After the telegram from the East African Administrative Region was sent to the Madagascar Military Region Headquarters, the commanders of the headquarters knew that they could not count on the East African Administrative Region to send more troops. The Madagascar Military Region Headquarters was reluctant to push too hard because of what Wang Mingshan and Wei Kun represented. For a time, the Military Region Headquarters was filled with a depressed feeling.
It was not the tradition of the Liberation Army soldiers to stare at each other in distress. Still, a staff officer said, "Chief of Staff Hu, if we can defeat the British in South Africa, our Min dynasty will probably have no opponents."
Even though they were running on the sea, with the sun shining on their heads and the water steaming under their feet, Chief of Staff Hu, who was called out by the staff officer, looked very young among the middle and senior commanders in their forties. Even though he was called out, even though he was the eldest son of Hu Chenghe, the founding hero of the country, was just 35 years old, he was still very calm. Regarding the excitement of these old guys, Chief of Staff Hu of the Madagascar Fleet had no intention of getting involved.
After Military Governor Vaize determined the policy of not accepting African people as Chinese, no matter how strong the East African Administrative Region was, it was always a foreign land. The province of Madagascar was the western gate that guarded the Min dynasty. Two years ago, the Madagascar Military Region was still satisfied with the responsibility of the western gate of China. However, over the past year, the news of victory in the North American War came one after another, and the application of motorized infantry made young people sprout like mushrooms after a rain. The Madagascar Military Region, which had been content with the 'no war on the western front', could not sit still.
With the information provided by his father, Hu Chenghe, Hu Chenghe's eldest son did not have the ingenuity to influence Military Governor Vaize's strategic plans. Although Hu Chenghe did not quite understand why Military Governor Vaize treated the British more favorably, Hu Chenghe did agree with Vézé's words, "If we can't fight at home, if we are invincible abroad, the country will perish!" As for Hu Chenghe's eldest son, he was also a guy who received a full set of characteristic education in the new China. To be more precise, he received an education system designed as the successor of the country. After so much experience, even if Mr. Hu felt that Military Governor Vaize's attitude was a bit too bookish, he could understand Vézé's concern about the predicament caused by the Min dynasty having no enemies.
Therefore, no matter how these old guys jumped up and down to gain credit, Mr. Hu just sat on the fishing platform and did nothing except for the orders of the Military Commission. And he knew very well that his father, Hu Chenghe had retired. Although Hu Chenghe still had a great influence, it was not a secret. Although Hu Li was the military and the Military Region, the military and the Li could General Regiment Chief Commander, Wing, he, Army, Regiment, still, the Army was Hua had Force on, he. Governor Commander on on Force on Hu Chen Academy. "Hu Hu Li" on, on. on on on, he Chenghe "Hu Cheng" (Chenghe) said. ". on." On " Capable people never obeyed the arrangements of outsiders. Those who could catch the eye of Hu Chenghe were probably not incompetent.
Mr. Hu did not say a word, so the Madagascar Military Region could not make it clear. The Liberation Army had strict discipline. It was forbidden to start a war without the Military Commission's plan, although no one dared to try how severe the punishment could be. But the soldiers who had the ability to launch such an action still cherished their hard-won positions.
Of course, even if Mr. Hu did not say a word, he could not just remain silent. Finally, the Commander said, "I think we should follow the rules and continue to wait and see. Everyone should pay attention to discipline. And we should be careful about the war in Southern Africa. Don't burn too much. "
Some people thought that the Commander's attitude indicated that he had admitted defeat and was ready to watch the war in Southern Africa drag on. Some people seemed to understand something. For example, those in charge of logistics were more instinctive than many straightforward soldiers.
In January 1891, the war in Southern Africa entered its second year. Looking at the latest accounting report, Wang Mingshan was in a good mood. After purging the old bureaucrats, the money that had fallen into the hands of the old bureaucrats entered the hands of the East African Administrative Region as usual. Wang Mingshan did not know that the East African Administrative Region could make so much money. The war had strengthened the profits of the East African Administrative Region. The European demand for cheap, high-quality alfalfa seemed to be unlimited. No matter how much alfalfa was produced in Sudan, it could be sold.
"Secretary Wang, you want to strengthen our sales channels in Europe. Will this make our country unhappy?" There were also young people who did not support Wang Mingshan's attitude, and their attitudes were very firm.
