Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 207 Chain reaction, Europe and Asia linkage, complete chaos
Zheng Yi was certainly not surprised that the Japanese army would attack Myanmar. They had fought in the same way in history, but the scale was not so large. This strategy was actually predictable.

But he was really surprised that Pahlavi went to attack Saudi Arabia.

This proves that the wings of his little butterfly are a little too big.

At this time, the Iranian Pahlavi, or the old Pahlavi, was similar to the Iranian version of Zhao Kuangyin. He put on the yellow robe and received the king's gift package.

This person's relationship with Britain has always been not very good. After the World War, he decisively proposed to drive out all British forces, and was decisively pro-German, becoming Germany's agent in the Middle East.

Objectively speaking, in World War II, especially in the European part, justice and evil were not so obvious. Take Iran as an example. Wasn’t the Pahlavi’s resistance against the British a just national liberation war against colonialism and oppression?

The Germans did help them, and even the entire Middle East broke the shackles of imperialist colonialism.

However, in history, after Pahlavi showed extremely pro-German political intentions and actually received assistance from Germany, Iran was soon divided up by Britain and Russia, who drove Pahlavi out of power and supported his son, the younger Pahlavi, to come to power.

This little Pahlavi saw that Britain and Russia were not good guys and Germany really couldn't deal with them, so he decisively clung to the big leg of the United States.
He took the initiative to invite the American soldiers to intervene, which eventually made things extremely complicated. The four major powers, the United States, Britain, Germany and Russia, all gathered together to serve him.

However, the time and space of this world are greatly different from history. The first thing is the Ghawar oil field, which was found by Zheng Yi.

This is an oil field big enough to change the world.

Today, the oil reserves of the Ghawar oil field have actually been almost fully explored. It is no exaggeration to say that the oil production of this one oil field almost catches up with the entire Europe.

The Germans take this very seriously.

The most important thing is that Saudi Arabia is too weak.

He is so weak that he seems to have no presence in the whole world.

It's just a traditional Middle Eastern tribal alliance.

Even the Ghawar oil field has nothing to do with the Saudis. It is an American oil field, and the Saudis don’t even know what oil is.

Another butterfly wing fanned by Zheng Yi is that Britain's naval power is far weaker than in history.

Historically, the British deterrent fleet was not successfully dispatched as they were caught off guard by the sudden outbreak of World War II. In the end, they only sent two warships to Singapore.

Because of Zheng Yi's presence in this time and space, there was a slight discrepancy in the timing, and Britain sent out its deterrent fleet.

And they were sent out but not brought back.

Without these warships, Britain's ability to blockade the Mediterranean was greatly weakened, allowing Germany to have greater influence in North Africa and the Middle East.

To put it bluntly, Germany's ability to project power externally is indeed weak, but the British are really unpopular.

The situation of the Germans in the Middle East is actually somewhat similar to that of the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies. In terms of justice and evil, if you stand in their shoes, there are no worse people in the world than you British and Russians.

The German may be bad, but at least he doesn't show it. At least in the eyes of Middle Eastern people, he is still good.

And to be honest, as an Axis power, the Germans are at least much more ruthless than the Japanese.

In order to fight the Dutch, the Javanese were willing to cooperate with the Japanese to win food, let alone the Middle Eastern people against the Germans?
The Germans didn't even seek to colonize Iran, nor did they want the Shah to be a puppet. Instead, they said: You give me oil, I give you weapons, and you can fight the British.

Isn’t this the savior of others?
The failure of Britain, France and the Netherlands was ultimately the failure of the old colonial system. The British in Iran faced similar problems as the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies.

All the Germans need to do is provide some weapons, and the Iranians will naturally fight with them and shed their blood.

Besides, the location of the Ghawar oil field is not that sensitive to the Soviet Union.

For the Soviet Union, Iran's oil is not actually very important, but its geographical location is too important. In addition, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and the friend of my enemy is my enemy. Add in a few historical reasons, and they sent troops to Iran in history.

But now Iran's target is the Ghawar oil field, and Saudi Arabia.

As for the target of Saudi Arabia, its geographical location is not that threatening to the Soviet Union.

The battlefield has changed.

All the proven oil reserves in Iran combined are not as large as the Ghawar oil field.

And a very important point is that because the Ghawar oil field is so large, Saudi Arabia's importance to Germany even exceeds the Soviet part they are invading.

