The Boers were storming Pretoria. Looking at the title, Wang Mingshan casually put the report aside. After Britain and China reached an agreement, the Boers did not attack the British Expeditionary Force like moths to a flame as Wang Mingshan had expected, nor did they launch an attack on the East African Administrative Region and the Rand Gold Mine area that was newly included in the East African Administrative Region. The Boers chose Pretoria, which was occupied by the Zulu Kingdom, as their target.
If the Boers were willing to launch an attack so recklessly, Wang Mingshan did not care. For a time, the British made the Boers ragged and starved, and when the British ended the war, the scattered Boers began to besiege Pretoria. The British supported the Boers to continue the war because of the supplies provided by the British. Wang Mingshan did not want to expose it immediately. He was prepared to wait for the British to continue to court death to a certain extent, and the Min dynasty could find an opportunity to occupy all of South Africa.
Another piece of news was that the Kingdom of Italy had sent a delegation to visit the three counties of Sudan, led by an Italian prince. The document noted that this person had met Wei Kun in London, and the two sides had negotiated on Italy's provision of funds and labor. Wang Mingshan knew that Wei Kun and Vézé had the same political stance on labor, both aimed to develop productivity. They would not unconditionally believe that everything about workers was right, nor would they take exploiting workers as their primary goal. As for the Italians, Wang Mingshan suspected that their government had plans to sell labor.
Putting down the document in his hand, Wang Mingshan sincerely hoped that Wei Kun would not make a choice that would disappoint Wang Mingshan. The reason why he was willing to support Wei Kun to take over the East African Administrative Region was because Wei Kun had so far shown his choice to carry out Vézé's political line. If Wei Kun could not inherit Vézé's line, Wang Mingshan would never support Wei Kun, a cadre that the other staff did not particularly like. Being the son of Vézé was not a good thing most of the time.
Just as Wang Mingshan was about to stop reading the report and convene an agricultural work meeting. The secretary sent in a telegram. Wang Mingshan read it as if nothing had happened. He said, "Send a telegram to the Boer government. Ask them how they plan to deal with this attack. "
A telegram was sent from the railway. A Boer cavalry attacked a railway station in China. Although the enemy had more than 200 people, they could not shake the railway station. Not only that, but about forty of the enemy were killed or wounded at the station. The wounded were dragged into the station and interrogated, and found out that they were Boer partisans. They were very dissatisfied with the Chinese for taking advantage of the situation. Coupled with the lack of supplies, they launched an attack on the train station.
After sending a telegram questioning the Boers, Wang Mingshan called out to his secretary, who was about to leave. "Send another telegram to the British and ask if they have released the Boer prisoners in the concentration camp."
The British had captured tens of thousands of Boers, mainly the elderly, women and children. Although Wang Mingshan knew that there was such a thing, he didn't take it to heart. Now that the Boers were digging their own graves, Wang Mingshan had to consider the need for China to personally exterminate them. The Boers were still so crazy, and Wang Mingshan suspected that they had not been able to welcome their loved ones who had been released from the British concentration camps. In theory, the Boers should think about how to start a new life with their families. They should not be hot-blooded enough to provoke another big country. Could it be that the Boers were so stubborn that they wanted China to do it again after being rubbed against by the world's most powerful country, England?
After giving the order, Wang Mingshan tossed aside the matter that concerned the lives of tens of thousands of people. As if nothing had happened, Wang Mingshan continued with his agricultural work meeting. According to Wang Mingshan's plan, several telegrams were sent to several places. One of them was sent to the Military Commission, hoping that they could send some trucks to East Africa to form a small motorized infantry to deal with the Boers.
This telegram was far from alarming Vézé. Wang Mingshan's request was not urgent, so the Military Commission replied, "Half a year later, within a year." When the time came, not only would Wang Mingshan be given trucks, but also a group of soldiers who had experienced war in East Africa. When that time came, not only would the Boers be given trucks, but they would also provide East Africa with a group of soldiers who had experienced war.
With the support of the Military Commission, Wang Mingshan naturally would not ask for too much. At this time, the British had replied that all the Boer prisoners in the concentration camps had been released. The British were puzzled by Wang Mingshan's question. Wang Mingshan immediately replied, "We were attacked by the Boers. Because the captured Boers were using British weapons, we are judging the sincerity and determination of the British side to fulfill the treaty. If the final judgment is that the British do not have the sincerity to fulfill the treaty, then there is no need for us to adhere to the treaty. "
In the face of Wang Mingshan's threat, the British immediately denied it and sent a representative from Cape Town to Nanzhan City at an extremely fast speed. As the shit stirrer of Europe, the British had taken the lead in signing countless treaties. The British were well aware of their role in the current situation. What surprised Wang Mingshan was that the British immediately admitted that they did not have the ability to fully implement the previous agreement. With the expeditionary forces continuing to withdraw from the Cape Town colony, they did not have the ability to control the Boers. Therefore, the British expressed that they would support China in whatever they wanted to do. It would be fine as long as there was more communication beforehand and no misunderstandings were caused.
