Lieutenant Zhong Liang took out his notebook and recorded what happened during the day in the light of the horse lantern. Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info There were many such lights in Pretoria at this time, but more often than not, there were torches.

“…… On 3 February, entering Pretoria, which the British had ceded during the day, the Zulu forces showed curiosity about the city, rather than the usual bestiality of whites. In what I saw and heard during the day, these big black brothers also had disputes, but they were not about the city, and it was a very cumbersome matter to allocate districts and arrange accommodation. It's weird not to argue. After dark, I looked out the window of the house, and there were people living in each room. ……”

“…… Probably used to living in thatched huts, the Zulu people are very careful about controlling the lights in the room......"

“…… The Abandonment of Pretoria by the British was clearly a lure to the enemy. The Zulus' quick capture of Pretoria was also a very bold plan. At least the British had to fight the Zulus and the Boers at the same time, but now they stepped out and let the Boers fight the Zulus. But from a strategic point of view, the Zulus can't really be considered a fool to recapture this important town......"

After writing for a while, Second Lieutenant Zhong Liang closed his notebook. Writing a diary is his hobby, and if it weren't for the poverty of his family, Second Lieutenant Zhong Liang would actually want to go to the Chinese Department to study. In this era when it is generally believed that 'learn mathematics, physics and chemistry, you will not be afraid to go all over the world', those who dare to ask for liberal arts are probably true love. At least Second Lieutenant Zhong Liang's science and engineering grades are quite good. So good that he was even given priority admission to the military school.

Now the young lieutenant is wearing a yellow-green military uniform of the East African Security Forces, which is said to be a color that suits the local environment in Africa, but Lieutenant Zhong Liang doesn't believe it. Preparations for the introduction of camouflage uniforms have already begun in China, and after trying it himself, the lieutenant decided that it was the most suitable military uniform for various environments. Compared to camouflage, all solid-colored uniforms are too conspicuous. However, the main force of the East African army was black, and Lieutenant Zhong Liang did not think it necessary to arm this black army to such an extent.

It was still very hot in South Africa at the end of February, and the lieutenant felt that the heat radiating from the flames in the lantern made him a little agitated. Extinguishing the lights, the lieutenant unbuttoned his uniform and lay down on the camp bed. The reason for the anxiety is simple, Pretoria is on the edge of the reconnaissance unit of the Liberation Army Air Force. If the enemy approached and launched a surprise attack, the Zulu army in Pretoria would not be able to get the first warning from the Chinese Air Force. Previously, the Zulus were able to attack and defend each other with the British, and were even able to gain a considerable advantage in some details. It is not the extent to which the Zulus' combat effectiveness has increased, but the fact that the Chinese Air Force has given the Zulus very accurate battlefield information.

After a few days of marching, I was quite tired, even if I was in a restless mood, even if I thought I should think more about it. But two mouthfuls of water blew in a cool breeze from the open window. The eyelids fought for a short time, and Lieutenant Zhong Liang fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, the wake-up horn sounded, and as soon as Lieutenant Zhong Liang opened his eyes, he rolled over from the march. Pretoria is still a war zone, and for soldiers, it is necessary to be vigilant at all times. Pretoria has a railway that leads to Mozambique. It was once a project that China forced the Portuguese colonial government of Mozambique to accept, and now the railway is fully owned by China. One of the orders Lieutenant Zhong Liang received was to keep an eye on the movement on the railway.

The Zulu Kingdom army that came here had more than 10,000 people, which was really nothing compared to the 300,000 British expeditionary force. Even compared to the sixty or seventy thousand Boer militias that exist today, the Zulu kingdom's army is at a disadvantage. Lieutenant Zhong Liang had breakfast and continued to come back and write that the level of national mobilization determines everything, and as long as the gap in forces exceeds the limit, whether or not to fight well is useless. Before accumulating small victories into big victories and reversing strategic disadvantages with a large number of tactical victories, the army that is at an absolute disadvantage in strength has already been drained of itself. If the British or the Boers had encircled Biretonia, at least there would have been no shortage of water......

