Volume 1 The Eagle Over Europe

As if in a dream, yesterday it was still flying over the ocean, and when the sun showed a scorching light in the sky today, the "Eagle" airship had already carried Tang Yunyang and his party to Ethiopia, the country at the entrance of the Suez Canal.

Here, Tang Yunyang was sent by airship to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where he met Zodithu, the daughter of Menelik II, and Tafari of Ethiopia. Duke Maconnan. If you don't know which name it is, then the emperor of Ethiopia - Haier. Selassie I, everyone should be familiar with it.

When it comes to Ethiopia, we may be in the midst of the drought, and the scenes of hungry and helpless people dying under the scorching sun may come to us, but this is a country with glorious traditions.

Their determination to resist the invaders was no less than that of the Chinese, and even their war against the invaders was successful.

On March 1, 1896, the famous Battle of Adwa broke out during the First War of Resistance against Italy. Emperor Menelik II personally commanded an army of 100,000 troops in a decisive battle against the Italian invaders at Adwa in northern Ethiopia.

Relying on favorable conditions such as high morale, familiar terrain, and accurate intelligence, the Ethiopian army adopted the tactics of dividing the enemy and breaking through each other, annihilating 17,000 Italian invading troops in one fell swoop (including more than 12,000 casualties and more than 4,000 prisoners), and capturing all the Italian artillery and a large number of other weapons and equipment.

After the war, the Italian government was forced to sign the Peace Treaty of Addis Ababa with Ethiopia on 26 October, renouncing its claim to Ethiopia as its protectorate, recognizing its full independence as a sovereign State, and paying an indemnity of 10 million lire. Ethiopia won the first war of resistance against Italy.

This cannot but be said to be a kind of honor, the Italian army at that time was not much weaker than the strength of the Eight-Nation Coalition that invaded China, but why did they fail?

It can be said that if China had not lost the Opium War, had not had the poison of opium, or had not resisted the invaders at that time, it would not have necessarily failed.

Of course, the rotten Manchu-Qing government does not deserve sympathy, but what about after the Republic of China? In the face of the bullying of the Japanese, French, British, American, and German armies, what did our Chinese elite do?

For the sake of the military expenses of their respective armies, they actually sold their own opium, and if you are interested, you can check what good things the overseers who mastered China's military power at that time did!

As the saying goes, people deserve to die more than people, and goods should be thrown away, and if compared with Ethiopia's victory in resisting aggression, then I am afraid that China has only one way to go, killing all the so-called "elites". There is probably no such "elite" who have brought disaster to the country and the people, or there is still hope for the Republic of China.

However, now those so-called "elites" are under Tang Yunyang's "three noes" policy, and it is estimated that they are no better than death. Except for those who were amnesty, most of the rest who had a relationship with opium were in concentration camps that built railways and highways, and went to serve hard labor that they had little hope of ending in their lives.

If you look at this point alone, there is still hope for China.

"Your Majesty the Honorable Queen Zorditu, hello to the Baron Duke Macon......"

In the face of these countries that had defeated Italy, Tang Yunyang had an inexplicable respect in his heart. At least their fighting spirit is respectable.

As mentioned earlier, China has leased a piece of land on Ethiopian territory, near the Red Sea, to establish a fairly large air transport base. Although it is a place to moor an airship, if it is needed one day, I am afraid that if the airship brings in planes from China, then it will immediately form an air barrier between Europe and Asia.

Under these circumstances, Britain and France were naturally unwilling. However, the Ethiopian royal family, which is entirely focused on the economic construction of their own country, is completely seduced by the huge rents of the Chinese.

Of course, like all feudal governments in the world, Ethiopia's government is not monolithic. According to the information obtained by Tang Yunyang, the empress Zoditu and the crown prince Duke Ma Kang often have a disagreement in dealing with problems.

As far as the queen was concerned, they should rely on the covert support of the French to develop the country's strength, just as they had done in the war with Italy. However, the young and new-educated Duke Macan was not willing to be so attached to other countries, he wanted to have its own industry and industry, as China is today, and believed that only in this way could the whole country truly enter the ranks of civilized nations.

At the same time, his eyes were always on the Eritrean region, which was considered Ethiopian territory, but had been invaded by the Italians.

