Chapter 327 Going south
Geographical conditions in East Africa do not have rivers with high shipping value. One is due to topography, as all large rivers pass through areas with large drops, and the other is due to climate, which has large seasonal differences in rivers.
The construction of canals in the Central Province avoids the above two problems. The terrain in the Central Province is relatively flat, and the natural rivers have navigation value. Although the rivers in the Central Province also have seasonality, even in the dry season, the precipitation is very sufficient.
For example, the Ulugulu Mountains, one of the birthplaces of the Wami River and the Little Rhine River, has an annual average precipitation of more than 3000 mm. The Ulugulu Mountains are actually the eastern extension of the East African Plateau. The terrain suddenly rises to intercept Most of the water vapor from the Indian Ocean has been removed, which is why the precipitation in the city of Dodoma west of the Ulu Guru Mountains has dropped precipitously.
The Rufiji River is even more exaggerated. Its source comes from the mountains along Lake Malawi, and it flows through a large area. At the same time, it strengthens again in the middle, and the precipitation in the downstream catchment area is also large.
…
After half a month of marching, the counter-insurgency army composed of the border guards of South Salzburg Province and some militia armed forces led by Stewart personally took the Luangwa River to Bulawayo, the capital of the Kingdom of Matabele.
The Ndebele people along the way can't resist the aggressive South Salzburg border guards. The South Salzburg army is used to deal with the Portuguese army and ensure that East Africa connects the Tanganyika region and the Katanga plateau corridor. The strategic troops belonged to the regular East African troops, and their combat effectiveness was naturally not bad.
Three months ago, graduates of the Hechingen Military Academy and students who participated in the Franco-Prussian War were incorporated into various main forces in East Africa after they arrived in East Africa, and conducted special training for the main forces in East Africa.
The South Salzburg Border Guard is one of them. The South Salzburg Border Guard is all equipped with Dreiser rifles, and at the same time equipped with 18 light-duty movable artillery pieces. The light paper strength is relatively explosive in the sub-Saharan area.
This era is still the era of rifles and artillery. Although the Dreiser rifle has fallen behind in Europe, it is only aimed at the military powers in Europe. Even the Dreiser rifle with many shortcomings in the Franco-Prussian War is not available in many European countries, such as the Kingdom of Portugal , the East African Kingdom equipped with Dreiser rifles is simply too much for Mozambique, a colony of the Kingdom of Portugal.
Sweite asked Kasos, the guide beside him, "How many kilometers are there left to reach Bulawayo?"
"Report to the Chief of Staff, we have about 40 kilometers left to cross the small river in front of us." Kasos replied.
Switter: "Are you sure the depth of this river can be waded directly!"
Kasos: "Yes, even in the rainy season, the depth of this river will not exceed 50 centimeters, and the deepest depth is only about one meter. We used to often wade across the river, so we are very familiar with it."
Kasos is a survivor who escaped from the previous Ndebele rebellion. When some East African strongholds developed the Ndebele rebellion, they knew that something was wrong and ran away early. In this way, facing hundreds of Ndebele people, it would be strange not to run away.
But there must be conditions for running. The communication base in the stronghold with horses is fine, but the armed personnel in the stronghold without horses can only choose to compete with the Ndebele people.
The advantage of armed men in East Africa lies in their durability, while the African natives are explosive in short distances. The Zimbabwe natives are different from the natives on the East African plateau. They are not good at running because they belong to half-footed agricultural and animal husbandry civilization. All because of the Ndebele people.
The Ndebele people come from the Zulu kingdom and are relatively knowledgeable. The Shona people they enslave themselves have a relatively high level of civilization among African indigenous people. The Shona people live on agriculture and animal husbandry, and have mastered rough iron making Alchemy technology.
Indigenous people engaged in farming and animal husbandry do not need to rely on hunting for a living like the Bantu tribes in East Africa, so they don’t have to chase prey all day long, and their long-distance running ability is not strong.
The East African troops, including the militia, are all well-trained. In addition, in this era, everyone is in good physical condition, so the two sides are mainly fighting for their understanding of the terrain and endurance. In terms of physical strength, the East African armed personnel are not at a disadvantage.
Casos escaped from the encirclement and suppression of the Ndebele people by virtue of his amazing perseverance and long-term activities here, and he has a better understanding of the terrain.
With the live map of Kasos, it is much easier for Sitte to carry out his actions.
He ordered: "Send the order, the whole army is ready to cross the river."
Fortunately, the natives don’t know the art of war, but if they have some military concepts, they lie in ambush by the river, and when the East African army crosses the river, they attack halfway. The East African army will definitely suffer heavy losses. Unfortunately, many indigenous people can't even count five fingers, so the East African army went deep into the Matabele Plateau again smoothly.
Ndebele people must be knowledgeable, but they are all concentrated in the capital. After all, knowledge-based talents should give priority to serving Lobengula.
The prime minister appointed by Lobengula is a top talent with a wealth of knowledge among the indigenous people, who knows the simplest mathematical operations. His father is a Swahili businessman, so he has also learned some superficial knowledge of mathematics.
Basically, the tax work of the Matabele Kingdom is monopolized by his family. Most of the leaders of the Lobengula and Ndebele people are warriors who only know how to use violence. Therefore, managing the delicate work of the country requires their own family Come.
The benefits are also obvious. As long as the basic needs of the Ndebele people are met, most of the remaining taxes will go into the pockets of the prime minister's family.
The Ndebele people rely on the Shona for support, and 20% of the wealth created by the Shona goes into the pocket of the prime minister through taxation. Lobengula doesn't understand this at all. He only knows how to control the army. rule will be as solid as a rock.
Therefore, as long as the prime minister can get money to support himself in expanding his army and upgrading his equipment, he can continue to be the "King of Kings". .
Bulawayo.
The East African army came from the north, and Lobengula also got the news. Looking at the northern military leaders who retreated from the front line and knelt on the ground begging for help, Lobengula was very angry. will cause trouble for himself.
Lobengula: "Look at your appearance! In the past, you were asked to obey the orders of the central government, and one or two would shirk each other. Whenever you met a white skin, you would be as timid as a mouse. It has completely embarrassed us Ndebele warriors. , and now dare to come to see me."
"The great 'King of Kings' is not because we don't work hard, but because the enemy's equipment is too powerful. Like the Boers, they are equipped with many firearms and cannons. No matter how brave our soldiers are, they cannot pass through flesh and blood. Body against bow and spear."
Lobengula: "Okay, don't say any more, failure is failure, don't look for reasons, I only look at the results, don't need any excuses, when my father led us to fight against the Boers, weapons were also at a disadvantage. You fought well, and now you don’t even want to resist, you must have been hollowed out by alcohol and sex, and you have forgotten the military traditions of our Ndebele people.”
Facing Lobengula's accusation, a group of military leaders who were nearly half a century old were silent, ah, yes! What you said is right, anyway, we have escaped now, so we have to cut us off for the sake of the old king!
(end of this chapter)