Chapter 48: Chaos

  That night, Liu Qi moved into the palace of 'Saladin' Fortress. This place, as a symbol of Egypt, was inhabited by outsiders for the first time. Of course, Liu Qi was not an outsider to the great elder 'Amur'. Because Liu Qi was a messenger of God, specifically which god, neither Liu Qi nor the great elder 'Amur' knew. But it didn't stop Liu Qi from pretending to be a divine being, because under the cloak of religion, God is simply too mysterious. Every ruler uses the banner of religion to conceal their true intentions, and it's always effective. Because the people don't need to know the truth, and sometimes they don't even want to know the truth. They would rather believe in those elaborate lies than face that bitter reality.

  As for this aspect, the elder 'Amur' is a master. More than 80 years have made 'Amur' a seasoned veteran. All problems are well understood, and hiding Liu Qi's identity is not a big deal at all. No one dares to question what 'Amur' says or does, nor does anyone want to oppose him. Because 'Amur' is not only an elder in the church, but also a descendant of 'Saladin'. Opposing 'Amur' would be blasphemy against 'Saladin'.

  So the Egyptians wouldn't oppose, nor would the British, because Saladin's reputation was too good. Saladin wasn't just a hero of Islam, but also seen as an exemplar of chivalry in the West. In memory of this romantic hero, the King of Prussia gifted a marble sarcophagus to Saladin's tomb in Damascus. As a descendant of such a hero, Britain naturally showed great respect, so 'Amr' was treated with courtesy in Cairo. Even British soldiers would salute 'Amr', which was actually saluting the heroic Saladin.

  The family of the great elder 'Amur' is a direct descendant of 'Saladin', who is also a historical figure. The other nine elders are some branches of Saladin's descendants, but they are not as prominent as Amur's family. That's why Amur became the great elder and has a higher status than the other nine elders.

  It was a sleepless night for Liu Qi, but let's put that aside for now. Let's talk about the poor Mongol king instead.

  At the moment when the headquarters of the British Eighth Army in Alam Halfa was about to be occupied, Montgomery hastily escaped from the camp with his chief of staff, de Guingand, his stepson and several guards, and ran back to Cairo overnight. The more than 200 kilometers in the desert were not on the highway, but not only bumpy, but also had to detour constantly. Moreover, it was dark, cloudy and moonless, and they didn't dare to run fast on the road. They arrived in Cairo until the afternoon of the next day.

  At this time, Monger was not aware that his command center had been occupied, and his deputy chief of staff and intelligence minister had both been captured. Monger also did not believe that the Germans could take down 'Ahleman' in just one day. Yes, without heavy weapons support, who can have a good way to deal with those steel-reinforced concrete fortifications? So Monger's first thing to do after arriving in Cairo was to order his men to contact Ahleman's command center, but no one answered. Then Monger ordered his subordinates to keep trying to contact the command center without interruption. After that, Monger went to take a bath and eat something.

  To be honest, this time from 'Ahli' rushed back to Cairo really made Meng Ke exhausted. Sitting in a bumpy car for 20 hours continuously, no one would feel comfortable, let alone Meng Ke was already 55 years old. After taking a bath, Meng Ke took a nap on the bed, and this short rest only lasted two hours. But it was these two hours that left a deep impression on Meng Ke for his whole life.

  When Mongke walked into his reserve command center in Cairo, the sky had darkened again. Mongke found that the highest officer here was a lieutenant. The other high-ranking officers did not know where they went. Even Gan Gang disappeared. Without getting angry, Mongke directly asked the officer, "Where are all the people? Where is General Gan?"

  "General, it's now dinner time. All the officers have gone to the dining hall for dinner. Lieutenant General Kang also just left." The lieutenant replied respectfully.

  "Oh." Meng Ge's expression slightly improved. He continued to ask, "Have you contacted 'A Lai Man'?"

  "Report to General, we haven't made contact yet, but Major Ganning ordered us to keep trying. As soon as we get any news, we'll notify you immediately."

  "What reports are there from the troops on the front line? How is the progress of the battle?" Meng Guo asked again.

  "This...". The lieutenant hesitated for a moment. Because the communication of the frontline troops was directly with the "Ahreman" command center. In order to keep it confidential, the British army did not reveal the combat effectiveness to the outside world before the command center made it public. Therefore, others could not understand the real situation on the battlefield at all. This is to find a solution for some special situations. Moreover, although they had a 2-level password to contact the frontline troops, no one could contact the frontline without the order of their superiors. From this point, we can see the stiffness and rigidity of the British command system.

  However, Meng Ge saw that the lieutenant did not respond and also knew in his heart that he didn't ask again. Instead, he stood in front of the giant map in the middle of the hall, staring blankly.

  Mongol's victories have always relied on accurate intelligence to ensure victory. As a professional soldier with decades of military experience, Mongol deeply understands the principle of "knowing oneself and knowing others, one hundred battles without danger". However, these past few days have been too chaotic - first, the Indians finished their curry and refused to go clear mines. Then, the Italian navy launched a massive attack on American transport ships, forcing the Mediterranean fleet that was originally blockading Rommel's supply lines to chase after them. Isn't this clearly a "luring the tiger out of the mountain" tactic?

