"The Suez Canal? Is it going to the Indian Ocean? Also, will the Anglo-American fleet that passes through the Panama Canal and the English Channel also go to the Indian Ocean? Trotsky was stunned, and his eyebrows were slightly brought together: "Have you informed Rì Ben?" What do they think? ”

The People's Commissar of the Red Navy, Zov, on the side, stepped forward: "I have already informed the Rì side, and the Rì side replied that the British and American Naval Forces may have two purposes for strengthening the naval forces in the Indian Ocean, one is to attack the Palembang oil field in Sumatra, an important oil gathering place in Rì Ben; The second is to cover the landing of their land forces in the Gulf of Oman or even the Persian Gulf! ”

"Login! Behind the Middle East Front! Did Blyukhl and Tukhachevsky know? Trotsky slapped the table and stood up abruptly. You must know that at present, the main forces of the Middle East Front have advanced to the west and are in a league with the British and American armies. If the Anglo-American allies land in the Persian Gulf at this time, then the good situation in the Middle East will be over!

"Comrades Blyukhel and Tukhachevsky already knew about it." Vachetis immediately replied: "They believe that the British and Americans are likely to want to take advantage of the lack of our forces in the Persian Gulf to carry out a landing operation. ”

Hearing this, Trotsky calmed down a lot, he took out a cigar from his pocket, lit it on fire and took two puffs: "What are they going to do?" ”

Vatsetis said: "Comrade Blyukhel will plan the plan!" ”

"What do you mean?" Trotsky asked.

"Let the Anglo-American allies land in the Gulf of Oman, Comrade Blyukher wants to turn the Gulf of Oman into another Gallipoli! For this reason, he hoped to be able to transfer a tank corps and 200 IL-1 planes to the Middle East. Watsetiston said, "I approve Blyukhel's request. ”

Trotsky nodded, and waved his big hand very imposingly: "Transfer two tank corps, all equipped with the latest Su-75, and give 200 latest Il-2." He looked at Zoff: "Comrade Zoff, how many dive bomber pilots who were recalled from Rìben and who participated in the first naval battle of Hawaii are left?" ”

"There are more than 160 more."

"Very well, send them all to the Middle East!"

Something suddenly occurred to Vatsettis. He reminded in a low voice: "I heard that the Indian comrades also trained a group of flying daredevils with the help of Rìben, about 300 people. ”

"Let them go to the Middle East too! By the way, let the Red Navy send commanders with experience in naval warfare to the Middle East to participate in the war! Trotsky gritted his teeth and sneered: "This time, I will let the Anglo-American fleet come and go!" ”

……

"Judging from the current situation, the most likely battle in the Middle East is to fight a war of attrition...... Of course, this is not Lin Zuoda's view. He believed that Blyukhel had laid a heavy ambush at the northern foot of the Hejaz Mountains, and that if he attacked, he would most likely deal a fatal blow to Britain and the United States! ”

In the conference room of Chang Ruiqing's official residence, Zhao Fatzi, chief of the general staff of the National Defense Forces, was standing in front of a map, and said while comparing on the map: "If there are really hundreds of thousands of troops in ambush in the Hejaz Mountains, then Blyukher will be famous in history with this battle, and now the British and American troops in Egypt and Palestine are moving to the front." The back is very empty, if people copy the back road, tsk......"

While he was talking, the door of the conference room opened, and Wu Shi, Chen Shaokuan, and Zhang Guotao walked in, plus Chen Xinrui and Pan Wenzhao, who were originally here, this small conference room that was not spacious suddenly seemed a little crowded. Chang Ruiqing beckoned the three of them to sit down. Then he instructed Zhao Zhen to continue the analysis.

