Chapter 368 The Sick Man of Europe
Beginning in June, the British began to increase troops to the Cape Colony. As of October, the British army had accumulated more than 100,000 troops in the Cape Colony.
On October 9, the Transvaal government issued an ultimatum to Britain, requiring Britain to stop sending more troops to the Cape Colony and to withdraw all troops that arrived in the Cape Colony after June 1. The issue was submitted to diplomatic arbitration, with a 48-hour time limit for a response.
On the 10th, Chamberlain ordered Milner to reject the conditions proposed by the Transvaal government.
At five o'clock in the afternoon on October 11, 1899, the Federal Parliament of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State Republic declared war on Britain, and the Second Boer War broke out.
At the same time that the Second Boer War broke out, the elder Ghent died of illness. After the younger Ghent inherited the company, the North Borneo Company and the East India Company reached an agreement to share the North Borneo Company's rights and interests in Sabah.
“Why do you do this?”
Gray was very angry and immediately found little Ghent who was ready to settle in Vladivostok.
"Although Sabah is a protectorate of the British Empire, London cannot protect my rights and interests. What can I do?"
Little Ghent has no choice. If it does not share the rights and interests of Sabah, Sooner or later the North Borneo Company was left with nothing.
"You are treason! Don't think you can escape punishment by hiding in Vladivostok. Without the support of the empire, you are nothing!"
Gray was furious. On the issue of Sabah, London's Failure to act does bear primary responsibility.
However, during this period, the British attention was all on the Cape and did not care about Sabah at all. The whole world was looking forward to the war between Britain and the Boers.
The great powers have suffered from the British Empire for a long time.
As early as the beginning of this year, thousands of volunteers from Europe arrived in the Transvaal to fight alongside the Boers against the British invasion.
The Netherlands and Belgium donated money to the Boers, established foundations, and donated wartime mobile hospitals and medical equipment to the Transvaal.
William II made a public appeal in newspapers, hoping that Britain would respect the independence of the Boers and not unilaterally provoke a war.
Although the Russian Empire repeatedly claimed that the Amur and Transvaal trade was George's personal act.
But without the acquiescence of St. Petersburg, Amur would not be so unscrupulous.
Britain really does not want to fight a second Boer War unless necessary.
In the First Boer War, although the British army failed to win on the battlefield, they still forced the Boers to sign an agreement and obtain special privileges in the Transvaal.
Unexpectedly, the Boers actually took the initiative to issue an ultimatum to Britain, which directly pushed Britain into a corner.
Boer means farmer in Dutch.
The Transvaal is a country founded by a group of Dutch farmers.
The sun never sets on the British Empire, and it can still be frightened by a group of Boer peasants!
"If your so-called support is to only ask for but not give, then let such support go to hell!"
Little Ghent was completely torn apart. The conditions given by the East India Company to Little Ghent were more generous than those in London. .
Sabah is not the Transvaal, there is no Rand gold mine, and the biggest income comes from forest resources.
In recent years, with the over-exploitation of forests, resources are facing depletion. In order to ensure profits, London has increased its exploitation of North Borneo companies. Little Ghent has long been suffering.
The East India Company promised to guarantee the North Borneo Company's profits in Sabah. This alone was enough for Gent to change his career.
London really did not care about Borneo. On October 12, the main force of the British army was sniped by the Boer coalition. The commander of the Boer army, General Meir, used the favorable terrain and the cover of the morning fog to launch a sudden attack on the British army. The British army was caught off guard. , suffered heavy losses.
The Boers did not sit still and took the initiative to attack the Cape Colony. The Orange River Railway Bridge was blown up and the Cape Railway was also damaged by the Boers. The British had to install a 4.7-inch naval gun on On the train, the railway is repaired section by section.
On October 30, the British army encountered "Black Monday". Ladysmith's four thousand British troops, under the command of Lieutenant General George White, launched a counterattack against the Clothier Army. The main force of the Cloth army commanded by Joubert was encountered. The British army was defeated with a loss of 1,272 men. The remaining troops retreated to Ladysmith and were immediately surrounded.
London realized at this time that the strength of the Boers was far beyond London's previous expectations. To conquer the Boers, more power must be mobilized.
Because the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State were surrounded by British colonies, the Boers' external contacts were cut off, and the outside world did not know how the Boer War turned out.
When Marco went to Senna to set up a branch, he had a conflict with the British sailors.
Sena is the second largest city in Sabah and is also the first port in Borneo, capable of berthing giant ships of 10,000 tons.
Due to the request of the North Borneo Company, Seymour sent approximately 250 sailors to station in Xana, responsible for the security and public security maintenance of Xana.
The cost of garrisoning these sailors is borne by the North Borneo Company. Little Ghent has paid more than 50,000 pounds for these sailors.
