Admiral Kitchener is gone, and he came to the Prime Minister's office to obtain the Queen's Government's maximum support for the army, mainly in two ways.

On the one hand, it is hoped that the Queen's government will exert strong pressure on the Kingdom of Portugal to cut off the transport of supplies to the Transvaal through Mozambique and cut off the logistical supply lines for the rebels.

This is crucial to winning the final victory in the war, and it is a major issue that needs to be solved urgently.

On the other hand

While continuously increasing troops to South Africa, it is hoped that the queen's government will open a protective umbrella for the military to avoid strong accusations from European public opinion and various countries, so that the soldiers will shed blood and tears.

Because, at the same time as the military urgently transferred troops from the colonies, it had already opened its arsenal and was about to transport to South Africa a batch of poison gas bombs known as "column low artillery", and this inhumane weapon was the army's trump card against the Boers.

You have ironclad cars, and I have gas bombs.

Admiral Kitchener was ready to deal a cruel blow to the Boers, and the concentration camps, gas bombs, and fort strangulation tactics were all taken out, not believing that the little Boers could not be subdued.

To the Boers, Admiral Kitchener was a terrifying murderer, and his single-handedly led strangulation war almost pushed the entire Boers to the brink of extinction.

Admiral Kitchener was a high-ranking British general who had experienced war for many years, and as early as 1892, when he was commander-in-chief in Egypt, he commanded the suppression of the Egyptian national awakening movement and the invasion of Sudan.

This man was hard-hearted and ruthless, and he had no regard for the lives of the civilians of these colonies.

In 1896, Kitchener personally led the British and Egyptian armies to invade Sudan again, defeating the Mahdi general Mahmud at the Battle of Atbara, capturing the important town of Dongura, and annihilating tens of thousands of brave black Sudanese warriors.

The British army then continued to march towards Omdurman, near Khartoum, and in 1898, Abdullah himself led the main force of the Mahdi Army to resist the British invasion, and the two armies fought a decisive battle at Omdurman.

The British army in this battle was 8,200 British soldiers and 17,000 Egyptian and Sudanese colonial servants, and the Mahdi had more than 50,000 troops.

The British army was fully equipped with the new "Lee-Metford" rifles, and was assisted by the new Colt heavy machine guns. Mahdi firearms were still not widely available, and many warriors fought with broadswords and spears.

The British surrounded the Omdurmans and formed a semi-circular defensive line for defense, digging trenches in front of the battle and constructing a breast fence. Artillery and Colt heavy machine guns were scattered in it, with its back to the Nile, preventing enemy troops from making a detour.

On the river, British gunboats shuttled back and forth, constantly shelling the Mahdi army, luring it to take the initiative to attack.

Under the provocation of the cunning British army, in the early morning of the same day, the Mahdi army could not hold back and launched an attack on all fronts, only to be frantically harvested by Colt heavy machine guns, platoon guns and artillery, and suffered extremely heavy casualties.

The British army immediately counterattacked, launching a massacre encirclement and suppression of the fleeing Mahdi army, completely laying the final victory.

In this battle, the British army killed and wounded more than 11,000 Mahdi rebels and captured more than 6,000 people at the cost of 48 casualties, winning a complete victory.

The campaign that Admiral Kitchener personally commanded was only a part of his extensive experience in colonial warfare, which was enough to show his attitude towards the colonial population.

Whether white or black, any resistance is met with ruthless repression and killing.

Urgently mobilized troops from Ireland and Scotland were being gathered, and Admiral Kitchener was about to go on an expedition with the fleet, and he was busy with a myriad of affairs.

So after the Prime Minister's Office made a straightforward request, he quickly took his leave and left.

The British Army has long been subordinate to the military power of the Queen's government. If the Royal Navy is the heart of the relatives, then the Army is purely raised by the mother.

In the world military sphere

The British Army is generally regarded as a second-class army, and its combat effectiveness is inferior to that of Germany, France, and Russia, and is basically on the same level as the Tang and Austro-Hungarian empires, and is somewhat stronger than Italy and the Ottoman Empire.

From the perspective of modern war history, the British army lost the American War of Independence, lost four anti-French alliance wars, lost the first Anglo-Afghan war, and even lost to the Zulu people in South Africa, which became a disgraceful page in the history of British foreign expansion and colonization.

