Chapter 498 Peace Talks
"Mediation?" Ernst was only slightly surprised, but immediately said as expected: "The development of things is almost as we expected, but the war situation is not yet clear, and the British cannot sit still. "
Constantine asked with some concern: "Are we really having an armistice with Portugal?"
In Constantine's view, Angola and Mozambique are now meat in the mouth, and it would be too uncomfortable to spit them out at this time.
Ernst knew Constantine's little thoughts, and he didn't want to take over two Portuguese colonies at once, but now was obviously not the time.
"We definitely can't swallow up two Portuguese colonies in one go this time. If it's just a dispute between us and Portugal, it doesn't matter. But behind this war is actually the conflict between us and the British, so the British will definitely To keep Portugal’s two colonies, they need to use the Portuguese to contain our development in East Africa.”
When Constantine saw his son saying this, he also knew the logic behind this question, but he did feel a little unwilling to do so: "We can't let the Portuguese go this time, we will make them bleed hard, let other countries know, and provoke Our fate will not be easy even if the British are there to protect us."
Ernst agreed with this point. It was not impossible for the British to cease the war at this time. East Africa did not matter anyway, but if the Portuguese did not give themselves a satisfactory compensation, then it would not be possible for the British to say whatever they said.
"We have to cut off at least a large piece of land between the two colonies. We cannot favor one over the other to make the East African land look more symmetrical." Ernst made up his mind to rectify Portugal.
…
Soon, East Africa agreed to mediate the war, which surprised the British. They were used to being domineering. According to British thinking, they must first negotiate conditions before accepting mediation. As the dominant party, East Africa really has no demands of its own?
That is naturally impossible, but the initiative lies with East Africa. Whether to stop the war depends entirely on East Africa. What cannot be obtained on the battlefield cannot be obtained at the negotiation table, so East Africa is prepared to discuss conditions during negotiations. It is completely It's a sign of confidence.
Soon, East Africa and Portugal started negotiations in Dar es Salaam under the supervision of Britain, France, Germany and Austria.
The negotiation venue was the former Royal Palace of Zanzibar, but it had already been transformed into a place for receiving foreign guests in Dar es Salaam.
"We want the whole of Angola and half of Mozambique!" Sweet, the chief of staff of the East African Army, gave Portugal a kick.
In fact, according to the progress of the war in East Africa, most of Angola is still in Portuguese hands, but important areas including the capital Luanda have fallen into East African hands. Except for Cabinda, most of the rest are Portuguese planters and planters in Angola. Mine owners, these remnant forces are completely out of the question in the eyes of East Africa. After all, the Angolan government has fled to Cabinda, and these private forces can't even think of confronting East Africa.
"General Sweet, you have gone too far in East Africa. It is impossible for us to agree to your conditions in East Africa. Angola is an integral part of the Kingdom of Portugal." Portuguese representative Addis protested.
In his opinion, East Africa's demands are completely unacceptable. Angola and Mozambique can be said to be the two most important colonies of Portugal at present. One is indispensable. East Africa wants to take away Angola and half of Mozambique. How can Portugal stand it?
At this time, the British representative Hull also said: "East Africa's demands are indeed excessive. Now that the war is not over, it is not yet known who will win. Maybe the Portuguese can turn defeat into victory."
Representatives from various countries participating in the negotiations have a new understanding of the shamelessness of the British. Do you still want to make a comeback from Portugal's half-dead state? Unless Napoleon is reincarnated.
Sweet ignored Hull's shameless remarks and said: "As for the strength of East Africa, everyone here knows very well that if we want to wipe the two Portuguese colonies off the map through force, it is only a matter of time. We can only participate in the negotiations because of our For the sake of the international community.”
Without the intervention of Britain and France, East Africa would not be in the mood to play this game with Portugal, and would have sent regular troops to capture two colonies in one fell swoop.
Hull said: "Although Angola and Mozambique made mistakes first, they will not treat Portugal so harshly. It is best for both sides to return to the pre-war status!"
You big-headed ghost! Sweet said with a smile: "If you make a mistake, you have to bear the price. What's more, the Portuguese clearly had premeditated plans for the East African territory. This time the Portuguese army clearly exceeded its endurance. As far as I know, Mozambique had the largest army in the past. There were only a few thousand people, but before the war started, it suddenly expanded to 60,000 to 70,000 people. It was obvious that they had received assistance from foreign forces."
If Si Si pointed out something specifically, it would make Britain and France very embarrassed. Wouldn't the foreign forces be referring to them?
However, Britain and France were thick-skinned, and they would not talk about their interference in the East-Portugal War. Hull said: "Portugal is also an old power, and it still has strength. As for the Portuguese colonies to strengthen their own armed forces, it is completely understandable. After all, there are people around They are eyeing the two Portuguese colonies."
After hearing what Hull said, the corner of Sweet's mouth twitched. East Africa did have bad intentions towards the two Portuguese colonies, but this war was not started by East Africa, but Mozambique personally sent the excuse for the war to East Africa.
"East Africa is a peace-loving country. We have always developed friendly relations with neighboring countries. However, this time it was Portugal that provoked first, and some countries went to war without declaring it. This is not worthy of the label of a civilized country at all. This kind of behavior is just It would be a shame.”
Sweet's words made the Portuguese representative very embarrassed, but Portugal was really embarrassed this time. They had never even made a sneak attack in East Africa. If this war is not handled well, I am afraid that Portugal will replace Italy and become the new international entertainment.
Addis said: "It is true that we did something wrong in this war, but this is all a misunderstanding..." Addis didn't know how to make it up anymore, so he could only use a misunderstanding to cover up his embarrassment.
"Okay, let's take a step back this time. Portugal made the mistake first, and of course it will be punished, but we won't be too harsh on Portugal. Let's put our opinions together before deciding on compensation." The French acted as peacemakers. said.
The representatives of Germany and Austria naturally spoke to East Africa, believing that Portugal should bear the consequences for its mistakes. Otherwise, where would the international justice be? I don’t know if there are any national axioms in East Africa, but if it is strong enough, what it says will naturally be international axioms.
Finally, after several rounds of bargaining, East Africa received some compensation, including the southern third of Angola and the land north of the Zambezi River in Mozambique.
Although Britain and France wanted to preserve Portugal's two colonies, Portugal fought so many wars that neither Britain nor France could negotiate with the Germans.
Moreover, during the negotiation period, East Africa carried out several large-scale war operations, putting pressure on Portugal at all times. This made Portugal uncomfortable. In the end, it had to cede territory for peace, otherwise the two colonies might become history.
After losing so much territory, Portugal's heart was bleeding and it hated East Africa. Although Portugal was the first to provoke this time, it also stood more firmly on the British side.