Like Egypt was to the Ottoman Empire, Khuzestan was now nominally part of Persia, but the administration was vested in the Umbrella Company, and the top administrators appointed by the Qajar dynasty could only stay in Isfahan, not even Khuzestan could enter.

The plague is rampant in the area around Khuzestan, and the situation in Khuzestan at the center of the plague is naturally not optimistic, and the Umbrella Company has temporarily stopped migrating to Khuzestan and will not continue to develop Khuzestan until the situation is stable.

"There are less than 10,000 Persians in Khuzestan now, and we are trying to restore order in Khuzestan, clean up the ruins left over from the war, bury the bodies, and restore the farms, but it will take a long time to return to the state before the war." Don is becoming more and more mature now, he looks like five big and three coarse, but in fact he is very delicate, and Roque is not wrong.

"How's the oil field going?" Before Roque departed, he had sent a telegram to Lide that the military observer group would rest in Port Elizabeth for two or three days before heading to the Elizabeth fields.

"Everything is normal, but the Ottoman Empire has continued to build up its troops during this time, Basra now has two cavalry divisions and two infantry divisions, which are a great threat to our oil fields, and we are moving troops back from Muscat and New Cape of Good Hope to prepare for a possible Ottoman attack." Don was also very uncomfortable, although the umbrella company was strong, but the stall was too large, the front was too long, and it was inevitable that it would be overstretched, and after sending troops to Huzestan, the garrison of Port Elizabeth was once only 3,000 people, and the situation was precarious.

Fortunately, the Ottoman Empire did not have the courage to go to war with the British, and the situation has reached a stalemate until now, but the garrison of Basra is still a great threat to the Elizabeth oil fields.

At the moment in 1912, the world's demand for oil was growing explosively, and Roque only knew that the number of cars in southern Africa had grown from less than 100,000 in 1905 to more than 100,000 now, but he did not know that the number of cars in the United States had grown from only 75,000 in 1905 to nearly 1.5 million in 1912.

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

The decision caused an uproar, with France and Germany following Britain's lead, adding to 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, but many of the earlier developed oil fields have been on the verge of depletion, so Standard Oil's life is not easy, Roque regards oil as a lifeline at the same time, Standard Oil is also actively looking for new oil fields, which is why Standard Oil persevers on the peninsula.

For the Ottoman Empire, the Elizabethan oil field was a great temptation, and if it could control the Elizabethan oil field, then the Ottoman Empire could increase its leverage and regain the respect of European countries, which would greatly alleviate the danger that the Ottoman Empire is now facing.

The end of the Balkan Peninsula did not restore peace to the Ottoman Empire, but because of the further weakening of the Ottoman Empire, the domestic situation became more and more unstable.

In fact, the Ottoman Empire is a multi-ethnic state, although the Ottoman Empire is nominally a centralized state, in fact, the Ottoman Empire's control over the various ethnic groups within its territory is very weak, as long as the ethnic groups within the territory swear allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan, the Ottoman Empire will even allow the autonomy of the ethnic groups.

This style of rule can remain stable without being invaded by external forces, and once someone provokes it, the collapse of order is inevitable.

"The Ottoman Empire is stepping up the construction of the railway between Baghdad and Basra, the construction of this railway was very slow, only a dozen miles a year, and 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 companies are competing with the German railway companies, should we also intervene?" Li De was not in charge of the military and was more concerned about the railway, and Port Elizabeth was also building a railway between Muscat, which is also progressing very quickly.

Muscat has now been renamed Georgetown, not to curry favor with George V, but to downplay Muscat's history and strengthen Muscat's British character, which is more conducive to subsequent operations.

"Germany?" Roque was surprised that in the previous reports of Donn and Lidd, there was never any mention of German influence on the Ottoman Empire.

"Yes, the German railway company took over the Baghdad railway, and now they are building a bridge over the Euphrates, and it is estimated that the railway will be open to traffic next year." Li De finally felt the pressure, the hundred-legged insect died but did not stiffen, the Ottoman Empire, an ancient empire, even if it was to perish, it was not an overnight thing, since the loss of the Ninth Russian-Turkish War in the fifties of the last century, the Ottoman Empire was going downhill, except for Roque, no one knew whether the Ottoman Empire could make a comeback.

