After returning from the Holy Emperor Valley, the people around His Majesty the Emperor felt a little different, compared to before, His Majesty the Emperor's attitude was more detached, and more power was delegated to the cabinet ministers.

In 189-7, there were no major events in North and South America, and all eyes were on June 22, the 60th anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Victoria of the British Empire.

Almost all the royal families of Europe flocked to London, as well as the princely princes of India and representatives of the British colonies, who held various celebrations since the beginning of the year, and it was very lively.

The second one that attracted the world's attention was the Greco-Turkish War that broke out in Europe, a short but fierce war that lasted more than 30 days, and from the very beginning doomed the victory of the Ottoman Empire and the defeat of Greece.

In order to get rid of the feudal rule of the Ottoman Empire on Crete, the Greeks living on Crete, with the assistance of Greece, planned and launched an independent uprising.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the uprising to be ruthlessly suppressed by the Ottoman army.

However, the intervention of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Russia and other great powers turned the small uprising into an international dispute.

On 18 April, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Greece, and the First Greco-Turkish War broke out.

Before the outbreak of the war, the Ottoman army was slightly superior to the Greek army in terms of weapons and equipment, and was better prepared before the war.

The Ottoman Empire had 94,000 infantry and more than 1,660 cavalry, which was twice the size of the Greek army.

At the same time, the Ottoman army was all trained by German instructors, and the soldiers were well trained and maintained a high level of combat effectiveness and combat effectiveness, which was far from being matched by the Greek army.

The front-line commander of the Greek army was Crown Prince Constantine, who relied most on the support of international powers rather than on his own outstanding military talents, and was like a clumsy boy in dealing with the Ottoman army's attack.

This battle proves once again;

The glory of the ancient Roman period has long since passed, and the Greeks are better at attacking the enemy with mouth cannons, and their combat ability has been reduced to the third-rate in Europe, and they have been taught a hard lesson by the Ottoman army.

The Greeks soon lost the city of Larissa, and in just a few days, the Greeks lost a series of battles in the Thessaly region.

On May 7, Greece and the Ottoman Empire signed an armistice, and in the subsequent peace treaty, Greece ceded six regions of Thessaly to the Ottoman Empire, compensated 4 million Ottoman pounds for war losses, and lost control of Crete.

In this round of international competition, the Tang Empire adhered to a neutral position and made a wave of presence in the Ottoman Empire.

Kuwait City, Middle East

After more than 20 years of development, Kuwait City has become a dazzling star city in the Gulf region, with a population of more than 423,000 people, of which more than 60% are Chinese immigrants, controlling the economic lifeline of the region.

Because of its geographical advantages, it has become a trade distribution center that radiates the entire bay, and it is also an adventurous city where smuggling is rampant, and a "fallen city" where money is drunk.

With a population of nearly 300,000 people, Kuwait is a thriving trading city with a majority of Chinese faces, as well as some Arabs, Persians, British, French and Germans.

In recent years

As the construction of the Middle East Railway by Germany entered a hot construction period, there were many Germans in Kuwait and the surrounding areas, some of whom were engineers and technicians, and some were adventurers and immigrants.

The Eastern Railway was an important railway project promoted by Kaiser Wilhelm II with the intention of spreading influence in the Near East, connecting the Mediterranean coast, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Ottomans and Persia, also known as the "Wadi Akdat Railway".

The project was built at the end of the 19th century to strengthen ties between Europe and the Middle East and to promote German economic, military and political penetration into the Near East.

Starting from the port of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean coast and ending in Baghdad, the 1,666-kilometre stretch has had a huge impact on the region, passing through 248 bridges and 39 tunnels.

It is estimated that the railway will be put into operation at the beginning of the 20th century.

Kuwait

In a Victorian building in the middle of the city

A few well-dressed gentlemen, with iced champagne in their hands, were chatting leisurely about Kuwait's future status.

"Gentlemen, I think it is necessary to draw the attention of the Imperial Colonial Department to the fact that the application of the area around Kuwait City to become an independent overseas province is urgently needed."

"Yes, Sir Mak's proposal is very pertinent. If the lonely Kuwait region wants to get the attention of the empire, it will completely solve the worries of immigrants. Gaining acceptance from the Empire as soon as possible should be the best solution. ”

"In the past few years, as the Gulf region has developed, the Germans and the British have moved more and more, and it is really difficult to cope with our strength alone!"

"Hmph, Kuwait City is ours, and no one can take it away."

These well-dressed gentlemen were all smugglers from Kuwait City, and more than 20 years ago, they were also one of the adventurous North American cowboys, who gradually became rich by smuggling.

This area

The coastal strip on the edge of the Ottoman province of Baghdad was originally a tribal territory where birds don't, but it was later seen by Chinese immigrants who poured into the Middle East, and gradually prospered by building ports and towns here.

