Chapter 402 Compromise
"The shells are loaded!"
"Aim at the target point, prepare, release!"
Boom... followed by a loud noise and billowing black smoke Spurting out from the barrel, the huge recoil caused the artillery to shake off the ground directly, stirring up a burst of dust, and the target made of temporary mud on the bank of the Fal River was instantly blown to pieces.
But this is not over yet. The third brigade is equipped with a total of eleven artillery pieces, which is the entire property of the entire 511th Division. As the first artillery fires, other artillery pieces also point at the destroyed targets in turn. Open the fire and start kneading its body. When the dust passes, the pile of earth and rocks that was originally more than one meter high has completely turned into a deep pit.
"The Third Cavalry Company attacks!"
More than two hundred war horses galloped in the open field. As the speed gradually increased, the cavalry took out their Dresser carbines and quickly completed the ammunition filling on the horseback. Then he made the war horse stop suddenly, took aim, and fired in the direction of the Fal River. The movements were done in one go without any pause.
Then, each unit of the third brigade conducted a series of tactical demonstrations according to the fantasy enemy deployed by the pre-war headquarters, advancing, retreating, and counterattacking. The units cooperated with each other, showing the coordination among the units of the third brigade. Ability, the exercise lasted for four hours, and finally ended after the scorching sun came out at noon and the meal horn sounded.
The British, Boers and natives on the other side of the river have also been watching the good show prepared by the East African Kingdom for them.
The British mine owners stood in the distance watching with telescopes and discussed the significance of this exercise in the East African Kingdom.
"Oh, myGod! The Germans are demonstrating against us!"
"But you have to admit that they do appear to be a well-trained army on the surface. No wonder the Germans can quickly complete many places in South Africa. attack, and ultimately won the victory."
"If it weren't for the yellow men in the German army, I would really suspect that these Germans were the Prussian army disguised as the army of the Kingdom of East Africa, and then fought with the Boers and the Zulu Kingdom. Fight."
"Gentlemen, what should we do now? Does the East African Kingdom really intend to attack Kimberley?"
"We must not let the Germans cross the river, but who can stop it? The Germans? Their military strength is very important. Even if the Royal Navy from Cape Town comes to the interior, there is probably nothing they can do against the Germans.”
"In this case, we can only force Cape Town to negotiate with the Germans. Let's not talk about the outcome if a war breaks out. My mine cannot stop working for a day, which means that we will make a lot less money. Moreover, the result is very If it's bad, we might lose all our money No return, once the war starts, it is not certain who will own the ownership of Kimberley."
"If this is India, then I believe that the empire will not be afraid of any challenge, but the Cape Colony. Don’t say compared to India, it’s Canada. It’s bigger than Australia. Our population is too small.”
“The terrain of Cape Town is also not conducive to the defense of our army. If it is the east, where can we use the port to land? army, but Kimberley is in the south In the non-plateau hinterland, even if you wait for the army to come from the east, it will be too late.”
The terrain of the Cape Colony is indeed very unfriendly, especially for the British, because the edge of the South African plateau is. A huge cliff two thousand kilometers long.
(Picture)
This special geographical structure is similar to the Brazilian Shield. The situation is a little better than that of Brazil, because the South African plateau has a longer history. After hundreds of millions of years of historical development, some coastal areas have experienced long-term erosion by sea water, rivers, rain, and wind. Slowly forming some narrow plains, Cape Town (city) is built on such plains. The Drakensberg Mountains to the east are part of this large cliff, but there are many gaps in the Drakensberg Mountains and there are many excellent ports, so the transportation is reasonable.
The situation leading from Cape Town (city) to the interior is difficult to describe. Not only is it limited by terrain, but the part in the north where it connects to the South African plateau is still very dry. The Karoo Basin is a semi-desert arid climate area with rainfall ranging from 100 mm to 400 mm. It is extremely unstable and the years with lack of rain are even drier than the Kalahari Desert. There is almost no population and only some goats and sheep can be grazed. However, because of the existence of the Great Escarpment in South Africa, the rivers here can receive water from the mountains. In addition, limited irrigated agricultural land can be developed along river banks.
(Picture)
All in all, it was extremely difficult for the Cape Colony to develop inland. On the contrary, East Africa expanded from the inland to the coast, while the East African Plateau and the South African Plateau They are almost connected, and there are no major terrain obstacles, so Cape Town can only watch East Africa expand unscrupulously inland, with no solution. However, the fundamental reason is that Cape Town has too small a population and cannot support more people. Army, explore the outback.
"The worst thing now is that the Germans and us are only separated by a river, and the Kimberley mining area is the most valuable piece of cake in the entire South Africa. We cannot afford to lose Kimberley."
"We must unite, Let Cape Town and East Africa reach an agreement. Losing some worthless land is not a big deal. Although Grigualand is large in area, it is invalid land. It has no population and poor climate conditions. It does not matter if it is given to the East African Kingdom. , As long as the East African Kingdom promises never to have any thoughts about Kimberley, I think it is understandable for our common interests.” More than 30 companies developed diamonds worth approximately 350,000 pounds, and was the largest source of tax revenue in the Cape Colony.
But this is only the limit of the mine owners, far from the limit of the Kimberley mining area. With the increase in investment, the output of Kimberley diamonds has increased exponentially, and all that is buried underground is wasted money. The mines The most lacking thing for owners and enterprises established based on diamonds is manpower. Currently, the Kimberley mining area has a population of less than 10,000, which severely limits the development of Kimberley.
As long as the population increases, how much diamonds can be developed in the Kimberley mining area? Millions of pounds, even tens of millions of pounds.
For comparison, the total annual income in the UK in the early 19th century was 230 million pounds, and the income of the nobility was 3.1 million pounds. The value of Kimberley is self-evident, so Kimberley cannot be lost. Business owners and mine owners in the Kimberley area are willing to pay for their own interests. The interests will not choose to go to war with the East African Kingdom.
Soon, Cape Town Governor Henry Buckley received a letter from the British nobles and big capitalists behind the Kimberley mining area, which probably meant: "Guarantee the safety of the diamond mining area, as for the Republic of Grigualand , throw it away, otherwise you, the governor, will be done. Hurry up and make peace with the East African Kingdom to avoid expanding the conflict."
This made Henry Buckley very depressed, and he wrote in his diary. To: "For the sake of immediate interests, politicians and capitalists in London have no idea what giving up dealing with the East African Kingdom will mean for the future of Britain! If the East African Kingdom is allowed to gain a foothold in South Africa, even if Cape Town is not Annexation can only become its vassal. In my opinion, this is only a matter of time. Within fifty years, the seeds they planted will definitely bear bad results..."
Subsequently, the Cape Town Colony A non-aggression agreement was signed with East Africa. The agreement stated that the East African Kingdom must stop all military operations in South Africa and promise never to invade the territory of the Cape Colony. The two sides were bounded by the Orange River.
After the agreement is signed, the East African Army on the border must withdraw, and only a small number of border troops are allowed to exist. As a reciprocal condition, the same is true for the Cape Colony.
Finally, regarding the issue of the Republic of Grigualand, it was purchased by the Kingdom of East Africa as compensation for the Cape Colony. Financing the purchase of the Republic of Grigualand was a matter of face, and East Africa paid a symbolic payment of 3,000 pounds.
The residents of the Grigualand Republic were packed up by East Africa and sent to the Cape Colony, which happened to provide labor for the Kimberley mining area.
(End of this chapter)