Lieutenant Zhong Liang could not simply keep a record, he was sent during the day to supervise the establishment of the defense system of the Zulu black brothers. The Boers built part of the defenses here, and the British continued to strengthen part of the defenses here to defend against a possible Boer counter-attack. On the basis of these two aspects, China also began to help the Zulu Kingdom's army build a more effective defense system.

The city of Pretoria has a square shape, which is easy to build. As for how far the Black Brothers can use the defense system, Lieutenant Zhong Liang is not confident at all. He wrote, with a touch of melancholy, "The city of Pretoria is truly beautiful, and it is no wonder that the Boers crossed the Orange River and finally established a state here." ”

Two more days later, in the evening, Zhong Liang Chinese finished his dinner, and continued to write in the setting sun: "Today, February 6, a small detachment of the Boers appeared, and their troops were all cavalry, showing quite excellent mobility. After firing at Zulu troops from a distance and wounding one Zulu soldier, the Boers retreated. I suspect that they are not here to fight, but to send a small force to determine who is in the hands of Pretoria now. The Zulu cavalry did a good job of pursuit, at least their horse breeding skills improved quickly, and the horses generally did not have any problems with diarrhea......"

……

"On 8 February, several groups of Boer cavalry appeared outside the city of Pretoria. It was clear that the Boers were eager to regain their former capital. Therefore, they first stuck the railway, and had the intention of carrying out a siege. ”

"On 9 February, the battle began. The level of design of the Boers was like that, and there was no advantage in shooting against the Zulus. Seeing that there were not many enemies on the opposite side, the Zulus rushed out to surround the enemy. As a result, they were led by the nose by these Boers and fell into the encirclement. The follow-up troops managed to free them. The Zulu troops suffered heavy losses, as did the Boers. ”

"February 10th. The dismissal of the officer who led the pursuit confirmed my concern that the Zulus would be discouraged by such a blow. In fact, their choice to attack was correct, but their ability to execute the choice was limited, which led to losses. The military school teacher repeatedly emphasized that the mistake of execution is not the same thing as the mistake of choice. Whether an army has vitality or not does not mean that the army is invincible and invincible, but whether the army can identify the problem as quickly as possible when it encounters setbacks, and can make more targeted preparations next time it encounters similar problems. The Zulus were not necessarily wrong to remove their commanders, but they did not discuss them at the same time. At least I don't know of any reflection on yesterday's battle in the Zulu forces, and there is no emphasis on how to prepare for an ambush in pursuit. ”

"February 11th. The Boers suffered a loss, and they pounced very bravely and unwisely, only to be attacked by rapid-fire guns in front of the barbed wire line. The Zulus were very slow to send their pursuers, and by the time the pursuing troops were out, the Boers had already fled with the wounded. ”

"February 14th. The cavalry of the Boers had already surrounded Pretoria. The Zulu army had brought enough food and ammunition, and there was no shortage of water. As long as the Boers did not have heavy artillery, they could not storm the city. But to this extent, I think the number of troops has too much impact on the outcome of the war! ”

"February 15th. Fierce fighting broke out today, and the Boers tried to storm Pretoria, and the Zulus, on the advice of our advisory group, released a passage to the Boers. After the Boers rushed to the edge of the city, they surrounded and annihilated the Boers with superior forces. The Boers were really fierce enough, and when they saw that the situation was not right, they started a bayonet battle with the Zulus with the new rifles supported by the British. As I had imagined, the Boers were probably no match for the Zulus, who were accustomed to cold weapons. As a result, I noticed that the Boers were generally much taller than the Zulus. Although the Zulus look like they have a savage feel, the Boers are far superior to the Zulus in terms of ferocity. As a result, the Boers had the upper hand in the bayonet battle, and it was not until the large number of Zulu spearmen joined the battle group that they won the battle of annihilation with superior forces. ”

