Zhao Mingde has actually given Li Junwei an answer to this question. There are three major forces in Egypt, Fazow, the Ottoman Sultan represented by Pasha, the local tyrants represented by Mamlukbeys, and the religious groups. As the caliph of the Tianfang Sect world, the Sultan has a relatively strong control over Egypt's religious groups, and religion has no decent attitude towards this kind of secular trade route operation.

The Bey in Mamluk opposed the construction of the Suez Canal. The reason is that the canal travels from Suez to the north and crosses the desert area, which has nothing to do with them, but it is within the influence of its sphere of influence. The Beys will definitely intervene, but prefer to restore the ancient Pharaoh Canal and use a canal to connect the Nile waterway. The Beys also participate in sharing their benefits.

Of course, the plan of the Pharaoh Canal was rejected by the empire or all business groups from all countries that wanted to explore the canal. Mamluk was a robber. This is the common view of merchants from both the East and the West. No one wanted to deal with them, and he did not want to leave the lifeline of communicating the trade between the East and the West to these people. More importantly, the shipping value of the Nile River is very low.

The upper reaches of this river are cliff waterfalls, and the lower reaches are silt and silt. Thousands of years of prosperity have not given birth to nautical civilization, which shows that. What merchants expect is to directly allow sea ships to travel to and from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea freely, rather than to use inefficient methods to transport inland barges.

Fazo's attitude is interesting, or the Ottoman's attitude is not clear. Opening the canal will definitely bring more taxes to the Ottoman, but there are also many places that are worth worrying about. Will artificially created geographical barriers increase the possibility of Egypt's separation from the Ottoman? The greater concern is for the empire. Will they take the opportunity to invade the Egyptian region? Will their navy enter the Mediterranean change the regional situation?

Fazor expressed his rooted concern: "His Royal Highness Yu, our attitude is not important at all. What is important is your attitude. The merchants of the Empire, Ottoman and even Europa are all interested in opening this ancient trade route. The Beys are not worth worrying about. The key is to get the support of the Sultan."

"How can I get the support of the Sultan?" Li Junwei asked.

"Let the Sultan believe that the empire behind you is a loyal and reliable ally of the Ottomans, and an eternal ally," Fazo said.

Li Junwei nodded slightly and understood completely. If the Empire was an ally of the Ottoman, then it would not have separated Egypt. The maritime forces entering the Mediterranean from Suez would also protect the interests of the Ottomans, but if they were not an ally, all of these would be threatening. Whether they could become an ally of the Ottoman depends on who the Ottomans was?

Looking up at the map hanging on the wall, Li Junwei could only smile bitterly. The Ottoman country was surrounded by enemies. Persia was an heresy that the Ottoman could not tolerate. They also competed for the prosperous Iraqi region, Russia, Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Republic of Venice. It can be said that among the great powers bordering or adjacent to the Ottoman, all except the empires were enemies. The so-called allies of the Ottoman were extraterritorial countries such as Britain, the Netherlands and France, and they could not provide support to the Ottoman. The Ottoman was just using the domestic market to exchange for material support from these countries.

Obviously, the Empire could not become an ally of the Ottomans. The Empire was committed to opening up the market in Persia and had a covenant with Russia and Poland to jointly deal with the Ottoman attack. Venice was the Empire's selected partner in the Mediterranean. Only the Holy Roman Empire had a bad relationship with the Empire, but because of religious factors, the Empire did not actually have a direct conflict of interest with it.

"I can't prove it to the Sultan." Li Junwei said helplessly.

The answer was expected by Fazo. He knew that the Empire had no real allies or enemies in the sense of Europa, because this was a region filled with religious beliefs. The Empire had no plans to conquer, and the Empire only had strategic and economic interests here.

Economic interests are to open up the markets of all European countries as much as possible, while strategic interests are to prevent a strong empire from appearing here. Therefore, balance is the principle of the imperial European policy, and even an alliance is only temporary.

"Then let's postpone this matter." Fazo said.

