"The British colonial bureaucracy has never operated at such a high speed. They found out the person who leaked the South African concentration camp in such a short time. They also drove her out of South Africa as an 'enemy of the motherland.' The French government has sent warships to welcome this noble lady to France and continue to expose the British atrocities against the Boers. "
The French people were very excited by the news published in the French newspapers. The atrocities of the evil British, the noble lady, and the bullying of the British, all these elements resonated deeply with the French people. Although it was actually the French nobles who betrayed Joan of Arc, it was the British who burned Joan of Arc.
Any propaganda needed a promoter, and France had always been an important center of public opinion in Europe. When the French stood up, the European countries began to react.
The British were not afraid of this kind of propaganda. They had done many things more brutal than the South African concentration camp. Now the British at least provided food and barbed wire for the Boer prisoners. If it were other weak people, the British would have solved the problem with a massacre.
Just when the British thought that this kind of nonsense would subside after a few days. They found that public opinion throughout Europe began to strongly criticize the British. When the British slaughtered the so-called 'barbarians' in the eyes of Europeans, the European newspapers did not say anything. When the United Kingdom and other European countries joined hands and killed the other European countries, such as the Crimean War, the European newspapers did not say a word.
Now that the United Kingdom was suppressing some of the descendants of the white people who had long regarded Africa as their homeland in the distant South Africa, the newspapers all over Europe strongly criticized the United Kingdom. The British had a more advanced civil service system than other countries in the world, which meant that there were more professional divisions of departments and more civil servants. The civil servants in charge of intelligence collection played their role, so the cabinet members listened to the Foreign Minister's secretary read the corresponding report.
"… The pro-monarchy newspapers are criticizing the British, and the pro-republic newspapers are also criticizing the British. The pro-democracy newspapers are criticizing the British, and the pro-capitalist newspapers are also criticizing the British. Whether it is against the capitalists, the scholars, or the workers, all factions and classes throughout Europe are condemning the British atrocities against the Boers … "
"… The only thing that has made these different positions and different areas of newspaper power so effective recently is the invasion of the United States by China …"
The Foreign Minister's expression was very calm. He was not more concerned about the criticism from Europe. The Foreign Minister was very satisfied with the newly adjusted analysis department of the Foreign Ministry. In the past, the field of diplomacy was the absolute domain of a few very talented people. If there were no talented people at that time, the diplomatic field could only find talented people to maintain their jobs. Therefore, the power of the people had a great influence in the British diplomacy. For example, The Times was called the second foreign ministry.
With the rise of China, the United Kingdom, which had been preparing to reform its civil service system, found a direction. They imitated China's model and established a series of specialized schools. There were set standards for the corresponding skills and education required for each job. The current intelligence analysis was a successful demonstration of this system. If it weren't for the school's professional courses to categorize and summarize the newspapers, these staff members, who didn't have a high background, wouldn't have understood the general characteristics of each newspaper.
However, the Foreign Secretary's personal self-satisfaction did not affect the entire British upper echelons. Even if it was just a diplomatic storm, they still felt the pressure. After the secretary finished reading the report, the prime minister said coldly, "Yesterday, Tsar Alexander III of Russia sent a telegram to Her Majesty, hoping that Her Majesty would not carry out such a cruel massacre on a small African country. The Russians care so much about the Boers that they didn't say a word when China tortured and killed the Americans! "
The British cabinet members actually knew why Russia had such a reaction. In recent years, only the British had really gone to war with the Russian Navy, sinking and capturing Russian warships. At a time when the conflict between the United Kingdom and Russia was getting more and more intense, Russia adjusted its strategic direction and chose to maintain good relations with China, which had a long border.
Of course, with the level of the British, they actually knew that Russia's choice was actually right. The United States had a more developed industry than Russia. Although its population was not as large as Russia's, there was not much of a difference. The United States was also far away from China, and Russia bordered China's Asian mainland. The United States was on the verge of being destroyed by China, not to mention the Russians who had been killed by China.
It was precisely because of this that the British cabinet members were particularly dissatisfied. The Tsar of Russia not only sent a telegram to the Queen of India, but also contacted other countries, hoping that the European countries could come forward to mediate. So the Prime Minister said coldly, "I hope to be able to send a telegram to this Tsar, hoping that he can use this enthusiasm to mediate the war between China and the United States."
The Foreign Affairs Minister said with a teasing smile on his face, "I completely support this view. Should we send a telegram in the name of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
The Prime Minister thought about it and still felt that it was better to avoid trouble at this time, so he shook his head. The Foreign Affairs Minister looked at the Prime Minister's bewildered expression. He glanced around at the people around him and said, "Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been ordered to find out who is pro-British in the upper echelons of China. Now we have a rough result, but our analysts are very skeptical about this result. "
"Who is it?" The Prime Minister's eyes immediately lit up. The other cabinet members also showed expressions of concern. The cabinet members also knew what the Foreign Affairs Minister said. Analyzing from various angles, China, which relied only on military force, actually had a very ambiguous attitude towards the United Kingdom. The conflict between China and the United Kingdom was actually still within a fairly restrained range. The only explanation for this development was probably that there were people in the upper echelons of China who were pro-British. So finding this person, or even such a group of people, and contacting them would be very beneficial to the United Kingdom.
