Chapter 55: Make up your mind

"The bombing of Baghdad continues, and it is reported that the bomber unit of our army air force has mobilized more than 100 bombers to further intensify the bombing of Baghdad......

"China Times" Empire 11 February 3 "Target, Baghdad! 》

At the base of the Persian Gulf Army Air Force, the crushed earthen flight runway was now covered with a layer of perforated steel runway, and under the scorching sun of the Persian Gulf, the temperature of the perforated steel runway reached a high of 60 or 70 degrees, and more than 30 "Elephant" bombers that had just arrived in the Persian Gulf from China and had not yet completed assembly were parked on the tarmac; all of these bombers were transferred from China under the demand of "intensifying bombing," and after they completed their assembly and test flights, they would be used to bomb Baghdad. ()

What kind of effect will the bombing have?

It was enough to break the will of the people, at least after nearly twenty bombardments of increasing scale in Baghdad, the so-called "jihad" processions disappeared, and no matter how agitated the Turks, the Arabs would no longer shout the slogans of "kill the infidels" and "holy war", and they quickly surrendered to this unprecedented bombardment.

A so-called national spirit was so easily defeated.

Smoke!

Thick black smoke filled the sky over Baghdad, the streets were full of ruins, and people with their relatives injured by bombs ran down the streets, trying to find the European doctors, but to their regret, because of Turkey's war with Britain and France, the European doctors they had resisted in the past had disappeared.

"Damn infidels!"

Looking at the bombers in the sky, Sartre, the teenager who had lost almost all his loved ones in the bombing, cursed loudly into the air, and looked around, but all he saw was fear and helplessness.

"Uncle Najar, I'm going to fight those Chinese infidels!"

"Don't be crazy, they are devils, and humans can't defeat devils!"

The devil, perhaps for the Arabs in Baghdad, they can only call the huge bomber "the devil's weapon", as for the Chinese who fly the bomber, they are naturally the devil or the devil's spokesman, and it is impossible for humans to defeat the devil.

Just like they, who could only sit on the ground and endure the bombardment by the Chinese, as Najjar said this, he saw neighbors packing their things and going to the countryside to escape the bombing.

"Sartre, take your sister, let's go to the countryside as well! The Chinese will not bomb there,"

Seeing that Sartre seemed reluctant, Najjar explained.

"We Arabs do not need to send to death for the damned Turks, the Chinese are infidels, and the Turks are not necessarily true believers, ungodly believers are more hateful than infidels!"

On the road leading to the outside of the city, Arab people with their families and their little possessions walked towards the countryside, and in the face of continuous bombardment, they rationally chose to give up and abandon their homes.

When the last "Elephant" bomber landed on the airfield, the blazing sun had already set over the sand dunes in the west, the fierce sunlight turned into a colorful glow in the sky, the blood-colored sunset stained the sky and the earth red, dozens of seabirds flew over the airfield, and a group of guards walked over the runway.

The sun sets, the night falls, the once hot weather with the sun down, slowly cooled down, the previous boiling airport seems very safe at this time, only the lights are on, the ground crew is still there to assemble the plane, only these movements can make people feel that there are still people in the airport.

At about two o'clock in the morning, several clusters of flames burst out from the tarmac on the west side of the airport, and the flames quickly merged into a large fire, which became a skyrocketing flame.

"It's on fire......"

The night guards shouted and rushed towards the burning spot, sirens sounded, shrill sirens echoed in the night sky, and Army Air Force pilots and ground crews rushed out of the house, many wearing only underwear, guns in one hand and buckets in the other.

There was also a steady stream of gunfire in the distance, apparently the airport had been attacked, and when the airport guards arrived, they saw more than a dozen corpses scattered on the ground, and around the corpses stood dozens of army soldiers, as well as two trucks, apparently the army soldiers were passing by, and there was an encounter with the Arabs who burned the planes. …,

At this time, the ground crew driving the fire engine arrived, but the fire was too big, the flames were soaring, more than ten meters high, and even the naval officers and men on the warships moored on the sea several kilometers away could clearly see clearly, and at this time, the fuel in the bomber's fuel tank continued to explode in the flames, and ignited several other planes on the tarmac.

Although thousands of people were involved in the firefighting operation, it was not until the fire was brought under control, and by the time the fire was all extinguished, only the skeletons of several planes were burned.

