: The restless wind blows through the wasteland. The lack of vegetation in the land under the dazzling light of the province of Shangdaikou thorns. There was hardly a tree to be seen on the ground, and the only shaded place was the shadow beneath the cliff.

The temperature is very high. And it's noon, and even the most anxious person must now find shade to escape the scorching sun, and it is most comfortable to be able to hide in the shadow of the cliff, but if you can't find the shadow of the cliff, then you can only hide in the tent.

This is the northeastern part of the Persian Plateau. The Khorasan region is close to Mashhad on the Persian border. From here to Turkmenistan to the north and to Afghanistan to the southeast, Mashhad is actually the transport hub of northeastern Persia.

Although the area has not yet built a railway, but there is still a road that can pass cars, and from Mashhad to Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, due to the dry local climate, there is little rainfall, so this road almost does not need to be maintained, in fact, it has never been maintained, in ancient times, the Mongolian army of the Western Expedition has walked from this road, and now, a British ** team is also using this road.

Now, the British ** team is on both sides of the road to make the necessary rest, military tents are scattered on the wasteland, the wind is blowing on all sides, and the soldiers and officers lie in the shade for a short afternoon, although the temperature is still very high. However, compared to exposure to the sun. Hiding in a tent can at least be comfortable.

It's in such a military tent. Lieutenant Colonel Francis, dressed in the summer uniform of the British Army, sat on an ammunition box and took advantage of this rare lunch break to read a newspaper. He had brought the newspaper from Tabriz the day before yesterday, and since he had no free time, he had not been able to find time to read it until now.

Published by the British Indo-European Telegraph Company, the content is naturally in English, and most of the content is national telecommunications and the latest international reports. This newspaper was obviously very important to a British intelligence officer, through which Lieutenant Colonel Francis Jr. could keep up to date with the latest information.

Francis fled to Persia from the Volga Plain in Russia half a month ago. The reason is simple, because the Russian Red Army stormed the strategic town of Tsaritsyn on the Volga at that time. Because the war situation was very unfavorable to the anti-Bolshevik White Russian army, in order to avoid Francis, the British intelligence officers fell into the hands of Soviet Russia, and the British newspaper had to give Francis an order to retreat, so Francis left Tsaritsyn with a few followers, and climbed the Caucasus Mountains, and fled to Tabriz in northern Persia after a few hardships, and then rested there for a few days, and then received a new task, and hurried to Mashhad, Catching up with the British Army, which was being ordered to advance towards Turkmenistan, he joined the army as a lieutenant colonel and prepared to follow the troops into the Transoxiana region of Central Asia to rebuild the British intelligence network there.

In the past, Britain had also established an intelligence network in the Transoxiana region, but with the outbreak of the anti-Russian uprisings in Central Asia, the British intelligence network in the area was immediately paralyzed, and it has not been able to carry out effective work.

As a British intelligence officer, Francis wanted to find out what Toyokoku was up to now. He is now reading newspapers precisely to analyze China's strategy through the news in the newspapers. This could help him quickly find a solution to China's challenge.

But the inside information available in the newspapers was really limited, and the only useful information Francis had received was about the Paris Peace Conference, according to which the Chinese delegate had spoken forcefully a few days earlier, during a debate in a special committee of the Paris Peace Conference, against an Australian proposal on the island of New Guinea, according to which a sovereign state would emerge on the island of New Guinea established by the indigenous people, but that proposal would harm the interests of the Japanese Empire. Therefore, there was a strong protest from the Japanese representatives and the Japanese government, and now, the Chinese have also stood up and are ready to speak for the Japanese. In the face of this situation, European public opinion has lamented the "awakening of Asia."

For the average reader, they may only get a glimpse of the "Asian awakening" European apprehension from this news, but Francis is not an ordinary reader, he is an intelligence agent. From a ding, very ordinary news, he can analyze many interesting details, and now, Francis has passed this scare, the news understands at least two things: first, the Chinese are very ambitious, and they are also looking at the direction of Southeast Asia when they are expanding in the direction of Central Asia at the same time; The second thing is that the British government will have to speed up its penetration into Central Asia, and if the Anglo-Japanese alliance breaks down because of the Australian proposal, then no one can guarantee that China will not form a military alliance with Japan. The Chinese can be more brazen in throwing their forces into Central Asia, which will eventually lead to a complete imbalance in the balance of power in Central Asia.

According to the British government's estimates, the total strength of China's regular army must now be more than one million. If you add paramilitary forces and militias. will easily pass two million people. Such an astonishing army really worried the British government, and it is precisely for this reason that the British ** team, which originally planned to march to Turkmenistan in the second half of the year, is now starting to move.

