Night covers the land

In the barracks of the Italian army stationed in the valley, the largest tent in the middle was brightly lit, and the long table was covered with white tablecloths, delicate tableware and flowers, and the two 12-headed silver candlesticks in the middle of the table illuminated the delicious food, which was very appetizing.

The commander of the Italian army, Count de Santis, with his upturned Italian beard, his hair combed neatly at the head of the banquet, and the straight uniform of the major general without a trace of wrinkles, was a gentleman who paid attention to aristocratic etiquette and demeanor, loved fine Italian cuisine and art, and as for the position in the army, he regarded it as a side job.

On the left and right sides of the long table sat a dozen Italian officers, and next to Count de Santis were two army colonels, one was Colonel Pelini, commander of the 3rd Rifle Regiment in Turin, and the other was Colonel Campera, commander of the Florentine grenadier regiment.

Stationed in the valley were two whole regiments of Italian soldiers, commanded by the commander of the Eastern Region, Major General de Santis, who looked in a good mood today, raised the crystal wine glass in his hand and said loudly;

"Praise God, grant us abundant food and wine, and wish all the gentlemen present here another pleasant day in Africa, where I prefer the alpine meadows to the hot and inhospitable Gobi deserts and deserts, by the way...... The climate here is also good. ”

"Praise God and sincerely wish His Excellency the General a victorious start!"

The officers collectively raised their glasses and toasted, and after taking a sip, they put down their glasses and began to eat, and the soldier attendants behind them wore white towels on their arms and served them on silver plates like flowing water, looking like they were attending a noble dinner.

"Well, the lamb here is good, it tastes a bit like a Sardinian black goat, the meat is delicate and delicious, and it should be good with Bordeaux red wine." The Count de Santis was a good student of gastronomy and it was clear that the dishes here put him in a good mood.

Colonel Pelini swallowed the lamb in his mouth, took a sip of white wine, and said with deep approval; "Your Excellency, I have great admiration for your keen sense of smell, and it is indeed better to pair with Bordeaux red wine, but it is a pity that the lack of top-quality red wine and caviar in the military supplies delivered to us is a bit of a fly in the ointment."

"Actually, Mr. Colonel, I have brought with me a sufficient amount of Spanish ham, caviar and Bordeaux wine on this expedition, oh...... By the way, there are Cuban cigars and Australian toffee, but unfortunately the chaotic logistics system sent these private collections of mine to Asmara, 800 kilometres away, I reckon it may now be on the desk of His Excellency the Commander, and I have to face this sad reality. ”

"Your Excellency, these private collections of yours have found their rightful home, and it is better to leave them on the table of Your Excellency the Commander than to fall into the cliff with the mules and horses."

"I appreciate your humor, Colonel Pelini, and I have to complain about this hellish place, there is not even a decent road, after the conquest of the whole of Eritrea and the indigenous kingdom of Ethiopia, our engineers have a lot of work to do, building roads and bridges, laying railways and clean water pipes, God, this is a huge project."

The Count de Santis was already worried about the future construction, and as for the minor troubles in front of him, he did not pay any attention to them.

The Kingdom of Italy had secretly communicated with the British in Ethiopia, Africa, and London did not disagree with this, and they were happy to see Italy balance the strong influence of the French in Northeast Africa, and the two sides maintained a certain tacit understanding.

Relations between European countries have never been as simple as friend or foe, but interspersed with various strategic trade-offs and off-stage deals, such as the renewal of the German-Italian-Austrian Triple Alliance in 1887, when the biggest variable was the Kingdom of Italy, on which London had great influence.

London acquiesced in the renewal of the German-Italian-Austrian Triple Alliance, which actually betrayed France's interests, but Britain thus gained a unanimous European position on the Balkan question, forcing Tsarist Russia to withdraw from the contest for the election of the Grand Duke of Bulgaria, and let London's favorite candidate take the throne as he wished.

Poor Tsarist Russia forced the Ottoman Empire to agree to the independence of Bulgaria through war, spending a lot of money and sacrificing hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but in the end, the Russian forces were forced to withdraw from the Bulgarian region, and the tsar's face was beaten to the ground.

Due to the renewal of the Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria in May 1887, France continued to face heavy military pressure on the European continent and had to take a concessional attitude in the Suez Canal Zone and take the initiative to reduce its garrison in exchange for the support of the British for the Franco-Russian alliance.

London used skilful diplomacy to dance on three eggs, without firing a single shot in exchange for major political gains, maintaining the basic strategy of the balance of power on the continent.

Acquiescing in Italy's colonization of the Kingdom of Ethiopia was tantamount to a benefit, and both Britain and Italy had a tacit understanding on this.

