Chapter 460

When the news of the British proposing to negotiate reached Vienna, Franz approved it immediately. Although the losses on the battlefield were not great, it was a waste of money!

Since they could not conquer Cape Town, continuing to fight would be a waste of time. Looking at the intelligence from the front line, Franz was also helpless.

The heroism of the British Empire in this era was completely beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Millions of pounds were spent just like that. At a glance, there were dense fortifications everywhere. How could they fight the war?

The original Cape Town strategy did not work as it should in the face of the British's tycoon tactics.

Even though the British were at a disadvantage, they actually showed off their strength to the world. Britannia had probably spent more than a hundred million on this war in South Africa.

No other country in the world could afford this amount of money, except for Britannia. If they were in his shoes, Franz would have retreated a long time ago. Without money, one would be so short-sighted.

Even if they had the upper hand on the battlefield, the Government of Vienna also paid a heavy price. Up to this point in the war, more than 40 million BDH had been spent.

Franz summed up the reasons for not being able to conquer Cape Town. It was not that the soldiers were not strong enough, nor was it that the frontline commander was incompetent. The main reason was that they did not have enough money and heroism.

Otherwise, they would have transported 800 to 1,000 heavy cannons at all costs and fired 1.8 million tons of shells. No matter how many fortifications there were, they would have been flattened.

Oh, it seemed that the roads would have to be built first. Otherwise, if the logistics on the battlefield could not be guaranteed, it would be useless even if there were cannons without shells.

After a preliminary calculation of these expenses, it was estimated that 200 to 300 million BDH would be enough.

This was not something that the Government of Vienna could afford. Otherwise, the railway construction in Africa would not have been so slow. If the railway had been extended to Transvaal earlier, the British would not have dared to provoke the war.

The Anglo-Boer War was not without its benefits. Reality once again taught the world a lesson: war was a gold-swallowing monster. Don't fight without money.

South Africa's gold had not been mined on a large scale. The outside world generally believed that there was no winner in this war. Austria, in the guise of the Boers, defeated the British, but did not capture the Cape of Good Hope.

Economically, South Africa, which had not been developed, was not worth more than 50 million BDH. The British bought Cape Town because of the Cape of Good Hope. Without this strategic location, South Africa was worth less than 10%.

Compared to Austria, who suffered a small loss, the British suffered a huge loss. Compared to Austria, who suffered a small loss, the British suffered a huge loss.

The British had spent a lot of war funds and paid tens of thousands of casualties. Not only did they not achieve their goal, but they were also pushed back to Cape Town by the enemy.

Negotiations also came with a price. It was easy to start a war, but difficult to end war. Not to mention other things, whether or not they should recover the lost land was a headache.

Even if the colony was worthless, the strategic security of the Cape of Good Hope had to be considered, right? If the enemy arrived at the gates of the city as soon as there was a conflict, how could they live?

Even if the war did not, they Of the war, no. no of the war of the of the of the of of of of Of Of. of.

Empty promises were obviously impossible. Wearing the guise of the Boer Republics did not mean that the enemy outside the city was the Boer Republics. If they wanted to get all of this at the negotiating table, they had to pay a price.

Franz did not care what the outcome of the negotiation would be. They would not lose anyway. If the British were not in a hurry, it was good to be in a stalemate.

The Boer Republics could provide most of Austria's supplies, and the food problem of the frontline troops could be solved nearby.

It was a tragedy for the British in the city. Even fresh water had to be shipped from Madagascar or bought from the Portuguese. Other living supplies, needless to say, all had to be shipped from the outside world.

Although shipping was convenient, one had to consider where it was. The Cape of Good Hope was not a good place. It had always been an area with a high incidence of shipwrecks. In a month or two, when the monsoon arrived, it would be a world of murder.

There were two paths in front of the British. Either they stockpiled enough supplies for the winter now, or they ended the war before winter came.

Plans could never keep up with changes. At the same time as the "Anglo-Boer Republics" negotiations began, a sudden plague broke out.

It first appeared in the Indian colonial army. The British did not pay attention and only thought it was because they were not acclimatized.

In the course of the battle, the plague was also brought into the Boer Republics' cannon fodder. On this battlefield where people died every day, it was normal for a few people to fall ill, not to mention the cannon fodder troops that were not valued.

The poor sanitary conditions in the barracks accelerated the spread of the epidemic. Soon, a large number of soldiers fell ill. The plague did not recognize people, and the white soldiers were not spared.

The first to discover it was the British. As the side defending the city, the density of the British army was much higher. Because of the lack of water in the city, the sanitary conditions worsened.

These conditions made it easier for the plague to spread. A large number of British soldiers fell ill, which attracted the attention of the military doctor, Horace. After a check, he discovered that the plague had come.

