By the end of March, all the troops had arrived at the designated location, several ports had been completely occupied by the Xia Empire, all the locals had been expelled from the port city, their finances were returned to the public, and the houses became barracks for officers and soldiers. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Originally, it was planned for the 9th Army to be stationed in Dammam, but after consulting with Zhang Liang, the commander of the 9th Army decided to station Muscat first, and then drive out the local natives from the northeast coastal area; The plan was approved by Qian Xiangyang and immediately executed.

At this time, the West Asian region was still in an extremely backward state, and the coastal areas were more affected by external influences, and a large number of emirates were established, and the internal areas were still the most primitive tribal system.

These emirates occupy more than 1,000 square kilometers in large emirates, and only a few hundred or even dozens of square kilometers in small emirates; Populations generally range from a few hundred to a few thousand.

After the Xia Empire's army arrived, it only occupied a few relatively large cities, drove the locals away, and did not continue to develop around, so that these Arab sheikhs were finally reassured, it seems that the Xia Empire, like Britain, France, Portugal and many foreign forces, is not adapted to their local climate, if this is the case, it will not pose any threat to them.

The mercenaries who arrived in West Asia saw that there were so many weak natives outside the city, and the military headquarters had not issued a war plan, and after 10 days, they began to resist this temptation and began to apply to the army commander to fight.

By 15 April, the construction of air bases in various localities had taken shape, and they were already capable of berthing seaplanes, and the Air Force Department transferred 10 patrol planes from various bases in the Indian Ocean to the West Asia Theater, and each base was assigned 2 planes; Zhang Wei sent six airships from the empire to provide fire support to the troops, and if necessary, to provide logistical support.

On 17 April, the patrol aircraft arrived at the bases and began to patrol the various armies.

On the 20th, the armies received a telegram from the theater command and began to operate.

Since Qian Xiangyang had already conveyed Zhang Wei's order to all armies in the past, that is, to drive all the local natives away, not a single native was allowed to appear on the territory of the West Asian theater in the future, even if he was a slave.

During this time, the armies had already given orders to all divisions and brigades, and every officer and soldier of each army understood the purpose of the war that followed.

In order to achieve such an effect, after discussion, the various armies generally adopted a policy of robbing the natives of food, livestock, and all the production and daily necessities, so that they could not live in the local area and were forced to relocate.

For those who resist, they should be eliminated directly, and the natives should not be left with any illusions, and they should be killed until they dare not resist.

On the 18th, the mercenary brigade under the jurisdiction of the 9th Army attacked south from Muscat, first occupied Nizwa, wiped out the Sayyid dynasty of the Muscat Sultanate, drove all the local natives into the desert, and then joined up with the cavalry and fought all the way to Salalah; The cavalry division divided 5,000 officers and men to attack eastward, to the seashore of the West Asian Sea, and then to the south, to join the mercenaries, and then continue to the south; The 1st Defense Division, the Janissary Division, 5,000 cavalry and the army headquarters attacked westward until the capture of Dammam; Leave 1 defence division to guard Muscat and protect the port, air base and logistics routes.

Two patrol planes provided intelligence support for the two teams, and the airship provided fire support for the troops.

The local natives are very easy to find, they all live in the desert dotted with oases, relying on the ancient castle for defense, in the Sultanate, there are more than 300 large and small ancient castles, as long as the ancient castle and the town below the ancient castle are occupied, and the local people are driven away, it is equivalent to occupying these places, and the local people lose their living materials and weapons and ammunition, and they cannot organize a counterattack in a short time.

The mercenaries feel very honored to receive such a task, if they can eliminate the royal family of the Sultanate, not to mention the captured materials, at least the war exploits will not be small, and then the rewards of the Xia Empire will make them rich.

When the British evacuated, they supported the Sultanate of Muscat with a large amount of weapons and equipment, food, cloth, etc., and built an army of more than 20,000 people, including a 75mm mountain artillery battalion. The Sultan gladly accepted the gratuitous aid of the British.

After the British withdrew, the Sultan, although he did not fully believe the British, felt that the coastal area was more dangerous, so he led his army and members of the royal family to Nizwa ahead of schedule, leaving only a small number of troops in Muscat Harbor to maintain order.

Nizwa was the largest inland city of the Sultanate, and next to an inland river, it was a very large oasis, and the Fortress of Nizwa was the strongest fortress in the entire Sultanate.

The Sultan believed that with the strong and tall fortress of Nizwa and artillery, he would be able to block the attack of the Xia Empire's army, and it was best for the Xia Empire to withdraw on its own after a long time.

Mercenaries and cavalry from the east, marching in battalion formation, destroyed the castles that had already been marked on the map, drove away the locals living in the oases, looted their living and productive materials, and forced them to leave.

In the captured forts, the troops will leave a certain number of troops to guard them, and serve as a turnover station for supplies, and the captured materials will also be temporarily stored in the forts, and the captured loot will be transported to Muscat at the right time.

Because the patrol aircraft have long marked the location to be occupied on the map, the troops marched very quickly, these small tribes have few personnel, low equipment, these ancient castles are not big, and there is a certain role in resisting each other's tribal attacks, in the face of the artillery fire equipped by the Xia Imperial army, it has lost its protective effect on the locals, the artillery fire can easily destroy the walls and gates of the ancient castle, and the heavy machine guns suppress the natives guarding the city wall, and the battalions quickly occupy the ancient castle, as long as the ancient castle is occupied, the entire oasis will lose the power to resist, Let the Xia Empire's army slaughter.

The locals are very fierce, they have lived in a difficult environment for a long time, and the tribes often attack each other for grassland and water sources, but in the face of the modern equipment of the officers and soldiers of the Xia Empire, they have been defeated and have no power to fight back, and their resistance has failed.

The greatest wealth of the indigenous people living in the desert area is camels, horses, cattle and sheep, which are also the sources and tools for their livelihood.

The mercenaries marched very quickly and captured a lot of money, and the brigade commander first arranged for the army to occupy all the oasis castles outside Nizwa, and then the troops converged in Nizwa.

After holding it for so long, they were released to participate in military operations, all the mercenary officers and soldiers were enthusiastic, and there were not many opportunities to get this kind of solo action, they cherished it very much, so they fought more bravely, and in order to get more rewards in the future, they did not miss any opportunity to increase their capture, and even the jewelry worn by the natives was snatched down as trophies.

By about 5 May, the mercenaries were gradually concentrating on Nizwa.

The Sultan knew that the time for a decisive battle was coming, and read out to all the troops the brutal actions of the Xia Empire, and they must fight bravely to defeat the Xia Empire army and recapture the oasis and cattle and sheep that belonged to them.

Many of the natives who fled to Nizwa also portrayed the Xia Empire's army as brutal and unkind, and they were simply a group of devils.

Let the soldiers guarding Nizwa know that they have no way to retreat, and strengthen their belief in fighting.

The Caliph even elevated the war to the level of jihad, encouraging all the locals to participate in the war against the Xia Empire's army.

The military spirit is available, and Sultan Saeed is full of confidence in the war. (To be continued.) )