African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1236: Chapter 245: ”Recuperation

Not only the Sultanate colonial government, but also the British Somaliland colonial government and the South African colonial government are in the same situation, these three colonies are right under East Africa’s nose.

And the British were understandably cautious of East Africa, after all, East Africa’s invasion of Darfur was an undeniable fact.

Soon, Colonel Farsheng of the Seventh Infantry Regiment from East Africa arrived in a military vehicle to ”welcome” the British colonial army.

”What is your name, sir? I am Colonel Farsheng of the Seventh Infantry Regiment, a brigade in the Northwest Military District of East Africa.” Farsheng, who had jumped out of the military vehicle, approached Johnson and asked.

”I am Johnson, deputy commander of the British regiment stationed in Khartoum. Are you the highest-ranking officer here?” Johnson asked in return.

”Of course, our regiment now controls the Darfur Region, so if you have any questions, you can discuss them directly with me.” Looking at Johnson’s arrogance, Farsheng spoke straightforwardly and without fear.

Johnson questioned, ”Very well, Colonel Farsheng, let me ask you, why did your unit invade Darfur, which is British Empire territory? Aren’t you afraid of causing a conflict between our nations?”

Farsheng replied, ”Haha, Sir Johnson, don’t get angry yet. As for invading or not, I know Darfur isn’t considered British territory, after all the Darfur Sultanate previously clearly stated its withdrawal from the Sultanate and had disputes with you.”

Johnson retorted, ”Hmph, that’s Ali Dinar being ignorant, and regardless of his actions, it doesn’t change the agreement Darfur signed with us. The black and white terms are clearly stated, affirming Darfur as part of the British Sudan Region.”

It’s indeed hard to refute Johnson’s point, as surely the British possess agreements signed with Ali Dinar.

However, Farsheng was no ordinary person, he responded, ”Sir Johnson, please don’t deceive me; I am aware of your agreement, that Darfur joined the Sultanate as an autonomous region.”

”But, since it is an autonomous region, the Fur people naturally have the right to leave the Sultanate. Now that Ali Dinar and his Fur followers have clearly changed their minds, they decided to leave.”

”So theoretically, Darfur has already exited the Sultanate and thus cannot be considered within your nation’s sphere of influence. Furthermore, Ali Dinar intends to bring Darfur under our East African protection, becoming an East African protectorate.”

”In other words, Darfur has already become a protectorate of East Africa, instead I must ask why you have sent troops into a region under our East African sphere of influence.”

Farsheng turned the tables, deliberately ignoring the previous agreements between Darfur and Britain, and turned the argument around.

To his surprise, Johnson really believed Farsheng’s words, Johnson at this moment thought Ali Dinar had truly aligned himself with East Africa.

This aligned with his prior suspicion as Johnson did not believe East Africa would invade Darfur and have a conflict with Ali Dinar.

Given the British external threat, it seemed entirely plausible for Ali Dinar to seek refuge with East Africa.

This would also explain why Johnson, moving east towards Fashir, noticed the previously fierce resisting guerilla forces suddenly vanished.

However, Johnson had no idea that these guerillas had retreated because after East Africa detained Ali Dinar and others, they could not receive orders and thus returned to Fashir, only to be trapped by the Seventh Infantry Regiment.

”Bring Ali Dinar here, I want to confront him to verify the truth of your words,” Johnson demanded.

At this time, Johnson still wished to first locate Ali Dinar, the main culprit, before discussing anything further.

Obviously, Farsheng couldn’t agree to Johnson’s request; if Ali Dinar came here, then Farsheng’s lie would be instantly exposed.

Thus Farsheng said, ”Apologies, Mr. Johnson, Sultan Ali Dinar is unwell and has gone to East Africa for recovery, so he cannot be here to speak with you.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Johnson became furious, saying, ”Don’t try to deceive me with such nonsense, Colonel Farsheng; does East Africa intend to confront the Empire?”

The talk of going to East Africa for recovery was clearly a lie, in Johnson’s view, just a pretext used by Farsheng to evade the issue.

Considering Ali Dinar’s previous actions, it was impossible for him to appear to be ill; if he were truly so weakened, how could he resist the British?

Farsheng was unafraid of British threats, calmly saying, ”Sir Johnson, I am speaking the truth, as for the relations between our nations, they are beyond you and me, there are responsible parties for communication between Rhine and London.”

”Our nation only reluctantly helps stabilize the Darfur Region at Sultan Ali Dinar’s request.”

Ali Dinar, now imprisoned, was ironically represented by Farsheng.

”Very well, it seems Colonel Farsheng, you are very confident!” Johnson gestured with his hand.

”Scratch...” A multitude of guns were raised by the British colonial forces aimed at Farsheng.

Farsheng unfazed said, ”Ararar... Sir Johnson, look at you, so impatient, thinking about firing with minor disagreement, that’s extremely dangerous.”

He turned to Johnson and continued, ”East Africa does not fear any threats, just look over there!”

Farsheng pointed toward several rooftops and said to Johnson, ”Here, and here...”

Johnson followed Farsheng’s direction and saw several rooftops in Fashir with six or seven machine guns clearly aimed at the British forces.

Farsheng listed off confidently, ”Our regiment’s machine gun company is equipped with over a dozen machine guns, and numerous cannons, with far more personnel than you; hence, I would advise you to stay calm.”

”Although I am merely a colonel of an East African regiment, even with one battalion managing other areas of the Darfur Region, there are still nearly over two thousand soldiers within Fashir City, so Sir Johnson would be wise to restrain his anger, if an incident occurs and my men fire upon yours, it wouldn’t be good.”

Listening to Farsheng’s words, Johnson felt utterly helpless, thinking with such troops and firepower, you might as well attack Khartoum, coming to Darfur seemed beneath your abilities.

Though the Sultanate was a buffer zone between East Africa and Britain, the British Army in the Sultanate was quite limited, with the primary British military presence in Egypt.

In this Era, Egypt and the Sultanate were a single entity, Britain maintained control over the Sultanate primarily as a protective shield for Egypt.

Moreover, the Sultanate’s climate and productivity couldn’t maintain large forces, considering the current troops Johnson had brought.

Despite their numbers, most were temporarily drawn from Egypt; if it weren’t for the sudden Darfur rebellion, the Sultanate’s military presence would be greatly reduced.

And as a buffer zone, the Sultanate’s true value wasn’t as high as imagined, similar to Mongolia in history; whether faced with an invasion by Russia or the Far East Empire, Mongolia really lacked resistance ability, its existence primarily offered a sense of security to both nations.

Therefore, the Sultanate likewise served this purpose, Britain never really expected the Sultanate to fend off an East African invasion, with East Africa’s strength, sending a small unit could easily defeat all Sultanate forces.

To Johnson, this so-called Seventh Infantry Regiment possessed such capability, if their forces gathered, they would number close to three thousand, capable of challenging the main force in Khartoum, though the outcome remained uncertain.

But the issue was, if East Africa truly attacked Khartoum, they would certainly not send just this one unit, according to Johnson’s knowledge, in Jezira City alone there was an East African regiment stationed, along with the Seventh Infantry Regiment, two regiments were sufficient to eliminate all British military presence in the Sultanate.