Now suffering a heavy defeat in South Africa, the British army is desperate to get back on the ground.

"What do you think?"

The Prime Minister, Lord Robert Cecil, asked thoughtfully after the General left, taking a sip of his coffee.

The question was addressed to Chamberlain, the Minister of the Colonies, who raised his brow haughtily and replied;

"There's no doubt that we're going to win in the end, it's just a matter of how much to pay?

The House of Commons has just passed the reappropriation bill, and in just half a month, they have spent 20 million pounds to buy all kinds of supplies and medicines from the Tang Kingdom.

I'm skeptical

Whether the more than £44 million in the appropriations bill can support the South African Expeditionary Force until June is that the key is that the money is still spent on others.

I know that Britain does not have the ability to supply such a large amount of supplies in a short period of time, but if you collect it in various colonies, you can eat at least 1/3 of the order.

God, that's £20 million. ”

Chamberlain, as Minister of the Colonies, was deeply distressed by the profligacy of the military and could not help but begin to complain.

Arthur Neville Chamberlain, a rising star in British politics, is just 31 years old this year, young and extremely assertive.

He has an unshirkable responsibility for the evolution of the South African problem to the present day.

From the perspective of the Colonial Office, the large orders of the military should give the colonies a piece of the pie, isn't this the role of the Queen's Government in the colonies?

The phrase "the British Empire will not lose the war if the blood of the Indian subcontinent is not drained" is a true portrayal of colonial policy.

The Prime Minister, Lord Robert Cecil, shook his head absently when he heard this, which was not the focus of his consideration.

The military will only care about whether the materials can be delivered in a timely manner with quality and quantity to ensure the smooth launch of the follow-up campaign, but will not care who will provide them?

If it was really the Colonial Office that was responsible for raising it, would such a huge amount of supplies be sent to the front line in South Africa?

Who bears the responsibility for the failure of the aircraft?

The arrival of 450,000 troops in South Africa will be the largest British war in this century.

You can only win, not lose.

Any untimely and delayed logistical supply will cause great chaos, and no one can bear such a big responsibility.

For more than half a century, since the Corn Laws were enacted in 1848, Britain has been importing large quantities of grain to meet the strong demand in the British Isles.

A sudden increase in such a large order for material needs cannot be changed out of thin air.

Despite the fact that the British Empire had colonies all over the world, there were actually not many regions rich in food, only the Indian subcontinent could afford to transfer food abroad.

However, the Viceroy of India will inevitably starve millions of local people by transferring grain from the outside world, and that pitiful amount of food is saved from the mouths of the locals.

The banks of the Nile in Egypt were the oldest farming areas in the world, but after being incorporated into the British colony, the British were not allowed to grow grain, only cotton.

Because the British textile industry needs cotton, a bulk raw material, Egypt, including Sudan, does not have enough food to eat, and famine is the norm year after year.

This was the case in the British colonies throughout the Near East, where food production capacity was not abundant and could not be transferred abroad.

Britain needs to import a large number of high-quality agricultural products, huge production capacity from North America, high-quality and cheap wheat and various agricultural products flooded into the national market.

Under the protection of the low-tariff Corn Laws, the situation was further exacerbated by the fact that a large number of landlords went bankrupt and agricultural output shrank sharply.

And all this is a reality that the British government has to face.

Lord Robert Cecil, Prime Minister, sighed softly and said; "If it's just spending money, it's not a big deal. I am concerned about a further surge in the number of casualties, which is putting a lot of pressure on the Royal Government. ”

"Doesn't Tang Guo have an ironclad car? Why can't we buy a little one, or just make our own? Chamberlain asked rhetorically.

Then he shook his head helplessly, and said to himself; "I'm sorry Your Excellency, Prime Minister, but I forgot about the military's damn pride and stubbornness. For them, it is better to kill them than to learn something new like the former protectorate army. ”

The Prime Minister, Lord Robert Cecil, nodded in agreement, the pride of the British people is not limited to the aristocracy or the upper class, but the general self-confidence that permeates all strata of society, stubborn to the extent that nine cows cannot pull it back.

Pride, stubbornness and conservatism are the labels of the British, which are in the blood.

The two talked about South African affairs for a while, and soon Chamberlain, the Minister of the Colonial Ministry, brought the conversation to the Far East, and he said with a frown;

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister

The situation in the Far East is now very turbulent, and if necessary, it should be resolved by force.

