African Nationhood

Chapter 360 "Jinling Promise"

After the negotiations broke down in June, the British began to actively prepare for war, deploying troops from overseas India and the Mediterranean to Cape Town.

Joseph Chamberlain sat in Cape Town and urged Governor Milner to accumulate supplies while continuing negotiations with the South China Company.

Shi Jintang was determined to have a stalemate with the British, so he told Secretary Chamberlain that he would not talk to the British government unless the man behind Cecil Rhodes apologized and compensated the Nanhua Company.

Joseph Chamberlain was very angry at the South China Company's toughness and warned the South China Company not to wear down the British government's patience any longer.

Once the limits of the British government's tolerance are exceeded, the consequences will be catastrophic.

Shi Jintang turned a deaf ear to the British warnings. Instead, he warmly received the Boer representatives who came, Louis Botha, James Herzog and Lucas Meyer.

Luis Botha no longer has the youthful sunshine of the past, and has become a middle-aged man with a beard.

James Herzog is the current judge of the Orange Free State High Court. In the original time and space, after the outbreak of the Second Boer War, he would become the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Orange, and later he would become the Prime Minister of the Federation of South Africa.

As for Lucas Meyer, he is an old acquaintance, the president of the Neway Republic.

The purpose of the three of them's arrival was obvious, which was to gain the support of Nanhua Company, preferably by signing a military alliance treaty.

……

Shi Jintang was clear about the Boers' intentions. Since the Boers wanted something from others, they had to gather some wool.

Louis Botha took the lead in sending personal letters from Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal Republic, and Mathews Stein, President of the Orange Free State.

In the letter, the two men reviewed the past economic and trade exchanges and the history of friendly coexistence between the two parties. At the same time, they made accusations against the British, the common enemy of both parties. Finally, they hoped that General Manager Shi could form an alliance with the Boers to jointly deal with the British.

These two letters were a bit overwhelming for Shi Jintang. The Nanhua Company wanted to be a profiteer in this war, so it was impossible to sign another military agreement with the Boers like the "War-Brother: Pretoria Agreement". The secret alliance.

Therefore, Shi Jintang expressed his attitude to the three Boers straight to the point: "As a colonial company under the British government, my situation is not optimistic, but it is impossible for the Nanhua Company to completely break with the British government.

The current impasse is only temporary and I hope you can understand my situation. "

The three Boers looked at each other with disappointment on their faces.

I thought this Chinese group would stand up bravely, but I didn't expect that they were overthinking it.

"But I can promise not to attack you proactively, and try to maintain peace between us.

Even if I get an order from the British government, I will inform you in advance of how to do it, and we can discuss it at that time, okay? "

The three of them nodded helplessly, as this was the only way they could go for now.

"Then let's order some arms and equipment from your company, okay?"

Shi Jintang nodded, "That's okay. Although our arms are also very scarce, we will try our best to meet your needs."

The Boers have already purchased a batch of guns and bullets from Germany and other European military powers. Now the three of them are coming to negotiate with Nanhua Company, and they are more inclined to obtain a practical commitment from Nanhua Company.

As long as the South China Company did not take the initiative to attack the Boer country, they would be able to confront the British with greater peace of mind.

The reason why the Boers were so reassured was that first of all, the South China Company and the Transvaal signed the "Pretoria Agreement" in 1880, which provided a basis for friendly cooperation.

Later, the South China Company helped the Neway Republic fight against the colonial government of Natal. Now the South China Company is at loggerheads with the British cabinet, and there is no sign of easing in the short term.

Taken together, these factors made the Boers more willing to trust the Nanhua Company.

The parties negotiated for a day and finally signed a joint agreement, referred to as the "Jinling Agreement." The agreement includes the following:

1. The South China Company and the Boers formed a friendly relationship of peaceful coexistence, and both parties recognized each other as equal entities.

2. The Nanhua Company promised not to be the first to use force against the Boers. If external factors intervened, it should be the first to inform and negotiate with the Boers.

3. The three Boer countries canceled all tariffs on Nanhua Company and relaxed restrictions on the entry of Nanhua Company's goods.

4. During the war, the Nanhua Company opened the border and allowed Boer civilians to enter and take refuge.

5. During the war, the Boers had the right to borrow the Nanhua Company's main railway lines.

6. As allies of friendly coexistence, the Boers gave 5% of the equity in the Rand Gold Mine to the Nanhua Company as an agreed gift.

7. For arms orders from the Boers during the war, Nanhua Company should give priority to supply without delay.

……

The Boers went back with the warm agreement, but Shi Jintang didn't pay much attention to this agreement.

What really concerned him was the order placed by the Boers, which was worth a million pounds. This order was enough to keep the military and light industry departments of Nanhua Company busy for a long time.

……

European countries, under the guidance of Germany, the Netherlands and other countries, launched a campaign of sympathy and solidarity with the Boer Republic.

Even in the UK, there were voices supporting the independence of the Boers. Liberal politicians led the people to attack the Conservative government.

The Netherlands and Belgium formed numerous civil society groups, solicited donations and published articles to establish foundations, and donated wartime mobile hospitals and medical equipment to the Transvaal.

Thousands of volunteers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the United States, Russia, Ireland, Italy and Scandinavian countries crossed the ocean and came to the Transvaal, preparing to fight alongside the Boers.

1899年9月1日，保罗.克鲁格总统告诉米尔纳总督：德兰士瓦共和国可以考虑把外侨得到德兰士瓦公民权的居留期限从14年减少为5年，但是要求英国今后停止对德兰士瓦共和国提出宗主权的要求。

Affected by domestic public opinion, the British Parliament said in its reply to President Paul Kruger on September 9: “Her Majesty’s Government believes that the reply from the Government of the Transvaal Republic is negative or inconclusive.

Her Majesty's Government reserves the right to reconsider the current situation and adopt appropriate last resort measures. "

In order to increase military pressure on the Boers, Britain dispatched two thousand men from India and the Mediterranean to reinforce the Natal colony.

……

On September 1899, 9, Nanhua Company held a pre-war internal affairs meeting. The number of participants in this meeting was far greater than before.

In addition to all major officials from various departments of the company, overseas Lanfang Company, the Sultanate of Sulu and the Mariana Islands also sent people to attend the meeting.

Nearly a hundred officials attended the expanded meeting in the large conference room of the Jinling Convention Center Building.

The conference room was very silent, and everyone's expressions were solemn. After all, the war was right in front of us, and no one could be happy.

When Shi Jintang entered the conference room, he was oppressed by the serious atmosphere and couldn't help but frown.

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(End of this chapter)