While the Chinese Empire and the United States were competing for the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal in Egypt also became the focus of contention.

Originally, after the Eight-Nation Coalition led by the Chinese Empire fought against the British, it seized the Suez Canal and was jointly managed by the Eight-Nation Political Axe.

However, the Suez Canal's huge annual toll revenues of up to $300 million have made countries jealous. The G-8 had agreed to divide the benefits between the Chinese Empire (20%), France (20%), Germany (20%), Italy (10%), Austria-Hungary (10%), the Ottoman Turkish Empire (10%), the Russian Empire (5%), and the Netherlands (5%).

However, during the Battle of Suez, only the Chinese Empire, France and Germany contributed much, and the other five countries contributed very little, especially the Netherlands only sent 500 soldiers, Russia and Austria-Hungary did not contribute much, and the Turkish Empire was only responsible for logistics, and they shared 30% of the profits It was too cheap for them, Italy was not satisfied with the latest and asked to redistribute the profits of the Suez Canal according to the amount of effort, after all, 30% is 90 million US dollars, which is equivalent to 14 months of Italian financial revenue, which is a huge amount of money.

As for Italy's proposal, China, France and Germany naturally agreed, after all, they contributed the most and distributed the most. However, Austria, Turkey, Russia and the Netherlands were opposed. The two sides then quarreled.

In August 1908, Italy set aside Austria, Turkey, Russia and the Netherlands and redistributed the profits of the Suez Canal with China, France and Germany alone.

The Four Kingdoms then completed a new method of profit distribution in Cairo, which is known as the "Cairo Treaty". The Cairo Treaty is a separate article between China, France, Germany and Italy, regardless of the G-8, and provides for the Chinese Empire (27%), Germany (27%), France (25%), Italy (14%), Austria-Hungary (2%), the Ottoman Turkish Empire (2%), the Russian Empire (2%), and the Netherlands (1%).

The Netherlands suddenly dropped from 5% to 1%, although it was very unwilling, but the Netherlands did not contribute, and it was also earned to be able to get 0.5% of the profit distribution, so it just protested a few words. But the other four countries did not agree to this plan, and the G-8 split from within.

Since the garrison of the Eight-Nation Coalition in the Suez Canal mainly came from China, France, and Germany, and the army was strong in combat, the other four countries did not dare to act rashly.

However, China, France and Germany also have their own evil intentions.

France and Germany are natural enemies, and they will not stop without fighting two wars, and the Chinese Empire officially took advantage of this to further provoke Franco-German contradictions, and the Suez Canal, a huge point of interest, is the best tool.

It won't be long before the Panama Canal, controlled by the Chinese Empire, becomes commercially operational, and the flow of the Suez Canal will be reduced and revenues will fall.

As a result, the Chinese Empire decided to cede a 27% stake in the Suez Canal. However, how to sell it was a matter of knowledge, so the Chinese Emperor Wang Chenhao and a cadre of civil and military ministers discussed for a long time, and finally decided to sell the shares to Britain and Germany respectively.

In September 1908, the Chinese Empire threw out the news of the transfer of shares in the Suez Canal, and countries around the world sent special envoys to negotiate with the Chinese Empire, hoping to obtain a part of the shares, because the interests of the Suez Canal were too great for any country not to want a piece of the pie.

As a result, the Chinese Empire sat on the ground, and 27% of the shares were only more than 80 million, which was speculated to 500 million US dollars by investors from dozens of countries.

The British political axe urgently needed to acquire a stake in the Suez Canal, because the British strategy was to regain lost interests. It's just that for the time being, Britain doesn't dare to turn against all eight countries, so only by acquiring more than 20% of the shares in the canal can it have the right to garrison troops in the canal. And only if the British troops are stationed in the Suez Canal Zone, there will be any hope of recapturing the entire Suez Canal in the future.

As a result, the UK was the highest bidder. Germany and France also wanted to get a stake in the Chinese Empire, so that they would have the right to dominate the Suez Canal.

After a long period of consideration, the Chinese Empire finally formulated a strategy of inciting contradictions between the Central and Entente powers.

In January 1909, the Chinese Empire transferred 22% of its shares to Britain for $520 million, 4% to Germany for $120 million, and 1% to the Netherlands for $10 million. In this way, Britain received the right to garrison the Suez Canal, and the British returned to the Suez Canal. Germany's stake rose to 31.5 percent, making it the largest shareholder and dominating the Suez Canal. The Dutch stake increased to 2%. The Chinese empire gave up its stake, but received a huge sum of $650 million.

