"The military strength of the Turkish al-Shabaab is probably not enough to fight the Italians!" In the General Staff Department of the Ministry of Military Affairs, Colonel Wu Peifu was in front of a large map of the Mediterranean, with several arrows pointing to Tripoli with an indicator stick in his hand, "The prediction sent by the Intelligence Department also came to the same conclusion, Enver has just quelled the confrontation of the old party, and the military force he can really control is very limited, and it is impossible to take Tripoli to fight the Italians to the death......"

On a brand-new sand table in the General Staff Hall, the terrain of Tripoli has been clearly revealed, and the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Maze, stared at the Italian Army flag on the dense coastline, thought deeply for a while, and sighed softly, the Ottoman Empire is now like someone has been choked by the neck, and it is simply unable to send enough troops to the battlefield that is separated by the entire Mediterranean.

What's more, the strength of the Ottoman army has always been among the worst in Europe, and it would be more appropriate to say that the Ottomans are hardly a European country, although they have been spanning Eurasia for centuries! However, he looked at the telegram that was in front of him......

This is what he just got from Premier Zhou Ruidong, and from the familiar pencil writing, it can be seen at a glance that it is from the handwriting of Qin Kai, chairman of the Baath Party, and the content is a very clear proposal for Italy and the Ottoman War - the existence of the Ottoman Empire, not to mention the growth, just the preservation of the Zài, is an important containment of the power of the whole of Europe, and once the Ottoman Shabaab loses control and the Sultan returns to power, it means that the difficulty of the support plan will increase exponentially! So......

"Staff Officer Wu, the Macedonian militia in Enver can't win against the Italians, but he definitely can't afford to lose this war either! Al-Shabaab that has just experienced its power. I would not be willing to quit the Joint Progressive Committee. Let those royalists regain control ...... power" said here. Ma Ze paused, considered the wording, and then continued: "Your Second Staff Department immediately formulated an overseas plan to keep Al-Shabaab in power at all costs...... In addition, Colonel Kelmer, who is training the new army, seems to have a good set of military skills, which is worth our expectation! ”

"Yes!" Wu Peifu apparently immediately realized that his military judgment had been approved by the chief of staff. And the task before him is obviously full of challenges, but this is not the opportunity that every staff officer dreams of, "General, although the Italians are strong and the Ottomans are weaker, we are obviously stronger...... Italian pride and overconfidence are great opportunities for us! ”

Two days later, in the early hours of April 27, the news mentioned in the telegram was put on the desk of Colonel Ho Xiaohai, who was in Istanbul, with the news transmitted in an expedited transmission from an intelligence ship in other maritime areas of Malaysia. He immediately realized that this might be the best opportunity he had been waiting for for days......

The most powerful battleship of the Italian Navy, the Queen Eleana and 2 Queen Margarita class ships (Queen Margarita, Bernardito?). USS Brin) battleship abruptly left the port of Syracuse. It sailed to Tripoli before evening, while the Italian fleet stationed in the harbor consisted of 2 Emanuel ? The Philiberto-class battleships were in charge.

Queen Elena and the two Queen Margarita classes are all new Italian warships launched in the past 3 years, with a tonnage of nearly 15,000 tons, which is the core of the Italian Navy closest to the dreadnought, and from the constantly deciphered Italian telegrams, it is mentioned that the Ottoman infantry and Arab cavalry in Tripoli are advancing to the coast to the Italian army to attack, so Italy obviously wants to let the three capital ships not stay in the rear to eat, but rush to the front line to give the greatest support to the attacking forces.

As a senior naval officer, He Xiaohai pondered in front of the chart for less than ten minutes before immediately concluding the current situation, and he immediately made a decision, "Send a report to Beijing immediately, we need to give the Ottoman the greatest promise, to ensure that Enver can make up his mind and launch a surprise attack organized by the navy!" ”

The telegram had been sent out, and he had already appeared in the Prime Minister's office in Enver, and after carefully explaining to the Turkish general the reasons for sending troops, he had not forgotten to add his own judgment, "General Enver, if you can deal them a fatal blow in Italy's strong Mediterranean, it will completely change the tide of the war, and change the strong position of you and Al-Shabaab in the Ottoman government!" ”

General Enver's transition from a military man more than half a year ago to the current ruler of the empire is a bit astonishing, but as a Turkish soldier with a high reputation in the military circles, he is much more aware of the importance of the gun than most Istanbul nobles, especially now that the Ottoman Empire is surrounded by enemies.

For the aid from China, in fact, it was completely beyond his expectations, at the time when he had just joined the army, the reputation of this Far Eastern Empire in Europe, except for its antiquity and vastness, there was nothing to be commendable militarily, but as a soldier, he did deeply appreciate the rise of a great power in the past 20 years.

Whether it was the old-fashioned and proud Germans, or the British, who were now ostentatious and proud, he saw their reverence for China, which was definitely something he and the Turkish Al-Shabaab could only dream of, for the sinking Ottoman Empire...... It's just that the Italian Navy, which has always had absolute sea power in the Mediterranean, has always been challenged now!

"Military Attache He, I also very much agree with your proposal, but if the naval power of the Empire, compared to Italy, enters a full-scale war, I have also had full discussions with the ministers of the committee, and it seems that ...... We simply can't get the final victory......"

"Of course...... If there is no help from us! He Xiaohai smiled slightly, and picked up Enver's words, "General, the combat power of your country to obtain Xia-class battleships and Shang-class battleships is far beyond your imagination, before the Chinese Navy has this series of battleships, it easily defeated the fleet of the British Empire that had a pre-dreadnought era, the only problem is that your navy lacks the necessary experience!" ”

"The Ottoman Empire has never been able to compete with Italy or the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean, we can't even build any new armored warships, to fight a war with Italy, once lost, all the coastline of the entire Ottoman Empire will become the shooting range of the Italian Navy, this is a price we can't afford......" General Enville obviously did not understand He Xiaohai's hint, perhaps unwilling to comprehend, compared to the loss of Tripoli, it does take too much courage to risk a full-scale decisive battle.

He Xiaohai obviously saw the timidity of the Turks, and he did not hesitate to interrupt the other party's explanation, "General, if you give up here, I think it is better to announce your withdrawal from the Joint Progress Council and let those Sudanese supporters lead the war, otherwise, after you are forced to give up power, they will put a new charge on your name - losing the sovereignty of the whole of Tripoli, in addition, I think you also underestimate our strength, we will continue to provide you with sufficient intelligence and assistance, Enough to neutralize Italy's superiority in military power! ”

"Aid ......" Enver heard this, and immediately realized that he had been hit by a pie, Chinese had shown enough sincerity to give him a chance to fight a turnaround battle, originally let him give up the leadership of the government, this was not at all the result he was willing to accept, just a last resort, he immediately asked: "Military Attache He, I would like to know the specific details of this aid!" ”

In the early morning of the 28th, the Ottoman navy assembled in the port of Izmir received an order from Istanbul to immediately raise fire and anchor, and a little later, a merchant ship flying the British flag and a Kunlun-class destroyer flying the Chinese flag sailed into the port, and after contacting the Ottoman Navy Marshal Mustafa, the two sides quickly sailed out of the port in the thick morning fog. (To be continued......)