  What Monty could not accept was that the Desert Air Force, originally assigned to fight with the Eighth Army, had been drawn into a battle belonging to the Mediterranean Air Command. Although both were aimed at striking at the Axis lines of communication, without air support the Eighth Army was like a tiger which has had half its teeth pulled out, its power greatly discounted.

  However, all of this is still acceptable, at least Rommel will not have any air force. In addition, the battle report received by Montgomery some time ago mentioned that Rommel's tanks are almost gone. So Montgomery boldly ordered his armored mechanical troops to attack Rommel's forces. But judging from Alamein's situation, it is likely that Rommel dug a hole for these troops to drill into, and now it's not good.

  The command center is out of contact. Meng Ge was very certain that the command center would not be in danger for a while. But it's better to be safe than sorry, after all. For some reason, Meng Ge had a bad premonition in his heart, and his eyelids kept twitching. Although Meng Ge knew this was due to lack of rest.

  Montgomery had no intelligence on the front lines and couldn't judge how the battle was going. The feeling of being in the dark made Montgomery very uncomfortable. Thinking about this, Montgomery steeled himself and decided to use the backup command center to contact the troops on the front line. He told them to stop attacking, as long as the troops were still there and the tanks were still intact, Rommel could wait. Although the secrecy level in Cairo was not high, intelligence would soon be leaked out, but he couldn't worry about that now. In addition, he had to send troops to reinforce the 'Ahreman' area, which was also very important, the key was to find that despicable German small team and capture them all, then execute them by firing squad.

  Meng Ge didn't hesitate any longer, turned around and said to the lieutenant "Lieutenant, go get all the officers from the command center right away, no matter if they're eating or sleeping, or even on duty."

  "Yes sir, General!" The lieutenant replied and turned around to run out.

  Not much effort was required, and the officers of the backup command post walked into the combat room with a whoosh. Gan Gang walked to Meng Ge's side and looked at Meng Ge with a puzzled expression.

  "I hereby declare the following orders as the highest commanding officer here: First, immediately dispatch an armored regiment to 'Ahreiman' to assist the original command personnel in eliminating enemy infiltrators. Second, before re-establishing contact with 'Ahreiman', the backup command center will use 2-level communication encryption to directly contact frontline troops. Third, all direct subordinates and staff officers are on duty for 24 hours, and are not allowed to rest until the battle situation is clear. Fourth, increase vigilance in the Cairo area to prevent our intelligence from being stolen by enemy spies. Fifth, report any situations to Major General Gankan, Chief of Staff. That's all, you will act immediately."

  Everyone hurriedly followed Meng Ge's orders to issue commands. In no time, an armored regiment from Cairo set off towards 'Ah Layman'. The two army-level command centers on the front line also made contact, and according to the reported battle situation, each unit advanced smoothly after breaking through the minefield. However, the intelligence from the army-level command center was not the latest battle situation, but rather a summary of the battle situations of various divisions and brigades from the previous day. And since all units were on the move during the attack, communication was not very smooth.

  "Get in touch with the most advanced troops immediately, I want to know the specific situation. Whether Rommel is fleeing or retreating in an organized manner, and also directly order each armored unit to stop attacking, wait in place for the infantry to follow up, cover up and then start attacking again." Monger said.

  "Yes, General," replied the operations staff officer.

  At this time, a commotion came from outside the headquarters. A staff officer rushed in from outside, "It's not good, General..."

  Looking at the flustered military officer, Monger's tone was not harmonious, loudly scolding "What's the panic, have the Germans arrived? And what about maintaining some dignity as an imperial officer?"

  The staff officer hastily stood up straight and loudly said, "General, just received the latest battle report from the front line. The 1st and 10th Armored Divisions have both encountered German elite armored forces. A fierce battle has broken out, and the German tanks are unlike any we've met before - their firepower is astonishingly strong, firing 75mm shells. Our army's casualties are severe."

  The news pierced into Monger's heart like a sharp sword, suddenly draining all the strength from his body. Monger thudded onto the chair, staring blankly with both eyes. General Gan hastily handed him a cup of water and then ordered the staff officer, "Order all units on the front line to immediately switch to defense at all costs and stop the German counterattack."

  At this time, another staff officer rushed in and shouted loudly, "It's bad, General."

  This time it was Lieutenant General Gangan's turn, who also scolded him like Monger earlier, "What's the panic? Have the Germans arrived or something? And what happened to your imperial officer demeanor?"

  "No, General, it's just the wind."

  "What wind?" Gang asked in confusion.

  "A sandstorm has blown up outside, visibility is extremely low, and the reinforcements we sent to support 'Ah Lai Man' are all trapped in the sandstorm. Due to the sandstorm, our communication with the front-line troops has also been cut off."

  "What's taking so long? Still standing there doing nothing?" Gan Gang also got a bit anxious.

  At this time, M?ngke stood up and walked to the veranda outside the command center. Only to see that the sky and earth in front of Cairo were a piece of murky yellow, with wind and clouds surging. Seeing this, M?ngke's heart was hot, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out from his mouth. His body thudded to the ground.

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  Transition chapter, one more chapter.

  Reborn in the Three Kingdoms as Lü Bu