There is no love for no reason in this world, which is obviously an unquestionable truth for Major General Kelmer, who has come all the way from the bottom of the army, and Far East China can be described as very generous in arms sales to the Ottoman Empire, which fully reflects the sincerity of the Chinese compared with the technological blockade of European countries.

Of course, the shock of his earlier trip to China was obvious, and although he had never been to China in his early years, rumors from the East and the rise of China that he had seen made him pay more attention to his military career, especially after the rise of the Turkish Al-Shabaab and his friend Enver, who had become fully aware that the feudal rule of the Ottoman Empire had come to an end.

However, the ruling position achieved by the military operation of Envertong Guò is now being fiercely challenged by the Conservative Party, and the original ** of the Turkish Al-Shabaab is in fact very accidental, even after Enver took control, it still implemented the old constitutional monarchy, and under this system, the conservative forces are still strong, even in the joint committee that now holds the central power, the Al-Shabaab has only a slight advantage.

Therefore, the military assistance promised by the military attache He Xiaohai, who represents China, is exactly what he can't ask for, and the only obstacle ...... "Military attache He, I think this qiē should have a offer!" Even if your country wants the Ottoman Empire to maintain its combat effectiveness, this is not a big problem that military assistance can solve...... I'm curious, why did your country support Enver and me? ”

"There is no reason!" He Xiaohai laughed, "We have always looked at the quasi-person...... That's the only reason! ”

“……”

The secret conversation between Kyle and He Xiaohai continued late into the night, and after dawn, the Chinese officer brought the Turkish bearded man another exciting news: five warships of the First Detachment of the Ottoman Navy led by Rear Admiral François had successfully broken through the Italian Navy's interception in the Ionian Sea, and the destroyer Schalke, which served as the bait, had raided a passing Italian merchant ship in the waters north of the North African coast last night!

"The Italians took the bait?" This news made Keelmo can't help but ask...... Separated by a supposedly neutral but distinctly Italian-biased Greece, the Ottoman navy's vast plan to circumnavigate the coastline of North Africa, although the range is entirely within the possible range of the fleet's endurance, is the greatest challenge, but so far it is clear that the fleet has done so.

"There is an old Chinese saying that it is up to man to make things happen, and it is up to heaven to make things happen, and it is difficult to be sure whether the Italians are advancing their military operations according to our assumptions, but the Ottoman navy has already shown the power to shock Europe, and this is a crucial message, and I think you will definitely make full use of this, General, European countries are originally full of antagonistic individuals, and they have always been!!"

After He Xiaohai fully expressed China's position, he looked calmly at the Ottoman general in front of him with two thick mustaches and Turkish round fur, and a series of messages transmitted from China, from the support of Enver to this Keelmo, all showed the amazing strength of the Intelligence Division, of course...... Even as a national intelligence officer, he didn't know that this qiē had the powerful influence of Qin Kai.

Kelmer also apparently fully understood the message from China, the enemies of the Ottoman Empire...... In fact, the entire European powers, from the long-time sworn enemy of the Russian Empire, the current enemy Italy, and even the half-allies of the British Empire and Germany, as well as France, which is also vying for power in North Africa, and a large number of European countries surrounded by the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece, are all sharpening their knives and preparing to carve up territories that the Qiē Empire cannot control.

And the so-called diplomatic mediation, for the military-born Kelmo, is completely a manifestation of the incompetence of politicians, just today, when Tripoli is under a full-scale invasion, there are still a large number of conservative politicians and royalists in Istanbul who ask for diplomatic intervention from European countries, this kind of foolish behavior will only fuel Italy's determination to sweep over the territory of North Africa, what the Ottoman Empire needs is a victory in the true sense of the word, from land to sea!

"Military attache Ho, the situation in North Africa, from a military point of view, is already a defeat, Britain has blocked Egypt and the Suez Canal, denied the Imperial army access to North African territory, and the passage by sea, means that Rear Admiral François must annihilate the Italian fleet...... Although the fleet is playing very well now, I don't think it's an achievable goal! ”

How could He Xiaohai not understand the bad situation faced by the Ottoman Empire, if it confronted Italy on its own soil, the Ottoman Empire's huge manpower was enough to defend itself, but when it came to fighting across the Mediterranean, Italy, a naval power in the Mediterranean, had an absolute advantage...... However, this is obviously a matter for the Ottoman Empire, not China, and all I need is to put enough pressure on the Ottomans!

"So, General Kelsem, your country is in need of a hard-to-win victory, and this is not the military dream you have been pursuing!"

