Chapter 401： turn down

Chapter 401 Rejection

July 22, 1872.

London.

British Prime Minister Gladstone has been quite comfortable recently, and various affairs are progressing smoothly. Last year, he presided over the implementation of the British national education reform, established government-funded non-religious primary schools, and improved workers' skills in order to support industrialists' competition in the international market. cultural level.

In the same year, the reform of the civil service system was implemented to establish a low-cost government that could not only improve administrative efficiency but also save expenses, so that more funds could be used to develop the economy. This year, the reform of the British Army was completed to adapt to the short-term military service system.

Coupled with the improvement of the international situation, and the fact that France, its mortal enemy, was dragged into the water by Prussia, the British Empire is now not in a good situation, but in a great situation.

Just then the secretary came in and ruined Gladstone's good mood: "Mr. Prime Minister, this is an urgent letter from the Cape Colony!"

“Cape Town! What emergency can they have?” Gladstone asked puzzled.

“Well, Mr. Prime Minister, please take a look at the contents of the letter before you make a conclusion.” The secretary responded.

So, Gladstone read it with a skeptical attitude. Gladstone really couldn't imagine what emergencies Cape Town would encounter. As an important part of the colonies of the British Empire, Cape Town should not have any Dare to mess with Cape Town if you don't open your eyes. After all, France is no longer qualified to compete with Britain for hegemony. Although Germany has become the hegemon of Europe, among the great powers, Germany's navy is a bathtub navy that makes people cry when they hear it. It has no influence on Britain. The slightest threat, and finally the two clay-footed giants of Austria-Hungary and Tsarist Russia, was more than mentioned.

After excluding the big countries, the only country that dares to challenge the British Empire is the United States. However, the British know that the United States only has a very tough mouth and can only shout at Britain across the Atlantic.

“Where is the Kingdom of East Africa?” Gladstone asked in confusion after reading the letter.

The secretary responded: "Prime Minister, have you forgotten that Prince Constantine of Prussia went to Africa to become king in the middle of the year before last? It was a joke in the newspapers for a while at that time!"

Gladstone: "When you said that, I remembered that at that time I also teased the Hohenzollern family for being unmotivated and actually went to Africa to become kings and hegemons."

Although Ernst bought the headlines and made the East African Kingdom famous at that time, its reputation was indeed not very good. Everyone knew about Africa. If the Franco-Prussian War had not broken out, this kind of thing would have definitely become a thing for most people for a period of time. laughing stock.

"Well, but is the East African Kingdom so domineering now? It can bully Cape Town! Fifty thousand troops is not that much? Why is Cape Town so nervous!" Gladstone wondered.

Here Gladstone did not feel that the 50,000 troops in East Africa had any impact on Cape Town, because according to his inertial thinking, he believed that the troops in East Africa were composed of black people.

This kind of thing is too common in the colonies. If it could, the British could easily organize an army of millions with local people in India. There are not many white people in Cape Town, but there are not many black people. How can they organize an army of ten? Tens of thousands of troops came out.

Gladstone became angry when he thought of this: "Let Cape Town solve this matter on its own. It's too embarrassing. Even a small African country is afraid. So many black people in the United States have already turned upside down. Are we going to have to do it?" Go and tell Prussia that your colony is too powerful and threatens the security of our Cape Town? If even black people have no confidence in fighting, is this really true?" Gladstone continued: "To Sir Henry Buckley Reply, please don’t send this kind of thing to London in the future, unless the Germans personally attack Cape Town. I don’t believe that they have degenerated to the point where they can even bully the natives. If this is really the case, I will be ashamed to ask. Bismarck, don’t even think about it.”

Gladstone's statement makes sense. The German navy is probably on par with the Royal Navy stationed in the Cape Colony, not to mention that it is impossible for the Germans to cross the Atlantic Ocean to die in Africa.

Of course, the main reason why Gladstone was so angry was that the British Empire couldn't lose face, and he couldn't lose face as the Prime Minister of the Empire. For the benefit of Cape Town, he asked Bismarck. It was a shame for the people in Cape Town. Come out, the world hegemon goes to seek help from his former younger brother?

“Yes, Prime Minister!”

The secretary also thinks so. The East African Kingdom is just an indigenous country that was listed on the backdoor last year, while the British Cape Town Colony has experienced hundreds of years of development (plus the Netherlands) and is the area with the largest white population in Africa (Europe). If a century-old colony is not as powerful as a newly born indigenous country, it is nothing.

Gladstone rejected the Cape Town Colony's request for help. It was not that Gladstone thought Cape Town was unimportant, but that he did not think Cape Town would be in danger. He really had the strength to dare to destroy Cape Town under the British noses. The colonies are eaten by several other powerful countries. The problem is that now the British Royal Navy is the only one, and no one dares to cause trouble to the British overseas.

…

South Africa.

Ernst: "Now that we have become neighbors with the Portuguese in the south, it would be outrageous not to pay them a visit. Otherwise, it would be really bad to scare the Mozambique colony."

It smoothed out all the forces in South Africa, especially the Orange Free State, making the southern defense line of the East African Kingdom as stable as a mountain. Regardless of the small size of the Orange Free State, it now has nearly half of South Africa's white population (excluding the East African Army). , especially the strengthened version of the Orange Free State, Ernst believes that it is possible to say no to East Africa and Cape Town.

And the Cape Town Colony doesn't know what it is doing now, and there is no response at all, so Ernst plans to let Felix, who pacified the Zulu Kingdom, lead a team to Portugal for exchanges (demonstrations).

There is no way around this. Although Mozambique has more colonies and areas bordering northern East Africa, Mozambique’s center of gravity is in Maputo Bay, and the forces are mutual. Mozambique is worried about the East African Kingdom threatening its capital, and the East African Kingdom is also worried about Portuguese sneak attacks. Where is South Africa!

Ernst: "You don't need to bring too many people, a dozen will be enough. The Portuguese are frightened now. As long as we use a little force, they might explode."

Ernst is telling the truth. Now in the land of South Africa, the arrival of the East African Kingdom has caused people to panic. Especially the large-scale military mobilization and a series of dazzling wars by the East African Kingdom have made the local forces tremble with fear, fearing that even The East African Kingdom suddenly took action against itself.

Moreover, even if the East African Kingdom has strong military strength, it still has no martial ethics. Looking at the several countries that have been wiped out in East Africa, they have all fought without declaring war. This kind of neighbor is not reassuring to anyone.

Among them, Tsarist Russia is the representative, but Tsarist Russia also has to follow European rules when fighting with Europe. The East African Kingdom behaves like a complete hooligan. This is also related to the ecological environment of the colonies. In all the colonies in the world, especially in Africa, the emphasis is on not following the rules. The various colonial groups were able to use their wits on martial ethics, deception, abduction, murder and arson, and they used all kinds of crooked tricks. Countries like the East African Kingdom that rely solely on force to solve problems are considered a breath of fresh air in Africa.

(End of this chapter)