Not daring to delay, Horace immediately reported the news of the discovery of the epidemic. It was reported step by step to the governor of Delphi. It was already May 18, 1871.

It was no longer possible to determine when the epidemic first appeared. The British medical system was not yet perfected to the point where the Indian soldiers were assigned full-time doctors.

This was a bolt from the blue. For the governor of Delphi, this was the worst news. Without any hesitation, the governor of Delphi immediately convened a high-level meeting and issued an epidemic prevention order:

"Immediately isolate all the patients, and ask the country to send professional plague prevention experts. The epidemic prevention work has to be done now. Consult the doctors about what to do. "

This was all he could do. The plague was not something that could be controlled, and the medical technology of this era was limited. They could only leave it to fate.

Not long after the British discovered the epidemic, the Boer Republics outside the city also discovered the epidemic.

The first to be infected was Second Lieutenant Merckx, who had been sent to command the cannon fodder troops. When he saw the doctor, he chatted and complained that there were many people under his command who had fallen ill, which aroused the curiosity of an intern doctor.

Curiosity did not necessarily kill the cat. Doctor Luke went to the barracks of the Negroes to investigate. He was shocked when he found out what was going on.

This was clearly a plague, and it was a plague that had spread. The number of people infected in a single army was not terrible, but when the total number was added up, it was very frightening.

After the news was reported, Viscount Fickney immediately sent people to investigate. In the end, it was discovered that the confirmed number of infected people was as high as 2,000, and 87 of them were Boer soldiers.

This was only the people who had already been infected. It was unknown how many virus carriers there were who had not been infected. Looking at the data in his hands, Viscount Fickney was speechless for a long time.

Fortunately, the cannon fodder troops and the main forces were stationed separately. Other than the officers who managed the troops, the main forces rarely came into contact with them.

Needless to say, the epidemic prevention work automatically began. There was a special epidemic prevention department in the Austrian army, which was usually staffed by military doctors. The troops in the Boer Republics' disguise were no exception.

The troops methodically carried out the epidemic prevention work according to the epidemic prevention regulations that had been issued.

Viscount Fickney asked with concern, "Has the type of the epidemic been determined? What caused the epidemic this time? "

Epidemics were also divided into different types. The most lethal was naturally the plague, including the Black Death that had almost wiped out Europe. It was a type of plague, followed by smallpox, cholera, malaria, and influenza.

All of them were fearsome killers, regardless of their status. They would kill without hesitation.

Military Doctor Lesna, who was in charge of the epidemic prevention work, thought for a moment and said, "The route of transmission of the epidemic is still uncertain. The preliminary judgment of its origin is that there are two possibilities.

The biggest possibility is that the corpses on the battlefield were not properly disposed of, which led to the spread of the virus and finally caused this epidemic.

The other possibility is that it was brought in from the outside. According to the information we have gathered, there was a plague outbreak in India not long ago. It is very likely that it was brought in by the Indians.

If the virus came from India, then this epidemic is not difficult to solve. It has already been proven that the spread of the epidemic in India is not strong.

Looking at the current situation, the former is more likely. If the virus came from India, then the virus has mutated. "

Wars were often accompanied by diseases. The war in South Africa looked insignificant, but the number of deaths was definitely among the highest in human history.

Not only did people die on the battlefield, but the number of people who died outside the battlefield was not much less than the number on the battlefield. After this war, the total population of South Africa was less than 30% of what it was before the war.

With so many deaths, the disposal of the corpses became a problem. On the surface, most of the corpses on the battlefield were either burned or buried deep.

However, there were bound to be parts of flesh and blood that were left behind. It did not seem to be very harmful, but when it accumulated, no one knew what would happen.

At the beginning of the war, Franz had secretly given the order to do a good job in epidemic prevention. Therefore, it was not that the Boer Republic Army was unprepared, but they did not expect the epidemic to break out at the end of the war.

The source of the epidemic was only what the professionals were concerned about. Viscount Fickney was more interested in prevention. No matter how it came about, as long as it could control the epidemic.

After some thought, Viscount Fickney made a decision. "Order the main force to withdraw from the occupied streets. South Africa's Special Dispatch Army's 7th Division will take over the defense."

In the face of the epidemic, all the results of the war were fleeting. In this kind of street with broken walls, no one knew which corner would have a corpse that slipped through the net.

It was too dangerous to station the main force in a place like this. It was safer to station them outside the city.

The 7th Division of South Africa's Special Dispatch Army was the force that suffered the most from the epidemic. Letting them take over the defense was like making use of waste.

If the British went to attack, then they would just give it to them. Viscount Fickney had already decided to put the quarantine camp at the frontline to see if it could increase the number of patients in the British.

Even if it did not work, he wanted to disgust the British. He wanted to vent the resentment in his heart. At this point in the war, both sides had already formed a blood feud.