While the Spee fleet was still battling with the British fleet in Oceania, the Italian East African colonies as its final destination were also very lively.

If you want to say which colony in the Allied camp is a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the Entente, it is none other than Italy's East African colony, which is stuck in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, which makes Britain and France feel extremely uncomfortable in their throats.

Long before the outbreak of the war, the British military proposed to its government that Italy's colonies in East Africa were a serious threat to the trade and transportation routes between the mainland and India, and hoped that the problem would be resolved immediately after the outbreak of the war.

London, however, did not take the military's advice seriously, believing that the war would only take a few months to end.

The armies of France and Russia attacked Germany from the east and west, and Britain blocked its sea route and landed from the north by the way, and the Germans could absolutely not stop such a three-way attack. The core German of the alliance camp fell, so Italy and Austria, as the younger brothers, would naturally surrender obediently.

However, it is a pity that the Entente team did not expect the Germans to be able to fight better than the Franco-Prussian War, not only defeated the Anglo-French forces on the Western Front and occupied Paris, but also rescued the Austrians who were beaten by Russia on the Eastern Front, and also gave the Russians a hard punch, so that they did not dare to peep into German territory again.

The Italians, who had long been considered the tail of the Great Powers, were also surprising, and their performance in the Battle of the Italo-French border and the Battle of Sirte led the British and French to regard them as another great enemy outside of Germany.

At the same time, after several months of fighting, both sides found that it was impossible to solve the opponent in a short time, so as the war could not be subsided in a short time, then it was necessary to start from all sides.

And the Italian East African colony, which is a thorn in the side, now looks so dazzling no matter how you look at it.

However, although it may look glaring, it was not easy to seize Italy's East African colonies, because Italy had a heavy army there.

It has a navy that is not sizable, and it also has an army that is absolutely large for a colony. The Italian military had 120,000 native troops here, as well as a colonial army of 80,000, and the client kingdom of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) capable of providing 150,000 troops.

It can be said that if you want to seize Italian East Africa, you must have no less than 400,000 troops, and you can't all colony troops, and you also need the Entente to send local elite troops.

When the war began, the staff officers of the British and French armies laughed at the Italian army arrangement, and it was simply mediocre to put a large number of elite troops in the colonies instead of using them on the mainland. As a result, I didn't expect it to become a thorn in my side, which was too embarrassing.

Embarrassment or not, let's talk about it later, the most important thing now is to pull out the nail of Italian East Africa.

Several previous attempts had shown that not only was the Italian army not weak, but even its colonial army and the Abyssinian army were stronger than the British colonial armies in Africa, comparable to the Anglo-Indian army. Of course, there is still a gap between it and the British and Indian armies in terms of weapons and equipment.

Since Italy is very strong in East Africa, it will not be easy to seize East Africa. In addition to preparing the build-up of troops in Sudan and British East Africa (Kenya), it was necessary to prepare a large amount of military supplies.

Since you are preparing for a big battle, in addition to the material army, intelligence, diplomacy and other aspects must be prepared. And one of the most important tasks in this is diplomacy.

The wise old king of the Kingdom of Abyssinia, with whom the English had dealt many times, could hardly take advantage of him, even if he had suffered a stroke.

Especially after the outbreak of the war, in order to make the Kingdom of Abyssinia defect, the British offered a lot of conditions to give money, weapons, and territory, but they were all politely rejected by the old king.

Originally, he was determined to win over the Abyssinian kingdom, but that Menelik II died at the end of the year, because he had no son, but a legitimate daughter, so he finally chose his grandson Eyjasu to succeed him as the new king.

Now that there is no old king in power, the British people's minds are alive again.

"Your Majesty King Eyassus, we in the British Empire are more than willing to help your country free of the control of the Italians. More than 20 years ago, your country was invaded by Italy, which was a violation of the civilized world, and my country has always been sympathetic to your country's plight. Now this war is a punishment for its banditry behavior, and it is actually an opportunity for your country.

