Lord Margarny had already said this very bluntly, and Britain had long coveted the Dutch colony in South Africa. In fact, two years later, as the Dutch were preoccupied with the threat of French invasion, the British seized de facto control of Cape Town on the pretext of protecting the "Allied" overseas colonies.

It's just that this plan is a fairly confidential thing within the British government, so why give him a petty officer? Could it be that Lord Magalny wants Wickham to lead a hundred or so marines to capture Cape Town by force?

Don't be funny, the Dutch are not the Moxi natives of the Gold Coast, and their own hundred or so people are not enough for the Dutch army in Cape Town, and those Boers (a mixture of Dutch and local natives) are quite strong.

"So, what do you need me to do, Your Excellency?" Wickham wanted to see what kind of medicine was sold in the gourds of the two old foxes.

"Lieutenant Wickham, do you know about the two recent wars between the Bantu Negroes and the Dutch?" Lord Magalny did not answer Wickham's question head-on, but spared the circle again. Wickham complained in his heart, who said that foreigners like to go straight? The twists and turns in the belly of this Magalny are no worse than the subtle and euphemistic old fritters of Chinese officialdom.

Wickham wasn't really interested in those things in the South African colonies, so he didn't know much about them. With Baron Stanton still in the presence of a scholarly figure, he explained to Wickham: "Because ships going to and from the East to Europe would stop at Cape Town to replenish fresh meat, vegetables and fruits, the Dutch continued to push inland and establish cattle farms. On the one hand, they organized livestock trade expeditions, constantly raiding the pastures of the Khoi and robbing them of their cattle and sheep. Today, with the exception of the serfs in the Dutch pastures, the Khoi are on the verge of extinction. ”

Lord Magalny continued: "Of course, not all indigenous South Africans are as weak and deceitful as the Khoi. As the Dutch expanded north and east, they encountered stubborn resistance from the Bantu Negroes, the Xhosa. Using large shields and spears, and riding horses, these Bantu constantly raided the Dutch's farms and pastures on the border, giving the Dutch a headache. The Cabinet gave me the task of sending a consignment of arms to the Xhosa to help them in their revolt against the Dutch. And you, Lieutenant Wickham, I see in you all the good things about the soldiers of the kingdom, and it is best for you to entrust such a task to you. ”

After listening to Lord Margarny's words, Wickham finally understood what the British were planning. However, this is also dark enough, the current United Provinces Republic of the Netherlands is still Britain's most solid ally on the European continent. Even allies are pitted, no wonder the small island nation can develop into an empire on which the sun never sets in later generations, it is really that these British people are too dark.

Wickham thought about the danger of such a task, and why should he take such a risk: "Lord Magalny, although I am not qualified to dictate the foreign policy of the kingdom, I still have a question, are the Dutch not now allies of the kingdom on the continent?" I mean, if the Dutch detect our efforts to supply weapons and equipment to the Xhosa, will the Dutch turn to the French? ”

In fact, Wickham still has a certain curiosity about the relationship between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, it turns out that the Dutch and the British are a life-and-death rivalry, and the two countries have fought several wars for maritime interests, which can be described as a feud. France and the Netherlands are now at least politically identical, but the fact that the Dutch and the British can come together is puzzling to Wickham, who has always been interested in European history.

Magalny smiled contemptuously: "Lieutenant Wickham, do you think that the French, desperately trying to export their revolutionary ideas to neighboring countries, really want to bring freedom and dignity to those countries?" Did the French and the Dutch revolutionaries join forces to make constant disturbances in order to establish a more liberal and democratic republic in the Netherlands? Those are just French people making excuses for their greed! After all these years of turmoil, domestic production has withered, and prices have skyrocketed, and they urgently need large sums of money to stabilize the economic situation in France. Although the financial industry in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has declined a lot after the rise of the financial industry in London, Amsterdam in the Netherlands is still the largest financial center on the European continent. Moreover, the French had coveted the Netherlands since the time of Richelieu, and the Dutch were very wary of the French, so the possibility of the Dutch turning to France was basically zero. ”

Magarny paused and continued: "When the Dutch East India Company is overwhelmed by the Xhosa and has no local support, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom can be stationed in Cape Town under the pretext of helping the Dutch put down the rebellion! And the Netherlands itself basically just acts as if none of this happened. In the face of the assistance of a maritime power, the question of the ownership of a small overseas colony becomes insignificant. As long as revolutionary France exists, the United Provinces of the Netherlands will always be the kingdom's bridgehead on the European continent! ”

So that's it! Wickham couldn't help but nod in agreement, behind this superficially glamorous revolution, there is actually a naked issue of interest distribution, and no ideology can influence national interests and national interests. Just like the polar bear, under the banner of socialism, society, and ism, it practices great-power chauvinism against other countries, intending to control other countries in the social, social, and socialist camp.

However, Wickham really disagrees with Lord Magalny's optimistic estimate, and the Dutch United Provinces Republic really did not last long to collapse in the face of the French "Liberation Army". After the establishment of the pro-French Republic of Batavia, Britain would also lose its last foothold on the European continent.

But looking at Lord Magalny's self-confident appearance, Wickham really couldn't laugh or cry. I really don't know where the self-confidence of the British comes from, even after the collapse of the British Empire, they still think very highly of themselves.

"Why, then, me, Your Excellency? After all, I haven't been to Cape Town yet, and I'm not very familiar with the situation there, so I don't think I'm the best person for the task. "That's what Wakeham is most puzzled about, there's nothing in this world that doesn't happen for no reason.

