Chapter 1179: The Suez Crisis

Suez.

The Suez Canal is being developed in full swing.

The previous Suez had actually already been mostly excavated.

But after Liu Zheng arrived, he still put forward a few suggestions.

Consequently, the finishing work is still ongoing.

Actually...

Liu Zheng has his own ideas.

He knows that at this moment in Europe, many people are keeping their eyes on Suez.

He had just arrived when he discovered that because he usually has too many things to deal with, his estimation of the timeline here was a bit off...

The first to bear the brunt is naturally France.

The current Louis XV is still the monarch of France, and his absurd reign should still have more than ten years before it ends...

Of course.

Liu Zheng could end it early.

But among the Scouts he sent to France, he has not yet received any news about Napoleon.

For Liu Zheng, this is unbearable.

Just kidding...

How could he not have a go at a peerless genius like Napoleon?

Therefore, he decided to personally oversee things and continue to strengthen the transformation of this Suez.

Although Nashadier already has thoughts of disloyalty, Liu Zheng's policy of developing the Suez Canal will not change; he still provides money when asked for money and technology when asked for technology. He still needs Nashadier right now.

Even if Nashadier is not a local native, they share the same faith as the people here, so governing them is naturally better than someone like himself, an "outsider."

Since he has come to Europe, Liu Zheng feels that matters regarding religion still need special attention.

Because the entire history of Europe is, in fact, a book of religious entanglement. He also knows that the control religion has over human nature is incredibly powerful.

When you arrive at a mountain, you sing the songs of that mountain; regarding this situation, he can only respect it, as he does not yet have the ability to eradicate it.

Furthermore, Liu Zheng's energy is limited, and he is spread too thin with his layouts everywhere; Longyan's current strength is still unable to provide military coverage for this place, so the existence of an Agent like Nashadier is necessary.

Liu Zheng and his party were observing from a distance, and at this moment, Jiang Xuan discovered a problem.

"Young Master, from top to bottom, these people are all slacking off."

Jiang Xuan looked anxious.

"Hmm." Liu Zheng nodded.

Liu Zheng's response made Jiang Xuan somewhat surprised; at a time like this, shouldn't he say something?

A single "hmm" and that's it?

"Is there a problem?" Looking at Jiang Xuan's expression, Liu Zheng asked with a smile.

"Young Master, their wages are all paid by us, but this speed is just too slow, isn't it? Even if we have money, we can't just keep them like this," Jiang Xuan said anxiously.

It wasn't just Jiang Xuan; Xie Chan on the side also couldn't bear to watch. Having stayed in the country for too long, she thought the working people of the whole world were just as diligent, but the people here really exceeded her expectations.

The speed of these people is only one-third that of Longyan workers; the original construction period was two years, but if it goes on like this, it will take six years to complete.

"I think it's just that they are living too comfortably; we should get some overseers and give them a few lashes with a whip," Xie Chan said indignantly.

"No rush, just let them play slowly; anyway, it can't be built right now."

Liu Zheng said with a chuckle.

"What does that mean?" After hearing Liu Zheng's words, both of them were full of question marks.

"Don't forget, it's not just us here; Britain and France are also eyeing this place."

Liu Zheng said indifferently.

It is not just Liu Zheng who sees the value of the Suez Canal; both Britain and France are eyeing this place like tigers.

Intelligence says that France just suffered a major defeat at Alexandria in Egypt.

Coupled with their secret support for Nashadier, they shouldn't have any actions. But Britain is different.

They did not hesitate to offend France to forcefully enter Egypt, with the goal being his Suez Canal. Seeing the Suez Canal and the surrounding Suez Fortress being built slowly, they are undoubtedly the most anxious.

As long as their thinking is normal, they will definitely launch an attack on Suez before the fortress is completed.

And adding the hatred from the previous struggle for Australia... as the current global Empire on which the sun never sets, would they willingly watch such an important place as Suez be dug up and modified by this Longyan?

Of course not!

Suez is a threshold for Longyan to enter Europe!

Therefore, Liu Zheng is not thinking about repairing the Canal at all right now; his mind is full of the war with Britain.

Although the Longyan army rubbed the British army into the ground in Tahiti, Australia before, the situation is different now, and the last war cannot be used as a reference.

In that Australia incident, although both sides were Expeditionary Forces, the Longyan army was closer to its home base, and coupled with full preparation, winning the battle was a matter of course.

Also, the last Australia war was a head-on confrontation between the Longyan army and the British army: the Longyan soldiers were all well-trained elite troops, while the British soldiers were mostly "pioneers," so the basic combat power of the two sides was not on the same level...