"February 16th. There was no fight today, but I was in a bad mood. The advisory group's assessment of the fighting on both sides was that the Boers were better at fighting. The Zulus had insufficient mobilization capacity, poorly trained troops, and a noticeable lack of combat experience. It is really difficult for a strong man to let them fight far from the mountainous base areas. It was widely believed that the Zulu would have to leave Pretoria if they had the opportunity to do so. ”

"February 19th. The British, presumably, came to some kind of agreement with the Boers. According to our observations, at least between five thousand and twenty thousand Boers were assembled around Pretoria, and it seems that they meant to prepare to take the city. I'm not worried about the Boers, I'm worried about the British army in Kimberley. That diamond-rich town was home to a large number of British expeditionary forces. This is probably why the Boers were slow to move before. Until a reliable agreement was reached with the British, the Boers would probably not be stupid enough to come up and fight the Zulus to the death. ”

"On February 20, a telegram arrived from the command, and they believed that the British would not intervene in the short term. If Pretoria was in the hands of the Zulus, the British had ample opportunity to play tricks on the Boers. And if Pretoria were to fall into the hands of the Boers now, the Boers would probably just immediately continue to raise their arms against the British. The advisory group was more sympathetic to this attitude, as long as the British troops stood by and watched, the pure Boers were not yet capable of entering Pretoria. We also sent a telegram to the command, arguing that it was completely unrealistic wishful thinking to expect the Zulus to exterminate the Boers at this time. I hope that the command will understand our thoughts and send reinforcements to relieve the siege as soon as possible. ”

The latest telegram arrived at the Madagascar Military Region first, and the commanders of the military districts were basically unanimous in their opinion, and everyone agreed to 'let it go first'. The message was then forwarded to the East African Administrative Region.

Wang Mingshan understood the meaning of the Madagascar Military Region at a glance, so Wang Mingshan said with a straight face: "These bastards! ”

The reason why Wang Mingshan reacted was that these advisers were nominally subordinate to the East African Administrative Region, and they were part of the East African Administrative Region's military expansion plan proposed by Wei Kun and supported by Wang Mingshan. The East African Administrative Region hopes to build up a standing army of 400,000 men in four years. Although this standing army can definitely rank in the top 10 among the world powers, compared to the vast area of the East African administrative region, this number is actually nothing at all.

The Republic of China ordered the Madagascar Military District to guard against the British, preventing them from bypassing the Cape of Good Hope by sea and entering the Indian Ocean freely. Therefore, the Liberation Army did not directly participate in the war, but let the 'private army' troops of the gem wine industry join the war. After the Wei Wenrui incident, the 'private soldiers' of the gem wine industry joined the ranks of the East African security forces along with some other corporate armed forces. So in theory, this war became a war between the East African administrative regions and the Boers and the British.

Wang Mingshan's first thought was to send a report to the central authorities and let them make a decision. With Wang Mingshan's connections, there will be no result that the Madagascar Military Region can make things difficult for Wang Mingshan in any case. However, this idea only flashed for a moment, and was vetoed by Wang Mingshan himself. After thinking about it for a while, Wang Mingshan drafted a new message. In the message, the central authorities were informed of the current situation, and then asked the central authorities how they planned to plan the current situation.

As soon as this telegram arrived at the Military Commission, the comrades of the Military Commission immediately knew that the boys in Madagascar were doing something. However, this ghost is still really to the point that he can't criticize them immediately, because the battle situation at this time really makes it impossible for the Military Commission to unify its opinions. If it wants to fight, it is to open another battlefield, and the Liberation Army will devote a large number of troops to the war in the vast Africa. At this time, the East African administrative region was in a state of its infancy, since the Republic of China did not intend to carry out large-scale migration in the East African administrative region, and formed an army with the Chinese army as the backbone. Then counting on the power of the East African administrative region to carry out the war of annihilation is really beyond the limit of the East African administrative region.

