African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 607: Chapter 285 Conflict

Ernst stayed in Bajamojo for only a day before returning to First Town. He took the water route to get there and the road back. The road from Bajamojo to First Town wasn’t more comfortable than the water route, but it was stable enough.

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Orange Free State.

For the Boers of Orange, or rather the former Boers of the Orange Free State, life these days was quite frustrating.

On one hand, the British promises hadn’t been fulfilled, and on the other, the Boers from the original Transvaal Republic had massively encroached on their resources.

”Back then, this wasn’t what the British said. Not only did they fail to resolve Orange’s financial issues, but they also kept raising taxes in Orange. We were deceived, and now the British won’t even admit it!”

”The so-called investments and dividends never came to be, yet they kept hiring people to work in their diamond mines at very low wages. Those lands and mines were ours, those damned robbers.”

”And those damned Transvaal people, we were kind enough to take in those poor devils, and now they’ve turned to serve the British to deal with us. We were blind to take in those ingrates.”

With the migration of the former Transvaal Boers to the Orange Free State, the local Boer social structure changed dramatically.

Although the two nations were related by blood, prolonged contact led to conflicts, in no small part due to British instigation. The British were always distrustful of the Boers and naturally did not want the Boers under their control to unite.

Initially, the Boers of Transvaal were seen as allies by the British, while the Boers of Orange were the targets of suppression.

Because the Transvaal Boers were driven from the original Transvaal Republic by East Africa, and the British were outsiders to the Orange Free State as well, the people of Orange had a self-perception that they were the true masters of this land.

Clearly, the Transvaal people and the British didn’t see it that way, so the Transvaal restoration organization aligned itself with the British.

”These Transvaal people are ungrateful wolves. We cleared houses and lent them land, helping them through the toughest times, and now they want to take control. Truly ungrateful.”

”Moreover, if they were to obediently reintegrate into Orange, it would be fine, but they constantly clamor for the recovery of lost land and the rebuilding of Transvaal, demanding supplies and donations, insatiably.”

”Do you think their so-called restoration slogan is a deceit aimed at us? They aren’t targeting East Africa at all, but us?” someone speculated boldly.

”Probably not. I see the Rebel Army’s training is relatively organized, clearly aiming to match the East African army. For us, they wouldn’t need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

”That may not be certain! East Africa isn’t what it used to be. They could assemble tens of thousands of troops to attack Transvaal, then clash with Portugal and defeat them. Mobilizing at least over 200,000 forces. Compare that to how many people Transvaal had before? Just over 200,000, and even then including children and the elderly, barely enough to fill East Africa’s tooth gap.”

”Exactly, now the whole world knows East Africa is Africa’s strongest nation. Their navy alone has tens of thousands serving, and the army should have at least 100,000. All the Boers combined might not be a match for East Africa’s forces, not to mention the Rebel Army only has a little over 3,000 men.”

”East Africa could wipe out the Rebel Army with just a tenth of its forces. The numbers and equipment of the Rebel Army stand no chance against the East African army, so I say the so-called Rebel Army is simply the Transvaal people and the British squeezing the original Orange Free State citizens.”

It’s no wonder Orange people think this way. Shouting slogans gets exhausting after a while. The Transvaal people talk big, but what about action? East Africa is right there, yet instead of confronting them, they constantly beg from the Orange people, which annoys the Orange people greatly.

Of course, the original intention of the Transvaal people was to fight East Africa and reclaim their land, but unfortunately, the British and the Orange people didn’t support them at the time.

After all, the Orange people had no quarrel with East Africa and didn’t want to offend them, while the British were cautious, fearing a drawn-out conflict might bring harm instead. East Africa is now robust, and a simple attack won’t do any substantial damage. The British have been biding their time, but with the Afghans adding to the issues, they’ve delayed acting.

The British, who initially funded the Transvaal Rebel Army, have now found an excuse to pass the financial burden onto the Orange Free State. They have no interest in causing trouble with East Africa but also don’t want to dissolve the Transvaal Rebel Army. Thus, they’ve pushed it onto the Orange Free State to maintain.

This is also why the Orange Free State has continuously raised taxes in recent years. With an extra army to support, they can’t rely on the nearly empty Orange treasury. Yet the British, holding the diamond mines, won’t contribute a penny, leaving the original Orange people feeling increasingly resentful.

”We’ve brought wolves into the house in Orange. I personally have no objections to helping the Transvaal people, but I don’t want our help to go unrewarded, much less for it to be taken for granted or even reciprocated with continued demands, under the guise of brotherly ties while acting as hounds for our former enemies.”

Before East Africa, the Boers’ enemies, aside from the natives, were naturally the British. East Africa might not be any good either, but the British, whom the Transvaal Rebel Army swears loyalty to, are long-time adversaries.

Moreover, the Orange people have little animosity towards East Africa, for it was Transvaal, not Orange, that East Africa troubled.

On the contrary, the southward-moving Transvaal people were ungrateful, constantly opposing the Orange people and hogging significant social resources.

Of course, even solely the increased taxes have caused much grievance among the Orange people. Now, with the end of Britain’s war in Afghanistan, there are rumors of the Transvaal Rebel Army recruiting, which is naturally a good thing.

But the problem is, after several years of cohabitation, the Orange people have come to understand that the British are incredibly stingy; the money for recruiting will inevitably come from the Orange people’s pockets.

Just supporting an additional 3,000 troops is already draining, as these over 3,000 are entirely armed and trained to the standards of British homeland soldiers.

Even the ’coffee’ is a significant expense, and the British are incredibly cunning. They import cheap coffee from Zanzibar merchants and take kickbacks, so it’s impossible for the Transvaal Rebel Army’s spending to be low.