Chapter 384: Accepting orders in danger
“Asshole, you still have the nerve to come back alive!” Little Pretorius slapped Wiggins in the face who had escaped from East Africa.
As the President of the Transvaal Republic, Pretorius Jr. should have retired from the position of President of the Transvaal Republic this year, but the sudden invasion of East Africa made him return to the throne. Stay in this position.
As the eldest son of Andres Pretorius, the leader who led the Boers to complete the Great Migration, Pretorius Jr.’s prestige among the Boers is unrivaled. He served as the leader of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State at the same time and promoted the merger of the two countries, but he failed because the methods were too rough or the spoils were unevenly distributed.
Wiggins had a bright red slap mark on his face, and he felt a slight burning pain, but facing little Pretorius, he did not dare to take a breath.
"Your Excellency, this is all a conspiracy by the East Africans. They did not tell me that this letter was a declaration of war, and they handed it to me casually. This was obviously a deliberate attempt to paralyze me and make me careless. Then they attacked the Transvaal while I was delivering the letter, so the East Africans were very ambitious, and they planned all this!" Wiggins said.
“Huh, it’s useless to say more now, because your negligence has at least cost us several days of reaction time. Now the East Africans are heading towards Pretoria at high speed from the banks of the Limpopo River. Come, but we have no way to mobilize the army to stop it. Such a huge responsibility cannot be dismissed with a simple East African conspiracy!"
Although little Pretorius now wants to kill Wiggins! The guy who failed to achieve anything but failed was dragged out and shot, but he didn't do that. In the final analysis, he planned and secretly supported the Ndebele people's rebellion. As a result, not only did he not cause any losses to East Africa, but he left a clue. , However, the East African Kingdom is so careless that it invaded the Transvaal just because of this incident. In any case, it must bear the main responsibility for this incident.
Just as Pretorius was thinking about how to deal with Wiggins, the door of the President's office was pushed open, "Report to Your Excellency the President! The latest news, the East Africans have captured Petersburg, and now It’s less than a hundred miles away from Pretoria!”
After hearing this, little Pretorius was shocked and said: “Asshole, when did Petersburg fall? And the East and the Zulus? When will the main force of the battle return to Pretoria? ”
"Your Excellency, it was three days ago that Petersburg fell. Our people had to kill two horses to get the news back as quickly as possible. As for our troops, they have no news yet. They are probably being captured. The Zulu was entangled and couldn't get out for a while. "
"Asshole!" Little Pretorius slapped his hands on the table angrily. After calming down, little Pretorius thought, He said to the senior government officials with a sullen face: "Is there any way you can stop the East Africans?"
The important officials of the Transvaal Republic government in the office looked at each other.
"Your Excellency, with all due respect, our Transvaal is like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in front of East Africa. Especially after the fall of Petersburg, there is no barrier in front of Pretoria. This matter The main thing is that we underestimated the ambition of the East Africans. We should have deployed more troops on the south bank of the Limpopo River, otherwise we would not be as passive as we are today."
"Yes, Your Excellency, Petersburg. Those militiamen are almost the only troops we can use besides the troops fighting the Zulus. Now they have become prisoners. Now it is too late to carry out another round of mobilization from the Transvaal Republic. The East Africans cannot Will give us this time.”
The officials were talking about it, but no one could give an answer. Little Pretorius almost chewed his teeth after looking at the food and wine bags in front of him.
"Enough! If you can't come up with a plan, just follow my arrangements. The Transvaal Republic cannot be thrown away. It is the hard work of my father and even all Boers. It is the homeland of us Boers. Now It was definitely impossible to organize a counterattack in the Transvaal. I decided to send people to the Orange Free State to seek reinforcements, while we had to hold on to Pretor Leah, fight the East Africans to the bitter end!”
Although the Orange Free State is not as large as the Transvaal Republic, its current population is much larger than that of the Transvaal. This is all thanks to Due to the development of the Kimberley diamond mines and the fact that the Orange Free State was closer to Cape Town, the first stop for the Cape Boers heading north was the Orange Free State.
Now the East African troops have invaded the Transvaal in three groups, and most of the country has been lost. There are only two ways to stop the resistance, and that is to call back the troops who fought against the Zulus and look for brothers. Orange Free State Help. The first one is obviously too late. After Pretorius Jr. received the news of the attack on the Transvaal Republic in East Africa, he urged the main force of the Boers to return for reinforcements almost every day. However, Pretoria and the Zulu Kingdom The junction is far away and it will take at least a week for the news to arrive.
Even if there is no interference from the Zulus, it would be impossible for them to return to Pretoria within ten days and a half. This is still an ideal situation. If it is not ideal, the main force will be held back by the Zulus and will never be able to attack. Withdraw from the front lines. The Transvaal Republic, where the main force was not present, fought against the East Africans, just like a man without arms, who could only be beaten unilaterally.
"Your Excellency, there is no better way now. However, you can only go to the Orange Free State to ask for help. Only your prestige can unite all the Boers. Let’s retake the homeland of our Boers together.”
This is not a compliment, but a fact. As a descendant of the Boer heroes, Pretorius Jr. can enjoy what his father left behind, just like Napoleon III. As a political asset, the old Pretorius was the God of War in the eyes of the Boers, a man who could continuously lead the Boers to victory.
Little Pretorius could only sigh and said: "Well, it is true that only I can handle this matter, but the government will also accompany me south, and we will continue to preside over the war against the East African invaders in the south. Resistance, but Pretoria, as the capital and military center, must leave one person to resist the East African invasion. Who among you will stay?”
This was a proposition, and all the Boer officials retreated. At one point, it was impossible to hold Pretoria. At least according to the news returned from Petersburg, the strength displayed by the East African Army should not be underestimated.
"Your Excellency, let me do it!" At this time, a voice came. When everyone saw it, it turned out to be Wiggins!
“You?”
“Yes, President, I know that holding Pretoria is a luxury, but the invasion of East Africa itself was caused by my mistake, so I I am willing to bear the consequences of this, but when I think of being shot by my own people, it is better to fight to the end with the East Africans and die on the battlefield, so I beg the president to give me this opportunity!" Wiggins said.
Little Pretorius did not answer Wiggins, but asked everyone again: "No one wants to stay in Pretoria!"
No one answered .
"Oh, okay! Wiggins will leave this opportunity to you. In fact, you don't have to defend Pretoria, as long as you can inflict heavy damage on the East Africans."
Wiggins shook his head and said: "I have made up my mind to live and die with Pretoria."
No one doubts that Wei Wiggins actually sent Wiggins to serve as a military adviser to the Ndebele people. It was because of Wiggins' military ability that he was an expert at fighting the Zulus. Although the Ndebele people with whom he served as an adviser were defeated by East Africans, Defeated, but this does not blame Wiggins, after all, he is only a consultant, not the real commander.
(End of this chapter)