The road conditions in the Ottoman Empire were quite bad. Although the Sultan claimed to be the successor of the Roman Empire and also inherited the Roman tradition of vigorously paving road networks within the empire, by the 17th century, many roads built in the early years had been severely damaged.

Gaomo and his group rode on horseback on muddy roads, passing by a slow ox cart or mule cart from time to time by the roadside. Occasionally they could see some camel caravans. The Ottomans seemed to like using camels. They used a large number of these unstable animals in their wars with Europeans. They had a strong capacity for carrying weights, did not care about mud, and were less tired or thirsty than horses, and only needed very little care. The Ottoman army in the 15th century used camels to carry military supplies rather than traditional horses, which made them advance very quickly. Later, even farmers in Greece and other places discovered the benefits of camels, and they raised some camels to control them.

The horses riding by Gaumo and others were horses from the Laschek region of the southern bank of the Danube River in Bulgaria. This horse is resistant to rough feeding and is particularly suitable for the hard and rugged mountain rocky terrain widely distributed in the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, it was widely used in the Balkans, and even the Ottoman cavalry units used this horse in large quantities.

"Many years ago, Suleiman once stipulated that the construction of the domestic road network must enable the government's messenger to travel from one place to another within a few hours, and to find replacement horses or accommodation places. However, this system has gradually become unworkable." Seeing the difficult progress of Gaomo and others on the rugged roads, Hassan explained a little embarrassedly: "Many local nobles, especially the nobles in the Rumili area, are not very keen on repairing the disrepaired highways, these barbaric Christs

The Lords believed that poor road conditions could strengthen their defenses against the territory. And the ignorant farmers also held the same view, saying that this would prevent tax officials from approaching their villages. All this led to a sharp deterioration of road conditions, which caused great inconvenience to the military mobilization in our country. His Majesty the Sultan has taken this issue seriously and has ordered the revision of the domestic transportation network, which is also part of our cooperation agreement with your country, isn't it?"

"Yes, poor road facilities not only affect national defense security, but also economic development. The Balkan mountainous areas are full of mountains and are not suitable for digging canals, so they can only rely on land transportation. If the roads are in this situation, the wood, grain, livestock, wool, animal skin and other materials accumulated in the vast inland areas of your country will not be effectively utilized. These should have been exported in large quantities for money, but now they are rotten in the closed countryside. It is a pity." Gao Mo sighed with regret and said.

The cooperation Hassan mentioned is actually just an intention at present, and it is far from a deal. The Ottomans demanded the import of a large amount of asphalt, cement and other building materials to the East Coast Republic, and also hired some technical personnel in road traffic construction to first assist the Ottomans in building a high-quality road from Istanbul to the western major city of Edirne (Adria Fort). If the road is in good condition in the future, both sides may continue to extend this road to Plovdiv.

Gaomo was of course ecstatic about the request made by the Ottomans. However, the Ottomans tied it to the construction of the Battleship "Bayerzid", which made Gaomo scratched his head. Although he was a full-power diplomatic envoy, he did not dare to agree to such a major incident without authorization, and he had to ask the country for instructions first. However, this negotiation can be carried out in advance, especially when the Ottomans tied many commercial interests to the construction of the battleship, they could not ruin other commercial interactions because of this matter, right?

A close minister of the Ottoman court revealed to Gormo through Hassan that if the East Coast people allowed the construction of the Battleship "Bayjed" for the Ottoman Empire, they would allow the East Coast people to build a shopping mall in the four places of Thessalonika, Smyrna, Burgas and Suez within the empire, selling various commodities, and carrying out slave trade. In addition, they even allowed the East Coast people to invest in the construction of a freight railroad located in the Kafa (Kech) iron ore, if the railway was proved to be very efficient after running,

Then His Majesty Sultan will buy it and then promote the railways of the East Coast people in major mines across the country. Of course, the above all tempting commercial interests require a prerequisite - that is, the construction of the Battleship Bayezid. If the East Coast people are under pressure and are unwilling to export such powerful battleships to the Ottoman Empire, then everything will be abandoned. In the future, the East Coast people will only allow the "koujio" in Smyrna and Suez to unload a limited number of cloth, leather goods, weapons and other commodities, and other in-depth commercial exchanges will be banned.

