African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 620: Step by step

"Humph, these East Africans are so abominable! Look at this gun, the oil on it is all new, and the rifling is not worn. It looks like an unused new product. They are willing to give it to the white bandits and those country bumpkins."

 Pretorius Jr. cursed angrily after seeing the firearm samples sent by Blanca. As for the others, Blanca intercepted them and used them to expand the army.

"Mr. President, the East African border guards use Mauser rifles, and this is obviously the Warndel rifle used by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, given the relationship between East Africa and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is not easy for East Africa to obtain this rifle. , but they obviously had concerns about directly intervening in the conflict between us and the Orange people, so they did not blatantly directly provide their own weapons to the Orange people." Pretorius Jr.'s staff analyzed.

"This is obviously a good thing for us. It shows that East Africans are still afraid of the British. Otherwise, the weapons on the battlefield would probably be considered East African weapons. Although the quality of weapons in East Africa is slightly worse than those in Germany, Correspondingly, logistics, cost, parts, etc. are much easier than importing from Europe."

"In addition, if East Africa chooses to use Austro-Hungarian weapons to support the Orangemen, there will be an additional procedure, which is to pass through East Africa, cross the ocean, and then transfer to land at the port, and finally send it to the inland via railway. This It takes a lot of time, so supply problems are bound to occur, and as long as we fight fast enough and well enough, there will definitely be problems with the Orangemen's logistics system."

Little Pretorius was not happy at all. What does it mean to fight fast enough and well enough? The overall performance of the Transvaal Restoration Army must not meet this standard.

He interrupted: "What's the overall battle situation on the front line now! How is the radiation effect in the areas controlled by our army?"

"Brandford to the north of Bloemfontein, Berlin to the northeast, Saunasbos to the east, along the Kafu River to the south, Salt Pond to the northwest, and Bosland to the west have all been We have taken it, effectively guaranteeing our control and strategic security over Bloemfontein. Now the big danger near Bloemfontein no longer exists." Militia Leka, commander of the Nationalist Army, reported to Pretorius the Younger road.

This result makes the Transvaal officials present very satisfied. It means that the area of ​​more than 300 kilometers around Bloemfontein has constituted a safe zone. Putting aside the military significance, it is enough to ensure the safety of one's own life. It's enough to make people happy.

“In addition to our success in Bloemfontein, we also occupied new cities and military fortresses such as Beltfontein, Petersburg, Redsburg, etc., which further reduced the living space of the Orange people and greatly reduced the living space of the Orange people. Expanding the survival homeland of the Transvaal people..."

 “Ahem, General Milika, don’t say anything that is not conducive to unity.” Little Pretorius interrupted.

Although the Transvaal people really did this, it would not look good if they took off the fig leaf. Just like the official definition given by the Transvaal Restoration Army to the Orange Freedom Resistance Army as "white bandits", it must not be done. The careless distinction between the Orangemen and the Transvaal people is too clear, which is very detrimental to winning over those Orangemen who are in a wait-and-see or neutral attitude.

And for the younger Pretorius personally, he has no prejudice against the Orange people, and even hopes that the two families will be like brothers, because his father is the elder Pretorius, a Boer. Recognized as a hero, his father was involved in, and even played a leading role in, the founding of the Transvaal and Orange.

It's a pity that now that little Pretorius is sitting in this position, he can't help himself. There is the British King and a group of old ministers from the Transvaal. Both sides are pushing him to lead the Transvaal. The Vans and Oranges were separated, and all Pretorius could do was to delay this trend as much as possible.

For example, Milika was not interested in uniting the Orange people, but in winning the war, which was very helpful for his personal prestige and could also expand his power in the army.

"Under the guidance of British consultant Charles, we adopted a step-by-step strategy. Through these three months of offensive, we gained a large base area. It is no longer possible for the 'White Bandits' to pose a serious threat to us. The balance of war will naturally shift towards our side. tilt."

After accepting the instructions from the President, Midelika still replaced the Orange Free Resistance Army with the term White Bandit, although the two were originally the same thing.

"Well, you did a good job. Now we only need to reduce the living space of the 'White Bandits' step by step, and the most important thing is to cut off their contact with the East Africans. Then this war will be truly over." Little Pretor Lius said. However, his words silenced Mildilaika. If it was easy to expand the occupied area of ​​​​the Transvaal step by step, but it would be difficult to cut off the connection between East Africa and the Orange people.

So Mi's Laika chose to raise this difficult issue and be frank with the government officials: "It is too difficult to cut off the connection between East Africa and the 'white bandits'. It's not that I have the prestige of others, but which of you has the prestige." How to deal with the fact that the Orange Free State is surrounded on three sides by East Africa?”

East Africa is like a big mountain, pressing down on everyone present. If the British colony of Cape Town were not behind it, everyone might have found a way to move south, just like when the British threatened the Boers to move north.

 Now the Transvaal people had no choice. It was impossible for them to reconcile with East Africa, and the same was true for East Africa, so they had no choice but to serve the British.

And this option is indeed the best option for the Transvaal people. At least now everyone has returned to the center of political power, although it was achieved by watching the dove occupy the magpie's nest.

 So when it comes to interests, there is no so-called Boer, only the Transvaal and the Orange. As for the great cause of national restoration.

There may be some people who still remember their original intentions, but more old foxes know that it is basically impossible to achieve that goal, unless East Africa suddenly disintegrates, and the probability of this is very small. Even if East Africa disintegrates, the local forces left in East Africa will be filled. Vacancies, still no chance for the Transvaal.

Of course there is no chance at all, that is, the British take action, but most people are no longer optimistic about the dispute between Britain and East Africa in South Africa.

The British power and structure in the world can easily suppress East Africa, but in Africa, the British encountered the same dilemma they faced the United States in North America.

 British colonies throughout Africa cannot shake the foundation of East Africa. Of course, it is possible if we can support forces such as Egypt or the Abyssinian Empire. These two forces have large enough populations and border with East Africa.

However, it is obviously impossible for the UK to do this. Now that the UK controls the Suez Canal and the Red Sea coast, how can it possibly cause trouble for itself.

Although the existence of East Africa interrupted the British strategic deployment plan in Africa, it did not threaten the British core interests. One is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the other is Cape Town, both of which are still in the hands of the British. As for colonizing Africa, it is not a threat to the British. It's actually not that important.

 At present, Britain is the world's largest colonial power, controlling most of the elite colonies. Of course, the more colonies the better, and there is no big regret if it cannot get it.

The main reason why Britain is now hostile to East Africa is simply that East Africa's land is too large, and its land area also represents potential, but no one would think that East Africa's potential can be compared to that of the United States. East Africa is more like an enlarged version of Brazil.

 (End of this chapter)