Chapter 181 Armed Mission

February 14, 1869.

A team of more than 50 people set out for the capital of the Yek Kingdom. The leader of the team was Merck, who threatened to declare war on the Yek Kingdom at the Mbeya Expansion Conference half a month ago.

It was still somewhat difficult to march on the grassland, especially on foot. Siwei Te gave them a horse-drawn carriage, but the group could only take turns to rest in the carriage. It was not that Siwei Te was stingy, but that carriages were a strategic resource in East Africa and their number was relatively small.

Judging from their weapons and equipment, these fifty-plus people were obviously regular East African troops. They were wearing the same standard Draytheise rifles, and their clean and tidy Prussian uniforms were not inadequate in weight. They also had simple grenades produced by the East African Arsenal slung around their waists.

"It's really hot and humid today!" Merk said to his entourage as he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.

"What a waste! You don't know how lucky you are. It's really hot in the eastern coastal areas, and it's fatal. The sunlight is stronger in the inland plateau areas, but the heat of the sunlight is far less than that in the eastern coastal areas." Becker said to Merk.

Becker was the sixth man who interrupted Merk's spell at the expansion meeting. His proposal was highly appreciated by Siwei Te.

Becker was then authorized to carry out the important mission to the Kingdom of Yek, while Merk was responsible for the safety of the journey.

"Mr. Becker, do you think Msiri will accept our goodwill?" Merk said to Msiri.

"Haha, now Msiri is in a desperate situation. If he doesn't rely on us, his country will be in danger of extinction. Msiri is a smart man, he will make his own choice." Becker said confidently.

"It's not that I don't understand the current situation of the Yek Kingdom, but Musiri is like many natives. His character cannot be judged by human standards. Our spies said that Musiri is like a madman now, carrying out a massacre in the Yek Kingdom. I don't know the specific situation, but the spies said that his character is worse than that of an animal." Merk said to Becker cautiously.

East Africa deployed a large number of spies around the East African colonies, some of whom were dressed up as expedition teams and some as merchants. Among them, Arabs and Portuguese were the main targets of imitation in East Africa.

Now most of the East Africans in the central and southern African regions are disguising themselves as Portuguese to carry out various activities and gather local intelligence and geography.

The East African colonies have now become a dark and evil force in the eyes of many indigenous forces in the West. They have left the land but not the people, making East Africa notorious among the indigenous forces in the north and south separated by the Congo rainforest.

The tribes and kingdoms expelled from East Africa spread the name of the East African colony to both sides of the Congo rainforest, in South Central Africa and West Central Africa.

Therefore, the spies of the East African colonies in these areas could only disguise themselves as people from various countries, but they could not use the flag of East Africa.

For example, Central and Southern Africa. Although this place is located deep inland, some Portuguese merchants still do business here for the sake of business.

Even many Portuguese merchants settled in Central and Southern Africa, so spies from the East African colonies often disguised themselves as Portuguese merchants and operated in the Central and Southern Africa region.

Becker smiled and said to Merk: "Although Musiri is brutal, he is a practical man. He knows very well who can bring him real benefits. Especially in the vast territory he rules, he relies on advanced firearms to suppress local forces and natives.

The Yek Kingdom he established was only a few decades old, and the territory was basically seized, so naturally many natives did not submit to him.

Moreover, his family once worked for the Arabs, so he is one of the few African natives who have seen the world, so he dare not act rashly against us."

"Mr. Becker, this is just an ideal speculation! Musiri has been the king of the Yek Kingdom for more than ten years, and his character has become more and more tyrannical. I now doubt whether his mind is clear. If he is really crazy, then we are afraid..." Merk was about to continue speaking when he was interrupted by Becker.

"Don't be discouraged. Our armed forces of more than 50 people are not pushovers. M'siri's musketeers only have about 100 people now, and their equipment is outdated. Their ammunition is also provided by us in East Africa. If he doesn't use all his strength, it's hard to say who will win in a real fight."