In 1899, the annual salary of a British sailor, plus overseas allowance, totaled about 50 pounds.
The sailors had been stationed in Xana for less than half a year, and the expenses had already accumulated to a huge amount of 50,000 pounds. Seymour also asked for more expenses. Even if the North Borneo Company took out all the profits, it would not be enough.
This would explain why Little Ghent sold Sabah to the East India Company.
It is said to be shared, but actually it is transferred.
Now that Sabah has been sold to the East India Company, the North Borneo Company naturally no longer pays for the sailors.
Seymour couldn't get the money, so he set off to plunder Xana.
When Marco came to Xana, the whole city was in chaos. The British sailors broke down and searched every house and stole all valuables. The British sailors even openly insulted women on the street. He was brutally murdered by British sailors.
Marco went directly to Major Hercules, the leading officer of the British army, and asked Major Hercules to restrain the British army and stop criminal behavior.
"Russians, Bo Ni is a British protectorate. What happens here has nothing to do with you. Please leave, otherwise I cannot guarantee your safety."
Hercules is rude, "Russian" was also what you called him?
“Despicable pirates, you British guys are so uneducated!”
Marco's counterattack was equally sharp.
"Uncle!" Hercules was furious. As soon as his hand touched the handle of the knife at his waist, he was pointed at it by Marco's pistol.
Crash——
Hercules’ adjutants and guards.
And the Cossacks brought by Marco raised their guns.
Hercules' face turned pale. He could clearly feel Marco's crazy murderous intention from Marco's blood-red eyes and ferocious expression.
"Put the gun down!"
Hercules' lieutenant yelled.
“No one but the Tsar can point a gun at me!”
Marco never backed down and the Cossacks were never threatened.
"Who are you?"
Hercules finally calmed down.
"The North Borneo Company has sold Sabah to the East India Company. Xana is now the territory of our East India Company. You and your soldiers must leave here as quickly as possible. Xana is not welcome. You despicable pirates!”
Marco was very angry. The beautiful scenery of Xina was originally a paradise on earth, but it was ruined by the British into an endless hell.
But that's what the British are like. Wherever they go, they bring death and killing. They are not ashamed, but proud.
In the jungle society, the big fist is the truth.
Coincidentally, the Russians think so too.
“When did this happen, why didn’t I know?”
Hercules didn’t know about the deal yet.
"Ah ha ha ha ha - the transaction between the North Borneo Company and the East India Company does not need your approval, who are you!"
I have the world with Marco's gun in my hand.
"Very well, I will leave, but I can promise you that I will come back!"
Hercules made the wisest choice with a gun pointed at his head.
"I'm waiting for you! Whoever doesn't come back is Bichi——"
Marco was not afraid of offending the British. Borneo was 743,000 square kilometers larger than Amur. British and Dutch colonization were limited to coastal areas, and they could not go deep into the inland areas.
The Netherlands was weak and unable to control the East Indies.
Britain had too many colonies and Sabah was insignificant.
Hercules did not conflict with Marco and fled in panic with his men.
The people Marco brought were two reporters from the Amur Daily.
Journalists used cameras to faithfully record the atrocities committed by the British troops.
So two months later, a photo taken on Senna Street with corpses strewn all over the place appeared on the front pages of almost every media in the world except the UK.
This is what the British call civilization.
But Britain is not in the mood to care about these things.
On December 15, the British army in the Cape suffered another heavy blow. The new commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, General Redvers Buller, who had suppressed the local uprising in Ireland, was defeated again by Joubert. 1,139 people were killed, 250 were missing, and 10 cannons were lost.
The Boer coalition suffered only 8 killed and 30 wounded.
Admiral Redvers Buller was immediately dismissed, and this time the British army finally failed to block the news.
When the news came out, the whole world was in an uproar.
The invincible sun never sets across the seven seas, is this it?
This time the British army is no longer the hooligans hurriedly armed by Dr. Johnson, but a serious British regular army.
On the Boer side, only the militia and the police took part in the fighting.
The regular army could not defeat even the militia and the police. When they attacked the Zulus, 50 people defeated 5,000 and killed 3,000. Where is the British army?
When the British talked about the Zulu War, they only talked about the defeat of 50 and 5000, and never mentioned the Battle of Isandlwana.
In the Battle of Isandlwana, 1,300 well-equipped and well-trained British troops were wiped out by Zulu warriors holding short contradiction cards.
The British suffered setbacks one after another. The happiest people were not the Germans nor the Russians, but the French.
In the Qing-French War, the French army was victorious, the cabinet collapsed, and it ended with blackmail profits.
After the Qing-France War, the British insulted France as the sick man of Europe.
Although the Qing Empire was weak, its power still remained.
The Boers don’t even have a serious army. Who the hell is the sick man of Europe?
(End of this chapter)