This is the heaviest loss suffered by the air force since it entered Arabia.

"It's a Najd soldier!"

I don't know when, a news quietly spread, it was the soldiers of the Kingdom of Najd who attacked the airport!

Before the sky was white, the war correspondents who had originally rushed with the army immediately gathered at the scene, and at the interview site, the reporters kept focusing their cameras on the corpses on the ground, and the military uniforms of the Najd Kingdom on the corpses could not have fully confirmed who the enemy was and where he came from.

In the face of the reporter's interview, Li Qinjun watched his plane being burned like this, sighed long, let the reporter ask, but did not say a word, all the deputies answered, after a long silence, he suddenly walked out of the crowd, without looking back towards the ruins, at this time, anyone can feel the sadness and indignation in his suppressed heart.

The news of the surprise attack by the Arabs on the airport in the Persian Gulf was immediately transmitted back to China through reporters, and instead of the bombing of Baghdad, it became the front page headline of all kinds of Chinese-language newspapers. ”。

How should China respond to the shameful sneak attack on the Kingdom of Najd? War against war! Stop the war with war! In the face of war, China has never compromised, and not this time!

In the surging public opinion, Chen Moran, who was in the palace, laughed.

“…… We came to Arabia to liberate the Arab people, but some local Arab nobles chose to cooperate with the Turks at the cost of betraying the interests of the Arab nation in order to preserve their privileges, which was a betrayal of the nation, and they cried out to wage a "holy war" against the infidels.

As for the so-called "holy war", we originally intended to resolve the misunderstanding between China and the Arab nation through negotiations, but the attack on our airport by the army sent by the Kingdom of Najd forced us to abandon the illusion of a peaceful settlement......"

That's all we need!

Putting down the newspaper, Chen Mo looked at Zhang Jing, this attack was not the so-called "holy war of the Najds", but the masterpiece of the Imperial Intelligence Service, China needed an excuse, a declaration of war on Najd, and forced Najd to cede some "barren deserts" as an excuse for safety.

"Your Majesty, with this excuse, we could declare war on Najd at any time!"

Looking at His Majesty, Zhang Jing said proudly.

The so-called Najd army was nothing more than a few dozen sand thieves hired by the Imperial Intelligence Service, and the Turks incited the Arabs to fight a "holy war" against the Chinese infidels, and this just gave China an opportunity, and it was not enough to declare war on Najd just by "mistakenly firing" shells.

And the bombing of Baghdad, and the subsequent "jihad" parade in Baghdad, gave Zhang Jing an opportunity to see, what is a more suitable excuse than in the name of "holy war", the army was subjected to a "despicable sneak attack" by King Najd*'s team?

When choosing a target, Zhang Jing did not choose an army patrol or other unit, but chose a bomber unit that has recently been in the limelight and "can flatten a country," and the airport is located in the vicinity of the landing site, where hundreds of reporters from all over the country are concentrated, and they will send the news back to China as soon as possible.

With the help of the initiative of public opinion, the whole country was incited against Najd and even Arab hostility, and the goal was achieved, and in the process, there was no shadow of manipulation at all, so that those opposition would not find fault with it.

"It's not enough, let's let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protest to Najd first!"

When mentioning the protest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chen Moran squeezed out some smiles on his face, if there is anything in common between this era and a hundred years later, it is that as soon as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protests, the people will be dissatisfied, and protest is often a symbol of weakness and compromise, and the Chinese people of this era are far more sensitive than the Chinese people a hundred years later, and there are opposition forces that are promoted by political purposes, and appropriate protests can have unexpected gains. …,

"For Najd, it is better to attack than to coerce, to exert appropriate military pressure, to believe that Ibn? Saudi vision, in the end he will compromise, for Najd, what we need is a safe zone! ”

Looking at the report in his hand, Chen Moran added.

"Okay, in the matter of Najd, the intelligence agency mission has been completed, understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Jing hurriedly replied with a promise, he never dared to disobey His Majesty's will, he knew very well that everything he did today was given by His Majesty, and he also knew that for intelligence agencies, His Majesty has always held the principle of checks and balances, and the Investigation Bureau and the Military Intelligence Bureau were all set up to balance the Intelligence Bureau.

