The second bullet in the New Year, here is a preview. After showing the current situation and trends of the world through the protagonist's honeymoon journey, the main plot will skip Europe's golden decade. The story behind it... should be very worth looking forward to.

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In the early spring of 1919, amid the welcome from people from all walks of life in Constantinople, the Irish naval training ship "Kuchulin" carrying a special mission sailed into Turkey's thousand-year capital...

The friendly relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Ireland were derived from the close strategic alliance between Germany and Turkey. The "international relay" of the battlecruiser "Von-der-Tann" was a good start for close cooperation between the two sides. Ships, aircraft and cars made in Ireland were spreading across Turkey's military and civilian fields, and helped Turkey build the first modern intercity highway in China; Ireland imported industrial raw materials and handmade products from Turkey every year worth hundreds of millions of marks, and among the trading partners of the Ottoman Empire, the import value was second only to Germany.

In the Golden Horn Bay, where the masts of ships are lined with masts, Xia Shu saw the 1250-ton standard destroyer, the 920-ton U-145 ocean submarine and the 560-ton "Sword" offshore frigate. These three are the most popular export ships in the Irish shipbuilding industry. The Ottoman Navy is the main customer of the Irish shipbuilding industry. Since the independence of the Kingdom of Ireland, the Ottoman Navy has contributed 37 ship orders to the development of the Irish military shipbuilding industry, with a total contract price of more than 45 million marks. There are still hundreds of Irish ship engineers and naval instructors to this day.

As an adviser in Turkey. Of course, these are just "small dishes" in the eyes of the Ottoman tycoons. The 30,000-ton super-dreadnought, the new warship, which was used to replace the "Von der Thenne", was recently equipped at the Weisel Shipyard in Bremen. It is equipped with ten 15-inch main guns of the same model as the Bavarian-class. All of the main performances are close to or equivalent to the Bavarian-class active in the German Navy. Once delivered to service, it can instantly raise the Ottoman Navy to a world-class height and become the "Ottoman blade" that dominates the Black Sea and shocks the Mediterranean!

Compared with Xia Shu's first visit 12 years ago, Constantinople has added a lot of modern atmosphere. From the lifting equipment at the port terminal to the tram tracks running through the city streets, as well as the wear of residents and the goods in the windows, all of which show the wonderful changes in an ancient country entering modern civilization. However, the dead trees in Ottoman Turkey are not due to political changes or economic reforms. The new tycoon's fortune is only attributed to one thing: oil.

At the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the industrialized oil extraction was mainly concentrated in the United States and Russia. At that time, the highest-yield oil field was at the eastern end of the southern slope of the Caucasus Mountains, and Baku on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The oil produced here not only completely meets Russia's industrial needs, but also brings huge returns to Russia. For a long time, the Russian government basically relied on oil revenue to fill the treasury deficit, thereby maintaining the crumbling rule of the Normanov dynasty.

During the war, the Russian and Turkish troops fought in the Caucasus region. The Russian army invested less troops than Ottoman Turkey, so they were on the defensive most of the time. Before the German team freed up their hands to join this front, the Ottoman army made only very limited progress. However, by 1916 when the warring sides signed the armistice agreement in Minsk, the German-Turkish coalition had occupied all the Russian areas south of the Caucasus Mountains, and the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire were also flying at the top of Baku. According to the armistice agreement, Baku, located on the armistice, was jointly managed by Russia, Germany and Turkey, and the oil produced here was removed.

A small part was supplied to Russia, and the rest were delivered to Germany and Ottoman Turkey as war compensation. Ottoman Turkey used most of the oil obtained from its country for sale. At the same time, in the Persian area occupied by Germany and Turkish troops, the Ottoman Empire sold most of the oil extraction rights belonging to it to Germany, thus reaping a large transfer fee. Because of the oil, the Ottoman rulers who were in a difficult economy almost got rich overnight. The royal family, government, and military members visited various countries with graceful clothes and luxurious attitude, and their generous and generous actions disappeared completely.

This time, Xia Shu visited as the King of Ireland. As soon as he and Charlotte got ashore, they received a generous gift from Sultan Mohammed V. The courtesy they received during their stay in Constantinople was also extremely luxurious, which made the newlyweds who were used to simple life feel uncomfortable.

Xia Shu's friend Fatih Pasha still shoulders the position of chairman of the Ottoman Naval Committee. With his matchmaking and Xia Shu's usual flexible skills, he got a generous order for Ireland in just a few days, equivalent to tens of millions of marks. The Ottoman Navy decided to order a 6,000-ton standard light cruiser from Ireland. They did not have any special requirements for weapons and equipment, but only proposed that the officer's living room should be spacious enough, the restaurant facilities should be perfect enough, and the interior decoration of all cabins was pre-Turkish.

