South Africa

Early February 1900

Cape Town, Elizabeth, and East London had a total of 200,000 troops, dense tents with no end in sight, and carts of mules and horses transporting supplies, grain, and grass were discharged more than a dozen miles away, and all kinds of supplies were piled up in mountains.

The new commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Lord Roberts, saw that everything was ready and personally led the LinkedIn Expeditionary Force into a major counteroffensive.

The armies of the east and north roads were heavily assembled, and they advanced steadily in a crushing manner, not giving the Boer cavalry troops any opportunity to take advantage of, and the army swept everywhere, and hundreds of thousands of blacks began to build pillboxes, pulling up dense barbed wire along the way to limit the cavalry troops' roundabout assaults.

In the face of the British expeditionary force's interlocking heavy troops, the Boer generals were at a loss and could only retreat step by step, lifting the siege of several cities by the Boer army.

The first victory in the battle greatly boosted the morale of the British Expeditionary Force.

However, soon they stopped laughing.

As the British expeditionary force soon approached the important towns of Ladysmith and Kimberley, which had been besieged for more than 4 months, the Boer coalition army had no choice but to fight a battle.

Thus, a fierce battle broke out.

Through ambush warfare, raid warfare, night raid warfare, and the delay of the Boer army, the British expeditionary force had to pay the price of blood for every step forward, and its own corresponding casualties also increased rapidly, and the battle gradually entered the white heat.

However, this kind of small-scale raiding operation obviously could not stop the advance of the British heavy army.

On 28 February, General Butler led 26,000 troops to break through the stubborn resistance of the Boers and successfully joined the exhausted local defenders of Ladysmith, achieving a major victory.

On 31 March, after breaking through the obstacles of the Boer coalition army, Lord French joined up with the cavalry withdrawn from Bloemfontein and led a force of 40,000 men to break through the outskirts of the Kimberley, dealing a heavy blow to the Boer coalition army, and finally rescuing the British 5th Brigade, which had been besieged for five and a half months.

At this time, the British 5th Brigade had already suffered more than half of the casualties, but fortunately, the 3,300-strong Tang volunteers filled the defensive gap and tried to ensure that the defense of the town was not lost, so it was not captured by the Boers.

The performance of the Tang Volunteers was highly praised, they suffered more than 370 casualties in the battle, and none of the defensive strongholds were lost, and the battle was quite tenacious.

With a wave of his hand, Lord French gave all of them compensation according to the standard of British war wounds, and the rest were incorporated into the second-line colonial servant unit to continue to guard the town of Kimberley.

Since then

The situation of the war had clearly favoured the British, and Lord Roberts, commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, did not give the Boers much respite, and immediately led a large army into the Republic of Orange and the Transvaal.

Its important cities such as Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria have fallen......

Far East

Just when the South African artillery was rumbling, the Eight-Nation Coalition Army gathered by Germany was like a bamboo, and the Manchu imperial capital with 150,000 soldiers and 300,000 Boxers was broken by more than 20,000 miscellaneous troops in just five and a half hours......

The Eight-Nation Coalition burned and looted all the way, and the traitors and women did all kinds of evil, and this historical city that proved the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty fell into the suffering of blood and fire......

In the north

The Russian army brazenly crossed the border and caused a horrific massacre at 64 Tun in Jiangdong, and the bodies of the killed civilians floated all over the river.

Subsequently, 170,000 Tsarist Russian troops entered the northeast in three ways, rampage on the black soil, killing people when they saw them, robbing livestock when they saw them, and dragging them away when they saw women......

The land of Shenzhou has since fallen into the abyss of the most suffering......

And at the moment

Empress Dowager Cixi, who presided over the supreme power of the Manchu Empire, launched a war against Europe and the United States under the pretense of Emperor Guangxu under house arrest.

The governors of the southeastern provinces openly refused to be ordered by the Qing court, and no longer refused to listen to the blind command of the old witch, and implemented the "southeast joint protection" under the initiative of Gu Zhixue, the governor of Liangguang, and more than ten provinces in the southeast responded one after another, and the momentum was much greater than in the original history.

The Ocean Kingdom openly supported the "Southeast Joint Protection" initiative, and sent the South China Sea Fleet's "Qinglong" and "White Tiger" cruisers into the Huangpu River in Shanghai City to support the "Southeast Joint Protection" with practical actions.

Britain, France, Italy, the United States, Austria and other countries also followed suit and publicly expressed their support for the "Southeast Joint Guarantee".

The core essence of the "southeastern joint protection" is that not a single soldier of the Eight-Nation Coalition Army is allowed to enter the above-mentioned provinces, and the southeastern provinces will not send troops to the north; if the Eight-Nation Coalition forces attack any place, the southeastern provinces will not stand idly by, and will certainly fight against the same enemy.

