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Tehran in March is a pleasant climate. However, the current king of Persia, Muzaffar al-Din Shah, fell into a panic. The British had already evacuated from Persia last month. It stands to reason that Muzaffar al-Din Shah should be happy, after all, the British are colonizers, and they are constantly scraping the wealth of Persia, even King Muzaffar al-Din Shah is just a puppet supported by the British. When the British retreated, he could gain control of Persia. But in reality, this is not the case with roots.

Long before Russia declined, Russia and England were already fighting for Persia. As a result, the Russians controlled the northern part of Persia and the British controlled the southern part of the country, leaving only a buffer zone in the center, which was also the place where the Persian royal family was able to make decisions. Finally, Russia was defeated by China, and its national strength was greatly damaged. And Muzaffar al-Din Shah, with the support of the British, drove the Russian power out of Persia. In the face of China's infiltration of Persia, Muzaffar al-Din Shah also took a tough stance. However, he never imagined that the mighty British Empire would be defeated again by China, and even withdrew from Persia, which made Muzaffar al-Din Shah panic!

In Persia, there were already many forces opposing him. If it had been before, he would have ordered the suppression a long time ago. But now, who knows if there is the support of the Chinese behind these forces. The British withdrew from Persia, and the Chinese invasion of Persia was just around the corner. China can even defeat Britain, and it is even more impossible for a small country like Persia to confront China.

Muzaffar al-Din Shah, not without thought of compromise with China, but. The Chinese side seems to be very angry at what he has done before, and forcefully demanded that Muzaffar al-Din Shah step down, which Muzaffar al-Din Shah could not accept.

Muzaffar al-Din Shah is not a promising monarch. He was the fifth king of the Persian Qajar dynasty. The son of Nasser al-Din Shah, he became Governor of Azerbaijan in 1861 after becoming crown prince. In his 35 years as crown prince, he has always pursued sensuality and does not care about state affairs. After inheriting the throne in 1896, he did not know anything about the government. At that time, Persia was facing a financial crisis, and the government was far more productive than it was receiving. In order to make up for the fiscal deficit, he borrowed money from Russia as a political concession. Extremely unpopular. After taking out the loan, he used the money for several luxurious trips to Europe, which aroused strong opposition from the people, who demanded constitutional restrictions on his actions. During his reign, the semi-colonization of Persia deepened. And now, China's imminent invasion of Persia has made him even more powerless to deal with it.

Early March. Two infantry divisions of the Fifth Army of the Chinese Army entered northern Persia from Central Asia along the Caspian Sea. For the invasion of the squadron, the Persian army chose to resist. However, just three days later, nearly 100,000 Persian troops were defeated by two Chinese infantry divisions in northern Persia. Heavy losses and had to retreat to South Africa. The defeat at the front further intensified the contradictions within Persia.

March 9, son of Muzaffar al-Din Shah. Prince Ali, with the support of his Persian ministers, staged a palace coup. Overthrew the rule of Muzaffar al-Din Shah and became the sixth king of the Qajar dynasty, namely Muhammad Alishah!

Immediately after Muhammad Alisha succeeded to the throne, he sent an envoy to the squadron in the north and fully surrendered to China. At the same time, the army of Persia was ordered to stop resisting. On March 15, the 66th Division of the Chinese Army entered Tehran. Thus, Persia entered the period of Chinese colonial rule. Under the protection treaty signed between China and Muhammad Alishah, Persia became a protectorate of China. The Chinese enjoy a series of privileges in Persia, and at the same time, the right to exploit mines in Persia also belongs to China. The 73rd Division of the Chinese Army was stationed in the southern Persian province of Khuzestan Province. At this point, Persia completely fell under the control of China.

In addition to controlling Persia, the two Chinese divisions stationed in Persia were also tasked with invading the Ottoman Empire. The two river basins ruled by the Ottoman governor of Baghdad have also been coveted by China for a long time. With Britain completely withdrawn from the Persian Gulf coast and entrenched in Afghanistan and India in the east, no country can stop China's expansion in the Middle East. The old and weak Ottoman Empire did not have this ability. However, China's ally, Germany, was also very interested in the Ottoman Empire and put forward a request for the construction of the Baghdad Railway. Germany officially joined the expansion into the Middle East, much to the displeasure of China. It's just that Germany is in a weak position compared to China, which already occupies a large part of the Middle East, and it is almost impossible to take away the interests that belong to China under China's nose!