Before. The northern part of Persia was Russia's sphere of influence, but since the outbreak of the September Revolution in Russia, the revolutionary government not only announced the abolition of all Russian privileges in Persia, but also immediately ordered the local Russian ** troops to retreat. Although this order may not have been effectively implemented, it has undoubtedly given Britain a chance now. The British government, under the leadership of Foreign Secretary Sir Curzon, was working on a plan of annexation, preparing to swallow Persia in one bite, and was immediately in action. The troops originally stationed in the southern part of Persia were transferred to the north, the local Russian ** team was disarmed, and after taking full control of the Persian imperial government, they immediately began to move to the Tuku

Francis did not doubt at all if the Chinese continued to advance in the direction of the Caspian Sea. Then a Sino-British war seemed inevitable, because he was at the time of receiving the mission order. The order clearly mentions that once an armed conflict between Britain and China breaks out in Central Asia, then Francis's intelligence network must be fully utilized, which obviously shows that Sir Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary, is indeed determined to use practical actions to safeguard Britain's potential interests in Central Asia, and the British newspaper is right, the British Foreign Secretary is a chauvinist, and his every move is dragging Britain into a new war quagmire, and now the people who oppose Curzon are not only the members of the House of Commons, Even the British Prime Minister Lloyd George was very dissatisfied with him.

China is not Germany, although its industry is far inferior to that of Germany, but its war potential is much stronger than that of Germany, and its huge army and elite air force are military forces that worry the British. And Central Asia is no better than Europe, here. The Chinese are far from the rear, but the same is far from the rear. If an armed conflict really breaks out between the two countries, who will have the last laugh. Now even the British prime minister has no confidence at all. And more importantly, after the European War. There was a strong anti-war sentiment in Britain as in France, and British citizens did not want to fight anyone again, especially with a large eastern country with a population of 500 million and the ability to build its own tanks and planes. This is simply a nightmare for the British.

Just as Lieutenant Colonel Francis was sitting in the shadow of his tent enjoying his afternoon of leisure, he suddenly heard a strange "buzzing" sound. Judging by his experience on the front lines of the Russian Civil War, this is clearly a motive roar of aircraft, and more than one aircraft.

When Francis stepped out of the tent and looked curiously at the sky, many British officers and soldiers also heard the roar of the plane's engine. And get out of the tent to check.

A minute later, two small hey dots appeared in the sky. and quickly approached the camp of the British ** team. Soon after, it flew in front of you. It was two fighters, and they swept over the heads of the British ** with a whistling, because the altitude was very low. At less than two hundred meters, the icons under the wings are clearly visible, and the shadows cast by them are clearly visible in the sunlight. "Chinese! Chinese planes! ”

Someone shouted, and then the officers scrambled to command the soldiers to set up the machine guns. Prepare air defense.

Francis did not think that the officers were nervous, for the simple reason that just the day before yesterday when he received the assignment, he was clearly told that last month. Over Khiva in the central region of Central Asia, the Chinese Air Force engaged in a skirmish with the British Air Force, in which the British Air Force was defeated and lost several very good pilots, who, according to the description of the British pilot who fled back to the base, in that air battle the Chinese fighters completely outperformed the British fighters in terms of performance.

One of Francis's missions. It was to find a way to get information about the new Chinese fighter jet, which, according to the British pilot's report, was probably all-metal and quite chic, very beautiful.

In fact, Francis now has a sketch of one of those all-metal fighters in his luggage. Based on this sketch, he will gather relevant information.

A fighter with an all-metal structure, which is simply surprising. You know, it's the old year, the fighters of European countries are still mainly wooden, and the wings are also canvas, but the Chinese have begun to make fighters out of aluminum alloy, and it is no wonder that the British ** news agency is very fascinated by this.

Now, Francis didn't even have to go to Khiva to see the all-metal fighter in person, because the two Chinese fighters flying over the British camp were similar in shape to the sketches, and it seemed that the surviving pilot's report was accurate, and the all-metal fighter was very beautiful.

This is not the first time that Francis has seen a new Chinese-made military aircraft, in fact, just last year, on the front line of the Russian Civil War, he saw a new bomber with only one wing, and the flight was amazing. At that time, Francis also reported this information to his superiors. But his boss was suspicious of this, which made Francis very angry, but also helpless.

It's not just the styling, but Francis thinks too. The range of such a fighter may also be quite impressive, since, according to current intelligence, the air base of the small Chinese Air Force in the Hanzhong region is located in Bukhara. And the flight from Bukhara to Mashhad is by no means a short-range flight, and it is difficult for British fighters to fly back and forth, and more importantly, according to the experience of the last air battle, this kind of Chinese fighter can fly to a very high altitude, which is also beyond the reach of British fighters.

Thankfully, the two Chinese fighters only circled around the British camp a few times before turning around and flying north, quickly disappearing into the sky. Therefore, the British ** officer immediately issued an order to disarm the air defense, but the flight degree of those two planes really surprised everyone, they had never seen a fighter that could fly so fast. Not even in the European theater of war.

"You're here on a reconnaissance mission?"

Francis analyzed it carefully, and then, he heard the sound of the military trumpet, obviously. The lunch break is over, and the next step is to continue advancing towards Turkmenistan. If, before this, the British were still marching in a leisurely mood, then when the two new fighters of the Chinese Air Force appeared above their heads, they would probably be more vigilant, in order to prevent bombing, the British commander even sent a telegram asking the British Air Force stationed nearby to send fighter jets. Provide air cover for troops.

There is no doubt that the shadow from the sky has hung over the hearts of all British soldiers. Lingering.