On January 3, 1906, in the coastal basin area of Benin in Togo, a group of Min dynasty engineers sat on the dock waiting to be evacuated. They had found a large oil field and drilled a few oil wells. Everyone discussed the geological characteristics of the oil field and the mining experience, and also talked about the joy of going home for the New Year. They were oil workers who came by ship from Hungary. The comrade who had been away for the longest time hadn't been home for two years.
While they were talking, they saw the Germans come over, and everyone immediately stopped their discussion. They could help the Germans drill oil wells, but there was no reason to teach the Germans how to drill oil wells. The Germans didn't naively try to test them. They had tried many times before and were rebuffed. At this time, they were too lazy to do it again. The person who came over said, "Everyone, we have received the telegram. The ship will enter the port soon. Please be prepared."
As soon as they heard that they could soon embark on the journey back home, the oil workers were full of joy. The impatient ones already stood on high ground and began to look out to the sea. The China people were happy to go home, and the Germans were also happy to answer to their superiors. The news of the oil discovery had already been sent to Berlin.
The senior officials in Berlin were surprised, but they weren't purely happy. The discovery of oil in Togo was good news, but Benin was too far from Germany, and Germany didn't have specialized oil tankers like the Min dynasty. From a purely economic point of view, buying oil from the Middle East was actually not more expensive than shipping oil from Benin.
"If the war starts, the French will probably attack our colonies in Africa first, right?" Chief of Staff Young Moltke couldn't help but ask.
No one answered immediately. The development of Africa had completely exceeded Germany's initial expectations. Although the Min dynasty made a huge profit from developing Africa, the Germans didn't expect to develop an industrial center in Africa. At least the local resources were definitely enough to support an industrial center.
Seeing that no one answered, young Moltke said, "Are we going to protect the African colonies in the future war?"
Like the previous question, no one answered. If the African colony was a barren wasteland, the people in Berlin would have made a decision immediately. It was good to get a lot of benefits, but it also made it more difficult to make a decision.
Germany didn't lack people who were close to the British. The news of Germany's oil discovery in Africa reached Berlin, and London quickly received a tip-off. The British also became nervous. After discussion, the British Secretary of Defense invited the Min dynasty ambassador to meet.
According to the decision made a few years ago, the British Parliament rotated between London and Victoria City every four years. At this time, the British Parliament and the British King were both in London. However, many people believed that perhaps the next time the British Parliament and the King arrived in North America, Britain's northern beautification would be completed.
The UK had changed so much in recent years that the Min dynasty ambassador to the UK believed in the probability of this judgment. The population of Great Britain was only 15 million. Excluding the 5 million old people who decided to spend the rest of their lives on Great Britain, the real population was no more than 10 million. Nine million urban population and one million urban elderly population, one million rural population and four million rural elderly population. Not only did the British government not allow capital to run amok on the island of Great Britain, but Lloyd's? Under George's efforts, a series of laws, such as the Family Farm Promotion Act, the Coal Mine Nationalization Act, and the Urban Central Heating Act, were completed.
Anyone with a little insight could see that these laws were copied from the Min dynasty. The UK itself did not care about learning from other countries' management experience. In particular, the passage of the Coal Mine Nationalization Act. The Min dynasty ambassador was not worried that the UK would go to socialism, because that was impossible. What the Min dynasty ambassador cared about was that behind this act, there was also a law called the Outdated Technology Elimination Act. The Min dynasty had a similar law, but it was called the National Laboratory Act. The power of the state was used to ensure that enterprises used the most advanced technology and regularly eliminated outdated technology. If the UK really did this, they would not be left behind in the future competition, but would continue to compete with the Min dynasty tenaciously.
Thinking about it, the car unknowingly stopped in front of the British Minister of Defense's office. London did not imitate the Min dynasty's astonishing ten-lane urban model and a large number of flyovers. After the demolition and transformation, the main roads in London were generally six or even eight lanes. In addition, London's subway network began to be built, and travel became less crowded.
After the meeting, the British Minister of Defense asked directly, "May I ask why your country is helping Germany build oil wells?"
The ambassador replied bluntly, "Because we want Germany to stop clinging to its anti-Hungarian attitude."
The whole of Europe knew that Hungary was the darling of the Min dynasty. It would be surprising if the Min dynasty did not support Hungary. The Minister of Defense was speechless by such an honest answer. He could only first touch his nose to adjust his thinking.
"Germany has agreed to cooperate with Hungary?" The Minister of Defense found the key point of the next question.
"Do you think Germany will reach an agreement with Hungary?" The Min dynasty ambassador couldn't help but laugh.
The British Minister of Defense certainly did not believe such a ridiculous thing, but he was now facing the powerful Min dynasty government. Ten years ago, no one in the world believed that the Min dynasty could conquer the United States of America with more than eight million square kilometers in three years. "Maybe you can promote such a treaty." The Minister of Defense used a forceful statement.
