Chapter 498 Peace Talks
"Mediation?" Ernst was only slightly surprised, but immediately said as expected: "Things are developing pretty much as we expected, except that the war situation is still unclear, and the British can't sit still."
Constantine asked with some concern: "Are we really going to cease fire with Portugal?"
In Constantine's view, Angola and Mozambique are now meat at his fingertips, and it would be too painful to spit them out at this time.
Ernst knew Constantine's little thoughts. He also wanted to take over Portugal's two colonies in one go, but now was obviously not the time.
"We definitely can't swallow up Portugal's two colonies in one go this time. If it was just a dispute between us and Portugal, it wouldn't matter. But this war is actually about a conflict between us and Britain, so the British will definitely keep Portugal's two colonies. They need to use the Portuguese to contain our development in East Africa."
Constantine saw his son say this and knew the logic behind the question, but he was a little unwilling in his heart and said, "We can't let the Portuguese go this time. We must make them bleed hard and let other countries know the consequences of provoking us, even if the British are protecting us."
Ernst agreed with this point very much. It was not impossible for the British to stop the war at this time. East Africa did not matter anyway. However, if the Portuguese did not give them satisfactory compensation, the British would not be able to do whatever they said.
"For the two colonies, we should at least take a large piece of land. We should not favor one over the other and make the territory of East Africa look more balanced." Ernst made up his mind to discipline Portugal.
…
Soon, East Africa agreed to war mediation, which surprised the British. They were used to being domineering and overbearing. According to the British thinking, they would have to negotiate conditions first and then accept mediation. As the advantageous party, did East Africa really have no demands of its own?
That is naturally impossible, but the initiative is in the hands of East Africa. Whether to stop the war depends entirely on East Africa's mind. What cannot be obtained on the battlefield, cannot be obtained at the negotiation table. Therefore, East Africa is prepared to talk about conditions during the negotiations, which is a completely fearless performance.
Soon, East Africa and Portugal began negotiations in Dar es Salaam under the supervision of Britain, France, Germany and Austria.
The negotiation site was the former Zanzibar Royal Palace, but it had long been converted into a place for receiving foreign guests in Dar es Salaam.
"We want the whole of Angola and half of Mozambique!" East African Army Chief of Staff Sir Thomas Stuart gave Portugal a warning right from the start.
In fact, according to the progress of the war in East Africa, most of Angola was still in the hands of Portugal, but important areas including the capital Luanda fell into the hands of East Africa. Except for Cabinda, most of the rest were Portuguese plantation owners and mine owners in Angola. These remnant forces were completely insignificant in the eyes of East Africa. After all, the Angolan government had fled to Cabinda, and these civilian forces had no chance of confronting East Africa.
"General Sweet, you East Africans are going too far. We can't agree to your conditions. Angola is an integral part of the Kingdom of Portugal." Portuguese representative Addis protested.
In his opinion, East Africa's demands were totally unacceptable. Angola and Mozambique could be said to be the two most important colonies of Portugal at present, neither of which could be missing. How could Portugal tolerate East Africa's attempt to take away Angola and half of Mozambique?
The British representative Hull also said: "East Africa's demands are indeed excessive. Now the war is not over, and it is still unknown who will win. Maybe the Portuguese can turn defeat into victory."
Representatives of all countries participating in the negotiations had a new understanding of the shamelessness of the British. Portugal still wanted to turn the tables in its half-dead state? It would be almost impossible unless Napoleon was reincarnated.
Siweite ignored Hull's shameless remarks and said: "Everyone present here is actually very clear about the strength of East Africa. If we want to wipe the two Portuguese colonies off the map by force, it is only a matter of time. We can participate in the negotiations only for the sake of the face of the international community."
If there had been no interference from Britain and France, East Africa would not have been in the mood to play this game with Portugal and would have sent regular troops to take over the two colonies in one fell swoop.
Hull said: "Although Angola and Mozambique were at fault, they should not be so harsh to Portugal. It would be better for both sides to return to the pre-war state!"
You big-headed ghost! Siwei Te said with a smile: "If you make a mistake, you have to pay the price. Moreover, the Portuguese obviously had a premeditated plan for the East African territory. This time, the Portuguese army obviously exceeded its capacity. As far as I know, the Mozambique army had only a few thousand people at most before the war. It suddenly expanded to 60,000 or 70,000 before the war. It is obvious that they accepted assistance from foreign forces."
If the thinking is specifically pointed out, it will make Britain and France lose face. Aren’t they the foreign forces being referred to?
However, Britain and France are thick-skinned and will not say that they interfered in the East-Portuguese War. Hull said, "Portugal is an old and powerful country after all. It is still powerful. As for the Portuguese colonies strengthening their own armed forces, it is completely understandable. After all, there are people around who are eyeing Portugal's two colonies."
After hearing Hull's words, the corner of Siweit's mouth twitched. East Africa did have ill intentions towards Portugal's two colonies, but this war was not instigated by East Africa. Instead, it was Mozambique that personally handed the excuse of war to East Africa.
"East Africa is a peace-loving country. We have always developed friendly relations with neighboring countries. However, this time it was Portugal that provoked first, and some countries did not deserve the label of civilized countries for declaring war without declaration. Such behavior will only make people laugh."
Siweite's words made the Portuguese representative lose face, but Portugal was indeed disgraceful this time. It couldn't even launch a sneak attack on East Africa. If it fails to handle this war well, Portugal may replace Italy and become the new international entertainment.
Addis said: "It is true that we were wrong in this war, but this is all a misunderstanding..." Addis didn't know how to continue, and could only use misunderstanding to cover up his embarrassment.
"Okay, let's all take a step back this time. Portugal made the mistake first, so of course it should be punished, but we don't have to be too harsh on Portugal. Let's all put together some opinions and then decide on compensation." The Frenchman said, acting as a peacemaker.
The representatives of Germany and Austria naturally spoke to East Africa, believing that Portugal should bear the consequences of its mistakes, otherwise where is international justice? East Africa does not know whether there is national justice, but it is strong enough, so what it says is naturally international justice.
After several rounds of bargaining, East Africa finally received some compensation: one-third of Angola's southern territory and the land north of the Zambezi River in Mozambique.
Although Britain and France wanted to preserve Portugal's two colonies, Portugal fought so badly in this war that neither Britain nor France could negotiate with the Germans.
Moreover, during the negotiations, East Africa launched several large-scale war operations, which put pressure on Portugal at all times. This made Portugal very uncomfortable, and finally it had to cede land and seek peace, otherwise the two colonies might really become history.
Portugal's heart was bleeding after losing so much territory, and it hated East Africa. Although it was Portugal that provoked first this time, it stood more firmly on the side of Britain.
(End of this chapter)
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