The Orange people of Bloemfontein are easy to talk to, but that doesn't mean that the Orange people in the countryside are the same as the people in the city.

Because of the economic similarities between the Orange Free State and the former Transvaal Republic, most Orange Free States live in rural areas.

The Orange people in the countryside were each attached to the big landlords, so the Orange people in the countryside were not easier to manage than in the cities, and because of the large number of Transvaals who suddenly arrived last time, the power of the Transvaal countryside was further strengthened.

At the same time, the Transvaal Provisional Government took a fancy to the Orange countryside, and its minions, the Transvaal Restoration Army, began to "go to the countryside".

In towns such as Bloemfontein, the Transvaal Restoration Army was relatively easy to get hold of, but when they left the city, they ran into hard nails.

Bosland village in western Bloemfontein.

A troop of Transvaal Restoration cavalry attempted to enter the village of Bosland to collect taxes.

"What! Tax? Karim, the head of Bosland Village, looked at the group of villains with some amusement.

"Chief Karim, this is an order from the Bloemfontein Governor's Palace, so I hope you can understand the government's difficulties."

In front of Karim, these Transvaal Restoration Army soldiers did not dare to be arrogant, because there were twenty or thirty people next to Karim with weapons eyeing them.

"It's a joke, I've lived in Orange for so many years, and I've never paid taxes, and you're among the first people to dare to ask for money from me."

Karim is not joking, the two Boer countries, just like the United States before it, have no tax collection department at all, so Karim's grandfather never paid taxes.

"Now times have changed, Chief Karim, and Orange used to be ruled by our Boers, but now everyone is under English rule, and the laws of nature and other things are according to the British! So you can't take the old tradition and look at the present. ”

"Phew, I didn't agree to any annexation to Cape Town at the beginning, our Orange Free State was completely betrayed by a bunch of cowards, and now sure enough, the British have turned their faces, and I told you that there is no so-called tax penny." Karim said stiffly.

"Chief Karim, I advise you to be honest and connect the money, the strength of the British is much stronger than our Boers!"

"Hehe, the British are indeed strong, but it depends on where they are, the Orange Free State could have more autonomy, if it weren't for you Transvaals to be tigers and willing to be British dogs, how could there be so much trouble now!"

"Captain!"

Sure enough, under Karim's taunt, some of the soldiers of the Restoration Army were very angry, because the vast majority of the Restoration Army were Transvaals, so they looked at their captain, hoping to teach the old immortal Orange in front of them a lesson.

But the Commander of the Restoration Army did not do this, and the civil power of the Orange Free State is not bad, especially in the countryside, which has its own spontaneous armed forces, and he has more than a dozen people under him, so he doesn't want to turn against this old guy Karim now.

If you turn your face now, then I am afraid that my group will be gone today, not to mention the militia of twenty or thirty people around Karim, they can continue to call people from the village, if they are surrounded, then they will definitely have no good fruit to eat today.

This is the advantage of the all-soldier system, and the reason why East Africa was able to easily take the Transvaal Republic in the first place was entirely by virtue of numerical superiority.

The number of troops in East Africa alone is about to catch up with a quarter of the population of the Transvaal Republic, and there is no mercy when it comes up, giving the Transvaal Republic time to prepare, so the Transvaal Republic is naturally unable to deal with it.

Karim's situation with the Restoration Army is completely different now, and after three months of expansion, the Restoration Army is now barely reaching more than 6,000 people.

There are many villages in the Orange Free State, and the Bosland village where Karim is located is one of them, most of these villages are mainly Orange people, while the Transvaal people are more towns and mines, so they can gain the trust of the British and use them to check and balance the Orange people.

In the cities, the British were on the wrong side, so the Transvaals could behave in a different way, and the countryside was a different story, and even the Oranges had long been dissatisfied with the discriminatory treatment of the British, and the villages were in tandem with each other to drive the British and their lackeys out of the Orange Free State.

So Karim then shouted: "Hmph, you Transvaals, you still want to collect taxes, you are really tired, how comfortable you are to stay in Bloemfontein, don't think that you can do evil with weapons in your hand, next time you dare to come to Bosland, I will definitely let you see blood." ”

"Okay, good, Chief Karim, it seems that you have made your choice, I hope you will not regret your words today, let's go!" The captain of the Transvaal Restoration Army had to give the order to retreat.

Then this team of the Restoration Army entered the village with high spirits, and now they can only withdraw to Bloemfontein, of course, they don't care, go back and report to the government, and then come to trouble Bosland Village.

Not only Bosland Village, but many villages around Bloemfontein today have staged this scene, but the choices of each village are different, some are as hard as Karim, and some choose to swallow their anger because they still attract the army in Bloemfontein, and there are also some villages where bloodshed has occurred, but it is mainly the Transvaal Restoration Army that suffers.

And Karim will not sit still, today offended the Restoration Army in Bloemfontein, so they, the Oranges, began a national tandem.

The large landowners of Orange began to exchange letters, including the former rulers of Orange, who had long been overthrown by the Transvaals, and began to prepare to cooperate with the actions of the countryside to regain control of Bloemfontein and other cities.

February 28, 1881.

Unwilling to be seized power, the councillors of the city of Orange Bloemfontein and the citizens of Orange were the first to fire the first shot to overthrow the combined tyranny of the British and Transvaals.

Enraged, the Oranges stormed the police station, the barracks, and the puppet parliamentary government, as well as the Transvaal Provisional Government.

The Oranges sacked the Transvaals and the British, but soon the Orange revolt was defeated by the Transvaal Restoration Army, and the Transvaal Provisional Government took over Bloemfontein and retaliated against the Oranges in the city, and many of the Oranges who participated in the riots were executed.

In March, the new Orange Free State government was announced, and the British and Transvaals were defined as invaders, and the two sides formally confronted each other.

The Cape Town government supported the Transvaal by encircling the Oranges and promising to give part of the Orange land to the Transvaal Republic after the rebellion was suppressed.

East Africa has also received news of the outbreak of civil war in the Orange Free State, and in addition to the intelligence of the National Defense Security Agency, there is also a reason why the new government of the Orange people sent people across the border to East Africa for help.

In the face of this unexpected situation, the East African government must also make a decision immediately whether and how to support the Orange people, and what benefits East Africa can gain.

There was a telegram from the border to the Central Government in East Africa, so the East African Government received the news on 12 March, by which time the Oranges had already exchanged fire with the Anglo-German (Lanzvaal) forces several times.

Although the Oranges had an advantageous position, they were quickly depleted of supplies and munitions, and it was difficult to confront the Anglo-German forces without external support.

(End of chapter)