Chapter 385 Incitement
Immediately, Pretorius the Younger appointed Wiggins as the garrison commander of Pretoria, but Wiggins needed to recruit the soldiers himself, because there were not many people in Pretorius the Younger's organization to resist the East African invasion. He didn't have many soldiers in his hands.
Pretorius Jr. said to the polished commander Wiggins: "At the time of the country's survival, there are still many citizens who don't know much about the German style. In fact, from the moment they invaded the Transvaal Republic, , I knew that they were not good friends. The Germans attacked the Transvaal just for land. However, some citizens naively thought that they were just changing their rulers, and chose not to resist and allowed the Germans to invade. They would definitely regret it in the future. Nothing compares to my own choice today.”
In fact, some Boers don't care much about the so-called East African invasion. Aren't East Africans Germans? So what are you afraid of? In fact, the vast majority of Boers are not disgusted with German rule. The Boers are mainly composed of white immigrants from the Netherlands, Germany and France, and they have some affinity with Germany.
Of course, if the Boer farmers knew the policy of the East African Kingdom, they would definitely say to East Africa, as Pretorius the Younger said, **** Prussian barbarians!
Nowadays, East Africa aims to control the entire Transvaal Republic. The Boer farmers have not yet been exposed to the governance model and methods of the East African Kingdom. Therefore, many Boers who do not know what is going on even take the initiative to welcome the "King's Master" and cannot get through. How long will it take for them to become the most determined anti-East Africans?
Wiggins: "Your Excellency, since you handed over Pretoria to me, I will definitely guard it until the last moment. However, I need manpower. Even if it is not many, I must ensure that the initial recruitment and mobilization are completed." , use all the power of Pretoria to fight against the East African gangs!”
Little Pretorius nodded and said, "Yes, but I can only leave you a team of people."
Wiggins: “That’s enough!”
Wiggins’s view was consistent with that of Pretorius the Younger. East Africa was not here to help the Boers alleviate poverty. If they just wanted to rule the Transvaal Republic, there was no need to launch a war. They could talk first and fight later.
If Ernst knew about Wiggins's idea, he would definitely sneer at it. It sounds nice to talk first and ask later, but I don't know whether the Boers negotiated with the British or with East Africa. The East African Kingdom does not have such great prestige. , convinced the Boers through negotiations, they could completely wait for a price between Britain and East Africa, or even choose no one and continue to be autonomous. Ernst's attack on the Transvaal Republic was to prevent the Boers from making any reaction. At that time, the Boers will have no right to choose. War is like this, winner takes all.
After handing over the management of Pretoria, Pretorius Jr. took a group of his supporters south to the Orange Free State, while Wiggins, who was in danger, prepared to carry out general mobilization in Pretoria. Resist the East African Army here.
Wiggins, who has monopolized the military and political power in Pretoria, first faced the issue of conscription, so he first launched a public opinion offensive against the citizens of Pretoria. Now people in Pretoria towns are panicked. Is there a war? Everyone is worried. They were no strangers, and no one knew what the military discipline was like or their attitude towards civilians, so Wiggins used rumors to make the people of Pretoria re-understand the East African Kingdom.
"Citizens of Pretoria! You may not know much about the so-called East African Kingdom, but I believe some of you definitely know about Prussia, and the East African Kingdom is a kingdom of soldiers that is even more barbaric than Prussia and implements a reign of terror. , as a Boer who once served a sentence in the prison of the East African Kingdom, I can tell you some of the conditions in the East African Kingdom 'truthfully'."
Sure enough, Wiggins’s words aroused heated discussion among the citizens of Pretoria.
"Willett, you are asking the right person. My grandfather fled to Africa from Prussia. He told me that under the rule of Prussia, people really did not take people seriously. They raised troops to fight every year and recruited soldiers from civilians. Moreover, military discipline in the army is extremely poor. Noble officers often withhold food and use sticks to educate the soldiers below..."
Harred sprayed all over Prussia's crimes. In fact, these are all truth. In Grandpa Harled's time, Prussian rule was like this. It was not the Germany of today, nor was it the reformed Prussia. In Grandpa Harled's time, there were many German immigrants all chose to leave for various reasons. The former German regions were indeed unlivable. Who could bear the war and taxation every year? Willett: "Oh my God? It's terrible. We must not let the Transvaal become that kind of country!"
Wiggins, who was speaking at this time, continued: "While I was captured by the vicious East Africans, I also noticed their composition and lifestyle. The entire East African kingdom was just a big military camp. There were no so-called free people. Everyone All must accept the sanctions of strict laws and accept the rule of the East African Kingdom like sheep, and the king of the East African Kingdom is a member of the Prussian Hohenzollern family..."
What Wiggins said was true. In fact, he had no contact with civilians in East Africa. In order to prevent him from stealing intelligence, the East African Kingdom imprisoned him in the palace in Bulawayo and did not allow him to contact anyone, so Wiggins's **** of East Africa is conjecture, exaggeration and smear.
However, the Boers below believed that what Wiggins said must be right. After all, many Boer ancestors at the scene really came from Prussia. Wiggins's statement was in line with the image of Prussia described by his grandfathers.
Seeing that the emotions of the masses were aroused, Wiggins said: "Then can everyone allow the East African tyrants to impose Europe's backward autocratic monarchy on us!"
“Of course it’s not allowed!”
“Then can you allow the East African Kingdom to turn beautiful Pretoria into a ghastly military camp?”
“Not allowed, down with the East African invaders, long live the Transvaal Republic!”
…
Wiggins achieved the great cause of conscription by mobilizing public sentiment. It seems to have been completed so far. The citizens of Pretoria actively joined the army, allowing Wiggins to assemble an army of more than 2,000 people.
The next headache for Wiggins is how to defeat the East Africans. Pretoria is originally a defensive town, so it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Defense is not difficult. If Pretoria can be used well, then persist until It is not difficult for reinforcements to arrive.
Based on the situation of the East African Army during the last Ndebele uprising, Wiggins began to carry out targeted education for his soldiers to weaken the image of the East African Army. “Although the East African Army imitated Prussia in every aspect, they did not learn the essence and only showed their appearance. , in the battle between the Ndebele and the Germans, the performance of the East African army was such that any European instructor would shake his head. It was full of loopholes. The reason why it was able to win was entirely due to the advanced weapons and the lack of the Ndebele people. Training, many people do not know how to operate muskets, and the weapons we provided turned into fire sticks in their hands. This is the reason why the Ndebele people failed."
According to Wiggins, the East African Army is vulnerable. As long as it encounters an army with some experience, it will be defeated. The Boers, not to mention an army that has fought hundreds of battles, are often in tit-for-tat with the Zulu Kingdom in the east. So the advantage lies with us. , using the terrain and architecture of Pretoria to give East Africa a head-on blow.
(End of this chapter)