I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 375 Is this how you Russians do business?

In early October, Roberts returned to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, and Kitchener took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force.

Kitchener was definitely a ruthless man. Faced with the Boers' guerrilla warfare, Kitchener assembled heavy troops, implemented a scorched-earth policy in the Transvaal and Orange, set up concentration camps, and used bunkers and barbed wire to gradually strangle the living space of the Boer coalition. The Boers were trapped to death.

The total Boer population is only 44.

In order to trap the Boers to death, the British army's total strength has reached 45.

In this case, the British army would definitely not care about Sarawak.

The indigenous tribes in East India were at the end of their rope. They did not produce their own weapons and ammunition, and relied heavily on external support for weapons and ammunition. After the East India Company began its offensive, it took only three short months for the entire island of Kalimantan to return to peace.

Order was also restored in Kuching.

Weber was very happy and took the initiative to come to Coconut City to express his gratitude to Marco in person.

"Is this the end?"

Weber finally realized that he had fallen into the trap of the East India Company.

To completely eliminate the rebels, I don’t know how many 25 are needed.

Marco was dissatisfied with Weber's attitude and just said thank you, which was too disrespectful of the East India Company.

"Only £25!"

Most of the 3000 people participating in the coalition were recruited from India, including some of the Huayong Battalion just formed by the British.

Marco tried his best to humiliate him. Weber's face turned red with shame and he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in.

Weber agreed to pay, leaving the green hills without worrying about having no firewood.

What Weber didn't expect was that as soon as the East India Company's troops withdrew, the rebels returned and occupied Kuching again.

However, after Weber's telegram for help was sent, there was no news at all.

"How many do you want?"

London can't help it either.

Weber thought about it and went to find Marco again.

Britain is now fighting on two fronts. It has sent 45 troops to the main battlefield in South Africa. Britain is exhausted. The United Kingdom has only sent 3000 troops to the coalition.

Sarawak has about 12.5 square kilometers. If you pay 25 pounds, it is 2 pounds per square kilometer, which is a good deal.

Marco’s price wasn’t high, but it was still a lot.

So now the British really don't care about Sarawak and can't send a single soldier.

Weber doesn't hesitate and cuts through the mess quickly.

£25 is not expensive, but it does not guarantee the long-term stability of the Kingdom of Sarawak.

Weber was distraught and once again asked London for help.

"make a deal!"

"What the hell is going on with you? You can't even defeat the aboriginal tribe. I even suspect that you are a fake British——"

"If you have the ability to colonize, go and take back Kuching yourself; if you don't have the ability, just go and do whatever you want. The East India now is no longer the East India it used to be -"

Marco's words had another meaning.

In December 1900, the Boer coalition broke through the British blockade and invaded Cape again, forcing the British army to impose martial law again.

Under heavy pressure, Kitchener began secret negotiations with the Boer coalition, hoping that the Boer coalition would take the initiative to lay down their weapons.

The Boer coalition would never give in. Their demands were that Britain withdraw from the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State and compensate the Boers for their losses.

This condition is also unacceptable to Kitchener.

This meant that there was no possibility of the Boer War ending in a short period of time.

Weber couldn't wait any longer.

From April last year to now, the Kingdom of Sarawak has lost Kuching for nine months.

Now Weber was worried that even if he regained Fujin, he would not be able to restore his rule over the Kingdom of Sarawak. In this case, what's the point of persisting.

Thinking of young Dent living happily in Vladivostok, Weber became more and more inclined to take the money and leave.

But before that, Weber still has to strive to sell Sarawak at a good price.

What made Weber angry was that London not only banned the sale of Sarawak, but also had no plans to help the Kingdom of Sarawak recover Fujin.

The East India Company was willing to take over Sarawak, but the price offered was too low, only 100 million pounds.

The East India Company spent less than 200 million to buy Sabah.

Sabah only has 7.45 square kilometers.

Referring to the transaction price in Sabah, Sarawak should be around 400 million.

Here we no longer have to worry about the 25 that Sarawak previously paid to the East India Company.

"When the North Borneo Company sold Sabah to the East India Company, both Sena and Sabah were actually controlled by the North Borneo Company. Now you have nothing but the name."

Marco didn't really want to buy it.

The British Empire was still very powerful. The Transvaal alone would bleed the British Empire too slowly. George hoped that Sarawak could also become the graveyard of the empire.

Unfortunately, the British are now trapped in South Africa and unable to get out, and they have no ability to take care of Sarawak. If they can use this opportunity to unify Kalimantan, then it would actually be quite good.

Weber had nothing to say, Marco was indeed telling the truth.

"I need Amul's protection——"

"No problem, Amul will ensure your safety."

Marco is not afraid of spending money. The East India Company has nothing else but plenty of gold.

There are gold mines in Kalimantan. Although the indigenous tribes are not capable of systematic mining, the gold accumulated over hundreds of years is still considerable.

Now all this gold has become the spoils of war for the East India Company, which is more than enough to buy Sarawak.

What Marco did not expect was that the East India Company's purchase of Sarawak was firmly opposed by London. The governor of the Straits Settlements, Lord Sweetenham, belatedly said that the Straits Settlements could send troops to help the Kingdom of Sarawak retake Kuching.

Marco doesn’t talk nonsense to the Straits Settlements, Kuching is right here, come and get it if you can.

George——

George was on his way back to Amur, still deep in the mountains and forests of Siberia, and couldn't be contacted at all.

London was unwilling to lose Sarawak, so in mid-March, the cruiser "Ward" from the Asia Fleet arrived off the coast of Kuching and issued a war threat to Kuching.

As early as December 12 last year, ministers from 22 countries including Britain, Russia, Germany, the United States, France, Japan, Italy, Austria, as well as Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium jointly submitted articles of the "Peace Outline" to the Qing Empire.

The Qing Empire agreed to accept it on the 27th.

At present, the ministers of various countries are negotiating with the Qing Empire on the details of the peace negotiation. The military operation has come to an end, so the Asian fleet can finally send warships to Kuching.

It's a pity it's too late.

George finally returned to Amur at this time.

"The East India Company bought it, you can't just rob it openly -"

George didn't embarrass the good old guy Gray, this guy was so miserable.

Gray has told London many times that I want to resign. There has been no new minister from London, so Gray can only stay in Vladivostok and hang around.

"Of course, if you are willing to quit Sarawak, then London will compensate you accordingly."

Gray is willing to spend money to eliminate disasters.

"Great, thank you for your understanding, a total of 1100 million——"

George was worried that Gray would misunderstand, so he didn't forget to add: "Pound!"

Buy for 100 and sell for 1100. Is this how you Russians do business?

(End of this chapter)