World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

杜拜，大统领府地下战略室，1916年8月18日下午2时30分

The air conditioning system hummed softly, maintaining the indoor temperature at a cool 22 degrees Celsius. This was the true nerve center of the Lanfang Republic, with walls made of half-meter-thick reinforced concrete, all communication lines independently encrypted, and the air triple-filtered. The only decorations were a huge world map on the wall and an electronic display screen occupying an entire wall—high-tech products rarely seen in this era.

When Chen Feng entered the strategy room, his core staff had already arrived: Wang Wenwu, Liu Yongfu who had just come from the commissioning ceremony, Rear Admiral Li Te, Zhang Zhen, and six others sat around the oval conference table in the center, with maps, documents, and telegrams spread out on the table.

"Let's begin." Chen Feng sat down in the main seat without exchanging pleasantries. "Time is of the essence; I have to catch a train in four hours."

Wang Wenwu first reported: "Follow-up to the Cairo Conference. The British side has confirmed their acceptance of our proposal, and the diplomatic note was formally delivered this morning. Two Hood-class battlecruisers will be used to settle the debt, and seven destroyers will be traded in cash, for a total price of £1.65 million. The initial payment of £500,000 has already been received. The handover will take place in Singapore on September 1st."

"What about the technology transfer part?" Chen Feng asked.

Liu Yongfu continued, "The list of the technical receiving team sent by the British side has arrived. It consists of 45 people, including 12 naval engineers, 8 artillery experts, 10 marine engineering experts, and the rest are operation and maintenance personnel. They are requesting complete fire control computer data and radar design drawings."

"Give it to them," Chen Feng said without hesitation, "but in stages. First, give them the operation manual and maintenance guide. After they pay the balance, give them the core design drawings and other essential parts until the transaction is complete. Give them the basics; don't give them the most advanced parts!"

"Won't this affect our reputation?" Wang Wenwu asked with some concern.

Chen Feng shook his head: "This is business practice. And the British themselves do it too—they never provide the latest technology for the warships they sell to Japan. They prepare a 'simplified version.' The simplified version is sufficient for the British to use and maintain normally, but they will encounter obstacles if they want to reverse engineer or upgrade it."

Liu Yongfu's eyes lit up: "Understood. We'll tamper with the key interfaces and communication protocols so they can only use our spare parts and upgrade services."

"Yes." Chen Feng nodded. "We need to make them dependent on us. Next, Zhou Tie, the Ministry of National Defense needs to assess the recent moves by the UK."

Zhou Tieshan – Opening a folder: "The British offensive on the Somme has stalled, advancing less than 500 meters in the past week, with casualties exceeding 80,000. Anti-war sentiment is rising domestically, with anti-war demonstrations breaking out in London and Manchester last weekend."

Chen Feng nodded.

He turned to the world map, pointing to the Ottoman Empire: "The Istanbul talks are key to our next phase of strategy. Minister Wang, what is the situation in the Ottomans?"

Although Wang Wenwu is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, everyone knows diplomacy; he has informants from Berlin to London, from Tokyo to Washington.

"The Ottoman Empire is on the verge of collapse." Wang Wenwu's voice was calm but contained a wealth of information. "On the Caucasus front, the Russian army is advancing, and the Ottoman Ninth Army lost 40,000 men last month. On the Palestinian front, the British army has moved north from Egypt and has occupied most of the Sinai Peninsula, threatening Gaza. On the Mesopotamian front, British and Indian troops have surrounded Kut, and the 60,000 Ottoman defenders are about to run out of food."

He paused, then added, "The most crucial issue is internal. The Arab tribal uprisings have expanded, and Mecca's Sharif al-Haishan publicly declared his secession from the Ottoman Empire last month, establishing the 'Kingdom of the Arabs,' which has received British support and arms aid. The Imperial Treasury has gone bankrupt, soldiers haven't been paid for three months, and famine is occurring in the Anatolian countryside."

Li Te frowned: "Is such an ally... still of value?"

"Yes," Chen Feng continued, "but not as an ally, but as an asset. A dying empire would be willing to exchange future interests for a life-saving drug now. And what we need to do is become the one selling that drug."

He drew a circle on Ottoman territory: "Mesopotamia, along the Persian Gulf. Its value lies not in the land, nor in the population, but in what lies beneath."

"Oil?" Liu Yongfu asked.

"That's right." Chen Feng nodded. "Ten years ago, when we discovered a large oil field in Persia, geological studies showed that Mesopotamia's geological structure was similar to that of Persia, and it was likely to have even larger reserves. Moreover, it's close to the coast, making transportation convenient. Whoever controls the oil here will control the energy lifeline for the next fifty years."

Wang Wenwu quickly jotted down: "But the British are already there. The Mesopotamian campaign has been going on for two years, and the British Indian army is making steady progress."

"So we need to race against time." Chen Feng's finger moved across the map. "The British want all of Mesopotamia, and then control the Persian Gulf, connecting to India. But they're currently tied down on the western front, lacking sufficient troops, and their advance is slow. If we, under the guise of 'aiding the Ottomans,' enter these areas first and establish a de facto presence..."

"The British will strongly oppose it," Chang Chen stated bluntly, "and it could even trigger a conflict."

"So they need to compromise." Chen Feng looked at the Foreign Minister. "This is the core of the Istanbul talks—we need to work with the Germans to create a dilemma for the British: either accept Lanfang's presence in Mesopotamia in exchange for Lanfang's promise not to directly intervene in the European war and not to further arm Germany; or refuse and watch us sell more advanced tanks, planes, and heavy artillery to Germany, and possibly even send volunteer troops directly to the Western Front."

Wang Wenwu frowned: "Will the British believe this threat?"

"Half believe, half doubt," Chen Feng calmly analyzed. "But that's enough. Diplomatic maneuvering isn't gambling; it's about calculating probabilities. As long as the British believe there's a 30% chance we'll actually side with Germany, they'll hesitate. And that hesitation will give us room to maneuver."

He turned to Liu Yongfu: "How are the preparations for the demonstration of Tank No. 1 going?"

Minister of Industry Wang Lixin immediately reported: "Two prototype vehicles have been transported to the secret testing ground outside Istanbul. Vehicle number one is the basic model, and vehicle number two is the improved model. The demonstration subjects include: crossing a 2.5-meter trench, breaking through four layers of barbed wire, destroying a concrete machine gun bunker, and firing on the move. The technical team conducted thirty-seven rehearsals, all of which were successful."

What will the Germans see?

"I see hope in breaking the trench warfare barrier." Liu Yongfu's eyes lit up. "The armor of the Panzer I can withstand machine gun bullets, crush barbed wire, and cross standard trenches. Although it's slow and its reliability is still questionable, the concept has been proven. If Falkenhayn saw this, he would want it like crazy."

Chen Feng nodded: "That's good. Remember, during the demonstration, you need to 'appropriately' expose some problems—such as the engine overheating, the tracks easily coming off, or the steering being inflexible. You need to make the Germans feel that this is still just a prototype and needs a lot of improvement and refinement. That way, they will be willing to invest in subsequent research and development and will give us more orders and resources."