On December 27, China and Germany responded to the Ottoman Empire's request to mediate the war with Italy, but the Italian government apparently had no intention of stopping, and more than a month was enough for Italy to gather enough troops to transport it to the other side of Sicily.

On January 2, Qin Kai replied to Zhou Ruidong's opinion on the Italian-Ottoman war from Liaoyang, and in his view, the Ottoman Empire was undoubtedly as rotten as the old Qing government.

However, Qin Kai wanted to support a country that could counter European power in this place across the Eurasian continent, and the Ottoman was obviously an object that could definitely be fully utilized, and he knew better that once the Ottoman Empire fell apart, it would mean that another Islamic state circle that would make future generations terrible would become independent, and this would also weaken the containment of Europe and even the Russian Empire to the greatest extent.

On the 4th, after receiving a secret telegram from Beijing, Colonel He Xiaohai, the Chinese diplomatic attache in the Ottoman Empire, called on Lieutenant General Enver, who now held the military power of Istanbul, and he and Colonel Müller of the German officer corps proposed to Enver an operational plan codenamed "Whirlwind" to take the initiative to attack and counterattack Italy.

And in less than a month, Italian troops have already landed in Tripoli in full force. More than 22,000 troops were stationed there. The local Turkish army and the Arab cavalry gathered and launched a surprise attack on the Italians. The fighting between the two sides was in a stalemate, but the Italian army, which had a clear superiority in armaments and weapons, was gradually gaining control.

The military defeat in Tripoli in North Africa is also eroding the control of Istanbul by the Turkish Al-Shabaab, and the old opposition party, the royalist party, has clearly seen the dilemma of Al-Shabaab and Lieutenant General Enver, and if the pro-constitutional militarists cannot ensure the interests of the Ottoman Empire, it will obviously be attacked by more politicians, and the conservative Ottoman Empire has embarked on the path of constitutional monarchy under the barrel of a gun. It's likely to come to an abrupt end......

The Istanbul War Department, less than three months after taking office, General Enver, Minister of the Army, is sighing for the sudden appearance of a hot potato, he was born in the army, and he is naturally well aware of the strength of the Ottoman army, the huge empire has long lost the glory of sweeping the Eurasian and African eras, and the weakness of the national strength is doomed to the outdated armament, and in addition, the Ottomans' original combat concept has been completely outdated, which is also an important reason why he can quickly integrate the Al-Shabaab rebel army by leading a well-armed marine.

But. The Imperial military force is composed of a part of the Marine Corps and a large group of half-baked young soldiers, once it encounters a strong army in the true sense of the word. Then we have to show our weak nature...... In the face of the crisis provoked by Britain, France, and Germany, Enver naturally understood that confrontation was a catastrophe, and the final result would be the ouster of the Turkish Al-Shabaab.

It's just that Italy, a powerful country in the Mediterranean, suddenly made a move, but he had to respond, but now he can get the hole cards in his hand, which is really limited!

"Report, the military attache of the Chinese advisory group has arrived!" As Al-Shabaab's largest patron of military power, China thousands of miles away plays a pivotal role, and although the German Empire is also providing military support to the newly powerful Al-Shabaab, the rise of Al-Shabaab is a benefit to military aid from the Chinese.

Colonel He Xiaohai walked into the prime minister's office in Topkapi Palace, and immediately saw the Turkish general who had just taken power, this veteran soldier from Macedonia, obviously not very well adapted to the current dominant position, as a military attache in the Ottomans, he now heard about the changes in this aging country after the constitution, it was really unsatisfactory.

In contrast to the country where there was a similar situation, it is clear that the power of the old forces here has not been purged, and although Al-Shabaab and his armed forces defeated the royal army and won the victory of the constitutional monarchy, they did not gain the ultimate dominance at all!

"Colonel Ho, I am just thinking of contacting your minister to see if it is possible for Italy to suspend the invasion of Tripoli with the mediation in which your country participates!" General Enver immediately greeted him, and made a clear show of his attitude...... The Turks did not have the courage to attack the enemy, or even the determination to resist.

He Xiaohai immediately showed a sincere expression, and said in a heavy tone: "General Enver, I'm afraid I can't bring you the good news you hope for...... As far as I know, Italy has already landed an army of more than 25,000 people in Tripoli, and the defenders of your country in Tripoli have lost all the defenses of the port and are withdrawing towards Pajula, in this case, it is impossible to make the Italians retreat on their own initiative! ”

This news obviously hit Enver again, separated by the Mediterranean, obviously, he did not get the latest news from Tripoli, the Chinese obviously have other news channels, but the result is unsuspenseful, the loss of the port, means that the Italians can quickly cross the Mediterranean from Sicily, and even the whole of Italy, and the Italian navy as a powerful force in the Mediterranean, also let the Ottomans do nothing about it!

He thought about it for several minutes before he thought about the situation, "Colonel He, we don't have the military strength to take care of the territory on the other side of the Mediterranean, but the Ottoman Empire is willing to increase cooperation with China, hoping that China can unite with Britain or Germany to stop the Italian invasion of Tripoli...... We can consider ceding some of Tripoli's rights, but we must not give up our sovereignty! ”

As for the current situation of the Turks, He Xiaohai obviously predicted that the internal affairs of the Turks are not stable at present, and it will be difficult to carry out a decisive battle with Italy, but Beijing obviously has no will, and is also very clear about the outcome of the negotiations with Italy, and the strength of the Ottomans is completely impossible to gain benefits in the negotiations, and the results of the negotiations obviously lie in how much strength the Ottoman Empire can show at present.

"General Enver, I am afraid that if you want to secure the position of the Turkish Al-Shabaab in the Joint Progressive Council, and bow to the Italians now, I am afraid that the result will be the worst, in that case, according to the information we have, you will soon be squeezed out by the other radical parties in the Committee, and your army, I am afraid, will have to withdraw to Macedonia!" He Xiaohai ruthlessly dispelled any compromise ideas of the Turks, and if they wanted to compromise, they had to hand over power, which was obviously a condition that Enver could not accept.

The Italian port of Marsala, an important cargo terminal in Sicily, has recently become a temporary military port for the Italian Navy, with ships of all sizes coming in and out, fully demonstrating the economic strength of this Mediterranean powerhouse...... Of course, the Italians did not notice that a medium-sized merchant ship flying the British flag was moored in the harbor.

On the merchant ship, except for a few British employees, the merchant ship was in charge of Lin Yunheng, a major officer from the Naval Intelligence Department, and all 20 Chinese on the battleship were all personnel of the Naval Intelligence Department, and this mesh antenna was covertly installed on the mast of this carefully camouflaged merchant ship.

"Captain, two minutes ago, I just received an Italian military wireless telegram to the second destroyer squadron of the Navy, asking them to prepare to sail immediately to provide sea escort for the supply ship 'Sumir'!" A young soldier in civilian clothes hurriedly ran into the captain and reported in a low voice.

With the spread of radio technology, the Italian Navy, which is good at applying new technologies, has also followed the world trend, installed radio on warships, and carried out technical modifications to most of the warships in order to popularize this new technology.

In this regard, the Italians did a good job, but for Lin Yunheng, it is completely worthless outdated technology, this modified merchant ship, in fact, is a telegraph interception ship under the jurisdiction of the Naval Intelligence Department, 4 radio stations are installed on board, 24 hours a day to collect radio messages around the area, and there are excellent intelligence officers on board, responsible for decrypting encrypted information.

After tracking the Italian military radio for nearly three weeks, Lin Yunheng has completely cracked the rudimentary cipher technology used by the Italians, and this has also become an important training ground for the Intelligence Division. (To be continued......)