The gunfire in Cairo was intense, though the actual "battle" was quite average. For every soldier of the Farouk Dynasty who fell in urban combat, ten or more would turn and flee.

All the great powers had their own military pension systems, and these systems were generally functioning. While the Farouk Dynasty also spoke of pensions, the soldiers didn't believe a word of it. Ordinary Egyptians took up arms to get a paycheck and a meal; for that meager wage, there was no reason to throw away their lives.

On July 5, 1943, after less than eight hours of "fierce fighting," Nasser's troops stormed the royal palace. They found only a few scavengers attempting to loot property; from the King down to his ministers, the Farouk government had long since vanished. Only the lingering scent of water-pipe tobacco in the private quarters and parlors remained.

That night, Nasser moved quickly to occupy key positions in Cairo and sent telegrams to garrison commanders throughout Egypt: "The Egyptian Revolutionary Government, on the basis of reclaiming the Suez Canal, will establish an independent Egyptian Republic with full sovereignty!"

Before receiving this telegram, military strongmen across Egypt had already learned of the Free Officers' uprising. Soon, they received intelligence that the King had fled Cairo and that most of the young officers in the Cairo military academies had joined Nasser.

The regional military bigwigs had no intention of letting these brash young upstarts take power. Some had already ordered their troops to prepare and contacted friendly colleagues, planning to find the fleeing King Farouk, bring him under control, and then march on Cairo to seize real power.

However, when Nasser's telegram arrived, these strongmen immediately became cautious. The condition Nasser set for the new state was "reclaiming the Suez Canal." The canal was the vital waterway between Asia and Europe; whoever controlled it possessed a powerful voice in the world. Even when the British propped up the puppet Farouk Dynasty and nominally handed most of Egypt over to them, they had kept the canal firmly under British control.

If Nasser truly could take back the canal, it meant he had not only joined the Chinese side but had gained their full support. The regional strongmen felt that if the British were being soundly beaten by China, they themselves certainly wouldn't be a match.

They immediately halted their plans to attack Cairo and instead dispatched envoys to Nasser to communicate.

The bigwigs within Cairo also received the news. Some were skeptical, while others sent messengers to probe how much credibility Nasser's telegrams and public announcements actually held.

By this time, Nasser was repeatedly emphasizing to the officers gathered around him: "I, Nasser, can surely reclaim the Suez Canal!"

Aside from those who had followed him from the beginning, the other young officers were also somewhat skeptical. Reclaiming the Suez Canal was a claim so monumental in Egypt that few even dared to boast of it. Seeing Nasser's resolute expression, even the wavering officers couldn't help but think he truly had Chinese backing.

To these vacillating officers, as long as the canal could be recovered, Egypt's reliance on China didn't represent a sell-out of sovereignty; rather, it meant Egypt had latched onto a powerful "thigh."

Clinging to one of the world's strongest thighs—China—was not a negative for Nasser; it was a major positive!

After pacifying the officers, Nasser finally had time to rest. A twenty-five-year-old could easily go a day or two without sleep. Wearing his uniform, Nasser leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Although he appeared unfailingly resolute before those outside his faction, Nasser was internally quite anxious when alone. He had indeed been in contact with WPLA (World People's Liberation Army) special envoys for over two years and had received their promises.

Nasser even knew that most people couldn't distinguish between the WPLA and China. The general view was that the WPLA was a subordinate of China, or even that the WPLA *was* the Chinese military.

The WPLA did indeed have very close ties with China, but the two were merely in the same camp at this stage. Nasser knew very well that a WPLA promise was not the same as a promise from the Chinese government.

While he was reflecting on potential betrayals, a comrade strode in. Nasser opened his eyes to see two men at the door. One was wearing a common Egyptian robe and possessed a dignified bearing—it was Ibrahim, the WPLA liaison.

As China's global influence had grown in recent years, some Egyptian intellectual youth had gone there to study, seeking a path for Egypt's liberation. With the establishment of the WPLA, most Egyptian youth willing to join the cause of liberation had signed up. Ibrahim Hashim was one of them.

Nasser hurried forward to embrace him. Initially, Nasser had felt some internal reservation toward Ibrahim because Hashim was a descendant of Muhammad and came from a noble Arab family. Although in this era, Arab nobility wasn't what it used to be, Nasser came from a common background and his radical thoughts made him look unfavorably upon the decaying nobility.

Beyond the issue of birth, Nasser himself was not fond of communism, while Ibrahim Hashim was a committed Communist. This added an ideological conflict.

But now, Nasser couldn't care about such things. Ibrahim's appearance meant Nasser could confirm the WPLA's promises. What Nasser needed most right now was a clear commitment and firm support.

After the embrace, Nasser asked: "My brother Ibrahim, what kind of surprise have you brought me this time?"

"No surprise," Ibrahim replied with a smile.