"Now there is also the situation that Britain and the United States seem to be planning to copy the rear route of the Indian Red Army, and their target is likely to be the Gulf of Oman. Yesterday the Red Sea Fleet reported the discovery of a British fleet that reported an aircraft carrier, a battleship and a British fleet entering the Red Sea through the Guò Suez Canal. ”

When Zhao Zhen said this, Zhang Guotao interrupted next to him: "It is very likely that Trotsky has already sensed the landing attempt of Britain and the United States, and the eye of heaven has just come to report that Trotsky has received a request from Trotsky to send a senior naval commander to the Middle East. Takeda has already decided to send Tadaichi Nagumo and Narumi Inoue, who commanded aircraft carriers and participated in the First Battle of Hawaii, to lead a team to the Middle East. ”

Chen Shao smiled widely: "It's a good coincidence." Maybe Britain and the United States will lose their wives and lose their troops. Prime Minister, when Britain and the United States fail in the Middle East, is it time for us to go up? Going to the Middle East is a cross-sea expedition, is it time for the Navy to make an appearance? ”

His navy was really depressed in this war, but at first he fought with Rì himself, and then he has been doing nothing until now. This time, I saw the hope of appearing again, although it was a supporting role. But it still excites him, the commander-in-chief of the Navy.

"Not so quickly, Britain and the United States are very determined to get involved in the Middle East, even if they lose more than 100,000 people, they may not be willing to withdraw, and the attack power of the Indian Red Army is limited after all. Blyukhel's appetite is too big, and I'm afraid that he won't have such good teeth and mouth when the time comes, and he won't be able to eat his opponent! Wu Shi shook his head and said.

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Lin Zuoda also sees it this way, and he thinks that we should not let Britain and the United States withdraw so early, and should leave them in the Middle East to slowly bleed......" Chang Ruiqing had already understood the meaning of Lin Zuoda's words, waved his hand and said: "Sue Lin Yang Chūn, he is now the chief of the general staff of the caliphate, in this Middle East battle, it is up to him to decide how the caliphate army wants to fight, I just ask." ”

Zhao Zhen felt a little strange in his heart, although Chang Ruiqing, the prime minister and minister of defense, did not interfere much with the front-line generals, but it was really rare to let go of this kind of Cheng dù, it seemed that except for Bai Chongxi, only Lin Zuo had such treatment.

"Britain and the United States are not so easy to withdraw." This time it was Wu Shi who spoke, and there was a faint sneer on his face: "The United States is only a Pacific theater now, and it is not fierce, but it is fighting an offensive and defensive battle with Rì himself in the Hawaiian Islands." After the British basically withdrew from India, there would only be one Middle East battlefield, and if they withdrew again, what kind of world war would they fight? Just rest on the truce. Moreover, the Middle East is also where the hope of Britain and the United States to lead the world after the war and contain us and Germany, and they also hope to monopolize the world's oil supply by entering the fields occupied by the Soviet Union in Grozny and Baku from the Middle East! How can you just give up so so-so? Yaoru, in my opinion, what we have to think about now is to find a way to strengthen our military presence in the Middle East. The oil in the Middle East is so attractive that it can attract Britain and the United States, India, Germany and Italy! ”

There is no faith between countries in the first place, and it is entirely the interests that determine the enemy and the enemy. Although the relations between China and Germany are good, they are in the face of huge interests in the Middle East oil sea. Sino-German friendship is all floating clouds. Now Germany is already the leader of Europe, and the defeat of the Soviet Union is also a matter of time, as long as the Germans master the oil of the Middle East and the Caucasus in the future, Europe may not be able to escape from Hitler's palms, and now Africa is a colony of the European powers. In this way, the industries of Europe, the energy of the Middle East, and the natural resources of Africa were all integrated by the Germans. The world of the future will not be dominated by Germany?

