Asmara is the center of Italian rule in Eritrea, and it has the ability to connect with Massawa, the most important port in the region, to Abyssinia, and to Khartoum, all of which make Asmara prosperous, coupled with its pleasant climate, which makes many people like Asmara.

But among these people, the new commander-in-chief of the Italian Expeditionary Force, Lieutenant General Pablo Simeone, was definitely not one of them.

"Bang!"

A loud knock on the door sounded, startling the officers at the headquarters of the expeditionary force south of the city. But then an angry Lieutenant General Simeone walked in and scattered the officers.

Lieutenant General Simeone was originally the commander of the 3rd Army, and after the establishment of the Expeditionary Force, among the several commanders selected by the military, Carlo immediately supported him as the commander of the Expeditionary Force.

The reason why Carlo took a fancy to him is very simple, on the resume, this Simeone has made great achievements, and in the second and third wars of consent, he has made very good contributions.

Of course, this is not the reason why Carlo chose him, what makes Carlo fancy is that the commander of the Third Army does not participate in the sorority of other officers much on weekdays, and has little interest in politics, and likes to ponder the latest European military developments when he has nothing to do. Moreover, the Third Army led by him has been among the best in many exercises.

Such an unsociable and capable senior general is like a treasure to Carlo, and of course he is willing to help, for which he also quarreled with the Minister of War. The Minister of War recommended Colonel Rafaele Cadorna, who was famous in the War of Unification.

However, in the end, the king's insistence could not be resisted, and in the end, the choice of commander fell to the young Simeone. A fifty-two-year-old lieutenant general, how can he be considered young and strong in the Italian Army.

After receiving the post of commander of the expeditionary force, Simeone did not go with the army, he first met with Carlo, listened to his advice, and rushed to Asmara to form his own command as quickly as possible, which can really be described as vigorous.

So before the vast majority of the expeditionary force arrived, the lieutenant general Simeone began to perform his duties as commander.

Of course, Simeone was definitely not the one who sat in the commander, listened to the reports of his subordinates and gave orders. Less than half a month after coming to Asmara, in addition to inspecting various military installations, he also made a trip to the front line with Abyssinia. This time he had just come from the front line, and it seemed that the inspection situation was not optimistic.

Lieutenant General Simeone didn't have any of these officers at all, and he staggered back to his office on the second floor with a gloomy face and a full body of anger.

Almost immediately, the chief of staff of the expeditionary force, Major General Bartlett, rushed to his office.

This Major General Bartlet, from the Army General Staff, was able to become the chief of staff of the expeditionary force this time, in addition to his ability, he also had a direct relationship with the Minister of War.

One more thing to say here is that the formation of this expeditionary force was considered by many army generals to be a rare opportunity to obtain military merits, so a large number of young officers of their younger generations were stuffed in. Faced with this situation, not to mention the Minister of War, even Carlo could not directly refuse.

Of course, how to let these meritorious children get the task of not only obtaining military merits, but also ensuring safety, this needs to test Simeone's political wisdom.

Carlo pulled him at most, and it was impossible to shelter him, after all, Lieutenant General Simone had been in the army for nearly thirty years, and he should know what to do.

Seeing Simone's angry face, Bartlett asked.

"Why are you so angry?"

Faced with the question of the chief of staff who didn't get along with him much, Simeone certainly wouldn't give the other party a look. I saw him say with a helpless expression. "Who else could it be, that Major General Barthes's previous report, which is completely inconsistent with the actual situation."

They were all soldiers, and of course Bartlett knew the consequences of the actual situation not matching the report, so he asked with a serious expression. "What's going on?"

"Didn't I go to the front before? Only then did I find out that the supplies on the report were 30% less, and the number of mules, horses, camels and other livestock prepared was also incorrect. When I asked the local garrison, they told me it was because the livestock had been sick and had died. What disease can make more than 30,000 livestock die and dare not report it, I think someone is too greedy. ”

In the face of Simeone's words, Bartlett immediately felt the seriousness of the matter. "The local garrison is absolutely involved, to bring its commander under control."

"I've done this a long time ago, and I've put the gendarmes under control of that Lieutenant Colonel Koxys."

After replying, Simeone said with a mocking expression. "Can a lieutenant colonel embezzle so much material, do you believe it?"

Bartlett has also been in the army for many years, and of course he knows that a lieutenant colonel cannot be so bold. He had heard that the corruption of overseas troops was somewhat serious before, but he didn't expect them to be so greedy, was this blinded?

"We can't touch him now, everything is important to prepare for war."

Chief of Staff, of course, Simeone knows that now is not the time to move these moths, if he moves these moths while preparing for war, then it will make the preparation time prolonged, and he will not do such uncertain things. Otherwise, the bigwigs of the military and the government will definitely want him to look good.

Although they decided to postpone cleaning up the moths, the supplies of the expeditionary force must not pass through their hands.

"How is the situation of the army when you go to the front line this time?"

Faced with the words of the chief of staff, Simeone shook his head and said. "The situation is not ideal, compared with the domestic troops, both the spirit and the daily training are far worse. In this operation, the troops of these colonies could only be responsible for logistics and transportation. ”

But when it comes to transportation, Simeone thinks of the road conditions he saw on the front lines. "In addition, send a telegram to Rome, we need two regiments of sappers."

"The road is not ideal?"

Faced with the words of the chief of staff, Simeone sighed.

"It's not just not ideal, it's just terrible. After Mendefera, the capacity of the road is so bad that it cannot withstand the loads of horse-drawn carriages. And when it came to Adiquara, ordinary carriages could not move forward. If you want to continue to advance, you must rely on animal power, and such a transportation route, according to the plan prepared before, simply cannot support an army of no more than 20,000. ”

Simeone's words made Bartlett's face change dramatically. "It's not about revising the plan."

"It has to be, and I intend to inform Rome of the actual situation here. We need more livestock, and more tools to build roads. ”

Well, before the fight began, Simeone, as the commander, planned to change his soldier to become a road builder.

"Can you agree with that?"

"Anyway, the actual situation has told them, and we can't do anything better."