Chapter 399 I Still Want to Invite Dad
The series of wars launched by the East African Kingdom in South Africa overwhelmed the Cape Colony from May to July. Due to the lag in transportation and information, the news did not reach Cape Town. London was already more than ten days late, so the war in East Africa along the southern defense line ended in June. It was only in July that Cape Town learned that Basutoland and the Zulu Kingdom were half-broken and the other was destroyed.
Cape Colonial Parliament.
"Gentlemen! This is the news that just came from the north of the Orange River on the front line. According to reports from the Natal Colony, a remnant of the Zulu Kingdom has fled to the Natal Colony, about half of it. Months ago, according to them, their king died in battle and the entire country was lost. Almost at the same time, the Germans attacked Basutoland. Maseru, the capital of Basutoland, was also occupied by the Germans. Basutoland was also occupied by the Germans. The Tolan people were forced to move south. Let’s hold a secret vote on whether to form a Cape Town responsible cabinet proposed in February this year,” said Ang Olson, Speaker of the Cape Colony Parliament.
Then the members of the Cape Town Parliament started voting fifteen minutes later.
"One vote against, two votes against... The result of this vote was a unanimous vote to reject the establishment of a responsible cabinet in Cape Town."
As Ang Olson announced the voting results, there was fierceness at the venue. To the applause, Cape Town's important step towards autonomy was completely scuppered by the invasion of South Africa by the East African Kingdom.
An Olsen: "Now, please tell us the current situation of the East African Kingdom's invasion of South Africa."
Henry Buckley was quite satisfied with the outcome of this meeting. The Germans helped themselves a lot, but they still had to severely criticize the East African Kingdom to make the MPs in Cape Town realize the seriousness of the problem.
Henry Buckley: "Gentlemen, I think you have all learned more or less about the invasion of South Africa by the East African Kingdom through various channels. Some gentlemen have even become involved in this war. There are various signs that the East African Kingdom is a very aggressive country, and it has the same warlike genes in its bones as Prussia
Beginning in March, the East African Kingdom suddenly launched an attack on the Transvaal Republic. When the Transvaal Republic was unprepared, it took less than a month to complete the occupation of the Transvaal Republic. Later in the evening, the Kingdom of East Africa invaded the Republic of Grigualand without any pretext for war. Almost at the same time, the Kingdom of Swaziland fell, and the main force of the Transvaal Republic was also defeated, followed by the Zulu Kingdom and the Kingdom of Basutoland.
In less than four months, the East African Kingdom eliminated three sovereign countries and occupied half of the territory of the Basutoland Kingdom. "
Henry Buckley's words made the MPs fall into deep thought, too quickly!
"Mr. Governor, I want to know where this East African kingdom came from? Why haven’t we heard of this country before? "
Henry Buckley: "This is a good question. It was because of the lag in our intelligence that we caused this major mistake. We did not realize the dangers of the East African Kingdom, which caused the East African Kingdom to run rampant in South Africa. , I can give you a brief introduction to the specific situation of the East African Kingdom.
The Kingdom of East Africa originated from the former East African colony and was established by the Germans in the Tanganyika region. The Germans began to operate in the Tanganyika region around 1865. The specific registration time is unknown, and how it developed in East Africa is also unknown. .
However, we learned from the Portuguese that in 1867, the Sultanate of Zanzibar became a protectorate of East Africa due to its failure in the war. East Africa therefore inherited the territory of the Sultanate of Zanzibar on the mainland. Today's The cities of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa were both incorporated into East Africa at that time.
At the same time, the Portuguese also faced fierce competition from the Germans. According to Portugal, the East African Kingdom deployed about a few thousand troops on its borders. At the same time, East Africa wiped out many indigenous countries. It is currently known that These include the Kingdom of Malawi, the Kingdom of Kazembe, the Kingdom of Matabele, etc. "
A member of Parliament interrupted: "Your Majesty the Governor, we just want to know how many troops East Africa has in South Africa now, how many more troops they can mobilize, and whether they have ambitions for the Cape Town Colony. What if they suddenly launched an attack on Cape Town. "
This question stopped Henry Buckley: "Well, how should I say these questions! According to our survey, it is estimated that the number of East African troops in South Africa should be between 30,000 and 50,000. ”
Before Henry Buckley could finish his words, he caused an uproar among the members of the Cape Town Parliament. "Oh my god! Thirty to fifty thousand people? This is enough to fight a low-intensity war in Europe."
"Cape Town (city) does not have such a large population this year , our census data in 1865 show that there were 15,118 whites, 13,065 coloreds and Asians, and 274 indigenous blacks in Cape Town at that time. Even if the surrounding suburbs are added now, it is probably only as many as the number of East African armies. Almost.”
“Why did the Germans from the East African Kingdom suddenly appear in South Africa? The government should explain this!”
“We don’t even have information about the East African Kingdom. It’s so ironic that we have to get it from the Portuguese.”
"We don't know the whole story, so we won't comment."
"Kill that bastard in front of you!"
...
"Silence, silence! Please listen to the governor to finish speaking!" Ang Olsen maintained order at the venue.
Henry Buckley also said at this time: "No need to panic. Although the Germans are very powerful, our British Empire is number one in the world. Under the protection of the British Empire, both Germany and Austria have to weigh it. Think about it, let alone the small East African Kingdom, but having said that, we still have to be wary of the ambitions of the East African Kingdom
For example, the Republic of Grigoria is already our territory in Cape Town, but the Kingdom of East Africa has not yet given us a reply to show its sincerity in returning the Republic of Grigoria. I think maybe the Kingdom of East Africa only takes Grigoria. As a small country, I don't care, but they are only separated by a river from our Kimberley masonry mine.
This is a great threat to us, but fortunately the East Africans do not know the existence of the Kimberley masonry mines, so they do not cross the river and take the masonry mines as their own,”
“Damn it, don’t we have the means to counter the Germans? Your Excellency the Governor! Where do the taxes we pay every year go? , why is there no response from our military? "
Henry Buckley: "Congressman, please pay attention to your words. We must note that only the navy is more effective in the local army in Cape Town, but the navy cannot go inland. To fight.
Secondly, our army, I believe you also know that it cannot be called an army, and the number is pitifully small. If you are willing to contribute all the mercenaries in your hands, we may be able to fight against the East African Kingdom. , or if everyone didn’t hold up military spending in the past few years, I believe London would send more troops. ”
Henry Buckley's proposal is of course impossible to pass. Don't think about it if you want money. Originally, everyone came to Cape Town to make a fortune. Cape Town is not a good place. They only farm and mine, and the income is not much. , the expenditure is still huge, how can we have the energy to support the construction of the army.
Furthermore, even if the military expenses are paid, it is still being profited by London. How many troops are sent here depends on London's conscience, and London's conscience is that it has no conscience. Everyone has always wanted autonomy, isn't it because they want to pay less taxes? Now because of the threat from the Germans, it would be considered progress if there was no trouble.
After all the quarreling, no one could come up with a better solution. In this case, we still need to ask for help from London. Anyway, Cape Town cannot deal with the East African Kingdom with its capabilities.
(End of this chapter)