In April, the Imperial Chinese troops in the Suez Canal were withdrawn and the defense was handed over to the British. The 10,000 Chinese Emperor [***] retreated to the Cyprus naval base in the Mediterranean Sea and were incorporated into the Marine Brigade of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Empire. Another 10,000 troops were withdrawn to the Maldives naval base in the Indian Ocean and incorporated into the Marine Brigade of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Empire.

In this way, the Chinese Empire successfully retreated from the storm zone of the Suez Canal to the outside and sat on the mountain to watch the tiger fight.

With the withdrawal of the Chinese Empire from the Suez Canal, the Suez Canal Zone became the focal point of confrontation between the two major military blocs, the Allied and Entente powers.

However, as the interests of the two major military blocs intensified, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Turkish Empire pooled their shares to 49 percent, and Britain, France, and Russia combined 49 percent, making them evenly matched.

Both sides wanted to acquire a 51% stake in order to control the Suez Canal, so the Dutch 2% stake became the focus of their contention.

The Netherlands originally thought that in this way, they could sit on the ground and sell at a good price, but they thought that the matter was too complicated, and neither of the two major military blocs would dare to offend the Netherlands. At one point, the Dutch wanted to sell the shares in two parts to both parties, but both sides did not agree and demanded the whole thing, so the shares in the hands of the Dutch became a hot potato.

The Netherlands was in alliance with Germany on the South African issue and therefore preferred to sell its shares to Germany, but the British and French exerted strong pressure on the Netherlands, and the Netherlands was close to France, and the sea passage was dependent on the British navy.

However, because of the issue of the Third Boer War, the Netherlands and Britain were very at odds with each other, and the negotiations reached an impasse.

In June 1909, under the strong blockade of the British Navy, Germany and the Netherlands were unable to reinforce and resupply the German-Dutch forces in South Africa. On June 12, during the Battle of Kimberley, the German-Dutch army was defeated in front of hundreds of thousands of British troops because of its weak strength and lack of supplies.

The German-Dutch coalition abandoned South Africa and retreated to German southwest Africa, and the British army pressed the border, but did not choose to expand the war, because Britain was exhausted, and it was enough to retake South Africa, and did not want to expand the war with Germany. The British had experience in the Boer guerrillas in South Africa, and soon won a great victory in the Bulatos Mountains, destroying the main force of the Boer army, thus ending the Third Boer War.

The recapture of South Africa by Britain was very good news for Britain, because South Africa's gold mines and diamonds could quickly compensate for Britain's huge losses and losses in the Anglo-Chinese War, Britain's war of resistance to the aggression of the Eight-Nation Alliance. The British then imposed slavery rule on South Africa, brutally crushing the Boer revolt and plundering gold and diamond mines.

This move provoked an outcry from the European community, but the British, French, and Russian Triple Entente did not care at all. In a fit of rage, the Dutch government sold 2% of its shares to Germany, and the Allies acquired a 51% stake and took control of the Suez Canal.

The Allies controlled the Suez Canal, which was a huge disaster for the Entente, and the contradictions between the two sides were increasing, which was originally a powder keg in the Balkans in Europe, and now the Suez Canal has also become a powder keg, once the two sides can not control themselves, then the garrisons of the two major military groups in the Suez Canal will break out into conflict, and even lead to a direct war between the two major military groups.

However, the British authorities hoped to recapture the Suez Canal, and the British army continued to increase the garrison of the Suez Canal under the guise of maintaining law and order on the canal. And France was not at ease with Britain, after all, France had robbed Britain of many African colonies, so it also increased troops in the Suez Canal under the banner of supporting the allies of the Entente. The German-Italian-Austrian Triple Alliance naturally wanted to guard against the increase of troops from the Entente, so it also increased its troops in the Suez Canal Zone.

In the same way, the Turkish Empire, having obtained Egypt, was not worried about the British, fearing that Britain would reoccupy Egypt, so it also mobilized a large army to Egypt.

In this way, beginning in the summer of 1909, the Allies and the Entente increased their troops to Egypt and the Suez Canal, resulting in a million troops stationed in the narrow Suez Canal Zone, which further aggravated the tension in the region, and the contradictions between the two military blocs continued to intensify, and there were occasional clashes between the armies of the two sides.

The conflict between the two major military blocs continued to escalate, especially after Germany and France carved up the British colonies, the distribution of interests was unbalanced and the contradictions became more intense.

In the autumn of 1909, the conflict between France and Germany over Morocco intensified.

