Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 230 Old Friends

Henry's wedding was faster than Rock had imagined. Before the racehorse that Rock was going to give Henry arrived in Cape Town, Henry's wedding had already arrived.

The racehorse that Roque gave Henry was called "Race Assault", a purebred Arabian horse with a price as high as eleven thousand pounds. Roque entrusted Winston to buy it from London, and Winston became famous because of it. Some people say that Winston made a fortune during his stay in Cape Town, which stimulated more British people to come to Johannesburg to seek gold.

This result made both Adelaide and Philip very happy. The Transvaal really needs immigrants so much. The Transvaal Immigration Bureau advertised in The Times of London for a week, and the sensational effect caused by it could not match that of Roque. the big bucks—

Not just throwing a lot of money, this throwing is worth more than ten thousand gold, 80 pounds is almost equivalent to [-] kilograms of gold.

Rock, as the best man, accompanied Henry throughout the wedding process.

Because of Henry's status, almost all the dignitaries in the Transvaal attended Henry's wedding. Even the current Governor of Cape, Walter Henry Hutchinson, also attended the wedding scene in person. Roque was dressed in a military uniform, majestic and majestic, almost stealing Henry's limelight.

It's not that Rock is unconventional, Henry's best man is either a policeman or a soldier, and all of them are in uniform, except for Henry who wears a formal dress.

After the wedding, Rock rode and accompanied Henry's wedding car back to Henry's home in Pretoria. The wedding car Henry used was the Dalem that Stoudemire bought, which was a gift from Stoudemire to Henry.

Along the way, Rock saw many Boers standing on the side of the road in groups, looking at Henry's wedding car with indifference and hatred. A few sporadic ones couldn't bear it, and they were all mixed in the crowd When the plainclothes police arrested them, most of the Boers remained silent, even if the police arrested them in the street, they did not resist.

This situation made Rock secretly startled.

"That's right, those Boers are like this. They won't directly resist and just watch you silently. Your Excellency the Governor underestimated the Boers' hatred for the British Empire, and London doesn't even know what's going on here." After returning home, Henry relax.

"Your Excellency the Governor should know." Rock didn't think Ade didn't know, Ade was still very capable.

"Perhaps you know, the governor now means to vigorously develop the economy of the Transvaal, so that these Boers can live a better life than in the previous Transvaal Republic, so that the Boers may forget about their hatred and accept the empire. rule." Henry's tone was not very optimistic, and Adelaide also made an empirical mistake. The Boers in Cape will accept imperial rule, but it does not mean that the Boers in Transvaal will accept it.

It has been a hundred years since the British captured Cape from the Boers, and it took the British government a century to allow the local Boers in Cape to accept British rule.

Even after a hundred years, after the outbreak of the Second Boer War, there were still many Boers in the Cape who crossed the border to the Transvaal and Orange to join the coalition forces against the British colonial invasion. The number was almost 1.3. , accounting for one-tenth of the total number of Boers in the Cape.

Therefore, it will take at least 100 years for the Boers in Transvaal to accept imperial rule.

The time left for the interim government must be less than 100 years. In fact, Adelaide only stayed in the Transvaal for one term, and then left the Transvaal to return to the British mainland. By then, the Boers will make a comeback.

"They will never forget their hatred, at least not in this generation." Rock has a clear understanding of the current situation.

After the war, the high-level Boers, such as Louis Botha and Jan Smolts, were indeed willing to coexist peacefully with Britain, but the Boers at the bottom didn’t think so. The war did a lot of harm to the Boers at the bottom. Relatives of those who died in the war, or died in concentration camps for no reason, at least their generation will not forget the hatred.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lacey, who changed her dress and wore a long white dress, brought black tea to Rock and Henry, and did not forget to say hello to Rock: "Hi, Sir Locke."

In fact, it was the first time for Rock to meet Lacey today. According to tradition, Henry and Lacey couldn't meet before marriage, so Rock, who was inseparable from Henry, didn't have the chance to meet Lacey either.

"Hello, Mrs. Farwalt, just call me Locke." Rock is thoughtful and polite, at least he will not make mistakes in addressing.