This is a poison wrapped in honey. Gaomo lamented a little. The Ottomans' persistence in battleships was surprising. Perhaps this was related to the situation they were facing. A while ago, their Sultan had just led his army to attack Crete, and the war should still be ongoing. Maybe they were afraid that the Pope would call for the formation of a Christian coalition at the request of the Venetians. Another Battle of Lebanto in the Aegean region would completely defeat the Ottoman navy. Therefore, they urgently needed such a giant ship that could almost be called a sea fortress.

Speaking of this, everyone is already very clear. Now Gaomo is waiting for a domestic response, while the Ottomans are waiting for Gaomo's response. Before that, the two sides were still negotiating some other commercial cooperation, such as slave trade, etc.

The Bulgarian countryside is very desolate. On both sides of the road, there are tall grass and animals everywhere in the grass. Many weeds are almost as high as people's elbows. It is amazing that the land is so fertile and shocked by the low level of development here.

A village appeared not far away. Gao Mo and others rode their horses over and saw that the farmhouses in this village were extremely simple. Local Bulgarian farmers often covered the weaved branches and walls with leaves. A thatched hut was not much better than the residences of the Kossa people who first saw in South Africa. But I heard that farmers in the Wallachia region were even poorer and backward. They often dig holes on the ground, then make a roof above the hole, and a house became. Many of their farm tools were made of wooden tools, such as plows and wheels, and there was almost no progress in a thousand years. Today, with the increasing development of Western Europe, they have lagged behind the times, and this is actually a microcosm of the entire Ottoman Empire today. Although it is still as brilliant as flowers and burning oil on the surface, it has begun to slowly fall behind and collapse in its core.

Such a market for the old empire is a market suitable for the development of the East Coast people! Gaomo quickly made a judgment that the empire was slow, conservative and huge, and had a very shallow understanding of industry and commerce. This can be seen from the initial control of their economy by Jews and Armenians, and later being controlled by foreign capital such as Britain and France. Britain and France lie on the huge body of the Ottoman Empire and greatly nourishing domestic industries, so the East Coast people can do it too! This will start from the dumping of goods on the East Coast in the Ottoman country and the construction of infrastructure such as the Ottoman ports, roads, and mines. The premise of all this is to agree to the cooperation requirements of the Ottoman navy.

Damn it! The crux of all the problems is now here. Gao Mo had a headache. In fact, he was a little inclined to cooperate with the Ottomans in his heart. The French were not a good partner. They were a rising power, had their own ambitions, and had quite advanced views on many things. Therefore, the business of the East Coast people there was destined not to last long.

But the Ottoman Empire is different. The local decentralization system they recently began made it difficult for them to make any national change. Moreover, there were empress dowagers in the palace, and Daweizi who interfered in politics outside the palace (equivalent to the prime ministers of later generations). In addition, there were many local warlords, rebellious and repeatedly rebelled, and the destruction of the Sultan's Galishani Guards, which made this huge empire feel a mess. All of this made Gao Mo keenly feel that as long as he slowly settled the various forces in the Ottoman country and allowed some interests to make money together, it might be much easier than doing business in France. At least, this multi-ethnic country with many problems is inevitable. Under internal and external troubles, they may cherish their cooperative relationship with the East Coast people more.

Turn the Ottoman Empire into the largest market for East Coast people! Just like India in later generations to Britain, let the Ottoman Empire become the crown jewel of the East Coast Republic rule the world, Gao Mo had such an impulse.

Most of the residents in this village are Bulgarians, and a small number are Turkish. It can be seen that the two ethnic groups get along well, which can be seen from the frequent visits between women of the two tribes. Moreover, many of the Bulgarians in this village are Christians, while the Turks are Muslims. They can all play together. I have to admire the Turks' secularization being quite good. But the situation now is obviously developing in the opposite direction, secularization is fading, religious ideas are rising, and where the Ottoman Empire goes is confusing.
Chapter completed!