Chapter 59 Zanzibar Palace Coup
January 23, 1867.
Zanzibar Sultanate, Dar es Salaam Port Military Camp.
Bagash bin Said is planning with his cronies to overthrow the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
"Abdullah, how many people can you pull?" Bagash bin Said asked his men.
"Your Highness, I originally controlled more than 80 people in the army. Adding in the few officers we have placed in the army, the army under my control totals more than 300 people."
"Very good, I also have more than 800 people in my hands, which adds up to 1,200 people. This is already one-third of the entire kingdom's army." Bagash bin Said analyzed.
"As for Majid, he doesn't know our plan yet, and he is probably still drunk in the palace. As long as we can take him by surprise, all the cronies in Majid's army will be wiped out, and then the Zanzibar Sultanate will be our world." Bagash ·Ben Said said excitedly.
Several of his officers and staff were also in high spirits. After all, they had a great chance of winning this time. If the coup succeeded, he and others would be able to become extremely popular in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
"Your Highness, you are the only one who can bring a bright future to the Sultanate of Zanzibar. We are all willing to follow in your footsteps." A staff member flattered him.
"Your Highness, please arrange the mission! It's time for us to change this backward country!" Other officers and staff also persuaded them to come in.
Bagash ibn Said was very satisfied with the fanaticism and adulation of his men.
It is this feeling of having great power that makes Bagash bin Said really dissatisfied with the current situation of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and he also labels himself as the leader of the Zanzibar Sultanate in his heart.
But Bagash bin Said was also a layman, and he felt very comfortable when he felt the charm of power and the popularity of others.
He excitedly walked to the table and began to assign tasks.
"This is the palace of the Zanzibar Sultanate. There are about one hundred and twenty guards. However, they are scattered throughout the palace. There is no time to gather in a short time, so we have to send people to capture it in a very short time. I will take the initiative of the palace, and I will lead the soldiers to hold Majid hostage, so that the palace guards will automatically give up resistance if they are leaderless."
Bagash bin Said pointed to the location of the Palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar on the map and said.
"This is the first line of troops. As long as Majid is eliminated, basically no one can fight against us. But to be on the safe side, we have to use five hundred people to be responsible for the operations in the palace. Abdullah has been in the army all year round, so you I was responsible for disarming the soldiers in the military camp outside the city, while I led people straight to Majid’s palace to control Majid.”
Bagash bin Said continued: "The second group, led by Abdullah, is responsible for controlling the military camp outside Dar es Salaam. The military camp gets up at eight o'clock every morning. At this time, the firearms are all Put it on the shelf in the soldiers' dormitory, and as long as we break in early tomorrow morning before the soldiers get up, we can control the firearms to make the soldiers in the barracks surrender."
"The time for the operation is five o'clock tomorrow morning. We will break into the palace while the palace guards are lax. In order to carry out the plan in an orderly manner, our troops must gather at three o'clock tomorrow."
"As long as we control the palace and the army, we will be sure of victory. When the time comes, we can gather all the troops from across the country and drive away Majid's accomplices and the German people in the port of Dar es Salaam and Tanga. We will be completely victorious."
"Now, let's divide the number of people who can complete each task first. We can take action early tomorrow morning..."
…
What was Sultan Majid bin Said doing while Bagash bin Said was assigning tasks?
In fact, Majid bin Said was completely unaware of the conspiracy of his men. When he was young, Majid bin Said was quite accomplished, otherwise he would not be able to win the independence of the Zanzibar Sultanate.
But in his later years, Majid bin Said had completely let himself go and indulged in pleasure and drug stimulation every day.
Historically, Majid bin Said was
He died in the past two years, and people speculated that his death was related to excessive use of "stimulants."
…
The next day, the Palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar.
It was just dawn, and the guard was standing lazily in front of the palace door. Suddenly Bagash bin Said came to the door with a few people.
The guard naturally knew the king's younger brother, Prince Bagash bin Said, and thought that Bagash bin Said was discussing things with the Sultan as usual.
Walking in front of the guard, suddenly the two men behind Bagash bin Said took out two revolvers from their sleeves and pressed them against the chests of the two guards.
"Don't move, or we will be beaten to death!" Bagash bin Said's men threatened.
Then, Bagash bin Said waved, and a group of people came out of nowhere. Bagash bin Said led a group straight to Majid's palace, and the remaining people were responsible for controlling Guards and servants in the palace.
Majid was sleeping with the queen in bed, when suddenly a maid burst in from the door.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong, His Highness Bagash bin Said broke in with his troops."
Majid, who was awakened by the maid's shouting, was still confused and was about to reprimand him.
Bagash bin Said walked directly in with a group of people.
"What are you going to do, Bagash? Are you ready to rebel?"
Bagash bin Said said with a mocking look on his face: "My dear brother, can't you still see the situation clearly? It seems that you are really old and confused. Yes, this is a coup!"
"You...you...oh!"
After regaining his composure, Majid Sultan sighed decadently. It was too late to say anything now.
…
When Bagash bin Said took control of Majid Sultan, Abdullah also took control of the military camp, and the entire coup encountered basically no resistance.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Majid's ministers came to report their duties as usual, and saw Bagash bin Said sitting in the sultan's seat.
"Everyone, His Majesty the Sultan has entrusted me to take charge of the country's political affairs because he is old, sick from overwork, and unable to govern." Bagash bin Said said to the ministers with a smile.
It has to be said that Majid's ministers were just like their old king. After seeing the armed guards, they immediately jumped into the camp of Bagash bin Said.
…
At the time of Bagash bin Said's coup, Bazer, the head of the East African colony at the port of Dar es Salaam, also observed anomalies in the Zanzibar Sultanate.
After all, it is definitely not normal for hundreds of soldiers to rush back and forth on the streets. In the past, soldiers from the Sultanate of Zanzibar would not appear in such a "large scale" in the neighborhoods of Dar es Salaam.
After all, Dar es Salaam is currently the political and economic center of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and the Sultan of Zanzibar will not let soldiers wander around the streets like this.
Even when Majid travels on weekdays, it is the royal guards who are in charge. The royal guards are still presentable. They line up relatively neatly, wear relatively gorgeous and uniform Arab costumes, and move in a leisurely manner.
The soldiers who appeared on the streets today were obviously not royal guards, and they were marching in a hurry. At the same time, the meticulous Bazel also noticed that the guns of these soldiers were fully loaded, and they were obviously going to fight.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. He called his assistant Dürer and ordered: "Go to the border and report to our people now, and ask them to report to the East African colonial government that the Sultanate of Zanzibar may happen." "The unusual move, which seemed to be a coup, alerted the colonial government and border troops to the unusual movements in Zanzibar."
Dürer nodded and was about to set off. Bazel suddenly grabbed him: "Go and change into Arab clothes first. Don't go out in military uniform."
So Dürer, disguised as an Arab businessman, rode on horseback and left through the back door of the East African Colonial Office in Dar es Salaam Port.