Twenty-one days later, the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet entered the Suez Canal. What is fascinating is that on the same day that the Chinese fleet entered the Suez Canal, King Farouk of Egypt sent a special envoy to contact Chen Shichang and invited Chen Shichang to Cairo for a private visit. The visit to the Suez Canal could have been completed in one day. The sudden arrival of the Egyptians disrupted Chen Shichang's original plan. After a short consideration, Chen Shichang finally decided whether to accept Farouk's invitation or not. I happily accept that although the Suez Canal is actually controlled by the British now, the Egyptians are landlords after all, and it is always good to have good dealings with them. In addition, Egypt is also a big country in Africa, and considering that the young officer once visited Egypt , and also established a good personal friendship with Faruk, so Chen Shichang felt that it was necessary to take a trip.
Chen Shichang just felt that it was necessary to take a trip, but in Faruk's eyes, the Chinese's huge aircraft carrier group was like a life-saving straw. As early as when Ouyang Yun went to Egypt to attend the Cairo Conference, it had already appeared in Egypt. A sign of revolution, and now, with the further weakening of British influence, Farouk has gradually become a real loner in Egypt. Farouk and his cronies know very well that if they can no longer come from abroad, If they receive strong support, they will soon become the target of revolution and lose their current power and wealth. Faruk's natural target for help should have been the United Kingdom. However, the British were very strong during World War II. Seriously injured, and now committed to unifying Europe and cooperating with the United States and Japan to contain China, they are not willing to invest more chips in Africa. As a result, Faruk and others feel that they are at the end of their rope. At this time , China's huge aircraft carrier group appeared in front of them. For them, this was simply reinforcements sent from heaven.
Falkenhausen was quite dissatisfied with Chen Shichang's acceptance of the invitation of King Farouk of Egypt to pay a private visit to Cairo. On the one hand, Falkenhausen was worried that this would drag down the schedule of the Chinese fleet and thus lose the fight with the US Seventh Fleet. Opportunities for intersection; on the other hand, because the Suez Canal is now actually controlled by the British, he is worried that something will happen in the night, and the Chinese fleet will be blocked east of the Suez Canal and unable to enter the Mediterranean. That is nothing, but it will lead to German purchases. The weapons and equipment cannot be transported back to the country as soon as possible, which is something Falkenhausen cannot afford.
His efforts to persuade him were ineffective. In order to prevent Chen Shichang from being plotted by the British, he could only pinch his nose and proactively ask to accompany Chen Shichang on a visit to Cairo. What he never expected was that his appearance would lead to the complete fall of the Egyptian Farouk Dynasty. China.
It is almost a well-known fact in Europe that the British are standing behind Farouk. In addition, during World War II, Egypt and Germany were de facto enemies. Therefore, no matter how critical Falkenhausen looked at Farouk, In Faruk's opinion, this is not an exaggeration. Not only that, after thinking about it, Falkenhausen's move was also recognized by Faruk as having a special meaning. The Germans and the Chinese are so close. It seems that, The deep alliance between Germany and Germany is not groundless in external rumors. In Faruk's view, China and Germany, which have become stronger, are enough to rival any superpower in the world today.
"If it were China alone, I would still have to worry that the British, Americans and Soviet Russians would intervene, but combined with Germany, I think this force is completely worthy of our trust." That night, while working for Master Chen, After Chang and Falkenhausen held an unprecedented and extremely luxurious welcome banquet, Faruk and his cronies discussed using the power of the Chinese to eliminate dissident forces in the country and made the final decision.
Regarding China, because he had in-depth contact with Ouyang Yun during the Cairo Conference, Faruk has been paying close attention to it. Therefore, compared with most heads of state or senior officials in the world who only have a vague understanding of China, Faruk has a lot of information. And the accuracy and in-depthness are far superior. It is also for this reason that when he was desperate and the Chinese fleet passed the Suez Canal, he had an idea and came up with the idea of recruiting troops from China.
Regarding Egypt, Africa and even the Middle East, the intelligence and information Chen Shichang had basically came from Ouyang Yun. Precisely because Ouyang Yun always emphasized the importance of the Middle East intentionally or unintentionally, Chen Shichang only received Faruk's invitation. He would readily accept it after just a brief thought. As a rising star in the Chinese military, Chen Shichang definitely lacks military and political vision. The importance of Egypt, the Suez Canal alone is enough to explain everything, and China wants to become a real For a world power in the sense of the word, it is absolutely necessary to have the power to pass through the Suez Canal cheaply.
When Faruk and his cronies were making their final determination to join the emerging power alliance of China and Germany, in the luxury hotel prepared by Faruk for Chen Shichang and Falkenhausen, Chen Shichang was asking Falcon Hausen explained the reason why he ventured into Cairo, "...Although the Suez Canal is now controlled by the British, we should change this situation simply because of its strategic position. I think this is also in line with the wishes of China and Germany. In order to deepen our alliance, our two countries must have a reliable communication channel. Because taking the Suez Canal can avoid detouring around the Atlantic Ocean, for our two countries, its significance is no less than that of China's ancient connection with the Western world. Silk Road…”
When Chen Shichang mentioned the significance and ownership of the Suez Canal, Falkenhausen's heart was already at ease. If the Germans had to rank the European countries in order to determine which country poses the greatest threat to Germany, there is no doubt that Britain would definitely be at the front. 3. During World War II, when Germany entered North Africa, the reason why it did not regard seizing the Suez Canal as its top priority was because Germany did not have a strong navy, so it was naturally not particularly interested in such a convenient water transportation channel. But now, the situation But something has changed. After discovering that China has strong shipbuilding capabilities, at least Falkenhausen has thought of a way to quickly expand the size of the German Navy. If the Germans want to achieve this goal, control of the Suez Canal or Talking about right of way is so important.
"The Suez Canal is indeed important, but Germany's main task now is to be able to block the attack of the Soviet Russians and even the Soviet, American and British coalition forces. General, with all due respect, at least for now, our country will not invest too much energy in the Suez Canal." Although in his heart. Although he was loose, Falkenhausen still seemed very stubborn in his mouth. Of course, this can also be seen as him trying to control his posture and bargaining.
Chen Shichang doesn't care much about this, because if he wants to help Egypt regain control of the Suez Canal, China will definitely get the maximum benefits from it. China's domestic advanced electronic products and military products already show signs of overcapacity, so they need To gain new markets, there is no doubt that Europe, Africa, and even the Middle East will all be dumping grounds for Chinese products. Therefore, being able to use the Suez Canal cheaply is very important for the newly growing Chinese national industry.