It was not until the Second Pacific Fleet was sent hundreds of nautical miles off the coast of East Africa and saw them embark on a long voyage to the Far East that the African Squadron under Rear Admiral Jensen Adenauer made a beautiful turn and turned around and sailed to the nearest port of Xi'an.

It's twilight

Amid the clamor of seabirds, the detachment has arrived in the city of Xi'an, the pearl city of the Horn of Africa, in Djibouti.

On the wide sea outside the port, there are many ocean-going giants from various countries anchored at the anchorage, which are all cargo ships on the Eurasian route, docked at Xi'an Port to replenish coal, water and daily necessities, and carry out cargo transit here.

Cargo destined for Mozambique, Congo and South Africa in Southeastern Africa, where goods destined for West Asia are unloaded and then loaded onto Mozambican cotton cloth, dried fruits, grain or other supplies to set sail again and sail to the port of destination.

Due to the limitations of local water resources and the environment, Xi'an has maintained a population of more than 500,000 for more than a decade, and has watched the rapid rise of the central city of Humen, from a small town of less than 10,000 people to a large city with a population of nearly 700,000, and the largest city in Somali State.

In recent years

A Somali Water Company was set up to order more than 20 500-ton shallow water tankers to take water from Eritrea on the Red Sea and transport it to Xi'an to alleviate the water shortage needed for economic development.

The Saidit River is the only perennial river in Eritrea, with a total length of 180 kilometers, 670 kilometers from Xi'an, where the Somali Water Company draws water in the dry season and the Mareb River, the largest river, in the rainy season, which is only 361 kilometers away from Xi'an, with an area of 24,000 square kilometers and abundant water for eight months of the year.

Tankers filled with fresh water travel up the river on the Xi'an side to the Somali Water Company's base on the outskirts of the city, where it is unloaded and disinfected in several large cement ponds before being sent to homes.

The Somali Water Company, which was born in response to the times, has made up for the biggest constraint on Xi'an's economic development, providing millions of tons of fresh water resources every year, contributing to the rapid growth of Xi'an's population in recent years, exceeding the 600,000 mark, and thus becoming one of the first-tier cities of the empire.

On the edge of an oasis on the outskirts of Xi'an, apples, grapes and cantaloupe grow on sandy soil are particularly crisp and sweet, becoming well-known specialties and praised as "nature's magical gifts".

The lights of Xi'an Wanjia in the night are like a bright galaxy.

It is a pearl city standing in the Horn of Africa, a dream city for seafarers on the Eurasian route, and a city of miracles standing on an oasis, where prosperity and depravity are intertwined, and it is a paradise for adventurers going to East Africa and West Asia.

Such a prosperous place is far away from the mainland, which is inevitably coveted.

On both sides of the coast of Djibouti are high platforms, with an average altitude of about 130~170 meters, and about 10 kilometers away from Xi'an.

The eastern fortress is called Fort Orient, and the western fortress is called Fort West, and the entire bay is protected by large-caliber shore artillery, deterring enemies with bad intentions, and forming an important support point for the coastal defense system.

In Xi'an City, the army has a garrison regiment, the navy's African detachment maintains a two-patrol, eight-wheel drive sea force all year round, and is stationed on the cruiser "Takachiho" and the cruiser "Naniwa", and the destroyers are mainly five old 1,300-ton Seagull II destroyers, and three Seagull II destroyers with a displacement of 2,000 tons have been remodeled.

There are two paramilitary forces in Xi'an that are not to be underestimated, one is an armed militia of more than 3,600 people, and the other is the Somali mercenary union, which is famous in Asia and Africa.

If necessary, it can also be supported by a large number of troops from Humen City, which can be reached by rail transportation in one day and one night.

If you try to conquer such a strong city target, you don't have to think about it without the support of the large fleet, plus the elite troops of more than 2~30,000 people in the future.

Don't forget that the Red Sea moat fortress in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has the ability to completely close the Eurasian route in wartime, so that the enemy cannot cross the minefield.

There are also more than 500 British infantry battalions stationed on the Red Sea Trench Fortress, which is an important supply port for the British Royal Navy's Suez Canal Detachment, and more than 140 British Royal Navy officers and soldiers live in the residential areas of the island.

The climate on the island is much stronger than that of the Suez Canal Zone.

