Chapter 450: First Division Activation

"Yes." Wang Wenwu recorded, "Additionally, Deguo side is urging very urgently. Fa Jinhang hopes to send a vanguard unit to follow our ship to Dubai tomorrow for on‑site tank operation training."

"Agreed. But limit the number—no more than twenty. Arrange for them to stay in the navy base guesthouse, with activities confined to the testing field and training center."

Wang Wenwu nodded and pulled out a second document: "This is the Army Department's report on the combat readiness of the First Mechanized Infantry Division. The entire division numbers eighteen thousand, mobilization is complete, and it can deploy at any time."

Chen Feng finally turned and walked to the desk spread with a Middle‑East map. On the map, the route from Dubai to Mesopotamia was marked in red pencil. His finger rested on a point on the northwest shore of the Persian Gulf—Horde Sa.

"How many kilometers is Horde Sa from the British Army defensive line on the Sinai Peninsula?"

"Straight‑line Distance is fifty‑three kilometers; the middle is desert, with no terrain to defend," Wang Wenwu answered precisely. "The British Army has eight divisions in Sinai, about one hundred fifty thousand troops, primarily defending northward against the Ottoman‑Palestine Group Army. We appear on the eastern side, which is their flank and rear."

Chen Feng's finger drew a circle on the map: "Order: The First Mechanized Infantry Division, effective immediately, shall proceed overland to Horde Sa under the name 'Border Survey and Resource Exploration Team.' Marching order—"

He picked up a pencil and quickly wrote on a notepad:

"1. The Vanguard Battalion shall advance by jeep, carrying radios and survey equipment, and establish an advance base at Horde Sa within three days."

"2. The division's main force is divided into three echelons:"

"First echelon: division headquarters, reconnaissance battalion, Artillery First Battalion (twelve 105 mm howitzers), moving by truck."

"Second echelon: infantry regiment, engineer battalion, logistics detachment."

"Third echelon: remaining artillery, anti‑aircraft company, field hospital."

"3. March route: Dubai — Abu Dhabi — Luweis — northward along the Persian Gulf coast to Yisaniya — Horde Sa. The entire Distance is about twelve hundred kilometers."

"4. Logistical supplies shall be shipped by the navy cargo vessels 'Poyang Lake' and 'Dongting Lake' to the coast near Horde Sa, where a temporary pier will be constructed for unloading."

"5. Upon arrival, immediately construct defensive works, but all artillery must fire eastward (inland) and must not be aimed at the western British Army defensive line."

"6. If encountering British Army reconnaissance or contact, the principle is: do not fire the first shot, do not cross the line, but return fire if attacked."

"7. Mission objective: establish a permanent presence at the boundary of the authorized zone, raise the national flag, and make it visible to everyone."

Wang Wenwu recorded quickly, and when he reached the final item his pen hesitated: "President, a single division… is that too thin? The British Army has one hundred fifty thousand troops, plus naval ship‑gun support."

Chen Feng set down the pencil: "We are not going to fight. Eighteen thousand men are just enough to create a military presence that cannot be ignored, yet insufficient to make the British feel a mortal threat. This is a signal—Lanfang has both the capability and the will to protect its interests far from home."

He walked to the train window; night had fully fallen, and the train was racing across the Anatolian Plateau.

"What are the British most afraid of now?" Chen Feng asked himself and answered, "It's not that we add another division in the Middle East, but the collapse of the Western Front, Deguo Breakthrough of the Somme River line, and a domestic anti‑war revolution. Compared with those, a Lanfang division planting a flag in the desert is low priority."

Wang Wenwu, thoughtful, said, "So you are testing their tolerance threshold?"

"We are delineating a new sphere of influence," Chen Feng corrected, "For a hundred years, the Middle East has been the chessboard of Yingguo, France and Russia. Now we must tell them: the board has changed, and the players should change as well."

