Chapter 795 Brothers in Distress
Faced with the one-sided situation in the parliament, Prime Minister Cecil was helpless. Without the parliamentary masters appropriating funds, there was no way to increase military spending. Apart from his confidants and political allies, those who supported Cecil were mainly interest groups in Cape Town.
However, the largest interest group in Cape Town is the diamond merchants in Kimberley and other places. Although they are very powerful, they cannot change the situation. After all, the diamond business is not very important to the British Empire. After all, as the world hegemon, the British Empire has too many giants.
Moreover, South Africa's military spending alone now exceeds the total of all Britain's economic benefits in Cape Town, which is totally not cost-effective for the British government.
However, Britain is also one of the most calculating countries in the world, and has not done this kind of loss-making business with no "money-making prospects" for many years.
Of course, as the British Prime Minister, Cecil did not give up lobbying Parliament, trying to amplify the East African threat theory from a strategic perspective.
So the British Parliament fell into a stage of wrangling again, but soon they no longer had to argue, as the changes in the war situation in South Africa forced them, including Cecil, to make a decision.
Three days later.
"Bang."
Cecil angrily slammed the South African intelligence on the table.
"What does Roberts do for a living?"
"Even if it was 400,000 pigs, they shouldn't have been caught so easily in less than a month, let alone more than 400,000 fully armed soldiers. If the whole world knew this result, how would we survive in the world?"
Facing the exasperated Prime Minister, the Secretary General consoled him: "The available troops under Earl Roberts should be less than 100,000. The combat effectiveness of the Portuguese and Indians is questionable, and as for the black soldiers, they only have quantity but not quality."
Although what he said was indeed the "truth", it could not change Cecil's mood. As the main promoter of the South African War, Cecil had expected that the British veteran Earl Roberts would bring him a surprise. However, instead of being surprised, he got a shock.
Even if other factors are ignored, Earl Roberts has nearly 100,000 British soldiers under his command. This number, excluding Cape Town, is already more than half of the British troops in South Africa. With 100,000 British troops, Cecil could say without hesitation that it is enough for Britain to launch a medium-sized war anywhere in the world and win.
As a result, Earl Roberts lost all his money in less than a month, and he himself became a "captive" in East Africa. This is unprecedented in British history.
Cecil was extremely disappointed with Earl Roberts, and even more resentful of him.
"Maputo has fallen, and the Mozambique coalition has been completely wiped out by East Africa. Now we only have the Cape Town colony left in South Africa. Now the East Africans may have begun a new round of military operations against Cape Town. If we can't come up with a solution as soon as possible, Cape Town may not be able to hold on for long. By analogy, Egypt and British Somaliland may also be subject to military threats from East Africa, so we must respond to the South African war immediately." said the Cabinet Secretary General.
Cecil frowned, but he had to give in finally. There was no other way except to stop the war. Continuing the war had been vetoed by Parliament, and there was no room for maneuver.
This was especially true once the news of the fall of Mozambique became known to everyone.
…
Compared with the distress of British Prime Minister Cecil, the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Portugal, King Carlos I of Portugal, was even more miserable.
"Maputo has fallen, the British and our troops have been wiped out in Mozambique," Prime Minister João Frank reported to the new Portuguese monarch.
That's right, like Cecil, Carlos I also ascended the throne for the first time, but he was three years later than Cecil, and he had just succeeded to the throne. Just a few months ago, the old King Luis I was furious because of the fall of Angola, and died several months earlier than in history, allowing Carlos I to ascend the throne nearly a year earlier than in history.
But the Kingdom of Portugal that Carlos took over was a complete mess, especially the Portuguese army's successive defeats in the South African War.
And today he finally received the most painful news, that is the fall of Mozambique. Is the glory of Portugal going to end in his own hands?
"What do the British say?" Carlos I asked João Frank, the prime minister he promoted.
"The British side has not responded yet, but the situation is not optimistic. They are also one of the losers in this war. After all, Earl Roberts has surrendered to East Africa. The main force of Britain in South Africa has basically been lost. Now only Cape Town can still hold on."
This news was a bolt from the blue for Carlos I, because Carlos I himself was actually an "Anglophobe", so his foreign policy in his previous life was completely one-sided towards Britain.
It was even so outrageous that in his previous life, shortly after Carlos ascended the throne, the British issued an ultimatum, demanding that Portugal withdraw its troops stationed between Angola and Mozambique. However, the monarch agreed to the British conditions under the threat of British warships (British warships entered Lisbon at the time).
Of course, Carlos I himself was certainly not willing to do so. In this rotten pit of Portugal, facing a powerful country like Britain, Portugal could be said to have no ability to fight back.
Of course, with East Africa, the situation has changed significantly compared to the previous life. First of all, the old King Louis I died of illness (anger) ahead of schedule, and at this unfavorable juncture of the South African War. As the saying goes, when one dies, debts are wiped out. The domestic conflicts in Portugal have been shifted to a certain extent, and the hatred towards the monarchy has shifted to hatred towards East Africa.
Secondly, Carlos I did not have enough time and did not encounter the problem of "selling out the country" in his previous life. At this time, Britain's main enemy in Africa was East Africa. Portugal, which owned the colonies of Angola and Mozambique, became the target of Britain's wooing.
Especially during the war, with the support of Britain, Portugal's economy and politics actually improved, and Carlos I's accession to the throne was even smoother than in his previous life.
Therefore, although the emergence of East Africa caused Portugal to lose Angola and Mozambique ahead of time, it was actually a "good thing" for the Portuguese royal family.
It is conceivable that after Portugal completely loses its two South African colonies, the Portuguese government will become more dependent on British support, and this kind of "loyal" ally is exactly what Britain needs.
Of course, Carlos I could not think of all this. After all, he did not know that his previous life was much more miserable than his current one. Now he was just having a headache over the various difficulties he was facing, especially the problem of domestic political stability after Portugal lost a large number of colonies.
Now Portugal has no way to deal with East Africa, so Carlos I can only continue to go the same way with Britain, and he is also full of confusion about the situation in Portugal.
Prime Minister Frank had no way to deal with this. Frank's only advantage was that he was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and a staunch royalist. If he were asked to deal with the Republicans, that would be an area he was good at, but dealing with East Africa was completely beyond his ability.
However, the king and his ministers probably could not have imagined that the South African War was a "crisis" for them, but the opportunities were greater than the dangers. If it were not for the intrusion of East Africa, Carlos I would have been assassinated and killed by the Republicans according to the historical trajectory, and his fate would have already taken a new crossroads, and no one knew what the future would be like.
(End of this chapter)
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