Chapter 735: Take Control of the Middle East

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On 6 February, Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang signed peace treaties with Britain and France on behalf of China. This is the end of the five-month war in the Middle East. In this battle, the Chinese army and navy suffered nearly 30,000 casualties, but the annihilated British and French forces were more than 200,000, not to mention the last hundreds of thousands of British and French expeditionary forces who were desperate and had to surrender to the squadron!

The Sino-French peace treaty stipulates that France will withdraw from the Arabian Peninsula and that France's privileges in the Kingdom will be transferred to China in full! At the same time, France paid China a ransom of 150 million Chinese dollars to redeem more than 200,000 captured French soldiers. In addition, France ceded Guadeloupe to China!

After the treaty was signed, it caused an uproar in France. French President Fallier and the government have been questioned and opposed by countless angry French people. However, ending the war, after all, is the desire of most French people. Even if it comes at a huge cost, it is not unacceptable when it is already a de facto defeat. In particular, the support of the industrial and commercial capitalists enabled President Falier and the government to quickly stabilize the situation in the country. At the same time, Falière, as the leader of the Radical Party, announced a series of policies to strengthen the army, which made the business capitalists even more happy. The development of the army and navy requires ordering a large amount of equipment, which can make these capitalists earn a lot of money.

The French government has announced that it will build a world-class navy over the next five years. This navy will have more than 12 new battleships, as well as numerous armored cruisers and supporting light cruisers and destroyers, etc., and the French Navy will once again become one of the most powerful navies in the world. At the same time, the standing forces of the French Army. Fifty divisions and six hundred thousand men will be maintained. In wartime, within a month, half a million people can be mobilized into the army. Within three months, a million people can be mobilized to join the army.

France's policy of large-scale military development was very satisfying to the allies of the Entente countries, such as Britain, Russia, and the United States. However, it made the members of the Central Powers such as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy very nervous. Kaiser Wilhelm II has more than once accused France of such a frenzied military expansion, which will seriously affect the balance and stability of Europe. However, French President Falier. The accusations of Wilhelm II were ignored by the root. As an old colonial power, France has deep pockets and sufficient funds to support the expansion of arms and war. And in order to ensure its own security, Germany also maintained its hegemony on the European continent. We had to increase our investment in military strength. However, although Germany's industrial strength has surpassed that of France, it is not comparable to Germany in terms of financial strength, which makes Germany gradually feel unsupportable.

China is naturally very happy about France's vigorous development of armaments. The stronger France became, the more Germany wanted to defeat France. will pay a greater price. This is something that China is very happy to see. For Germany, an ally, he always stabs China in the back at a critical time, which makes Wang Yuze very dissatisfied. If Germany can drain its blood in Europe, Wang Yuze will be very satisfied with this.

The Sino-British peace treaty stipulates: Britain withdrew from the Arabian Peninsula and Persia and transferred all the privileges of these two places to China. Britain recognized Kuwait as a Chinese protectorate. Britain paid 150 million Chinese dollars to China to redeem more than 200,000 captured British soldiers. At the same time, China's withdrawal from the Suez Canal, the security of the Suez Canal. It is in charge of the police forces dispatched by Britain, France and Germany.

In contrast to France, British Prime Minister Sir Benenan. Declared this a diplomatic victory for Britain. British diplomats, in extremely unfavorable circumstances, protected the interests of the British Empire. At the same time, the expulsion of the Chinese from the Suez Canal also defended the invasion of Europe by the Chinese, which was a great victory for the whole of Europe!

Sir Benenenen's remarks about slapping a swollen face and becoming a fat man have also won the support of many people in the UK. Many Britons are still immersed in the glory of the Victorian era when the British Empire was the world's hegemon. Sir Benenenen's views undoubtedly echoed their thoughts. As a result, Britain, although it actually suffered, ostensibly saw itself as a winner!

At the same time, Sir Benenan also assured the British that the defeat of the British Empire was only temporary. In the next few years, the British Empire will make every effort to develop armaments, especially the navy, and within five years, it will build a powerful navy with 28 battleships and 6 battle cruisers, so that the British Empire will once again become the world hegemon!