There are regular boats between Humen and Xi'an, which are more than ten hours old, and it is very convenient to come and go.

The intimate relationship between the Ocean Empire and Great Britain has been strengthened by the rapid economic development of the Ocean Empire, which is a substantive relationship that stems from the fact that the Commonwealth is not an ally but is closer than an ally.

All the ports of the Ocean Empire were open to the Royal Navy as if they were their own fleet, and the same was true for the ports of the British overseas colonies, but not for the ports of the British Isles, the only difference.

So, with the Indian subcontinent in the east, the Suez Canal in the west, and South Africa in the south, surrounded by the British and the colonies of the Ocean Empire, the security environment of the entire Somali state is excellent, and there are no real enemies.

After arriving in Xi'an, the African detachment issued its last report on the enemy's observation, and the officers and men of the fleet began to take turns on leave.

Under the cool sea breeze, Xi'an at night ushered in the most lively and prosperous time of the day, the streets and alleys are brightly lit and the flow of people is like a tide.

On the snack street that exudes a strong aroma of food, you can see bewitching women coming and going from time to time, there are Arab women, Western women, Fusang women and black girls, all of whom are the sisters of the nearby Qinglou Chu Pavilion, who seem to wake up from a day's sleep at night, revealing the most beautiful and seductive face.

Once you've had your fill of food and drink, the nightlife begins.

The Royal Police officers on duty on the streets, wearing short-sleeved shirts and large shorts, leather shoes with stockings on their feet, and revolvers and batons at their waists, patrol the streets in pairs.

In the Somali region, the Royal Police has a high level of prestige and is generally held by veterans, and no one is allowed to draw a gun against a police officer under any circumstances, otherwise he will be killed.

Even unruly mercenaries, once on the royal police's blacklist, will be immediately expelled from the mercenary guild, then they will never receive employment tasks again, and even factories will not hire such people.

So, the rate of gun ownership in Somali is very high, but the law and order is also very good.

Rough foreign sailors would not dare to make trouble here, and those who were drunk and troublesome would be beaten up and thrown into the alley outside the bar, or they would be evaporated from the world and buried in the Gobi Desert on the outskirts.

There are most prostitutes and teahouses in Qinglou, hotels, Western opera houses, Chinese theaters, and newly popular movie theaters, where people can get the ultimate pleasure, secretly there are gambling stalls for and dog fighting, and even opium parlors, which is a city full of money and desire, attracting many adventurers.

In a bungalow villa

Major General Jensen Adenauer took off his military uniform and handed it to the black maid, and he went into the bathroom, where there were already two well-built black girls waiting, and then ......

Half an hour later

Major General Jensen Adenauer walked into the study refreshed, lit a cigar, and stood by the window looking at the brightly lit metropolis, full of pride.

His mind has now flown to the distant Arabian Peninsula, and according to the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Major General Jensen Adenauer will use the great power of Somalia to develop influence on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Arabian Peninsula at the beginning of the 19th century

The situation is quite complicated by the entanglement of various foreign powers, the fragmentation of the territory, especially the strong power of the British and the Germans, and the entanglement of the power of the Ocean Empire, Citigroup and Russia.

The Jerusalem region in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula is a British colony, accounting for about 1% of the entire peninsula's area, adjacent to Oman, the two river basin Iraq region, but nominally part of the territory of the Ottoman Empire, but in fact the British are powerful and are also the traditional areas of British influence.

The situation was further complicated by the construction of a railway from Berlin to Baghdad, Iraq, built by the Germans in the late 18th century, which infiltrated the Arabian Peninsula.

This strategically important land route runs from the Bosphorus Strait through Baghdad to the coast of the Persian Gulf, and is divided into three sections.

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.

Such a means can not help but remind people of the southern extension project of the Australian coastal railway and the Trans-Siberian railway project of Tsarist Russia, which are quite similar and are important means for the power to extend its influence.

This railway not only pushed German power deep into the Ottoman Empire, but also seriously threatened the Caucasus, Persia and other regions and British India.

Therefore, it has been opposed and obstructed by Russia, France, and especially Britain.

Unfortunately, under the strong impetus of the German Empire, the cowardly Ottoman Empire could not stop the advance of German chariots at all, and the efforts of Britain, Russia, France and other countries failed one after another.

