African Nationhood

Chapter 266 The Captured Governor
  News of the Zulu Guard's defeat set off a chain reaction, with the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State simultaneously issuing statements condemning the Zulu Kingdom's aggression.

Governor Robinson of the Cape Colony urgently called Governor Hannibal to ask him not to advance.

Governor Hannibal did not listen at all and insisted on teaching the Boers a lesson.

He was very disdainful of the failure of the Cape Colony to suppress the Boers in 1881, and believed that the British should not have allowed the Boers to be so unbridled.

In desperation, Governor Robinson called the South China Company and asked the South China Company not to use fire to support the Boers.

Shi Jintang, who was in Mapu Port, followed the good example and replied directly: I will no longer aid the Boers, but I hope Governor Robinson can properly persuade Governor Hannibal. Peaceful coexistence is the outcome I like to see.

The moment Governor Robinson received the call back, he understood that this "honorable white man" had set his sights on the land of the Neway Republic.

It's just that stupid Hannibal who wants to embarrass the British.

He couldn't ignore it, so Robinson called the Colonial Office in Whitehall.

The Colonial Secretary was somewhat disapproving of this, thinking that the small Boer country had some guns that were not to be feared, and the Prime Minister liked offensive officials very much.

Therefore, the Colonial Office put aside Governor Robinson's telegram. Instead of admonishing Governor Hannibal, it ordered the other party to punish the Boers.

After receiving the order from the Secretary of the Colonial Office, Governor Hannibal became even more wild.

Not only did he recruit soldiers in the Natal colony with great fanfare, he also publicized and discredited the brutality and cruelty of the Boers in the Neway Republic.

Then he made a bold statement to take over the Neway Republic within a month.

Such a flamboyant behavior is tantamount to informing the opponent in advance.

Lucas Meyer was very sober and did not pretend to be big.

He immediately asked for help from the Southwark Company and the two Boer republics.

Nanhua Company responded: Sorry, we have been warned by the British Cabinet that we cannot provide military assistance, but we can send a military staff officer to help.

The military potential of the Transvaal and Orange was limited, and they had to take care of their own national defense, so the support they could provide was limited.

They scraped together 3 rounds of Martini-Henry rifle bullets and sent them over.

These bullets were still purchased from Nanhua Company, and those old Mauser rifles and bullets were not used by the Neway Republic.

Seeing the dire situation, Lucas Meyer accepted the advice of Nanhua Company's military staff and took advantage of the Zulu prisoners he had captured before.

He told the Zulu captives that if they wanted to be freed they must help them kill the British.

The Zulu prisoners are not stupid. The British are much more cruel than you Boers and will not agree at all.

Forced into a corner, Lucas Meyer immediately became violent and attacked the leadership of the captured Zulu Guards.

If the legion commander doesn't speak, kill him!

If the deputy commander doesn't speak, kill him!

……

After killing hundreds of people, these Zulu prisoners finally couldn't stand it anymore and agreed to kill the British for the Boers.

Lucas Meyer immediately treated these surrendered Zulu guards with wine and meat, and relaxed their custody.

When the Zulu people saw that the Boers were so kind to them, they began to eat and drink with confidence.

……

At the end of February 1889, 2 troops of the Natal Colonial Government marched through the Zulu Kingdom in a swaggering manner. Among the 3000 troops, there were only more than 3000 British people, and the rest were all blacks and Indians.

Governor Hannibal also raised 3000 Zulu guards from the Zulu Kingdom to join his army.

Such a large army failed to enter the Neway Republic because Lucas Meyer did not want to sit still and wait for death.

Based on the advice of his military staff, he led a large army to directly launch a surprise attack when the British crossed the Pongola River, the boundary river between the Zulu Kingdom and the Neway Republic.

Bandu's army was suddenly attacked and had no choice but to avoid it as much as possible.

Most of the troops in the middle of the river were washed away by the river, and a small half were drowned.

More than 1000 Zulus in the vanguard were killed by the Zulu rebels who surrendered to the Boers.

The British troops in the second half could only huddle back and worry, and the British lost this battle again.    …

Governor Hannibal was so angry that he was unable to advance or retreat in the Zulu Kingdom's Ubombo Village (today's Ubombo Town, South Africa). He did not expect that the damn Boers would attack in advance.

The Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State issued proclamations one after another, admonishing Governor Hannibal to stop being persistent and that they were willing to negotiate peace with the Natal colonial government on behalf of the Neway Republic.

Nanhua Company sent personnel to Ubangbo Village and warned Governor Hannibal, "Governor, you have repeatedly damaged the face of the British Empire. It is really a shame for the British Empire.

Come back quickly and don't embarrass the British Empire again. "

Facing the ridicule of Nanhua Company, Governor Hannibal angrily beat the envoy of Nanhua Company and drove him away.

He directly ordered the thirteen chiefs of the Zulu Kingdom to assemble and then gather their troops to attack the Neway Republic.

……

Facing the injured Nanhua Company envoy, Shi Jintang comforted him with gentle words. While noting his merits, he also rewarded him with some military tickets so that he could take a good rest.

While Boss Shi was hiding in Mapu Port, eating melons and watching the theater, he also received the good news that Alice had successfully given birth to a son.

Boss Shi, who was extremely excited, looked at the rising sun and immediately named his second son Shi Xu.

……

Another month later, Governor Hannibal, who had regrouped 6000 troops, attacked the Neway Republic again.

This time he learned the lesson and sent the Zulus across the river in advance to set up a beachhead, and then guarded the army across the river.

After crossing the river, their troops were just about to take a rest when they were immediately attacked by a small group of Boer cavalry.

These Boer cavalry were very alert and ran away after causing losses without any direct contact.

Governor Hannibal dispatched a group of Zulu soldiers to pursue him, but how could two legs outrun a four-legged horse?

The Zulus pursued the troops in vain.

They continued to march, but were attacked one after another along the way.

It's either a long-range sniper or a trap stinger.

Another time, when they were resting at night, they were attacked by a hippo.

Although there were no casualties, the soldiers lived in panic every day and were unable to take precautions.

Since entering the Neway Republic, their troops have been reducing their numbers. It took them more than half a month to walk hundreds of miles before reaching the capital of the Neway Republic, Newcastle City.

Their troops had already lost thousands of men. They thought they could have a fair and decisive battle this time, but who knew that the Boers didn't even show their face.

Newcastle City was completely empty. Governor Hannibal angrily ordered his men to plunder Newcastle City.

But they were disappointed again, because the Boers had already shipped out all their goods.

Governor Hannibal angrily ordered the city of Newcastle to be burned, and the capital of the Republic of Newway was burned to the ground.

The life of the Natal-Zulu coalition was not easy, and they had little supplies along the way.

Their subsequent supply parties were frequently attacked by Boers and they were halted.

And this force became a lone force, and they had to suffer from the Boers' flexible sneak attack tactics.

The morale of the coalition forces was low, and Zulu soldiers continued to flee.

Only at this moment did Governor Hannibal really feel the bone-chilling cold, but what could he do?
  In the end, he had no choice but to follow the advice of his subordinates and choose to withdraw his troops.

He wanted to leave, but the Boers refused. Finally, on their way back to the Zulu Kingdom, in the swamps along the Pongola River, they encountered the main force of the Boers with high morale.

Under the sweep of artillery and Maxim machine guns, the Natal-Zulu coalition collapsed again and fled.

When the Boers launched a general offensive, Governor Hannibal became a hesitant and sensitive quail.

When he learned that he had suffered the fate of being defeated and captured, he was tortured to the point of going insane at this moment.

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  (End of this chapter)