Wang Mingshan did not have any illusions, thinking that the British would probably use all sorts of excuses and delay. Now that the British had actually told the truth, Wang Mingshan was very surprised. Therefore, Wang Mingshan began to shirk the responsibility. "Everyone, I think you don't have to be so nervous. We can take things slowly."
The British representative waved his hands. "No, no! Your Excellency. For the sake of peace, we believe that the only way is to cut through the Gordian knot. If the Boers keep using our weapons to attack the China side, will you really believe that this is all a conspiracy of the Boers? I don't think so. We have encountered such things in the United Kingdom before, causing many unnecessary misunderstandings and losses. "
Wang Mingshan had always felt that the British were experts at feigning civility. When negotiating with the British, Wang Mingshan had never heard the British negotiators speak the truth. The only one who spoke the truth was probably the British Royal Highness, who was always thinking for himself. Now that the British had suddenly begun to speak the truth, Wang Mingshan was very puzzled.
But no matter how puzzled he was, the change in the British's attitude made Wang Mingshan unable to flare up. This was because the British had not only proposed a general direction for the solution, but also a very experienced view on the specifics. "We have brought the weapons and ammunition provided to the Boers, and I believe you also have the types and quantities of weapons and ammunition you have provided to the Boers. We only need to combine these and do an analysis to know how much fighting capacity the Boers have left. We also hope to be able to share our experience in fighting the Boers with you. "
Is there a need to be so thorough? Wang Mingshan, who was extremely depressed, could not help but complain in his heart. In all fairness, Wang Mingshan really did not think highly of the British in the past, because the two sides did not cooperate at all and were completely in a tit-for-tat situation. Now that he had seen how capable the British were, Wang Mingshan felt that the Boers were a little pitiful.
Wang Mingshan could not discuss the details with the British. He only cared about the general direction. Seeing the British's sincerity, at least the British had put themselves on the line. If they had continued to act shamelessly like before, Wang Mingshan would have had no other choice but to be prepared to flatten Cape Town. After all, the basis of the agreement in London was that the two sides were to fully cooperate in Southern Africa.
Now that the British were so cooperative and listed out what they should do, if the British were to be honeyed and stab them in the back this time. By the time the British were completely dealt with, Wang Mingshan would probably not even have a trace of sympathy or guilt in his heart. Although Wang Mingshan knew that his identity and the way he handled things was actually not moral, as a Chinese, he would always feel a little uneasy when the strong bullied the weak. This had nothing to do with good or evil. This was a characteristic of China's civilization.
When Wang Mingshan sent representatives to negotiate carefully with the Cape Town side, the British representative felt a little more relaxed. It was not normal for the British to make such a cooperative gesture and action. If the British were facing the countries on the European continent, of course, the British would not be afraid. Now, they were facing China, especially when the news of China's ocean-going fleet sweeping the East Coast of the United States had reached the British side. A large fleet composed of eight battleships sailed tens of thousands of nautical miles at sea without the slightest base and fought along the way. Just this endurance and combat range alone was enough to make the Englishman tremble with fear.
The British used to think that the United States had a high chance of defeating the Chinese, but later, when they saw that the situation was not quite right, they changed their target to the United States having the ability to cause China unbearable losses. A few months ago, the British changed their target to the United States being able to protect the East Coast. Now, the British view was that the United States was finished. Not only was the United States finished, but there were already arguments in the United Kingdom that the British power could not guarantee the safety of their land and sea.
Based on the British experience, after China achieved a complete victory, it would certainly lead a hundred battles and sweep across the world. The British were in a precarious position in Canada. Not giving the Chinese an excuse was the general view of the British at this time. At this time, offending China because of the Boers was not worth it no matter how one looked at it.
If there was anything worse than offending a big country, it would be offending two big countries at the same time. As soon as the British and China cooperated, the end of the Boers was outlined on paper. China used the metric system, while the British used the British system. The rifles of the two countries were not the same. The weapons that the Boers imported from China were still there, but they had run out of bullets. The Boers captured a batch of British weapons during the war, and the British directly provided ammunition to the Boers.
"The bullets of your China are too difficult to copy. So, we gave up. " The British representative's very appropriate compliment made the young China negotiator unable to hold back his laughter. Even though he quickly realized that he had lost his composure after being reminded by his colleagues, this action made the British negotiator very sad. This group of China guys who had never seen the world could actually force the British Empire to bow its head. This was really sad.
