Developing gold mines requires manpower and material resources, and China has no shortage of them. Gao Junshan believed that the most important thing was to protect the safety of these two gold mines, especially to prevent harassment from the neighboring Rakshasa country, so he ordered the 102nd, 104th, 106th, and 107th divisions of the First Army to strictly guard the border, and mobilized armed police and militia to conduct a strict check on the people entering and leaving the border.

Gao Junshan thought that this was not enough, and he ordered the First Army Corps to form two more second-level combat divisions, the 111th Division and the 112th Division, and the second-level combat division was a second-line unit responsible for vigilance and protection, so the number was above 110.

The two divisions were deployed in the vicinity of the two gold mines to protect the safety of the gold mines.

Cao Wenzhao, the commander of the First Army, was in Bushehr at this time, and Gao Junshan appointed him deputy commander-in-chief of the Gulf Army, with full responsibility for directing the operation against the Ottomans.

Cao Wenzhao was holding a military meeting in the war room on the third floor of the headquarters in Bushehr, which has now become the headquarters of the Gulf Corps.

A 6X8-meter sand table was placed in the middle of the war room, and Cao Wenzhao looked at the bay terrain seriously in front of the sand table.

This sand table is made according to the nautical chart, and then modified by field reconnaissance, the accuracy is quite high, the place names are from the nautical chart, this nautical chart is made by later generations, some cities and ports do not exist at this time, but this does not affect the reference as a direction.

Cao Wenzhao asked Tian Qiliang, deputy director of the Ministry of the Navy: "Deputy Director Tian, can the Ottoman army be mobilized at present?" ”

Tian Qiliang replied: "Back to the deputy commander-in-chief, due to the secrecy of our army's troop transportation, the enemy army does not seem to have discovered our army's intentions and has not guarded against the movements of our army. ”

"Their navy is still at war with Venice?" Cao Wenzhao asked.

Tian Qiliang replied: "Exactly." The combined fleet of China and Poland still controls the eastern shore of the Persian Gulf, and the Admiralty has transferred ten steam engine battleships to join the combined fleet of China, and three of them have arrived at the port of Bushehr, and seven are still on the way. ”

Cao Wenzhao asked: "So we are completely able to control the initiative at sea?" ”

Tian Qiliang replied: "We in Persia have now concentrated 1,500 warships of various types, forming three sub-fleets, and another 1,000 transport ships, which are completely capable of ensuring that our combat troops can cross the sea and fight. ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "Naval operations must be commanded by your Admiralty, but we must maintain a unified pace with the corps to ensure that our ground forces advance to Africa." Our goal is ultimately to advance to that position. ”

Everyone's eyes turned to the place that Cao Wenzhao pointed to, which marked the Suez Canal.

Cao Wenzhao then asked about the situation of the cavalry unit of the headquarters, the cavalry unit is composed of a number of minority divisions, and there are also three cavalry divisions of Persia, a total of twelve cavalry divisions, and the commanders of these twelve cavalry divisions will all be in the war room.

In charge of commanding the twelve cavalry divisions were Uliji and Shail, two generals who followed Gao Junshan in their early years, so they spoke Chinese very well.

Cao Wenzhao reminded: "The ability of the troops to win the battle has a lot to do with whether they can contact each other in a timely manner. ”

Wu Liji, the commander of the cavalry unit, answered Cao Wenzhao's question: "The Chinese interpreters of each of our cavalry divisions have been allocated to the battalion level, and in addition, each of our cavalry regiments is also equipped with flag soldiers, so the communication between ethnic minorities is very smooth and there will be no problems. ”

Deputy Commander Shail replied: "Our Persian cavalry is also equipped with sufficient Chinese interpreters, and at the same time, the flag language used by our Persian army is common to your army, and there is no problem of communication. ”

