Nanyang Storm 1864

more than a month later
Ain Town
Located in the Ajar Mountains in northeastern Oman, this town is surrounded by mountains and has an average altitude of about 620 meters.

The area has an arid mountain climate with strong sunshine, little rainfall, and large temperature differences between day and night.

Al Ain has recently attracted a large number of cavalry from the Kingdom of Dubai, totaling more than 3300 riders, making this mountain town noisy and bustling, yet revealing an uneasy restlessness.

this day

Dubai's King Chu-Zhengtao led over 1700 cavalrymen to the town, where they erected a large, densely packed camp on an open ground outside the town. Fully armed soldiers moved about, creating a tense atmosphere of impending battle.

These Dubai Kingdom cavalrymen all wore wide-brimmed cowboy hats and covered their faces and necks with a checkered cloth to avoid the scorching sun, an outfit very characteristic of the Arabian Peninsula.

The purpose is to prevent the exposed skin from being burned by excessively strong sunlight.

In the town's mosque
Dubai's King Chu-Zheng Tao and his generals sat together with a map in the center, discussing an upcoming large-scale military operation.

Besides the king and his officials of the Kingdom of Dubai, there were also two middle-aged men with full beards present. They were the leaders of the East African mercenary group, leading more than two thousand cavalrymen in the battle.

One was Colonel Zheng Fengrong, and the other was Colonel Guo Yonghuai. Both of them were baronies and were genuine retired military officers who had been operating in the Arabian Peninsula for more than 20 years and were also among the major smugglers in the area.

Both men had led troops in the Boer War in South Africa and had extensive experience dealing with the British. They were also frequently seen in tribal wars in the Arabian Peninsula.

These two thousand-plus East African mercenary cavalrymen were a collection of dozens of mercenary groups of varying sizes, with Colonel Zheng Fengrong and Colonel Guo Yonghuai serving as the chief and second-in-command, respectively.

Without the participation of these East African mercenary cavalry, the Kingdom of Dubai would not have been able to muster more than 5,000 riders.

Colonel Zheng Fengrong said;
"...

In summary

These Arab tribes were already on edge, taking precautions along the way. Eliminating them one by one would be too time-consuming, and news would inevitably leak out.

I do not recommend splitting the army into two routes. Instead, we should concentrate our forces and launch a large-scale southward offensive, covering more than 160 kilometers in a single day and night, directly attacking the important southern town of Ibli and capturing it in one fell swoop.

Around Ibli
There are at least five Arab tribes with populations exceeding 10,000 each. The region has a population of nearly 200,000. Cutting off their escape routes would be a significant move.

"As long as the operation is swift enough, the entire military operation can be completed within half a month: a quick attack, a quick withdrawal, and a return laden with 100,000 prisoners."

The northeastern part of the Kingdom of Yemen belongs to the Ajar Mountains. Between the mountain ranges are numerous valleys with dense forests and abundant water and grass, which were the traditional nomadic lands of the Arab tribes.

The route from Ain to Ibli is a traditional mountain road and the only main road. The rugged mountain road is passable by horse-drawn carriages and freight trucks, and it is a vital transportation route connecting the north and south.

This further highlights the importance of the two locations, which also served as the only passage for the Kingdom of Dubai to invade from the south.

Other narrow paths are also passable, but they involve crossing mountains and valleys, are rugged and difficult to traverse, and can mostly only be done on foot.

After discussion, the group reached a consensus that Colonel Zheng Fengrong's battle plan was more feasible.

Dubai's King Chu-Zheng Tao slapped his thigh and exclaimed in realization;
"Okay, it's decided then."

Send down the order to slaughter 300 sheep and give the brothers a good meal, with plenty of meat and wine, and prepare for a full-scale attack at dawn.

The town's barracks were prepared to receive and transport a large number of prisoners.

The outcome, victory or defeat, hinges on this one game.

"May God bless our Kingdom of Dubai! This battle will surely be a resounding success! Your Majesty, I offer my congratulations."

"Hahaha... With the full force of my Dubai Kingdom's army, I believe these Arabs will be unable to resist, and our great cause will be accomplished."

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you! With this single victory, the development of our Dubai Kingdom can reach a new level. This is truly a cause for celebration!"

The ministers all spoke up, their faces beaming with joy, and their moods lifted considerably.

After the Great Chu Empire granted ten years of food aid, the biggest bottleneck to the development of the Kingdom of Dubai was suddenly resolved, and its future prospects are bright.

nowadays

The population shortage has become increasingly prominent, becoming a top priority that urgently needs to be addressed.

