Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 843 blurted out

Like Egypt to the Ottoman Empire, Khuzestan is still nominally part of Persia, but the management right belongs to the umbrella company. The highest executive appointed by the Qajar Dynasty can only stay in Isfahan, and even Khuzestan cannot enter .

The plague is rampant in the surrounding areas of Khuzestan, and the situation in Khuzestan, which is located in the center of the plague, is naturally not optimistic. The umbrella company has temporarily stopped emigrating to Khuzestan, and will not continue to develop Khuzestan until the situation stabilizes.

"Now there are less than [-] Persians in Khuzestan. We are working hard to restore order in Khuzestan, clearing the ruins left over from the war, burying the corpses, and restoring the farms, but it will take a long time to return to the state before the war. For a while." Tang En is now more and more mature, he looks big and thick, but in fact he is very delicate, and Rock is right.

"How's the situation in the oil field?" Rock had sent a telegram to Li De before leaving. The military observation team would rest in Port Elizabeth for two or three days, and then head to Elizabeth Oilfield.

"Everything is normal, but the Ottoman Empire has continued to increase its troops during this period. There are now two cavalry divisions and two infantry divisions stationed in Basra, which poses a great threat to our oil fields. We are transferring troops from Muscat and the New Cape of Good Hope Come back and prepare for a possible attack by the Ottoman Empire." Tang En was also very sad. Although the umbrella company was strong, it would inevitably be stretched too far. After sending troops to Khuzestan, there were only 3000 troops left in the Port Elizabeth garrison. The situation is precarious.

Fortunately, the Ottoman Empire did not have the courage to go to war with the United Kingdom, and the situation has been stalemate until now, but the garrison in Basra is still a huge threat to the Elizabeth Oilfield.

At the moment in 1912, the world's demand for oil is growing explosively. Rock only knows that the number of cars in southern Africa has increased from less than 1905 in 1905 to more than 7.5 now, but he doesn't know that the number of cars in the United States has increased from 1912 to 150. There were only [-] in China, and by [-] it was close to [-] million.

Not long ago, the British Secretary of the Navy Winston announced that he would stop ordering coal-powered warships and replace them with the latest internal combustion engines.

This decision caused an uproar, and France and Germany followed the example of the United Kingdom, which further exacerbated the world's dependence on oil.

The oil fields in the United States were developed relatively early. Although the oil production in the United States is still relatively high, many oil fields that were developed earlier are already on the verge of depletion, so the life of Standard Oil is not easy. Rock regards oil as a lifeline. At the same time, Standard Oil is also actively looking for new oil fields, which is why Standard Oil has persisted in the peninsula.

For the Ottoman Empire, the Elizabeth Oilfield is a huge temptation. If the Elizabeth Oilfield can be controlled, the Ottoman Empire can increase its bargaining chips and regain the respect of European countries.

The end of the Balkan Peninsula did not restore peace to the Ottoman Empire. On the contrary, due to the further weakening of the Ottoman Empire, the domestic situation became more and more unstable. In Ottoman, there are continuous sporadic uprisings in various parts of the country. If this problem is not handled well, then the Asia Minor Peninsula will lose control just like the Balkan Peninsula.

In fact, it deserves it. The Ottoman Empire is a multi-ethnic country. Although the Ottoman Empire is a centralized state in name, in fact the Ottoman Empire has very weak control over the ethnic groups in the territory. As long as the ethnic groups in the territory swear allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan, the Ottoman Empire even Nationalities will be allowed to self-govern.

This way of ruling can still maintain stability without being invaded by external forces. Once someone provokes it, the order will inevitably collapse.

"The Ottoman Empire is stepping up the construction of the railway between Baghdad and Basra. The construction progress of this railway was very slow before, and only a dozen miles were built in a year. Now this railway has been entrusted to the Germans by the Ottoman government, and the construction progress has been greatly accelerated. The Ottoman Empire has recently decided to build a railway between Damascus and Medina, and the British railway company is competing with the German railway company, should we also join in?" Li De is not in charge of the military, but is more concerned about railways, and Port Elizabeth also The construction of the railway to Muscat is also progressing rapidly.

Muscat has now been renamed George Town. The purpose is not to please George V, but to downplay Muscat's history and strengthen Muscat's British attributes, which is more conducive to subsequent operations.

"Germany?" Rock was surprised. In Tang En and Li De's previous reports, there was never any mention of Germany's influence on the Ottoman Empire.

