African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 394: Chapter 71 National Gift

North bank of the Limpopo River.

”Mr. Wiggins! These past months have been hard on you. We have a small boat ready. Once you cross the river, you can return to the Transvaal Republic. This is a letter, and we hope you can deliver it to your president.” An East African warrior handed a letter to Wiggins as he spoke.

Wiggins, who had been in a somewhat dispirited state, spoke incredulously: ”You’re really letting me go!”

Escorted to the edge of the Limpopo River by two East African soldiers, Wiggins thought the East African Kingdom intended to execute him. For many days, he had been under soft detention in East Africa, with no one to talk to; even the strongest heart cannot endure such torture. Wiggins knew what he had done, and the East African Kingdom would have been justified in executing him a hundred times over.

”Of course, Mr. Wiggins. Although we don’t like your character, your sentence is over. Moreover, you do have a role to play. Why not serve as a messenger between our two countries? We hope you can convey our friendship to your government.”

Regaining his freedom, Wiggins responded quickly: ”No problem! I will definitely deliver the letter to the president!”

The East African soldier waved his hand and said, ”Then please hurry back! Remember not to do such shady things again in the future!”

Wiggins placed the letter in his pocket and, seeing that the East African soldiers truly intended to release him, nodded vigorously and said, ”Today, I swear to the Lord, I will never set foot on East African soil again.”

Under the watchful eyes of the East African soldiers, Wiggins boarded the small boat and paddled toward the opposite riverbank. Once he crossed the river, he was certain the East Africans had kept their promise and didn’t shoot him in the back. However, he needed to quickly find a Boer farm to take him back to Pretoria.

And so, unknowingly, Wiggins carried the ”Declaration of War” towards Pretoria — a national gift from the East African Kingdom to the Transvaal Republic.

The Declaration of War cited the Transvaal Republic’s support of the Ndebele people’s conspiracy and rebellion within East Africa, attempting to subvert the East African Kingdom’s politics, as the reason for East Africa’s declaration of war against the Transvaal Republic.

Wiggins would never have imagined that he was carrying such a thing. As East African forces invaded the Transvaal Republic, he was still on his way to Transvaal.

...

Bulawayo.

Crown Prince Ernst of the East African Kingdom personally inspected the East African combat troops training there. After more than ten days of rapid marches and exposure to the elements, Ernst’s once fair skin, upon his initial arrival from Europe to East Africa, had turned completely bronze. Truly, the East African sun is invigorating! Ernst thought to himself.

”Your Highness, the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Brigade, 331st Division, East African Mountain Troops requests your inspection!” A robust, short man saluted Ernst.

Ernst returned the salute.

The East African Mountain Troops were specially prepared by Ernst for the Zulu people. Most of its members came from German and Far Eastern Guangxi, as well as immigrants living in the Yimeng Mountains of Shandong.

The Boers did not decisively defeat the Zulu people, largely due to the terrain of the Drakensberg Mountains, which made it difficult for the Boer cavalry to operate.

Therefore, after East Africa occupied the Azande plateau, a mountain force was established on the complex terrain of the Azande plateau to deal with mountain warfare.

When selecting mountain troops, Ernst specifically focused on Guangxi soldiers. Firstly, the people of Guangxi are known for their fierce spirit. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement and the later performances of the Guixi Warlords and in the war against Japan have all proven that the people of Guangxi are quite capable in battle.

The Guangxi Wolf Soldiers have been famous since the Ming Dynasty. Firstly, the folk customs are fierce. Regardless of the era, Guangxi has always been far from political centers and is a region where the influence of Confucian philosophy is weak. Ernst does not belittle Confucian thought, but the castration of Far Eastern national thought by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism after the Song Dynasty is indeed outrageous.

The Han Dynasty also revered Confucianism, yet members of the literati could claim: ”Wherever the sun and moon shine is Han territory, and wherever the rivers reach is Han land.” Such statements might seem shameless to outsiders, but in Ernst’s view, this represents the pinnacle of national spirit and morale.

Especially in the 19th century world, so-called benevolence and righteousness were of no use at all. The great powers did not care about benevolence and righteousness. European colonists, starting with Portugal, were a group of armed fraudsters who tricked the Native Americans out of everything, even their last garments.

As a later successor, the East African Kingdom is essentially a continuation of colonialism. In their dealings with the indigenous peoples, they are unwaveringly centered on interests: land, resources, the indigenous people are guilty of holding treasures.

However, Ernst, as someone who has lived two lifetimes, possesses a longer-term perspective and knows that colonialism will backfire. Therefore, he acts with thorough measures to avoid the future path of East Africa being counter-colonized, although this can’t be completely prevented, East Africa intends to proceed cautiously.

The unique geographical environment of Guangxi has endowed its people with a spirit of perseverance, unafraid of hardship. There is nothing more to say about this; before a certain level of productivity is reached or before the plains turn into green deserts, life in mountainous regions will always be tougher than in the plains. Most uprisings in the Far East also began in the mountains.

Finally, and most importantly, Guangxi’s climate closely resembles that of East Africa. Guangxi’s latitude touches the tropics, and the population is large. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom originated there, Guangxi was not particularly affected. The main areas affected by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement were Jiangxi, Wannan, and Huijing, which nearly became wastelands and have not recovered to this day.

Therefore, Ernst has no reservations about recruiting immigrants from Guangxi. Considering the current living standards in East Africa, coming to East Africa from Guangxi is considered a move towards prosperity.

After the mountain troops, it was the turn of the East African artillery troops. East African artillerymen preferred small-caliber artillery, which in Africa was equivalent to using a cannon to shoot mosquitoes. This time, to deal with the Boers, Ernst concentrated 30% of East African artillery in Bulawayo.

The Boers are most famous for their tactic of forming a circle with ox-wagons as cover when fighting enemies. Since they wield modern weapons, artillery is indispensable against such formations. A single shell, and the Boer’s circle of oxen and horses cannot withstand it.

The last to be reviewed were the East African cavalry troops. This marked the first large-scale deployment of cavalry by East Africa. Since the Boers are a horse-riding people, the best way to counter cavalry is with cavalry. After such a long period of development, East African cavalry had become quite the force.

Additionally, the forces attacking the Transvaal Republic were still predominantly infantry. However, this time East African infantry was different from before as it was the first time machine guns were being used.

Machine guns had already appeared during the American Civil War, and they were also equipped in East Africa. However, they didn’t stand out in past East African wars. It’s understandable; East Africa’s previous enemies were indigenous people, and there was no need for such advanced weapons as machine guns. It would have just wasted bullets! This time, the large-scale use of machine guns by East African infantry was mainly to counter the Boer cavalry.

To confront the Boers, Ernst had been planning long and carefully. Since the day he decided to move against Zimbabwe, Ernst knew a conflict between East Germany (East Africa and the Transvaal Republic) was inevitable. After all, he could not resist the temptation.

The reason for the review in Bulawayo rather than on the banks of the Limpopo River was to avoid arousing Boer suspicions. Prior to Ernst’s arrival, the East African Army had already conducted many exercises, considering the Transvaal Republic as the fictitious enemy, including releasing Wiggins. They were conducted on carefully selected stretches of the Limpopo River to prevent their ambitions against the East African Kingdom from being observed.

After the review, Ernst ordered: ”Set off! Target: Transvaal Republic!”