Chapter 652: The Armenian Issue
If the Allies are combined with Italy, excluding the Russian Empire, which is at a great disadvantage in developing its navy, the tonnage of the Allies' navy is now the same as that of the British Royal Navy against the German Navy, which is 2.7 million tons against 1.3 million tons. The French Navy is 900,000 tons against the Italian and Austrian Navy's 800,000 tons.
As for the two main fleets of Imperial Russia, the Black Sea Fleet could not get past the Ottoman Empire. As long as the strait was closed, the Black Sea Fleet would be doomed. As for the Baltic Fleet, it was also under blockade by the German High Seas Fleet.
It was impossible for Britain to call back all the warships in the world to encircle the Germans. In terms of naval power, if the Allies had the participation of the Kingdom of Italy, they would appear to be evenly matched.
The French Navy's paper data is still very good, which is also the key point where the slave owner's money ability comes into play. The French Navy has 900,000 tons of warships, and even when facing Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Alliance, its strength is above those of the two countries.
After nearly a hundred days of sailing, the huge fleet escorted by four battleships entered the Persian Gulf from the Strait and arrived at its final destination, William Pasha's Kuwait territory.
"No matter what time you come here, this place is always terribly hot." As soon as Sheffield stepped onto this golden land, he felt extremely uncomfortable. No wonder it has the nickname of the hottest place in the world.
Even Natalia and Mary Pickford were sweating profusely. Their longing for exotic customs had long since vanished. As they got into the car and drove on the bumpy road, Brown, who was sitting in the front seat, said embarrassedly, "Boss, the road here is a bit worse. We actually repaired the road before, but the cement dried and cracked quickly, and the asphalt was like paste under the scorching sun. There was really no other way. Later, we also took stones and repaired this road."
"There must be something wrong with the composition, and it needs to be improved. But this road is not bad, at least the quality is very high. Maybe it won't be damaged in fifty years." Sheffield said as he looked at the relatively neat road surface. He had actually seen this kind of stone road surface in his previous life. There was such a road in his hometown. The quality was amazing. From the time he was born until it was demolished, not even a section of the road had cracks or collapsed.
Brown led the boss who came here from China into a Middle Eastern-style palace. This palace had been renovated and had complete water and electricity. It looked very modern compared to other places in the Middle East. The air conditioner running at full power finally made the two women he brought feel comfortable.
"Then I will send a telegram to Constantinople now to tell Enver Pasha that the boss has arrived!" After bringing Sheffield and his party to the palace, Brown hurried away after getting approval.
That day Sheffield spent his first night in the Arab region, and the magic lamp did not appear in his dream.
Currently, Kuwait's territory includes the Basra Province, which is under his administration. It covers an area of ​​approximately 20,000 square kilometers and has a local population of 500,000. Eastern Christian sects account for about half of the total population.
Christianity has existed in the Middle East for a long time. Sheffield must admit that in the Middle Ages, Western Asia was actually much more civilized than Europe. The surgical classification in modern medicine was not invented by Europeans, but originated from the concept of Arab medicine.
In the 10th century, Arab medicine already had the concept of surgery. The medicine of the Arab Empire paid great attention to ophthalmic diseases and had a high level of skills in diagnosing and treating ophthalmic diseases. Almost all medical works have special chapters on ophthalmic diseases. Arabs are the inventors of cataract aspiration.
Arab ophthalmologists used a series of surgical instruments invented by themselves, such as eye opening tools, retractors, tiny scalpels and needles. Arab doctors created the prototype of modern ophthalmology. Ali Hassan's research enriched people's understanding of the physiological anatomy of the eyeball and the principles of vision. Most of the professional terms used by ophthalmologists today, such as "retina", "cornea", "vitreous body" and "anterior chamber fluid", were invented by Arabs.
At the same time, there were medical schools in the Arab Empire that specialized in teaching students to become respected doctors.
The Arab Empire in its powerful period treated Christians much better than Europeans treated peaceful Christians. There are a large number of Christians in various countries in the Middle East. As for when these Christians began to disappear from the Middle East in modern society, we have to ask the great beacon of humanity, the United States. The United States has continuously eliminated secular Arab regimes in later generations and supported **** regimes, which naturally led to a large reduction in Christians in the Middle East.
So in this kind of situation, it is not necessarily a good thing if two groups are similar. Blood is thicker than water. Sometimes it is just an excuse to cheat fellow villagers.
Before Enver Pasha arrived in Basra, under the scorching sun, the slave owner began to conduct a preliminary survey of his territory, because when he was in Goa, he was not taken seriously by the British. So when he saw the British base nearby, he pretended not to see it and was not prepared to play a blood-thicker-than-water drama, because his wife was French.