But this time, many of Longyan's advantages are gone.

After the last major defeat, Britain must be meticulously prepared. Looking at the whole world, Britain is the only country that has caught up and surpassed others in the Industrial Revolution.

Why?

Very simple, policy support.

Although in this world, the Industrial Revolution started in Longyan, you cannot stop Britain's policy support and the country's all-out backing.

Liu Zheng has always studied this issue.

Why?

Why was Britain able to keep up with Longyan's pace in the Industrial Revolution? It is not just because of policy and atmosphere; more importantly, they do not have the shackles of Longyan's thousands of years of traditional culture. This is very important.

Look at Longyan; even now, there are still many people shouting to protect the emperor, resisting Simplified Chinese, and resisting Vernacular Chinese.

At a time like this, isn't the traditional culture that one should be proud of actually a kind of potent poison?

It is influencing the cultural outlook of the Longyan people.

But what about Britain...

Western countries have a relatively monotonous history themselves.

Aside from religion, they have no traditional culture at all.

Therefore, in this regard, they are more malleable. Thus, once the Industrial Revolution began, almost their entire population could enter into learning and research...

The late-comer advantage of the Industrial Revolution allowed Britain's national strength to remain robust.

Moreover, their soldiers are all well-trained soldiers; their combat effectiveness is certainly much stronger than those pioneers.

Although Longyan has five thousand Dark Night Legion here, the Dark Night Legion is more of a special forces nature and cannot be used as ordinary Infantry.

The garrison Liu Zheng can truly rely on are these soldiers of the East India Company and the subordinates of Nashadier; although their combat effectiveness is passable on the Central Asia battlefield, compared to the British Army with more advanced equipment and tactics, they are just fodder for a beating.

The soldiers of the East India Company lean more toward a Militia organization.

Long-term infrastructure work and labor have caused them to slowly lose their ability to fight. Of course, this is unavoidable. Moreover, this time Ling Chen only brought twenty thousand East India soldiers. The others still need to develop the Indian Continent and other territories in Central Asia.

This time, in terms of the comparison of military strength between the two sides, Longyan is at a disadvantage.

Five thousand Dark Night Legion, twenty thousand East India soldiers, and fifty thousand old Cavalry of the Safavid Dynasty.

The force is a bit weak; now it depends on just how determined Britain is to wage war.

If they are only fighting tentatively, holding Suez is certainly no problem, but if they are exhausting the strength of the entire nation to take Suez, then whether it can be held is hard to say.

It is not just Liu Zheng who is worried; over at Britain, Luojinsi is also worried.

Watching the Suez Fortress being built continuously, he is burning with anxiety.

Once the Suez Fortress is completed, the difficulty of their land offensive will increase significantly; if they cannot create an advantage on land, the pressure of the offensive will naturally fall upon their Navy.

Fighting France, he has no problem, but as for Longyan, it is hard to say, because Longyan has a bug-like existence such as the "Yinzhou Ship," and he does not dare to go head-to-head with Longyan.

Right now, he is a "man under a cloud of suspicion"; if he comes out in a grand manner only to take Alexandria, he will have a hard time explaining it to the Parliament.

Fight, he must fight, and it must be before the Suez Fortress is completed!

For this reason, he sought out the British Governor of Egypt—Hans.

Although Luojinsi once thought that joint operations between the Navy and the Army were a disgrace to him, today, in order to deal with Liu Zheng's Longyan army, he can only bear this disgrace.

Luojinsi wants to see Hans, but Hans does not have a good attitude toward Luojinsi; the British military is not a monolith, and there is conflict between the Army and the Navy.

The British Army is just called the British Army, while the British Navy is called the "British Royal Navy."

The Army does not have the "Royal" title because, in the past, the Army leader Cromwell resisted the rule of the British King and eventually cut off the head of Charles I.

The royal family has always remembered this matter, so the royal family has more or less psychological wariness toward the Army.

The Royal Navy, just hearing that title, is certainly much more prestigious.

This has always made the Army indignant.

Without the support of the royal family, the Army is naturally not as favored by the public as the Navy.

Moreover, it is not just a matter of reputation; for an army, the most important thing is military funding!

As a nation of Sea Power, Britain's emphasis on the Navy is unprecedented; ninety percent of Britain's military budget is given to the Navy, while the Army only gets some scraps.

With "welfare benefits" far worse than the Royal Navy, the generals of the Army are naturally very unhappy with those Navy generals.

Hans also knows very well what Luojinsi is looking for him for, so he wants to take this opportunity to give these arrogant Navy men a hard time! Pop-ups are severe recently, you can click to download to avoid pop-ups.