While the war against the Boers was being discussed in East Africa, the Italians had completed the first phase of the Abyssinian Empire's aggression. The Italian expeditionary force led by Samuel conquered Desai, an important city in the eastern part of the Abyssinian Empire.

The flag of the Kingdom of Italy fluttered over the city of Desai, causing a new round of turmoil in the Abyssinian Empire, with the princes and ministers of the capital of the Abyssinian Empire attacking each other.

Kingdom of Shoa: "It is because of the stupidity of the central government that the whiteskins of Europe have invaded the territory of the empire, and they must be held responsible for this humiliating act." ”

Tigray Monarch: "Bastard, it is clear that you are against us at every turn, and you are acting against the decisions of the central government, so that the enemy can find an opportunity to take advantage of it, and the loss of Desai is inseparable from you." ”

The main feudal kingdoms of Abyssinia were Tigray in the north and Shoa in the south, and several important provinces such as Gojam, Volo, and Simeon were also completely independent.

Theodore II later unified these regions and recentralized the Abyssinian Empire, but it was not long before Theodore II was wiped out by the British.

The region was once again divided, with Prince Kasa of Tigray ascending to the throne and being crowned Johannes IV in the ancient city of Axum.

But at present, the emperor Johannes IV is very false, he stabbed Theodore II in the back, and the English ascended to the throne, even if he is a descendant of Solomon's royal family, he cannot obey the public.

Moreover, he made enemies everywhere and had contradictions with many forces at home and abroad, among which the opposition forces led by the southern kingdom of Shoa were at odds with him. At the same time, he had prominent contradictions with Egypt and often fought fiercely.

In fact, Johannes IV's ability is still good, especially the military ability is very strong, and he should have defeated the kingdom of Shoa at this time in history and subdued the domestic forces.

But with the-stirring stick of East Africa, history changed, and the British originally supported a batch of guns and ammunition from Johannes IV before leaving.

However, due to the export of arms by the Kingdom of East Africa to various powers in the Abyssinian Empire, his superiority in weapons was negated.

The southern tribal areas, in particular, now listen directly to the media, and although they still outwardly support the central government, they remain untouched by any orders from the central government.

And Johannes IV's main rival, the kingdom of Shoa, also regained its position and rebelled against itself at every turn.

When the Italian expeditionary force attacked the city of Desai, all forces of the Abyssinian Empire demanded a counterattack against Italy, but none of them sent troops.

Among them, the only ones who can support the city of Desai are the warlords in the northeast and the kingdom of Shoa, but they are afraid that they will send troops in front and Johannes IV in the rear will attack their base camp, so everyone chooses to stand by and watch.

The victory of the Kingdom of Italy was a perfect time, first of all, thanks to the Rubatino company, which allowed cheap rice from East Africa to enter the port of Assab directly through the Red Sea.

Although the rice did not suit the tastes of the Italian soldiers, it was cheap, and the military budget, which was not abundant, was instantly surplus.

Moreover, compared with flour, rice is easy to process and easy to carry, and every soldier can carry a little, and it will not turn into a paste like flour when it encounters rain.

With sufficient military rations, Samuel, who had been planning for a long time, immediately organized an army to attack the Abyssinian Empire.

Samuel, through his analysis of the intelligence of the Abyssinian Empire, concluded that if the Kingdom of Italy wanted to conquer the Abyssinian Empire at the lowest cost, it should avoid its edge and try not to move the northern part of its economic center of gravity, but should start to the southeast of Ethiopia.

Desai was the node of the dividing line between the north and south of the Abyssinian Empire that Samuel envisioned, and the vast area south of the city of Desai to Addis Abebe was the weakest point in the entire Abyssinian Empire.

Desai is located in the eastern part of the Ethiopian Plateau, and its topographical constraints make it a strategic location in the northeast of Ethiopia leading to the south.

By controlling Desai, the main Ethiopian force could be held back to the north by a small number of troops, which was important for Samuel, who had a limited number of troops.

Whether or not to hold Desai after the capture of Desai, Samuel thought that it should be feasible, because now the Abyssinian Empire was still divided, and Egypt in the north was involved in the energy of the warlords in northern Abyssinia, and Abyssinia was bound to not be able to concentrate on attacking his own troops.

At the same time, another important factor in Samuel's plan is the distribution of ethnic groups within the Abyssinian Empire, which can be roughly divided into three parts, one is the Orthodox region in the north, the other is the Arab region in the east, and finally the southern tribal region next to the province of Turkana in East Africa.

Samuel's spearhead is mainly aimed at the Arab region, and the Arab religion has always been against the Orthodox region, in the Abyssinian Empire has been fighting against the Arabs in the thousand-year history, when it was strong, it controlled the Red Sea coast, and even extended its hand to the Arabian Peninsula, when it was weak, it was driven back to the plateau by the Arabs, and now is when the Abyssinian Empire is in a weak state.

As for the southern tribal area, it has always been a vassal of the Abyssinian Empire, equivalent to the existence of barbarians, after East Africa cleaned up the black indigenous forces in the southern part of the Ethiopian plateau, the lack of fresh blood into the southern tribes has been greatly weakened, and the blacks here have always been an important slave acquisition area of the Abyssinian Empire.

The loss of a large number of slaves meant that the southern tribes lost an important source of economic resources and further lost their voice in the empire. However, East Africa has supported the southern tribes in the arms deal, so that no one dares to underestimate the southern tribes.

Compared to the northern powers, the biggest disadvantage of the southern tribes is that they are more dispersed and do not have a unified core, so the southern tribes are also less enthusiastic about participating in the affairs of the empire.

Samuel's plan to take southeastern Abyssinian first was rather conservative, and it was never a key area of concern for the Abyssinian Empire, which had been actively expanding to the north and northeast.

Egypt to the north and the Red Sea to the northeast, Abyssinian and Egyptian origins can be traced back to the Nubian Empire, which was the predecessor of the Abyssinian Empire during the Eastern Roman Empire, when the Axumite Empire, the predecessor of the Abyssinian Empire, was united with Egypt and Nubia, and the Orthodox Church also became the dominant religion in the Abyssinian Empire. In this way, Ethiopia was actually one of the successors of the Roman Empire in the previous life, if it were not for its long history and cultural disbelief like the Slavs, Western Europe, and Turkey, how could it be a "black Luo".

The Red Sea coast has always been the place on the heart of the Abyssinian Empire, which has tried to recapture the Red Sea from the Arabs every time it is strong, and only with the Red Sea in hand can the Abyssinian Empire become a regional hegemon, for which the Abyssinian Empire has never broken off its competition with the Arabs.

The area that Samuel tried to seize was not considered the core area of the Abyssinian Empire until Menelik II moved his capital to Addis Ababa, and it was sparsely populated and had relatively abundant arable land, which was very suitable for the needs of the kingdom to settle immigrants.

(End of chapter)