African Nationhood

Chapter 267 "Treaty of Durban"

The capture of Governor Hannibal caused a sensation throughout southern Africa. The Boers in the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State all applauded when they heard the news.

After Governor Robinson learned the news, in addition to scolding Governor Hannibal as a fool, he quickly called the South China Company and asked the South China Company to take Governor Hannibal back.

After receiving the telegram from Governor Robinson, Shi Jintang took the South China Navy's flagship "Guan Yu" without delay and rushed to the Neway Republic.

Because the Neway Republic does not have a good harbor, the "Guan Yu" can only be anchored in the Gulf of St. Lucia in the Zulu Kingdom, waiting for Lucas Meyer.

When Lucas Meyer brought the comatose Governor Hannibal to the harbor, Shi Jintang couldn't help but curiously asked, "What happened to him?"

Lucas Meyer shrugged, "Because he was too nervous and kept making noises, we gave him some laudanum so that he could calm down for a while."

Hearing what Lucas Meyer said, Boss Shi couldn't help but ask what was going on.

Lucas Meyer told him that Governor Hannibal was mentally disturbed due to the excessive stimulation and needed to rest for a period of time before he could recover.

Boss Shi couldn't help but laugh. With such a psychological quality, he came to be the governor of the colony.

Then the two discussed the matter of claiming compensation from the Natal Colonial Government. Governor Hannibal could not return it to the Natal Colonial Government for the time being, and could only return it after they paid compensation.

After the discussion, Boss Shi, together with Daniel Esselen, Secretary of State of the Neway Republic, boarded the "Guan Yu" and headed for Durban Port.

When the "Guan Yu" with a hull of more than 80 meters approached the Durban Port, it attracted the attention of the port defenders.

When they saw clearly that it was the dragon-body double-headed lion flag of Nanhua Company, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Shi Jintang did not get off the ship, but stayed on the ship waiting for officials from the Natal colony to come to negotiate.

……

The colonial government of Natal sent a delegation headed by the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief of Police, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Home Affairs.

The deputy commissioner was Blair Cheney, a Natal native who had risen through the colonial civil service.

He is a bit older and wears a very old-fashioned monocle.

"Hello, Sir Stone, I am here to negotiate on behalf of the Natal Colonial Government."

Shi Jintang smiled and nodded, "Welcome, Deputy Governor Cheney."

The crew members of Nanhua Company in blue navy uniforms stood in a row and lined up to welcome him.

Following the leadership of Shi Jintang, the group of people arrived on the deck of the warship, where the negotiations between the two parties took place.

“Everyone please take a seat first.

Let me introduce to you. Sitting on my left is Mr. Daniel Esselen, Secretary of State of the Republic of New Jersey and his staff. Sitting on my right is Lieutenant Governor Blair Cheney and his colleagues. "

After the introduction, both parties looked at each other. No one reached out to shake hands or even nodded in greeting.

Daniel Esselen is only in his thirties this year. He is a tall and handsome white man. He and his subordinates are all young.

Blair Cheney, on the other hand, is an old man. Several of his colleagues are over fifty years old, and their styles are very inconsistent.

But it doesn't matter whether there is coordination or not, what they need is benefits.

Shi Jintang lit a cigarette and sat on the leader's seat.

“As the leader of the South China Company, I was entrusted by Governor Robinson of the Cape Colony to mediate the armed conflict between the Natal Colony and the Neway Republic.

The armed conflict between the two sides this time could have been avoided. It would be better if the two sides negotiated a solution, but force had to be used.

This is good, Governor Hannibal himself collapsed because of his poor psychological quality and could not bear the responsibility of failure.

The current situation is that his rationality is somewhat lacking.

I suggested that the Natal Colonial Government find a place for him to recuperate after taking him back. "

After listening to Shi Jintang's words, Blair Cheney and several colleagues around him looked at each other and understood.

The responsibility for this battle can only be borne by Governor Hannibal himself, and has nothing to do with other officials in the colony. Everything was the result of his willful actions.

"Well, Sir Shi is right. Governor Hannibal really needs a good rest. The invasion of the Republic of Neway was all driven by his personal arrogance. We all tried to persuade him, but he was stubborn and refused to listen. Alas..."

Blair Cheney's words resonated with several Natal officials, and everyone complained about Governor Hannibal.

Shi Jintang snickered silently, these old officials are very smart.

“It was indeed wrong for Governor Hannibal to act his own way, but he caused great harm to the Republic of Newway, and even the capital of the Republic of Newway was burned by him.

This time, Secretary of State Esselen of the Neway Republic came to your Natal colonial government to demand compensation. Please discuss how to compensate. "

Shi Jintang pointed out the purpose straightforwardly, saving both parties from wasting time on unnecessary arguments.

Although Daniel Eselen is young, he knows when to show appropriate emotional value.

He slammed the table and said angrily: "The colonial government of Natal has invaded our country for no reason, and this matter must not be given up simply!
  The colonial government of Natal must first publicly apologize to our country, and then talk about compensation for the economic losses suffered by our citizens and the capital. "

Seeing the livid-faced Boer pretending to be pretentious, Shi Jintang secretly laughed, this guy is quite good at pretending.

Blair Cheney acted very cooperatively and said: "Well, this matter is indeed the fault of the Natal Colony, but Governor Hannibal is the highest official of the colony.

Shall we meet together first and then let him decide how to compensate your country? "

Daniel Esselon stood up immediately after hearing this, "It's impossible to see him. If you are not sincere, just go back.