At the dock of the Kuwait port, employees of Black Gold Company are using machinery to unload the 310mm railway gun parts from the ship. After reassembly, they will form the main force to defend Kuwait, with a total of twenty guns.
"The entire territory will be militarized from now on. I want an armed force of more than 50,000 people." Sheffield turned his gaze away from the busy port and said to Brown, the person in charge of the Persian Gulf base, while stepping on the yellow sand. "Black Gold Company must have at least 10,000 people, and the rest must be selected from Christians from all over the Middle East. This way, it will be safer to use. Are the granaries that have been built full?"
"It's enough to hold 500,000 tons, and the light weapons stored in the warehouse are enough to arm 50,000 people, but there is still a lack of artillery." Brown talked eloquently, and it was obvious that all this data was stored in his mind.
"We'll be there soon. Just tell me if you need anything." Sheffield nodded as if he was thinking about something. "I don't care how much I invest, but I must keep the territory given to me by the Ottoman Sultan. I hope that after training, this armed force will at least be able to deal with the British army in the Middle East. This must be done. Unlike the nonsense on the battlefield in North Africa, the ownership of this land is mine."
Sheffield wanted to use World War I to promote some things, such as establishing a country of his own in a reasonable and legal way after the defeat and collapse of the Ottoman Empire. He didn't care about the Arabs. An army of 18,000 was enough to dominate the Arabian Peninsula in the early 20th century.
There is one factor that must be considered, and that is the British army in the Middle East. Although the British Empire currently has a British traitor Churchill, whose historical status is second only to the Soviet Union's Gotmap in Sheffield's eyes, he is not the prime minister after all. The United Kingdom is still a very powerful country.
But the navy is strong, and the army is at the quasi-first-class level. It cannot be compared with the army powers such as France and Germany. Moreover, once the war breaks out, the mobilized army of Britain will inevitably be on the European battlefield. It is also unknown how many troops are left in the Middle East. If only symbolic forces are left, the slave owners are not afraid to fight.
Just think about how much oil there is under the yellow sand under your feet. Let alone the British Empire, even if aliens were to invade the earth now, the oil in the Persian Gulf would give slave owners courage.
The railway guns that were transported from China thousands of miles away were used to fight against the British troops in the Middle East. Otherwise, was it used to fight against the Arabs? The Persian Gulf is a strait, so the effect of railway guns will be magnified, while the mobility of the navy will be reduced. As long as there are enough troops on land, there is nothing that cannot be fought.
Now the slave owner hoped that the British would allow him to achieve his goal because they shared the same culture and ethnicity. Otherwise, he would have no psychological barriers to stab the British in the back.
In half a month, he had already observed the territory under his name, and knew almost everything except the nearby British naval base. Enver Pasha was late at this time!
"William, nice to meet you at last." Enver Pasha looked weathered. It was obvious that the situation in the past year had put this giant of the Ottoman Empire under tremendous pressure.
"Is it that Imperial Russia is putting pressure on the Ottoman Empire again?" Since Natalia was out of sight, Sheffield once again rebelled, accusing the Russian Empire of being ambitious and being the mortal enemy of the great Ottoman Empire.
For Enver Pasha, this was 100% correct. Sheffield remembered that the Ottoman Empire's giant was killed by the Soviet Red Army. Why was this so? After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, it changed from a leader of the world of peace to a nation-state, began to advocate the Great Turks, and went to the Turkic places in Central Asia to develop its business, and then ran into the Soviets and was crushed.
"When you think about it, the empire still has hidden dangers, your Excellency Enver Pasha. I have a suggestion. Judging from the Balkan War, these Christians will become independent sooner or later. Especially on the borders of the empire, there is indeed such a hidden danger. The Armenians should receive special attention, and a group of local Armenians should be relocated. Otherwise, it will be too close to Imperial Russia, and Ken will be used." William Pasha made the suggestion with a worried look on his face, as if he was completely worried about the Ottoman Empire.
"Similarly, the Arabs also have some ambitions. It would be better to move the Armenians on the border of the Russian Empire to the Arab area. This way, the two sides will be hostile to each other, and you can make better use of them."
Enver Pasha thought for a long time with a serious expression, then nodded and said, "There is indeed such a hidden danger. The example given by William Pasha is correct. During the Balkan War, the local ethnic groups wanted to break away from the rule of the empire, and the Armenians could do the same. We should take precautions in advance. Do you mean to move them away?"
"What else? Can we kill them?" Sheffield smiled. The Ottoman Empire had indeed done so before. But now that the war has not yet broken out, these Ottoman giants dare not do so.
(End of this chapter)
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