Henry's title is "Baron Fawalt", and his full name should be "Henry Matilda, Baron Fawalt". He is called "Lord Fawalt". Ma'am", these titles should not be confused.

"I know, Henry often mentions you. If I call you Locke, then you can call me Lacey. You can talk slowly—" Lacey had a cheerful personality, and when she said goodbye, she kissed Henry on the cheek.

Oops, a handful of dog food caught off guard.

Rock felt his teeth a little sore.

"For Lacey's sake, we also need to ensure the stability of the Transvaal." Henry said seriously.

Rock knew what Henry was talking about, and of course Henry was referring to not only Lacey, but also: Phyllis, Owen, Philip Matilda, etc., all people related to Henry and Rock.

"I don't dare to say the whole Transvaal, at least I can guarantee Johannesburg." Roque dare not say too much, as for the current situation in Pretoria, Roque is really not optimistic.

"That's enough. If it doesn't work, we'll go back to Johannesburg and concentrate on mining." Henry laughed loudly. He now has a knighthood. As long as he has gold in his hand, he will enjoy the treatment of an emperor anywhere in the world.

"Hehehehe, then you have to dig a bigger basement." Rock is not as chic as Henry. In Johannesburg, Rock has more bonds than Henry.

In the evening, there was a dinner in the restaurant of the Palace of Justice, and Rock was finally summoned by Ade alone.

"I heard that Bigwig Town is very good." Ade started from Bigwig Town. He said that Bigwig Town has become very famous during this period. There are officials in Pretoria who send their children to Bigwig Public School. There are already officials It is proposed that the railway should be extended from Johannesburg to Bigwig, so that the children of officials can travel by rail to Bigwig and Pretoria.

Of course, the officials who made this suggestion certainly did not use this purpose as an excuse. Their excuse was to connect all the towns in the Transvaal by railway, so that Pretoria’s rule over the Transvaal could be strengthened.

Not to mention, Adelaide is seriously considering this proposal. After the war, the Transvaal must restore the economy. Adelaide’s thinking is similar to that of Roosevelt. He also uses large-scale engineering and construction to win the hearts of the people. Railways, but also roads, water conservancy facilities, schools, etc., etc. need to be built.

"It can only be said to be passable." Rock is really not modest, and Bigwild Town is still far from Rock's request.

"Is it possible to replicate the model of Bigwig Town in other places?" Ade had the same idea as Philip.

Rock really wanted to say it was impossible, but he didn't want to hit Adelaide, so he looked at Adelaide rather speechlessly.

Ade is also looking at Rock.

"It is unlikely to be replicated. The Johannesburg Agricultural Association puts its headquarters in Bigwig Town, so the slaughterhouse and meat and dairy processing plants have to be placed elsewhere. Johannesburg doesn't need too many Bigwig schools." Rock tried his best to pick the words that Ade could accept.

Ade was noncommittal, and suddenly said a sentence: "The Boers are returning."

"I know." Rock reacted quickly this time.

"The peace agreement will be signed next week. All the guerrillas will send people to come, and you will come too." Ade seemed careless.

"Okay." Rock agreed with all his mouth, but his heart was turbulent. Does this mean to verify his integrity?

In fact, it is not true. The negotiations have been protracted, the military expenditure of the British government is increasing, and the Boers are suffering in the concentration camps. When the Boers no longer insist on national independence, the biggest obstacle to the negotiations has actually disappeared, and the rest are some As for the minutiae, when Ade raised the compensation standard to 300 million pounds, the Boolean representative readily accepted the plan.

However, the representatives of the Boers also demanded the authorization of all the citizens. Therefore, representatives of the Cape guerrillas are rushing to Pretoria these days. President Stein, who is seriously ill, cannot sign the contract, so Dulwich General Teh was appointed acting president for 24 hours, and in fact, Orange had signed off, leaving only the Transvaal Republic.

After the signing, peace will truly come, the expeditionary force will gradually withdraw from the Transvaal, the command of the expeditionary force promises to end military control as soon as possible, the provisional government will really play a role, and the struggle between the British and the Boers will also enter a new era. stage.

