African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 795 Brothers in distress

Faced with the one-sided situation in Parliament, Prime Minister Cecil has nothing to do. If the parliamentary gentlemen do not pass appropriations, there will be no way to increase military expenditures. In addition to his confidants and political allies, the people who support Cecil are mainly Cape Town. interest groups.

However, the largest interest group in Cape Town is the diamond merchants in Kimberley and other places. Although they are very powerful, they cannot change the situation. After all, the diamond business is not very important to the British Empire. After all, as the world hegemon, the British Empire has various There are too many giants.

Moreover, South Africa’s military expenditure alone now exceeds the sum of all British economic benefits in Cape Town, which is completely uneconomical for the British government.

 The UK is also one of the most calculating countries in the world. This kind of loss-making business with no "money path" in sight has not been done for many years.

Of course, Cecil, as the British Prime Minister, has not given up lobbying parliament, trying to amplify the East African threat theory from a strategic perspective.

 So the British Parliament fell into a wrangling stage again, but soon they no longer had to argue. The changes in the war situation in South Africa forced them, including Cecil, to make a decision.

 Three days later.

"boom."

 Cecil slapped the South African intelligence on the table with an angry look.

 “What does Roberts do for food?”

"With the fall of Maputo, the Mozambican coalition has been completely wiped out by East Africa. Now we only have one fulcrum left in South Africa, the Cape Town colony. And now the East Africans may have begun a new round of military operations against Cape Town. If we If we cannot come up with a solution as soon as possible, then Cape Town may not be able to survive for long, and by analogy, Egypt and British Somaliland may also be threatened by military threats from East Africa, so we must respond immediately to the war in South Africa." Cabinet. the secretary-general said.

"Even 400,000 pigs should not be easily captured in less than a month, let alone more than 400,000 fully armed soldiers. If the whole world knows this result, how can we survive in the world?"

As a result, Earl Roberts lost everything in less than a month, and he himself became a "prisoner" in East Africa. This was unique in British history.

Although what he said was indeed the "truth", it could not change Cecil's mood. As the main promoter of the South African War, Cecil originally counted on Earl Roberts, a British veteran, to surprise him, but there was no surprise. , instead we were shocked.

Cecil frowned, and finally had to give in. There was no other option but to cease the war. Continuing the war had been rejected by Parliament, and there was no room for maneuver.

Facing the frustrated Prime Minister, the Secretary-General consoled him: "The available troops under Earl Roberts should be less than 100,000. The combat effectiveness of the Portuguese and Indians is doubtful. As for the black soldiers, they are only in quantity but not in quality."

Cecil was extremely disappointed with Earl Roberts, and even more resentful.

Even if other factors are ignored, Earl Roberts still has close to 100,000 British soldiers. This number, except for Cape Town, is already more than half of the British army in South Africa. Cecil can bluntly say that the strength of 100,000 British soldiers is enough. Britain could wage a medium-sized war anywhere in the world and win.

Especially after the news of the fall of Mozambique became known to everyone.

 …

Compared to the distress of British Prime Minister Cecil, King Carlos I of Portugal, the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Portugal, is even more distressed. “Maputo has been lost and the British and our troops have been wiped out in Mozambique,” ​​Prime Minister Joao Frank reported to the new Portuguese monarch.

That's right, like Cecil, Carlos I also ascended the throne for the first time, but he was three years later than Cecil, and he had just succeeded to the throne. Just a few months ago, the old king Louis I was killed because of Angola. The reason for the fall was that he was out of anger and went offline a few months earlier than in history, allowing Carlos I to ascend to power nearly a year earlier than in history.

 But the Kingdom of Portugal that Carlos took over was a complete mess, especially the Portuguese army's successive defeats in the South African War.

Today he finally received the most painful news, that is, the fall of Mozambique. Will Portugal's glory end in his own hands?

 “What do the British say?” asked Carlos I to Joao Frank, the prime minister he had hand-picked.

"The British side has not responded to the message, but the situation should not be optimistic. They are also one of the losers in this war. After all, Earl Roberts has surrendered to East Africa. The British main force in South Africa has basically been lost. Now only Cape Dun can still hold on."

This news was a complete bolt from the blue for Carlos I, because Carlos I himself was actually a patient with "Anglophobia", so his foreign policy in his previous life was completely one-sided towards Britain.

It was so outrageous that not long after Carlos ascended the throne in his previous life, the British issued an ultimatum, requiring Portugal to withdraw its troops stationed between Angola and Mozambique. The monarch agreed to the British conditions under the threat of British warships (at that time British warships entered Lisbon).

Of course, Carlos I himself was definitely not willing. In the rotten puddle of Portugal, facing a powerful country like Britain, Portugal could be said to have no power to fight back.

Of course, with East Africa, the situation has undergone major changes from the previous life. First of all, the old King Louis I died of illness (angry) early, and he dared to take advantage of the unfavorable juncture of the South African War. The so-called debts were eliminated after death, and the domestic conflicts in Portugal were instead To a certain extent, hatred of the monarchy was transferred to hatred of East Africa.

Secondly, Carlos I was too late and did not encounter the "traitor" problem in his previous life. In this era, Britain's main enemy in Africa was East Africa. Portugal, which owned the colonies of Angola and Mozambique, became the target of Britain's wooing.

Especially during the war, Portugal's economy and politics actually improved with the support of the United Kingdom. The accession of Carlos I to the throne was even smoother than in his previous life.

 So the emergence of East Africa, although Portugal lost Angola and Mozambique in advance, was "good" for the Portuguese royal family.

It is conceivable that after Portugal completely loses its two South African colonies, the Portuguese government will rely even more on British support, and this kind of "loyal" ally is exactly what Britain needs.

Of course, Carlos I could not have imagined this. After all, he did not know that his previous life was much worse than now. Now he just has a headache for the various difficulties he faced, especially the domestic political stability issue after Portugal lost a large number of colonies.

Now Portugal has nothing to do with East Africa, so Carlos I can only continue to go to **** with the British, and he is also full of confusion about the situation in Portugal.

Prime Minister Frank has nothing to do about this. Frank's only advantage is that he is loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and he is a die-hard royalist. If he is asked to deal with Republicans, that is his area of ​​expertise, but dealing with East Africa is completely beyond his capabilities.

However, the monarch and his ministers probably could not have imagined that the South African War was a "crisis" for them, but the opportunity was greater than the danger. If it were not for the intrusion of East Africa, Carlos I would have been assassinated and killed by the Republicans according to the historical trajectory, and he Our destiny has already taken a new fork in the road, and we don’t know what will happen in the future.

 (End of this chapter)