In 1869, the Italian colonialists gained a foothold in Assab, sent troops to Massava, and expanded inland.

In 1889, Ethiopia signed the Treaty of Ussiar with Italy, recognizing Italy's rule over the occupied territories of Assab, Massawa, Karen and Asmara.

In 1890, the occupied territories were merged into a unified colony named "Eritrea".

"If you can......"

As a young regent, the Baron Duke Makang had the hope that with the Red Sea coastline, Ethiopia would be transformed from a landlocked country into a Red Sea coastal state. In a sense, this is a dream that both China and Ethiopia want to realize.

If the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea could be cut off, not only would India be unable to connect with the British mainland, but it would even cut off the connection between Australia and New Zealand and Europe. As for China, which starved to death and already controlled all the oil resources in the South Seas, if you want to, it is just one thing to carry with you.

The only thing is that in view of the current international situation, it is not good to talk directly about exports, and for the time being, it is more beneficial to talk more about cooperation in industry, agricultural production, and so on.

Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in eastern Africa. The middle part of the territory is uplifted, known as the "roof of Africa", and the highest peak is 4,620 meters above sea level.

The Great Rift Valley is steep on both sides. There are more than 30 major rivers originating in the central plateau, so it is known as the "water tower of Northeast Africa". The climate is complex, and the temperature varies greatly from place to place. There are many kinds of minerals, and geothermal, hydro and forest resources are abundant.

"Duke Ma Kangnan, regarding the extremely uneven regional development caused by China's natural climate, our country's agricultural and engineering experts put forward this view. For arid areas, underground water pipelines can be built, and water-saving agriculture can be developed on the premise of establishing drought-tolerant crops. ”

Duke Ma Kang, who hosted a banquet with the empress to entertain Tang Yunyang, was deeply surprised. Due to the proximity to the colonial powers ruled by Italy, France, and the British, news is not too slow. In particular, broadcasts from Italian, British, and French radio stations can be received at this time.

These conditions let them know that the current China is no longer the decaying Eastern empire it once was. Even the drugs they make have entered the European market. This can only show that China's science and technology have made a leap forward by leaps and bounds in recent years.

In particular, after hearing this news, he sent a special envoy to Tripher Island and brought him back with the news, which made him think that China was far ahead of the world at this time. This cannot but make the Duke of Ma Kang have more hope for China's support.

"Learn from others, you ...... Oh Don, you know we're very honest about cooperation! ”

"Of course, noble Baron de Marcon, we believe that, your envoy made it clear last time. Therefore, we specifically asked for help from people who live in the arid regions of the Middle East, but have guessed the economy in agricultural production. If you'll allow you, then I'd like to ask them to come here. ”

"They live in the Middle East? Are they willing to help us? Tang is in power, in fact, we are willing to deal more with the Chinese, you know, we have quite rich resources here, and we are willing to use them with China, which is developing rapidly. ”

Tafari. The Duke of Macan was somewhat puzzled, he could not think of any of the Muslim countries of the Middle East who were skilled in agricultural production. Moreover, he was a little worried about whether the Christian countries of Africa would be able to get their help.

Of course, Tafari. Duke Ma Kang didn't know, or didn't understand, who Tang Yunyang was talking about, this was an extenuating matter, at least not out of ignorance.

This is only for religious reasons, as it is well known that the war between Christians and Muslims has been going on and on since the time of the Crusades. By the beginning of the 20th century, the situation was more complicated and the results were more brutal. It also added the fuse of the contradiction between the Jews and the oil.

In such a place where the conflict of religious and resource interests is most concentrated, it is strange that the Middle East is not chaotic or unstable. In the midst of such turmoil, Tafari. Barred Duke Macom naturally found it hard to believe that there would be people from Middle Eastern countries willing to help them develop Ethiopia's economy.

But the Chinese are different, a country on the Red Sea coast, which is of great importance to them, and I believe that they are willing to pay all the costs, including economic assistance and military help. Because with this, you have quite the initiative.

"So Tang is in power, can I ask? Who are your friends, and how would they be willing to help us Christians develop agriculture? That's really ...... What an unbelievable thing! ”

Tang Yunyang smiled: "Who it is, whether it is now or in the future, is a matter that needs to be kept secret, of course not to you." If I'm correct, they'll be here in a day or two, and everything will be clear by then! ”