"… There was one thing that surprised me. The locals who tried to overthrow the East African administrative region actually thought that they could continue to use this kind of banknote that only a civilized country could issue after their rebellion succeeded. I was speechless after learning about this …"
"… Most of the products produced in East Africa are not sold to East Africans because they can't afford them. I used to laugh at the Chinese for the way they governed their colonies, and when I noticed it, I had to praise China for its great success in building their colonies. The output of the whole of Africa, excluding East Africa, was probably a third of the output of East Africa, or even less. Alfalfa, meat, leather, Europe's demand for East African products is increasing … "
From Memoirs of East Africa, published in 1899, Max? Thomas Samson.
The two armed Taoist priests who had traveled thousands of miles from Asia to East Africa were following a force that departed from Port Sudan. The ultimate goal of this force was Khartoum, but along the way, their mission was to assist the fortresses that were besieged by the enemy. These fortresses were basically built near the railway and controlled the more important and convenient places in the area.
Up until now, only a few strongholds had fallen. The reason for the fall of these few fortresses, without exception, was that they had been ambushed by the enemy, and not lost to the enemy's attack. Therefore, under the cooperation of the troops, if the local people besieging the fortress were smart enough to run away when they saw that something was wrong, the East African Security Army would not have the manpower and time to chase after them. The locals who felt that the thieves would not leave empty-handed were surrounded and killed miserably. In one day, the two priests performed three short rites in front of the Negro soldiers. Both of them were strong and had a high school education. Their basic skills were solid. That smooth and natural ritual movement attracted the attention of the black soldiers.
Khartoum, of course, received the radio messages from these reinforcements, but the general mood in Khartoum changed from initial fear to tension. In Wang Mingshan's words, the barbed wire was really a good thing!
The city guards didn't do much either. They just used trucks to drag barbed wire around the defensive positions outside the city. The Liberation Army had been trained to lay barbed wire in the past, and the North American War had sent practical skills in this area to the various military regions. Even if it was for the sake of completing the mission, the military still had to train. Khartoum had just finished training, and the wooden stakes on the ground had not been completely removed. Many of the training marks were still clearly visible. The defense system composed of barbed wire and heavy machine gun firing points was as solid as a rock. The attacks launched by the local Arabs, regardless of whether they were organized or not, and whether they numbered in the tens of thousands or only a few people, were completely annihilated by the seemingly empty defense system.
In just two days, tens of thousands of local people had fallen in front of or on the barbed wire. In addition to the losses on land, the warships of the East African Security Army had sunk hundreds of small boats on the Blue Nile, White Nile, and the Nile where the two rivers converged. The purpose of the security forces was very clear. As long as these small boats did not enter a certain range, the warships would ignore them. Anyone who crosses the line will be sunk.
Gordon, the leader of the British Expeditionary Force, looked at the massacre and felt that something was not right. However, on the first day, when Gordon saw that nearly 200,000 people had gathered in Khartoum and declared their loyalty to Lord Mahdi, he was shocked. He also felt that the Chinese in the city of Khartoum had lost their power.
Gordon admitted that it would probably take a lot of losses for the local people to capture Khartoum. However, the British artillery had also participated in the war at this time. The Chinese did not strictly inspect the ships that came and went, so the British dismantled some of the cannons to the lightest possible size and used the ships to reassemble them near Khartoum.
With so many cannons, as long as an opening was smashed, as long as one of the 200,000 local besieging forces rushed into Khartoum and cooperated with the local people in the city, it would be very easy to capture Khartoum.
However, after fighting for a day, Gordon found that the 200,000 people were actually helpless against the barbed wire. The barbed wire that could not even stop the wind actually made the 200,000 people stop in their tracks. It made the 200,000 people stop three miles away from Khartoum.
When Gordon saw the most tragic attack, the local people launched a ferocious attack with the cooperation of the British artillery. The people who were killed even flattened the first two rows of barbed wire, causing them to lie flat on the ground. However, their corpses could not cause any damage to the third row of barbed wire.
When the attack had to stop, when the Chinese people pulled the corpses down from the barbed wire, Gordon watched in despair as the first two rows of barbed wire that were flattened by the corpses actually stood up again, as if the flattened barbed wire was just an illusion.
"Lord Mahdi, do we not have any other way to attack?" Gordon asked when only the core members were left in the tent.
Lord Mahdi still had that look of being with God, his sacred voice was filled with determination. "God will not bestow a problem that his believers cannot solve."
"What are you planning to do?" Gordon was not interested in listening to such nonsense. The battle during the day had already proved to Gordon that Mahdi's men did not have the ability to break through the barbed wire. The British's intelligence revealed a problem. Although Khartoum was the center of China's rule in Sudan, Khartoum was not the only center of China's rule in Sudan. Whether it was the black areas further south or Port Sudan in the northeast, China had a considerable number of troops. These troops could reach Khartoum in the next few days. By that time, what kind of outstanding performance could these 200,000 people have? Gordon had no confidence in this at all.
"Tonight, the believers in Khartoum will come forward bravely. With their loyalty, we can definitely finish the Chinese people! "Mahdi revealed his plan.
He had to say that this plan was quite reliable. It made Gordon feel a lot more comforted. Whether it was the black areas further south or Port Sudan in the northeast, China had a considerable number of troops. These troops could reach Khartoum in the next few days. By that time, what kind of outstanding performance could these 200,000 people have? Gordon had no confidence in this at all.
"Tonight, the believers in Khartoum will come forward bravely. With their loyalty, we can definitely finish the Chinese people! "Mahdi revealed his plan.
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