Although the specific content is slightly different from the original history, the main purpose has not changed, and after receiving the full support of the Ocean Empire, the southeastern provinces have a lot of confidence.

Southern Africa

In September, the British Expeditionary Force captured almost all of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic, and the President of the Transvaal Republic, Kruger, was forced into exile in Europe, and began to travel around the country to appeal for salvation.

The purpose is to ask for money, guns, food, and strong support from the international community.

Soon after, Britain officially announced the annexation of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, causing an uproar in Europe.

Cape Town

In an elegant Victorian building, Major General Duan Qirui, dressed in a loose Tang suit, sat under the grape trellis, and drank afternoon tea leisurely with Brigadier General Zheng Fusheng and Brigadier General Ma Chang.

They have been here for a year since they arrived in Cape Town last September and will be recalled in the near future.

By order of the Army Staff Headquarters; Nearly half of the officers of the military observation group will remain in Mozambique, with Brigadier General Zheng Fusheng promoted to the rank of major general and taking over the post of commander of the Mozambican mobile division, and Brigadier General Ma Chang promoted to the rank of major general and taking over the post of commander of the Mozambican garrison.

"Congratulations to the two of you, you finally added a star to your shoulders." Major General Duan Qirui raised the teacup in his hand and took a sip.

"Thank you Brother Churui for your kind words, I toasted this cup of tea instead of wine." Major General Zheng Fusheng raised his glass with both hands with a solemn expression, and Major General Ma Chang next to him also raised his glass with both hands and said; "And me."

They understand;

Major General Duan Qirui is the person favored by His Majesty, and after returning home, he will definitely be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and it is said that he is the deputy commander of the Royal Praetorian Guard, and he has at least one main division under his command, and he is one of the top figures in the military circles.

Comparatively

The two of them will have to stay in Africa for at least four or five years, and if they can't be promoted, they will have to serve in the Army Staff Headquarters or the Military Academy.

And Chief Duan has a bright future, this is a big thick leg.

"The two generals are polite." Major General Duan Qirui smiled calmly, his eldest brother, Admiral Li Xuanzhu, was a top figure in the military circles, and the whereabouts of the transfer were revealed in advance, which was a piece of cake.

His Majesty will personally present his promotion ceremony and confer the High Medal at the same time, which is much more grand than the two in front of him.

The reason why everyone was able to be promoted was because during the siege, the Military Observation Corps organized Chinese forces to assist in the defense, simply in Kimberley, in Ladysmith, and in Medugan, the Tang Volunteers showed good combat effectiveness and helped the British army hold these important towns, so as to get the British army's solemn gratitude.

Second, it has great political influence and has safeguarded the rights and interests of Chinese miners in South Africa, which has been highly appreciated by the center, which is a long story.

Because of the outstanding performance of the Tang Volunteers in the previous five months of siege, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Lord Roberts, and the chief of staff, Lord Kitchener, attached great importance to it, and after consulting with Sir Alfred Milner, the Prime Minister of the Cape Government, from April 1900, a large-scale conscription of Chinese miners to join the colonial army and serve as second-line garrison duties.

If you think about it, Lord Roberts plans to build 10,000 bunkers, and even if each bunker is guarded by only one squad, it will take more than 100,000 people. Plus mobile strike units, defense units, and cavalry units, how many troops do you need in total?

Having occupied large swaths of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic, and owning the Rand Gold Mine and hundreds of surrounding gold mines, the Cape government could afford it.

As a result, more than 50,000 Chinese miners were conscripted into the army, and after a brief training, they were sent to guard the bunkers in various places.

The British Expeditionary Force destroyed the Boer homeland and conquered the country they had founded, but the organized resistance of the Boers never stopped, but instead inflicted increasing losses on the British through elusive warfare.

So, reinforcements from the Mediterranean, India, Canada, and New Zealand continue to flow to South Africa, and the total number now exceeds 340,000.

Even so, the military is not enough.

The local conscription of Chinese miners into the army has become a simple and easy way to do this, and they have shown with practical actions that the Chinese obey commands in combat, are highly disciplined, bear hardships and stand hard work, and are completely trustworthy in their combat capability.

After the occupation of the Rand Gold Mine, the British Expeditionary Force confiscated the property of the Boer Mining Company and re-liberated tens of thousands of Chinese laborers to prepare for their inclusion in the colonial army.

Major General Duan Qirui saw the opportunity and encouraged the officials of the South African consulate to give these Chinese miners the opportunity to become naturalized, so that as long as they cut off their braids and swore allegiance to the Ocean Empire, they could be protected by the imperial expatriates and enjoy the qualifications equivalent to those of the British, such as settling down and buying property, getting married and funeral, applying for civil servants, and joining the army, and they could be guaranteed not to be discriminated against.

Cape Town was only a British colony, so how dare not carry out the policy of London?