Because of the good bilateral relations and close private exchanges, Natsuki expects that this visit to Ottoman Turkey will be a relaxed and pleasant trip. As a result, the itinerary is pleasant, but the mood is not relaxed. Looking at the history of the Ottoman Empire, wars and killings run through every era of its era. In modern times, it has been bullied by the great powers and its territory has been shrinking. Even the small Balkan countries have united to divide its territory, which makes people sigh that the tiger falls into a flat sun and is bullied by dogs. Now the tiger's illness is slightly reduced, and it is revealed again. The target of its active attack this time is not the small surrounding countries, but Russia that has been suppressing itself for more than two hundred years!

After the war, the Caucasus Mountains became the border between Russia and Turkey. In order to occupy a favorable situation where it can be attacked and retreated and defended on this new border, since the truce, the Ottoman army has been constantly moving in the mountains of the Caucasus. They have successively built dozens of outposts and upgraded some of the strongholds into fortress stations, deployed cannons here, putting many Russian outposts and even towns and villages under their own muzzles, and some were built in dangerous positions.

The point had crossed the agreed truce line between the two sides. The Russians were severely injured in the war. At first, they chose to swallow their anger, but later they could not bear it anymore. They repeatedly filed diplomatic protests ineffective, so they began to use violence to fight violence. In early 1918, Russian and Turkish troops had fierce military frictions in the mountains of the Caucasus. Both sides suffered casualties and suffered heavy casualties. The garrison troops were tense, which almost caused a war disaster. It was finally left unresolved after Germany's mediation.

Nowadays, a revolution has taken place in Russia, the Romanov dynasty has been overthrown, and the newly-powered provisional government lacks prestige among the people and the army. The Ottoman ruling class believed that the time had come, so they stepped up their military deployment in the Caucasus mountains, and even sent troops to occupy two coastal towns located on the southern side of the Caucasus Mountains, adjacent to the Black Sea, on the grounds of protecting the Turkish expatriates.

The news of the revolution left the Russian soldiers stationed on the frontier at a loss. They no longer strongly blocked the Turkish army's invasion like before, but instead blindly tolerated and retreated. But Muhammad V and his powerful ministers were not satisfied with this. They actually developed greed for the North Caucasus region, as if in their eyes, the polar bear with sharp teeth and claws was no longer ill, and the bear's paws and bear skins were cut and there was no resistance.

The North Caucasus region has developed agriculture, rich mineral deposits, and oil fields that have recently been invested in industrial mining. It can be said to be a treasure land for gold to make money from the sunrise. It is indeed very attractive. By selling oil and selling mining rights, the financial situation of the Ottoman government has improved greatly in the past two years. Military investment has increased a lot compared with before the war. Several elite troops have been forged in succession of war. With the help of the German advisory group, the Ottoman army can launch a large-scale occupation in the North Caucasus. However, once Russia completes the change of power and stabilizes the situation, it will definitely regain these illegally occupied areas by Ottoman Turkey, and even take retaliatory military actions. Even if the Turks are temporarily let go of the situation, they will definitely find opportunities to repay today's humiliation in the future. It is still unknown whether the Ottoman army can withstand the heavy blow of the bear.

The Ottoman rulers did not take it in their hearts at all. The guards armed with the red-bottomed star-moon flag led from Istanbul. Countless people crossed the streets and flew away, and everyone was ready to swear to vent the anger they had suffered for more than two hundred years at a time.

Xia Shu couldn't be worried about the fate of the Ottoman army and even the Islamic Empire. He cared about what impact the changes in the international landscape would have on his country. After leaving Constantinople, the Ku-Churin returned to the Mediterranean, sailed to the Suez Canal as planned, and then entered the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. While on the way, Xia Shu suddenly heard the news that the Russian Soviets replaced the provisional government and seized power with armed forces. He calculated that it was less than three months before the meeting with Nicholas II, and the progress of the Soviet revolution was faster than expected. The abdicated Tsar and his family were exiled to Siberia as history, and they might not be able to escape their tragic fate. With the current international situation, Russia was almost certain to fall into a civil war, but the support of the old aristocratic forces in the fight against the Soviet regime was replaced by the camp of the allies led by Germany.

Now Germany is strong and bordering on land with Russia, and may carry out large-scale armed interference in the revolutionary regime. From this point of view, the Ottoman Turkey's invasion of the North Caucasus region is just right, and it may echo the German team in the future and advance to the heartland of Russia. It is worth looking forward to short-term benefits. However, at this time, Russia is no longer the corrupt empire under Nicholas II. The outbreak of the revolution is the result of the long-term development and consolidation of the Bolsheviks among grassroots workers. After overthrowing the Romanov dynasty, the Soviet regime has been established in most parts of Russia. Replacing the provisional government is like the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves. Although such a Russia is still very weak, it is difficult to defeat.
Chapter completed!