The attitude of European countries today is to cooperate and act more resolutely, rather than allowing the situation to continue to deteriorate and eventually lead to an uncontrollable slide.

The biggest doubt now is the attitude of the Tang State, which seems to be more inclined to expand on the island of Java, and this seems to step on the red line of our policy. ”

"That's true." Lord Robert Cecil, the Prime Minister, looked lost in thought and said with a frown;

"Tang Guo's cannibalization strategy of eating cakes makes us very uncomfortable and difficult to deal with.

It's like dancing a rumba, they are approaching the red line step by step, stepping on the red line, and we can only step backwards.

In the international geopolitical contest, the dictatorial emperor of the Tang State is undoubtedly a big winner!

Just like the current issue of the East Indies, reason tells me that the Tang State cannot be allowed to unscrupulously colonize and expand in South Asia.

No one wants to have a big sturdy man lying next to them, which makes it difficult to sleep peacefully.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is small and weak, would be a better choice.

The problem is that the war in South Africa exposed the weakness of the British Empire, and we need the cooperation and support of the Tang State in the Americas, Northeast and South Asia, and even in the world.

Now before me is the test of choosing one out of four, namely, the South African question, the Shenzhou issue, the Russo-Japanese issue in Northeast Asia, and the East Indies issue.

Needless to say, half of the funds from the Reappropriation Act flowed into North America in just half a month, indicating that Britain has formed a strong dependence on North America.

This is the primary concern of the whole country at present, and the whole world is watching the performance of the British army, and we cannot afford the twists and turns caused by the serious regression of relations between Britain and Tang, which will seriously hurt the current cabinet and the maintenance of the honor of the British Empire.

Otherwise, it will definitely make waves out of thin air.

On the issue of Japan and Russia in East Asia, the Tang State also had a decisive influence. The pro-Tang faction formed by a large number of high-level Japanese scholars in the Tang State was the mainstream of the country's government.

The current situation is already obvious, if Britain strongly opposes Tang stepping on the red line of invading Java Island, then it will not have the strong support of Tang on the first three international issues.

On the contrary, the honeymoon relationship between Britain and Tang will continue, maybe 10 or 20 years, maybe 50 years or more.

Reason tells me that we cannot allow the wanton expansion of the Tang Kingdom in the world.

But in reality, the Queen's government can do very little, and it is clear how to choose what is more beneficial to British interests.

That is, when the Tang Kingdom goes further, we choose to continue to retreat, and then acquiesce to the current reality.

I believe

During the nine British prime ministers before me, they faced the same problem again and again, and invariably chose to retreat silently because it was more in the interests of the United Kingdom. ”

After babbling on and on, Lord Robert Cecil felt much better when he vented his long-standing frustration.

Even as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he had to bow his head in the face of the grim reality.

The long-sleeved and dancing Tang dictatorial emperor Richard would always give ABCD a few choices, in fact, one side is watermelon, and the other side is red dates.

As long as you are not stupid to the point of home, everyone is willing to hug a watermelon.

It turned out to be true

In the selection again and again, Tang Guo has accumulated a large number of red dates, which far exceed watermelons in both weight and value.

This is the greatest distress of the British, and now it is time to choose again.

Chamberlain was silent after hearing these words, and after thinking about it repeatedly, his brows furrowed even deeper, and he felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart.

The South African question, the Russo-Japanese question, and the mainland of China are far more important and urgent to London than the Java question, and the two cannot be compared at all.

He also saw that the Tang Empire had Luzon Islands and Paradise Islands in South Asia, and if it invaded the East Indies on a large scale, it would form a dense island group of 6,700 kilometers from east to west, with great influence and discourse.

In the future, the international issues of Northeast Asia, South Asia, and the Indian Ocean will all be indispensable for the participation of the heavyweight stakeholder Tang Guo, forming a complete strategic layout around the Pacific Ocean.

But what's the use of knowing?

And how to stop it?

Tang Guo is like an unwelcome and rude man, who forcibly inserts one foot through the crack in the door and forcibly mixes one foot in the Straits Settlements interest zone of the British Empire.

Then his thighs and half of his body squeezed into the door, and finally the whole person came in, will he be anti-customer-oriented?