If 100,000 young Arab men and women could be captured, it would solve the problem of at least 50,000 Chinese families settling in the Kingdom of Dubai, and would also greatly alleviate the labor shortage.

In quarries, mines, docks, and urban construction, there are many arduous and strenuous jobs that need to be undertaken by someone.

Although the Kingdom of Dubai purchased a number of strong black slaves from Ethiopia, numbering around six thousand, it still falls far short of demand, leaving a significant labor shortage.

By the way, this batch of Ethiopian slaves was supplied by the East African mercenary group led by Colonel Zheng Fengrong. Human trafficking is one of the main businesses of mercenaries.

The Kingdom of Dubai is facing a severe labor shortage, making it feasible to wage wars abroad to acquire cheap labor.

The king finally made the decision, and the entire town of Ain was thrown into turmoil.

At the entrance of the already small town, a row of forty or fifty large iron pots were set up, each containing slaughtered sheep and meat, cooking meat soup, with unleavened flatbreads stuck to the side of the pots, which were both delicious and filling.

The prepared flatbreads are available for every cavalryman to take. As long as you can hold onto them, you can take as many flatbreads as you want; there is no limit.

Every household made large flatbreads to ensure that the cavalry's food sacks were full. With the addition of pickled vegetables and dried meat, they didn't need to resupply food for four or five days.

The farmers in Ain Town rolled up their sleeves and got to work. During this period, all their food, drink, and supplies came from the kingdom's distribution of resources. The town's residents were paid for each day's work they helped out with.

The reason why the Kingdom of Dubai dares to be so arrogant is because it has the Great Chu Empire backing it up. No matter how much food is lacking, the empire will make up for it, and it will never let the people of the Kingdom of Dubai go hungry.

If that's the case, then why not go all out and do it?
Early next morning
Around one or two in the morning, the crisp sound of military whistles rang out, and a long column stretched southward, with the cavalry at the front leading their warhorses.

The mountain road was rugged and difficult to traverse. The soldiers ahead carried torches and lanterns, leading their warhorses southward, the column stretching for more than ten kilometers.

Behind them was a convoy of over eighty vehicles, which, illuminated by lanterns, wound their way along the rugged mountain road.

Each vehicle carries 16 fully armed soldiers and a large amount of supplies and ammunition; it is also part of a rapid response column.

The cavalry at the very front rode two horses, followed closely by the caravans and horse-drawn carriages in the middle. The rear was also made up of cavalry, but these were essentially mounted infantry. Compared to the formidable cavalry at the front, they were far inferior.

But that was enough. By dawn, the southward-bound army had traveled more than fifty kilometers. The vanguard cavalry, having rested and recuperated for a long time, was ready to surge forward at full speed.
When dawn broke
The vanguard cavalry mounted their horses and spurred them forward at a trot. The Arab tribes they encountered along the way were almost all routed, posing no threat whatsoever.

The following caravans, horse-drawn carriages, and cavalry thundered forward, posing no obstacle to the already defeated Arab tribes, who scattered and fled across the hills and plains.

After traveling more than 150 kilometers from Ain town, they arrived at Ibli city around 5 p.m. and immediately launched a swift attack.

In just over an hour, the cavalry of the Kingdom of Dubai broke through the city of Ibli, which had a population of over 17,000, and successfully occupied this important mountain city.

As Shi Xian predicted

The Arab tribes along the way were easily defeated, and the southward army of the Kingdom of Dubai advanced rapidly, completely occupying Ibrahim before nightfall and cutting off the local Arab tribes' escape route to the south.

The city of Ibrahim is important because it is a vital transportation route from Ain to Ibrahim, and also a major artery for transportation from south to north.

Occupying this area would mean losing the entire northern mountainous region of the Kingdom of Oman.

The dozens of Arab tribes, large and small, located in this area, are mostly engaged in nomadic life, with a small number practicing agriculture, and are unable to leave the local mountains and forests.

As a tribal chieftaincy, the tribal chiefs scattered throughout the kingdom wield considerable power. The kingdom of Muscat maintains a loose lord-king relationship with the tribal chiefs, with more rivalry than cooperation.

So after the fall of Ibli, Muscat turned a blind eye, let alone sending troops to relieve the siege, and did nothing at all.

No wonder

The chieftains of the major Arab tribes in Ipuri, relying on their power, did not take the Muscat Kingdom government seriously at all, and would delay or avoid paying taxes whenever possible.

When things came to this critical moment, the Kingdom of Muscat naturally wouldn't stand up for him.

A similar dramatic situation has occurred in the western part of the Kingdom of Oman.

