African Nationhood

July 1914, 7, Mapou Bay.

The battleship "King of Wei", the battlecruisers "Tongcheng", "Jinghai" and "Binhai", as well as 15 cruisers, 20 submarines and 3 "turtle-class" landing ships accompanied them.

This fleet is about to sail to the Western Pacific waters. Externally it is to protect the safety of South China's overseas bases, but internally it is to prepare for the attack on the islands in the Western Pacific.

The "Turtle-class" landing ship Nanhua Second Shipyard is still rushing to build it. This kind of landing ship is very suitable for the archipelago environment of the South Pacific.

After the subsequent construction is completed, it will continue to be dispatched to the South Pacific region.

As for the mainland, Madagascar and the Persian Gulf, the Navy Department has made careful arrangements.

Aircraft and submarine patrols and alerts are maintained in the two oceans all year round, and the conventional ships of the Wu and Shu fleets are enough to protect them without any risk.

Other overseas territories only need to be on alert to prevent enemy sneak attacks. Basically, there is no big problem.

The main battlefield of World War I was still in Europe, and the fighting intensity in other areas was very low.

But the battle in Africa, especially the battlefield in East Africa, Shi Jintang knew that this battle would not be easy.

The reason was that Paul von Lettow Vorbeck, the commander of the German East African colonies, was a very powerful opponent. In the current time and space, he traveled north and south in East Africa, as if he were in no one's land.

Portuguese East Africa and Rhodesia were all penetrated by him. Until the end of World War I, this still active man returned to Germany and was awarded the title of Major General. He was praised as a national hero.

There is no problem with the combat plan formulated by the staff department, but the problem lies in the actual combat on the battlefield.

Although South China has fought many wars since its establishment, the real tough battle was the South African War with the British.

In that war, South China had an overwhelming advantage in armaments, and the British commanders were not adapted to mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare.

The South China Army won the war with superior firepower and infantry skills. Generally speaking, the British army was more desperate.

The Nanhua Army has not experienced a thorough baptism of war. It has been too easy for the Nanhua Army over the years.

The German colonial troops they were about to face, from officers to soldiers, were all good at guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare. Chairman Shi Jintang was not optimistic about the specific results.

He has ordered the troops in the northern and eastern theaters to deploy heavy defense circles in the border areas of German East Africa in advance, hoping to keep the enemy out of the country.

After years of development in Nanhua, these hard-won achievements must not be destroyed by the war.

……

Europe's Herstal Arsenal issued a delay warning letter to all order customers. The dispute in the Balkans may lead to a large-scale war in Europe. At that time, military industry orders may be delayed or cancelled. Please understand.

A large number of engineers and technical employees at the Mercedes-Benz Automobile Factory have received job loan letters, and they will be seconded to Nanhua for half a year or a year.

At the same time, a large number of counterfeit banknotes have appeared in the U.S. market. These counterfeit banknotes are beautifully printed and difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake.

The agents of the U.S. Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor of the FBI) ​​were very angry, but they had no idea where the counterfeit bills came from.

……

On July 7, Prime Minister Ouyang Geng received the British Finance Minister David Lloyd George in the large conference room on the 10th floor of the newly decorated "Qin Government Affairs Building".

The British came here to discuss the purchase price of gold with Nanhua.

Nanhua had previously negotiated with the British that the two parties would negotiate the gold purchase price once every five years.

Now is the tenth year, just in time to start a new round of price negotiations.

The British Asquith cabinet has decided to join the war, so Minister George must sign a new agreement with South China to ensure that the gold produced by South China can only be sold to Britain when a war breaks out in Europe.

This negotiation was very difficult because Minister George had long experienced the power of the South Chinese.

In the last five-year negotiation, Nanhua insisted on a price of 5.5 pounds per ounce and refused to let go, biting the British hard.

Now that Europe is about to fall into a war, gold is much more reliable than paper money.

Once Britain declared war, there would soon be a bank run in London.

War may be a good thing for other countries, but for Britain, a country that mainly focuses on foreign investment, it is definitely a disaster.