"Yes, the German railway company has taken over the Baghdad Railway. Now they are building a bridge over the Euphrates River. It is estimated that the railway will be open to traffic next year." Li De finally felt the pressure. The centipede was dead but not stiff. An ancient empire like the Ottoman Empire Even if it is going to perish, it will not happen overnight. Since losing the Ninth Russo-Turkish War in the 50s, the Ottoman Empire has been declining. Except for Rock, no one knows whether the Ottoman Empire can make a comeback.

The Ottoman Empire is indeed amazing. In the first Balkan War, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its European territory. When everyone was celebrating, the Ottoman Empire regrouped in just a few months and seized the second The chance of a Balkan war to recapture Eastern Thrace and Adrianople was beyond the imagination of almost everyone.

Just after the Second Balkan War, Germany stepped up its penetration into the Sinai Peninsula. Undertaking railway construction was only one aspect. More German spies searched for relics left over from various periods in the Sinai Peninsula in the name of archaeologists.

Coincidentally, British intelligence officers are also operating on the Mediterranean coast under the banner of archaeology, so there are now a plethora of archaeologists in the Mediterranean coast. Many of them are intelligence officers from various countries, and even military personnel who draw maps.

"There is an Earl of Oppenheimer in the Rhodesia Hotel, who is said to be from Germany." Tang En has a huge intelligence network, and the Germans are the main focus.

"Count?" Roque had never heard of this name. During this period of time, he met too many nobles in Egypt, from various countries, but earls were still rare, and Roque was just a viscount now.

"Yes, the Count of Germany - so it is printed on his business card, Count Oppenheimer is an explorer who is presiding over the excavation of the ruins of Harraf, and it is said that he has obtained a large amount of gold and silver treasures from Harraf, The number is so large that you need to hire a caravan of hundreds of camels to transport it." Tang En's eyes were shining, there are so many ruins in a place like the Sinai Peninsula, and that "Lawrence of Arabia" is now also an archaeologist. .

"Strengthen the defense of the Elizabeth Oilfield, let Ali expand his army, and I will give him more weapons." Rock finally realized the situation facing Elizabeth Port. Compared with Egypt, Elizabeth Port is closer to the core area of ​​the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans had more troops in Basra than in Damascus, so Rock had to prepare accordingly.

Tang En and Li Deqi quickly responded: "Yes, my lord—"

A little later, Rock received a telegram from Cairo.

The governor of Cairo and Sudan, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, finally came back. After the second Boer War, Kitchener was made a viscount, and then went to India to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Army. In September 1909, Kitchener became a field marshal. In September last year, Kitchener served as the governor of Egypt and Sudan. Some time ago, when Roque went to Egypt, Kitchener returned to London and missed his appointment. In order to meet Roque, now that Kitchener finally returned to Egypt, he immediately asked Roque to meet.

Calculating carefully, Kitchener is Rock's old superior, but Rock's fortune came after Kitchener left southern Africa. Served in the Cape Town Police Service and did not serve in the military.

When Rock went to India, Kitchener was both dismissed because of the quarrel with Curzon, so Rock missed the opportunity to get acquainted with Kitchener, and now the opportunity finally came. In Rock's impression, After the outbreak of the World War, Kitchener's official position as Field Marshal was Secretary of State for War.

Rock said goodbye to George White that night and returned to Cairo.

"That stubborn and eccentric little old man, don't pay attention to him, that guy is just a stubborn old man." George White uttered nonsense and didn't care about Kitchener.

This is also understandable, let alone whether Kitchener's character is stubborn and weird. George White performed poorly during the Boer War and lost troops, but Kitchener made great achievements. This directly led to George White being left out in the cold over the years. If it is Roque, Roque will also harbor resentment.

"Sorry General, Lord Kitchener is my immediate superior, and I must obey Lord Kitchener's orders." Roque also didn't want to hang out with the military observers, a group of poor people who were marginalized after losing the power struggle. Worm, Kitchener is the promising potential stock.

Although in the eyes of many people, the current Kitchener has reached the pinnacle of life, but Rock knows that this is far from the end.

"It's okay, Kitchener will leave Cairo soon—" It seemed that George White also knew a lot of inside information, and he immediately realized his slip of the tongue: "This decision has not been announced yet, don't tell others—"

"Of course, I must keep my mouth shut!" Rock was speechless, and he could blurt out appointments that had not yet been announced, and George White was also a talent.

(End of this chapter)