Prime Minister Cecil was helpless in the face of a one-sided parliament, and if the parliamentary elders did not approve appropriations, there would be no way to increase military spending, and those who supported Cecil were mainly Cape Town interest groups, except for his henchmen and political allies.

But the largest interest group in Cape Town is the diamond merchants in Kimberley and other places, although they are very powerful, but they can't change the situation, after all, the diamond business is not very important to the British Empire, after all, as the world hegemon of the British Empire There are too many giants.

Moreover, South Africa alone now spends more on the military than all of Britain's economic gains in Cape Town combined, which is not at all cost-effective for the British government.

The UK is also one of the most calculating countries in the world, and this kind of loss-making business that cannot see the "way to money" has not been done for many years.

Of course, Cecil, as British Prime Minister, did not give up lobbying in parliament, trying to amplify the East African threat theory from a strategic point of view.

So the British Parliament was once again in a phase of wrangling, but soon they didn't have to argue, and the changes in the situation in South Africa forced them, including Cecil, to make a decision.

Three days later.

"Bang."

Cecil slapped the South African intelligence on the table with an angry face.

"What does Roberts eat?"

"Even 400,000 pigs should not be easily caught in less than a month, let alone more than 400,000 heavily armed soldiers, if the world knows this result, how can we still mix in the world?"

In the face of the angry Prime Minister, the Secretary-General comforted: "The available troops under Count Roberts should be less than 100,000, the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese and Indians is doubtful, and the black soldiers are even more quantitative but not qualitative." ”

Although what he said was indeed "the truth", it could not change Cecil's mood, as the main promoter of the South African war, Cecil originally expected that the British veteran Count Roberts, could surprise him, but instead of surprise, he ushered in a fright.

Even if other factors are ignored, Earl Roberts has nearly 100,000 British soldiers under his command, which is already more than half of the British army in South Africa except Cape Town, and the strength of 100,000 British troops can be said to be enough for Cecil to start a medium-sized war anywhere in the world and win.

As a result, it took Count Roberts less than a month to lose all his money, and he himself became a "captive" of East Africa, which is unique in British history.

Cecil was disappointed with Count Roberts, and more resentful.

"Maputo has fallen, the Mozambican coalition has been completely annihilated in East Africa, and now we only have a fulcrum left in the Cape Town colony in South Africa, and now the East Africans are afraid that they have begun to carry out a new round of military operations against Cape Town, if we can't come up with a solution as soon as possible, then Cape Town may not last long, and so on, Egypt, British Somaliland may also be threatened by the military of East Africa, so we must respond immediately to the war in South Africa." said the Secretary General of the Cabinet.

And Cecil frowned, and finally had to give in, there was no other way but to armistice, and the continuation of the war had been vetoed by the parliament, and there was no room for maneuver in this matter.

This is especially true when the news of the fall of Mozambique becomes known.

……

Compared to the distress of British Prime Minister Cecil, King Carlos I of Portugal, the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Portugal, was even more miserable.

"Maputo has been lost, and the British, along with our troops, have been wiped out in Mozambique." Prime Minister João Frank reports to Portugal's new monarch.

That's right, like Cecil, Carlos I also ascended to the throne for the first time, but he was three years later than Cecil, and he just succeeded to the throne, just a few months ago, the old king Luis I was angry because of the fall of Angola, and he went offline a few months earlier than in history, allowing Carlos I to ascend the throne nearly a year earlier than in history.

But the Kingdom of Portugal inherited by Carlos was a complete mess, especially the successive defeats of the Portuguese army in the South African War.

And today he finally waited for the most painful news, that is, the fall of Mozambique, could it be that the glory of Portugal will end in his own hands!

"What do the British say?" Carlos I asked João Frank, the prime minister he had handed.

"The British side has not responded to the news, but the situation should not be optimistic, they are also one of the losers of this war, after all, the Earl of Roberts has surrendered to East Africa, the main British force in South Africa has basically been lost, and now only Cape Town can still struggle."

This news was a bolt from the blue for Carlos I, because Carlos I himself was actually an "Anglophobe" patient, so in his previous life his foreign policy was completely one-sided towards the British.

Even so outrageous that shortly after Carlos succeeded to the throne, the British sent an ultimatum demanding that Portugal withdraw its troops stationed between Angola and Mozambique, and the monarch agreed to the British terms under the threat of British warships (when the British warships sailed into Lisbon).

Of course, Carlos I himself was certainly not willing, and in the rotten puddle of Portugal, in the face of a power like Britain, Portugal could be said to be powerless.

Of course, with East Africa, the situation has changed significantly from the previous life, first of all, the old king Louis I died of illness (anger) in advance, and dared to be at the unfavorable juncture of the South African War, the so-called death of people and debts, Portugal's domestic contradictions have been transferred to a certain extent, and the hatred of the monarchy has been transferred to the hatred of East Africa.

In this era, the main enemy of Britain in Africa was East Africa, and Portugal, which had colonies of Angola and Mozambique, became the object of British co-optation.

Especially during the war, Portugal's economy and politics improved with the support of the British, and Carlos I's accession to the throne was more smooth than in his previous life.

Therefore, the emergence of East Africa, although Portugal lost Angola and Mozambique in advance, was "good" for the Portuguese royal family.

It is conceivable that after Portugal completely loses its two South African colonies, the Portuguese government will become more dependent on British support, and this kind of "loyal" ally is exactly what Britain needs.

Of course, Carlos I could not have imagined this, after all, he did not know that his previous life was much worse than the current one, and now he was just a headache for the various difficulties he faced, especially the political stability of the country after Portugal lost a large number of colonies.

Now Portugal has no way to take East Africa, so Carlos I can only continue to go to the dark with the British, and he is also full of confusion about the situation in Portugal.

Prime Minister Frank has nothing to do about it, Frank's only virtue is loyalty and patriotism, he is a hardcore royalist, if he is asked to deal with the Republicans that is his area of expertise, but against East Africa is completely beyond his ability.

However, the two monarchs and ministers probably couldn't imagine that the South African war was a "crisis" for them, but the opportunity was greater than the danger, if it weren't for the chaos in East Africa, Carlos I would have been assassinated and killed by the Republicans according to the historical trajectory, and his fate had already reached a new fork in the road, and I don't know what the future would be.

(End of chapter)