Thirdly, the US attitude has changed due to Zheng Yi's presence. Historically, the US suffered a disastrous defeat in the Asia-Pacific region, with General MacArthur fleeing and 80,000 US-Philippine troops captured.

Therefore, the United States is not particularly anxious in the Asia-Pacific region, and can devote more energy to fighting on two fronts in Europe and even North Africa.

But in this time and space, Marshal Mai did not leave.

The entire Pacific battlefield is now at a very critical juncture.

Of course, the United States is not going to ignore what is happening in Europe, but by comparison, it is far less important to the United States than what is happening in the Asia-Pacific region.

Our soldiers are putting up a tenacious resistance on the Bataan Peninsula, and our most important ally, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, is about to face a decisive battle with Japan.

Then why should I split my forces into two groups and intervene in the already corrupt Europe at such a critical moment?
What if, because of interfering in European affairs, General MacArthur and the US-Philippines coalition forces were defeated in the Bataan Peninsula?

Who can take this responsibility?

After all, Japan is the most important opponent for the United States at the moment.

It is precisely because of these three reasons that the battlefields in the Middle East and North Africa are now extremely corrupt, while the intensity of the conflict between the Soviet Union and Germany has decreased a lot.

Zheng Yi didn't even dare to speculate what would eventually happen on the battlefield over there.

I always feel that it will be very different from my impression of the European battlefield.

And for him... he couldn't tell whether this was a bad thing or a good thing.

In the short term, it's definitely a bad thing.

The British were under too much pressure, especially given the lack of naval power, and there was a high probability that they would transfer the Ceylon fleet.

If the Ceylon fleet was transferred away, Rangoon would lose its maritime protection and its situation would be even worse.

Moreover, Germany and Japan are allies. Once Britain transfers the Ceylon fleet and Germany can break through Britain's naval blockade, then after occupying the Middle East, perhaps, just maybe, it will supply oil to the Japanese?
And you have to know that Penang itself only refines oil and does not produce oil. If the Middle East really falls into the hands of Germany, it may be Zheng Yi who will have no oil to use.

Zheng Yi's refinery has always been refining oil from the Dutch East Indies and the Middle East.

If the British transferred the Ceylon Fleet, perhaps the Japanese army would shift its strategic goals and focus and choose to annex India to the west, thus joining forces with Germany?
In that case, the pressure on my side will definitely double.

Of course, in the long run, this is undoubtedly a good thing for Zheng Yi.

Simply weakening Britain would be more beneficial than harmful to Zheng Yi in the long run. Moreover, if that were to happen, the Ceylon Navy could be transferred by the British in the short term, and the American fleet could also enter the Indian Ocean.

India is a big pit. To be honest, Zheng Yi has always believed that if the Japanese army can really plunge into the quagmire of India, in the long run, this battlefield may be even worse than Australia. From a strategic point of view, Rangoon and Penang will undoubtedly become much more important to the Allied forces.

The Americans have already supported him with a powerful air force. If the Japanese really attack India, there is a high probability that he will be able to get another navy from the United States.

Of course, the premise is that he can hold on. And if the battlefield shifts to the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, the Soviet Union will undoubtedly free up its hands.

What if the Soviet Union marched eastward?
You should know that it was also because of Zheng Yi that the conflict between the Soviet Union and Japan was not just the minor Nomonhan battle in history, but the battlefield spread throughout the entire East Gobi Province.

This is all a fucking mess.

The series of chain reactions that might be triggered by this made Zheng Yi's scalp almost explode, and the most crucial thing was that Zheng Yi found that as a time traveler, the prophetic advantage that he relied on most had almost changed at this moment and almost disappeared.

Without the ability of a prophet, he couldn't even be sure whether the changes in the Middle East were a good thing or a bad thing for him.

It's a complete mess.

"Well, send a telegram to Li Xiaoshi and ask him to take the trouble to go to Iran on my behalf and ask Shah Pahlavi about his views on the war and Penang. If I support him in expelling the British, would he be willing to cooperate with me?"

"Also, I need him to go to Saudi Arabia again. The battle is taking place in their country, and I don't believe they won't react.

Abdullah simply lacks insight and international perspective, but from what I've seen, he's incredibly cunning and scheming, a true desert fox. Those who underestimate this old-fashioned man will surely pay the price."

"As for us... no matter what, let's just get through this decisive battle first. Lily, you can continue to be my secretary for two more days. Tomorrow, accompany me to Alor Setar."

"Get ready for war."

(End of this chapter)