The Kingdom of Sarai and the Kingdom of Yemen launched a two-pronged attack, along with a cavalry force of over 1900 men from the Kingdom of Jeddah, and launched a major invasion almost simultaneously with the Kingdom of Dubai, taking control of the entire western border of the Kingdom of Oman.

They advanced swiftly and relentlessly, committing arson, murder, and looting without hesitation.

The government of the Kingdom of Oman in Mascat remained extremely calm, and apart from verbal negotiations, it did not send a single soldier to interfere, which made the military operations of the three countries go exceptionally smoothly.

Ultimately, this is what they call "minding one's own business."

The current leadership of the Kingdom of Oman, under the rule of Muscat, is mainly composed of Arab tribes from the surrounding areas of the capital. They are not of the same origin as the Arab tribes to the north and west of the kingdom, and there are often conflicts between them.

If it weren't for the joint invasion of the three countries, the Kingdom of Oman would have been fighting amongst itself, with the focus of the dispute being the question of Oman's dominance.

The military operations launched by the three neighboring countries in mid-November, to some extent, reduced the tribal threats on the borders of the Kingdom of Oman, which is beneficial to the current Omani court.

As for the abducted people, well... the rulers of Muscat don't care. They're all a bunch of traitors!

Such is the absurdity of life. The three kingdoms launched a large-scale invasion that penetrated two to three hundred kilometers into the Kingdom of Oman, with the closest point being less than one hundred kilometers from Maskat, practically within arm's reach.

The Kingdom of Oman remained extremely calm, and did not send a single soldier to interfere from beginning to end.

This caused a major setback for the Dubai Kingdom's army, which was on high alert in Ibli. All the ambushes they had set up at several mountain passes failed, and they had to retreat in frustration.

To be honest, this is not entirely Oman's fault.

The Kingdom of Oman was one of the earliest tribal states, becoming part of the Arab Empire as early as the 7th century AD, and gaining independence in the 11th century.

Not long after, it was invaded and colonized by Portuguese colonists in Europe, a situation that lasted for hundreds of years.

In the 17th century, local Arab tribes rebelled against the Spanish colonists and established the Aliba dynasty, but soon after, they were colonized and ruled by the British again.

The present-day Kingdom of Oman is at best a multi-tribal feudal autonomous kingdom under British colonial rule, exhibiting significant fragmentation, with the central dynasty's decrees rarely extending beyond Muscat.

In some important towns in the surrounding area, there were powerful Arab tribes that were obedient to the Muscat dynasty but not to its commands, and they had a great deal of autonomy.

To put it bluntly, this is also a potential problem.

The large-scale invasions by several neighboring kingdoms effectively wiped out the powerful Arab tribes in the north and west of Oman. For the Muscat dynasty, this was, in fact, entirely advantageous.

Furthermore, the British attitude was ambiguous, clearly indicating their unwillingness to get involved in this mess.

So

The Kingdom of Oman remained remarkably calm in the face of the massive invasion by the three neighboring countries, taking no concrete action other than verbal criticism.

In that case, the three countries of Dubai, Sana'a and Yemen, which had launched a large-scale invasion, did not hold back and drove a large number of prisoners and livestock back to their countries, making a fortune.

Taking the Kingdom of Dubai as an example
The original plan was to abduct 100,000 people, but through this large-scale military operation, a total of 166,277 people were abducted, including more than 100,000 young Arab women, far exceeding expectations.

at the same time
More than 230 million cattle and sheep were captured, including more than 8.7 adult beef cattle, which greatly solved the problem of insufficient livestock and was a great harvest.

The inaction of the central government of the Kingdom of Oman indirectly contributed to the perfect outcome of the military operation.

After this battle

The three neighboring countries captured more than 420,000 people from the Kingdom of Oman, reducing the total population of the Kingdom of Oman to around 900,000, a reduction of one-third.

The northern and western border regions of the Kingdom of Oman are largely uninhabited for hundreds of kilometers, with the populations of Arab tribes of all sizes having been plundered and the land turned into wasteland.

The Kingdom of Dubai, the Kingdom of Salah, and the Kingdom of Yemen, which brazenly launched the war, made a fortune. Even the Kingdom of Jeddah captured more than 3 people in this war and made a huge profit.

Having tasted success, the Kingdom of Dubai did not stop there, but instead set its sights on the Kingdom of Oman. The real contest between the two countries would take place a few years later.

that time

The Kingdom of Oman faces the tragic prospect of national collapse and the loss of its people. Regret is too late; no one can help them now. (End of Chapter)