Adelaide finally returned to Pretoria. Although both Roque and Sidney Milner wanted Adelaide to have a good rest, a country cannot live without a king for a day. As a national leader, Adelaide cannot get sick.
, otherwise it will easily cause various problems.
In mid-August, the rebellion in the Congo Free State had not subsided, but the Italian-Turkish war showed signs of ending.
The war has lasted for two years from August 1909, and both Italy and the Ottoman Empire are exhausted.
Italy cannot continue the war because it has no money.
Before the outbreak of the Italian-Turkish War, most European countries expressed support for Italy, and some countries even coerced the Ottoman Empire to agree to Italy's demands and cede Tripoli and Cyrenaica to Italy.
At that time, the Ottoman Empire was experiencing internal and external troubles, and the turmoil in the Balkans had become a powder keg that detonated Europe. The Ottoman Empire was retreating steadily in North Africa, and most of the North African provinces became French colonies. Italy believed that if it did not take action, it would lose its establishment in North Africa.
Colonial opportunity.
Taking various factors into consideration, Italy is generally optimistic about the prospects of the war. The Italian government believes that it can conquer Tripoli and Cyrenaica with only a small number of soldiers and a monthly cost of 300,000 lire.
As a result, after the war broke out, the Ottoman Empire, known as the "Sick Man of Europe", showed unprecedented resilience and tenacity. Although the British occupied Egypt and strictly prohibited the Ottoman Empire from providing aid to Tripoli and Cyrenaica through Egypt, the British did not block Suez.
Canal, supplies from the Ottoman Empire can still reach North Africa through the Suez Canal.
The development of the war also exceeded the expectations of the Italians. At the beginning of the war, Italy did have an advantage with its powerful fleet and easily occupied the coastal areas of Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
But as the war progressed, Italy found that the local resistance in Tripoli and Cyrenaica was very tenacious. The Ottoman Empire did not have many troops in North Africa, only 8,000 to 10,000, but all their leaders had received
Among the elite talents of modern education is Mustafa Kemal, who later founded the Republic of Turkey.
Italy, which had maritime superiority, could not leave the cover of naval guns and go deep into the interior. The cost of the war quickly soared from 300,000 lire per month to 800,000 lire per month. Italy, which had just been unified for less than 50 years, did not have Britain and France.
These colonial powers have hundreds of years of solid accumulation and do not have the strong industrial capabilities of emerging countries like Germany and the United States. The successive resistance actions in the occupied areas have exhausted the Italian army, while the Ottoman Empire's troops are hiding in inland areas that cannot be covered by naval guns.
Resist the Italian invasion tenaciously.
The problems of the Ottoman Empire were even more serious. Before the outbreak of the Italian-Turkish War, some areas of the Balkan Peninsula had become de facto independent, and some areas had obtained autonomous status. Slavic nationalists across the peninsula strongly demanded independence, and the Ottoman Empire was unable to control it.
After the outbreak of the Italian-Turkish War, the North African troops on the front line were still resisting tenaciously, but the Balkan Peninsula was on fire in the backyard. Led by the Serbian Autonomous Region, Montenegro (Kingdom of Montenegro), the Principality of Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Romania, and the Kingdom of Greece were once conquered by the Ottomans.
Countries and regions that have ruled for a long time formed an alliance to fight against the Ottoman Empire. Compared with North Africa, the Balkan Peninsula is the core interest of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire has no intention of war and can only be forced to abandon Tripoli and Cyrenaica and focus its main energy.
In easing internal conflicts.
At this time, the Ottoman Empire and Italy needed a communication channel, and Southern Africa, which had trade relations with both sides, became the best choice.
"Basically, this is it. The Italian navy blocked the Suez Canal, attacked Ottoman Empire transport ships, and attacked the Aegean Sea region, occupying twelve islands including Rhodes, forming a direct attack on Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Threats, there is a fire in the backyard of the Ottoman Empire, and wars are raging in the Balkans. If the war is not ended, the Ottoman Empire may fall apart. The consequences are more serious than losing the North African provinces." When Rock reported to Ade, Ade was receiving treatment from Su Xian.
.
Adelaide's chronic illness requires frequent treatment, but Adelaide's time is precious and he cannot go to Johannesburg often, so Su Xian comes to Pretoria once a week and stays for at least three days each time.
Now Su Xian's clients are not only Adelaide and Sidney Milner, Philip, Louis Botha, Douglas, but also Owen and Henry. For this reason, Su Xian has to stay in Pretoria.
The time spent in Asia is getting longer and longer, and it has even affected Su Xian’s teaching work at Johannesburg Medical College.
Many people, including Sidney Milner, suggested that Su Xian resign directly and open a private clinic in Pretoria. With Su Xian's technical level, he could ensure a prosperous business.