First of all, more than 5,700 Tang volunteers who guarded Kimberley, Leddy Smith, and Medugan took the lead in naturalization, and then led more Chinese miners to naturalize, which has reached more than 30,000 in a short time.

This incident caught the Cape colonial government off guard, because the treatment of the servant soldiers in the colonial army was completely different from that of the British, and the treatment of the servant soldiers was only 1/3 or even 1/5 of the British, and even the standards of food and equipment were different.

As a result, it can cost a lot of money each year.

Major General Duan Qirui led several senior generals to communicate with the top military and political leaders of South Africa many times, and finally made them pinch their noses and agree to treat British soldiers equally.

Duan Qirui is not a pure soldier with a military mind, but a very talented politician, who knows when to fight for the rights and interests of the ethnic group, and now is the right time to take advantage of the British to burn his eyebrows.

It didn't matter if the British expeditionary force was concerned, anyway, they didn't need to pay for the military expenses of the Cape colonial army, and the wool came out of South Africa.

Sadly and pitifully, an important factor that really made the Cape Prime Minister Sir Alfred Milner relieved was a war of aggression that was taking place thousands of miles away.

The Huayong Battalion of the British Weihai Concession was recruited in 1898, formed an army in 1899, and caught up with the invasion of Beiping by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900.

The equipment of the Huayong battalion is very good, the standard rifle is the British advanced Martinny-Henry rifle, and it is also equipped with the Maxim machine gun, which is the most advanced weapon, and many European armies are not equipped with formed equipment.

The salary is also very good, with a monthly salary of eight taels of silver, a squad leader of 12 taels, and a squadron leader of 30 taels per month.

It can be seen from this that the British have put in what kind of effort they have put into the Huayong Battalion.

The soldiers of the Huayong battalion were already able to endure hardships, and the generous salary made them cherish this job even more, so they trained very hard. The British officers of the time spoke highly of these soldiers:

They are very disciplined and very self-disciplined.

They are very strong and very stoic.

Moreover, all of them are good shooters, and they almost hit in rings.

They feed well, they don't seem to have any requirements for food, whatever it is, as long as it is edible, their only concern is the quantity of food.

They were excellent marchers and porters, able to eat very little and go far

In short, the British are very satisfied with this mercenary army that they have carefully built, and they are full of praise.

After the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion, the Huayong Battalion was officially incorporated into the British Army, and participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China as the "First Chinese Regiment" of the British Army.

In the war, the Huayong battalion was not the main offensive force, but mostly served as a logistical escort and support work. But it is still "impressive".

During the attack on the East Bureau of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, the Huayong Battalion braved the rain of bullets and sent 12-inch caliber cannons and ammunition to the front line to assist the Russian army in breaking through the arsenal of the East Bureau and opening the passage from Dagu to Tianjin.

After the occupation of Tianjin, the "Huayong Battalion" was ordered to collect ships for the Beiping Expeditionary Force, and recruited nearly 100 large ships and boatmen for the coalition forces. And the artillery of the US army attacking the Forbidden City was also dragged up by the Huayong battalion.

During the seizure of the old Longtou Railway Station, the soldiers of the Huayong Battalion fought hand-to-hand with the Boxers in the carriage......

The news of the war of aggression that took place thousands of miles away was quickly spread around the world by telegraph.

Sir Alfred Milner, the Prime Minister of Cape, received a telegram from the British Minister to China, Douglas, who was full of praise for the performance of the Chinese battalion, which prompted him to make up his mind to give the conscripted South African Chinese miners the treatment they deserved, and that the salaries and salaries should be carried out according to the standards of British soldiers.

For soldiers who are naturalized in the Ocean Empire, they can also be naturalized to open up a colonial government and become a colonial citizen.

After the deliberations of Lord Roberts, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Prime Minister Alfred Milner decided to recruit a colonial army of 100,000 men, mainly Chinese miners, supplemented by white men.

This can't be blamed on the local whites for not wanting to be soldiers, because everyone is here to get rich, and many people have started families here, both old and young, who will run to work for you?

The military observation group headed by Major General Duan Qirui was highly commended by the empire for safeguarding the interests of Chinese miners in South Africa because of this major event.

What was the treatment of Chinese miners in South Africa historically?

In the case of the Rand Gold Mine, tens of thousands of Chinese miners were brutally abused and died of exhaustion, and in the end, there were very few who were able to settle down in South Africa, and those who were lucky enough to complete the contract finally left this sad place.

According to the eldest brother, Admiral Li Xuanzhu;

When His Majesty heard this, he laughed happily and said; "Hahahaha, okay, this person is not only excellent in military talent, but also has a good sense of political smell, good, very good, and he has lived up to my painstaking cultivation."

After Duan Qirui heard this, he was happy for most of the day, with a smile on his eyebrows.

Of course, he didn't dare to publicize what his eldest brother had revealed, that would really be called brain watts.