Facing everyone's expectant gaze, the Foreign Affairs Minister even hesitated, which was rare. "Uh … this person is … this person is very likely to be the Emperor of China, Vézé."
Although the Foreign Affairs Minister did not deliberately create the effect of shocking the audience, the real effect was to make the cabinet members silent. Everyone looked at the Foreign Affairs Minister with incredulous eyes, as if trying to squeeze out the lies in the Foreign Affairs Minister's body with their eyes.
In such an atmosphere, Colonial Secretary Cecil Rhodes spoke. Rhodes opened his mouth, "Those who are not members of the cabinet, please leave!"
This sentence allowed the Prime Minister to immediately find what he needed to do at the moment, and he immediately repeated Cecil's words. He immediately repeated Cecil Rhodes' words. Those non-core personnel who were also shocked speechless by the news were asked to leave.
After these people left, Cecil Rhodes immediately said. Rhodes immediately said, "I personally support this judgment. Although I don't know why the emperor of China made such a decision, the emperor of China seems to have a good impression of the United Kingdom. "
"Do you think you're going to keep beating us up?" the Minister of War asked sarcastically.
Colonial Secretary Cecil? Rhodes was unmoved. He said flatly, "I don't know how the Emperor of China wants England to fulfill his personal wish. But from what we've seen so far, the only thing he can do to someone he doesn't like is to kill. "
This made the core leadership of the British colonial empire feel the same way. Like Cecil? According to Rhodes, the emperor of China was not naturally lenient towards the Europeans. The upper echelons of Spain still hated the emperor of China because after the fall of Luzon, the local Spanish men and disobedient women were all killed. The rest of the women, no matter what their previous identities were, were all sent to Chinese people in the poor mountainous areas as wives. It had been more than 20 years since that incident, and a lot of news had gradually spread.
"We can't use such speculation as a basis. Even if the emperor of China has a good impression of the United Kingdom, he won't start from Britain's interests." The Prime Minister immediately made a judgment. After that, the Prime Minister asked the Foreign Affairs Minister doubtfully, "Are you sure your judgment is correct?"
The Foreign Affairs Minister was just very skeptical of this result. When he encountered others questioning his ability, the Foreign Affairs Minister immediately replied in a serious tone, "We have analyzed the upper echelons who can decide China's policy. We found that they have nothing to do with the United Kingdom at all. China has actually adopted a policy of suppression against those who have deep interests with the United Kingdom. "
Since the Foreign Affairs Minister said so, the others could only accept this sir's opinion. The British cabinet ministers were also people with tempers. If they were questioned excessively, this group of people might quit. Now that the Conservative Party was in power, the opposition Liberals actually made a big deal about this matter, attacking the cabinet and the War Department's' barbaric brutality '. This kind of fame-fishing reaction was actually greatly criticized and opposed in the United Kingdom, but it could also be regarded as echoing the movements of foreign countries.
"Let's cooperate with the Boers," the Prime Minister said. The Boers were not Britain's only enemy in southern Africa. The Zulu Kingdom was also Britain's great enemy. Now half of the British expeditionary force was against the Boers, and the other half was against the Zulus. In the past few decades, the Boers had fought the Zulus very well. If the Boers were willing to make peace with the United Kingdom and fight the Zulus together, not only would it solve the diplomatic pressure Britain faced, but it would also solve the British's real problem.
"Sir, I have an idea," Cecil Rhodes said first. Rhodes was the first to speak. "I think we can temporarily withdraw from a few Boer cities."
As soon as this suggestion came out, the British cabinet members immediately became excited. Hundreds of years of shit-stirring genes made it easy for these British bigwigs to feel that this suggestion contained many important points of a good strategy. Pulling one side and fighting another had always been the core concept of British diplomatic strategy.
Sure enough, the Colonial Secretary Cecil Rhodes's suggestion was constructed with this concept in mind. Compared to the British, the Boers actually considered the Zulus to be more of a threat. Compared to the British, the Boers actually considered the Zulus to be more of a threat. If the British withdrew from the occupied Boer lands, the Boers would definitely try to go back. At that time, they would face the Zulu Kingdom, which wanted to restore its homeland that had been recaptured by the Boers. At that time, the Boers would definitely fight the Zulus to the death. In the face of such a persistent enemy, the British shit-stirring stick would have ample room to play. For hundreds of years, they had stirred up countless major events in Europe, thereby reaping great benefits.
"Will the Zulus be obedient?" The cabinet minister was very doubtful.