In 1888, Germany obtained a concession from the Ottoman Empire for the construction of the Bosphorus-Ankara railway, and established the German Asia Minor Company to build it.

On the instructions of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German Company of Asia Minor obtained from the Ottoman Empire a concession to extend the railway to Konya in January 1893.

Britain strongly objected, and Germany immediately threatened to oppose British interests in Africa, forcing Britain to make concessions.

In 1896, the railway line from Berlin to Konya was built.

In 1903, Germany was granted a concession to build a railway from Konya onwards through Baghdad to the Persian Gulf.

Britain and France strongly opposed this, which was added to the Ocean Empire, and after complex negotiations, Britain and the Ocean Empire firmly disagreed with Kuwait as the terminus of the railway line.

Promises don't work, and treaties can be torn up.

No one is stupid, not only goods are transported along this railway line, but also arms and German troops, who wants to see this happen?

In the north of the Arabian Peninsula, is the Emirate of Yasir in the North Yemen region, with its capital in Abha, which belongs to the traditional sphere of influence of the Ocean Empire, where Humen mercenaries have great influence, occupying many coastal towns as smuggling strongholds, and also a gathering place for human smuggling and trafficking.

The capital, located in South Yemen in Sana'a, is also heavily influenced by Somali mercenaries, who frequented Xi'an.

Half of Sarah's villas and estates belong to Xi'an mercenaries, and the chieftain who is entrenched in the city can only sit on the throne with the support of Somali force, otherwise he will die in a minute.

There are regular sailings between the two places, with two sailings per week.

In the eastern region of Yemen, there are the Emirate of Muscat and the Imam of Oman, the territory is mostly desert and Gobi, only the coastal area is a large oasis, mainly nomadic herding, poor and backward, is a small Arab country under the dual influence of Britain and the Ocean Empire, with a population of hundreds of thousands.

In the entire hinterland of the Arabian Peninsula, the largest in the region is the Najd region, with a total area of 2.4 million square kilometers, more than 95% of which is barren desert and the Gobi desert, and the largest city is Riyadh, located in the desert hinterland, with a total population of just over 70,000 people.

The entire Najd region is ruled by a number of powerful Arab sheikhs, supported by British, French, German, Russian and Oceanic Empires.

The area along the Red Sea of the Arabian Peninsula belongs to the Hejaz region, with a total area of about 40 million square kilometers, and the area under the jurisdiction of the Hejaz extends from the western border of the Kingdom of Jordan in the north to the coastal zone of the Yasir region in the south.

The Hejaz terrain along the Red Sea is long and narrow from north to south and narrow from east to west. Across the Red Sea region from Eritrea, the Hijaz Mountains run north and south, deserts in the northeast, and oases in the southwest.

The Hejaz region is famous for the religious birthplaces of Mecca and Medina, two holy cities, the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina and the burial place of the legendary Hawa (Eve) outside.

Both Najd and Hejaz were nominally overseas provinces of the Ottoman Empire, but in essence they were unable to collect taxes or manage the nomadic populations there, and were largely in a state of herding sheep, which also gave opportunities for foreign powers.

Muhammad bin Rashid, the Sheikh of the Shamal tribe in the northern region, occupied Riyadh in 1891 and replaced the Saudi emirate as the de facto ruler of the Najd region.

Faisal's youngest son, Abdul Rahman, led the remnants of the Saudi family to Kuwait and took refuge in the power of Viscount Humen.

The Hejaz region was ruled by a few powerful Bedouin tribes, and the deceased Faisal chieftain family was so influential here that it was somewhat similar to the descendants of the Mongol golden family, and was regarded as an authentic lineage.

The problem is that the Abdullah-Rahman family has no guns, no people, and no money, so they have no way to hire mercenaries. They now organized an Arab camel cavalry of more than 370 people in Kuwait City, which was occupied by the Viscount of Humen, to provide armed escort for the smuggling caravans.

It's okay to negotiate a little money at this point, and if you want to attack Riyadh, it's better to wash and sleep.

The Shamar tribe, which occupies Riyadh, is a large nomadic tribe with a population of 37,000 people, and there are many small and medium-sized tribes who follow the lead and rule over hundreds of thousands of people.

According to the tradition of nomadic tribes, the cavalry that can organize tens of thousands of people is not a formidable opponent for the Abdullah-Rahman family to contend with.