It is precisely because of this that in front of His Majesty, he will be careful to accompany and be cautious, for fear of accidentally making some big mistakes, and at that time, no one will be able to protect him, he knows that he knows too many things.

From the time of the ruling government to the present, there are too many "secrets" within the empire that cannot be known to the outside world, and many of them are handled by him.

"Well, is there anything worth reporting about the intelligence on the Russian side?"

Looking at the intelligence briefing in his hand and looking at the intelligence about Russia in it, it can be described as pitiful with little.

"Your Majesty, after the "Battle of Tannenberg" and the "Battle of Lake Masuria" last year ended with a great victory for the German army, the Russian army has lost its strategic initiative since the Russian army was expelled from East Prussia, and now the Russian army has lost a large number of troops......"

didn't wait for Zhang Jing to finish his report, but Chen Moran frowned and interrupted his report, which was not what he needed.

"What I need is not intelligence on how the Russian army lost, I want to know if the intelligence bureau has carried out any operations in Russia in the latest stage?"

Looking up at Zhang Jing, Chen Moran's face was full of dissatisfaction.

The purpose of China's entry into World War I was not to gain the status of a great power, nor to win any colonies, at least not only for these reasons, but to complete a sharp change, not only in industry, but also in other aspects.

Because he is familiar with history, Chen Moran knows that for China, World War I may be China's last chance to carve up the world, and now this opportunity is in front of China, which has just "had some muscles", how can it be missed, and the core of this opportunity is Russia.

In two years' time, the Russian Empire will collapse because of a revolution that will confront a Russia that is extremely weak, and this will be an opportunity for China, an unprecedented opportunity, which China will have to seize if it wants to achieve real radical change.

And for many years, I have been working hard for this opportunity, but what I never expected is that the Intelligence Bureau has not used this opportunity to carry out any valuable operations at all.

"This ......"

His Majesty's questioning only made Zhang Jing's heart tighten, and he hurriedly thought about it in his mind.

"Your Majesty, as early as nine years ago, according to your instructions, the Intelligence Bureau began to train European intelligence officers, and now those intelligence officers have preliminarily completed their training and are preparing to be sent to Russia!"

Well, that's a step forward! Zhang Jing muttered in his heart, in fact, those carefully trained intelligence officers were originally prepared to be sent to Europe and the United States, as for Russia, in his eyes, it was just a "declining" empire, and it was not worth investing too much energy in such an empire that might be destroyed by internal reasons.

Of course, at this time, he did not dare to express his thoughts.

"Good!"

Nodding his head, closing the intelligence briefing in his hand, Chen Moran glanced at Zhang Jing, maybe the intelligence bureau failed to pay attention to Russia, or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he did not give orders, whether it was the army or the intelligence agencies, it was difficult to really pay attention to Russia, and the current Russia could not pose a threat to China at all, and the most they could do was to pay a little attention.

Before the war, the military had paid attention to Russia, but that was to cooperate with "Germany", and in the corresponding plan of the military, it was also "to take advantage of the opportunity of the Russian army to transfer troops to Europe and fight with Germany, and launch an attack on the Russian army from Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Northeast China at the same time, and first seize the two railway arteries of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Central Asia Railway as the core of the campaign, so as to completely break Russia's resistance in Siberia, the Far East and Central Asia", and the formulation of the whole plan was full of speculation. …,

However, compared to his own plan, this plan is far from speculative.

"Remember, the intelligence agents sent to Russia should focus on infiltrating the camp of the Russian opposition, this war is likely to lead to the expansion of the opposition, and even lead to the emergence of a new government in Russia, and if our intelligence agents can infiltrate at this time, they can get unexpected gains in the future, understand?"

"The minister understands!"

Zhang Jing instantly understood what His Majesty meant, that is, when the revolution broke out in Russia, the intelligence agents were involved in the revolution, and if this was true, it meant that the intelligence agents could infiltrate the upper echelons of the new regime.

Just like himself, who would have thought that more than ten years ago, that down-and-out Xiucai would become the director of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, one of China's most important intelligence agencies, today?

At this time, Zhang Jing saw His Majesty stand up, he walked to the wall, stood on the side of the large world map, looked at China and Russia on the map, and Chen Moran looked at the calendar on his watch again.

It's January 1915, two years before the Russian Revolution, which means that you have two and a half years to prepare, and if all goes well, what will you create?