"Strengthening the military and storing the army?" Chang Ruiqing frowned and shook his head, looking embarrassed: "We are too far away from the Middle East, and the shipping routes in the Indian Ocean are not safe, it is unrealistic to send a large force there, otherwise why should we support the caliphate?" ”

"Prime Minister, in my opinion, the problem is that the navy is too weak. If we have a few more battleships and aircraft carriers, won't the Indian Ocean be left to us to come and go? Although the navy had already received the construction budget for two Zhongshan-class aircraft carriers and eight Canglong-class aircraft carriers in 1934 and 1935, the construction of 10 aircraft carriers was already under construction. However, there is still no way to compare this kind of shipbuilding plan with the United States, and it is not even much better than the one that is smashing the pot and selling iron to run the navy. According to the information provided by Tianyan, Rìben's shipbuilding plan is progressing extremely quickly, and two Canglong-class ships will complete outfitting in two months. By the fourth quarter of 1935, the total number of Canglong ships in Rìben could increase to 14 ships! And the Essex class of the United States will also be delivered to the Navy in large quantities in 1935, and by the end of the year the number of fleet aircraft carriers of the US Navy will increase from the current 1 to 16, and by the end of next year, this number is likely to exceed 30 ships!

However, China has no way to build a navy like the United States, because China does not have the industrial strength of the United States, and at the same time, it cannot invest most of its resources in the navy like the United States.

"Supporting the Caliphate is still our first choice, but the logistics line in the Indian Ocean is a real problem. Once the caliphate takes full responsibility for the Middle East theater, the material consumption will be very staggering. Chang Ruiqing thought for a while and said to Chen Shaokuan: "Houfu, I think it is necessary to set up a Western fleet to protect the Indian Ocean shipping routes, and the home port is in Yangon." ”

In the end, he said to Wu Shi in an accentuated tone: "Brother Yu Xun, tell the Sù Engineer Command that the construction of the Burma-Siam military railway project must be accelerated. It must be completed and opened to traffic before the end of the year. In addition, the expansion of Yangon Port should also be accelerated, and in the future we will maintain a strong military presence in the Indian Ocean. ”

If the caliphate regime is Chang Ruiqing's mastiff in the Middle East, then the sea power in the Indian Ocean is the chain that binds this mastiff! Therefore, when China obtained the mandate of Burma, it began to expand the port of Yangon and the Burma-Siam railway. The former is the home port of the Western Fleet, which is planned to control the Indian Ocean, and the latter is the lifeline that provides logistical supplies for the Western Fleet.

……

The importance of the caliphate is not only known to Chang Ruiqing, but also to the leading figures of Britain and the United States in the Middle East. However, they did not intend to win over or nurture the leading big brother of the Caliphate, but wanted to nip the caliphate's Arab empire in the bud. In their minds, a divided Arab is a good Arabia, and if the Arabs unite, who knows if they will become the next Greater China Federation or the next GC-ist Asan?

So Marshall, after his condition in the Middle East had improved, flew from Haifa to Alexandria to consult with Sir Massingbent, and the British and American supreme commanders in the Middle East quickly agreed on this question. Sir Massin Bent made it clear that Britain's Middle East policy was to divide and conquer, and that a united Arab empire would never be allowed!

"General Marshall, Great Britain will no longer recognize Hussein's caliphate, nor will it recognize the power of the Hashemites in the Hejaz, Transjordan, Iraq." Sir Massin Bent, who exuded the air of an English gentleman, said to Marshall with a smile.

Caliph Hussein himself was the king of the Hejaz, his second son Abdullah was the ruler of Amman (historically the king of Jordan), and his third son, Faisal, was the king of Iraq. Now Massin Bent has wiped out the three kings with a fluttering word, and has also uprooted the foundation of power of the Hashemite family!

Well, it doesn't seem right, now the Qiē of the Hashemite family does not seem to have been given by the British, who have hundreds of thousands of troops with the support of the Chinese! This is not something that Sir Massin Bent can solve with a breath. looked at the British marshal in front of him who was third-rate in fighting and bragged about his first-class skills. Marshall frowned slightly: "Sir, our non-recognition does not mean that there is no zài, and now we also do not recognize the Soviet Union and Red Sè India!" ”

"Haha." Sir Massin Bent laughed: "General, the Hashemite family is not the Soviet Union or India, they are just relying on a brand of descendants of some prophet to deceive, in fact, they do not have much strength. As long as we defeat the Indian Red Army in the Middle East, we can clean them up very easily! ”

