African Nationhood

Chapter 314 Spring Festival Offensive (Part )

As Nanhua Company continued to introduce immigrants on a large scale, the company's finances continued to be tight.

Sansa Bruce from the finance department sent warning letters many times, and Boss Shi had to pay attention to this issue.

After holding several military affairs meetings, the Nanhua Company's military department planned to launch a war in Portuguese West Africa during the Spring Festival of 1894, relying on war seizures to make up for the company's financial deficit. This operation was named the "Spring Festival Offensive."

The purpose of this war is to seize supplies, not to occupy territory.

After all, the current "international" environment is very unfavorable to the Nanhua Company, and Governor Cecil Rhodes is watching eagerly from the sidelines.

Nanhua Company's resettlement list is carefully divided into two parts, one is the official number from the Immigration Bureau, and the other is from the Labor Department.

On January 1894, 1, the two armies of the Lunda Garrison Brigade and the Namib Garrison Brigade arrived at the border of Portuguese West Africa, and the naval flagship "Guan Yu" also docked at Walvis Bay Port.

After everything was ready, the Nanhua Company telegraphed the Portuguese West African colonial government: Due to the fighting between the Portuguese West African colonial government and the gangs, many black natives crossed the border with cattle and sheep and ran into the Nanhua Company's territory.

The entry of cattle and sheep brought rinderpest, causing Nanhua Company's livestock industry to suffer heavy losses.

In order to recover the loss of Nanhua Company's livestock industry, Nanhua Company will seek compensation from the colonial government of Portuguese West Africa, with the amount of compensation being 100 million pounds.

The colonial government of Portuguese West Africa was angry and panicked after receiving the message from the Nanhua Company.

This is simply blackmail, naked blackmail.

Although they were angry, they could not hide the panic deep in their hearts.

In the past two years, the colonial government of Portuguese West Africa organized troops to continuously suppress the "Southeast Bandits".

The colonial Portuguese army and the indigenous army suffered heavy losses, but they were unable to deal with the southeastern gangs and regain the occupied land.

When the Nanhua Company was cleaning up Portuguese East Africa, it was able to drive the ferocious natives everywhere.

Comparing the two sides, the combat power of the two sides is not the same at all.

Today's Portuguese West African colonial government simply cannot afford a war, and has no confidence in defeating the South China Company.

If the Nanhua Company repeats what happened in Portuguese East Africa, colonial officials like them will have no way to explain to the mainland.

Therefore, the colonial government of Portuguese West Africa had no choice but to ask for help from the country and at the same time communicate with the Nanhua Company to prevent the Nanhua Company from directly knocking on the door if the Nanhua Company's brutal attack occurred.

King Carlos I of Portugal was furious when he learned of this situation and lost his temper.

In the previous incident in Portuguese East Africa, Portugal tolerated, which led to the outbreak of riots led by the bourgeoisie in the country. How much time had passed before he worked hard to suppress it?

Blackmail again, the British have gone too far!
  Carlos I instructed the Portuguese government to send a note to the British government and ask what was going on?

The Marquess of Salisbury, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary of the British Cabinet, was immediately confused. He called Nanhua Company and asked General Manager Shi to give an explanation.

Nanhua Company replied that it was the sick cattle in the Portuguese West African colonies that caused Nanhua Company's livestock industry to suffer heavy losses, amounting to one million pounds.

Nanhua Company hopes to receive compensation, which is a reasonable and legitimate request.

Now Nanhua Company is only negotiating theoretically with the Portuguese West African government and has not done anything extraordinary.

The Portuguese West Africa Company alarmed the cabinet over this "trivial matter", which is really ridiculous!

After the Marquis of Salisbury learned of the situation, he also felt that the Portuguese West African colonial government should compensate the Nanhua Company for its losses.

However, the amount of loss can be negotiated slowly. In the end, he sternly warned Nanhua Company not to use force!

Nanhua Company immediately stated that it would not use force but it was just a theory of negotiation.

The Marquess of Salisbury immediately called back to the Portuguese government: The two sides only had economic disputes and were in the negotiation stage without going to war.

I also ask your government not to "make a fuss out of a molehill" and that the Portuguese West African colonies have caused huge losses to Nanhua Company and should take responsibility.

