According to the requirements of the British War Department, in addition to being responsible for the security of coastal areas such as Alamein, Matruh, and Salum, the military in southern Africa is also responsible for the vast inland areas, including oases like Siwa in the south.
Within the area of responsibility of the African Army.
Although Rock and Paul Coker were well prepared for the difficulties they would face after arriving in Egypt before setting off, they still underestimated the difficulties. On the first night after arriving in Egypt, more than a dozen people in the army fell ill.
He collapsed and was rushed to a hospital ship docked in Alexandria for treatment.
"The troops going to Siwa have to carry more than twice the amount of supplementary supplies. It is difficult for the troops to get supplies in Siwa. There is nothing there except water and bandits." Paul Coker's eyes were bloodshot and red.
Scary.
Siwa is an oasis in the interior of Egypt, about 560 kilometers away from Cairo. There are temples and stone tomb ruins left over from the Ptolemaic Dynasty and the Roman era. It is now a paradise for bandits. The Egyptian government has lost control of Siwa.
"Ignore Siwa for now, take your time step by step." Rock was not in a hurry. He first controlled the Mediterranean coastal areas so that he could get supplies through the port.
As for the deserts in the inland areas, as long as the bandits of Siwa do not harass Cairo, Roque will not help the Egyptian government regain Siwa.
The so-called bandits are actually the Ottoman Empire troops who are still resisting. They insist on fighting the Italian army in Cyrenaica. Once the war situation is unfavorable, they will withdraw to Siwa to rest and recuperate. Therefore, the Italian government has repeatedly protested to the Egyptian government, but because
The British garrison in Egypt was insufficient, so they were unable to effectively manage Siwa.
For some unspeakable reasons, Roque will not take the initiative to launch an attack on Siwa. Italy has not chosen a camp yet. If Italy chooses to join the Allies, Roque will immediately send troops to Siwa.
If Italy is still trying to take advantage of both sides, then Roque would have just left it alone and not actively provided help to the Ottoman army.
"The conditions here are too difficult. There are no fresh vegetables and beef. The price of fruits is shocking and the quantity is very small. The campsites are surrounded by beggars and homeless people. Their sanitary conditions are very bad. I really don't know what the officials here are doing."
." Paul Coker had just arrived in Egypt for one day and already missed southern Africa extremely.
After leaving southern Africa, I realized how good it is. Compared with Egypt, which is like hell, southern Africa is really a paradise.
In fact, this has nothing to do with whether the products are rich or not. Before the Chinese came to southern Africa in large numbers, southern Africa was also a barren land in the eyes of many people. The entire southern Africa was only a little better around Cape Town, and other areas were the same as now.
Egypt is almost the same.
The Chinese have brought great changes to southern Africa. The former barren land has now become a paradise on earth. When Roque first came to Nyasaland ten years ago, there were no hotels and he could only live in a church with Xiaosi.
Here, Nyasaland has now become the most prosperous region in Africa.
"The officials here are appointed from London. After working here for a period of time, they will go to other areas, or live in rich areas, and do not care about the life and death of the poor. We describe this situation as 'officials do not repair the government'.
People also have problems. They don’t know how to pursue a better life, or it’s useless to pursue it. Many newly built cities in Nyasaland are full of fruit trees, so the price of fruit is very cheap and can be seen almost everywhere. Here is
It’s very troublesome, unless the chief executive strongly promotes it, which also requires a professional and efficient team of officials.” Roque knew the problem, but there was nothing he could do.
Egypt now is just like southern Africa during the colonial period. Although Egypt does not have as rich natural resources as southern Africa, the Nile Delta is actually very fertile. If it is used well and the Suez Canal is added, then Egypt
It is also very promising.
The key is that the Egyptians cannot control their own destiny. They were squeezed by the Ottoman Empire in the past, and now they are enslaved by the British. Cairo is as prosperous as Cape Town, but in addition to Cape Town, there is Pretoria in southern Africa.
There is also Johannesburg, as well as the more prosperous Little Rock and Port Edward. Cairo is the only pearl in Egypt.
"Fortunately, we live in southern Africa. If we were in Egypt, I think I would go crazy." Paul Coker was overjoyed. This contrast is the best patriotic education.
"Paul, if we were in Egypt, then I believe that Egypt would become a paradise on earth like southern Africa." Rock was confident.
The key is people, not natural conditions. Fate is fair. When a door closes, a window opens. The key is whether you can find where the window is.
