Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 582

  Li Yong did not expect the other party to return so quickly, the two parties quickly reached an agreement on related matters and initialed a secret agreement.

  Ed Town sent a considerable number of black coolies, used a stretcher to take back hundreds of lightly and seriously injured people, and properly settled them in the town. The care of the wounded could only be done by the Italians themselves.

   Holding this batch of disarmed wounded in his hand, it is equivalent to holding a pigtail in his hand, which made Li Yong's heart settled. Morgada is already here, and there is no need to worry about the other party going back.

  Once this incident was stabbed out, it would be a terrifying scandal, which could discredit the Count De Santis and the high-level members of the Italian African Expeditionary Army and lose their reputation.

  A few days from now

Serious incidents of banditry occurred in farms and pastoral areas around Morgada. Black natives and some masked horse bandits raged in the countryside, ruining Italians who settled here, and even spreading to Morgada, which caused the local Italy. The great panic of the diaspora.

  Under the instigation of interested people, related rumors become more and more terrifying;

  What is the cruel revenge of the black tribe of Tigray? It is said that there is the shadow of the rebels of the Kingdom of Ethiopia, and it may be bloodbathed to defend the empty town of Morgada.

  Under the control of panic, two-thirds of the Italian nationals fled here in a carriage with their belongings and moved to towns in central Eritrea.

one week later

Count de Santis led an army of 1,600 people to the town of Morgada. The remaining Italians in the town were already less than a hundred. After a short break for two days, the army evacuated to the central area along the only channel. This mountain passage was sealed.

  The Somali militia quickly took over here, drove a large number of black coolies to start building fortresses in the steep mountains, and they worked in full swing.

  Not long afterwards, there was good news that excited all Italian citizens.

  The negotiators sent by the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II formally signed the Ucial Treaty, which merged the northern part of the Kingdom of Ethiopia occupied by the Italian army with the Eritrean colony.

  On the map of the overseas provinces of the kingdom of Italy after the merger, the town of Morgada mysteriously disappeared...

  More than two months later

  End of June 1889

  The cruiser "Naniwa" belonging to the African fleet arrived at the port of Morgada. A grand welcoming ceremony was held on the pier. Dragon dances, lion dances, and stilts were very lively.

Wu Mozhou, Commander of the African Expeditionary Force, Major General Mo Rufeng, Commander of the Expeditionary Forces, Commodore Zhu Qingxi, Commander of the African Fleet, Gu Kaizhi, a senior official from Somalia, and Colonel Lei Xiaopeng, the commander of the garrison, descended from the warship with a group of entourages. Li Yong, the mayor of Morgada Lead the crowd to greet them and express their warm compliments.

  Firecrackers blasted on the dock, cheers were endless.

  Not seen in a few years

  Wu Mozhou's figure has been blessed a lot, his skin is darkened by the strong African sun, he looked around the bay surrounded by mountains enthusiastically and said;

  "The environment here is beautiful, and the climate is quite good. I think it is a good place to focus on development."

   "Yes, Master Zuo, the climate here is much better than that of Xi'an. It is the area that our Somalia Province will focus on in the next step. I hope to give a lot of support." Gu Kaizhi, a senior Somali official, took the opportunity to make a request.

   "Hahaha...Kai’s brother, the support is affirmative, but it may not meet your requirements." Wu Mozhou laughed, looking at Li Yong and others who were accompanied by him, and said with deep meaning;

"The palms of the palms and the backs of the hands are all meat. I also hope that Somalia will develop faster and better, but the resources given by the Red Fort are so much. You still need to mobilize more civil forces to participate in the construction of the town. The place where the tiger hides the dragon, let’s say nothing else, it’s enough for our boss Li to leak his fingers."

   "Where and where... Humble duty is sincere and fearful." Li Yong hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully.

"Mayor Li, you don't need to worry about the tree attracting the wind. I am bringing you peace of mind this time." Wu Mozhou calmly soothed, then his face straightened, his fists clasped his hands and bowed to the east. After the general act, said in person;

  All the benevolent and strong men who have the thought of China's homeland in mind, outside the Buwei Miles of Waves, are all good Chinese men, especially Li Yong as a model, specially awarded the title of "honorary knight" for encouragement.

  Master Earl ordered me to give the honors on his behalf. No matter where he goes, Xiyier and others must bear in mind the blood of the descendants of Yan and Huang, and don’t put them to shame. "

  The surprise came too suddenly. In the eyes of everyone's envy, Li Yong knelt on one knee facing Dongfang, with his right hand stroking his chest to show humility.

  Wu Mozhou took out the gold knight of honor medal to help him pin it to his chest. Amid the thunderous applause of everyone around, Li Yong stood up and accepted the congratulations.

