Chapter 694 Blackmail
Bloemfontein.
"What? Let the Orange Free State regain its independence!" Little Pretorius was a little surprised when he heard Cape Town's request, but he was more worried.
If put in normal times, the Boers must be very willing to be independent, because the ultimate goal of the Transvaal is to rebuild the Boer Republic.
But the current situation was special. The Transvaal people had to rely on the British for their existence, and it was not a good thing for the Cape Colony to allow the "Orange Free State" to regain its independence.
"Are the British worried about being dragged into the water? The Orange Free State was annexed by Cape Town on its own initiative. Over the years, we have treated the British in the territory quite favorably. But now they want to do it because of the threat from East Africans. Shall we kick it away?"
No wonder little Pretorius thought so. The current British colonial status was the protective umbrella of the Orange Free State.
If a war breaks out, the British will definitely not allow their colonies to be invaded or bullied by others. As a colonial empire, the British have so many colonies, so they must maintain their image as "masters". Even if they fight dogs, they must first defeat the "dogs" Master this level.
"Your Excellency, I am afraid that what you are thinking is not unreasonable. Although the UK is a world hegemon, its authority comes from having the largest number of colonies in the world. However, this also means that the British power is relatively dispersed. We, the Orange Free State, are For Britain, it is an insignificant existence, but it is a huge problem."
Little Pretorius looked ugly. Although his subordinate was telling the truth, it was still harsh.
He retorted: "Don't we, the frontline of the confrontation with East Africa, have no value at all? If they are so arrogant, then the entire African continent may be dominated by East Africans in the future!
Therefore, the British cannot let us be a pawn. Their own strength on the African continent may not be much stronger than that in East Africa! If you want to suppress East Africa, you can only unite more allies. Although our Orange Free State is indeed not worth mentioning, its position and military strength should be among the top ten in Africa. "
"Your Excellency, that's not the case. I think the British should also have their own goals. After all, the number of British troops in the Orange Free State has increased in recent years, and there are obviously big moves in Cape Town, so they must also Treating threats in East Africa with caution is the basis for our cooperation."
The British will not attack the Transvaal at this time. After all, the Orange Free State has a special position. If it causes resentment among the people and pushes this ally to East Africa, it will be more than worth the gain. Although the Transvaal is the "little brother" There is also my own Xiao Jiujiu in my heart, but compared with the direct threat from East Africa, it is nothing to mention. The size of the Transvaal people is not even a threat.
"Then you said that the British are letting us get rid of them at this time. What is the ultimate purpose of this sacrifice after many years of planning to get the colony?" Little Pretorius said.
"Your Excellency, this may be related to an issue of initiative. First of all, the British suddenly made this request this time after we first proposed to increase military assistance. This may mean that the British cannot meet our request.
So they must have thought about this issue from a financial perspective. After all, it is not easy to help us raise an army. "
Little Pretorius affirmed: "This idea is quite novel, but it also makes sense."
If it were little Pretorius himself, he would definitely not be as generous as the British. This is certainly due to Britain's strong strength, but helping other countries train an army is thankless in itself, let alone spending money on one's own. With "taxpayer" money, it is better to recruit more cannon fodder and organize in India. At least in the eyes of the British, Indians are "reliable".
"Yes, Your Excellency, after all, the British responded like this after we made this request, so it is certain that their finances are also relatively tight."
During the Orange Free State Civil War, the British could be said to have single-handedly supplied the Transvaal and fought the Orangemen with East African support.
The final gain was that a lot of money and time was spent fighting a worthless war, and the gain was not as good as the Kingdom of Burma, which was won without wasting much effort. In this comparison, the British must feel that they have suffered a big loss.
As the financial backers behind the Orangemen, East Africa naturally lost money, but for East Africa, it was profitable to consume the internal strength of the Boers in advance. Although because of the support of the British, the Transvaal armed forces also grew. , but it would be in the interests of East Africa to expend British energy in the Orange Free State.
"Secondly, the British idea is to prevent the situation from getting out of control. I guess the British are definitely not ready to break up with East Africa. After all, the British sanctions against East Africa in recent years are the same as the sanctions against the United States. What results have been achieved, and East Africa, like the United States, has achieved good development after sanctions, which made the British realize that East Africa is different from ordinary colonies or countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.”
"What does this have to do with us?" someone asked.
Pretorius the Younger answered this question: "The British are not ready, but we in the Transvaal want to start a war as soon as possible, because our finances are a big problem, and the sooner the war starts, the better for us. This conflicts with the British grand strategy, so in order to prevent the situation from getting out of control, the British want to cut off from us to avoid being dragged down."
"Your Excellency, that's it, so we can only accept the British suggestions now, but we can't just take advantage of the British. After all, they didn't think of this when they annexed the Orange Free State. This alliance didn't want to You won’t pay the price for kicking us out.”
The senior officials of the Transvaal government still had to accept the British proposal. After all, they relied on the British far more than the British relied on them, so people had to bow their heads under the roof.
Of course, this also further makes Pretorius Jr. and others want to escape from the control of the British in the future. After solving the serious problem in East Africa, they must not work with the British, a "sinister" country that abandons teammates at any time, otherwise there will be no way to work with them. I was sold one day and helped the British count the money.
"First of all, the British must solve the aid problem. We must at least maintain the army first. Therefore, the prerequisite for independence from the United Kingdom is that the British continue to give us military spending. Set a small goal first, just five years."
This is a sky-high asking price, and the British will definitely not be able to agree to pay it back on the spot, but combined with the broken window effect, the British should be more likely to accept the next asking price of the Orange Free State.
"Secondly, we have less financial resources. We can only make money from the British businessmen and mines in the Orange Free State. I believe Cape Town will acquiesce to this."
The British controlled the economy of the Orange Free State, so it made sense for the Transvaal to target these British businessmen and mine owners.
"If Cape Town does not accept it, then we will declare war on East Africa before we break away from the United Kingdom. I think this is not what the British want to see." Pretorius Jr. smiled sinisterly.