Chapter 63: The Capture of the Zanzibar Palace
After, a hasty battle.
The Zanzibar army had lost its combat effectiveness. In the royal palace, the East African colonial army captured hundreds of people, while other Zanzibar soldiers fled throughout the city of Dar es Salaam and were unable to continue resisting.
Felix, with his men, entered the Zanzibar banquet hall, where he was met by the ministers of Zanzibar.
…
Three minutes ago.
"Your Excellency, ministers, something terrible has happened! The Germans have broken in, General Abdullah has been captured alive, and now the Germans are arresting people everywhere." The maid ran into the hall in panic.
"What? How is it possible! With so many people, how could they break in so quickly? Are the kingdom's army all idiots? They can't even resist for ten minutes!" Bargash bin Said's face changed drastically.
According to Bargash bin Said's own idea, he should gather the national army, then eliminate the Germans in Tanga, and finally cut off the connection between the East African colonies and the sea, forcing the Germans to surrender.
Because it was the first day of the coup, Bargash bin Said planned to recruit troops from Zanzibar tomorrow. This was already fast. After all, he knew that the East African colony was more than a hundred miles away from Mlandizi (the first town) closest to Zanzibar. According to the marching speed of the Zanzibar army, it would take at least two days to arrive.
What's more, if the East African colonies wanted to send troops, it would take time for the people evacuated from the port of Dar es Salaam to go back and pass on intelligence and to assemble the troops.
Bargash bin Said originally estimated that it would take at least three and a half days for the Germans in East Africa to send out troops. As a result, they only drove away Basel and others at noon, and the East African colonial army attacked in the evening. Did they fly here?
As for the more than 200 German soldiers outside Dar es Salaam, he could never have imagined that Felix was so brave.
"Your Excellency, I don't know how many people there are. It's chaos outside, but our people must have been defeated." The maid replied in panic.
"How is this possible..." Baghash bin Said became dazed. He collapsed powerlessly on the chair and fell into deep doubt.
The ministers who heard the news were not surprised but happy. Finance Minister Ali suppressed his joy and turned to signal the ministers around him.
The others understood what he meant, and they slowly moved closer to Bargash bin Said.
"Catch this traitor!" Ali shouted.
More than a dozen ministers rushed forward and used their fat bodies to press Baghash bin Said tightly on the chair.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to rebel? I am the ruler of Zanzibar!" Baghash bin Said, who was awakened by Ali's voice, woke up instantly. Before he could react, more than a dozen mountains of flesh pressed him down and he could not move at all.
"Hmph, you traitor, you dare to speak such nonsense. I have tolerated you for a long time!" Ali said disdainfully.
"That's right, Bargash bin Said, I knew from the moment you launched the coup that this would not end well for you," said the Foreign Minister.
"We are just waiting for the right opportunity. Do you really think that we are as wise and powerful as His Majesty Sultan Majid bin Said? I can only blame myself for not seeing your true colors earlier, which led to His Majesty the Sultan suffering such a disaster..."
The ministers were criticizing Baghash bin Said one after another, and there was no trace of the submissiveness they had this morning.
…
"Your country's army is finally here. We have been waiting for so long! May I know your name?" Ali pretended to be excited and grabbed Felix's hand, as if he was about to cry.
Felix was immediately overwhelmed by the "meat ball" in front of him! He pulled his hand away in disgust and said, "Just call me Felix. And I'm your enemy. How can I expect the enemy to invade my country?"
Ali, the minister of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, said quickly: "Mr. Felix is innocent! We, the Sultanate of Zanzibar, under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Majid bin Said, cherish our friendship with your country very much. His Majesty Sultan Majid and we have always treated the people from your country who came here as relatives and friends!"
"Your country is reclaiming land in East Africa, and we in the Sultanate of Zanzibar have done our best, but we have also helped whenever we could. We even provided Tanga to your country. What a great friendship!" Ali boasted in a disgusting way, and as he spoke, he wiped the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes with his hand, feeling so self-moved.
Felix was embarrassed by Ali's exaggerated performance and words. How could a Prussian rough man like him experience such a scene?
Bazel saw Felix's embarrassment and quickly stepped forward and said to Ali, the Minister of Finance of the Sultanate of Zanzibar: "Sir Ali, do you remember me? I am Bazel from the East African Colony Liaison Office in Dar es Salaam."
"Mr. Basel, of course I remember you. We met in the palace before. Mr. Alman was leading the team at that time. By the way, I wonder how Mr. Basel and Mr. Alman are doing?" Ali said in a friendly manner.
"Mr. Alman is fine. I thank you for your concern on his behalf. But Mr. Ali, your country should first explain what happened today!" Basel said angrily.
"Mr. Basel, I believe you also have some understanding of what happened today. This is not the fault of our Sultanate of Zanzibar! It's all because of that bastard Baghash bin Said. He imprisoned His Majesty Sultan Majid bin Said, colluded with the army to control us, and caused some trouble to your country." Ali explained.
"Your Majeed bin Said Sultan and we are all supporters of your country."
Bazel interrupted, "Well, you can't absolve yourself of responsibility just because of what Bargash bin Said did. You have caused us serious losses. As for the solution and compensation, you just need to wait for instructions from our superiors!"
After that, Bazel turned around and whispered a few words in Felix's ear.
Felix nodded and said to the ministers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar: "Well, we don't need any explanation. After all, I am just a low-level officer and cannot speak on behalf of the colonial government. Just wait for news! But before that, I have to ask you to stay in the palace for a while until my superiors come to resolve this matter."
The princes and ministers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar still wanted to quibble, but Felix and his entourage turned around and left to take over the security of Dar es Salaam.
…
East African colony, first town.
The East African colonial government received the intelligence sent back by Basel, and several senior officials are discussing countermeasures.
Von der Leyen, the director of the East African colonies sent by the Hechingen Foundation.
Alman is currently the nominal highest military commander of the East African colonies.
Siwei Te, a Chinese student who graduated from the Hechingen Military Academy, whose original name was Ma Youcai, is currently the head of the staff group of the Hechingen Military Academy in the East African colony.
…
A dozen people sat at a long table, analyzing the intelligence.
"It seems that the new leader of the Sultanate of Zanzibar has something against our East African colonies!" said von der Leyen.
Yarman said: "We cannot allow the new leader of the Sultanate of Zanzibar to exist. We should send troops to help Majid bin Said restore normal order in Zanzibar."
"Well, that's right. Otherwise, this ignorant Barghash bin Said will seriously hinder the immigration work and subsequent development of the East African colonies. As for sending troops, you military personnel should come up with a charter first." Von der Leyen said.
"Don't worry too much. We can gather troops directly from the First Town, the Second Town and the surrounding villages. We don't need too many troops to deal with the Sultanate of Zanzibar. One or two thousand should be enough." Siwei Te said.
Von der Leyen said: "As far as I know, the Zanzibar army also has several thousand people. Isn't it too few for us to send only one or two thousand?"
Yarman said: "Zanzibar's standing army only has a few thousand people. Dar es Salaam, as the capital, can only allocate 3,000 people at most. Moreover, their weapons are backward. It is enough to deal with 1,000 of them. Even if Zanzibar can recruit some able-bodied men, ordinary people who have not received formal military training are just a mob."
"Okay, let's start the vote now. Please raise your hands if you agree to send troops," said von der Leyen.
After the vote, no one objected and the colonial government passed it unanimously. It was decided to send Alman with 1,500 soldiers, together with more than 200 people from Felix near the port of Dar es Salaam, to conquer Bargash bin Said in Zanzibar.
(End of this chapter)
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