Nasser's face changed slightly at this, and his smile vanished. He had imagined that at his most vulnerable moment, China and the WPLA would surely make various demands to constrain him. The British and the Egyptians all played politics this way; Nasser was prepared for it. He waited silently.

Ibrahim continued: "Congratulations on the success of the uprising. I have come to discuss with the Revolutionary Military Government how to implement the items we discussed previously."

Nasser's mood soared from the depths to the heights. Ibrahim might be from a noble family and a Communist—two things Nasser disliked—but in their dealings, Ibrahim's style was different from other Arabs. He never joked at work; in fact, he was so precise and methodical that he didn't seem like an Arab at all.

As Nasser expected, every topic Ibrahim raised went straight to the heart of the matter: how to establish a provisional government, how to organize military units, and how to prevent the organization from being eroded by old forces, ensuring the fruits of the revolution weren't usurped.

Initially, Nasser patiently described his preparations. But at this stage, he had only 1,200 truly usable troops. There were 214 newly joined officers whose lists were still being compiled. Those new officers could supposedly lead between 2,400 and 4,000 soldiers, but their names hadn't been recorded yet either. Other work hadn't even begun.

So Nasser simply stopped discussing those details and asked bluntly: "My brother Ibrahim, when will China announce its recognition of Egypt's reclamation of the Suez Canal?"

"The WPLA will announce tomorrow that it recognizes the Suez Canal should belong to Egypt. The day after, the Chinese government will also recognize it," Ibrahim Hashim replied calmly.

Nasser and the comrades of the revolutionary government beside him all breathed a sigh of relief. Their force of 1,200 was insufficient to control Egypt; the reason the various factions currently dared not move was entirely due to "pulling the tiger's skin to make a banner"—by creating an image of Nasser representing Chinese interests, they had successfully bluffed the regional forces. Ibrahim's assurance of support by tomorrow meant Nasser's influence was secured.

With this promise, Nasser immediately proposed a thought in line with Egyptian tradition: "Where does the WPLA intend to station troops in Egypt?"

If a Chinese person were to ask a foreign power where they wanted to station troops in China, they would be tried as a traitor. In Egypt, only a truly capable politician could ask such a question.

Ibrahim produced a map and pointed to several locations at both ends of the canal and west of Alexandria. As Nasser reflected, Ibrahim explained: "The WPLA does not intend to further expand the Mediterranean theater at this stage. Our main strength will be committed to the offensive pushing north from Southern Africa."

Having said that, Ibrahim asked Nasser: "Do you have any thoughts on this?"

Nasser instinctively felt this was to his advantage. If the Chinese military used Egypt as a base for an offensive against Europe, they would inevitably strengthen their control over Egypt. At that point, Nasser might become Egypt's representative, but it was also possible that someone more powerful would replace him.

If China didn't expand the war for now, Nasser could use the WPLA to solidify his own strength.

Of course, there were risks. Someone in Egypt would surely want to become a Chinese proxy. To say Nasser wasn't afraid would be a joke. But Nasser believed that as long as he controlled the Suez Canal, he could unite the administrative clerks within the Egyptian system around him. These people were decent in number and ability and could quickly get the Cairo region running for him.

Cairo was the heart of Egypt; by mastering it, Nasser could compete with other regional forces.

In their discussions and planning, the morning of July 6th arrived unknowingly.

By this time, the WPLA had completely surrounded the five British divisions in the Canal Zone. As in previous battles, the side with the powerful air force—the Chinese—had won. Even though the units had carried only light weapons during their rapid movement, airdrops had provided the infantry with enough weapons to destroy British armored units.

Even if the WPLA soldiers had only mastered the basics of Chinese light infantry tactics, it was enough to crush the British attacks. Furthermore, over fifty Type 59 tanks had already been unloaded at the WPLA landing site and were heading for the northern end of the canal to handle any British counter-attacks.

More tanks and APCs were landing. By July 9th at the latest, they could deliver a killing blow to the encircled British and ensure the WPLA didn't suffer excessive losses in the battle of annihilation.

At 10:00 AM local time on July 6th, WPLA headquarters issued a telegram informing the world: the WPLA supports the Egyptian people in reclaiming the Suez Canal and considers ownership of the canal to belong to the Egyptian people.

The Churchill cabinet and the Roosevelt government took it relatively well. After all, the focus for the U.S. and Britain was now North America and Western Africa. Once China occupied Egypt, the ones first in the line of fire were Southern and Eastern Europe, along with Turkey.

The news of China occupying Egypt had a far greater impact on the German and Soviet governments than on the U.S. or Britain. The CPSU Politburo felt terrible; if China seized the Suez Canal, they could head straight for the Black Sea.

The Soviet Union had an outlet on the Black Sea; looking at the map, another transportation line was about to be opened between China and the USSR. From a geopolitical perspective, China was about to enter the Eastern European region that the Soviets sought to control. From now on, the pressure the Soviet Union had to bear became even greater.

