Chapter 391 The sheep enters the tiger's mouth
The Kingdom of Swaziland is a little-known small country. Even historically, the United Kingdom only turned it into a semi-colonial country in 1907. Generally, there are only two situations when the British do this. One is that they cannot eat, and the other is that they really have no food. For what it’s worth, the Kingdom of Swaziland falls into the latter category.
But now the Swazi people are in bad luck. As the saying goes, if people sit at home, disaster will come from the sky. A group of troops who don't know where they came from directly attacked the Kingdom of Swaziland.
The Kingdom of Swaziland is only a small country with a population of tens of thousands. Despite its small area and small population, Swaziland is actually located in one of the most densely populated areas in Africa.
In the 19th century, the entire population of Africa was only over 90 million, of which Egypt (including Sudan) and the Abyssinian Empire accounted for more than 20 million, and the East African Kingdom plus black people accounted for more than 27 million. The three countries had almost It accounts for half of the population of Africa. If we exclude North African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, the population of other regions in Africa may only be about 40 million. This shows what Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, has to do with its vast land and sparse population. degree.
This is mainly due to the low level of civilization of black people who originated in West Africa. As a result, they are still in the primitive social stage after spreading to the entire region. In primitive societies, the population growth is basically constant. Although there are many births, there are also many deaths.
Therefore, the environment has a great impact on the African population. The Nile River coast of Egypt, the Great Lakes region of East Africa, the Abyssinian Empire, West Africa, the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the Lake Malawi region and the northeastern region of South Africa are currently several densely populated areas in Africa.
Swaziland is located in the northeastern region of South Africa, next to Maputo, the capital of the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, the Kingdom of Zulu, the British colony of Natal, the Republic of Transvaal, and the buffer state between East Africa and Mozambique— Gaza Empire (indigenous nation).
Swaziland is less than 100 kilometers away from Maputo. After East Africa occupies this place, it can pose a direct threat to the capital of Mozambique.
The King of Swaziland stood next to Felix and introduced the situation of the Kingdom of Swaziland to Felix.
"The east of my country is the country of the Portuguese, and the southeast is the barbarians of the Zulu Kingdom. A few years ago, the west was occupied by the Boers. Because the land is barren and the terrain is complex, generally no one will come to our country. Come from the Kingdom of Silan.”
I have to say that the Swazis are relatively casual. They are of the same origin as the Zulu people, but they have completely different personalities. After encountering the East African army, they directly chose to surrender without any hesitation.
This made Felix very helpless. He originally thought that as an indigenous country, there should always be wars to enjoy, but in the end, they did not resist at all.
Felix: "Well, I know this very well. This place is indeed not suitable for human habitation."
But this is not a reason for the Kingdom of Swaziland to continue to exist. East Africa's strategic intention this time is obviously to control the Transvaal and the Zulu Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Swaziland is located at a key point in East Africa's southward movement.
“Your attitude should be unique to the whole of Africa, so I will respond to the Kingdom of Swaziland and strive for some good conditions for you,” Felix said.
How to deal with the issue of the Kingdom of Swaziland is indeed difficult to handle. People have been so cooperative. Of course, we can’t be too rough. This matter should be left to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to have a headache in the future!
At this moment, the messenger suddenly came over and reported: "Commander-in-Chief, our people found an unknown force in the southeast, and they are coming towards Swaziland."
Felix: "Unknown forces are armed! What's going on?"
“It’s a white armed force, but I don’t know if it’s Portuguese or Boer armed force.”
“How many are they?”
“There should be three or four thousand people.”
"How is this possible, General! We in the Kingdom of Swaziland have always loved peace."
Of course, the King of Swaziland said this, but he didn’t think so in his heart. The main reason is that Swaziland has a too small population and poor military strength, otherwise he would have left this poor place long ago. The Kingdom of Swaziland has been here since the 16th century and has no chance to expand outwards. Mainly because the Zulu people, who are all compatriots, are too aggressive and are desperate lunatics. As for the indigenous kingdoms in the north, they have no influence on Swaziland. For Lan people, it is a "big country".
Felix said to the messenger: "Let our people stop them. If they are Portuguese, then invite their chiefs to come and talk. If they are Boers, then fight directly."
If you don’t take the initiative to ask, you really may not be able to tell where you are from. The appearance of Portuguese and Boer armed forces does not tell you anything.
At this time, the Boers on the mountainside were also confused. There were actually people from other forces here! Isn’t it said that Swaziland is a black kingdom?
So both sides looked at each other carefully. At this time, someone had recognized the East African military uniforms. They were probably the East Africans who invaded the Transvaal.
“Who are you?” shouted the East African soldier.
When the soldiers from the Transvaal Republic on the other side heard this,
“It’s German, it seems to be East Africa without a doubt!”
“What should we do now!”
The Boer commander said: "Ignore them, we will return to the original route for the time being."
By this time, Felix's messenger had arrived, "Commander Belk, the commander said that if there are Boers on the other side, they should stay."
Although it was not yet clear whether the people on the other side were Boers, seeing the people on the other side wanting to run away made Belk unable to sit still.
“Send my military order and don’t let the Boers on the other side run away!”
At present, Belk only has one brigade of troops, but the Boers are tired of traveling and traveling up the mountains, which consumes a lot of energy, leaving the East African Army to wait and see.
As the bugle sounded, the Second Brigade of the Mountain Division came out like a tiger from its cage. Belk took the lead and led the troops to rush directly towards the Boers.
This put the Boers who originally wanted to sneak away in an instant dilemma. Coupled with the terrain restrictions of the mountain road, they could not disperse. The retreat turned into a rout, and a stampede was unavoidable. The entire army was in a mess. On the other hand, the East African Army was in a high position. The advantage of playing low was brought into play, and the mountain division was obviously more adaptable to this kind of terrain, and they were able to walk quickly on the Drakensberg Mountain Road. In less than two hours, the East African Mountain Division ended the battle, and all the main Boers were captured.
Felix, who heard the sound of fighting, also led his troops and asked the captured Boer commander: "Are you the main force of the Transvaal Republic?"
"Yes, sir!"
“Then how come you are in Swaziland?”
"Alas, because Pretoria urgently summoned our troops to return to defense, the Zulu Kingdom noticed our abnormality, so the Zulu people sent out heavy troops to encircle and suppress us. Although we tried hard to get rid of the Zulu people, we were unable to do so. Unable to open a breakthrough, we had no choice but to pass through the Kingdom of Swaziland and then return to the Transvaal."
Felix laughed out loud after hearing this. This did not work out. Instead, he got into the tiger's mouth and got himself military glory for nothing.
(End of this chapter)