Chapter 274 First Contact
The Kingdom of Italy was in a state of chaos due to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and France was no less troubled. However, compared with the Italian government, the actions of the newly established French Third Republic were shameful.
The French National Defense Government attempted to collude with Prussia to prevent the revolutionary movement from continuing to develop, and had begun secret negotiations with Bismarck. At this time, intimidated by the pressure of the French people, although it took a long time, it was forced to take measures to strengthen the defense of Paris. However, the German army advanced towards Paris as if it were in an empty land.
…
Southeastern Botswana.
"The other side of the river is the Boer territory!" Jacob said as he looked at the slowly flowing Limpopo River.
The Limpopo River is the destination of this southern expedition. It originates near Johannesburg, South Africa, then flows northwest, makes a big circle in Botswana, and then turns eastward to flow into the Indian Ocean.
The entire river is divided into three sections. The upper reaches have small tributaries and are mostly intermittent rivers. The middle reaches cut through the mountains on the edge of the South African plateau and are full of waterfalls, rapids and shallows. The lower reaches are rivers in the plains.
Mozambique in the lower reaches was not the target of the East African Kingdom. The East African Expeditionary Force watered its horses in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and the Limpopo River could serve as a natural geographical dividing line.
In fact, the East African Kingdom separated the former Botswana and Zimbabwe from the Boer forces along the Limpopo River.
"Yes, although most of the Boer farms are wasteland, the areas they divided are very large. If the Limpopo River had not blocked their path of expansion, it would not be our turn to occupy here," replied Staff Officer Boll.
"It's not that they can't cross the river, but there's no need. The Boers are too small in population, and the land becomes drier and poorer as they head west. Add to that the threat from the British, and it's hard for them to disperse their forces, so the population is still mainly concentrated in the east."
"The country established by the Boers across the street is called the Transvaal Republic, which was formed in 1849 by the merger of several small countries established by the Boers. There is also an Orange Free State Republic in the south, which is also a Boer country. The two countries are separated by the Vaal River (the largest tributary of the Orange River in the north)."
"Although the Boers are mainly descendants of the Dutch, there are also many German immigrants, but most of them are old Germans."
The so-called Old Germans refer specifically to the Germans who immigrated from the German region to all parts of the world before 1865, because the East African colonial team landed in Dar es Salaam in 1865.
Since 1865, immigration from Germany has gradually shifted to East Africa, so that now more than 80% of German immigrants each year become East Africans.
The main reason for making such a distinction is that East Africa is a country where German culture is the mainstream, and the overseas countries to which the Germans who immigrated overseas before 1865 went, excluding colonies, were all non-German countries.
This was the case with the Germans in the Transvaal Republic, but it also made it easier for the East African Kingdom to obtain the intelligence it wanted in the two Boer republics.
The Boers' main language is Dutch, which is also their only written language. Although Dutch is relatively close to German and similar to a local dialect, it is still difficult to understand Dutch in East Africa unless you are an immigrant from North Germany, because the official language of East Africa is the South German dialect, which itself is somewhat different from the North German dialect. In general, the language of East Africa is closest to Bavarian, and the same is true for Austrian.
Therefore, East African intelligence personnel in the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State Republic mainly obtained intelligence from their German fellows.
The Boers were unaware of this. If they had done the opposite, it would not have been impossible for them to gather intelligence on East Africa, but they could only obtain limited information in the two free ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. The worst thing was that neither of the two Boer republics had access to the sea.
Just as Jacob and Boll were talking, a group of people suddenly appeared across the river.
"The people on the other side are Germans, are you sure?" Vincent asked his men.
"Yes, their uniforms are very similar to those of the Prussian Army, except for the hats. I served in the Prussian Army, so I can tell the difference at a glance," Barkhausen replied.
"That's unlikely! You can't say that the Prussian Army appeared in Africa or our western inland areas. Did they fly over?"
As a native Boer, Vincent has lived in South Africa since he was a child. Most of his knowledge of Europe comes from stories told by his parents or news brought by new immigrants.
Barkhausen was a Prussian immigrant who came from Germany to make a living on the farm of Vincent's father, Old Vincent.
So Barkhausen is the old German recognized by the East Africans. He came to South Africa ten years ago. Not to mention the East African Kingdom, he is not very clear about the current achievements of Prussia's invasion of France.