Li Junwei asked: "Is the Suez Canal Irrigation matter also suspended?"

"No, this is already being implemented, and the Jews in Syria have provided funds. Within two years, the Port of Suez will be able to drink the Nile water." Fazo said.

Li Junwei laughed: "The canal matter will be postponed."

Fazo looked at Li Junwei's casual appearance. Although he didn't show anything on his face, he was disappointed. In fact, he had already discussed with Sudan, loaned to the Jinshang Bank, and fully opened the domestic market and the Suez Canal were all bargaining chips for negotiations with the Empire. The purpose was to exchange for alliances with the Empire as much as possible in the subsequent war, even if it was only temporary.

As long as he forms an alliance with the Empire, the power of Russia and Poland will be restrained, which is very beneficial to the already-formed war plan. Sudan can also borrow more money to start the war. Fazo did not want to show his trump card from the beginning, so he chose to let the Empire ask about the Suez Canal on his own initiative, but now he is disappointed, the Empire is not so urgent about this canal.

In the end, Fazo couldn't help it. He knew that if King Yu went to Istanbul, with the arrogance and suspicion of the Sultan and the selfishness of the Great Vizier, there was nothing to talk about. He had no choice but to ask: "Your Highness, my most honorable friend, I sincerely ask you. If we reach an agreement on the Suez Canal, then is it possible for your country to form an alliance with the Ottomans and jointly deal with the situation in the European hinterland?"

"Are you referring to the next war?" Li Junwei asked.

"Yes." Li Junwei said after receiving a positive answer: "It's very difficult. You know, in the last war, you and my two countries were still opponents, and I personally signed a treaty with King Sobesky and Tsar Feodor to jointly deal with your country's attack. We cannot sell the credibility of the empire. You may not know that the emperor of the empire, my brother attaches great importance to credibility."

Fazou asked impatiently: "What if he could not harm the credibility of the emperor of your country?"

Li Junwei pretended to be in deep thought, but was already ecstatic because he successfully revealed a secret from Fazo's mouth, that is, the target of the Ottoman war was not Poland and Russia, and the current naval decline of the Ottoman naval, Venice's land is in the depths of the Adriatic Sea, and naval construction is long-term. The target cannot be the Republic of Venice, so the most likely one is the Holy Roman Empire.

Both sides have religious hatred between Catholicism and Tianfangism, and have quarreled over who inherited Rome. More than a hundred years ago, the Ottoman ancestors defeated Austria, and it was normal for war to arise between the two.

"This is very difficult. Lord Fazo, your country is too special. Let's put it this way, suppose we form an alliance with the Ottoman, whether to form an alliance with His Majesty the Sultan or with the Caliph, the difference between the two will be great." Li Junwei said with a bitter face.

To form an alliance with the Sultan, it is only the enemy of the Ottoman Empire, but to form an alliance with the Caliph is to face the enemy of the Tianfang Sect, which is approximately the same as the entire Europa. The former can still be accepted, while the latter cannot be accepted at all.

Another problem is that such problems are also reflected in the enemies of the Ottoman Empire, especially for a top Catholic country like the Holy Roman Empire, declaring war on it is almost equivalent to declaring war on the entire Catholic world. The strategic impact it has is really too great.

Fazo could not answer this question, but in fact he was not qualified to answer it. Like him, Li Junwei could not decide on this matter and did not want to choose between Catholicism and the Tianfang Cult.

When Zhao Mingde watched the two people negotiate, it was like watching a fight between gods. In the end, he didn't see clearly who had the upper hand. When Fazo left, Zhao Mingde returned to Li Junwei: "Prince, does the Suez Canal still have a chance?"

This is his current job, Zhao Mingde also knows that this is also an opportunity to be famous in history. Li Junwei smiled and said, "Of course, while I am still in Suez Port, you immediately contact the Jewish merchants who invested in the construction of the Suez irrigation canal. I want to talk to him and let us participate in the Suez irrigation project as much as possible, so that we can get first-hand information on canal exploration in the future."