Because the UK’s annual overseas investment amounts to 40 billion pounds, accounting for 43% of the world’s overseas investment.

(Nanhua only undertook less than one millionth of the investment, which is related to Nanhua’s unwillingness to sell state-owned mineral resources.

However, the Nanhua government's opening up of road transportation investment has attracted a lot of external investment. Capitalists from Britain, France, and Belgium have invested in railways in Nanhua. )
Once a war breaks out, all expected interest income will be wiped out, and there is even a risk of losing the principal.

Before Minister George came to South China, Walter Cunliffe, the governor of the Bank of England, implored him with tears in his eyes: "We must not get involved in the war, otherwise we will face destruction."

Unfortunately, Chancellor George is only the Minister of Finance and cannot be the boss of Prime Minister Asquith.

In the original time and space, all classes in the UK were very optimistic about the war. People took normal vacations, relaxation and entertainment. In their view, the "Sarajevo Incident" was nothing more than a dispute between a declining dynasty and a small country in the Balkan Peninsula.

Britain declared war on Germany, and during the expedition, the generals optimistically preached to his soldiers that this war would not last long, and maybe we would spend Christmas at home.

In 1914, the famous economist Keynes was only 31 years old and still teaching at Cambridge University.

That year he declared to friends that "the war will not last more than a year" because by then the liquidity available to support the war would be exhausted.

In November 1914, the French Finance Minister also confidently declared that the war would have to end before July 11 "because by then the money will be spent."

However, no one expected that this war would be so prolonged and brutal.

……

Bankers in London had accurately predicted half a year ago that a war would break out in Europe.

In February 1914, a memorandum was circulated within the British Banking Committee.

The memorandum warned: "In the event of war, foreigners have rights, and they will not hesitate to use their rights to demand exchange for gold coins, which will cause serious disorder in the financial order."

Moreover, at this time, many German merchant ship owners were insured through Lloyd's of London (insurance company).

In the event of a war between Britain and Germany, Lloyd's would have to pay for the German ships sunk by the Royal Navy. This discovery shocked British bankers.

Although bankers had already anticipated that the war was coming, they had no way to avoid it.

Because their rationality cannot stop the madness and greed of politicians and imperialists.

……

In order to fill the loopholes for the government and maintain the strength of the pound, Minister George must sign a wartime gold purchase contract with Nanhua no matter what when he comes this time.

Even if he paid a huge price, he could only grit his teeth and resist.

The negotiations were not going well. Ouyang Geng and Chairman Shi agreed that a European war was inevitable.

Whether he can get more out of Daying depends on whether Premier Ouyang is tough-talking.

Ouyang Geng insisted that the purchase price of wartime gold must be three times the current gold price, and Minister George could only agree to a price of two times at most.

The two sides were in a stalemate until the final moment.

……

On July 7, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I, who had received the Kaiser's promise, presented an "ultimatum" to Serbia.

The Serbian government stated within a limited time that they could only accept all terms except those that violated its own constitution and undermined sovereignty.

On July 7, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because the Serbian government did not accept all terms.

The First World War officially broke out.

On July 7, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire began mobilizing for war.

On July 7, Germany issued a "double ultimatum" to France and Russia.

On August 8, France and Germany began war mobilization, and Germany declared a state of war with Russia.

On August 8, German troops entered the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

On August 8, Germany declared war on France, and Britain began mobilizing for war.

On August 8, Germany declared war on the Kingdom of Belgium, and Britain declared war on Germany.

On August 8, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.

……

Ouyang Geng held the telegram in his hand and looked at the Finance Minister opposite with a smile, "Minister George, do you still insist?"

David Lloyd George reluctantly put down the pen in his hand and said dejectedly: "Okay, Prime Minister Ouyang, you win, I agree to your terms."

At this point, Nanhua and Minister George signed a wartime gold purchase price of 16.5 pounds per ounce.

(The price signed between the Union of South Africa and the United Kingdom in the original time and space was 13.5 pounds per ounce)

Because Britain, the sovereign country, had declared war on Germany, the South China Autonomous Territory also automatically entered a state of war against the German Federation. (End of chapter)