Morocco is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its important port, Tangier, the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea from the Strait of Gibraltar, has an important strategic position and has become an important place for European powers to compete.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, France has rapidly expanded its influence in Morocco, carried out economic infiltration, controlled Morocco's finances, and divided its sphere of influence in Morocco with Spain, and clashed with Germany, which also expanded in Morocco.

Britain and France, naturally, were not going to let the German high seas fleet out of the Baltic and North Seas. Britain immediately supported France in strengthening its control over Morocco, planning to turn Morocco into a French fiefdom. Germany naturally did not allow it, and before that, Britain and France had signed an agreement in which France promised not to interfere in British operations in South Africa; Britain recognized Morocco as a French sphere of influence. But this violated Germany's colonial interests in Morocco, so Germany also expanded its influence in Morocco to prevent France.

Germany, France, and Britain have created a large number of terrorist incidents in Morocco, and Moroccan political officials have become scapegoats, and today a minister who does not obey the Germans has died, and tomorrow another bureau chief who has not listened to the mercy of Britain and France has died violently, causing political turmoil and social order in Morocco.

In February 1909, France demanded that Morocco carry out "reforms" under French supervision, in an attempt to make Morocco a French "protectorate". Germany immediately countered. In March, Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the Moroccan city of Tangier, declaring that Germany wanted to preserve Morocco's reading power and that the status of the Great Powers in Morocco was absolutely equal. The German governor then proposed to all the countries participating in the Madrid Treaty of 1880 that the Moroccan question be brought before an international conference.

The Madrid Treaty stipulates that all foreign States and their citizens shall have equal rights in Morocco in terms of trade and other rights. The German note to France threatened war, and French Foreign Minister T. Delcasse took a tough stance, supported by Britain. The situation became tense. On 6 June, a heated debate broke out in the French Cabinet meeting, and Delcasse was forced to resign, and Prime Minister M. Ruvier concurrently served as foreign minister, and negotiations with Germany continued.

At this time, neither of the two major military blocs wanted to exacerbate the contradictions, because neither side was prepared for any full-scale war. Britain, in particular, will never allow a major war to break out, because Britain has suffered a lot of damage in the Anglo-Chinese War and the Eight-Nation Alliance's war to divide the British colonies and needs to recuperate.

Again, Germany clamoured for war, but the German High Seas Fleet was not enough to break the powerful naval blockade of Britain and France, so the German Navy also needed time to prepare.

Both sides wanted to save face, but neither wanted to go to war immediately, so they asked the Chinese Empire to act as a mediator. Originally, they wanted the United States to intervene as well, but European countries believe that the United States has no foothold in Europe and no right to speak. Unlike the Chinese Empire, its strong military strength has the capital to save face for both major military blocs, and at the same time, the Chinese Empire has obtained the Cyprus naval base in the Mediterranean, which is eligible to participate in the Moroccan crisis in the Mediterranean.

However, to the tragedy of the two major military blocs, the Chinese Empire has never been at ease and mediated, but it has deliberately complicated the issue and created more conflicts of interest.

Since neither side wanted a big war, they could only accept the terms of negotiation according to the mediation of the Chinese Empire.

On July 8, Germany and France reached an agreement, accepted the terms of reconciliation proposed by the Chinese Empire, and signed the Moroccan Treaty of Reconciliation. Due to the deliberate bias of the Chinese Empire in favor of Germany, a treaty was concluded at the end of the conference in favor of Germany. The recognition of Morocco's reading power, but also the recognition of the sphere of influence of France and Spain in Morocco, caused the contradiction between Germany and France to worsen rather than be fundamentally resolved. At the same time, the Chinese Empire handed over control of the Moroccan police to Germany, and the port of Tangier was changed to an international common port, creating legal conditions for the German navy to enter the port of Tangier. However, the Chinese Empire handed over the management of the port to the French, which further intensified the issue of the port of Tangier between Germany and France.

The Moroccan crisis was resolved under the mediation of the Chinese Empire, on the premise that the two major military blocs were not ready for war, but it was only superficially resolved, and both sides had the face to step down to avoid escalating the situation.

The struggle between the two major military blocs is not only in Africa, but also in Eurasia.

A railway from the Bosphorus to the Persian Gulf via Baghdad. At the end of the 80s of the 19th century, in order to dominate the world, Germany pursued the policy of eastward expansion, extended its influence into the Near East, and tried to build a railway to connect it with the European railway, becoming a large railway from Hamburg and Berlin to the Persian Gulf through Constantinople and Baghdad. This railway not only gave German power control over Turkey, but also seriously threatened the Caucasus, Persia and other regions, as well as British India. Therefore, it has been opposed and obstructed by Russia, France, and especially Britain.