"We, the Min dynasty, never try things that are completely impossible. This time, we only ask Germany not to deliberately target Hungary on Hungary's foreign routes." The Min dynasty ambassador said this matter. The organization agreed to the ambassador's statement because everyone suspected that the European countries might not believe this was the truth.
The British Minister of Defense was silent, he thought this was too funny. If Britain did this kind of thing, the price for Germany's comeback would not be as simple as not making trouble for Hungary. With the British Empire's proficiency, even if Germany did not spit out a kidney, it would still bleed a few times. Therefore, the Minister of Defense simply stopped pestering. A soldier had his own way of doing things. The Minister of Defense went straight to the point. "I don't know what the Min dynasty thinks about Crete."
"We bought Crete, and Crete is the territory of the Min dynasty. What else do we need to see? "The Ambassador began to play dumb.
"The European countries will not accept such a change!" The Minister of Defense's tone was very strong.
"Will Britain accept such a change?" The Ambassador's mouth slightly curled up, revealing a smile.
"We, Britain, can mediate, if the Min dynasty allows autonomy for Crete …" The Minister of Defense hurried to sell Britain's solution.
"The internal affairs of the Min dynasty don't need foreign countries to worry about it. Mr. Minister of Defense, I think in this matter, you should consider whether Britain should stop the Min dynasty army when they land on the island. Next year at the latest, the Min dynasty army will definitely land on the island this year. "With that, the Ambassador stood up and left.
"Can't we discuss it again?" The Minister of Defense asked.
"Will the United Kingdom accept another country's decision on whether Great Britain should be governed or not?" The British ambassador to the United Kingdom left after saying this.
Looking at the Min dynasty Ambassador's back, the Minister of Defense just sighed and sat back in his chair. Looking up at the European map, Crete's position was very conspicuous. Like a boot extending into the Mediterranean Sea, Italy divided the Mediterranean Sea into two. The right half of the Mediterranean Sea was the rectangular Crete in the middle. Crete covered an area of more than 8,000 square kilometers, had many ports, and guarded the Mediterranean Sea route. If a sub-fleet of the Min dynasty's formidable fleet was stationed here, the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, except for the Osman Empire, would probably be unable to eat and sleep in peace.
"Sigh …" The Minister of Defense sighed and put the matter aside. Now was not the time for Britain to jump out and speak. Before they had the ability to deal with the Min dynasty's fleet, any nonsense would only bring humiliation to themselves.
What happened in Crete shook the entire Europe. The British could take it easy, but Russia, France, and Italy, who had troops stationed on Crete, were greatly disturbed. The three countries had formed an alliance at this time. Italy had to face Crete directly, while Russia and France had to face the possibility of the Min dynasty's fleet entering the Black Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea. Although they had not fought with the Min dynasty's fleet, the three countries at least knew the strength of the British Royal Navy. The Min dynasty's navy defeated the Royal Navy again and again, all the way from the distant western Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Such a powerful navy was not an opponent that the three countries could defeat at present.
The uneasy three countries sent representatives to hold a meeting in Versailles.
After all, France was an old colonial power. They also requested to send troops to Ethiopia to participate in the war. However, Italy became unreasonable. After all, the war had been supported by Italy alone. When Italy tried to expand its power in East Africa, France, like other countries, waited to see Italy's results. Now France's participation in the war was not just to send troops. They first wanted Italy to give a part of the coast of Eritrea to Italy.
The two countries had to coordinate, and all kinds of grievances in the past were brought up for discussion. Before resolving the dispute in East Africa, France and Italy had deep negotiations around the dispute in North Africa. In the final "Versailles Treaty," France and Italy completely defined the two countries' sphere of influence in North Africa and agreed on the sphere of influence in Ethiopia.
This kind of loot-sharing meeting lasted for a long time. Even after the meeting, it was still discussed and decided by the upper echelons of the two countries. When things returned to the war in Ethiopia, it was in April 1906.
Italy and France both had their own spies in Ethiopia, so when the two countries exchanged intelligence with each other, they got the same information. So much so that the people of the two countries asked in confusion, "Are you sure China will not send troops?"
The Min dynasty's provision of advisers and weapons to Ethiopia was also public, but the Min dynasty said to the Ethiopian emperor, "One punch to avoid a hundred punches. So we hope to be able to solve the Italian invaders with Ethiopia's own strength. Only in this way can Italy not send troops to revenge again, and we believe in the strength of your country. "
Knowing the attitude of the Min dynasty, the Italian representative was so angry that he laughed. "Ha! Haha! Hahahaha … very good! Let's see what kind of power those Ethiopians have! "
The French representative also wanted to laugh, but they were a little worried that the Min dynasty might not really not send troops. Maybe the Min dynasty just wanted to get more benefits from Ethiopia, so they used this to threaten the Ethiopians.
No matter what, the war had to be fought by people. The Italians sent two armies, a total of 60,000 troops. The French did not dare to be careless, they sent 40,000 land troops to participate in the war. In addition to the more than 10,000 Italian troops left in Ethiopia, the Italian-French coalition had a total of 100,000 troops. At this time, the total number of Ethiopian troops was only 100,000.
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