The local Chinese smuggling cavalry and the ironclad steamers speeding in the bay constitute the two major weapons of smuggling. The Tang Empire's low-cost and high-quality industrial products and special agricultural products were dumped in large quantities into the province of Baghdad and the Kingdom of Persia, so as to accumulate a large amount of wealth.

In Kuwait City

As long as these smuggling tycoons here ascend to the heights, they can quickly gather tens of thousands of armed men, a small half of which are cavalry, and the total number is not less than 3,500 people.

The total number of private armed forces they have raised is nearly 1,000, and their strength is considerable.

This is also an important reason why the region has been outside the rule of the Ottoman Empire and has been reduced to a three-way zone.

These Chinese smuggling tycoons are not without backgrounds, many of them have served in the military, and are inextricably linked to the garrisons in the Red Sea region and the Sana'a region of Yemen.

This is also an important factor in Baghdad's concerns, pulling out the nail of Kuwait, which may provoke military intervention from the Tang Empire.

"Sir Mak, do you have any good ideas?"

All eyes were on Sir Mak Kwong-man with a little fiery anticipation.

Sir Mak Guangmin is mainly engaged in maritime smuggling, and is also one of the famous big smugglers in Kuwait City, with as many as 7 steamships under his command, each capable of carrying 240~600 tons.

He smuggled large quantities of sugar, milk powder, plastic basins, plastic buckets, plastic bowls, plastic sandals and other daily chemicals, which were very sought-after goods and accumulated huge wealth.

Seeing everyone's gaze, Sir Mak Guangmin smiled a little embarrassedly, nodded and said; "Of course there is, I am very familiar with several governors of Yunzhong Province, and I have a house in the port, so let's find a chance for me to go and do some activities."

"That's great, I'm going to ask you about this, but I can't delay it any longer."

"Yes, yes, I heard that the Germans are intent on building the railway line all the way to the sea, and this is not going to make people alive?"

"Stop them no matter what, preferably the Reich, those Ottomans and Germans will be jealous."

"That makes sense." Everyone chimed in.

Baghdad is the inland essence of the province of Baghdad, with thousands of years of agricultural irrigation civilization, is one of the ancient human civilizations, and the two river basins have also given birth to unique Arab and Persian cultures.

From Baghdad to Kuwait City by the sea, a semi-desert and semi-arid area with flat rivers, it took no effort or difficulty to build a railway.

But that's it

The troops of Baghdad province can be easily transported to the coastal areas by rail, and they are a real threat to Kuwait City, like a sharp knife against the back.

Only a thousand days to be a thief, how can there be a reason to prevent thieves for a thousand days?

The smuggling trade in Kuwait was not treated by the Ottoman provinces in the first place, and the smuggling armed caravans and Ottoman military patrols fought dozens of battles every year, large and small, and many people were killed and wounded.

With sharp weapons and rich experience, smuggling armed caravans were often able to suppress the Ottoman military patrols in conflicts, but there were times when they missed.

Once you miss, it will naturally not end well.

If there is an opportunity to pull out the hard nail of Kuwait, recover a large amount of tax losses for the province of Baghdad, and add a large source of revenue, it is inevitable that Lord Pasha of the province of Baghdad will not be moved and mobilize a large army to conquer Kuwait City.

The best way is to obtain the recognition of the colonial department of the Tang Empire and get the protection of the empire.

Of course, it's far from dangerous.

Although the Pasha of Baghdad controlled a large number of historic towns on both sides of the Euphrates, their oppressive rule always faced resistance from powerful local tribes.

For example, the Khazaire tribe, which lived in the swampy area, had a population of more than 100,000 and scattered into hundreds of large and small groups, and was one of the strongest tribes to resist the military rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Until 1850

The Ottomans did not dare to cross the lands of the Khazairs easily, and the Khazairs adhered to their ancient tribal traditions and still lived in swampy areas.

Outsiders are hostile.

It was difficult for the governor of Baghdad to rein in these ignorant and backward tribes, because the swamps became a natural barrier for them, and the mighty army was intimidated.

The only way for the Pasha in Baghdad to reach the places where these tribes were located was to build dams that would block the water and dry up the swamps so that the army could advance to the tribal camps.

However, the painstaking construction of the Syndica Dam. The tribes destroyed the dam in rebellion against the government, resulting in huge losses in agricultural production.

In addition, there is the Montafik tribe, the largest tribal union in Basra province, belonging to the Adnan Arabs.

In 1863, the Montafic tribe had 36,000 families and 15,000 cavalry. Its rulers, the Satun family, are Sunni and one of the major users of the smuggling caravans in Kuwait City, and the two sides have a close relationship.

In order to fight against the Ottoman army, Kuwait City can mobilize more troops, and it can also enlist the Arab tribal alliance as a helper.

(End of chapter)