Look at the situation in your country now, the Italians have plundered a lot of interests in your country, which should have been your country, and we in the British Empire do not want to see your country treated like this, so we are willing to provide enough support to help your country get rid of it, and in addition, our country can also distribute enough spoils of war to your country according to your performance. Weapons, machines, money, land are all right. If you are good enough on the battlefield, you can also help your country reclaim the coastal lands. ”

Mr. Boyle, High Commissioner of the British East African Colonies, was the secret envoy for this time. And he was gushing to the young King Eyassou in front of him, about the conditions that the British side could give.

Boyle is an old acquaintance of the Kingdom of Abyssinia, and before he became High Commissioner of the British East African Colonies, Boyle had been doing business with the Kingdom of Abyssinia for more than ten years, so he was familiar with the top management of the Kingdom of Abyssinia. Of course, he also knew that the Kingdom of Abyssinia had complicated feelings towards the suzerainty of Italy.

Emotions such as unwillingness, gratitude, and fear are the feelings of the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Abyssinia towards Italy.

Boyle scoffed at this, and said fairly that Italy was already very good to the Kingdom of Abyssinia. Although Italian goods were popular in Abyssinia, Italy also allowed them to recoup their roots. The annual labor dispatch of 2-50,000 people makes the Abyssinian royal family and the noble governors make a lot of money (in order to win over the Abyssinian nobles, Italy pays half of the labor salary to the royal family, of course, most of this money is returned to Italy in the form of commodities, arms and other materials. ）。

"Thank you very much for the importance that Great Britain attaches to our country, but we have signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with Italy, so I can only say sorry to your country."

At this time, Aeasus, the new young king of Abyssinia, opened his mouth to refuse the offer of these benefits.

"Your Majesty, if you are not satisfied with our conditions, you can talk about it again."

Although Eyassou's refusal as soon as he opened his mouth made Boyle a little confused, how could he, who was a businessman, let the meeting end like this.

"Your Excellency Boyle, thank you very much for your fancy to our country, but my country has no plans to change the court at present, please go back."

Eyassus's reluctance to continue the conversation made Boyle feel helpless, how could the two kings of Abyssinia be so disobedient.

In the face of the young king's resolute attitude, he could not even say more thoughts and words.

However, the envoy of Boyle did not know that the young king had been influenced by Italian servants and governesses during his upbringing, which had made Eyassus have a good impression of Italy. Speaking of the current situation in Africa, Eyassu is not unclear, and it has long been carved up by various European countries.

If Italy is freed, then other powers will not be interested in them, especially Britain, which is located in the northwest of the kingdom. And he is not unclear about what the African colonies under British rule are like, and in the final analysis, Eyassus does not trust the British.

When the young king refused, Boyle had no choice but to return to his lodgings.

Just as he was grieving the failure of this mission, his most confidant stepped forward and spoke. "Master, there is a man named Kamala who wants to visit you and says he can solve your troubles."

"Kamala?"

Boyle remembered in his mind which of the people he knew in Addis Ababa had that name. But after thinking about it for a long time, he was sure that not only in Addis Ababa, but even in Abyssinia, he did not know a person named Kamala.

Just as he asked the servant to return to the absolute side, he agreed to the mission after thinking about this mission.

"Please come in."

"Yes, master."

Every time he saw each other.

"Hello Mr. Boyle, my master knows your intentions, and my master has a great affection for your country, and thinks that Abyssinia can only gain true independence by following you. And the great master has a way to change the attitude of the kingdom, as long as the noble envoy is willing to support her. ”

Boyle looked at the other party with interest about the attitude of the visitor, trying to find something from the other party's expression. But it's a pity that the expression of the person who came has not changed, so his efforts have failed.

"I wonder who Mr. Camara represents, and which nobleman he is?"

Boyle was guessing who was behind the other party as he spoke, and there were not many people who could know in a short time that he had failed to visit Ayasu. His mind quickly sifted through these people.

"Mr. Boyle, you may see my master if you wish."

Still in or near Addis Ababa, Boyle quickly narrowed its scope.

"No problem, I don't know when I will be able to meet your master."

"Today."