African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 480 British and French conspiracy

As the largest customer of East African slaves, the Ottoman Empire has a strong demand. This is not something you like or dislike, but the price of East African slaves is too low. No one can resist the temptation of this low price, even some civilians in the Ottoman Empire consume it. Therefore, in the eyes of the Ottomans, the price of slaves was lower than that of livestock, and the amount of food required was smaller than that of livestock, making them very suitable for large-scale popularization.

However, the number of black people in the Ottoman Empire is somewhat excessive, so that they can be used as consumables in wars with Tsarist Russia. This is also a headache for the Russians. Fortunately, the combat effectiveness of black people is not high.

The advantage of East African black slaves is that they are very suitable for large-scale organization and use. This is the normal life of slaves in East Africa, so the Ottomans can easily organize the black slaves after taking over. Even if they are a mob, gathering together can greatly relieve the Ottoman Pressure from the Imperial Regular Army.

 …

 Colony of Mozambique.

"Your Excellency Governor Lyford! Is this the army you call?" the French instructor said, looking at the Mozambican armed forces in disbelief.

The total number of the Mozambican army in front of us is only more than 1,400, and it seems that it is not much advanced compared with the medieval army. The French instructor Delais said that I am afraid that some islands in the Indian Ocean are stronger than the Mozambican regular army.

However, if Deles had seen the state of the Portuguese mainland army, he would probably understand why the Mozambique army is like this.

Like Britain, Portugal also focuses on the development of its navy. Now the Portuguese navy is in serious decline, and its army is even more insignificant.

 The good news is that Spain, next door to Portugal, is also in bad shape, so the pressure on national defense is not great. The former duo of the Iberian Peninsula continue to maintain a stable balance.

Leford said with some embarrassment: "Most colonial armies are like this. For example, some of your French colonies may not be stronger than us."

"This is not a question of whether it is strong or not. I heard that the East African army has at least tens of thousands of people, and it can fight white forces like the Boers. This means that the enemies Mozambique faces are about the same strength as some weak countries in Europe. However, the military strength of weak European countries cannot be ignored in Africa. Your regular army has such a small number, poor training, and poor equipment. How can you compete with East Africa under such circumstances? No wonder East Africa can suppress you. You are expanding aggressively, and it is obvious that your military investment in the colonies is too little."

Lyford: "This is all the fault of the previous governors. They did not invest much in the military, but this is also related to the local people's lack of emphasis on colonial development. The funds we can obtain are not much, so the military can only reluctantly Just make do.”

Delais: "Well, now Portugal must first find a way to expand its army. To be honest, this kind of army needs quantity but not quantity, and it needs quality but not quality. It is no wonder that the Germans, as latecomers, can achieve such great results in Africa. The advantages."

 Sounding this, Delais actually thought in his mind, even the Portuguese can’t do it? The Germans were really taking advantage of them. If they had known the situation of the Portuguese colonies, France would have been better off occupying East Africa.

Of course, Dreiser took it for granted that Portugal's colonial power should be viewed separately. The regular army was small in number and had poor combat effectiveness. However, the power composition of the colony was actually scattered in the hands of various forces, including colonial companies, merchants, planters and mine owners. , the private armed forces of these forces are also an important part of the Mozambique colony, but they do not accept the jurisdiction of the kingdom.

Lyford: "But where are we going to find so many soldiers? If we had this ability, Germany would not be so arrogant in East Africa!"

Dries: "The most indispensable thing in Africa is black people, so we can use black people to form an army that can fight against East Africa."

"That won't work!" Lyford objected: "If black people are used to form an army, what's the difference between using black people to give teeth to sheep? What if they learn to use firearms and turn against us?" Lyford said What De is talking about is a very real issue. Mozambique can control such a large area of ​​land and manage so many black people because of its superiority in weapons. In addition, it is difficult to say how advanced Portugal is compared to black people. As a monarchy, Portugal may not necessarily How much stronger than some indigenous kingdoms in Africa.

Drais: "Your Excellency, Governor, are there any other options for you now? If you don't use black people, where will you find so many soldiers? And the threat of black people is in the future. Your biggest threat now is East Africa. The Germans, as long as the biggest enemy, the Germans, are solved, everything else is a minor problem."

Lyford: "But even if there is no shortage of black people in Mozambique, we still lack weapons and equipment? As far as I know, the German army is equipped with Dreiser rifles and Mauser rifles, which are active equipment of the German Army. There is a gap between us." Too big."

"Well, this is indeed a problem!" Delais said: "But you don't have to worry too much. We will help you solve the weapons problem, and black people do not need too advanced weapons and equipment. We and the United Kingdom can provide you with five Among the rifles and ammunition used by thousands of people, Enfield and Minie rifles are the main ones.”

 “Will it cost money?” Lyford asked a key question.

"No, this batch of weapons is jointly provided by us and the United Kingdom." Delais said: "But you have to solve the food problem yourself."

In fact, the British have already paid for the weapons, and the British are more concerned about dealing with East Africa.

 The British are quite aware of Portugal's strength. Portugal alone would probably overturn in the hands of the Germans, so the Portuguese's combat effectiveness must be improved.

Although the help provided by the British is not too great, the British believe that Mozambique does not need very good weapons. It can fight East Africa and test the true strength of East Africa. As long as East Africa shows a little timidity, Cape Town can throw away The Portuguese took action.

“Even so, the gap between us and the Germans is still a bit too big. Not to mention weapons, whether black people can fight is also a problem!”

"Your Excellency Governor, you are too conservative. Although the combat effectiveness of black people is not good, the East African Kingdom's army is not all Germans. They also use a large number of Far Easterners, so you are only half a catty." Delais said based on his own experience.

It’s no wonder that Drais underestimated the enemy. Although France lost to Germany, France believed that its last loss to Germany was a complete accident. After all, France didn’t even finish mobilizing last time, and France’s overall performance in the last war was Quality is better than that of Germany. This is the conclusion that France came to when summarizing the reasons for its failure.

　　Coupled with the fact that there are a large number of Far Easterners in the composition of the East African Army, the performance of the Far Eastern Empire in recent years has been really unsatisfactory. Therefore, Delais is inevitably a little arrogant about the East African Army that is mixed with immigrants from the Far East.

Delais said: "This time we will personally train your troops to ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops is developed in a short period of time. With the advanced experience of the French Army, Mozambique will definitely be able to compete with East Africa."

France is so actively joining the British plan for the East African Kingdom, and it is indispensable to consider interests. In fact, East Africa is a German colony, which is enough to make France unhappy. The French's hatred of the Germans has been filled by Prussia, but Germany has been offended again. I can’t afford it, so it’s not a bad idea to just take it out on East Africa.

Moreover, if the Germans can make a big comeback in East Africa, France may have the opportunity to infiltrate its power into East Africa in the future, making the French colonial territory more complete.

 (End of this chapter)