African Nationhood

Chapter 133 The Hot Trophy (please subscribe)

As the sun set, Shi Jintang arrived at the devastated Aboriginal royal city.

While walking in the city of Bulawayo, his nose was filled with the unpleasant smell of burning. Shi Jintang had no choice but to take out the sachet that Ye Rong had embroidered for him and cover his nose.

Ding He, Shi Ming and others who followed him were no different. They were used to breathing such dirty and foul-smelling air.

"What's the situation in the palace now?"

As the commander-in-chief of this battle, Ding He took the initiative to reply.

“King Lobengula, together with his queen and princess, set themselves on fire. After the invading troops from the south gate broke through the palace gate last night, they set themselves on fire directly in the palace. The other Induna, princes and princesses were all captured. "

"Self-immolation, where are the diamonds and gold?"

"Those belongings are basically intact. Gold is not afraid of fire at all. It's just that some diamonds have been blackened by fire. It should be fine if they are re-cut."

Hearing that the gold and diamonds were fine, Shi Jintang breathed a sigh of relief. This battle was originally for the treasures accumulated by the indigenous kings. It would be a pain if they were burned.

"How many prisoners are there?"

"More than 6800 people were captured in the royal city, and almost 21000 were captured outside the city."

"Have you finished counting your belongings?"

"The inventory has not been completely completed. So far, 254600 ounces of gold and more than 6000 carats of rough diamonds have been cleared. It is estimated that the rest will take two days. A huge rough diamond was found in the king's treasury."

Hearing this, the smile on Shi Jintang's face disappeared, "Are the people involved in collecting the loot reliable?"

Ding He nodded immediately: "Reliable, they are all carefully selected.

They are all loyal to you, and I have assigned two groups of people to take turns supervising. "

Ding He's answer made Shi Jintang feel relieved. He asked casually: "How many carats is that giant diamond?"

"It is estimated to be more than 800 carats. This diamond is still very rare. You can always keep it as a treasure at the bottom of the box."

Shi Jintang was a little disappointed when he heard that the giant diamond only weighed more than 800 carats. In his impression, a diamond that could be called a giant diamond must exceed 1000 carats.

The Bechuanaland region (Botswana) next door has historically produced several huge diamonds weighing over a kilogram.

In 1905, a diamond mine in South Africa unearthed a diamond king, the new "Star of Africa" ​​weighing more than 3000 carats.

This rough stone weighing more than 800 carats can only be said to be better than nothing. At this stage, his Nanhua Company is still too weak, so it is better to have fewer such eye-catching treasures.

"Have you found out the addresses of the Aboriginal gold and diamond mines?"

"The gold mine is nearby. There are dozens of large and small gold mines scattered around this royal city, but not many are still being mined.

As for the diamond mining area, we had to go to a small town called Gweru (now Gweru, Zimbabwe) 300 miles northwest. "

After listening to Ding He's report, Shi Jintang sighed.

"It's hot!"

Ding He also sighed after hearing his boss's words.

"Register the locations of the surrounding gold mines as soon as possible, and then collect the gold and diamonds.

Also, issue a gag order to all those involved in collecting the loot! "

Ding He nodded in order.

Shi Jintang no longer wanted to go to the royal city to take a look. He greeted Ding He and left with Shi Mingtou.

In the following time, all the first battalion, all the second battalion and most of the third battalion will be sent forward to attack the Kingdom of Matabeleland.

Finally, before the Spring Festival (February) of 1884, they occupied a large area south of the Zambezi River and north of the Limpopo River.

This occupation was not like the previous occupation in Southwest Africa, where the indigenous people were directly massacred and driven away, but the main focus was on signing contracts.

The chiefs in various places were threatened with force to hand over their territorial rights, while at the same time recognizing the rule of the Nanhua Company and setting up territorial boundary markers in the border areas. When Shi Jintang saw a stack of contracts, he nodded with satisfaction to Ding He and others.

Then he started to look at the statistics table of the spoils gained from this battle.

Summary list of loot from the Battle of Bulawayo:
  Gold: 151.5 million ounces, (In addition to confiscating the existing treasury and nobles’ treasury, the tomb of the previous king was also excavated.)
  Diamond: 3.2 carats,
  Muskets: (including matchlocks and flintlock muskets, mostly broken) 10800 pieces,
  New rifles: (very complicated, with various models) 4400 pieces,
  Cowhide: 6.6 pieces,

Ivory: 5.1 tusks,

Cattle: 5.2
  Gold mines: 8, 2 large gold mines, 6 small gold mines.

Diamond mine: 2

Fields: 18 acres (roughly cultivated)
  Serfs: 8 (Shona people)
  ……

After reading this list, Shi Jintang took a breath. There are too many, there are really too many, and there are more below.

Summary list of trophies from the Claim of Sovereignty campaign:
  Fields: 8 acres (from the tribe of chiefs who dared to resist, and were simply cultivated)
  Serfs: 2.6 (mainly Shona people)
  Ivory: 2 tusks
  Cowhide: 1.4 pieces
  Cattle: 2.3
  Sheep: 5
  Gold: 15 ounces

Diamond: 3000 carats
  The combined value of all this is over ten million pounds, and the gold and diamonds alone add up to six or seven million pounds.

No wonder there have been wild rumors in Europe back then that King Lobengula’s tomb was worth 300 million pounds.

Judging from the list of loot, the two men bought a million ounces of gold burial goods alone.

The gold the two of them have accumulated over the past few decades has almost caught up with the output value of the Nava Gold Mine in five years.

Shi Jintang's scalp felt numb when he saw it. These trophies were so hot to touch.

At this moment, his breathing was rapid and his eyes were blood red.

Moreover, those gold and diamond mines are still being mined, and everyone will be jealous of their future profits.

Ding He saw Shi Jintang's abnormality, and he understood that Mr. Shi was also frightened by this huge trophy.

When he saw these lists, he was trembling nervously.

As the saying goes, "Every man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying a jade."

Nanhua Company is too weak and cannot withstand any damage at this stage.

The most sensible choice is to "buy peace with money."

Next, it depends on how Mr. Shi chooses, whether to give up money to save his life or...

I hope he will be wise and never let these gold and diamonds cover his eyes.

……

His racing heart calmed down, and Shi Jintang's mind returned to clarity.

At this stage, wealth means nothing to him. These are just numbers. His greatest wealth is the people under his rule and the land under his feet.

His secret agreement with the British was fully realized, and it was less than 2 years old.

Once the honeymoon period is over, the British will definitely not be able to resist taking action against him.

Therefore, he must find a way to continue his status and maintain his relationship with the Queen of England. After all, his life is the most important at this time.

Therefore, all these gold and diamonds were nothing, and he decided to hand over all the diamond mines and gold mines in the Kingdom of Matabeleland.

Dedicated to the Queen of England, as for how to distribute it, it is the business of those British guys.

If he can get another title, his status will be more secure.

Therefore, he needs to leave for Cannes, France as soon as possible to try to save the Queen's youngest son.

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  (End of this chapter)