"Honorary Knight" is a lifelong title. Although it is not a nobleman, it is rare to hold things up. The Red Fort only awards no more than 10 places each year. glory.

  According to British tradition, the word "jazz" should be added after the name of the honored person to show respect.

  This is a prerequisite for entering the upper-class circle of overseas Chinese. There is no title of "jazz" after the name, and there is no confidence in speaking.

  This episode of awarding honors made the welcome atmosphere on the dock even more enthusiastic.

  Wu Mozhou made a brief speech to the welcoming crowd on the dock, then boarded the carriage and followed the smooth road towards the town of Morgada.

The town of Morgada is about 4.5 kilometers away from the port and is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. It is a small town with a late Italian Renaissance architectural style. It is dominated by stone buildings, and its towering house spires are filled with a strong Mediterranean flavor. , The environment is very beautiful.

  There are already more than 3,000 Chinese immigrants in the small town. Most of them are veterans and their families who followed Li Yong. Many of them are from well-off families. After they came here, they began to build houses and mansions, and they soon settled down.

  Compared with Xi'an, which has a hot climate, the cool and pleasant plateau climate of Morgada Town is more livable, so Chinese immigrants quickly liked it.

  Li Yong really took this place as a base camp for construction. He has donated large sums of money for building new wide roads and Taoist temples, Chenghuang Temple, and town hall. Therefore, the town is full of construction sites, presenting a scene in the ascendant.

After all, Morgada is a small town, and the time to get it is too short, and there is almost no decent reception place. Li Yong is still living in a small building abandoned by Italian expatriates. The conditions are quite simple, far from Xi'an-city manor. So luxurious.

  The tallest building in the town is naturally the church, where Wu Mozhou and his entourage stayed and settled down temporarily.

  Of course, their trip is not for sightseeing, but for the proposed fortress "Humen Pass" to be built, to conduct field inspections and demonstrations.

The province of Somalia faces the threat of the Italian army. After the official signing of the Treaty of Uciali, the Kingdom of Italy officially launched a plan for large-scale immigration to the region, and put forward a grand infrastructure construction concept to prepare for this vast area. The colony was built as an overseas province of Italy.

  In just over two months

  More than 31,000 Italians have landed on this African land. They have flooded into towns and villages to occupy land, plan to build thousands of kilometers of roads, canals, railways and other facilities, plan to build towns on a large scale, open up plantations and pastures...

   completely predictable

  The power of the Italians on this land will inflate like a balloon. Compared to immigrating to the distant American continent, the Kingdom of Italy is more inclined to guide the lower-level peasants to emigrate to the Ethiopian colony.

  It’s closer to mainland Europe. Starting from mainland Italy, it crosses the Mediterranean and enters the Suez Canal. After sailing in the Red Sea for a day and a night, it arrives in Ethiopia.

Irish, Germans, and Italians are the three mainstays of European immigrants to the United States, especially the middle- and lower-class citizens of Italy. They are very keen to travel to far-away North America to realize their dreams of land. The average annual loss of population is two to three million. huge.

  As a traditional agricultural country and a large population exporting country in Europe, the Kingdom of Italy is keen to encourage people to immigrate to Africa. The government has issued ambitious investment plans. The African chief executive is very worried.

The   Humen Pass fortress plan was launched in this context. The purpose is to use the advantages of natural geographical conditions to contain the Italian power in the area west of Morgada.

  Who does Eritrea belong to? If this matter is really to be discussed, London's "one daughter married two husbands" must be blamed.

  Really thinking at the beginning

  When the United Kingdom delineated the scope of the Somalia colony, it included the entire Eritrea area, and it defaulted to the scope of Queensland.

  But not long after, the Downing Street cabinet changed a few waves like a revelation. The original policy appeared to be a great deviation. London secretly acquiesced in Italy to acquire this African colony, then clapped his hands, and left his hands alone.

  This has created a complicated situation in which both sides have their own holdings, and the separatist side is opposed to each other.

  In this era of the weak and the strong, the Red Fort does not expect London to stand for itself at all. The Humen Pass fortress plan is a remedial measure to keep the enemy out of the country.

  In the foreseeable ten years, the Red Fort will not be able to carry out large-scale development of the area, let alone invest in the Kingdom of Italy, and compete for resources.

  The key area for the colonization of the Red Fort is not here at all, but in Mozambique. The only strategically significant area in Somalia is the Greater Hanish Island, which is the top priority.

   Therefore, building a fortress-type pass to separate the two sides to protect the vast soft hinterland of Somalia has become a very realistic choice and the only reliable measure.

  (End of this chapter)