Chapter 691: Traps

The first clash between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire in the World War ended in a dismal end. But this is not surprising. Although the Russian army always makes a fool of itself when facing the Germans, it does not mean that this country cannot defeat countries such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

According to the grapevine in Constantinople, the Ottoman army suffered at least 30,000 to 70,000 casualties in this offensive. The casualty figures varied depending on the different battle reports from each side.

Sheffield went to discuss life with Natalia. Because of New York's unique geographical advantages, slave owners now live here permanently and leave their properties in the South to Anne to manage.

Mao Mei was also very happy to hear the news. She swept away the depression she had been feeling for many days and asked excitedly, "Are we going to win soon?"

"Yes and no!" Sheffield pondered for a moment, hooked his fingers through Mao Mei's blonde hair and said slowly, "The disappearance of an army group is a major blow to the Ottoman Empire's military strength. It may not be so serious for other countries, but for the Ottoman Empire, this is a bad start."

The Ottoman Empire was a military empire when it was founded. Rather than a dictatorship, it was more like a combination of military and politics, with military affairs being more important than domestic affairs. It was very similar to the Jiedushi of a certain period in the Tang Dynasty.

The Ottoman Empire's early expansion was successful, so it neglected domestic affairs, over-emphasized military expansion and ignored people's livelihood. There were two consequences: it was in a state of war for many years, domestic affairs were not sorted out, and the country's population stagnated for a long time.

Just like during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han dynasty was constantly at war with the Xiongnu, which burdened the people and caused the population to decline instead of increase. The local forces became stronger, just like the Jiedushi of the Tang dynasty, which led to internal friction between the central government and local forces.

Thanks to the military system created by the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Ages, it did not seem so backward until the 20th century, otherwise this country would have disappeared long ago. Although it could not resist Europe in the past hundred years, it was still able to deal with other forces in the Middle East.

Now the Ottoman Empire only has more than 20 million people to mobilize, and a 130,000-man army is almost wiped out. It is impossible to pretend that nothing happened. The only country that can pretend that nothing happened is Imperial Russia. The remaining two are British India and the warlords are fighting each other.

Sheffield Even if the Ottoman Empire had a lot of people that were not counted because of its poor internal affairs, it would only have a mobilized population of 30 million at most, and it was impossible for the Ottoman Empire to reach the mobilization level of Europe. Not to mention, there were Arabs and Christians in many places. It is no wonder that after the victory of the Russian Empire, it caused the British and French coalition forces to be misled and suffered a great loss in the Dardanelles.

"Stay here today. I miss you." Natalia hugged the slave owner's neck and said in a seductive voice.

"I'm not planning to leave at all!" Sheffield pulled Maomei into his arms and patted her gently.

In Constantinople, Enver Pasha received word that the military supplies had been delivered and regretted the haste of the raid.

Sheffield had already delivered the necessary military supplies, but Enver Pasha couldn't wait and had to attack first, which had nothing to do with him. The slave owner couldn't understand why he was so anxious. If the Russian Empire was in a reliable and conscientious state and was willing to relieve the pressure of the British and French forces on the Western Front at all costs, the Ottoman Empire's surprise attack this time was a bit nonsensical.

The factories that operate all night long are now Sheffield's only means of survival. Seeing the busy workers smile happily, the lives of people on the European continent are not in vain.

At the beginning of 1915, a guest named Byron came to New York and showed up at Sheffield's villa. That day was Christmas Day in the Russian calendar, and the slave owner was celebrating for Natalia with many of his confidantes who sponsored him in New York.

"It's the British again. What do they want to do?" Sheffield said impatiently, "Can't we just enjoy the festival? It only comes once a year. Why do they have to come at this time?"

"Just meet him. It won't delay anything!" Louisa Morgan persuaded. "The British must have something to ask you. It's probably related to the war."

"Now that the Ottoman Empire has been beaten by the Russian Empire, the British are probably overthinking it again." Sheffield put on his suit and said lazily, "Just because the Russian Empire can deal with the Ottoman Empire doesn't mean the British can do the same. Britain doesn't have many elite ground forces, and now they are all stationed on the Western Front to guard the same trench with the French Army. The only troops that can be mobilized are the colonial troops. Besides, the Ottoman Empire is afraid of the Russian Army, but not the British Army. If the navy is strong, they should think of ways to deal with the navy instead of doing things they are not good at."