Let’s go back and hold a public trial directly, so that the citizens who have lost their loved ones and suffered economic losses can punish the executioner with their own hands! "

As soon as he said these words, Blair Cheney's face immediately changed, "How outrageous, who gave you the right to interrogate the governor of our colonial government in Natal?"

Daniel Eselen did not show weakness and sneered, "We have obtained the rights with the guns in our hands. If you don't accept it, send troops to attack us again to see if our rights are enough!" Blair Cheney heard this. I immediately gave up. Fighting was really not the strong point of the Natal colonial government.

It was okay for them to bully the unarmed Zulus, but not against the Boers who also had sophisticated rifles and superb shooting skills.

In 1869, even the Portuguese were not defeated.

"We cannot agree to this matter for the time being. We must seek the opinion of the Secretary of State for the Colonies in Whitehall."

Seeing that the heat was almost over, Shi Jintang waved his hand, "There is no need to mention the apology or not. The first issue for both of you is to stop the hostility.

I think the colonial government of Natal can first issue a proclamation to recognize the legitimacy of the Neway Republic and clarify that the previous conflicts between the two parties were all misunderstandings. "

Blair Cheney agreed with Shi Jintang's proposal. The colonial government of Natal was weak in force. After this battle, subsequent governors should not repeat the same mistake to attack the Neway Republic.

Therefore, recognizing the other party is nothing. Anyway, this Boer country is not big, and most of its land is tidal flats and swamps, and the income is too low.

The real key is the land of the Zulu Kingdom. Those places are plain areas under the plateau and are suitable for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. Just keep these lands.

The British, or Angsa people, have a very obvious commonality: that is, the standard by which they measure whether something should continue is the size of the benefit.

If the benefits are great, you can continue doing it. If the benefits are too small, just let it go.

They lacked resilience and a will to die, which was the fundamental reason why China was able to defeat the Sixteen-Nation Alliance in the Korean War.

This was even more true in the Vietnam War. Lao Americans were frightened by the Vietnamese monkeys' determination to die.

Coupled with domestic anti-war voices, American leaders gave up.

……

The current situation is: there is no profit at all in continuing to attack the Neway Republic. If they let it go directly and decisively, they will not worry about the issue of face.

During the First Boer War, the Transvaal Republic was allowed to regain its independence, and during the Second Boer War, it negotiated peace with the Boers. These are all manifestations of this commonality.

Britain suffered heavy losses in World War I and its national strength was weakened.

Having no choice but to allow regions such as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand to become independent is also a manifestation of this commonality.

As for the independence of India during World War II, it allowed the British to get rid of a big burden.

They were very lucky to have found a good leader in Gandhi. After World War II, nationalist leaders emerged in India. They advocated violent overthrow of British rule.

But Gandhi, Nehru and others suppressed these resistance forces and allowed Britain to escape smoothly. Otherwise, Britain's decline would only be faster and more severe!
  ……

"Well, Sir Shi is right. Our Natal colonial government should issue this proclamation to recognize the independence and legitimacy of the Neway Republic."

Daniel Eselen felt a little happy when he heard what the other party said, but he needed to calm down at this time.

Shi Jintang puffed out smoke and continued to mediate, "What about compensation?"

After receiving the signal, Daniel Eselen took a claim list from the subordinate's hand and slapped it on the table.

"Governor Hannibal's invasion caused an economic loss of 200 million pounds to our country. Here is a list for your review."

This list was determined by Shi Jintang after discussing with Lucas Meyer. Half of it was given to Nanhua Company as a favor fee for military assistance and mediation.

The unit prices in this list are all fictitious, and the other party understands that, but there must be an explanation for this matter.

Two million pounds may be a large amount to ordinary people, but it is a small amount to the Natal colony. The annual profits and taxes of their colony start at 200 to million pounds.

Now even Nanhua Company's profits and taxes are more than this amount every year.

This is huge colonial profit, but the money of the colonial government still belongs to the colonial government itself, and the British Empire cannot share the profits.

Most of these benefits were shared by officials at all levels below, and the taxes actually paid to the British treasury were only a fraction.

Take the Nanhua Company for example. It has been losing money for many years and has no profits and taxes to pay. The British government does not care about this.

As long as you can maintain the colonial companies, their subjects and nationals can benefit from your colonies. This is also the "stability maintenance" result that the British Empire government wants.

……

Now that the stronger side has made the conditions clear, the Natal side has pretended to start talking among themselves.

This money can be approved based on their authority, but everyone's pockets will be a little lighter.

But there was nothing they could do. Hannibal from London had a strong backing, so it was better. Everyone lost some money and just drove him back to London.

……

After discussions among the three parties, the three parties finally reached the following agreement:
  1. The colonial government of Natal recognizes the legitimacy of the Neway Republic and will no longer pursue the employment system of the Neway Republic.

2. There were some misunderstandings between the Natal Colonial Government and the Neway Republic, but these misunderstandings have been eliminated through communication.

3. The Natal colonial government must compensate the losses caused by the misunderstanding between the two parties, with the amount of compensation being 180 million pounds.

4. The colonial government of Natal and the Neway Republic reached a friendly relationship, and both parties recognized each other as equal entities.

……

After Governor Hannibal was sent back to Durban Port by Shi Jintang, he returned to the British mainland not long after.

The position of governor of the Natal colonial government was vacant for a long time. It was not until 1890 that a new governor took office. This new governor surprised Shi Jintang.

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  (End of this chapter)