Wang Mingshan was not angry. The young people had just come from Asia and had an indescribable stubbornness about their country. Wang Mingshan had experienced this stage himself. Because he was not in China, any consideration was based on domestic affairs. Since he could understand the young people, Wang Mingshan explained gently, "East Africa is so big, and there are many places that can produce alfalfa. We can grow alfalfa in more southern areas to supply the growing domestic demand. Sudan is very close to Europe, and it is convenient for Europeans to investigate the alfalfa growing areas in Sudan. I don't think the alfalfa trade has to be set up in Amsterdam. If we can set up an exchange closer to Sudan, it will be easier for us to control it. "
Those who could discuss such economic issues with Wang Mingshan were naturally not amateurs. Hearing this, the young people felt that it was reasonable. Someone then asked, "Then where do you think it is suitable to set up such a center? Italy? "
Many of the young people did not know about the relationship between Wang Mingshan and Italy. Of course, there were some who knew, so the young people's expressions were very rich. Wang Mingshan did not care about this at all. The only thing he cared about was the attitude of the Military Governor Of Vaize. Since the Military Governor Of Vaize supported Wang Mingshan's work, he did not react to the attitude of others. Instead, he thought of the beautiful Grace and the son he had never met. Wang Mingshan sighed slightly and said, "I think it is more suitable to set up such a center in Cyprus."
"Cyprus?" The young people were at a loss. They did not remember such a European country. It was not easy to distinguish the names of the various European places with strange pronunciations.
Wang Mingshan stood up calmly and pointed to a small dot in the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the north of the map of Africa. He said, "Cyprus is in this position. It is now the territory of the Osman Empire. "
"The territory of the Osman Empire?" The young people knew that the ownership of the current Sudan was not clear. If the Osman Empire insisted on the ownership of the Sudan, it was not without legal basis. However, no one thought that the Osman Empire could have the slightest law enforcement power in the Sudan of the East African administrative region. In fact, Sudan was only an area that Egypt under the Osman Empire had been to before. Now that Egypt was under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, the Osman Empire had handed Sudan over to China to manage in order to make things difficult for Egypt and England. Therefore, the young people instinctively thought of Cyprus for the same reason.
"What is so special about Cyprus that we care so much about?" Some young people continued to ask.
Wang Mingshan still explained patiently, "I think the land of more than 9,000 square kilometers is big enough. We can arrange enough armed forces to protect a financial center on it. And after the North American War, we will enter a period of peace. At that time, Cyrus will probably not be threatened too much. "
This group of young cadres of the Min dynasty had absolute confidence in the strength of the Min dynasty. Looking at the map, the geographical location of Cyprus was indeed very interesting. It was 40 kilometers north of Turkey, 96.55 kilometers east of Syria, and 402.3 kilometers south of Egypt's Nile Delta. If it hung alone on the sea, it would naturally be easy to be attacked, and such a distance was really in line with Wang Mingshan's view of the status of a financial center against Europe. As long as there was the protection of the fleet and the army, Cyprus was very suitable for being a fortress.
"When can this matter be confirmed?" The young people were really interested.
"The central government told us that it will be soon," Wang Mingshan replied.
Renting Cyprus was an idea that came to Wang Mingshan not long after he arrived in East Africa. Although Wang Mingshan did not have the intention to overthrow Wei Wenrui at that time, Wang Mingshan did not want a little girl to completely monopolize the trade between East Africa and Europe. The result of things going to the present was also beyond Wang Mingshan's imagination. But Wang Mingshan did not want to explain anything.
As Wang Mingshan said, the negotiation process was over, and the Osman Empire agreed to China's request three months ago. The two sides even signed a formal treaty that was not announced to the public. Starting from January 1, 1891, the Osman Empire leased Cyprus to China for 99 years. At this time, China's army was on its way to Cyprus, and the Osman Empire's army was stationed there to change the defense.
Cyprus had a long history of civilization. About 9,000 years ago, there was already human life on the island of Cyprus. Legend has it that it was the home of Venus, the goddess of love. In the 16th to 12th centuries BC, due to the discovery of copper on the island, the Greeks began to move to the island and established autonomous city-states, entering the Mycenaean civilization and the Greek city-state period.
The island's main population was the Greeks and the Turks. In the agreement, China provided Turkey with seven million pounds for the lease and another one million pounds for the relocation of the local population. Thus, the whole of Cyprus was like a hunting ground. The Turkish population was fine. They felt that there was nothing wrong with returning to Turkey. The Greeks were different. Although the Turks had ruled the island for 300 years, the Greeks on the island also recognized the Turks' rule, but they did not regard themselves as Turks. They were asked to leave the homeland that they had lived in for generations and move to the land of Osman Turkey that they had never been to. The Greeks expressed their resistance with their actions.
The Osman Empire did not suppress the Greeks. Since the Greeks refused to leave, the Osman Empire's army retreated. Before they retreated, they told the China people bluntly that the Osman Empire had done its best. With so much effort, the one million pounds had been spent, and the rest of the work could only be done by the China people themselves. If the Osman Empire had to do it, then they had to pay.
With this, the British immediately knew the news. On January 12th, the British asked the Osman Empire why they had a private treaty with China. The Osman Empire immediately replied to the British, 'If we had a private treaty, how did you know?'
The British were angered by the Osman Empire's ruffian behavior. Cyprus' geographical location was so critical that the British had long coveted it, but they had not been able to find an opportunity to get this big island from the Osman Empire. Now that the sick man of Europe, the Osman Empire, had given this island to China, the British could wait for the opportunity to get Cyprus from the Osman Empire, but the British did not dare to expect to get Cyprus from China in the next ten or twenty years.
