Chapter 402 Compromise
"The shells are loaded!"
"Aim at the target point, ready, fire!"
Boom... With a loud bang, billowing black smoke gushed out of the gun barrel. The huge recoil caused the cannon to be directly lifted off the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. The temporary target made of mud erected on the bank of the Fall River was instantly blown to pieces.
But this is not the end. The 3rd Brigade is equipped with a total of eleven artillery pieces, which is all the assets of the entire 511th Division. As the first artillery piece fired, the other artillery pieces also fired at the destroyed target in turn, and began to knead its corpse. When the dust settled, the pile of earth and rocks that was originally more than one meter high was completely turned into a deep pit.
"The Third Cavalry Company attacks!"
More than 200 war horses galloped across the open field. As their speed gradually increased, the cavalry took out Dreiser carbines and quickly filled them with ammunition on horseback. They then drove the horses to an emergency stop, took aim, and fired in the direction of the Fall River. Their movements were done in one smooth motion without a single pause.
Afterwards, the various units of the Third Brigade conducted a series of tactical demonstrations according to the imaginary enemy deployed by the pre-war command, including advancing, retreating, and counterattacking. The various units cooperated with each other, demonstrating the coordination capabilities among the various units of the Third Brigade. The exercise lasted for four hours and finally ended at noon when the sun was high in the sky and the dinner bell sounded.
The British, Boers and natives on the other side of the river were also watching the show prepared for them by the East African Kingdom.
British mine owners stood in the distance watching with binoculars and discussing the significance of this East African Kingdom exercise.
"Oh, my God! The Germans are protesting against us!"
"But you have to admit that they do appear to be a well-trained army. No wonder the Germans were able to quickly complete their attacks on many parts of South Africa and ultimately achieve victory."
"If it weren't for the yellow people in the German army, I would really suspect that these Germans were the Prussian Army disguised as the East African Kingdom Army, and then fought against the Boers and the Zulu Kingdom."
"Gentlemen, what should we do now? Does the East African Kingdom really intend to attack Kimberley?"
"We must not let the Germans cross the river, but who can stop them? Their military strength is formidable. Even if we really let the Royal Navy in Cape Town come inland, I'm afraid they won't be able to do anything to the Germans."
"In that case, we can only force Cape Town to negotiate with the Germans. Let's not talk about what the outcome would be if a war breaks out. My mine cannot be shut down for a single day, which means we will make much less money. Moreover, if the outcome is very bad, we might lose everything. Once the war breaks out, it's uncertain who will ultimately own Kimberley."
"If this were India, I believe the empire would not be afraid of any challenge. However, the Cape Colony cannot even compare with India, Canada or Australia. Our population is too small."
"Also, the terrain of Cape Town is not conducive to our army's defense. If it were in the east, it would be easy because we could use the port to land the army. But Kimberley is in the heart of the South African plateau. Even if we wait for the army to come from the east, it will be too late."
The terrain of the Cape Colony was indeed unfriendly, especially for the British, because the edge of the South African plateau was a 2,000-kilometer-long cliff.
(picture)
This special geographical structure is similar to the Brazilian Shield, but the situation is slightly better than that of Brazil, because the South African plateau has a longer history. After hundreds of millions of years of historical development, some coastal areas have undergone long-term erosion by sea water, rivers, rain, and wind, and slowly formed some narrow plains. Cape Town (city) is built on such a plain.
The Drakensberg Mountains in the east are part of this big cliff, but there are many gaps in the Drakensberg Mountains, as well as many excellent ports, so transportation is acceptable.
The situation inland from Cape Town is hard to describe. Not only is there a topographical limitation, but the northern part that connects to the South African Plateau is the very arid Great Karoo Basin, a semi-desert arid climate zone with precipitation ranging from 100 mm to 400 mm, which is extremely unstable. Years with a lack of rain are even drier than the Kalahari Desert. There are almost no population and only some goats and sheep can be raised. However, due to the existence of the Great Escarpment of South Africa, the rivers here can be supplemented by water from the mountains, and limited irrigation agricultural land can be developed along the rivers.
(picture)
In short, it was extremely difficult for the Cape Town colony to develop inland. On the contrary, East Africa expanded from the inland to the coast, and the East African Plateau and the South African Plateau were almost connected, without much terrain obstacles. Therefore, Cape Town could only watch East Africa expand inland unscrupulously, and it had no way to do anything. However, the fundamental reason was that the population of Cape Town was too small to support more troops and explore inland areas.
"The worst thing now is that the Germans are only separated from us by a river, and the Kimberley mining area is the most valuable piece of cake in the whole of South Africa. We cannot afford to lose Kimberley."
"We must unite and reach an agreement between Cape Town and East Africa. Losing some worthless land is not a big deal. Although Grigualan is large in area, it is invalid land with few people and bad climatic conditions. It doesn't matter if we give it to the Kingdom of East Africa. As long as the Kingdom of East Africa promises never to have any ideas about Kimberley, I think this is understandable for our common interests."
His words were recognized by the Kimberley mine owners. So far, there are more than 30 companies in the Kimberley mining area, which have developed diamonds worth about 350,000 pounds. It is also the largest source of tax revenue for the Cape Colony.
But this is only the limit for the mine owners, and it is far from the limit for the Kimberley mining area. With the increase in investment, the output of Kimberley diamonds has increased exponentially. What is buried underground is hard-earned money. The mine owners and the companies that rely on diamonds are most in need of manpower. Currently, the Kimberley mining area has a population of less than 10,000, which seriously restricts the development of Kimberley.
As long as the population increases, how much diamond can be developed in the Kimberley mining area? Millions of pounds, or even tens of millions of pounds.
In comparison, the total annual income of the United Kingdom in the early 19th century was 230 million pounds, and the income of the nobility was 3.1 million pounds. The value of Kimberley is self-evident, so Kimberley cannot be lost. Business owners and mine owners in the Kimberley region will not choose to go to war with the East African Kingdom for their own interests.
Soon, Henry Buckley, the Governor of Cape Town, received a letter from the British nobles and big capitalists behind the Kimberley mining area. The general meaning was: "Ensure the safety of the diamond mining area. As for the Grigoriy Republic, just throw it away. Otherwise, your position as Governor will be over. Make peace with the East African Kingdom as soon as possible to avoid escalating the conflict."
This made Henry Barclay very depressed. He wrote in his diary: "For the sake of immediate interests, the politicians and capitalists in London have no idea what giving up the East African Kingdom means for the future of Britain! If the East African Kingdom is allowed to gain a foothold in South Africa, Cape Town will only become its vassal even if it is not annexed. In my opinion, this is only a matter of time. Within fifty years, the seeds they have planted will surely bear evil fruit..."
Subsequently, the Cape Colony signed a non-aggression pact with East Africa, which stated that the Kingdom of East Africa must stop all military operations in South Africa and guarantee never to invade the territory of the Cape Colony. The Orange River was the boundary between the two sides.
After the signing of the agreement, the East African Army on the border had to withdraw, leaving only a small number of border troops. As a reciprocal condition, the same was true for the Cape Town Colony.
Finally, regarding the issue of the Grigoran Republic, the Kingdom of East Africa paid for the purchase as compensation for the Cape Colony. Paying for the purchase of the Grigoran Republic was a matter of face, and East Africa paid a symbolic payment of 3,000 pounds.
The residents of the Republic of Grigory were packed up and sent to the Cape Colony by East Africa to provide labor for the Kimberley mining area.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
