1855 United States Tycoon

Even Britain cannot ignore the opposition of the whole of Europe. However, it is impossible for the Boers to hang British expatriates in this way. If it was a French or a German, the British government would probably just express regret, but if it was a Boer, the British government could only express regret, it would be too arrogant. It's like, the same national is caught in a foreign drug trafficking and will be sentenced to death. If the catch is a rabbit, then express regret. If it is Indonesia, then strongly condemn it, recall the ambassador and threaten economic sanctions. If it is my Qing Dynasty, this... the first Opium War and The second Opium War.

However, before doing anything, the British always had to make a peaceful effort, so the British sent envoys to the Transvaal Republic to ask the Boers to change their verdict.

In response to the British demands and implied threats, President Kruger of the Transvaal Republic brought government officials and military officers to discuss countermeasures.

"General Delari, how is our army prepared?" President Kruger asked.

"Mr. President, the army's dress-up training is still in progress. It will take at least two to three months to fully grasp the new weapons and new combat methods."

"It takes so long?" President Kruger frowned slightly. President Kruger has also served as a soldier before, and has fought with Zulu and even the British. In his day, the Boers’ army was nothing more than peasants with their own weapons. But with their bravery and excellent command, they can beat those Zulus and the British every time.

"Yes, Mr. President." General Delarie understood the President's doubts, so he replied, "Now the war is different from before. Let alone the construction of field fortifications and the firepower coordination of various weapons. Training takes a lot of time. For example, now artillery is already using high-explosive shells, and the United States guys invented a tactic called "Barrage Xu Jin", and learned that the power is very powerful, but for training and The proficiency of the cooperation is very high. There is also the offensive cover of the machine gun, which is slightly less difficult, but it is not learned without training..."

"Well, my general, I don't quite understand these technical issues, I'm old. We just need to know when the lad will be ready." Hearing General Delray talk about those There is no end to new tactics, and President Kruger has to interrupt him first, otherwise, this meeting will become a new tactics popular science conference.

"Mr. President, in two months, my soldiers will be able to master some basic tactical skills. It will take about a year for all of them to be mastered well and to become proficient. And, I still need more ammunition for training...much more than originally planned." General Delariy replied.

"But General, the training funds we allocated to the army are much more than normal." Before President Krueger could answer, Treasury Secretary Hiek asked.

"Originally, we didn't expect that the related training would consume ammunition like this." General Delari shook his head helplessly and said, "Especially the artillery barrage Xu Jin technology. Without live ammunition, it is really impossible to train."

"But recently, the expenses have been extremely large, and there is not so much money in the national treasury, unless the Legislative Council can allow us to increase taxes." Hiek said.

Increasing taxes is simple to say, but if it is really done, the resistance is always very big. Although the situation is critical now, the citizens can understand this and are willing to support the government. Because if the Transvaal Republic is defeated and the entire Transvaal becomes a British colony, they will suffer even greater losses. But in fact, things are hard to say. All in all, it is always very difficult to get people to get money out of their pockets at any time. For example, my scholar-bureaucrats in Daming were also reluctant to take out the money when Li Zicheng was approaching the city of Beijing. Although they knew that Li broke into the city, he must be better than Chongzhen to raise money.

Therefore, it is not a last resort, increasing taxes is not a good way. But in the current situation, military needs are overwhelming. In the current Transvaal Republic, in order to survive, they must implement the "Songun Politics" that first meets the needs of the army.

"What if we sell mining licenses?" President Kruger thought for a while and said.

Selling mining licenses is also one of the most expensive means of the Transvaal Republic. Sijek thought for a while and said, "Maybe, but because of the current situation, our mining license may not be as valuable as before."

This is natural, because at present even fools can see that there is a risk of war in South Africa. I bought a mining license for a lot of money, and then I paid a lot of money for machinery or something, and then I was just ready to mine, but the Transvaal Republic was fighting with the British. Then the previous investment is impossible. Is it completely immersed? The risk is so high, of course this thing is not as valuable as before.

"How about issuing special government bonds?" President Kruger asked.

"This is feasible. At least domestically," Sijek replied.

"Okay, you guys study it and come up with a plan first...Ah, how long will it take to build the fortress?"

"Your Excellency, if everything is normal, the construction of the fortress will take two and a half years. If other irresistible factors occur halfway, it may take more time." An official replied.

"It's too slow." President Kruger said. When the project was approved, no one thought that something like the Jensen Expedition would happen. Therefore, the two-and-a-half-year construction period is not unacceptable. But now the situation is different.

"Is there a way to speed up the progress?" President Kruger asked.

"It's difficult, because the bottleneck, which is related to the speed of construction, is not in construction, but in the transportation of raw materials." The official replied, "The British know what we are doing, and naturally they will not let us use their railways and ports for transportation. The cement and steel we need to build the fortress, so we can only rely on the port of the Portuguese. The throughput of that port is far less than that of Cape Town, and it can’t be used for all the ships that deliver to us. Use. And our railway connecting the port of the Portuguese is only a single-track railway, and the capacity is quite limited. Unless we can lease the port of the Portuguese and replace the railway with a dual-track. However, this is impossible. , Because the time required to expand the railway itself is not necessarily shorter than to build a fortress..."

"In other words, at least for now, we are not ready to directly turn our faces with the British?" President Kruger asked.

"Yes, Mr. President."

"So, we must now compromise with the British." President Kruger said.

"The British are not ready either." General Delary seemed a little unconvinced.

"Yes. But General Delray, the British preparations will not be affected much by the current situation. But we are different. Once we fight the British. According to our last research. Our best course of action. It is the first to seize all available ports, including Cape Town, to prevent the arrival of British reinforcements. With the current preparations, do you think we can do this?" President Kruger asked.

After hearing President Krueger's words, General Delari was silent. Now he is sending troops to occupy the entire South Africa. He has no such certainty. Although those British colonial soldiers were not very good, but the British Kepler's defense was really solid. In addition, the British have always been at odds with the Boers, so the defenses of these ports are very different from ordinary ports. When they are being constructed, they not only consider how to deal with attacks from the sea, but also consider the land from the land. On the attack. And once these places cannot be taken, under the premise that they have already been at war with the British, those countries that originally traded with them will be subject to strong pressure from the British, and it is difficult to say what will happen at that time. Not to mention, for example, the United States instructors in the army. The contract signed by Transvaal and them clearly stipulates that once the war breaks out, they can terminate the contract and withdraw early. The same goes for not only these military instructors, but also the technical personnel responsible for fortress construction. Therefore, the fight really started immediately. The plan for military training and the plan for fortress construction will all be ruined.

"But the dignity of the law cannot be trampled upon." The Attorney General said.

"This is natural. However, as the President, I have the right to amnesty." President Kruger said, "Let's talk to the British, as long as they agree to some conditions, I promised to amnesty those British nationals who made trouble. And Return the captured British mine police to them. In order to prevent the British from deliberately provoking the incident, we must take the initiative to release the'goodwill'..."

...

In the afternoon, the Associated Press issued another piece of news. The content is an interview with President Kruger by an Associated Press reporter. In this interview, after the reporter mentioned the problem of British expatriates, President Kruger said: "They violated the laws of the Republic. There is nothing wrong with this. Yes, the verdict is fair. So I am not optimistic about their appeal on this. However, I also know that these people are being used by others. Some greedy guys deceived them and used them to start a war. Fisherman Profit. They are all poor people who have been sold to help them. We are also sympathetic to such people. But you know, the law is the law. Of course, according to the law, I also have the power to amnesty them..."

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