Kaiermo was obviously surprised by the Chinese's confidence in him, but this had obviously completely aroused his long-dormant fighting spirit, and after pondering for a few minutes, he nodded firmly, "I will persuade Enver to immediately recruit troops on the mainland, and we need the support of your country!" If we win, we will remember the friendship between our two countries and give our most generous thanks! ”

Xu Shoushan stood behind the Ministry of Military Affairs and played a set of Tai Chi pushers, and at the same time happily watched more than a dozen other young officers practice military physical boxing, he has just recently become obsessed with the new skills, from the commander who controls the fleet and travels around the sea, to now sitting in the magnificent compound of the Ministry of Military Affairs in Beijing, which obviously makes the admiral feel a little stuffy, so, in his spare time, now he prefers to practice with these young people in the back garden.

"Report!" The stocky adjutant Wu Peifu appeared at the door quickly, "General, there is an urgent telegram from Istanbul!" ”

Xu Shoushan immediately threw down the towel that was wiping his sweat, walked out of the small school field quickly, reached out to take the telegram in Wu Peifu's hand, looked at it twice, and asked sideways: "Ziyu, what do you think about intervening in the battle between Italy and the Ottomans?" ”

Wu Peifu was just transferred to the Ministry of Military Affairs last month, because the staff level was quite amazing, so he was transferred to the officer corps directly under Xu Shoushan, and recently he was mainly responsible for the contact with Istanbul, hearing Xu Shoushan ask for his opinion, he obviously had a plan, "General, Colonel He's advance is good, judging from the means of leading troops at the end of this Kaier, it is a talent, the situation in North Africa has been eroded, but as long as the Ottomans can continue to invest troops, the Ottoman Navy can contain the Italian Navy, I think there's a great chance in the end! ”

Xu Shoushan obviously basically agreed with Wu Peifu's opinion, he nodded, took out his pocket watch and looked at it, "Half an hour later, a military meeting will be held at the General Staff, Ziyu, you immediately go and notify all departments to participate...... Especially the logistics department in charge of transportation! ”

In the afternoon of the same day, the Beijing Military and Political Department sent a top-secret telegram to He Xiaohai, agreeing in principle to the agreement reached between He Xiaohai and Kelma, that the high-ranking Turkish officer would receive 5,000 rifles, 1.5 million rounds of ammunition, and 300,000 yuan in secret support, and that this aid would be secretly transported across the Mediterranean Sea from the Egyptian coastline after Kelsem's secret arrival in the Benghazi theater.

On the 20th, when Kelmer had just set off on a German cargo ship and diverted to Alexandria, Egypt, for North Africa, the Ottoman Empire finally ushered in the first national excitement......

On the 17th, after nearly 5 days of secret maneuvers in the Mediterranean, the Ottoman fleet led by General François miraculously circumnavigated the Ionian Sea, and under the construction of Chen Han, an accompanying Chinese adviser, the fleet camouflaged the battleships, covered most of the abrupt signs, and even erected a camouflage chimney in front of the command tower, and at the same time, in order not to startle the snakes, even abandoned the port of Crotone, which was close at hand and easier to attack, but sailed south again with fearless determination, Determined to completely abandon the Italian fleet, which might return to the tracking fleet.

After nearly 3 days of searching, the Italian fleet did not find the Ottoman fleet in its own waters, and naturally thought that the other party had returned to the Ottoman seas, so it began to search along the waters off Heraklion, but a shortcoming of the Italian warships was exposed at this moment...... For a long time, the Italian warships did not have much need for endurance, after all, the Mediterranean Sea is far from being as vast as the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

But now to cruise back and forth on the Mediterranean Sea to search for the Ottoman fleet, the Italian battleships with a cruising distance of only 4,000 kilometers have no other way to speak of except relying on the accompanying coal carriers to replenish, but the supply efficiency of the coal carriers and the speed of the accompanying ships are a hard flaw, so on the 18th, Commander Graziani ordered the three warships of the Second Detachment to return to the Ottoman fleet first, while the rest of the warships continued to search for the Ottoman fleet, which was also a good plan to ensure the entire Mediterranean Sea and the escort forces.

It's just that Admiral Graziani of the Italian fleet obviously didn't realize that the danger had already sprouted in his own backyard......

In the morning of the same day, an ordinary telegram sent home from the returning battleship Emmanuel was overheard by a Chinese intelligence ship operating in the nearby waters, and because it was an ordinary supply telegram, the Italians, who were completely unsuspected, did not even encrypt the telegram at all, and a little later, the Ottoman fleet, which was sailing northwest of the Ionian Sea, immediately received a telegram forwarded by another nearby intelligence ship.

"Colonel Chen, are we continuing to attack the Italian supply depots on the other islands of Mako?" François was apparently a little undecided, and after getting rid of the Italians, the fleet's stated goal was to attack Italian supply lines, especially on the island of Mabe, halfway between Sicily and Tripoli, and if the attack was successful, the Italian supply in North Africa would be severely defeated.

Chen Han looked at the telegram carefully, and then said very solemnly: "General François, I will immediately turn to intercept the Italian fleet, if we can defeat or even sink the enemy's main warship, it will be a landmark battle for the rise of the Ottoman Navy!" And after the naval battle, I think we will still maintain the strength to fight horses! ”R1152