Chapter 62: Fierce Battle
Basel led more than 20 staff members and drove the carriage eastward. After about two hours and ten miles, they encountered the oncoming East African colonial army.
Felix walked up to Basel and said hello: "Basel, why are you guys out? What's the situation in Zanzibar now?"
"Alas..." Bazel sighed.
"There was a coup in the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Bargash bin Said took control of the army and imprisoned Sultan Majid bin Said. We were driven out by Bargash bin Said's people."
"Where are the immigrants? The ship should arrive today, right?" Felix asked.
"The ship that came today is from Europe. I asked them to go north to Tanga Port," Basel replied.
Felix narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice: "These Zanzibar people are really powerful. If a tiger doesn't show its might, they really think we are sick cats. This time we must teach them a lesson!"
Bazel asked in surprise, "You are not planning to retaliate now! Aren't you going to wait until the main force arrives before taking action?"
Felix said contemptuously: "As for the Zanzibar army, I don't even take it seriously. I will teach them a lesson later."
Basel said a little worriedly: "Don't try to show off. It will be a bad ending if you mess up." After saying that, he signaled Hans Zhang with his eyes to persuade Felix.
Hans Zhang put his hand on Bazel's shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, Felix is still sensible. Although he acted a little boldly, we won't do anything without confidence. Besides, we are not without legs. If things go wrong, we can still run away."
Seeing that the two guys didn't listen to his advice at all, Bazel asked helplessly, "So what are you going to do?"
Felix said, "Of course we should check out the situation first and then make plans. We are not stupid enough to just rush in and shoot."
Felix had been in East Africa for so long, and usually fought against uncivilized natives. He didn't need to use his brain at all. He could easily win by just firing a volley of bullets.
Now that I have encountered an opponent who is slightly challenging, it can be said that it is like a long-awaited rain. I have been itching to do this for a long time.
"Don't go back. We are few in number, so you can join us and I will lead you back to Dar es Salaam." Felix said to Basel and his group.
"Okay, I'll trust you this time. We are your subordinates now, and you can't mess around." Basel said.
Bazel was also a Prussian soldier. He was not afraid of fighting, but he was a little cautious in character.
"Don't worry! I came to East Africa for the high salary, and my family is waiting for me to return! I value my life very much, and how can I do something reckless when I haven't even enjoyed it yet?" Felix patted his chest and promised.
The German soldiers in the colonies were indeed hired with high salaries. In addition to a minimum guarantee, they were also paid based on their combat performance. Every time they accumulated military merit, they would get money. Although they did not gain much from each battle, there were plenty of battles to fight in East Africa.
If accumulated, the income would be considerable, which was why Felix and others were happy to hear of war, especially for a civilized country like Zanzibar in East Africa. One battle was equivalent to several raids on the savage tribes.
Ernst’s requirement for the colonies is to act according to the plan and each expansion must have a direction. If they exceed the scope, it would be like working for Ernst in vain.
As for the Sultanate of Zanzibar, Ernst's instruction was that he would not offend others unless they offended him, and that he should not cause trouble until the Sultanate of Zanzibar threatened the East African colonies.
The students of the Hechingen Military Academy and the people sent by the consortium will verify the effects and details of the war. They do not get paid for their military achievements, so they will not be too fanatical about the war.
The Sultanate of Zanzibar had not targeted the East African colonies before, so people like Felix had no reason to take action. Now that the Sultanate of Zanzibar is asking for its own destruction, don't blame Felix for being rude.
…
In the evening, the weather started to get a little cooler.
Outside Zanzibar.
Felix and his group hid in the jungle not far from the city, waiting for the intelligence officers to return.
After a while, a man dressed in Arab clothes came out of Dar es Salaam and entered the dense forest.
"Reporting to the commander, we have already found out that the enemy has not imposed martial law, ordinary people can still enter and exit normally, and there are no soldiers on the streets. Zanzibar is now ruled by Bargash bin Said, and his people are in the palace..."
"Very good, you should take a rest first." Felix ordered.
He turned to the people around him and said, "It seems that this Bargash bin Said is indeed not a man who can accomplish great things. He doesn't even know that he has offended someone he shouldn't have offended, and now he is not acting cautiously."
"It's not that surprising. Based on my many years of experience in Southeast Asia, most of the leaders of these small countries are like this, and there are also many who are more arrogant," said Basel.
"Wait until it gets dark, and then we'll take advantage of the cover of night to sneak in and catch him off guard." Felix clenched his fist in front of his chest and said in a sonorous and powerful voice.
As he spoke, he took out a map of Dar es Salaam and pointed at the royal palace on the map.
"We must capture the leader first. Let's go straight to the enemy's headquarters and let this Bargash bin Said also have a taste of being captured."
…
At seven o'clock in the evening, it was already dark. The East African colonial army sneaked into the city. Everything went smoothly. The Dar es Salaam Palace was a three-story building in the center of the city.