"We can talk to the Chinese about this," Cecil said. Cecil Rhodes continued.
The cabinet members were shocked, and the Foreign Affairs Minister could not help but say, "What if China takes the initiative to seize the gold mines?"
"Unless we are now prepared to go to all-out war with China. If we do not have such plans, the Chinese will completely liberate us from this disadvantageous situation!" Cecil Rhodes even said this with a smile.
The cabinet members thought about it carefully, and it was true. If China took over the invasion of the Boers, all the pressure Europe put on the United Kingdom would be borne by China. However, the cabinet members were not happy because of this. Their faces were heavy. The United States did not hide its strength. The British knew of the rapid development of the United States' industrial strength, and the British also knew of the United States' tradition of fighting. In such a situation, the United States had no way of fighting back against China. China was like a hot knife cutting through butter in North America and was about to destroy the United States.
The number of Boers that the British were facing was probably less than that of the British Expeditionary Force. After fighting for two years, they still had not achieved a final victory. The contrast made the United Kingdom feel a powerful sense of frustration. Once China eliminated the United States, who would be able to resist the millions of soldiers who had fought hundreds of battles? Britain, which could not even handle 300,000 Boers and a black Zulu, probably had no ability to protect itself against China.
Just when the members of the British cabinet felt powerless, Colonial Secretary Cecil F. Rhodes broke the silence again. "Gentlemen, I've said it a long time ago. I also want to say that if we accept the goodwill that China has expressed before, we will join forces with China to carve up North America. I think it's a good plan. "
Cecil? Rhodes had long proposed to recapture the thirteen North American colonies. At that time, the British still felt that this approach was a gamble on the fate of the country. But at that time, the British still felt that they could do it, but they felt that the gains did not make up for the losses. Now, after fighting with the Boers and the Zulus for so long, the British cabinet's evaluation of the combat effectiveness of their own army had been greatly reduced. In the face of the guerrilla warfare of the Boers and the mobile warfare of the Zulus, the British Expeditionary Force could do nothing. It was easy to cooperate with China, but it was too presumptuous to expect such an army to guard the "spoils of war."
"Sir Rhodes, do you think the Emperor of China is a traitor?" the Prime Minister said coldly.
Cecil? Rhodes did not argue. He replied, "Why don't we send an envoy to talk to the Emperor of China about this? I believe our diplomats will be able to distinguish the Emperor's attitude. "
The Prime Minister shook his head after listening. "I don't think the people will accept such a risk, and those MPs are even less likely to accept it. Including the forces that firmly support us now, once they know that we are going to take such a big risk, they will never vote for it! "
Cecil? After hearing this, Rhodes felt a strong sense of despair in his heart. He knew that the Prime Minister was right. Such a huge risk would make the vast majority of people stop at the sight of it. And if the British cooperated with China in the partition of the United States, it meant that they would have to bear the infamy of allying with the infidels to destroy the white country. The destruction of the small Boer country had been met with a huge backlash, and Britain colluding with China would no longer be accepted by Europe. Cecil? Rhodes was very clear about this.
Was it that clear? Cecil? Rhodes felt despair. All his life, he had hoped that Britain could become a continental country, but now the last possibility was about to disappear. Cecil? Rhodes only felt that his insides were burning, and he could not even speak.
And the Prime Minister did not want to discuss this topic anymore. He said, "Then contact the Boers through the current channel."
February was summer in South Africa. A group of black soldiers shouted a chant and struggled to pull a long rope. Under the training of China's instructors, tug-of-war had become one of the regular entertainment events of the Zulu soldiers. Now this activity was very effective in dragging heavy rails. Amid the deafening chant, the rails with their screws removed were quickly detached from the sleepers and dragged to the side of the railway. The sleepers were also dragged down in this way. Then they were doused with gasoline and burned. Seeing that the rails were already very hot, Zulu soldiers wearing thick asbestos thermal suits and heat-resistant masks ran over and poured cold water on the rails. The cold water squeaked on the rails, and in a very short time, a large amount of white fog rose.
Regardless of what happened next, these Zulu soldiers left the damaged railway, mounted their horses, crossed the cut barbed wire, and headed in the direction they came from. Suddenly there was a loud explosion behind them. It was the detonation of the explosives buried by the Zulu soldiers to blow up the roadbed. Amidst the earth-shaking noise, in the euphoria brought by the accelerated blood flow due to the large amount of exercise, a Zulu soldier took the lead in singing.
One man sang, a hundred men sang, and all the Zulu soldiers in the cavalry unit joined in.
"The sun is about to set in the west, and the end of the white man is coming. Play my beloved native pipa, and sing a moving song. Climb on a fast train, like riding a galloping horse. Stations and railway lines are good battlefields for us to kill the enemy! We climb on flying cars, use machine guns, crash trains, blow bridges, and strike fear into the white man's heart, like a steel knife stabbing into the enemy's chest! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