If you are like those beggars and homeless people outside the military camp, just lying on the ground catching lice in the sun, then your life will never be hopeless.
If you are like those who are disabled and strong-willed, and still fight tenaciously even if they are suppressed by fate, then your fate may be changed.
The main thing is what kind of lifestyle you choose.
"Yes, Lord, we all want to thank God -" Paul Coker did not follow the direction led by Rock, but it doesn't matter, as long as he has faith.
Just like Roque said, people in the rich areas really don't see the suffering in the slums. Roque also had an event in the evening, this time to celebrate the signing of the "Bucharest Peace Treaty".
This "Bucharest Peace Treaty" is a contract formed by the Second Balkan War that just ended. Yes, the Second Balkan War that just started ended not long ago. This is actually the third war that broke out in the Balkan Peninsula in just two years.
War, but the last war broke out and ended too hastily, so it is collectively called the First Balkan War, and this is the second.
In the Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria lost almost all the land it had captured through the First Balkan War. The Ottoman Empire also became the victor this time and successfully recovered the Eastern Thrace and Asia that Bulgaria had captured through the First Balkan War.
Dryadburg.
Like the "Treaty of London" signed after the end of the First Balkan War, the "Peace of Bucharest" will not bring peace to the Balkan Peninsula, but will make conflicts more acute. In order to take revenge, Bulgaria chose to ally with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Serbia.
Montenegro, Romania, and Greece are closer to Britain and France. Now the Balkans only needs one spark to detonate the whole world.
Strictly speaking, the signing of the "Bucharest Peace Treaty" has nothing to do with Egypt, but Egypt is still nominally the territory of the Ottoman Empire, so as a victorious country, it is understandable that the Ottoman Empire celebrates.
Rock was also invited as Viscount Nyasaland.
"If I could, I would rather sleep in a hotel than attend such a boring garden party." Rock was also helpless. Time was wasted like this, and he would be scolded every time he wrote it.
"This is part of the aristocratic life. There are too few such activities in Nyasaland, so it lacks the aristocratic gene." Ada was also invited. She wore the summer evening dress launched by Itno this year, and
Compared with traditional evening gowns, they are more close-fitting and can better show off a woman's body curves.
Although Itno's designers are bold enough, the evening gown they designed is still incomparable with the 21st century gowns. Although the evening gown has no sleeves, it comes with lace white gloves that reach the elbow, which actually doesn't reveal much.
.
"It takes three generations to cultivate a noble, and Nyasaland only has a few years of history." Rock doesn't care about noble genes. In fact, the ancestors of British nobles are pirates, so there is nothing worth bragging about.
It's just that Roque's personal will sometimes cannot change the consensus of the whole society.
After solving the problem of food and clothing, more and more people in southern Africa are now beginning to pursue a better life. Although the aristocratic lifestyle is not worth promoting, the pursuit of a better life can be encouraged.
This time the dinner was held in a manor on the outskirts of Cairo, which formerly belonged to the Ottoman Sultan and is now the official residence of Lord Ronald Stowers, the British Secretary of State for the Middle East.
Rock and Ada arrived a little late and were originally planning to show up and leave. Anyway, Rock is not the protagonist this time and can leave early.
Naturally, no one dared to accuse Rock of being late.
When Rock and Ada arrived at the scene, the banquet had already entered free time. Rock went to find a seat nearby and just sat down when he saw a young man next to him smiling and saying hello.
Rock smiled back politely, and was usually very friendly as long as the other person wasn't blatantly racist.
"Good evening, Lord Nyasaland." The young man greeted politely.
"Good evening, the moonlight is really nice today -" Rock's opening remarks are very old-fashioned. In fact, old-fashioned also means the best effect, otherwise it would not have been circulated for such a long time and has such a wide range of applications.
"Lord Nyasaland, my name is Thomas Edward Lawrence, and I now work for Mr. Howard Carter-" Lawrence took the initiative to introduce himself.
"Oh——Mr. Supervisor of the ruins——" Ada said meaningfully. The supervisor of the ruins is actually a tomb robber.
The ruins supervisor Ada mentioned was Howard Carter's official position, and the job content of this position was archeology.
The main work of Britain's so-called "archaeology" in Egypt was to excavate the tomb of the Pharaoh, the legendary "gold-touching captain".
"Hello, Mr. Lawrence -" Rock took the initiative to extend his hand, and Thomas Lawrence was simply flattered.
Rock didn't care who dug the pharaoh's tomb. The young man in front of him was the Lawrence known as "Lawrence of Arabia".