Of course, the matter about the bullets was not made up by the British representative. The advancement of China's small arms made the British feel a great deal of pressure. The British used red copper to make the cartridge case, while China used brass to make the cartridge case. The bullet head was made of copper, which was not the same thing as the British's lead bullet head. As a result, the accuracy of China's bullets was much higher than the British's bullets. After all, the British ammunition was already considered the top product in Europe.
It was not that the British did not think of copying China's bullets, but there was a problem. The British found that the cost of doing so was too high. A Chinese bullet cost several times more than a British bullet. Moreover, the quality of China's granular gunpowder was much higher than that of Britain's granular gunpowder. The price of the reloaded bullets was higher, and the effect was poor. It was better to directly provide the Boers with British ammunition. The thought of China using such ammunition throughout the entire war in North America. The British representative felt a burst of discomfort in his heart. This was the comparison of national power between China and Britain.
"How much British ammunition does the Boers have now?" The young China representative asked after putting away his smile.
Since they had already started selling, the British were thorough in their work, revealing all the data the British had. "Half a million rounds. There were about ten bullets for each person. We have sealed off the foreign passage to the Boers. If there is no other way to transport ammunition to the Boers, they can only have so much. "
"Then why do the Boers still dare to attack our stronghold so arrogantly?" The young China representative felt that it was incomprehensible. An armed force with only ten rounds per person took the initiative to attack the powerful China … Alright, even if the East African administrative region was not as strong as China itself, if the East African administrative region was fully mobilized, it would not be difficult to destroy the Boers.
The British representative was very puzzled by the level of the China people. He could not even understand many simple questions. Could it be that the China people had become stupid after coming to Africa? However, although he cursed in his heart, the British representative still explained in a responsible manner, "If they could not loot ammunition and supplies from China, the Boers would not be able to hold on. We fought with the Boers until the end, and many Boers organized attacks on a small part of us. They did not attack our small group to kill, nor did they intend to drive our small group away. Their purpose was to loot. As long as they caught our people, they would take everything from them, leaving us with only a pair of underwear. "
The young China representative wanted to laugh when he thought of the scene of the British prisoners being stripped naked. However, when he thought about the whole thing carefully, his smile disappeared. The information provided by the British had completely changed the image of the Boers in China. Previously, everyone's impression was that the Boers were very tenacious and good at fighting, almost a people on horseback. Now, after listening to the British introduction, the Boers were now almost at the end of their rope. No matter how brave they were, in this era of firearms, no matter how good their horsemanship was, they would not be able to beat a black man with a rifle. If the Boers continued to receive British support, they could continue to fight. If the British did not lie or provided wrong data, the Boers now actually did not have the ability to fight anymore.
With this view, the China negotiating group suggested that the meeting be adjourned and held a small internal meeting. After finding this key point, everyone had a unified idea. They began to negotiate with the British again. This time, the British representative quickly noticed the change in the young China officials. Although the experienced British officials should have long understood the key point of the problem, the Chinese officials at least had enough information to grasp the key point, and not be stupid to the end. This made the British officials have a higher opinion of the young people in China.
When the news was sent to Wang Mingshan, Wang Mingshan only said one sentence. "I don't know if the Zulus have the ability to drive the Boers out of Pretoria."
With this instruction, the East African side immediately began to act. The first was naturally to inform the Pretoria garrison to prepare for action. At this time, the command system of this army was completely taken over by the people of the East African administrative region, and it was time for this group of brothers to move out.
Lieutenant Zhong Liang in Pretoria had been promoted to captain at this time. Before he was called to attend the meeting, he was leading his troops on duty in the vegetable garden. The earthworm manure was very effective in fertilizing the land that was not barren. Pretoria was not short of water, which was more conducive to plant growth. The Boers who rushed into Pretoria a few months ago did not have time to destroy the vegetable garden. At this time, the vegetable garden was already lush and colorful. The red tomatoes were mouth-watering, the orange-red pumpkins, the dark green winter melons, the emerald green loofah, and the shiny purple eggplant. As long as it was mixed with the salty canned meat, whether it was stir-fried or deep-fried, it could make very delicious meals.
When Lieutenant Zhong Liang was thinking about what to eat in the evening, the news from the army made him stunned. The number of Boer troops surrounding Pretoria was between 5,000 and 15,000. Although the army also had the corresponding reconnaissance, it was not particularly clear. Because although the Boers were annoying, the Zulus, as allies and subordinates, were even worse. These people had not received modern military training at all, and their spirit in battle was not so much courage as wildness.
In the past few months, the China personnel have been vigorously training, adhering to the intention of defending the city well. In retrospect, after the Boers entered the city, they were not able to carry out more large-scale destruction, because they did not have enough ammunition in their hands.
When it was confirmed that the group of soldiers outside had no more than 50 rounds of ammunition, and probably could not even complete a medium-intensity battle, Lieutenant Zhong Liang's sense of shame drove all things related to appetite out the window.
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