Dominate the Country

"Hussein Pasha, there is no need for us to take the initiative to fight the French."

Elam tried his best to dissuade Hussein ibn Talal Pasha from Istanbul, but Hussein, who came from a well-known family and was a close confidant of the current Sultan Selim III, was obviously not something Elam could dissuade. have to.

Hussein expressed great contempt for Elam, who had a heavy army but held back his troops. Therefore, two brigades of reinforcements were brought in. Hussein, who was supposed to be under the command of Elam, unceremoniously wanted to take away Elam's military power and in turn overwhelm Elam.

Elam was faced with a huge choice, "I don't want to confront Istanbul head-on." Elam was not ready for a showdown. He felt that his strength was still lacking, whether it was the army or the infantry.

But the secretary sent by Chen Han's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire felt that what Ilam lacked more was a spirit of resistance to Istanbul. Of course, from the bottom of his heart, he didn't want to see Ilam reach that final step.

Construction of the Suez Canal is about to begin, and what Egypt needs most now is stability.

But such words of 'persuasion' must never come out of his mouth. Such a choice would mean that Elam would have to pay a heavy price.

"If you can win Istanbul's trust, no matter how high the price is, it will be worth it." Ilam smiled disapprovingly.

He knows that the Chinese have reached an agreement with Istanbul on the Suez Canal issue, so if he wants to raise troops to resist Istanbul at this time, he will not get the full support of the Chinese, at least not the willing support of the Chinese. In this current situation, what the Chinese want more is peace and stability in Egypt.

In this case, Elam simply took a step back. In the Chinese culture he had received before, there was an idiom that remained fresh in his memory: retreat to advance.

Retreating is not cowardice or admitting defeat, but the basis for moving forward.

A retracted fist hits people more powerfully. This 'step back' is 'retracting' one's fist.

"I asked Ibrahim to lead 20,000 people to follow Hussein, and the Mamluk cavalry sent another 5,000 troops. In this way, plus the new army led by himself, we can gather 40,000 troops." You are not. Are you looking down on me, Elam? Don't you think French heads are very easy to cut off? Then go ahead and experience it yourself.

The French, Napoleon, and Elam believed that they were definitely not good people.

During the battle at the Pyramid, Elam truly experienced Napoleon's difficulty in dealing with him, as well as the perseverance and tenacity of the French's will to fight.

Although they don't want to admit it, the number of Mamluk cavalry in the brigade is far less than that of their assault column. The latter is in an offensive state. Even with the help of rockets, the Mamluk cavalry would not rigidly stick to the ancient With traditional tactics, it is impossible for a large group of cavalry to threaten an infantry column at all. This stubborn and conservative feudal military group really should withdraw from the historical stage of Egypt.

Whether it was a cavalry battle or an attack on infantry, the Mamluk cavalry was completely defeated.

"Father, why don't you suggest to the Chinese that they contact the French..." the eldest son, who also called Hussein, said to his father Elam.

Elam shook his head, "It's not necessary."

Hussein ibn Talal was no match for Napoleon. Even if he had more troops than Napoleon, it was useless. So many days have passed since the battle at the Pyramid, and Ilam trembles with fear every time he recalls that battle.

Napoleon was really difficult to deal with.

Even at that critical moment, if Murad hadn't brought two to three thousand infantry and cavalry to confront the French reserves at all costs, and used his own life to delay the French reinforcements, would Ilam have achieved such great results? , it is really hard to say whether Napoleon can be forced to retreat on his own initiative.

But around Ilam, there are only a few loyal generals like Murad, and these are his confidants.

"Besides, do you think that if we don't ask the Chinese to send messages to the pagans, they will just sit back and watch?"

"Napoleon's status in their hearts is even more important than ours. The Chinese will not watch him fail in Egypt."

A flash of light flashed in Elam's eyes.

No one is a fool. Elam is very aware of his importance in the hearts of Chinese people. Those Chinese concerns about Napoleon...

"The situation is still going on." As long as the British block the mouth of the Nile, the French will be cooked ducks. Elam really wanted to see how China would help Napoleon later and how it would rescue this lone French soldier.

Now the British are blocked in Alexandria, and the French have cut off their transportation links with the mainland. Although Ilam cannot guarantee how long the British will continue the blockade, the French, who have no backup and escape routes, are worried no matter how they look at it. Life or death...

The new war was decided at the moment when Ilam bowed his head, and things became more complicated from the moment when Ilam bowed his head.

Five days later, Hussein led a large army, as well as a large number of requisitioned laborers - they were used as transportation and pushed back towards Alexandria.

The first battle between the two sides took place in Damanhur.

It was the capital of Buheira Province, which was severely damaged in the earthquake in 1302. The castle was rebuilt at the end of the 14th century to prevent the invasion of Bedouins. In the Middle Ages, it was a caravan town on the road from Cairo to Alexandria and prospered for a time. It is the main economic center in the western part of the delta and an important agricultural product market.