The slave owner listened to Louisa Morgan and met with the secret contact named Byron with his own thoughts.

Sure enough, the most important purpose of this contact was to ask the slave owner for help, from blood is thicker than water to the situation of various countries. He also said that as far as he knew, the Sheffield family was also a descendant of British immigrants.

"You can't say that, Mr. Byron. The United States has been independent for a long time." Sheffield interrupted him and asked impolitely, "Those who fought against the British are now the founding fathers of the United States. They should be made into statues for people to commemorate them."

"That's all in the past." Byron paused and said with a bit of embarrassment on his face.

"Can we just pretend the past never happened? We must respect historical facts. This is not what a diplomat said, but rather what some Republican supporters said, who always think that treating black people better can cover up the fact that the United States was established by slave owners." Sheffield said, leaning his body in an awkward position, "Neither the Allies nor the Central Powers paid attention to the fate of Christians in the Middle East. You only care about your own interests. Just like now, you randomly send someone to me and start using rhetoric to get me to strike back at the Ottoman Empire? Are you British smart? Am I stupid?"

In terms of shamelessness, Sheffield thought that the United States was even more shameless than the Russian Empire, and would never rush to save the British and French forces from the water and fire. They were all civilized countries, so couldn't the contact person be more realistic when he came to negotiate? For example, sign a large order or something?

But Sheffield did not drive the other party away, because although this liaison person appointed by London was trying to get something for nothing, the slave owner also wanted to cheat the British.

Just as Byron once again described the war between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers as a struggle between despotism and civilization, Sheffield had to interrupt him rudely again, "Abolish the monarchy and still say such things. Don't think that France is a republic and you are allies in the trenches, so you can borrow the French system to play tricks here. Let me be frank. I don't know if some big shot in the cabinet sent you here, but I already know what you mean. You just want me to lead the Christian militia in the Persian Gulf to fight back. I'll be frank, I can't do that at the moment."

The slave owner did not say anything final, but talked about his own difficulties. "There are still many Greeks and Armenians living in the core territory of the current Ottoman Empire. These people are also hostages in a sense. The Christian militia I organized is very virtuous and talented. Once they rebel, a religious war is likely to break out in the Middle East. Christians are a minority in the Middle East, and this will put them in danger of extinction."

"Unless you can inflict a heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire, the Christian Legion you see in Kuwait has always been a loyal force helping the three Pashas to defend the Persian Gulf. I think what I said has been very straightforward. If the Allies can do this, I will make a smart choice." Sheffield emphasized, "But now it is far from enough. I can't risk the massacre of Christians in the Middle East and let this legion fight side by side with the Allies. Even if anti-Ottoman armed forces appear in the Persian Gulf, they will help Constantinople suppress them."

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"What would Mr. William do if we could prove that the Ottoman Empire was weak and vulnerable?" Byron asked solemnly.

"I will help the British army to deal with the armed forces that are not obedient to the Allies. If that is not possible, I will help the Ottoman Empire stabilize the situation in the Middle East." Sheffield clapped his hands and made a crisp sound. "It's that simple."

Since the British came to the door and made conditions, the slave owners naturally made conditions as well. It was all business, so of course they could do this.

Because the Russian Empire was surrounded by the Allies, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by its arch-enemy again. Perhaps London had developed the illusion that if the Russian Empire could do it, so could it, and suddenly felt that its weak army could also compete on another battlefield. The slave owners encouraged and even instigated this idea!

If the Allies had really been unstoppable in the Battle of the Dardanelles, then there would be nothing to say. The Ottoman Empire would have been finished, and Sheffield would certainly have had no psychological pressure to launch a counterattack.

But if things turn out badly as they did in history, don't blame the slave owner for continuing to be the Pasha of Kuwait. He is not responsible. It is the British army's incompetence and inability to fulfill its promise.

But this is much more difficult than in history. First of all, the situation in the Mediterranean is different from that in history. In history, the Italian Navy blocked the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the strait, and the British Navy was rampant in the Mediterranean. Now that Italy has joined the war, it has not only liberated the Austro-Hungarian Navy, but also made the Italian Navy the second most powerful in the Mediterranean.

If the British army wanted to land in the Dardanelles as it had done in history, it would first have to destroy the Allied naval forces in the Mediterranean.

(End of this chapter)