Of course, the heart of southern Africa is still the Rand gold mine. The British picked the right one, and in the face of the Boers who were like mad dogs, there was no simple way to solve the problem on the side of the Minchao.

This matter cannot but be told to Weeser that the Rand Gold Mine has always been concerned by Weese. After reading this, Wei Ze only replied lightly: "If the British want to consume with us, we will consume with the British." I would like to see if it is the hundreds of thousands of expeditionary forces of the British who put more pressure on the British, or whether we have troops building up there who are under great pressure. ”

"Governor, do you think the British can't handle the logistics?" Ruan Xihao, who was in charge of reporting the incident, was very puzzled.

Weeser smiled: "The purpose of a country like Britain going around the world is to plunder and make money. And when our troops arrive in a place, they will engage in construction. Both Madagascar and East Africa are self-sufficient. If the British tear their faces, we will solve it all at once. If the British don't dare to do it, we can afford to drag it out. The British colony of Cape Town did not have the capacity to feed hundreds of thousands of troops. ”

Speaking of this, Ruan Xihao could only remain silent for the time being. There is only one problem of the current Republic of China, and that is the North American War. After the end of the North American War, the Liberation Army immediately had an army that could be used to whip the world. Even without the input of this armed force, let the Madagascar military district pour out of the nest and kill into southern Africa, and the British and Boers would have to kneel. At that time, the Republic of China even had the opportunity to solve the class in the British Grand Fleet in southern Africa.

But the feeling of waiting is really bad, Ruan Xihao couldn't help but say: "Dudu, it's useless for me to stay in Asia." Otherwise, let me go to North America. ”

"Oh?" Wei Ze answered, but did not react immediately. Let Shen Xin be in charge in North America, Wei Ze is very relieved. Shen Xin is not a person who has any interest in forming gangs, and Shen Xin is a political commissar. On the other hand, Ruan Xihao, one of the instincts of this old brother is to serve his brothers. Let him go to North America, needless to say, he will definitely attract a group of people. Wei Ze's most hope at the moment is to completely crack down on mountaineering within the army, although there are inevitably factional problems among every generation of soldiers, but first there will be a large number of troops in the new era, and then these soldiers will gather into factions because of their personal emotions. It's a completely different thing from having a faction and then the faction absorbing new blood to form the next generation.

Based on a full understanding of Ruan Xihao's old brother, Wei Ze smiled: "Use a knife to kill chickens." How can the Yankees deserve to let you go out in person, and the little ones will be able to solve the Americans. Besides, I don't want something with too much blood to be associated with our old brothers. ”

Ruan Xihao hurriedly replied: "Dudu, I'm not afraid!" Those little things can be accepted, so what can't I accept? ”

Weser waved his hand, "Those are two different things. It was the Japanese who did the dirty work, and it was I who gave the order to gather the Japanese. Even if the little ones didn't think it was authentic, they didn't dare to be dissatisfied with me. Let's just maintain such a situation, you know what I do, since it is the responsibility I want to shoulder, don't fight with me. ”

Ruan Xihao originally wanted to take advantage of Shen Xin's departure from North America to go to North America to preside over the mission of the Theater Command, but he didn't expect Wei Ze to disapprove at all. If it was for other reasons, Ruan Xihao could still resist with 'don't look down on me'. Now that Wei Ze first came up with the reason of 'don't look down on me', Ruan Xihao found that he really didn't dare to refute Wei Ze's face.

Solving Ruan Xihao's plan to go to North America, Wei Ze also felt that a major job had been accomplished. At least for a few months, no one will want to go to North America to seize local command. That's the end of it.

And Lieutenant Zhong Liang in Pretoria didn't know that what had to do with him had reached the heavens, let alone that the matter ended here. He was going to face a siege.