The Ottoman Empire was indeed amazing, in the first Balkan War, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all European territory, and just when everyone was celebrating, the Ottoman Empire regrouped in just a few months and seized the opportunity of the Second Balkan War to retake Eastern Thrace and Adrianople, which almost everyone did not expect.

It was also after the Second Balkan War that Germany stepped up its penetration into the Sinai Peninsula, and undertaking the construction of railways was only one aspect, and 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 many archaeologists in the Mediterranean coast, many of whom are intelligence officers from various countries, and even military personnel who draw maps.

"The Rhodesia Hotel has an Earl Oppenheimer, who is said to be from Germany." Donn had a vast intelligence network under his command, and the Germans were the main focus of attention.

"Count?" Roque had never heard of this name, there were too many various nobles he knew in Egypt during this time, from all countries, but earls were still rare, and Roque was only a viscount now.

"Yes, the German Count—so is his business card, Count Oppenheimer was an explorer who was presiding over the excavation of the site of Haraf, from which he is said to have obtained a great deal of gold and silver treasures, so large that he had to hire hundreds of camels to transport them." Don's eyes were shining, and in a place like the Sinai Peninsula, there were so many ruins, and that "Lawrence of Arabia" was now also an archaeologist.

"Strengthen the defense of the Elizabeth oil field, let Ali expand the army, and I will give him more weapons." Roque finally realized the situation facing Port Elizabeth, which was closer to the core of the Ottoman Empire than Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire had more troops in Basra than in Damascus, so Roque had to prepare accordingly.

Don and Li Deqi brushed their responses: "Yes Lord—"

A little later, Roque received a telegram from Cairo.

The governor of Cairo and Sudan, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, finally returned, after the Second Boer War, Kitchener was made a viscount, and then went to India as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Army, and later was dismissed because of a serious disagreement with Governor Curzon, in September 1909, Kitchener became Field Marshal, last September, Kitchener served as the governor of Egypt and Sudan, some time ago when Rock went to Egypt, Kitchener returned to London to miss the meeting with Roark, and now Kitchener has finally returned to Egypt, Meet with Roque as soon as possible.

Calculated carefully, Kitchener was Roque's old superior, but Rock's career came after Kitchener left southern Africa, and when Kitchener was commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force during the Second Boer War, Rocker had been serving in the Cape Town Police Department and had not served in the army.

By the time Roque went to India, Kitchener was dismissed because of his feud with Curzon, so Rodge missed the opportunity to get acquainted with Kitchener, and now the opportunity has finally come, in Roque's impression, after the outbreak of the World War, Kitchener's official position as Field Marshal was Secretary of War.

Roark went to George White that night to say goodbye and return to Cairo.

"That stubborn and eccentric little old man, don't bother with him, that guy is just an old stubborn." George White was unconcerned about Kitchiner.

This is also understandable, not to mention whether Kitchiner's character is stubborn and eccentric, George White performed poorly during the Boer War and lost his troops, but Kitchener made great achievements, which directly led to George White's neglect over the years, replaced by Roque, and Roque will also be resentful.

"I'm sorry General, Lord Kitchina is my direct superior, and I must follow Lord Kitchina's orders." Roque also didn't want to hang out with the Military Observer Group, a bunch of wretched creatures who had been marginalized after losing the power struggle, and Kitchener was the promising potential stock.

Although in the eyes of many people, Kitchener has reached the peak of his life, Roque knows that this is far from the end.

"It's okay, Kitchener will be leaving Cairo soon-" George White seemed to know a lot of the inside story, and he immediately realized his gaffe: "This decision has not been announced yet, don't tell anyone-"

"Of course, I'm going to keep my mouth shut!" Roque was speechless, and he could blurt out that the appointments that had not yet been announced, and George White was also talented.