African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 630: Chapter 308 Action

The position that can be promised to Valshano is certainly not significant, it might not even count as an official post, just a pretext to manage people.

Now the Transvaal and Orange people are at odds, and in fact, they are even more short-handed than the Orange people, because the Orange people are scattered in rural areas. This means it is extremely difficult for the Transvaal people to thoroughly eliminate the Orange armed forces, as it’s hard to find them once they hide in any nook or cranny.

Therefore, the Transvaal people also need to find Orange traitors to act as their lackeys, especially people like Valshano, who are hooligans or rogues, as these people usually move in groups and don’t care about their reputation.

The current goal of the Transvaal people is to control the villages, thereby reducing the living space for Orange armed forces. As long as the connection between the two is cut off, things will be much easier.

As for solving the problem once and for all, that’s definitely impossible, because besides having support from the grassroots populace, the Orange people also have East Africa as external support.

So as long as the military aid from East Africa continues, the Orange people can keep resisting, and the presence of East Africa is even more crucial, since the Orange people themselves are unable to produce weapons.

Seemingly understanding Valshano’s thoughts, Blanca said, ”Don’t get too many ideas. If you choose to be a village official, it’s very likely you’ll be stationed here in Florisbad, or else do tax work elsewhere. If I were you, I would probably just take the money and leave, though it might not be much, it’s better to earn a bit than nothing, and it’s less risky.”

Blanca’s advice was genuinely kind because he knew that people like Valshano were not inherently bad, having a fundamental difference from rogues.

Valshano, however, didn’t think so. Instead, he continued to ask, ”If this succeeds, will Florisbad most likely be under my control?”

Seeing that he was persistent, Blanca stopped persuading him and said, ”Theoretically, yes, as your former village head’s son is suspected of collaborating with the enemy, you are likely to replace him.”

Valshano laughed, ”Then what is there to choose? I would be content just to make a show of power in the village.”

”Aren’t you afraid the White Bandits will give you trouble? You know that Florisbad is at the front line and isn’t too safe,” Blanca countered.

”Oh, what is this, could they be more formidable than you guys? I know you have the British backing you up, so the White Bandits have no chance at all,” Valshano was even more confident than Blanca.

Though Blanca was a Transvaal officer, it was precisely because of this that he knew how difficult the Orange armed forces were to deal with.

Indeed, Britain had greatly helped the Transvaal Rebel Army, but its impact wasn’t immense, as the main force was still the Transvaal people themselves, unless Britain dispatched more troops to the Orange Free State to control the situation.

However, it was clear that the British had no such plans at present. The Transvaal forces were efficient with their arms, and there was no need to send their own men to face the danger, unless the situation truly spiraled out of control.

Currently, the Transvaal Rebel Army is at an advantage with British aid, so the British can comfortably maintain their position. As for East Africa, that disruptive factor can be ignored.

East Africa can only make small moves secretly; open intervention in the Orange Free State’s affairs would be akin to declaring war on Britain, and East Africa clearly doesn’t have that kind of courage yet. So, given East Africa’s lack of direct involvement, Britain need not involve themselves.

Two days later.

”Captain, Di Kevin has made a move, our people are quietly following him, what should we do now?”

”An opportunity not to be missed, gather the troops at once. We have more than enough strength to deal with a convoy,” Blanca said.

At this moment, Valshano chimed in, ”Captain Blanca, let me lead the way for you! I’m very familiar with that place after all.”

Having been stuck in the Transvaal military camp for the past two days, Valshano was restless, especially because he couldn’t drink to satisfaction.

As a dumping ground for East African industrial goods, the price of alcohol was also quite cheap in the entire Cape Town colony, especially in boundary areas like Florisbad, not far from East Africa.

Even a small mosquito is meat, and the per capita consumer power of the Orange Free State was far superior to the natives, making them willing to engage in this low-margin, high-volume business. This meant that imported goods in the Orange Free State were relatively cheap.

In fact, the Transvaal Rebel Army’s alcohol supply was quite adequate, primarily whiskey, but the cost of transporting it from Britain or the rear was too high. Furthermore, the military imposed strict management on alcohol, especially for field units like the one Blanca led, which often changed locations, making it difficult to maintain supply effectively.

Of course, there were other reasons related to corruption, which was beyond the scope of someone like Blanca to address.

Even the temporary president of the Transvaal Republic, little Pillor, wouldn’t dare to tackle this issue head-on.

The British logistics might show leniency towards their own, but the Transvaal people were not considered their own. Hence, it’s understandable to take a bit more, especially since internally dishonest individuals existed within the Transvaal government too.

The inability to drink to satisfaction was something Valshano could not tolerate, so he had long wished to leave the Transvaal camp. However, Blanca had kept him confined due to fears he might leak information, leaving him restless.

This time, Blanca did not refuse Valshano. To avoid alerting the enemy, his own men were cautious not to conduct large-scale reconnaissance near Sote Pool. The fear was that Di Kevin and others might discover them, so allowing Valshano to lead the way would save them unnecessary detours.

”Very well, once the troops are ready, you’ll lead them from the front. If we can capture them this time, it will be a great achievement,” Blanca told Valshano.

”Yes, sir!” Valshano imitated, responding to Blanca.

Soon, Blanca’s unit, led by Valshano, set off towards the saline area of Sote Pool.

It had to be said that Di Kevin was not very vigilant, probably not expecting someone to eavesdrop during the dead of night, leading to a leak.

After all, Florisbad village was quite small and insular, and Di Kevin wasn’t a professional intelligence officer, so when intention meets carelessness, it was easy for him to be caught by the Transvaal people.

Even if this young man had a bit more vigilance, the Transvaal Rebel Army’s tracking might not have succeeded, or they might have discovered Valshano’s duplicity much earlier within the past month.

Of course, this also had to do with Di Kevin’s background. In Florisbad, as the son of the village head, he enjoyed backing, which naturally made his personality more flamboyant.

If it had been agents from the East African National Defense Security Bureau, Valshano, a mere rogue, wouldn’t have discovered their plot. Indeed, conspiring with a loud voice by lamplight in the middle of the night wouldn’t happen unless an agent’s brain was rusted.