Chapter 802 Argument
3pm.
Nine countries including East Africa, Britain, Portugal, Austria-Hungary, Germany and France participated in the Venice Conference negotiations. Of course, except for a few parties, the rest of the countries mainly focused on soy sauce. It is worth mentioning that Boer The Republic also sent representatives, but the Boers could only sit in the gallery.
Count Ellenthal was responsible for presiding over the meeting: "Gentlemen, it is an honor for everyone to gather in Venice to participate in this meeting on the reconciliation of the South African War. I hope that both parties can sit down and calmly resolve the South African issue and make contributions to regional peace. I would like to give the floor to the British representative first."
As one of the protagonists of this meeting, Britain was undoubtedly the most eye-catching country and also the most powerful country in the war. Therefore, the British were the first to express their opinions, and East Africa would naturally not object.
British Foreign Secretary Salisbury first said: "The South African War is a war that took place in southern Africa. It has lasted for a full year from last year to now and has not yet ended. The main culprit of this war is the East African Kingdom's The brutal expansion of southern Africa has caused serious humanitarian disasters in Africa. In Angola, Mozambique and other regions, large numbers of people have been displaced or swallowed up by East African artillery fire. Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives, and the East African Kingdom has ignored The principle of the sanctity of private property has led to a massive expropriation of the legitimate property of local people in southern Africa. Therefore, on behalf of the British government, I strongly condemn the crimes of the Kingdom of Hechingen in the war, and the East African Kingdom should pay the price for it..."
When Salisbury came up, he shifted all responsibility to East Africa and pretended to be righteous, as if East Africa had committed war crimes.
Herman knocked on the table and interrupted Salisbury's speech: "Your Excellency Salisbury, I know that the defeat of the war makes you feel dissatisfied. This psychological imbalance is understandable, but I cannot ignore any country’s slander against our Kingdom of Hechingen.”
There is a huge difference in the names of East Africa between Count Hermann and Salisbury. The current official name of East Africa is the Kingdom of Hechingen, but other countries still use the Kingdom of East Africa as the official name of East Africa based on inertia or future convenience.
Of course, this does not rule out that some countries do this deliberately. After all, if the purely geographical significance is put aside, Africa is synonymous with barbarism and uncivilization in the world.
Salisbury said without blushing to Herman who interrupted him: "I am just objectively describing what the East African army is doing in southern Africa. After all, now Angola, Mozambique and Orange are even launching... Cape Town has fallen into your hands in East Africa, and you know best what you are doing there."
Although what Salisbury said is biased, it is not wrong. It is a humanitarian disaster. If black people have "human rights", then it is indeed the case. But this is not an East African problem at all. After all, Britain itself is responsible for it. The slave trade started, and the colonial governments of various countries in Africa were all accomplices, and they did not treat the indigenous Africans as human beings.
As for the infringement of "private property", it is even more ridiculous. It only allows the British and Portuguese to plunder Africa and does not allow East African tigers to snatch food. This is the same reason that only state officials are allowed to set fires and the people are not allowed to light lamps.
In essence, Britain, Portugal, and even the Boers were all latecomers, and they all obtained wealth through plundering black people. Even the black people (Bantu) themselves plundered the San people, so East Africa only robbed bandits. , no different from these southern African colonists.
Of course, knowing it in your heart is one thing, and the East African government will definitely not admit it. Herman also followed Salisbury's method and said shamelessly: "Your Excellency Salisbury, the military discipline of our East African army is very strict. , unlike some countries in southern Africa where the military is like bandits, not even sparing the crops in farmers’ fields.”
The military discipline in East Africa is much stronger than that of countries such as the United Kingdom in the current era. Moreover, the British and Portuguese possessions in South Africa cannot even cover the military expenditures of East Africa. As for the land in South Africa that is slightly valuable, it is not ordinary land. People's pockets were confiscated instead.
Of course, if the East African soldiers hide some small items, that is also feasible. However, the wealth in places such as Angola and Mozambique is not much. It is just a place where Portugal continues to suck blood, so everyone can't get much if they are divided equally.
Compared with the East African Defense Forces, the British and Portuguese armies were the real bandits. However, Ernst had long been on guard against them and had almost no industries deployed in southern Africa. Therefore, in addition to the serious losses in the port city of New Hamburg during the war, , losses elsewhere in East Africa were almost negligible.
Moreover, even the losses of New Hamburg Port were mainly due to destruction. The only thing that allowed the coalition forces to take advantage was the farmland in East Africa that could not be destroyed in time. This provided convenience to the food sources of the coalition forces. However, some of the food crops in New Hamburg Port City were actually Imported from the east, the planting industry itself is not too developed.
"Haha, Count Hermann, your so-called strict military discipline is just empty talk. Our British Empire has a long history, and the fine military traditions are not comparable to those of your East African countries with decades of history. Everyone here I definitely agree with my point of view. In contrast, the British Empire Army pays more attention to chivalry, while your East African Defense Force is good at opportunism." Salisbury said.
However, other countries present agreed with Salisbury's words. Although East Africa's military strength is not weak, everyone subconsciously compares East Africa with Prussia. After all, they are both thugs of the Hohenzollern family, and their styles should be Pretty much the same.
Of course, this is also the stereotype of Prussia by European armies. Since the Prussian army has undergone several reforms in recent years, it has long ceased to exist under Wu Xia Amon.
The East African Defense Forces indeed "disregarded martial ethics" in war. East Africa could not refute this, because Ernst himself was not very particular about it.
In Ernst's view, the "chivalry" spirit that the European army emphasizes is simply a product of unnecessary moaning. As long as the army can win the battle, it does not matter what tactics it uses.
Moreover, the military commanders of the East African army are basically civilians, and they cannot be as "fastidious" as the military aristocrats in Europe.
"Haha, let's not argue about this. As for the war, the coalition forces took the lead in launching the war. This is an unchangeable fact. Therefore, the war was unjust from the beginning. As the initiators of the war, Britain and Portugal The government itself is the culprit. For us in East Africa, this war is completely a self-defense and counterattack to protect our country and our country. This is also the main reason for your failure in the South African War." Count Hermann said aggressively.
The initiators of the war actually included East Africa, but the coalition forces took a step ahead of East Africa. This coincided with the national strategy of East Africa.
But the coalition forces are unlucky. If they start the war even two months later, the culprit of the war will become East Africa.
Of course, the war in East Africa was aimed at Portugal and the Boers. It was not possible for East Africa to directly challenge Britain. Britain's participation in the war was completely greedy and swallowed the elephant.