Chapter 3702
Chapter 3702
Chapter 3702
The Hai Han fleet carefully crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, known as the "Gate of Tears," and officially entered the Red Sea.
Everyone who comes here for the first time has a common question, that is, the water of the Red Sea is not red, so where did the name of this place come from?
Of course, the only person who could answer this question was the knowledgeable Qian Tiandun. But Qian Tiandun gave more than one answer to this question.
Some say that the coral sand in some areas of the Red Sea is red, which makes the local water red. Others say that a type of red algae grows in large numbers in the sea, causing the sea to turn red in certain seasons.
There is also a view that the west coast of the Red Sea, that is, the coast of Africa, has large sections of coastline composed of continuous red rock walls. These rock walls reflect sunlight onto the sea surface, making the sea water look flashing red, hence the name.
There is also a saying that it is a sandstorm from Africa that fills the air with hot air and thick dust, blocking out the sun and making the sky dark, and the sea water appears dark red under such lighting conditions.
There is also a more outrageous saying that in ancient times many ethnic groups in West Asia used black to represent north and red to represent south, and the so-called Red Sea means "Southern Sea".
Everyone was dumbfounded. They didn't expect that such a simple place name would have so many different opinions about its origin.
Gao Qiaonan said: "In my humble opinion, since our Hai Han army has set foot here, there should be a new explanation for the origin of this Red Sea."
Li Yuande asked curiously: "General Gaoqiao, please tell us!"
Gao Qiaonan said: "As everyone knows, the national flag of our Hai Han is red and blue. Doesn't it just fit the Red Sea? The place name is red, and the sea water is blue. This should be a metaphor that sooner or later, our Hai Han will become the master of this place!"
Li Yuande gave a thumbs up and said, "General Takahashi's explanation is quite novel!"
Qian Tiandun also smiled and affirmed: "Then I'll borrow your good words. I hope we can conquer this place as soon as possible."
Of course, conquering the Red Sea region is not as easy as it sounds.
As Qian Tiandun said before, any country that wants to occupy the Red Sea and maintain its rule for a long time will need to continue to invest huge resources.
The strength of the special operations division is certainly enough to defeat any opponent in this area, but that does not mean that the special operations division has the ability to occupy the entire Red Sea.
To achieve this goal, the Special Operations Division not only needs a large number of troops stationed in various places on the Red Sea, but also a large number of officials who are familiar with the local customs and practices to maintain government offices at all levels, so as to incorporate this place into Hai Han's territory.
It took the Ottoman Empire only a few years to occupy the areas around the Red Sea, but it took decades or even hundreds of years to actually bring these areas under its rule. It took the continuous investment of several generations to finally achieve the current situation.
Qian Tiandun certainly didn't want to spend so much time on the process, but for the current special warfare division, it might be more difficult to achieve control of the Red Sea in a short period of time than to defeat the Ottoman Empire. One must take one step at a time and eat one bite at a time. Qian Tiandun knew that his goal was not so easy to achieve, so the purpose of this trip was mainly for inspection.
The largest and most popular port in the Red Sea is not the northernmost Port of Suez, but the Port of Jeddah located in the middle of the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
The reason why this place became a major port is not because of its excellent natural conditions or any special products, but simply because of its good geographical location, which is adjacent to the holy city of Mecca.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come from the sea, almost all of whom choose to land in Jeddah and then go to Mecca, which is located inland. Such a large floating population naturally revitalizes the economy of Jeddah Port, making it the most important port on the Red Sea.
Regarding the unfamiliar Hai Han visitors, the locals were initially only surprised by the size of the fleet, but then they shifted their attention to the faith of the Hai Han fleet.
Almost all local people who come into contact with the special operations division soldiers will try their best to invite them to the holy city. Some of them use reasons such as visiting, traveling, and exploring, but some people will go straight to the point and say that as long as they can go to Mecca, they will naturally be inspired by the local sacred atmosphere and then join the religion they believe in.
Qian Tiandun had been prepared for this. Before setting out, he ordered that no one should have too much contact with missionaries or people whose purpose was to preach, and that religious issues should not be discussed internally - foreign religions were the most taboo of taboos.
Despite repeated orders, some missionaries were still unable to stop their tentacles, and people continued to violate the rules he set. However, this was not a mandatory military order, and the damage caused was not so obvious, so Qian Tiandun could not deal with it too harshly, and could only put all the violators in solitary confinement.
"Special Warfare Division soldiers do not need to believe in illusory gods. Only the country and the Executive Committee are the ones we need to be loyal to! Anyone who violates this principle will be regarded as a betrayal of the Special Warfare Division!"
After discovering bad signs in the army, Qian Tiandun quickly issued a new order and gave a more severe characterization of missionary matters.
Qian Tiandun realized that it would be difficult to prevent such incidents from happening again with military orders alone. The only solution was to leave Jeddah Port as soon as possible.
Just before the fleet was about to set off, several respected local elders came to the door and asked to take a boat to the port of Suez, where the Hai Han fleet was about to go.
Qian Tiandun could tell clearly whether they wanted to take the boat or preach in the army under the guise of taking the boat. If these bearded old men got on the boat, who knows how much trouble they would cause on the way.
It was impossible to let them on board, so Qian Tiandun decisively declined the Arab missionaries and led his troops to flee from the port of Jeddah.
This is the first time that the special operations division has encountered such a "soft offensive" since this visit, and this "soft offensive" seems to be more difficult to deal with than other means. Even an experienced senior general like Qian Tiandun can only hang up the white flag and try to avoid fighting with the other side.
Until he left Jeddah, Qian Tiandun still hadn't figured out whether this was a result of the Ottoman Empire's high-ranking officials behind the scenes or a spontaneous act by the local people. But no matter which case, he knew that the best option for the special operations division was to retreat.
The Hai Han army does not need, and cannot, let religious belief become the main theme, but Qian Tiandun did not expect that there would be such a terrible religious atmosphere near the holy city of Mecca.
Fortunately, the measures he took were timely, and the terrible tentacles had not yet extended into the special warfare division. As long as they escaped from the strange environment here, this kind of heresy would no longer have the opportunity to germinate.