Cao Wenzhao nodded and praised the cavalry troops: "Our cavalry troops have nearly 150,000 people, however, the assembly of the large corps is so hidden that the Ottomans are not aware of it, this is already a big victory, I believe that in the future battles, you will cooperate more closely and defeat the enemy." ”

Tian Qiliang said: "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff Department has come up with a complete set of operational plans, and this plan still needs to be finalized by you, Deputy Commander-in-Chief. ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "I have seen this plan, and every step in the plan is calculated very precisely, which can be said to be seamless, and I think it can be deployed according to this plan." Speaking of this, he asked Li Dingguo, "Commander Li, you are fully responsible for the defense of the coastal ports, how is the deployment of troops going?" ”

Cao Wenzhao's question to Li Dingguo was reasonable, because Li Dingguo had just been transferred from the Eighth Army Corps to the Ninth Corps, and what he was most worried about was the defense of the rear.

Li Dingguo is now the commander of the Ninth Army Corps, and he reported to Cao Wenzhao: "Back to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, our Ninth Army Corps has been mobilized to deploy a marine division on the east coast of the Persian Gulf to prevent the Ottoman army's sneak attack, and the troops have reached the designated position, you see-" Li Dingguo pointed to the position on the sand table, "Haysar, Ganave, Rig, we all have heavy troops on this line, in addition, we also have a mobile force as a reserve." ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "Very good, once there is an enemy situation in the rear, you must keep in touch with the navy in time and ask the navy's powerful artillery fire to support you." ”

Tian Qiliang said: "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, rest assured, the Ninth Army was originally in the battle sequence of the Admiralty, and we have direct communication with each other. ”

Cao Wenzhao asked Shayl again: "It is mentioned in the plan that you Persia sent two infantry divisions to cooperate with the actions of our First Army, where are your two divisions now?" ”

Shair said: "Back to the deputy commander-in-chief, our two infantry divisions will be able to reach the port of Bushehr tomorrow and join the battle sequence of the First Army. ”

Cao Wenzhao said to Shail: "The three elite divisions of my First Army Corps are responsible for the main attack mission, and after your two infantry divisions arrive, they will be scattered and assigned to my three elite divisions." In this western expedition, although we are fighting against the Ottomans, we have entered the area where the Arabs live, and the language and customs are different from those of our Han Chinese, and the purpose of breaking up your Persian army and inserting it into the troops of our First Legion is to be able to get your guide and interpreter in time, and at the same time to assist us in the battle, I hope you can fully understand our purpose. ”

"Please rest assured that the Deputy Commander-in-Chief has given specific combat missions to the troops, and these two infantry divisions are our loyal infantry divisions of Persia and the staunchest supporters of the Huaxia State. ”

Cao Wenzhao was also very familiar with Shayer, and had fought side by side together, so he nodded and said: "After your troops arrive, I will ask you to go in person, tell the division commander and regiment commander the specific matters, and assign them to my 101st, 103rd and 105th divisions." ”

Shair said: "Resolutely fulfill the order of the deputy commander-in-chief!" I will go down to the troops tomorrow until I have finished the dispersal of the two divisions, and I will report to you when I return. ”

Cao Wenzhao nodded with satisfaction, and then he asked Tian Qiliang: "How well have we followed up the logistics of the Persian army?" ”

Tian Qiliang said: "If the deputy commander-in-chief goes to the railway station to take a look, there will be no doubt, the current Bushehr railway station is full of strategic materials, so there is no problem with our logistics." ”

Cao Wenzhao instructed uneasily: "In any case, our logistics must be close to our friendly troops, and we cannot let our friendly brothers go to war on an empty stomach." ”

Tian Qiliang said: "We must follow the instructions of the deputy commander-in-chief!" ”

Shair said with emotion: "Our Persian army, no matter what difficulties it encounters, will fight with the Chinese army!" ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "This is the end of today's meeting, everyone go back to prepare for battle, and wait for the order of the General Staff for the specific attack time." Meeting! ”