Chapter 697: A Bold Plan

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"See Your Majesty!" After Wang Yuze arrived at the General Staff Headquarters, Xiong Wu, chief of the General Staff, Cai Yun, minister of the army, Zhang Cheng, minister of the navy, and Jiang Xingguo, minister of national defense, were already waiting here. The General Staff and the Army and Navy spent nearly half a month preparing for the counterattack plan this time, striving to be foolproof.

"Excuse me! I'm here to see the counterattack plan, are you ready? Wang Yuze waved his hand. The Imperial Army fought very hard in Saudi Arabia, and by now, the casualties have exceeded 20,000, and Britain and France, as if crazy, continue to invest troops in the Middle East, which makes the Imperial Army in Saudi Arabia face more and more pressure.

"Back to your majesty, it's ready. After our repeated arguments, this plan is extremely feasible. Once successful, it will completely reverse the current situation! Xiong Wu, chief of the General Staff, said with great certainty.

"Oh? So sure? Tell me, what are you going to do? Wang Yuze was aroused. The Anglo-French forces in the Middle East were more than three times as large as the Empire, and if they were to defeat the Anglo-French forces, they would have to increase their troops. However, if the number of troops is increased, it will have to face the problem of logistical pressure. This will make the Empire pay a huge price in this war, and this is obviously not what the Empire wants to see. Therefore, the General Staff is more difficult when formulating a counterattack plan. However, Wang Yuze believed that the General Staff must have thought of a solution, and if it succeeded, the empire would be able to win this war at a small cost.

"Your Majesty, this battle plan was not proposed by someone from our General Staff. It was proposed by someone from the War Department. This person, I have been temporarily transferred to the General Staff. Let him introduce you! Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said.

"Oh? Someone from the War Department? OK! Wang Yuze said.

Soon, a middle-aged soldier wearing a major general's uniform walked in, a slightly thin figure, but very energetic, especially the two eyes, which were very energetic.

"The minister Wang Shizhen knocks to see His Majesty!" The person who came saluted Wang Yuze.

"Wang Shizhen? Excuse me! Wang Yuze was stunned for a moment, and then remembered this person. At the time of the war between western Sichuan and the Manchus, the Manchus relied on. They are all generals of the Beiyang family, Wang Shizhen is one of them, and he is one of the more famous generals in Beiyang, known as the head of the three heroes of Beiyang, the dragon of Beiyang and so on. Merely. After the defeat of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Beiyang ceased to exist, and many of them chose to retire and live the life of square people. But there are also many people who choose to defect to the new dynasty, such as Xu Shichang, Feng Guozhang and others, who have now become governors of a province. Wang Shizhen. He also hung up an idle post at the War Department. Originally, these people other than Wang Yuze were ready to live like this for the rest of their lives, but they didn't expect that they would still stand up now and be willing to serve the empire. To know. Although Beiyang, there are still a lot of talents among them. Now that the empire is employing people, Wang Yuze has already thought again about whether it is a holy decree. Recruit all these people. The empire has been in existence for seven years and has been completely stabilized. I am afraid that these people's dissatisfaction with the empire has also disappeared. Otherwise, an arrogant person like Wang Shizhen would not have taken the initiative to give advice to the imperial team.

"Thank you!" Wang Shizhen stood calmly. After all, he still didn't want to waste his life, so he took advantage of this opportunity to show his talent. Although I have the heart of Beiyang, Beiyang has become a thing of the past. And the current empire is far more powerful than the Manchu Qing Dynasty, isn't this the time for these soldiers to make contributions?

"Counselor Wang, tell Your Majesty the plan for this time in detail!" Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said with a smile. Xiong Wu is not young, he has been the chief of the general staff since the time of western Sichuan, and it has been more than ten years now, and it is time to retire. However, before that, he had to find a good successor. From the current point of view, War Minister Cai Yun is undoubtedly the best candidate for the chief of the General Staff. But after Cai Yun became the chief of the General Staff, who will hold the post of Minister of War? The Beiyang general in front of him, Wang Shizhen, has the ability, if he is willing to serve the empire, he can be qualified for this position.

"Yes, Chief of the General Staff!" Wang Shizhen replied, then walked over to the large map of the Middle East hanging on the wall, and began to introduce.