"Hurry up, hurry up, boys!"

In front of the Egyptian city of Damanhur, several French artillery officers kept checking the preparations in front of the position, shouting loudly to encourage the soldiers. The laborers requisitioned from the local area transported boxes of shells and gunpowder from the rear to the position.

The high-spirited French artillery did not prepare large-scale bunkers at all, but only flattened the area around the gun position and piled up wicker baskets. But this is not because they are lazy, but under the current circumstances, the French artillery does not have to worry about the few similar guns on the opposite side.

According to the news from the Chinese, Napoleon now quite "regrets" his previous hurt to China's feelings. With his current face, it still feels a bit hot. But Napoleon could not reject the Chinese's good intentions.

The Ottoman army had a total of 40,000 infantry and cavalry, and the number of their light and heavy artillery would not exceed 100, and there was definitely no new artillery such as the hexagonal cannon.

The French also confirmed this fact through their own channels.

During the days when Napoleon stayed in Alexandria, he issued a declaration to the local residents in Arabic, which read as follows: "The Beys who rule Egypt have long insulted France and harmed its merchants, and the time for their punishment has come.

These thugs among the slaves bought from Georgia and the Caucasus have been tyrannizing this most beautiful land in the world for a long time; however, the true God of this world, to whom everything belongs, has decreed that their rule should end.

People of all ethnic groups in Egypt, you will be told that I am here to destroy your faith, please do not believe this absurd statement! The fact is: I am here to restore your rights and punish those usurpers. I respect the true God, his prophet and the Book of Allah more than the Mamluks."

At that time, Napoleon did not know that he would encounter setbacks in his march in the near future, but out of the cognition of "revolution", although the French did a lot of burning, killing and looting in Alexandria, they had to do face work.

Under the threat of the French army's swords and guns, some locals did indeed offer their knees to Napoleon.

Half of the artillery of the Ilam Corps was pulled by Hussein, and the remaining artillery had to stay in Cairo.

The enemy's vitality, with a total of only about 100 artillery pieces, was less than half of the French expeditionary force.

——Damanhur is not close to the Nile River. It is an inland city. The reason for its development is more because of Alexandria. All the transportation along the way is land transportation relying on human and animal power. It is not only very expensive, but also slower. With Egypt's ability, it is really unable to carry too many artillery and rationed ammunition. Not to mention the advanced artillery such as the hexagonal cannon, which France itself has very few.

The gun cover was opened, and the muzzle began to rise little by little. The angled shells could shoot farther. And the dark muzzle reflected a touch of cold light under the morning sun in Egypt.

The sun rose from the left side of the French position. The clean morning air made people breathe smoothly. The golden sunlight cast the slanting light and the shadows of the cannons on the ground. The coconut grove in the distance was like a carved emerald. A thin black rope could be vaguely seen on the horizon.

The Egyptian road passed by the woods over there, and there was a small village there.

Now the village has become deserted, and the road is full of French troops. The harvested fields and groves are shining nearby. There are troops everywhere in the back, on the left, and on the right.

The beautiful dress of the French soldiers, like Gallic roosters, and the posture of holding their heads high and chests high, make the army look so solemn and magnificent.

Damanhur is not close to the Nile River. It is difficult to see even a large river in this place. Hussein led 40,000 troops to rumble over, and the rising dust covered the sun in the sky.

Gun smoke and yellow sand mixed together, and in the haze, there were bright lights flashing everywhere - sometimes in the Ottoman-Egyptian army, sometimes in the French army, the swords and guns of the Mamluk cavalry, and the bayonets of the French army.

Through the smoke, Hussein could even see the khaki walls of Damanhur, the French soldiers on them, and the muskets and cannons.

But if he wanted to step into there, he had to get rid of the French soldiers in front of him.

The scorching sun shone on the earth, and the heat like fire made the air boil.

Looking far away, all of this seemed to be floating, drifting in the fog.

The entire space in this area was filled with smoke and fog. Especially in the left front of the battle line, in the woods, fields, depressions, and the tops of the mounds, there were clouds of smoke from the explosion of rockets rising out of thin air, sometimes appearing alone, sometimes in groups; sometimes sparse, sometimes dense.

The terrain there is more complicated. It is not only the French army's key defense zone, but also Hussein's key offensive zone.

"Go, my dear major, may God be with you." Rana said to the major standing beside him, without taking his eyes off the battlefield.

The artillery group in the distance has stopped playing. French soldiers with bayonets are marching forward, and more and more French soldiers are gathering behind a hill.

Hussein, who did not have a hot air balloon, did not know that a battalion of French soldiers was concentrated on the side of one of his attacking troops. This was also one of the advantages of the defensive troops. Relying on the terrain, they could easily design traps one after another. If the attacking troops wanted to defeat their opponents, they had to use their bravery and lives to overcome everything.