But Su Xian is unwilling to give up his job at the Johannesburg Medical College. Traditional Chinese medicine is different from modern medicine and requires long-term teaching by words and deeds. For the same massage, the effect of Su Xian's massage is completely different from that of Su Xian's two sons. The key is
It is still the accumulation of experience. In fact, Su Xian only has a dozen students in Johannesburg Medical College. However, according to Su Xian's requirements, these students must study with Su Xian for at least ten years before they can enter the school.
"Since the situation is so good, why do the Italians want to cease the war?" Ade has worked in Egypt and understands the situation of the Ottoman Empire. He is not surprised at all by the current situation of the Ottoman Empire.
It’s not called the sick man of Europe for nothing.
"The Italians also have too much time to take care of themselves. Their navy has a huge advantage, but the performance of the army is unsatisfactory. As long as it leaves the support range of the naval guns, the army cannot fight independently. The Italian regular army with equal numbers cannot even defeat the guerrillas in North Africa. Tripoli and Cyrene
The interior of Nica is a desert area. The Italian Army cannot penetrate deeply and can only occupy the coastal areas. It also has to face ubiquitous rebels. The Italian government is also ill-prepared. It actually thinks that it can conquer Tripoli and the past with 300,000 men a month.
Laniga, they seriously underestimated the cost of the war." Roque looked down on the Italians. Even if the lira has not depreciated yet, three hundred thousand a month is too little. It is estimated that the Italian government thinks that only ten thousand troops are needed.
Able to conquer Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
"If it were us in southern Africa, how many people do you think it would take to conquer Tripoli and Cyrenaica?" Adelaide also has ambitions, but he hides them better.
"It's hard to say. Conquering a region is not as simple as a comparison of military strength on paper. If you just defeat or destroy the Ottoman Empire's troops in North Africa, then 8,000 to 10,000 people will be enough. But to annex Tripoli and Cyrenaica,
That would require more than 50,000 troops." Roque will not underestimate people's determination to defend their homeland. The biggest difference between southern Africa and Italy is that southern Africa does not need to enslave the indigenous residents of North Africa, so other more convenient methods can be used
.
"The Italian government also thought that 10,000 people would be enough." Ade did not distrust Roque, but was worried that Roque would be dazzled by a series of victories. There are countless such examples.
Luo Ke smiled and said nothing. This kind of thing is empty talk, and you won't know it unless you have a real fight with live ammunition.
There is a problem that Ade has never thought about. Whether it is the Ottoman Empire's army or the Italian army, their strength is definitely incomparable with the German Army, which defeated France and became the "World's No. 1 Army".
Although nominally speaking, the Southern African army and the German troops have not fought against each other, but in the previous Tanganyika Rebellion at Fort Glory, the Southern African army and the counter-insurgent German troops had fought against each other.
The German counter-insurgency troops at that time suffered a disastrous defeat. Although this was related to the fact that the counter-insurgency troops from afar had just been formed, had not undergone strict training, and were physically and mentally exhausted after traveling long distances, the result of the disastrous defeat could also prove from the side that the southern African army was weak.
Strong strength.
"What do you think about this matter?" Ade didn't want to know Roque's answer. He asked about the negotiations between Italy and the Ottoman Empire.
"We can talk as much as we want, but we can't do it in Southern Africa. The problems of European countries should be solved in Europe. Let them go to Switzerland to talk." Roque didn't want to focus the world's attention on Southern Africa, especially Nyasaland.
In Gram's impression, Italy and the Ottoman Empire seemed to have signed a "Treaty of Lausanne" or some other treaty, so Lausanne in Switzerland is very good.
"Well, we in southern Africa don't even have the right to have independent diplomacy, and we are really not suitable to play this role." Adelaide still had regrets, and his words inadvertently revealed his desire for more power.
This is not Ade's desire for personal power, but a desire for southern Africa to have more power, such as diplomacy and waging war.
It doesn't matter to Rock. A country without diplomacy and the power to develop war is indeed not an independent country, but this does not affect the development and external expansion of southern Africa. Now Britain still has a certain influence on southern Africa. After the world war,
Britain's binding force on the colonies will be further reduced, and then southern Africa will be able to seek more rights.
Although Roque remembers that Italy and the Ottoman Empire started peace talks in Switzerland, in this time and space, due to the emergence of southern Africa, the trajectory of the world's progress is very different from that of another time and space. Italy and the Ottoman Empire did not choose Lausanne, Switzerland, but chose Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cairo, Egypt was chosen.
This is also a reasonable choice. Egypt is located between Cyrenaica, which Italy requested, and the Middle Eastern Province of the Ottoman Empire. Although Britain showed an obvious tendency in the Italian-Turkish War, the Ottoman Empire had no better choice.