Count de Santis may not be a good military commander, but he is certainly a political figure with a keen sense of smell.

"Your Excellency General, although we have a heavy army to suppress the border, but the Australians are not black African aborigines, and Xi'an-City is a well-known mercenary gathering place, and the people are fierce and uninhibited, I am worried that we will not be able to achieve the effect of pressing to promote talks, and may not be willing to give up the Assab and Ede areas in our hands, and it is easy for the two sides to misfire." Colonel Kampella looked preoccupied.

After hearing this, the Count de Santis raised his eyebrows, put down the silver fork in his hand rather displeased, picked up the white napkin and wiped his mouth, and said with an elegant expression; "Mr. Colonel Kampera, I want to emphasize that whether they agree or not, we will take the Assab and the Ede region, and perhaps the Djibouti region, at least allow the Italians to want special treatment, such as doing business or settling down or something, and that is what we are here for."

"Your Excellency General, in case of conflict......

"Then destroy them, it's simple." The Count de Santis replied loudly, drawing a round of applause from the officers at the table.

"Thank you, gentlemen, I am proud of you." The Count de Santis saluted with a courteous jaw and a radiant and smug face.

At this time

A lieutenant on duty walked briskly into the tent, leaned over to the general's side, whispered a few words, and presented a letter with both hands.

The Count de Santis opened the letter casually and read it, his face suddenly turned blue, and he roared loudly; "Damn Australians, this is an offense that must not be allowed, and they have to pay for it."

With that, he slammed the letter on the table.

The Shogun's anger changed the pleasant atmosphere, and the officers put down their knives, forks, and wine glasses, and their expressions became grim, and they had a bad premonition.

Colonel Kampera picked up the letter and read it, it was a solemn warning issued in the name of the Somali Provincial Militia Corps, which demanded that the troops of the Kingdom of Italy withdraw from the Ede area, abide by international conventions, recognize the de facto occupation of the area by the vigilante groups, and not delay, prevaricate or stay under any pretext.

What was particularly infuriating was that the militia ordered the troops of the Kingdom of Italy to withdraw from the Ede region within one day, otherwise it would be regarded as an invasion.

No wonder the general's nose is crooked, this feeling is like a kindergarten child standing there cross-legged and saying; "Hey, you guys get out of my territory now, because the children are going to start playing games, I'm counting down to 5 now, and I'm not going to leave at your own risk!"

Well, that's pretty much the funny feeling.

The Count de Santis was so angry with this serious warning that he could not care about his always elegant aristocratic demeanor.

Colonel Kampella passed the letter to the officer beside him without saying a word, and the officer immediately turned red with anger after reading it, opened his mouth and was about to say something, when he saw the general's face turned blue and closed it tightly, and then continued to pass the letter downward.

After seeing it one after another, the officers were all inexplicably angry.

"Go to war!"

I don't know which noble officer shouted first, and then the other noble officers also echoed in unison, and there was a sound of "war" in the brightly lit tent, which was really excited.

For a time, there was a lot of uproar, and the big tent was neatly lined up with "war, war, war......".

The military heart is available!

The Count de Santis nodded approvingly, stood up, looked firmly in the direction of Ed Town, and said loudly with a resolute look in his eyes;

"What a group of infidels who do not know the fear of God, in accordance with the will of God, let us purify them with the holy light of the kingdom of heaven, and now I command in my capacity as governor of the eastern district;

Tomorrow morning, the whole army will slaughter the town of Ed, crush all the small people who dare to resist into powder, and stain the battle flag red with the blood of the enemy, showing the majesty of the Kingdom of Italy. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency."

A group of officers responded in unison, and the sound shook the valley.

It has to be said that Italians are indeed an optimistic and romantic people, never lacking a good appetite, and have the confidence to be fascinated, and will do incredible things when their heads are hot.

Originally, the plan was just to overwhelm people with momentum, but now after being provoked, he directly wiped his sleeves and went into battle shirtless.

For these Italian aristocratic officers, honor is more important than life, if they are scared by this group of Somali vigilantes and go back, it is better to wipe their necks directly, and they will really have no face in the future.

In most of the feudal armies of Europe, all the officers are from the children of the nobility, this is the case in Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire is even more so, and the Kingdom of Italy is no exception.

Now that this has happened, the dinner party can't go on.

Fortunately, all the aristocratic officers had almost eaten, and they were enthusiastically asking for war in the big tent, shouting that the Australians would be killed, and they were all the first to get high.

After receiving the order, they dispersed in a hurry, and each went to prepare without mentioning it.

The night shrouded the valley barracks, faintly revealing a solemn atmosphere that was different from usual, waiting for the dawn......