My Italy

While the Spey fleet was still battling wits with the British fleet in Oceania, the Italian East African colonies, its final destination, were also extremely lively.

To say which colony in the Allied camp was a thorn in the side of the Allied Powers, it had to be Italy's East African colonies. This colony stuck in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean made Britain and France feel so uncomfortable.

Even before the war broke out, the British military proposed to its government that Italy's colonies in East Africa seriously threatened the trade and transportation lines between the mainland and India, and hoped that this problem could be solved immediately after the war broke out.

However, London did not pay attention to the military's suggestions because they believed that the war would only take a few months to end.

The French and Russian armies attacked Germany from the east and west, and the British blocked its sea routes and landed from the north. The Germans could never stop such a three-party attack. If the core of the alliance camp, the Germans, falls, then Italy and Austria, as the younger brothers, will naturally surrender obediently.

But unfortunately, the Entente lineup did not expect that the Germans could fight better than the Franco-Prussian War. Not only did they defeat the British and French forces on the Western Front and occupy Paris, they also rescued the Austrians who were beaten by Russia on the Eastern Front, and also gave the Russians a heavy blow. Fist, so that he would not dare to peek into German territory again.

In addition, the Italians, who have always been considered the tail end of the great powers, also performed surprisingly well. Their performance in the Italian-French border battle and the Battle of Sirte made Britain and France regard them as another major enemy besides Germany.

At the same time, after several months of fighting, both parties have found that it is no longer possible to eliminate their opponents in a short time. As the war cannot be subsided in a short time, it is necessary to start from all aspects.

As for the Italian East African colonies, which were a thorn in the side, they now look so dazzling no matter how you look at them.

However, although it looks dazzling, it is not easy to seize Italy's East African colonies because Italy has deployed heavy troops here.

This place has a navy that is not small, and it also has an army that is absolutely huge for a colony. The Italian military has deployed 120,000 local troops here, and also has 80,000 colonial troops. In addition, the slave Kingdom of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) can provide 150,000 troops.

It can be said that if you want to seize Italian East Africa, you must have no less than 400,000 troops, and they cannot all be colonial troops. You also need the Allied Powers to send local elite troops.

When the war first started, the staff officers of the British and French armies often laughed at Italy's military deployment. It was simply stupid to put a large number of elite troops in the colonies instead of using them in the mainland. I didn't expect that it would become a thorn in my side, which was so embarrassing.

Whether it’s embarrassing or not will be discussed later. The most important thing now is to remove the nail in the Italian East Africa.

Several previous tests have shown that not only the Italian army is not weak, but also its colonial army and the army of the slave country Abyssinia are stronger than the British colonial army in Africa, and are comparable to the British and Indian troops. Of course, there is still a gap between it and the British and Indian troops in terms of weapons and equipment.

Since Italy is very powerful in East Africa, it will not be easy to capture East Africa. In addition to preparing to mobilize troops in Sudan and British East Africa (Kenya), a large amount of military supplies also needed to be prepared.

Since we are preparing for a major battle, in addition to the material army, intelligence, diplomacy and other aspects must be prepared. Among them, one of the most important tasks is diplomacy.

The wise old king of the Kingdom of Abyssinia, the British had dealt with him many times, and it was difficult to take advantage of him, even if he had suffered a stroke.

Especially after the war broke out, in order to get the Kingdom of Abyssinia to switch sides, the British offered generous terms in terms of money, weapons, and territory, but they were all declined by the old king.

Originally they had given up on winning over the Kingdom of Abyssinia, but Menelik II died at the end of the year. Since he had no son but had a legal daughter, his grandson Ejasu was finally chosen to succeed him as the new king. .

Now that there is no more powerful old king, the British have become more active again.

"His Majesty King Ejasu, our British Empire is very willing to help your country get rid of Italian control. Your country was invaded by Italy more than 20 years ago, which is a trampling on the civilized world. Our country has always felt about your country's experience. Sympathy. This war now is a punishment for its banditry. In fact, this is also an opportunity for your country.