……

King Carlos I of Portugal, who was taught a lesson by his "British father", was angry but could not get angry. After all, the British were still his "fathers". Without British support, he would have been overthrown long ago.

But how to deal with Nanhua Company's blackmail?

Carlos I had no choice but to instruct the colonial government of Portuguese West Africa to provide appropriate compensation.

Melodini Piedmontel, the colonial governor of Portuguese West Africa, was at a loss what to do after receiving the order from the local king. Portuguese West Africa was really poor. Because of the loss of Portuguese East Africa, the plunder of Portuguese West Africa intensified in the kingdom. The remaining wealth of the Portuguese West African colonies was the small treasury of the governor and officials at all levels, and they were naturally unwilling to take it out.

But how to deal with the ferocious Nanhua Company? The other party will definitely not give up without giving benefits.

The colonial government of Portuguese West Africa had no choice but to invite Nanhua Company to negotiate. Nanhua Company ordered Ouyang Geng and Ding He, the commander of the Lunda garrison brigade, to negotiate.

The atmosphere was harmonious when the two parties met, and they got down to business after being polite.

Ouyang Geng and Ding He directly asked when the Portuguese would lose money?

Melodini Piemontel began to cry with her smile, hoping that Nanhua Company could understand their difficulties.

Ding He immediately couldn't sit still, slapped the table directly, and said angrily: "You have difficulties, but our Nanhua Company doesn't have any difficulties?

Nanhua Company lost millions of pounds, what should we do?
  You must pay the money quickly, otherwise don’t blame us for being rude! "

As soon as these words came out, Governor Melodini Piedmontel turned pale with fright, but Ouyang Geng still smiled as usual.

"Hey, why is Mr. Ding so angry?
  We are here to negotiate, not to fight. Sit down. "

Ding He sat down bitterly. Although he no longer said harsh words, he still stared at the Portuguese governor opposite.

The Portuguese Governor immediately smiled and said, “Yes, we have been discussing to solve the problem.

Since your company is unwilling to reduce or reduce the amount of compensation, can you let us pay it back slowly in installments? "

"Repay slowly in installments. How to repay gradually?"

The Portuguese Governor chuckled and said, "The installment can be divided into several more years. We will pay back some every year. If we pay back a few more years, we can always pay it off..."

Hearing this, Ding He clapped his hands again and said angrily: "How many years, ten years or fifty years?
  If you say a hundred years, will we still be alive to see the day when we are all finished? "

This time Ouyang Geng didn't have Latin Crane, and there was no smile on his face.

"Governor Pimontel, at least we should show some sincerity in our negotiations. Your perfunctory attitude is not the attitude to solve the problem.

If you don’t want to talk, we will come and pick it up ourselves! "

The Portuguese Governor was immediately discouraged, "Oh, this can be done, but our current West African government's finances are really tight.

It's better to pay it off in three, no, five years, that's fine! "

Ding He hummed again: "Five years is too long. Three years is not enough. Two years is enough. Let's wait for two years."

The Portuguese Governor completely lost his defense at this time, "It won't work in two years, there is too much money, and we can't collect the compensation!"

The Portuguese people are really not pretending. They really can't make so much money in two years.

If they had worked hard in the past, they would still be able to squeeze out so much money and water, but in the past two years, they have really failed.

The local plundering was too strict, and their surplus was much smaller.

And they know very well that if the Nanhua Company can use rinderpest as an excuse this year, it can use other things as an excuse next year.

They must hold back and contain the greedy desires of these yellow-skinned monkeys.

Ouyang Geng saw the Portuguese in such trouble, and a smile appeared on his face again.

“Your Majesty the Governor, I heard that the Obendu people in the Biye Plateau of the West African Territory (today’s central and western plateau region of Angola) are very wealthy, and they have never paid much to your West African colonial government.

How about we make a deal and send troops to deal with these Ovendu people.

In this way, you don't have to pay for compensation, and we can also gain something, how about it? "

After hearing Ouyang Geng's words, the Portuguese Governor's eyes flashed with a glimmer of greed, "This matter can be discussed."

　Please subscribe, collect, monthly tickets, recommendation votes.

　　感谢书友20221228232705919、饕餮怪物、宗家二郎、书友161224131808550、016510、书友20231019101448166、独自2月票鼓励！

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)