military needs, it must also be ready to suppress at any time. Therefore, on the one hand, the Yuan army likes to conscript a large number of natives into the army; on the other hand, it also imposes strict restrictions on military technology and training. Soldiers who are not considered "one of their own" have difficulty getting adequate training opportunities, let alone receiving education in the art of war and learning command techniques.

Mr. Luo was a little puzzled by this at first. Whether it was the Later Zhao Dynasty or the Jin Kingdom, they strictly distinguished between their own people and the ruled, thinking that this could maintain their combat effectiveness, but they all failed in the end. Why not consider these lessons?
As a result, he was told that those families used the barbarians as their headquarters and the Han people as vassals. It was naturally impossible to use the barbarians who were incapable of fighting to suppress the Han people who had great potential. If it were the other way around, with the Han people as the headquarters, the barbarians as vassals, and the Han people suppressing the barbarians, it would be the same etiquette used by the Emperor of Zhou, in line with the teachings of the civil and military sage kings, and the country would last for 800 years, which shows that it was very successful.

Now in the Yuan army, the regular army is generally composed of the wealthy family's own servants and professional recruits organized by the imperial court. The Yuan Dynasty would collect money from the natives and provide good military pay to support these people. Therefore, although the scale is not large, the combat effectiveness of this army is pretty good. They also despise the local natives, thinking that these people are useless aliens and disdain to associate with them.

Had the Delhi Sultanate still existed, their plan might have been more difficult. But ten years ago, the Delhi Sultanate was targeted by Emperor Timur's uncle.

The Delhi Sultanate was the frontline for the expansion of Tianfang religion and one of the most famous Ghazi countries. As the Great Lama Wang said before, they were the ones who destroyed Nalanda Temple and eventually eliminated Buddhism in Tianzhu. However, for reasons that the Purple Horde Khanate didn't quite understand...probably for some religious reason, Emperor Timur launched a holy war against them and finally succeeded in wiping out these Buddhist enemies.

After that, the Delhi Sultanate tended to collapse under the attack of Timur's forces. In the southeastern Bengal region, a number of small kingdoms emerged, attacking each other.

At present, the Ming Dynasty has not conducted large-scale military operations in the past few years, but the Yuan army did not feel relieved. Instead, it became more vigilant and even took the initiative to test. Some people of insight also advocate taking advantage of this opportunity to expand strength as soon as possible and strengthen the rear. These scattered forces naturally became the target of Java Yuan's preparations.

If they succeed, even if the Europeans pass by, they probably won't be able to grab the benefits. By then, a large part of the power to maintain navigation will probably have dissipated. Of course, this has nothing to do with the Purple Horde Khanate.

(End of this chapter)