Look at the current situation in your country. The Italians have plundered a lot of interests in your country. This should originally belong to your country. We in the British Empire do not want to see your country being treated like this, so we are willing to provide sufficient support to help you. The country can get rid of it. In addition, our country can also distribute enough spoils to your country based on your country's performance. Weapons, machines, funds, land are all available. If your country performs well enough on the battlefield, it can also help your country regain its coastal lands. "

Mr. Boyle, High Commissioner for the British East African Colonies, was the secret envoy this time. And he was talking non-stop about the conditions that the British side could offer to the young King Ejasu in front of him.

Boyle was an old acquaintance of the Kingdom of Abyssinia. Before he served as High Commissioner for the British East African Colonies, Boyle had done business with the Kingdom of Abyssinia for more than ten years, so he was very familiar with Abyssinia. The senior officials of the Kingdom of Bithynia are very familiar with it. Of course, he also knew that the Kingdom of Abyssinia had complicated feelings towards its suzerain country, Italy.

Emotions such as unwillingness, gratitude, and fear are the feelings of the top leaders of the Kingdom of Abyssinia towards Italy.

Boyle sneered at this in his heart. To be fair, Italy was already very good against the Kingdom of Abyssinia. Although Italian goods were popular in Abyssinia, Italy also allowed them to make their money back. The annual labor dispatch of 20,000 to 50,000 people makes a lot of money for the Abyssinian royal family and the noble governors (in order to win over the Abyssinian nobles, Italy gave half of the labor wages to the royal nobles. Of course, these Most of the money returned to Italy in the form of commodities, arms and other supplies.).

"I am very grateful to the British for their attention to our country, but our country has signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with Italy, so I can only say sorry to your country."

At this time, Ejasu, as the new young king of Abyssinia, refused Boyle's offer of these benefits.

"Your Majesty the King, if you are not satisfied with our conditions, you can discuss it again."

Although Boyle was a little confused by Ejasu's refusal as soon as he opened his mouth, how could he let the meeting end like this as a businessman.

"Your Excellency Boyle, I am very grateful for your country's interest in our country. However, our country currently has no plans to change the country. Your envoy, please come back."

Ejasu's unwillingness to continue the conversation made Boyle feel helpless. Why were the two kings of Abyssinia so disobedient?

Faced with the resolute attitude of the young king, he could not speak no matter how many thoughts and words he had.

But Boyle's envoy didn't know that the young king was influenced by Italian servants and tutors when he was growing up, which made Ejasu have a good impression of Italy. Speaking of the current situation in Africa, Ejasu is not unclear. It has already been divided up by various European countries.

If they get rid of Italy, other powers will not be interested in them, especially Britain, which is located in the northwest of the kingdom. It’s not like he didn’t know what the African colonies were like under British rule. In the final analysis, Ejasu didn’t trust Britain.

After Boyle was rejected by the young king, he had no choice but to return to his residence.

Just when he was feeling sad about the failure of this mission, his most trusted servant stepped forward and spoke. "Master, there is a person named Kamala who wants to visit you and says he can solve your troubles."

"Kamala?"

Boyle thought about who he knew in Addis Ababa who had that name. But after thinking for a long time, he was sure that he didn't know anyone named Kamala not only in Addis Ababa, but even in Abyssinia.

Just when he asked the servant to reply, he agreed after thinking about this mission.

"Please bring this gentleman in."

"Okay, Master."

He sees each other every time.

"Hello Mr. Boyle, my master knows your intentions, and my master has a very good impression of your country. He believes that Abyssinia can only gain true independence by following your country. And a great master has the ability to change the kingdom. attitude, all she needs is your envoy to be willing to support her.”

Regarding the visitor's attitude, Boyle looked at him with great interest, trying to find out something from his expression. Unfortunately, his efforts failed as the visitor's expression remained unchanged.

"I wonder who Mr. Kamara represents, which noble person is he?"

Boyle was guessing who was behind the other party as he spoke. Not many people could know in a short time that their visit to Eyasu had failed. His mind quickly sifted through these people.

"Mr. Boyle, if you wish, you can see my master."

Still in or near Addis Ababa, Boyle quickly narrowed the scope.

"No problem, I don't know when I can see your master."

"That's it today."