Chapter 401 Rejection
July 22, 1872.
London.
British Prime Minister Gladstone has been in a very good mood recently, with all affairs progressing smoothly. Last year, he presided over the implementation of the national education reform in the UK, established government-funded non-religious primary schools, and improved the cultural level of workers in order to support industrialists in their competition in the international market.
In the same year, the civil service system was reformed to establish a cheap government that could both improve administrative efficiency and save costs, so that more funds could be used to develop the economy. This year, the British Army was reformed to adapt to the short-term military service system.
In addition, with the improvement of the international situation, the British Empire's arch-enemy France was dragged into the war by Prussia. Now the situation is not just good, but very good.
At this moment, the secretary came in and ruined Gladstone's good mood: "Mr. Prime Minister, this is an urgent letter from the Cape Town Colony!"
"Cape Town! What kind of emergency could they have?" asked Gladstone, puzzled.
"Well, Mr. Prime Minister, please take a look at the contents of the letter before making any conclusion," the secretary responded.
So, Gladstone read it with a skeptical attitude. It was really that Gladstone could not imagine what kind of emergency Cape Town would encounter. As an important part of the British Empire's colonies, no one should be so blind as to dare to provoke Cape Town. After all, France was no longer qualified to compete with Britain for hegemony. Although Germany had become the overlord of the European continent, its navy was a bathtub navy among the great powers, which made people sad and cry when they heard about it. It posed no threat to Britain at all. Finally, there were the two clay-footed giants, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia, which were not to be mentioned alone.
After excluding the great powers, the only country that dares to challenge the British Empire should be the rebellious America. However, the British all know that America is only tough in words and can only yell at Britain across the Atlantic.
"Where is the East African Kingdom?" Gladstone asked puzzledly after reading the letter.
The secretary responded: "Prime Minister, have you forgotten that Prince Constantine of Prussia went to Africa to become king in the middle of the year before last? It was a joke in the newspapers for a while!"
Gladstone: "Now that you mention it, I remember that I once ridiculed the Hohenzollern family for being so unmotivated that they actually went to Africa to dominate the world."
Although Ernst bought the headlines and made the East African Kingdom famous at the time, its reputation was indeed not very good. As for Africa, everyone who knows it understands it. If the Franco-Prussian War had not broken out, this kind of thing would have definitely become a laughing stock for most people for a period of time.
"Well, but is the East African Kingdom so domineering now? It can bully Cape Town! Fifty thousand troops are not too many? Why is Cape Town so nervous!" Gladstone asked puzzledly.
Here, Gladstone did not think that the 50,000 troops from East Africa would have any impact on Cape Town, because he conventionally believed that the East African army was composed of black people.
This kind of thing was too common in the colonies. If possible, Britain could easily organize an army of millions of people in India using the locals. There were not many white people in Cape Town, but there were quite a few black people, so they could at least organize an army of more than 100,000 people.
Gladstone got angry when he thought of this: "It's too shameful to let Cape Town solve this problem by itself. If a small African country is afraid, then wouldn't the black people in the United States have already rebelled? Do you want us to go and tell Prussia that your colonies are too powerful and threaten the safety of Cape Town? If we don't even have the confidence to fight the black people, how can this be justified?"
Gladstone went on to say, "Write back to Sir Henry Barclay and tell him not to send this kind of thing to London in the future. Unless the Germans themselves go to Cape Town, I don't believe they have degenerated to the point where they can even bully the natives. If I really have to lower myself to beg Bismarck for help because of this matter, don't even think about it."
What Gladstone said made sense. Given the German naval level, it was probably comparable to the Royal Navy stationed in the Cape Colony. Moreover, it was impossible for the Germans to cross the Atlantic to Africa to die.
Of course, the main reason why Gladstone was so angry was that the British Empire could not afford to lose face, and he himself as the Prime Minister of the Empire could not afford to lose face. For the benefit of Cape Town, he was asked to ask Bismarck for help. The people of Cape Town could not imagine that the world hegemon would ask for help from its former younger brother?
"Yes, Prime Minister!"
The secretary also thought so. The East African Kingdom was just an indigenous country that had just gone public through a backdoor listing last year, while Britain's Cape Colony had gone through hundreds of years of development (with the Netherlands) and was the region with the largest white population in Africa (Europe). If a century-old colony was not as strong as a new indigenous country that had just been born, it would be too worthless.
Gladstone rejected the Cape Town Colony's request for help, not because Gladstone thought Cape Town was unimportant, but because he did not think Cape Town would be in danger. The only countries that had the strength to swallow up the Cape Town Colony under the nose of Britain were several other powerful countries. The problem was that the British Royal Navy was now the only dominant country, and no one dared to cause trouble for the British overseas.
…
South Africa.
Ernst: "Now that we are neighbors with the Portuguese in the south, it would be unreasonable not to pay them a visit. Otherwise, it would scare the Mozambique colony, which would be bad."
By dealing with a number of South African forces, especially the Orange Free State, the East African Kingdom's southern defense line became as solid as a rock. Although the Orange Free State is not large in area, it now has nearly half of South Africa's white population (excluding the East African Army). Especially with the strengthened Orange Free State, Ernst believed that he could say no to East Africa and Cape Town.
The Cape Colony now had no idea what it was doing and had no reaction at all, so Ernst planned to let Felix, who had pacified the Zulu Kingdom, lead a team to Portugal for some exchanges (demonstrations).
There was no way around it. Although the Mozambique colony bordered more areas in northern East Africa, the center of Mozambique was in Maputo Bay. The forces were mutual. Mozambique was worried that the East African Kingdom would threaten its capital, and the East African Kingdom was also worried that the Portuguese would launch a sneak attack on South Africa!
Ernst: "We don't need to bring too many people. A dozen or so will be enough. The Portuguese are like frightened birds. If we use a little more force, they might explode."
Ernst was telling the truth. Right now in South Africa, people are in panic because of the arrival of the East African Kingdom. In particular, the East African Kingdom's large-scale military mobilization and a series of dazzling wars have made local forces terrified, fearing that the East African Kingdom will suddenly attack them one day.
Not only is the East African Kingdom strong in military strength, but it also has no martial ethics. Looking at the several countries that it has destroyed in East Africa, they all fought without declaring war. Such a neighbor is unreliable no matter where it is.
Among them, Tsarist Russia is a representative example. However, even when fighting with Europe, Tsarist Russia still abided by European rules. The Kingdom of East Africa was completely a gangster. This was also related to the ecological environment of the colonies. In all colonies in the world, especially in Africa, the emphasis was on not following martial ethics, cheating, murder and arson. All colonial groups could fight with dog brains and use all kinds of crooked tricks. Countries like the Kingdom of East Africa, which relied purely on force to solve problems, were considered a breath of fresh air in Africa.
(End of this chapter)
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