On March 1, 1890, a few black men in suits walked on the streets of Berlin. Germany was reunified late. Before the reunification, the states were not strong enough at sea, so they could not participate in the slave trade on a large scale. Therefore, there were no black men on the streets of Germany. These black men were wearing very simple suits. March in Berlin was not warm, so the cashmere jackets on the black men's suits were also quite thick.
The group of black men stopped in front of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of an industrialized country, there were guards at the entrance of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but not many. However, a few organized black men stopped at the entrance of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The guards ran out to block the entrance as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and some ran off to inform others.
"We were introduced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China to visit the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the leading black man said to the gatekeeper in very bad German.
The gatekeeper heard this and immediately frowned. He looked up and down at the black man, then said in a cold voice, "I have never heard of such an order."
The black man hurriedly tried to continue communicating. "Please ask the people at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The information we received is that they have an appointment with us this morning."
Before the gatekeeper came out to speak, the few of them heard the sound of a police whistle. They turned their heads and saw a group of police quickly running towards the entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because there were many onlookers standing near the entrance, the police blew their whistles to disperse the crowd. They saw a few black men standing in front of the gatekeeper of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The police rushed up and asked loudly, "Are these the black men who came to cause trouble?"
The gatekeeper was stunned. Although he wanted to chase these black men away, he did not want to directly beat them up. However, the police in Berlin were similar to the police in European capitals. They had always been known for being fierce and brutal. Seeing their ferocious looks, the gatekeeper did not dare to immediately return.
The police seemed to have misunderstood the gatekeeper's reaction, or rather, they only wanted to act according to their judgment. Therefore, the policemen took out their batons and beat the black men hard. After the black men were caught off guard and were knocked to the ground, the police directly handcuffed them and dragged them away. As soon as the police left, a group of military police went straight to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After learning that the black men who caused trouble had been arrested, the military police chose to leave with relief.
Around March 1, 1890, in the capital of Italy, in Paris, in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden, black men visited the foreign ministries of various countries. These black men were diplomats of the Zulu Kingdom. After the Zulu Kingdom was recognized by China, they went to Europe with the support of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoping to establish diplomatic relations with European countries.
These diplomats were arrested in Germany, beaten in Spain, and kicked out of the foreign ministries of France and Belgium. The Nordic countries were more gentlemanly and received the diplomatic representatives of the Zulu Kingdom. However, they did not negotiate diplomatic recognition with the Zulu countries. The first thing the foreign ministries of these countries considered was "Is it necessary to recognize a black country?"
This matter did not cause the slightest ripple in the European diplomatic circle. All the mainstream newspapers were not interested in reporting such news. There were a few medium-sized newspapers that reported on this matter in the entertainment section, and these reports really entertained the public. Even if they hadn't learned the Chinese idiom, a black country trying to act like a civilized European country was extremely funny in the eyes of European readers.
Even if they had not learned the Chinese idiom, a black country trying to act like a civilized European country was very funny in the eyes of European readers. The Zulu diplomats were basically Zulu warriors. They did not cry and run home to their mothers when they were in trouble. Even though their current emperor, William II, was a retarded young man with an immature nervous system and mental state, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs went through the procedure first, released the arrested people, and met with them again.
The Zulu representative handed some documents to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then made their simple request. "We hope that the German Empire can recognize the existence of the Zulu Kingdom and establish formal diplomatic relations with the Zulu Kingdom."
It could be seen that the Zulu people could submit written documents in German, which surprised the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After flipping through a few pages, he closed the document and stared at the Zulu diplomats with a frown. These diplomats of the Zulu Kingdom had little diplomatic experience. Putting on a suit and sitting behind a desk to negotiate might be more difficult for them than going to the battlefield.
Then the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs frowned and said at the same time, "I don't know which mountain in Africa you came from, but I just want to tell you that diplomacy is a very formal job, not a circus trick. Can you stop wasting time like this and continue living in your hometown? "
The fact that the Zulu people knew some German was the result of the country's upper class trying to popularize Latin. Therefore, the fluent German of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the Zulu people unable to react immediately, and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately ordered them to leave. When these people returned to their residence with bruises all over their faces, they talked to the Chinese people and found out what the German diplomats had said.
These Zulu warriors had never suffered such an insult. For the black world, any insult or action would probably trigger a bloody battle. Not to mention being publicly ridiculed in such a manner. These people immediately chose to take a ship back to the Zulu Kingdom. After suffering such a great humiliation in Europe, these warriors just wanted to return to Africa and wash away the shame with the heads and blood of the British.
China already had a shipping line from Madagascar, through East Africa, across the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and finally to the European countries. Although this route was dominated by cargo ships, there were naturally passenger ships. When these warriors boarded the passenger ships for their hometown, the news was sent by wireless telegram to the King of Zulu, Yu Cun.
The full name of the King of Yu Cun is Yu Cun? Zulu, March 4, 1890. The man with cold green eyes finished reading the telegram. His green eyes were almost burning. Like those who did not understand "civilized society" at all but had some longing for it, he was so contemptuously rejected by "civilized society". Yu Cun? The King of Zulu felt greatly hurt.
"Ma Run!" Yu Village? The King of Zulu sprang to his feet and called out to his men in a voice that was trying to suppress his anger.
"Yes!" A young officer, not tall but very muscular, stood up. The Zulu Kingdom's military system was in Yu Cun? The Zulu King had undergone great reforms. For example, their army was uniformly dressed in yellow uniforms. For example, the soldiers of this army also wore class insignia. But Africa had its own local characteristics, and the black brothers' understanding of class insignia was very different from that of the Min dynasty. So according to this understanding, the black brothers' class insignia was very eye-catching, and the shape was very exaggerated. The huge insignia that covered almost the entire shoulder was the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
"Ma Run, immediately take the cavalry to determine the current location of the British main force. When you find it, immediately send someone back to inform us. " The Zulu King gave the order.
"Yes!" Lieutenant Colonel Ma Run saluted the King in the Zulu rules, then strode out.
The other officers also looked at their king with nervous and excited expressions. The war was about to begin, and everyone understood this. And war meant too much to these Zulu warriors.
Yu Cun? The Zulu King did not continue to give orders. Instead, he sat back in his seat and tried to calm down. Like those who had not experienced the complex organizational model of a country. Yu Cun? The Zulu King immediately made the final decision. Now that he had been hurt, the next thing he could do was to hurt the Europeans. Germany was too far away to go without a navy. So Yu Cun? The Zulu King decided to fight to the death with the British. Although he had such a plan before, he was still a little hesitant. Now, in the face of the humiliation, all the wandering thoughts were thrown out the window. Yu Cun? The Zulu King decided to use the blood and heads of the British to prove the dignity of the Zulu Kingdom.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not understand why Wang Mingshan, the secretary of the East African administrative region, would ask them to do such a strange thing. China recognized the existence of the Zulu Kingdom, but China did not think it was obliged to help the Zulu Kingdom gain recognition from European countries.
But this matter was recognized by the central government. Although the central government's reason was somewhat improper, such as "we need to cooperate with Comrade Wang Mingshan's request," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not omniscient. They also needed to follow the characteristics of the bureaucratic system. As long as the higher-ups were willing to take responsibility, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mind putting in more effort.
So on March 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not care much when they were praised by the higher-ups for "doing a good job helping the Zulu people in Europe." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believed that Europeans only recognized strength and only respected strength. The reason why they treated the Zulu Kingdom with such contempt was not that they had any particular contempt or ill will towards the Zulu people. In the eyes of white Europeans, all black people were trash, that was all.
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