Lord Magalny didn't know what was going on with him today, and he had such patience with a junior officer. First of all, the young people in front of him are inextricably linked to the Fitzwilliam family, which is important in British politics. Again, it's because it's rare for young people to be so humble or arrogant in front of them.

"Because your face is raw enough, and your position is low enough! I think when you get to Cape Town again, it's easy for the Dutch to ignore you. If any of the members of the mission had disappeared, the Dutch would have become suspicious. Listening to Margarny's words, Wickham couldn't help but have black lines on his head, and was bluntly said, "That's because you're just an inconspicuous little person, so I gave you the task", and he really didn't save face at all.

Margarny Wickham's cheeks were slightly red, and he couldn't help but be a little funny, in his impression, Wickham has always been a calm and calm young man, but he didn't expect to see him embarrassed today, it's really not easy.

"By the way, when you get to Cape Town, you don't have to get off the boat. At midnight my men will take you to a merchant ship by transport, and the merchant named Jeff will be our man, and he will arrange for you to connect with the Xhosa. Your mission is to transport the munitions brought by the merchant ship to the tribes of the Xhosa and encourage them to attack the Dutch immediately, can you do that? ”

Wickham nodded, this plan is quite tight, anyway, he is just a small person, the Dutch should not notice him, but he has one last question: "Your Excellency, that batch of weapons will not be the standard weapons in our army, right?" If these weapons were captured by the Dutch, it would be a big trouble for the kingdom. ”

Magalny nodded appreciatively, he liked to work with smart people, which would save him a lot of trouble: "You can rest assured on that, Lieutenant Wickham. Those weapons were sold to the outside world by the French Navy after the revolution in Paris! All the rifles in this batch of ammunition are authentic French products, and have nothing to do with our Britain. ”

"Your Excellency, I accept this task. I can't promise you anything, but I'll do my best to get it done. "Wickham suddenly found that since joining the army, he has become more and more involved in a number of things, whether intentionally or not. Wickham is certain that if he rejects Magalny, he will not be in the military in the future.

Magalny patted Wickham on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, after this mission, I will ask the Governor of India to promote your rank to captain in advance, which is what you deserve." ”

The Viceroy of India had the power to appoint junior and junior officers without the consent of the British, but this was limited to the Indian garrison. Magalny seemed to see Wickham's question, and said with a smile: "The Viceroy of India is my friend, and your appointment only needs to be reported to the British Admiralty later, you can rest assured of this." After all, we are thousands of miles away from the mainland, and it is impossible to report everything to the mainland. ”

After receiving Margarny's assurance, Wickham was still quite happy in his heart, there was no man who did not expect a higher status, and he was naturally not exempt from vulgarity. Through the experience of the past few months, Wickham has deeply realized how serious the European class concept is in this era, and if there is no corresponding status, it is that no matter how rich you are, you will not be respected by others!

So now Wickham is less reluctant to serve in the British army, to put it utilitarianly, senior officers in the army are not only respected, but also have the opportunity to exchange their military exploits for hereditary titles or lifetime titles canonized by the British king, and Wickham's goal now is to move forward to the ranks of middle and senior officers!

After thanking him and saying a bunch of unnourishing words, Wickham exited the captain's room. Outside the captain's room, Barnett paced anxiously back and forth, a slightly guilty expression on his face. Seeing Wickham come out of the captain's room, Barnett greeted him: "Sir, I'm ...... I really don't know how to talk about it, and I don't agree with some of my uncle's practices, but ....... I can't change anything. As hard as I am, I decided to tell you, sir. ”

Wickham was a little strange, Barnett didn't know what to say, and he didn't know what he was messing with, so he asked, "Barnett, what's the matter with you?" Is there anything you want to tell me? ”

Barnett looked a little hesitant, but finally gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, I know that your mission this time is to escort a batch of munitions to the tribe of the Xhosa. But the task was not as simple as it sounded, and the Boer militias, who had been launching onslaught against the Xhosa for more than a month, in retaliation for their raids on their frontier pastures. It's dangerous for the sir! If you get caught by the Boers, there's absolutely no way out. The most nervous of those Boers is the white man who helps the Xhosa train the army, and if they catch one, they will hang one! ”

Wickham paused for a moment, could it be too trivial to apologize to him for this incident: "Barnett, since the day we became the United King, we have faced countless dangers and deaths, but if you hold back because you are afraid of danger and death, then I don't deserve to be a soldier, if that's the case, you don't have to." ”

Listening to Wickham's words, Barnett felt that the lieutenant's image in his heart instantly became taller, so he said what he knew: "Sir, in fact, this mission was originally intended for me to go, and you also know that Evan is not alert enough, and Bert is injured. Because I had the lowest rank, the Dutch wouldn't have paid attention to me. But because this mission is very dangerous, my uncle is worried about my safety, so he will replace you. I'm sorry, sir...... I ......"

Wickham squinted his eyes and said slowly, "Why are you telling me this?" "This kind of thing is not something that can be said casually, because it is also related to Lord Magalny's face.

Barnett lowered his head and paused for a moment before saying, "Sir, because I think we're friends!" If something happens to you, I'm afraid God won't forgive my conscience either. ”

Wickham smiled and patted Barnett's shoulder and said, "It's enough to have you, you are also my friend of Wickham forever." Barnett, you don't have to blame yourself, in fact, I also accepted this task voluntarily. There is a saying in China that 'wealth is sought in danger', and I think you will have to call me Mr. Captain after the mission is over, haha......"

Being teased by Wickham like this, the atmosphere between the two was not as heavy as just now, and Barnett said solemnly: "God bless you, sir! You must come back safely. ”