"At present, the Imperial Army is facing off against the Anglo-French forces in the central region of the Kingdom. The Indian Ocean Fleet of the Imperial Navy confronted the British and French navies in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. With the current strength of both sides, it is very difficult to change the current situation. If the Empire sent troops to Saudi Arabia on a large scale according to the traditional method, it could defeat the Anglo-French forces. However, the empire will pay a huge price for this. It is conservatively estimated that the number of soldiers killed in battle will reach 50,000, and the military expenditure will be about 500 million Chinese yuan. In this way, the empire spent so much money to seize the Middle East, even if the oil resources in the Middle East are very rich, but in a short period of time, the empire will not be able to reap the benefits! Wang Shizhen introduced.

Wang Yuze nodded, Wang Shizhen's analysis was very reasonable.

"To this end, in order to maximize the guarantee that the empire can obtain sufficient benefits in the Middle East, it is necessary to win the war at the minimum cost. And there are not many such opportunities. After a long argument, we have found the best opportunity. That's it! Occupy this place, cut off the British and French from the expeditionary force, and cut off the British and French expeditionary force from supply. When the time comes, we will be able to win without a fight! Wang Shizhen pointed to the map and introduced.

Wang Yuze looked at the place Wang Shizhen was pointing at, and his brows couldn't help frowning. The place Wang Shizhen pointed out is the Suez Canal. If the Suez Canal can be taken, or Egypt can be captured, it will naturally be able to cut off the direct ties between Britain and France and the Middle East, and it will be easy to trap hundreds of thousands of British and French troops when the time comes. Even without fighting, the Anglo-French coalition forces after cutting off logistical supplies may not hold out for a month before they surrender to China. It's just that it is easier said than done to capture the Suez Canal! Britain and France saw this precisely because they sent their navies in advance to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and block the danger of the Suez Canal from the sea. The sea route is not workable, and the land route is even more not, and if you want to cross the entire Saudi kingdom and attack the Suez Canal, the difficulty is not ordinary!

"Is there a way for the Navy to pass through the Guò el-Mandeb Strait and attack the Suez Canal?" Wang Yuze asked. He knew that it would be very difficult to attack the Suez Canal by land, and the plan of the General Staff was to win at the lowest cost. Therefore, an attack on the Suez Canal is possible only from the sea.

"Your Majesty, although the British and French navies gathered six new battleships to block the passage of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, their blockade is not impossible to break! If you can't do it on the sea, we can start from the sea! Navy Minister Zhang Cheng said.

"You mean, use submarines to attack the battleships of the British and French navies, and then go into the Red Sea? It's possible! It's just that in the war three years ago, our submarine forces were in the limelight, and Britain and France should be on guard! Wang Yuze said. The blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by the British and French navies can only block the shipping lane. If the submarine strikes from under the water and inflicts heavy damage on the British and French navies, the main warships of the Indian Ocean Fleet will take advantage of the situation to break through to the Red Sea, and it is very likely that they will win.

"Your Majesty, the navy can send ten submarines into the Red Sea, and if it launches a surprise attack, it will be enough to inflict heavy damage on the British and French navies. Even if the British and French navies are on guard against our submarines, as long as they find the right time, they can still win. Navy Minister Zhang Cheng said.

Wang Yuze nodded, although such tactics are a bit risky, but how can there be no risk in fighting. What's more, if successful, it can bring great benefits to the empire.

"Immediately after the Navy broke through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it quickly moved north to attack the Suez Canal. At the same time, a marine division and an army group were dispatched to land in Egypt and completely control the Suez Canal. When the time comes, the navy will open the Guò Suez Canal and control the sea in the eastern Mediterranean. In that case, we're in good hands! Wang Shizhen continued.

"Very well, this plan has a lot of viability. If it succeeds, then the empire's victory in the war will be ironclad. However, in this plan, the cooperation of the army and navy is very important, once the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is broken, it is necessary to attack as soon as possible, take the Suez Canal in the shortest possible time, and do not give Britain and France enough time to react. Wang Yuze reminded. The Red Sea is 2,000 kilometers long, and it takes three days for the warship to sail, and during this time, it is likely that there will be great variables.

"Rest assured, we've taken it into account. The British and French navies had only six new battleships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the remaining four 'dreadnought-class' battleships of the British navy were still at home preparing to meet the challenge of the German navy. As long as we can inflict heavy damage on the British and French navies in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, even if they react, they will not have enough strength to resist our attack on the Suez Canal! Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu said.

Wang Yuze nodded, the main force of the British Navy cannot be transferred to the Middle East, which gives the Chinese Navy the opportunity to severely damage or even eliminate the British and French navies with the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet and submarines. Once the Chinese navy succeeds, then China will win this war, and Britain and France will have no power to return to heaven!