"Take it seriously?" Zhao Mingde was ecstatic and asked, "Prince, our alliance with the Ottoman is not yet determined. How can we ensure that they agree to dig the canal?"

Li Junwei laughed: "General Zhao, you are military thinking, not political thinking. To be honest, whether the Suez Canal is excavated has no direct relationship with whether we are aligned with the Ottoman Empire. It can even be said that even if the alliance gives us the authority to excavate, it will make this matter very complicated. For example, they can delay the date and issue more stringent clauses to limit the depth and width of the canal, so that they can limit the passage of large-tonnage ships, etc.

If you want to complete this great project that changes history, you should not be asking the Ottomans, and let them come to us. The stronger the Ottomans depend on the empire, the higher our freedom in the Suez Canal."

"It will take a long time to affect that level." Zhao Mingde was a little disappointed.

Li Junwei laughed: "It doesn't take too long, two or three years, that's all. Maybe the Suez irrigation canal has not been built, so you have to start preparing to dig the canal." Seeing that Zhao Mingde could not believe it, Li Junwei said: "You have also heard that the Ottomans are going to fight a war. This war is mostly against the Catholic world. Originally, those charlatan countries would not be weaker than the Ottomans. As long as we intervene in it and support the weak and suppress the strong, we can help the Ottomans' enemies win. If there are too many enemies of Ottomans, his failure will inevitably lead to a large number of countries taking advantage of the situation. Then the Sudan will inevitably need our support. At that time, we will not only get the Suez Canal, but also more benefits."

Zhao Mingde then realized that King Yu's mission was like this. Li Junwei said: "Your mission is to prepare all the projects for digging the canal, and I will prepare a failed feast for His Majesty Sultan."

"By the way, Prince, there are a few business representatives just now, asking to see you." Zhao Mingde said.

Li Junwei asked: "What businessman?"

"I asked about their identities, they all have bank backgrounds, and I know two of them, they are Fazo's guests of honor," Zhao Mingde explained.

"It was for the purpose of Jinshang Bank to lend to the Sultan. These people must also have the intention to cooperate with the Ottoman Sultan." Li Junwei said, and Zhao Mingde said: "That's natural. If you hadn't asked the treason merchants in Muscat, they might have avoided you and cooperated with the Ottoman official alone."

"This is something I absolutely cannot accept. General Zhao, remember that if you find any financial transactions with the Ottoman government and do not report to the empire, immediately ask the emperor's strategy on the Mediterranean coast must unite all the empire merchants, whether they are Shanxi merchants or Nanyang merchants, only by uniting can the empire's strategy be fully implemented." Li Junwei seriously ordered Zhao Mingde.

Li Junwei stayed in Suez for half a month and met many people every day, including Jewish merchant groups, Mamlukbey, Egyptian religious figures and even several prestigious leaders among the Bedouin people. The merchant representatives of the empire were even more respected. King Yu was easy-going and free-spirited, and could chat with anyone. He was willing to use his prestige to solve some small troubles for these people. He became famous in Port Suez in just half a month.

But he had only stayed for so long. Half a month later, Li Junwei set off and, under the escort of the Ottoman Guards and Guards, passed through the Suez Passage and headed to Port Said. As Fazo said, it was more prosperous than the Suez Port, but it was even more chaotic. Li Junwei was not stranded at the port. He boarded a merchant ship to Istanbul according to Fazo's arrangement. However, when he was briefly suspended and unloaded by a Greek port, Li Junwei transferred to a Jewish ship, passed the Turkish Strait, and went straight to Xijin, instead of going to Istanbul to meet the Sultan and Great Vizier as promised Fazo.

Before everything is settled, Li Junwei will not put himself in a dangerous situation. Fazo is rational, but the charlatan-like Sultan and the greedy Vizier cannot get Li Junwei's trust and carry out war loans to the Ottoman. Li Junwei must negotiate with the Shanxi merchants, Nanyang merchants and other representatives before he can negotiate with the Ottoman. Even if it is a negotiation, the Ottomans should send envoys to Xijin.
Chapter completed!