It was precisely because the railway threatened the core interests of Britain, France and Russia at the same time that it became one of the main reasons for the signing of the Triple Entente.

In 1889, a group of German industrialists and bankers, under the leadership of Deutsche Bank, obtained a concession from the Ottoman political axe to build a railway from the capital Constantinople through Anatolia in Asia Minor. Ten years later, in 1899, the Ottoman government approved the second phase of construction, known as the Berlin-Baghdad Railway Project. The second agreement was the result of Kaiser Wilhelm II's visit to Constantinople in 1898. During this decade, German-Austrian relations became increasingly important.

Germany decided to establish a strong economic alliance with Turkey from the 90s of the 19th century and vigorously develop new markets for the export of German industrial products to the East. The Berlin-Baghdad railway project is at the heart of this major and viable economic strategy. The ulterior motive behind this project is to obtain a potential oil supply, and of course Britain will jump out against it. In the Middle East problem of later generations, the seeds of the Middle East countries expressed their hatred of the West in the form of tragedy, and it was during this period that the seeds were sown.

For nearly 20 years, the construction of a modern railway linking the European continent to Baghdad has been the focus of Germany's conflict with Britain, France and Russia. Carl Herfridge, director of Deutsche Bank, the negotiator in charge of the Baghdad railway project, believes that there is no problem that can cause further tension between London and Berlin as the construction of the Baghdad railway, other than the strength of the German naval fleet.

For the first time, the railway connected Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire's hinterland of Asia with an economically developed and modern region. Such a railway, once extended to Baghdad and then to Kuwait as far away, would create a low-cost and fast transportation link between Europe and the entire Indian subcontinent, which would also be the highest class of world-class railways.

From the UK's point of view, this is precisely the crux of the matter. Laffan, a senior British military adviser to the Serbian army at the time, warned: "If the Berlin-Baghdad railway is completed, this vast inland territory, which produces innumerable economic wealth and cannot be attacked by military forces at sea, will be united around Germany." Russia and its Western friends, Britain and France, will be separated by this barrier. "Our interests in Egypt are within the range of effective strikes by the German and Turkish armies, and two [***] squadrons can directly threaten India from the Persian Gulf." Soon, Alexandria and the Dardanelles would greatly strengthen the German naval power in the Mediterranean. ”

The British strategy was to destroy the Berlin-Baghdad railway, prevent the German economy from taking off again, and maintain British dominance in Europe.

A glance at the world map shows that from Berlin to Baghdad, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, and Turkey are lined up. There is only a small strip of strip that stretches across this chain, blocking the link between the east and the west, and this is Serbia. Serbia is small, but it is located between Germany and the large ports of Constantinople and Thessaloniki. These ports are geographically important and guard the gates of the East. If Serbia were to be conquered, or lured into joining the Berlin-Baghdad system, it would be a fatal blow to the Entente's strategy to contain the expansion of the Central Powers.

It is not surprising, then, that the Balkans were marked by wars and turmoil in the Balkans from the very beginning of the construction of the railway, with wars such as the Turkish War, the Bulgarian War, and successive regional conflicts. The conflict and war greatly weakened the Berlin-Constantinople alliance, especially the construction of the Berlin-Baghdad railway, and thus achieved the goals of Britain, France and Russia.

However, after the Sino-Russian War, the Sino-British War and the Eight-Nation Alliance's War of Aggression against Britain, the power of Britain and Russia was seriously weakened, and the influence of Britain and Russia in the Balkans was greatly reduced.

This greatly stimulated Britain, France and Russia, and in order to prevent the construction of this railway, Britain, France and Russia launched a comprehensive political, economic, and military intervention in Serbia, causing political turmoil in Serbia and the hardships of the people, so a large number of Serbian separatists began to carry out activities, which intensified the tension in the Balkans.

On December 3, 1909, Britain, France and Russia secretly supported Lamboniton in Serbia to form the Mafia. As the most famous terrorist assassination organization in the 20th century, the mafia's original purpose was only to sabotage the Baghdad railway project and assassinate Serbian pro-German and Austrian politicians and soldiers, but soon this organization did whatever it took for purpose and money, and gradually broke away from the control of Britain, France and Russia, and became a terrorist organization with a world surname. As long as someone pays for it, whether it is the emperor or the commoners, they will take it and carry out the assassination without hesitation.

Thus, Serbia again became a powder keg that could lead to a big war, and the mafia became an occasional detonator on the powder keg.

(To be continued)