There is no doubt that Sir Benenenen's bold words shocked the whole world. 28 new battleships, how much military money will be needed! Of course, the British Empire has been the hegemon of the sea for hundreds of years, and it is not impossible to come up with these military spending.

The one who panicked about this was probably Germany. According to the plans of the German Navy, they had a maximum of 25 new battleships and 6 battle cruisers after five years. Although the gap with Britain is not very large, let's not forget that there is also the French navy on the sidelines. Combined, the navies of Britain and France will have 40 new battleships, which will undoubtedly have an overwhelming advantage over the German navy. Germany's two allies, Austria-Hungary and Italy, were far from being able to compare their naval development plans with those of the Allies, and the German navy could only fight alone.

What's more, then US President Theodore Roosevelt also publicly stated that the United States will also build a world-class navy in the next five years. The US Navy will have more than twenty new battleships and six battle cruisers. There was no doubt that the combined naval power of the Entente would far surpass that of the Central Powers.

At this time, Germany had no choice but to pin its hopes on China, hoping that China would also increase its investment in the navy. However, China said that it already has a specific plan for the development of its navy. At a time when all countries are announcing that they will vigorously develop their navies, China will certainly not openly join this arms race. Of course, China actually invests no less in the navy than other countries. In order to guarantee victory in future wars, China must maintain a strong navy! After the Chinese Navy's 'Han-class' battleships and 'Hanxin-class' fast battleships enter service, the Chinese Navy will also have twenty powerful battleships plus three battlecruisers. In terms of combat power, it is no worse than any country. At the same time, the next class of battleships of the Chinese Navy is also in full swing of design. It's just that with the current technical conditions, it will take some time to meet Wang Yuze's requirements.

After the end of the Middle East war between China and Britain and France, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the support of China, launched a war to unify the Alibaba Peninsula. The southern British colonies of Yasir, Yemen, the Sultanate of Muscat, and the Emirate of Oman were all included in the scope of rule. After Britain withdrew from the Arabian Peninsula, these small countries did not have the strength to confront the Saudi kingdom supported by China. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's 100,000 troops are enough to sweep through these countries.

According to the agreement signed between China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, China will station two divisions in the Kingdom. The 10th Marine Division was stationed in the Al Ahsa region and surrounded the oil fields of the Persian Gulf. The 9th Marine Division, on the other hand, was stationed in Jeddah to deter the Red Sea and the western part of the Kingdom, and, if necessary, could move quickly north to seize control of the Suez Canal. At the same time, the Navy will also deploy a fleet in Zimjibar near the Persian Gulf and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The former is to protect China's oil interests in the Persian Gulf, while the latter is to control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which can be blockaded if necessary. To this end, the Navy deliberately deployed a submarine force consisting of six submarines in Zinjibar.

In addition, China and Egypt's Khedive Abbasid II also signed a secret agreement under which China supported Egypt's independence from the Ottoman Empire and provided free support for the equipment of Egypt's 10 infantry divisions. These pieces of equipment were all British equipment captured on the battlefield. In addition, China will provide Egypt with a low-interest loan of 100 million Chinese yuan to stabilize Abbasid II's rule. Abbasid II assured that if China went to war with Britain and the United States again, Egypt would side with China and attack the Suez Canal, or attack the British and French colonies in Europe.

China is very satisfied with this. Although it was not able to control the Suez Canal, it surrounded it. When necessary, you can easily seize control of the canal. China's strategy in the Middle East has been a great success.

Britain withdrew from Persia and withdrew all the troops stationed in Persia to Afghanistan. At the same time, in order to consolidate its military power in Afghanistan and India, the British once again sent 100,000 troops from Turkey to Afghanistan and India to strengthen British rule in these two colonies. Of course, it's more about guarding against China's ambitions.

However, China is already very satisfied with this harvest. One bite can't make a big fat man, and China needs to slowly digest these gains. China has little interest in Afghanistan for the time being. As for India, it's better not to touch it. If India is touched, Britain will definitely fight with China. China is not ready for this and does not want to provoke Britain completely.

In March, China announced that it had discovered a huge oil field in southern Kuwait with estimated reserves of about 10 billion tons. Suddenly, whether it was the British who transferred Kuwait to China, or Jaber, who transferred Kuwait's oil exploitation power to China at a low price of 1 million Chinese yuan, they all regretted it to death!