He paused briefly and added, "Send a secret telegram to Zhao Dengyu, and add: after reaching Horde Sa, immediately dispatch a reconnaissance company westward, but do not enter the Sinai Peninsula. I need to know the British Army's specific deployments there, fortification strength, and troop morale. Remember—observe only, no engagement."

"Understood."

After Wang Wenwu left, Chen Feng stood alone before the map. His finger slid westward from Horde Sa, across the Sinai Peninsula, and landed on the Suez Canal. That artificial waterway connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and is one of the British Empire's most vulnerable arteries.

But now is not the time to touch it.

The train sped through the night, the rhythm of wheels striking the rails steady and powerful. Chen Feng knew that when the First Mechanized Infantry Division's red‑background golden‑dragon flag is raised at Horde Sa, Middle Eastern history will turn a new page.

And the first line of that page will be stepped out by eighteen thousand Lanfang soldiers in combat boots.

Dubai Army Base, 4 a. m.

The searchlights bathed the parade ground in bright white. Three hundred twenty trucks and sixty jeeps were arranged in four Columns, the idle engines' roar merging into a low‑frequency tsunami. Exhaust steamed in the light, mixing with the cool desert night air to form an eerie haze. (The jeeps are the American model equipped with a machine gun; a comrade could provide a picture.)

First Mechanized Infantry Division commander Major General Zhao Dengyu stood in front of the command vehicle, using the vehicle lights to check his pocket watch. The thirty‑eight‑year‑old officer had once been an officer in the Beiyang New Army; six years earlier he defected to Lanfang, rising from battalion commander to division commander. He was not tall, but his shoulders were broad.

"Report, Commander!" Chief of Staff ran forward, "The entire division has assembled! Actual strength is eighteen thousand four hundred twenty‑seven men, three hundred eighty‑four vehicles, thirty‑six 105 mm howitzers, one hundred eight mortars, five hundred fifty‑two machine guns. Ammunition base is three, rations for thirty days."

Zhao Dengyu closed the report cover: "Status of each regiment?"

"Regiment One and Regiment Two are at full strength; Regiment Three is missing one battalion—still in Borneo for training. The reconnaissance battalion is fully present, the engineer battalion carries bridge‑building equipment, and the signal company is equipped with twelve new field radios."

"What about the navy?"

"The 'Poyang Lake' and 'Dongting Lake' have completed loading at the pier, primarily heavy artillery shells, engineering machinery, prefabricated fortification components, and six months of supplies. The two ships will set sail at sunrise tomorrow, expected to reach Horde Sa's coast in five days."

Zhao Dengyu nodded, climbed onto the jeep's hood. The soldiers were silent as ravens, eighteen thousand pairs of eyes reflecting the lights in the darkness.

"Brothers!" his voice rang through the loudspeakers across the parade ground, "I know many of you have questions—where are we going? What are we doing? Why an urgent assembly in the dead of night?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over faces, some young, some weathered.

"I cannot tell you the specific mission for now; it is top secret. But I can tell you three things: First, the place we are heading to is twelve hundred kilometers from Dubai. Second, we will raise the national flag there and establish a permanent base. Third—"

He raised his voice: "—We may face the world's most powerful imperial army. Not maybe, but very likely."

A stir rose on the parade ground, but it quickly subsided. Two‑thirds of these soldiers were new recruits enlisted after Lanfang's founding, one‑third were veterans from the Far East. They had seen war and knew what "the world's most powerful imperial army" meant.

"Are you afraid?" Zhao Dengyu asked suddenly.

Silence.

"To be honest, I'm afraid," the division commander said calmly, "The British have battleships, aircraft, and veterans who have fought for decades. We are isolated in the desert, our supply line stretches a thousand kilometers, and reinforcements would take ten days to arrive."

He shifted tone: "But—years ago, when Lanfang was founded, what did we have? A desert, tens of thousands of starving people, and the whole world waiting to mock us. Now? We have world‑class warships, a rising industry, and forty million compatriots watching us from behind!"