Chapter 446 Farouk I 3

Historically, the Mediterranean was once the most developed place in the world in terms of marine economy. But after the Age of Exploration, a large number of ships sailed from the Cape of Good Hope route and the Strait of Magellan, and no longer needed the relatively closed Mediterranean route. The result was naturally that the Eastern Mediterranean and Italy, which were originally one of the world's economic centers, weakened one after another. The main driving force of the world economy shifted to the Atlantic coast of northwestern Europe.

This historical process lasted for 300 years from the 16th century to the mid-19th century. The rise of modern Western Europe and the development of the New World, including the development of colonies in southwest Africa, are all related to this. But the emergence of the Suez Canal changed everything.

The concept of the Suez Canal was actually proposed by the Italians in the early modern times. At that time, the Italians hoped to dig the same waterway from the place where the canal was later dug. It would be convenient for their ships to enter the Red Sea from here and then go deep into the Indian Ocean. In this way, they could compete with the Portuguese who controlled the Cape of Good Hope route.

But for various reasons, this plan was not recognized by the Mamluk Sultan at that time. As a result, after the Ottomans occupied Egypt, the local economy began to decline. Especially from the late 16th century to the 17th century, the economic proportion of the Mediterranean coast had been rapidly diluted by the northwestern European region.

In the 19th century, it was the French who first proposed the Suez Canal plan. The reason is also very simple. France's ports on the Atlantic coast are easily blocked by the British Navy during wartime. They no longer expect to defeat the British in naval battles, and hope to connect their remaining bases in the Indian Ocean and the Indian subcontinent through the Suez Canal. They can also open up to the east.

Of course, the British could not let the French get their wish. So they bought all the shares of the Suez Canal and obtained the management rights of the canal. Then they put Egypt as their protectorate and controlled this golden waterway. In this way, even if the French vigorously built their own ports on the Mediterranean, it would be of no avail. The British took control of Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus. The three places are located in the west, middle and east of the Mediterranean. The British followed this route, took the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden on the Arabian Peninsula, and then went east to India and Malaya. The famous "Lifeline of the British Empire" came from this.

Now Germany wants to buy the entire Suez Canal directly, and British stocks have become a piece of waste paper. Although this behavior is somewhat inconsistent with business rules, it is not a big deal for Britain, which is already in trouble.

The newly established Suez Canal Company became one of the many subsidiaries of the German Zeus Company, and the profit was divided into 20%: 15%: 15%: 50%. Egypt took 10% of the profit, Italy and France took 15% each, and Germany took the remaining 60%.

When Farouk saw that he not only earned 1 billion Reichsmarks, but also had 20% of the profit to take, he signed happily; after all, the British didn't even give him a penny.

After signing, Rommel asked someone to take Farouk away.

The adjutant said excitedly. "General, in this way, the Mediterranean Sea has become the inner lake of the empire, which is an honor that only the Roman Empire had."

The Mediterranean Sea has a natural entrance and exit - the Strait of Gibraltar and an artificial canal. Of course, the Turkish Strait connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and can be regarded as the entrance and exit of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, the Mediterranean Sea has three entrances and exits.

And they have already controlled the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, and also control the Malta Island, which is known as the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. It is no exaggeration to say that the Mediterranean Sea has become the inner lake of Germany.

The adjutant asked eagerly. "General, should we attack the Middle East immediately and take the Middle East down?"

At this time, the pattern of the Middle East is Syria and Lebanon, which belong to the French sphere of influence; Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, and Oman are outside the British sphere of influence. In addition, there are several independent countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Turkey, etc.

After the surrender of France, the governments of Syria and Lebanon were also controlled by the Vichy government of France. Bordering the area controlled by Britain in the Middle East, the two sides are naturally on the verge of a fight, but no war has occurred.

In the original time and space, some royal nobles in Saudi Arabia flirted with Germany because they were dissatisfied with Britain. However, since the 1930s, Saudi Arabia's political situation has been controlled by the British and American oil consortiums known as the Seven Sisters, and the pro-German forces cannot make a big wave. Moreover, there are British troops stationed in Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt around Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Saudi Arabia continued to sell oil to the Allies obediently. It went through World War II peacefully.

And Iran in the Middle East is Germany's iron buddy, to what extent?

During World War I, Iran's Qajar dynasty, despite opposition from the whole world, firmly supported the Allies' war against the Allies. For this reason, the British army invaded Iran and supported agents to overthrow the Qajar dynasty. However, even if Iran changed dynasties, the new dynasty did not change its attitude towards Germany. During World War II, Iran's Pahlavi dynasty still firmly followed Germany and supported the war it launched, transporting resources to Germany. At that time, in Iran, factories and schools were full of Germans.

This move naturally triggered the Allies' pincer attack on Iran from the north and the south. However, Iranian King Reza Shah would rather lose his country and go into exile than betray Germany.

In fact, not only did Iran subjugate itself twice because of Germany, but Germany was also unambiguous and took good care of Iran in return. When the United States blocked Iran in later generations, Germany always supported Iran; when the United States wanted to tear up the Iran nuclear weapons agreement, Germany strongly opposed it. Even at the risk of breaking up with the United States, Germany has been conducting trade with Iran and has provided economic assistance that cannot be underestimated. The relationship between Iran and Germany can be described as mutually exclusive.

Rommel asked. "Where have the French advanced?" He asked, referring to the French troops who were running to frighten their own colony.

the adjutant replied. "The news came this morning that they are attacking Nigeria. But there are no British there and the progress is going very smoothly."

There is a country called Ghana to the east of Nigeria, known as the Gold Coast. The British focus on fishing for gold in Ghana and are not particularly interested in Nigeria. They handed over the colonial task to a so-called Niger company and behaved like a beautiful sheep. This private trading company is actually a British thug who has done a lot of bad things in Nigeria, including killing, burning, looting and everything else.

The Nigerians hated this so-called company and continued to resist. The British realized that it was better to be ruled by local chiefs, and it was better for the British to stand in the background. The British first conquered various Nigerian tribes by force, and then selected pro-British chiefs. Nigeria's original governing institutions remained intact. The British said: "We don't need to touch their institutions, we just need to adjust their minds." By 1914, the British merged the two Nigerian protectorates into one, still under indirect rule.

Rommel thought for a while and ordered. "Let the troops rest where they are for a few days and finish Africa first."