Bargash bin Said was holding a celebration banquet. As he was in power for the first time, Bargash bin Said felt that today had gone too smoothly. He had seized power, abolished the backward system, and expelled the Germans from the port of Dar es Salaam.
All this was accomplished in one day, and Bargash ibn Said held a grand banquet to commemorate the success of the first day.
Due to religious reasons, there was no alcohol on the table, except for coffee and coconuts.
Bargash bin Said held a coconut in his hand and said to the crowd: "Today is the greatest day in the history of Zanzibar..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden chaos outside the palace, "Bang, bang, bang..." gunshots rang out one after another.
"What's going on? Abdullah, go and have a look!" Bargash bin Said shouted angrily, "Who is not here today?"
The first thing that came to Bargash bin Said's mind was the remnants of Majid bin Said.
The ministers present looked at each other in bewilderment. At this time, only you, Bargash bin Said, have someone in your hands! Could it be the Germans from the East African colonies? That shouldn't be the case!
If they want to take revenge, they will have to gather a lot of people, and it will take them two or three days to get here!
Although everyone knows that there is an East African colonial garrison of two or three hundred people not far from Dar es Salaam, two or three hundred people should not be so reckless!
This is the result of not understanding Felix's character and the bonus of the Prussian military spirit.
Although Prussia was considered a warmongerer by Europeans, in reality the quality of the Prussian army was just so-so in the eyes of the great powers.
Before defeating the French, Prussia was not considered a top player in Europe, although it had defeated Austria before that.
But everyone tacitly attributed the reason for Prussia's victory to Austria's poor condition. After all, Hungary and local nationalisms turned against it, Italy attacked from the side, and Austria was not fully prepared. In addition, Prussia quickly negotiated peace with Austria, so the intensity of the war was not that great.
Prussia's most glorious military achievement was when it fought one against three armies during the reign of Frederick the Great. This was due to Frederick's own genius military ability. After all, it was the Russians who let Prussia escape in the end.
Prussia was also reduced to ruins, and later a figure like Napoleon emerged, who attacked the entire German region. At that time, only Austria was in a slightly better situation in the whole of Germany.
Felix was an extreme example among the many low-level soldiers in Prussia. He retired from Prussia only when he reached a certain age.
But Felix can't sit still. If he doesn't fight in Europe, can't he come to Africa to bully the natives?
Felix was very disappointed with the natives of Africa. None of them were capable of fighting, so when he met a slightly powerful nation like Zanzibar, he would naturally fight it out.
Outside the palace, Felix was commanding the battle calmly. He thought that these Zanzibar soldiers were too weak.
"First shift, throwers, get ready, aim and blast towards the gate."
Due to the conditions of the East African colony, hand grenades were the only weapons of mass destruction, except for the coastal defense artillery in Tanga Port.
With the popularization of artillery and the upgrading of fortifications in European countries, the importance of throwers has become increasingly lower.
When grenades arrived in East Africa, they became "nuclear weapons". No matter how tough the natives were, they would immediately run away when a grenade was thrown at them.
After all, there were despicable people like Leopold who used magnifying glasses to start fires in Congo, used batteries to electrocute the natives, and acted as gods.
The power of the grenade was like the power of the god of death. The natives who had never seen the world even fell to the ground and prayed for forgiveness from the gods.
Zanzibar's "advanced" army, equipped with simple artillery, would naturally not be scared away by grenades like the natives.
However, Felix had no intention of using grenades to defeat Zanzibar.
The Zanzibar Palace is a large three-story building built of bricks and stones. Because it is a royal palace, the Zanzibar soldiers had no time to build positions and could only rely on the walls of the palace to resist.
The gate and windows of the palace became the few shooting holes, so Felix concentrated his ammunition and tried to make a breakthrough from the direction of the gate.
"Boom..." With a loud bang, half of the palace gate collapsed.
The Zanzibar soldiers in front of the door went straight to see Allah, and the soldiers behind the door also lay on the ground wailing. Due to the tortuous structure of the palace, it was difficult to fill the gap in the first time.
Felix heard no more gunfire in front of the palace gate, so he drew out his saber, pointed it forward, and shouted, "Soldiers, victory is just ahead, follow me and charge in!"
"kill……"
Due to the weather, the Zanzibar soldiers did not know the number of enemies, so they did not dare to fight outside the palace. After the colonial army suddenly attacked, they hid in the palace.
The terrain in the palace made it difficult to counterattack, and they were blocked inside by the well-equipped East African colonial soldiers.
Those who were smart had already fled in the dark. Abdullah, who came in search of the sound, was captured by four or five East African colonial soldiers before he could start his command.
The Zanzibar soldiers had no intention of resisting. Some escaped through the windows, and some ran around in the building. At this time, they didn't care about the palace or not. The most important thing was to save their lives.
(End of this chapter)
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