Merkel agreed with this point. Although Becker was a civilian, he was not ignorant of military affairs.

Most of the officials in East Africa were drawn from the army or from the Hechingen Military Academy, and Becker had fought many tough battles in East Africa.

Moreover, Becker had been in Mbeya earlier than Merke. Merke was transferred from the east to Mbeya, while Becker had been a soldier in Mbeya and then entered the civil service system, which meant he had stayed in Mbeya for several months longer than Merke.

"But it is better to be cautious. In my opinion, we should have decided to send troops directly before. I am afraid they may not cooperate with us if we try to use 'hard truths' and civilized ways on these natives. Moreover, our team is too small compared to the Yek Kingdom. I am afraid they will use human wave tactics against us." Although the diplomatic mission to the Yek Kingdom had already taken place, Merk still insisted on his original proposal to go to war directly.

“Although our mission may be dangerous, we need to consider many aspects. East Africa is developing rapidly, and every war means disrupting the development process of East Africa.

For example, during the Northwest Campaign, all of East Africa’s resources were tilted toward the Northwest region, and East Africa was basically in a state of stagnant development at the time.

Fortunately, the benefits of the Northwest Campaign are great enough to make it worth our while. If we also send troops directly to the Yek Kingdom, there will naturally be no problem.

But wouldn’t it be better if we could take over the Yeke Kingdom at a lower cost? Although there are certain risks in doing so, it is worth a try for us in East Africa.

After all, this is the first time we deal with these natives in a diplomatic manner. Even if we fail, we can accumulate some experience for East Africa.

And if we succeed, our contribution will be no less than that of a large-scale war, don’t you think so, Mr. Merke?” Becker said.

In fact, the last sentence is the main reason. Compared with a war, if this mission to the Kingdom of Yek is successful, Merk and Becker’s contributions will definitely be indispensable.

Moreover, the military merits of a war must be shared, and as a civilian, Becker can gain very little credit. Although Merk is the military commander of the Mbeya region, if a real war breaks out, the East African colonies may send troops from other regions to participate, or airdrop a famous general like Felix to command the battle.

The Yek Kingdom is like a piece of cake. The more people there are, the less each person gets. As a civil servant, Becker is naturally unwilling to accept this.

That's why he proposed the plan of sending an envoy to the Kingdom of Yeke. If it succeeded, as the person who proposed and executor the plan, Becker's contribution would definitely not be lower than the second one. After all, there were the commissioner and a group of senior officials from the Great Lakes region above him. With the commissioner present, it would be difficult for other officials to snatch the credit from Becker. As for Commissioner Siewert, Becker still understood the ways of the world. However, Becker was just judging others by his own standards.

As one of the most outstanding graduates of the Hechingen Military Academy, Siewert was appreciated by Ernst and was basically kept by his side to teach by example.

At that time, there were only four or five best graduates from the Hechingen Military Academy. According to the formal procedures, Siweit should enter the military academy in Berlin to continue his studies.

However, Ernst sent him to East Africa alone to oversee military work in the East African colonies and eventually became a member of the highest decision-making level in East Africa.

Ernst's trust in him is obvious, and Siewert is also grateful to Ernst for his training and is one of Ernst's confidants.

Siweit is like Ernst's clone in the East African colony. He strictly follows every order of Ernst. Siweit's position in East Africa has reached the ceiling. He only needs to rely on Ernst for his whole life and does not need any bonus of merit. Therefore, Siweit will not be greedy for Becker's merit.

Merkel's goal is similar to Becker's. Although he is a war advocate, Becker's proposal is more tempting.

Becker and Merke were both early German mercenaries, and when their contracts expire, they will still have to return to Europe.

Every achievement in East Africa is worth a lot of money, which is related to the later life of Becker and Merk, so this mission to the Kingdom of Yeke was made.

(End of this chapter)