African Nationhood

The negotiations reached a deadlock, and Shi Jintang suggested that everyone adjourn the meeting temporarily and wait for Secretary Chamberlain to communicate with the cabinet before talking again.

On the way back, Cai Shaoji couldn't help but said to Boss Shi: "Your request is too high. It is impossible for the British to agree."

Shi Jintang smiled and thought of a theory in his mind.

At this time, Master Lu was still studying medicine and had not yet studied literature, so what he said now is considered "original".

“If you want to open a window and someone else is stubborn, then you tell them that I want to demolish the house, and they will definitely not be able to accept it.

Then you tell the other party that since you are not willing to demolish the house, then I will open a window office.

If you were the other person, what would you do? "

After hearing these words, Cai Shaoji rolled his eyes and smiled even more happily, "Isn't this the trick of 'asking for a high price and paying back on the spot'?"

Shi Jintang nodded, "Whether it's the British or others, they are just bullies and shy of the strong.

It is better to bow your head and give in when the situation is stronger than to defeat others completely.

This time we bit off a piece of meat from the British, and they had to admit it after gritting their teeth.

It's just that we have to be more vigilant about what happens next, otherwise there is a danger of capsizing. "

Cai Shaoji nodded, "Our current situation is indeed not optimistic. The losses suffered by various parts of the company have been revealed, and the total losses have reached more than 2000 million pounds. The most important thing is that our immigration work has stalled."

Shi Jintang nodded, "This is a price that must be paid. When Southwest Africa started, it was a coincidence that it found the British skin. If you want to take off this skin, you will inevitably have to go through the pain of molting.

Don't worry, immigration will be restarting soon, now we need to add fuel to the fire for the British.

After capturing the Natal colony, the British will beg us to negotiate. "

……

The South China Company mobilized dozens of captured artillery pieces and sent them to the Ladysmith front line.

With the help of large-caliber artillery, the Boers easily broke through the British defenses and Ladysmith fell.

Then the 2-strong coalition force continued to storm the Natal colony and soon reached the port of Durban.

British warships directly bombarded Durban to help the British army defend.

……

Minister Chamberlain immediately called Shi Jintang and asked him why he restarted the war?

Shi Jintang immediately replied to the other party, this is the Boer attacking you. What does it have to do with my Nanhua Company?

If you don't agree to peace talks quickly, it will be too late to think about peace talks by the time the Boers reach the gates of Cape Town.

Minister Chamberlain also wanted to negotiate peace as soon as possible, but there was no way Prime Minister Balfour would agree to these harsh conditions.

The first one is "executing the commander of the expeditionary force", which is unacceptable.

If you accept it, will the British Empire still lose the face?

This hateful Chinese actually wants His Majesty the King to confer him, a traitor, as a duke. It is simply unreasonable!

In the aristocratic system of the British Empire, generally only those of royal blood can be crowned dukes.

He is a yellow-skinned Chinese with such a low bloodline, but he still wants to be crowned a duke?

What a dream!

The canonization of a duke is related to the majesty of the royal family, and it is unlikely that the Chinese will get their wish.

And it is impossible to execute the commander of the expeditionary force. If these two cannot be realized, the only way is to find a way from other places.

The London Cabinet held a meeting to discuss and finally formed an opinion and handed it over to Secretary Chamberlain to continue negotiations with the South China Company.

……

The second negotiations continued in Kolsberg.

Minister Chamberlain proposed that the royal family could upgrade Boss Shi's title to earl. Previously, Shi Jintang's title was Baron Walvis (Whale Bay).

For Shi Jintang, this condition can be mentioned or not.

But the British brought it up, so naturally he couldn't let go immediately. "This matter is non-negotiable. Only the title of Duke can compensate for my contribution to the British Empire in cleaning up the criminal army of the British Expeditionary Force."

Minister Chamberlain was mentally prepared for Shi Jintang's persistence.

"Sir Henry, I have other conditions. You can refute them after listening to them."

Shi Jintang nodded, picked up the cigar and lit it slowly, exhaling a puff of smoke before speaking slowly.

"please say."

“The cabinet believes that the amount of compensation can be increased appropriately, but the installment period can be set longer.

In addition, the punishment of the main generals of the British Expeditionary Force must be left to the mainland.

In addition, we need to negotiate an amnesty program that would exempt the vast majority of captured soldiers from their crimes.

The two Boer countries can be merged into the South China Company, and the South China Company will be completely independent. Britain will no longer interfere in any affairs of the South China Company in the future. "

Hearing what the British said, Shi Jintang was immediately unhappy.

"Minister Chamberlain, you are so insincere. You refused to agree to any of the important requests I made.

Let me just use my own independent right to speak. I have seen shameless people, but I have never seen anyone as shameless as you. It really opened my eyes! "

Minister Chamberlain also knew that Shi Jintang would not agree, but the will of the cabinet and the royal family were very stubborn.

"Sir Henry, I can understand your feelings, but you must also understand the difficulties of the royal family and the cabinet. The dignity of the royal family cannot be desecrated, and the opinions of Prime Minister Balfour of the cabinet are also very strong..."

"Snapped!"

Shi Jintang took action with anger, and the pens on the table were so shocked that they jumped up.

"So the British Empire doesn't want the Cape and Natal colonies. It's better to wait until I capture Cape Town and then we can continue the negotiations. Goodbye!"

After speaking, Shi Jintang put out his cigar in the ashtray and turned to leave.

"Sir Henry, wait a minute, how about your title being promoted to Marquis?"

Shi Jintang snorted and left.

……

On May 5, two brigades of the Lunda Garrison Division dispatched troops from De Aar towards Cape Town, while the East African Garrison Division led troops to attack the Natal Colony.

On June 6, the South China Army, together with the Boers, occupied all the territory of the Natal colony except Durban Port and other coastal areas.

Next, the South China garrison gathered in the Cape Colony and marched towards Cape Town.

……

On June 6, the American media took the lead in revealing that Mr. Ouyang Geng, the representative of Nanhua Company, had negotiated patent authorizations for new weapons with various interested countries.

Next, Mr. Ouyang Geng will negotiate with the German government on Nanhua Company's joining Germany.

The sharp-eyed French media took the lead in reprinting the news from the American media, and then other European countries reprinted it.

As soon as this news came out, the whole of Europe was in an uproar. The British people were very angry about this. They were even more angry that the cabinet had lost power and humiliated the country. Not only was it unable to appease the South China Company, but it also caused the South China Company to switch to Germany.

……

The German government is also angry about this matter. This negotiation is so confidential, why did the news leak out?

Therefore, the German government immediately came out to refute the rumor, "claiming that the Americans' information was wrong and that the German government was only negotiating with Nanhua Company to authorize new weapons."

The British government also immediately issued a statement: The cabinet has a dispute with Lord Stone of the South China Company on the issue of the British Expeditionary Force. The two parties are still in the negotiation process. The South China Company's joining Germany is purely a false rumor published by the unscrupulous media.

The American media immediately quit and directly explained in newspapers that their sources were absolutely reliable and were revealed by government insiders.

Now the civil servants in the German government are immediately paralyzed. Why are you still implicating us in your secret negotiations?

……

Just as Cape Town was about to fall, Minister Chamberlain contacted Shi Jintang again, claiming that the cabinet had really made concessions this time and please start the third negotiation as soon as possible. (End of chapter)