"So," said Sir Massin Bent, "when the Wavell cluster has relieved the siege of Medina, let them go south with the Stilwell cluster and take Mecca and the port of Jeddah." Disarm the Arabs there. And in the meantime let our fleet destroy the Caliphate's Red Sea Fleet! Completely cut off the claws of the Chinese reaching out to the Middle East! ”

"Destroy the Red Sea Fleet?" Marshall hesitated. Unlike the Caliphate, most of the officers and men of this fleet have Chinese nationality, nominally the Caliphate's navy, but in fact it is a maritime force placed by the Chinese in the Red Sea. If Britain and the United States attack the Red Sea Fleet, I am afraid that the Chinese will really turn their faces!

"Admiral, you don't have to worry about the Chinese." Marcinbent saw that Marshall was still hesitating. So he shook his tongue and continued to persuade: "The Chinese are not remarkable, and now it is Germany that really makes our two countries jealous." But although Germany controlled most of Europe's industry, they were not self-sufficient in oil. Originally, they had a lot of oil reserves, but as the Germans expanded, so did the amount of oil they needed. Their reserves simply won't last long, so once the Middle East falls into our hands, the oil lifeline of the Germans will be in our hands. And Hitler had not yet defeated the USSR. So in this case, they will not turn against us for the sake of China, and without the support of Germany, how can China dare to challenge our two countries alone? That would mean that the yellow civilization declared war on the white civilization! Admiral, do you think that Chinese premier would be so stupid? ”

"Admiral, don't hesitate any longer," said Sir Massingbent, seeing that Marshall was still silent, and was a little anxious. Incitement of the United States to work together to deal with the caliphate is London's instruction! The aim was not just to eliminate the danger of the Caliphate, the British Empire's restoration of domination in the Middle East. He also wanted to use this to provoke contradictions between China and Germany and Britain and the United States. The leaders of the British Empire now realized that it would be difficult to sustain the empire on their own, so it was necessary to have a solid and reliable ally. The United States was naturally the first choice, and if the Anglo-American alliance could be established after the war to control the world's oil supply, then the British Empire would have won a respite. Of course, an alliance must have enemies, and the enemies must not be too weak, so they can only push China and Germany to the opposite side. As for the alliance with Germany against China and the United States, it was London's second choice, after all, Germany was too close to the British mainland. If London moved closer to Berlin, it was likely to become a vassal of Hitler. In addition, the United States and China are both naval powers, and if they join forces, it is very likely that they will carve up two of Britain's most valuable colonies, Canada and Australia! Such a risk. London is not willing to take the risk anyway!

"Sir, I see what you mean, but we still can't act rashly, especially against the Red Sea Fleet." Marshall actually approved of the British in his heart, but President Roosevelt certainly wouldn't be so impulsive. "I don't think Washington will support such an adventurous operation until the Indian Red Army in the Middle East is completely defeated. And...... We would also do well not turn the other cheek with the Caliph at once, I think we should go to Port Sudan together and talk to His Majesty Hussein and General Lin Zuo in order to coordinate the actions of our three sides. ”

"Admiral, what do you mean?" Sir Massin Bent was slightly stunned, but in a blink of an eye he understood. "Do you want to make a waste use and let the Arabs bear some of the losses for us?"

Marshall shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Why not?" Isn't military strength the caliphate's reliance? As long as the army is lost, what is left of this Arab sheikh? Maybe the Chinese will give up on their own initiative, so that we don't have to tear our faces with them. ”

"Of course it couldn't be better." A look of disappointment flashed across Sir Massingbent's face, but it was quickly disguised. On the same day, he flew on the same plane with Marshall to Port Sudan, where the caliph was stationed.

On this very day, a Rì Benhai Type 3 submarine quietly sailed into the port city of Madras, on the east coast of India. Disembarking from the submarine were more than 20 British officers of the Red Navy, including Nagumo Tadaichi and Inoue Narumi Zainai.

And in the next month or so, under these naval commanders, the naval and air forces of the Soviet Union and India will bring another nightmare to the American and British fleets...... (To be continued......)