Chapter 384: Taking orders in times of danger
“You bastard, you still have the nerve to come back alive!” Little Pretorius slapped Wiggins in the face who had escaped from East Africa.
As the President of the Transvaal Republic, Pretorius Jr. should have retired from the position of President of the Transvaal Republic this year, but the sudden invasion of East Africa caused him to stay in this position again.
As the eldest son of Andres Pretorius, the leader who led the Boers to complete the Great Migration, Pretorius Jr.’s prestige among the Boers was unrivaled. He was also the governor of the Transvaal. The leaders of the Republic and the Orange Free State pushed for the merger of the two countries, but they failed because the methods were too rough or the spoils were unevenly divided.
Wiggins' face was left with a bright red slap mark, and he felt a slight burning pain, but facing little Pretorius, he didn't dare to take a breath.
"Your Excellency, this is all a conspiracy by the East Africans. They did not tell me that this letter was a declaration of war, and they handed it to me casually. This was obviously a deliberate attempt to paralyze me and make me careless. Then they attacked the Transvaal while I was delivering the letter, so the East Africans were already very ambitious, and they had planned all this!" Wiggins said.
"Huh, it's useless to say more now. Because of your negligence, at least we lost several days of reaction time. Now the East Africans are coming from the banks of the Limpopo River towards Pretoria at a high speed, but we have no way to do it. Mobilizing the army to stop such a huge responsibility cannot be dismissed with just a simple East African conspiracy!"
Although little Pretorius now wanted to drag out Wiggins, a guy who had failed to achieve anything but failed, and shot him, he did not do so. In the final analysis, he still planned and secretly supported the Ndebele people's rebellion. , not only did it not cause any losses to East Africa, but it also left a clue. However, the East African Kingdom was so careless that it invaded the Transvaal just because of this incident. In any case, it must bear the main responsibility for this incident. .
Just when Pretorius was thinking about how to deal with Wiggins, the door of the President's office was pushed open, "Report to Your Excellency the President! The latest news is that the East Africans have captured Petersburg and are now far away from Pretoria. The distance is less than a hundred miles!”
After hearing this, little Pretorius was horrified and said: "Asshole, when did Petersburg fall? And when will the main force fighting the Zulus in the east return to support Pretoria?"
"Your Excellency, it was three days ago that Petersburg fell. Our people had to kill two horses to get the news back as quickly as possible. As for our troops, they have no news yet. They are probably being captured. The Zulus were entangled and could not escape for a while.”
"Asshole!" Little Pretorius slapped his hands on the table angrily. After calming down, Little Pretorius thought about it. He said to the senior government officials with a sullen face: "Is there anything you can do? Stop the East Africans?”
The important officials of the Transvaal Republic government in the office looked at each other in confusion.
"Your Excellency, with all due respect, our Transvaal is like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in front of East Africa. Especially after the fall of Petersburg, there is no barrier in front of Pretoria. This is mainly because we underestimated The East Africans were so ambitious that they should have deployed more troops on the south bank of the Limpopo River, otherwise we would not be as passive as we are today."
"Yes, Your Excellency, the militiamen in Petersburg are almost the only troops we can use besides the troops fighting the Zulu. Now they are all prisoners, and now we want to carry out another attack from the Transvaal Republic." It’s too late to mobilize, the East Africans will not give us this time.”
The officials were talking about it, but no one could give an answer. Little Pretorius almost chewed his molars after looking at the food and wine bags in front of him.
Even though the Orange Free State is not as large as the Transvaal Republic, its current population is much larger than that of the Transvaal. This is all due to the development of the Kimberley diamond mines and the fact that the Orange Free State is closer to the Republic of Transvaal. Cape Town, the first stop for the Cape Boers heading north was the Orange Free State.
Now the East African troops have invaded the Transvaal in three groups, and most of the country has been lost. There are only two ways to prevent resistance, and that is to call back the troops fighting the Zulus and seek help from our brothers, the Orange Free State. . The first one is obviously too late. After Pretorius Jr. received the news of the attack on the Transvaal Republic in East Africa, he urged the main force of the Boers to return for reinforcements almost every day. However, Pretoria and the Zulu Kingdom The junction is far away and it will take at least a week for the news to arrive.
Even if there was no interference from the Zulus, it would be impossible for them to return to Pretoria within ten days and a half. This is still an ideal situation. If it is not ideal, the main force will be held back by the Zulus and will never be able to attack. Withdraw from the front lines. The Transvaal Republic, where the main force was not present, fought against the East Africans, just like a man without arms, who could only be beaten unilaterally.
"Your Excellency, there is no better way now. However, you can only go to the Orange Free State to ask for help. Only your prestige can unite all the Boers to recapture us Boers." home.”
This is not a compliment, but a fact. As a descendant of Boer heroes, Pretorius Jr., like Napoleon III, can enjoy the political assets left by his father. Pretorius Sr. is the heart of the Boers. The God of War in the story is the one who can continuously lead the Boers to victory.
Little Pretorius could only sigh and said: "Well, it is true that only I can handle this matter, but the government will also follow me south. We will continue to preside over the fight against the East African invaders in the south, but Pretorius Leah, as the capital and military powerhouse, must leave one person behind to resist the East African invasion. Who among you will stay?"
This was a proposition. All the Boer officials retreated a little. It was impossible to hold Pretoria. At least according to the news sent back from Petersburg, the strength displayed by the East African Army should not be underestimated.
“Your Excellency, let me do it!” At this time, a voice came. When everyone saw it, it turned out to be Wiggins!
"you?"
"Yes, President, I know that holding Pretoria is a luxury, but the invasion of East Africa itself was caused by my mistake, so I am willing to bear the consequences, but the thought of being shot by one of my own people is not as good as Fighting with the East Africans in **** battles is a pleasure, and I will die on the battlefield even if I die, so I implore the president to give me this opportunity!" Wiggins said.
Little Pretorius did not answer Wiggins, but asked everyone again: "No one wants to stay in Pretoria!"
No one answered.
“Well, okay! Wiggins will leave this opportunity to you. In fact, you don’t have to defend Pretoria, as long as you can inflict heavy losses on the East Africans.”
Wiggins shook his head and said: "I have made up my mind to live or die with Pretoria."
No one doubted Wiggins' ability. In fact, Wiggins was sent to serve as a military advisor to the Ndebele people because of Wiggins' military ability. He was an expert at fighting the Zulus, despite his kindness as an advisor. The Pele people were defeated by East Africa, but this does not blame Wiggins. After all, he is only an advisor, not the real commander.
(End of this chapter)