Emperor's Armed Forces in the Warring States

Chapter 25 - Egyptian War of Independence

This will be the beginning of a new chapter.

- Yamaga

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25-1

"This is..."

"By all rights, it's part of the old muzzle-loading rifles that were supposed to be sold from Japan to the Ottoman Empire."

In early March 1568, Naoie Ukita and Tōkichirō Kinoshita were in secret discussions.

"We have received a request from the Ottoman Empire, and this year Japan is to sell 5.000 muzzle-loading rifles. What we have here is 10 of them."

"Why only ten?"

"It goes without saying. The Suez Canal guards were attacked. This attack is clear evidence of Ottoman Empire involvement."

"I see, but won't anyone find out?"

"The lower levels of the Ottoman military's logistics units are no strangers to the diversion of weapons and supplies. While the higher-ups publicly punish such actions severely, they tend to turn a blind eye to minor infractions. So, if it's just around ten rifles, it will likely be suspected that they were smuggled at the lower levels, without much investigation within the Ottoman Empire's military," Naoie answered carefully in response to Tōkichirō's question

Tōkichirō pondered. Certainly, in the Ottoman Empire, bribery was considered an essential expense if one wanted to accomplish anything. In such a society, it was inevitable that administration and military organizations would become corrupt.

While Tōkichirō was lost in thought, Naoie continued speaking.

"We will deliver these ten rifles to the appropriate Bedouin tribe and have them attack the Suez Canal guards. Naturally, they will retaliate, and most of the Bedouin tribe members who participated in the attack will manage to escape. However, we will leave behind these muzzle-loading rifles and some bodies. Now, what kind of story can be spun from this?"

"I see."

While offering intermittent agreements, Tōkichirō began to glimpse the subtleties of Naoie's scheme. The only ones who should possess muzzle-loading rifles in this area were the Suez Canal guard units formed by Japan and the regular Ottoman Empire army. If the Suez Canal guards were attacked, it could potentially be attributed to the regular Ottoman Empire army.

Of course, the Ottoman Empire would likely claim that these rifles were smuggled. However, it would be impossible to determine where they were smuggled from, especially considering that Japan was actually the source of these weapons. Therefore, no matter how much the Ottoman Empire investigated, they would reach a dead end, and they would have no choice but to shift the blame, speculating that Japan was the source of these rifles.

Accusations of being the victim of a staged event by the Ottoman Empire would not be tolerated by many Japanese residents in Egypt. This might trigger the Egyptian independence plan. Even before that, the fact that the Suez Canal guards had been attacked by the regular Ottoman Empire army could escalate the situation. Tōkichirō was impressed by Naoie's cunning plan.

"By the way, do you have any connections with the Bedouin tribes?"

"Of course, I do."

In response to Naoie's question, Tōkichirō answered without hesitation.

Building the Suez Canal meant that a significant amount of land would be used for the canal. Much of the land to be used as the canal was considered barren for agricultural use. However, it was precisely because it was such land that the Bedouin tribes had been using it for grazing livestock and as a thoroughfare. Tōkichirō had often negotiated with the Bedouin tribes for this reason, and he had established a complete friendship with several clans within the Bedouin tribes, even providing personnel to the Suez Canal guards.