Although the British were angry, they only said some harsh words. The Osman Empire did not feel anything about it. In the past 500 years, Europe had said countless harsh words to the Osman Empire. In the past 100 years, the European countries said harsh words to the Osman Empire while rubbing the Osman Empire on the ground. With the accumulation of these hundreds of years, the Osman Empire did not feel anything about the harsh words.
In the Osman Empire, in the past few years, some people did think that the Osman Empire was too lenient to China. But China attacked in North America and defeated the Osman Empire's weapons supplier, the United States. Thinking that the Osman Empire was only a foot away from China's Asian mainland, the Osman Empire, who knew the behavior of the big powers, chose to be friendly with China.
Seeing that the Ottoman Empire was playing the game of a turtle hiding in its shell, the British were at a loss for what to do. Now that the Osman Empire wanted to be friendly to China, excessive pressure on the Osman Empire would only make the Osman Empire go further on the road of being friendly to China. Moreover, the combat power that China had displayed proved that they had the ability to fight thousands of kilometers away.
Without waiting for the British to react, the other European countries who received the news were in chaos. 'The Osman Empire has invited the wolf into the house!' 'The Turks are going to cooperate with the Chinese again!' 'The Chinese have entered Europe!' These sensational headlines were all over the European newspapers.
In the past 20 years, there were many wars between the China and Europe. In the past two years, the news of China invading the United States was common in the newspapers. The process of China conquering North America made the Europeans tremble with fear. Now, China had entered the Mediterranean Sea and entered Europe's backyard. An indescribable sense of fear caused Europe to fall into a state of extreme excitement.
China did not care at all. The European countries that really cared were not the few countries along the Mediterranean Sea. Austria-Hungary, Italy, and France all knew that if the Chinese Navy wanted to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, they would first have to pass through the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal was guarded by the British. The British had been messing with Europe for hundreds of years, and now they were finally standing on the front line to defend Europe. The ruling class of France, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were actually very eager to watch the show.
The British ruling class of course knew their position in the hearts of the European countries. They also knew that the Suez Canal guarded by the British was an area that China wanted to solve. At this time, the British found that the last thing they could do was to be the sacrificial lamb on the barbecue rack. Therefore, on the one hand, the British asked the domestic newspapers to quell the irresponsible propaganda about China to avoid unnecessary conflict. On the other hand, the British began to prepare to withdraw their forces to deal with unpredictable risks.
At this time, the British found that the most important force to withdraw was the expeditionary force in Southern Africa. But they found that this order could not be effectively carried out. The British expeditionary force of 300,000 did not win all the victories as easily as at the beginning. Although the capitals of the two Boer republics were captured, the Boer resistance did not end. These stubborn descendants of the Dutch broke up and kept harassing the British strongholds.
In addition to the Boers, the other enemy of the British was the Zulu Kingdom. The diplomatic efforts of this black regime to gain European recognition eventually failed under the intervention of the British. European countries did not establish diplomatic relations with the Zulu Kingdom. Just like the European countries did not recognize the so-called 'Indian Country'. However, in the mountains of Africa, the Zulu relied on fortifications to stop the large-scale British attack. In the plains, the Zulu's numerical advantage caused the British to suffer heavy losses in more than a dozen attacks launched with hundreds of men. They could only maintain a sweeping force of a thousand men. Although an army of this size could ensure that the British troops would not suffer losses due to the disparity in strength, it greatly reduced the efficiency of the battle.
After some discussion, London sent a message to the expeditionary force headquarters in Cape Town. 'Can we negotiate peace with the Boers?'
The Cape Town headquarters replied on the same day. The reply contained no commentary or descriptive content, it was all explanatory text.
"In order to destroy the Boer guerrilla base, we began to set up concentration camps. There are more than 50 concentration camps in South Africa, distributed on both sides of the railway lines in Cape Town, Transvaal, Orange, and Natal, as well as in the suburbs of major cities such as Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Durban … "
"A strict and harsh rationing system is implemented in the concentration camps. Each person per day is 0.75 pounds of starch (about 340 grams, which may be corn flour, flour, white rice, or potatoes), one ounce of coffee (about 28.35 grams), two ounces of sugar, half an ounce of salt, and one pound of meat per week (relatives of the guerrillas, women and children are also not given meat). Infants and children under six years old can receive a quarter of a quart of milk per day … "
"The supplies in the black concentration camps are even smaller, but they can receive assistance from their black relatives and friends, and can also be released after swearing allegiance to the British. The concentration camps are surrounded by barbed wire, and anyone who tries to escape over the barbed wire is shot. The concentration camps are extremely densely populated … "
"Because of malnutrition, lack of tents, blankets, clothes, and medicine, coupled with the epidemic, the death rate in the concentration camps is extremely high …"
Line by line, it described the forceful measures that the British had taken against the Boers. After reading these contents, the British bigwigs in Downing Street knew that it was already very difficult to completely ease relations with the Boers.
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