Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

In Paris, the deputy foreign ministers of various countries are arguing hard to win more benefits for each country. In South Africa, representatives of various countries have also launched various actions for this purpose.

South Africa, in the Provisional Governor's Mansion in East London, the new Governor of South Africa, Joe Boone, is in a good mood recently, because the recent war in the Zulu Kingdom, Libra, has been moving towards the outcome that the British Empire wanted, especially When he saw former Governor Shepstone bowing his head in front of him, he felt proud in his heart.

He even hummed a little tune, and his happy mood made the serious guards outside the office look relaxed.

"Aren't the Netherlands, Prussia and the French dogs afraid of retaliation? At this time, Asia's 30,000 support troops are still moving towards the Transvaal Republic. Governor, this is not a big deal for us. That's great." The speaker was former Governor Shep Stone, who is now Joe Boone's advisor.

There is a connection between the two. At first they were strong contenders for the governorship of South Africa. In the end, due to their different attributes, Shepstone was a Tory, while Jobe was a Whig.

Shepstone was promoted by Prime Minister Staley when the Tory Party was in power in 1859. He defeated Joe Boone, who was supported by the Whig Party, and came to South Africa. Unexpectedly, the situation changed. Three years later, he turned out to be He was defeated, and the Queen also asked him to hand over work to Qiao Boon as a consultant.

Hence the current scene.

However, although their current status is in a subordinate relationship, the two have never stopped fighting, although it has not been superficial.

But the hostility between the Tories and the Whigs extended to them.

But despite this, both of them were afraid of the pressure from London, so they no longer dared to take the situation here lightly.

In particular, the opponents that London faces now are no longer this group of indigenous people, but opponents formed by the alliance of other countries that are not much weaker than them. They are already using agents to fight against them. Their intention is naturally to give Britain Looking for trouble.

"The convening of the Paris Conference has made everyone see the reality within the United Kingdom." Jobon stared at Shepps Passage: "Don't forget, when we faced the situation in Belgium this time, it was the Queen's own death that Uncle, in the end, he gave in at the same time. What does this mean? You don’t need me to say it, you also understand."

I understand your sister!

Shepstone cursed in his heart, why haven't I seen you say that before? In London, as a member of the House of Commons, Joe Boone is known for his boldness. In the past, when he always competed with him for this position in London, he would He always criticizes Shepstone for being cowardly and not daring to express his dissatisfaction with the development of the country. Unlike Job, the Queen spends all her time mourning the death of her husband and forgetting to manage the country. The newspaper expressed its dissatisfaction and asked the Queen not to hide in the Isle of Wight and lick her wounds alone to grieve. She should turn her grief and anger into strength and make the country more prosperous to erase her sorrow.

Hearing this, Sheps secretly rolled his eyes at the other party and cursed secretly: How beautiful those words were at the beginning. He made the whole UK think he was the most patriotic. Hehe, it has not been three days since he replaced himself as the Governor of South Africa. People on both sides carried out a blame-shifting operation and dumped all the blame on me. Even now facing London's retreat in Belgium, in the past, there would definitely be a wave of criticism, but now it is as quiet as a bird. Turtle, lying still.

"Now that the Zulu Kingdom is on its deathbed, its destruction will be a matter of time. Sooner or later, Chiwayo cannot escape our pursuit. As for the Transvaal Republic,"

Shepstone was about to make a few sarcastic remarks, trying to stimulate the other party to be as timid as a rat and dare not touch the Transvaal Republic, but before he started, he had the words stuck in his throat.

"Reporting to the Governor, a large-scale army has appeared in the Zulu Kingdom, with a number of about 10,000. According to the analysis of our intelligence personnel at the front, it is an army from the Transvaal."

ah!

"Are you sure?" Qiao Boon stood up immediately and anxiously picked up the collar of the sergeant who was delivering the message.

"Yes, this is a specific letter from Major General White on the front line"

He took it and hurriedly opened it. His eyes quickly fell on it, and Xin Feng immediately fell to the ground.

"How dare they"

Shepstone picked it up and opened it. There was a note on it: "Governor-General, the Transvaal Republic dispatched 10,000 troops southward into the two towns of Dundee and Ladysmith on the border of the Zulu Kingdom. , our troops finally met in the southwest, and they launched a direct attack on us. And the most abominable thing is that the Orange Free State also launched an attack on our town of Stromberg in the east at this time. The situation is urgent, please support"

"Today, the total number of British troops in South Africa is about 60,000, and 40,000 were sent to the east to attack the Zulu Kingdom, and 10,000 were sent to the north to defend the Orange Free State from moving south. The remaining 10,000 were based in Cape Town. , to prevent the last situation of being occupied.

There were also troops there supporting the front lines. "

Shepstone was a little worried at this moment, but at the same time, seeing the development of the situation above, he felt that he had seen it before. Isn't this the same path he had walked before?

At this moment, he felt some sympathy for Qiao Boon, because if he failed to capture it but was captured, the anger in London would definitely be greater than the last time he faced it.

"Ask Cape Town to support 5,000 humanitarian troops in the eastern battlefield." Qiao Boon hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said decisively: "Ask the army in the north to send 5,000 people south to supplement here. I don't believe it. This is my luck. Difference."

"Is this too risky?" Shepstone asked worriedly. He was not worried about Job's future, but worried that he might be captured by the enemy in East London. If that were the case, that would be really funny. With his teeth falling out, he would be too embarrassed to return to London.

In fact, he was right to worry, because this attack from the Zulu Kingdom was not as violent as usual, and it was also a case of troops moving south in multiple directions.

The Zulu Kingdom was already under general occupation by the British army. Just when Major General Bright of the British Army on the Eastern Front thought that the other side was about to be destroyed, although they suddenly resisted violently, he did not care because he thought it was just Just struggling to death.

But he was wrong, just like his boss Joe Boone, he was wrong. Even Queen Victoria and Viscount Palmerston took it for granted that everyone here was fine. The situation once again deviated from their predictions. Africa The complexity of the situation far exceeded their expectations.

June 6, 1862.

The disguised soldiers of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State of the Zulu Kingdom, in coordination with the soldiers of the Zulu Kingdom, started shooting at close range with the British army in two places in the east. The British were caught off guard and suffered numerous casualties. .

The 40,000 troops deployed in the east suffered losses of more than 15,000, and many others were injured. In short, more than half of their combat strength was lost.

On the 8th, the Zulu Kingdom deployed two armies of more than 10,000 people in Stromberg and in Durban, which was recaptured. Although the army that had just suffered a defeat in East London between the north and the south still had 20,000 people, how much combat power did the already frightened bird army have?

Soon London received the news of the defeat, and there was a sudden outcry and curses.

Chapter three, two more chapters.