"That's true, but the clothes can't lie. It's impossible for a British person to appear here wearing this." said Buckhausen.
"It's better to go over and ask. Since there's a possibility that he's a German, I'll leave it to you." Vincent said to Barkhausen.
"No problem," Barkhausen replied.
soon.
Barkhausen drove his horse to the river and began to cross the river under the watchful eyes of the East African soldiers. Because Vincent's group consisted of only a few people and Barkhausen had no weapons, they let him cross.
Botswana does not have much rainfall, and it was the dry season, so the water in the upper reaches of the Limpopo River was very shallow, so Barkhausen and his horse easily crossed the river.
"May I ask where you are from?" Barkhausen asked in German.
"East African Kingdom Army, 15th Division, 23rd Regiment, 3rd Cavalry Company. I am Staff Officer Boll."
"I have never heard of the East African Kingdom, but judging from your attire and your accent, you must be from Germany! Do you have any relationship with Prussia?" Barkhausen asked.
"The Kingdom of East Africa, like Prussia, is an independent country. We are not Prussians, but we all belong to the German nation."
Barkhausen felt relieved when he heard about Germany. He dismounted and walked forward a little, saying, "Hello, I am also a German from Prussia, but I came to South Africa in 1851, so I don't know much about the current situation in Europe. Can you tell me more about the situation in the East African Kingdom?"
Barkhausen really couldn't think of what relationship the East African Kingdom had with Germany. However, it was not impossible for a new country to emerge in the fragmented Germany. He just didn't know why they appeared in South Africa if they were a German country. Moreover, the name East Africa obviously meant Eastern Africa, which had nothing to do with Germany. Barkhausen's mind was full of question marks.
"You are Prussian? Very good, I am from the Kingdom of Württemberg. My name is Jacob, and I am the captain of this team."
"So you are fellow villagers. That's great. Commander Jacob, I wonder how you came to this place?"
At this time, Boll asked: "You should be from the Transvaal Republic across the street!"
"Yes, if we count by location, the other side of the river is our boss's ranch. We were hunting here today and we saw you, so he asked me to come over and ask."
"Well, that's easy. When you go back, you can tell your boss that this side of the river will belong to the East African Kingdom in the future. You'd better spread the word to your acquaintances on the other side so that there won't be any misunderstandings in the future."
"Ah!" Barkhausen was completely confused. Isn't this a no-man's land? Once he crossed the river, it became the territory of the so-called East African Kingdom!
"The Kingdom of East Africa means what you understand literally. Our country uses this name only due to geographical reasons. And when you go back, tell the people of the Transvaal Republic not to be clever. We have deployed an army of tens of thousands of people along the Limpopo River. Of course, the Kingdom of East Africa has no intention of offending the Transvaal Republic. You can just regard us as a border guard force." Jacob explained.
"But this is South Africa!" Barkhausen already understood that this was a new country and most likely a colony established by the Germans, but how was East Africa connected to this place?
"Haha, when you heard about the East African Kingdom, you should know that we expanded here from East Africa thousands of miles away. As for South Africa, it was incorporated into the territory of East Africa and naturally belongs to East Africa." Jacob said.
"So that's it!" said Barkhausen. In fact, he was even more confused because he didn't know where East Africa was exactly. Although he had received compulsory education and had seen the world map when he was a child, there was no country called East Africa on the world map at that time, and of course, there was no Transvaal Republic either.
…
Barkhausen returned to the other side of the river in confusion, and Vincent hurriedly asked, "Did you figure it out?"
"Yes, sir, but I'm not sure."
"What's the meaning?"
"The people on the other side are indeed Germans, but they say they are from the East African Kingdom Army."
"East African Kingdom?"
"Yes, I don't know how to explain to you that this should be a new country. Just now they told me that the other side of the river is already their territory!"
"Huh! Why?" Vincent asked. He did not develop westwards due to the shortage of manpower. In fact, he assumed that the land west of the Limpopo River also belonged to him.
"They say the East African Kingdom has deployed tens of thousands of so-called East African Army along the river," said Buckhausen.
"Tens of thousands of people? That's unlikely!"
"It's impossible not to know, but Boss, those hundreds of cavalrymen on the other side of the river are not fake, so it's better not to be impulsive!"
(End of this chapter)
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