On March 19, Wang Yuze held a monthly meeting of the imperial court at Xinhua Palace to discuss the important issues at this stage. Cabinet leaders and military giants will attend this meeting.

First of all, Prime Minister Yang Hua reported to Wang Yuze on the government's work over the past month. Overall, the war in the Middle East has not had much impact on China's economy. Although the military expenditure and the pension of the wounded and wounded soldiers add up to 200 million Chinese dollars. However, the war reparations totaling 300 million Chinese yuan can still be fully supported. The remaining 100 million yuan was also invested in the construction of infrastructure. The whole of China, with the continuous improvement of the industrial system, is still in the process of rapid development!

For the rapid development of the empire, Wang Yuze was very satisfied. The Chinese population is large, and the gross domestic product is already the largest in the world. The industrial output value is also comparable to that of the United States. However, the per capita value is very low, far from being comparable to that of the Western powers. Therefore, China has to further accelerate its development. The continuous expansion of the empire, in addition to bringing a large area of land to the empire, the resources of various places will also become the guarantee of the development of the empire, and the huge population will also promote the rapid development of the empire. The reason why Britain and France, the two old colonial powers, were still developing rapidly at the time of industrial decline was because they controlled the huge colonial market. In their colonies, the goods of other countries are suppressed, and the goods of other countries, even if they are not very good in quality, can be very popular. This is also the reason why Germany is dissatisfied with Britain and France, Germany's rapid industrial strength needs a vast market, while the colonies of Britain and France turn away German goods! In order to change this situation, Germany had no choice but war!

After that, Xiong Wu, chief of the General Staff, also gave a briefing on the situation of the imperial team at this stage. After the end of the war in the Middle East, the troops sent to the Middle East have begun to return home one after another. The Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet will also return to the Singapore base for rest, and the three captured battleships will also be sent to the North Sea Shipyard for repair and refit. After that, these three battleships will join the Chinese Navy in combat. The battle cruiser "Baiqi" also returned to the home port of Qingdao of the Turkish fleet. After the sinking of the battlecruiser "Mengtian", only this battlecruiser was left in the Turkish fleet. Fortunately, the 'Jianghe-class' heavy cruisers have begun to enter service one after another. Although the caliber of the main guns of the 'Jianghe-class' heavy cruisers is only 210 mm, the firepower is powerful, and at the same time, after adopting new armor-piercing shells, at a distance of 8,000 meters, they can pose a threat to the battleships of various countries. At the same time, the 'River-class' heavy cruiser has strong firepower, and the 9 main guns are all rapid-fire guns, which can fire three salvos per minute, such fierce firepower, even if it encounters the battleships of the Empire, it is enough to compete with one or two!

"The current expansion of the empire in the Middle East, except for the continued infiltration of the Ottoman Empire, has come to an end for the time being. The expansion of the empire in the direction of Europe and Africa has aroused the alarm of the European powers. In order not to provoke them, the Empire needs to pause its operations. However, expansion in other directions needs to be accelerated. According to the treaty we signed with the French, Guadeloupe already belongs to our country. The Navy is to send fleets and marines to the Empire and make it an important base for the Empire in the Atlantic and Caribbean! Wang Yuze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The giants of the military have received orders.

"Your Majesty, I have just received news that the Americans have indicated that they will increase their investment in the Panama Canal, and are ready to complete the construction of the Panama Canal in five years, and strive to start navigation in mid-1908!" General Wei Zhiyong, director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, reported.

"The Panama Canal? It seems that the Americans have already begun to actively prepare for war! Wang Yuze said. Historically, the Panama Canal was not opened to navigation until 1914. It's just that the United States at that time did not face a huge threat as it does now. The last time the U.S. Navy joined the Mediterranean naval battle, the lead ships of the Pacific Fleet cruised in deterrence on the U.S. West Coast, scaring the Americans enough. This may be the reason why the United States is determined to speed up the construction of the Panama Canal.

The importance of the Panama Canal cannot be overstated. After the opening of the canal, the capital ships of the US Navy will be able to reach the San Diego Military Port in the Pacific Ocean in only half a month from Norfolk Military Port. In this case, China's original restrictions on the United States, which require the United States not to have a displacement of more than 10,000 tons in the Pacific Ocean, no longer have any effect. Once a major war breaks out between China and the United States, the main force of the US Navy will be able to reach the west coast from the east coast to defend the western coast of the United States!