Inside the Third Fleet's headquarters, Commander Lomachi and Lieutenant General Plato studied a map of the Middle Eastern region.
The Middle Eastern map was immensely complicated. There were a great many countries alone, and tribes were countless as the hairs of an ox. The powerful ones included Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia; the middling ones were Nejd, Saudi Arabia's tribal territory, and Oman; the weak ones were Bahrain and Qatar. The rest could almost be ignored.
"What about Persia?" Lieutenant General Plato selected Persia as the primary target and explained, "The Empire's relationship with Persia is ordinary, and Persia is not particularly strong. Moreover, Persia has the longest coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, as well as many islands for us to choose from. We do not necessarily have to occupy it like the Northern Bay Territory. Leasing would also work, so long as it meets our current needs."
Leasing was an extremely common method of acquiring overseas military bases or colonies. Some overseas military bases or colonies of countries such as Britain and France had come about this way, so East Africa, being imperialist as well, was quite familiar with this model.
However, East Africa had previously placed greater emphasis on directly sending troops to occupy territory. Most of East Africa's overseas colonies had been acquired through this simple and brutal method. Only in the Far East or South America did East Africa occasionally employ leasing.
Commander Lomachi frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "Persia is indeed a good choice, but Persia is, after all, a major power. Its relationship with the Empire has also gradually deepened over recent years. We can place it among the backup options."
Persia had always been a major power in the Middle East. Apart from the