But the Soviet battlefield situation was poor. After the winter of 1942, the German army had begun its summer offensive. The Soviets had hoped to recapture Stalingrad during the winter but had failed. Now they could only maintain the Volga line to prevent the Germans from cutting the transport routes between the USSR and the Baku oil fields. This meant the Soviet Union had no strength to spare for Eastern Europe.

China, however, could strike into Eastern Europe. And now there was Hungary, which shared blood ties with China. If China truly broke through the Black Sea straits and entered Bulgaria and Romania, Hungary might just dare to turn on Nazi Germany.

While China entering Hungary would mean a massive increase in pressure on Germany—allowing the Soviets to counter-attack—the Soviet plan to enter Eastern Europe would be thoroughly shattered.

Compared to the Soviet Union, the pressure on the German high command was even greater. China and the USSR were in an anti-fascist alliance—a war alliance against Germany and Italy. China seizing Eastern Europe at most meant the Soviet plan for a Western European buffer zone failed. But Germany would have to face a combined assault from both China and the USSR.

Hitler was in a state of high agitation. Inside the Wolf's Lair, he shouted at his marshals, declaring that he would make the Chinese know the strength of Germanic warriors and make China re-experience the "glory" of the German army during the Boxer Rebellion.

But after all the shouting, Hitler made no substantive decision to deploy troops to the Mediterranean. When Field Marshal Keitel relayed Mussolini's request for German reinforcements, Hitler replied unpleasantly: "Tell Mussolini that I have already allowed Italian units to leave the Soviet Union and return to Italy; that has already affected the war in the East."

Keitel, who had no fondness for the Italians, continued to relay the requests professionally. "Führer, Italy requests that we provide more weapons."

Hitler's expression soured further. "We have already provided so much machinery and equipment. I believe the Italians are capable of using that equipment to enhance their own combat capacity."

This wasn't just an excuse. After the Battle for Western Europe ended, Nazi Germany had looted a vast amount of machinery from France as reparations. This had been planned before the war; Germany had originally thought French equipment wouldn't be as good as their own and that since they had already invested heavily in domestic industry, they didn't lack machinery. The real reason for the looting was to weaken French production so that the resulting market scarcity could be filled by German goods.

This was an economic solution to warfare: the purpose was to eliminate "overcapacity" and balance supply and demand. The French market was vital to Germany. Therefore, the looted equipment might have just been destroyed.

But after defeating France, the Germans discovered that the Chinese equipment used in France was of high precision and quality. Germany could replace its own machines with Chinese ones to produce higher-quality components, so the looting became very important.

After a massive round of looting, enterprises in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia were all using Chinese equipment. To win over allies, Germany gave a large amount of the replaced equipment to members of its bloc; even Italy received quite a bit. Feedback gathered by Germany showed that industrial capacity in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Italy had all significantly improved after receiving these machines.

So when Italy requested aid, Hitler still hoped they could solve their own problems.

Marshal Keitel, having completed his task, said no more. Hitler had vented his emotions; with a left hand that trembled involuntarily, he removed his glasses and ordered the meeting room: "Meeting adjourned!"

As soon as the meeting ended, an adjutant came to report: "Führer, Heydrich reporting as ordered."

Hearing that his favored successor had arrived, Hitler felt much more relaxed and had him brought in. Soon, the handsome Heydrich appeared before Hitler, led by the adjutant. Upon seeing Hitler, Heydrich immediately raised his right arm in salute. "Heil Hitler!"

Hitler had Heydrich sit across from him and asked about the situation in Poland. Heydrich brought nothing but good news. Through his efforts over the past two years, the local economic order in Poland had improved comprehensively, and the efficiency of human labor in the region had greatly increased.

Currently, supply levels had increased by 43%. Most notably, a large number of Polish engineers and laborers had been used to convert over 4,000 kilometers of railway within the Soviet Union. Trains departing from Germany could now reach 700 kilometers into Soviet territory without changing. Furthermore, a communication system surrounding material transport had been completed, and rail transport efficiency had more than doubled.

Every time he spoke with Heydrich, Hitler felt very reassured and happy. As a successor, Heydrich's ability was beyond doubt; while generals and bureaucrats only knew how to demand supplies and complain, Heydrich was constantly solving problems and pushing Germany forward.

Perhaps because he was relaxed, Hitler couldn't help but pour out his grievances to Heydrich. "Heydrich, to this day I still do not understand one thing. Why does He Rui hate Germany so much? Why does he hate me? For more than a decade, he has been targeting us. This obsession has reached a pathological level.

"We in Germany are not a colonial power; we would even welcome the overthrow of colonialism! Yet He Rui still targets us. Is he mad?"

Although Heydrich had his own views, he replied firmly: "Führer, He Rui is a madman. It is the great responsibility of the Third Reich to use all its strength to eliminate this madman for the sake of the world!"

Hitler gave a bitter smile at this and finally nodded. 州。