Perhaps an empire will be created that will be unprecedented in history! In a few years, the empire will become the most powerful country in the world, and by that time......

Thinking about it, a smile appeared on the corner of Chen Moran's lips, ten years ago, did he realize that there would be such a day? Ten years ago there was none, but nine years ago...... I can't help but have that gorgeous face flashing in my mind, I hope everything can be implemented smoothly!

When he got up to leave His Majesty's office, Zhang Jing reported hesitantly.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing, but at present, it has not been confirmed!"

"Oh? What's up? ”

Chen Moran, whose thoughts were interrupted, turned his head to look at Zhang Jing.

"Japan!"

Japan? Frowning slightly, a trace of unhappiness appeared in Chen Moran's heart, after China entered the war, Japan also declared war on the Allies, but Japan was reluctant to send their army to Europe, and China could not be too forceful.

The First World War was an opportunity for China, but it was also a blessing for Japan, and Japan's political circles were also aware of the special needs of the war and a good opportunity to promote Japan's economic development.

"Your Majesty, since the Intelligence Bureau has obtained some information in Japan, we suspect that the Japanese Ambassador to China, Hichi-to-Yoshi, has been in contact with the radical opposition in the country, but because of the responsibility and authority of the Intelligence Bureau, we cannot conduct further investigations......

"You mean, it's possible for Japan to meddle in our domestic problems?"

His brows suddenly locked, Chen Moran's tone became extremely cold, he has always been tolerant of the opposition himself, even if it is a relatively radical opposition, as long as its behavior is not illegal, it will not be too pursued, but if there are outsiders interfering, the result will be different, all along, Chen Moran is most disgusted by foreigners meddling in Chinese affairs.

Eight years ago, when the Russians in Northeast China preached the idea of the "poor party" to the Chinese workers, the Investigation Bureau immediately punished them with a heavy blow, expelled the suspected Russians from the country, and sent the workers affected by them to court for the most severe punishment for treason. Rather, it was a threat from Japan.

Since Japan's defeat in World War II, under the pressure of China maintaining hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops stationed in Japan, Japan has always behaved relatively tame, and in order to promote cooperation between the two countries, the government has always supported investment in Japan, of course, this is also out of the need to control the Japanese economy, on the other hand, China and Japan have sent a large number of students to each other, according to their own ideas, is to make Japan as China's "follower" as possible, and to establish a new Asian order with China.

Between North Korea and Japan, Japan is different from North Korea, if it is properly used, Japan will become China's closest partner, of course, China must be vigilant against this partner, but vigilance does not mean blindly squeezing Japan, more than 10,000 Japanese students study in China every year, and the purpose is to cultivate pro-China factions. …,

In recent years, the pro-China faction has slowly occupied the mainstream in Japan, and these changes have made Japan gradually become an ally of China, but now, an ambassador to China is trying to incite civil strife in China, which means that the power of the "Western-style faction" within the Japanese government should not be underestimated, otherwise there would not be a situation in which a "Western-style" faction would be appointed ambassador to China.

"If I'm not mistaken, the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that Nichi-yi is an "Asian faction"! ”

Frowning and thinking for a moment, Chen Moran raised his own question.

With the defeat in World War II nine years ago, Japan had no choice but to turn to China, and within the Japanese government there was a split between the "Western faction" and the "Asian faction," with the former advocating getting close to Western countries and thus using the strength of Western countries to get rid of China's clamping on Japan, while the latter advocated making friends with China and jointly establishing a new Asian order with China.

"Your Majesty, among the Asian factions, they are also divided into two factions, and the two factions without exception advocate friendship with China and jointly establish a new Asian order, but one of them is a pro-China faction, they advocate the establishment of a new Asian order with China, while the other faction advocates that the establishment of a new Asian order must be based on Sino-Japanese cooperation, not following China, that is, what they advocate is that Japan should get rid of China's shackles!"

Zhang Jing's explanation made Chen Moran think in his heart, it seems that he is sometimes too wishful thinking. But after the end of World War II, how did the United States turn such a hostile country into its own client state? How can we make the country feel grateful to the occupying forces, from the most ordinary citizens to the top of the government, with pro-American sentiment instead of rejection?

"It seems that we still made some mistakes in Japan!"

Sighing, a cold light flashed in Chen Moran's eyes, sometimes you have to make up your mind about something!

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