As the police chiefs of Johannesburg and Pretoria, Rock and Henry will have heavy responsibilities at that time. If Ade wants to ensure the stability of the Transvaal, he must rely on Rock Henry's strength.

As for the garrisons in the Transvaal at that time, they are all colonial troops formed by the Cape Colonial Government, and there are many Boer members in them, so they are basically unreliable.

Rock and Ade were chatting, Ade's secretary hurried over and whispered a few words in Ade's ear.

Ade shook his head a little after hearing this, and didn't forget Roque when he got up: "Let's go, let's go out and have a look, maybe you still recognize your old friend."

old friend?

Rock was at a loss. In the Transvaal, Rock had almost no friends except Henry.

When they walked out of the lounge, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was a bit dignified. The two groups of people were clearly separated. They were confronting each other in the hall, and the surrounding guards were a little at a loss.

"Relax, friends, the war is over—" Ade appeared calm on the surface, and his feet were not at all easy: "Let me introduce you, Louis Botha—Sir Locke."

Louis Botha!

They are indeed old friends. Rock was deeply impressed when they met in Cape Town.

Louis Botha is not tall, with an impressive beard. His eyes are unusually large, and his face is similar to the legendary Zhang Fei, with a leopard head with ring eyes, swallow jaw and tiger beard.

Rock searched his brains, but he didn't connect Louis Botha in front of him with anyone in the team he remembered.

So Rock took the initiative to reach out: "Louis, hello, I'm Locke."

Louis Botha twitched the corner of his mouth with great difficulty, and smiled, reaching out to hold Rock's hand: "Hello, Sir Locke."

Louis Botha's hands are very rough, with obvious calluses on the palms, especially on the tiger's mouth. You can tell from the touch that he often plays with guns.

But Louis Botha's nails are neatly trimmed, there is no plaster in the nails, and the half-moon white is obvious. Although he is wearing a dress, he seems to be able to smell the smoke of gunpowder all over his body, which is incompatible with the resplendent banquet hall. A bull entering a china shop.

"Congratulations, Lord Farwater, please forgive me for coming uninvited." Louis Botha extended his hand to Henry to congratulate him.

Henry looked at Louis Botha with complicated eyes, and didn’t reach out his hand in time.

Rock coughed softly.

Only then did Henry come to his senses, and immediately held Louis Botha's hand: "It's okay, you are welcome, Louis, please forgive my rudeness."

On the blacklist of the Expeditionary Force Command, even if Louis Botha is not ranked first, he is also qualified to be ranked second. After Joubert was shot dead by the Cape Town police, Louis Botha succeeded Joubert as the commander-in-chief of the Boer coalition forces For a long time, under the leadership of Louis Botha, the Boers have been engaged in an indomitable guerrilla warfare with the expeditionary force.

Although Louis Botha is an out-and-out resister, in fact, Louis Botha is a moderate. During the Transvaal Republic, Louis Botha opposed the Transvaal Republic President Paul Kruger Boer’s policy against foreigners (mainly British immigrants). After the war broke out, as a member of the Boers, Louis Botha resolutely resisted the British invasion. After Paul Kruger went to Europe to seek support, Louis Botta Ta and Jan Smolts became the de facto leaders of the Boers.

"Okay, relax, gentlemen, the war is over, peace is coming, we should all look forward." Ade proposed, and Rock and Henry immediately toasted, the music started again, and the banquet hall was full of people. Laughter.

Rock clinked glasses with Louis Botha, walked to a corner of the hall, and sat down on a sofa.

"It's really a surprise. I thought I would see you in a few days. Come to Pretoria now, and you won't be afraid—" Rock didn't finish speaking, and I believe Louis Botha could understand what Rock meant.

Louis Botha did understand, but he was also very calm: "As His Excellency the Governor said just now, the war is over, and no one wants to fight again. If you want, of course you can catch us all, but what next? Dead Louis Botha, there will be Jan Smoltz, dead Jan Smoltz, and James Herzog, the Boers can never be killed, if you break your faith, the war will never stop, Until one side completely surrenders."

a party?

It's over if you just say that the Boers are not. I really don't know where Louis Botha's confidence comes from.

(End of this chapter)