Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 242 The Miracle of Rhodesia

Cursing is scolding, after cursing, Roque will help if he can. To put it bluntly, they are all poor people. Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda.

To put it mildly, if these women are settled well, they will save the police station trouble in the future.

In order to avoid the crowd, Scarlett bought a farm 20 kilometers away from Bigwig Town, which is more than [-] kilometers away from Johannesburg. It is remote and uninhabited. The only few farms were all destroyed by the expeditionary force. It was burned, and the stored hay was also burned, not to mention the livestock, and there was not a single wild dog.

Although Scarlett didn't want to rely on anyone, without Rock's help, this stupid woman probably wouldn't be able to survive the most difficult initial stage.

Rock called the construction team. First of all, he had to build enough farmhouses on the farm. These farmhouses were nothing special, they could provide shelter from the wind and rain, and a shelter was enough. Rock would also find someone to buy the livestock needed by the farm. After the expeditionary force withdrew, the supplies in the Johannesburg market gradually began to decrease. Food and living materials had to be purchased from Cape Town, livestock had to be imported from Australia, and prices began to soar. If Rock didn’t help, Scarlett’s little savings After a while, the women on the farm will starve to death.

In the entire Transvaal, it is estimated that there are more than [-] women who need to be taken care of by Scarlett. This is a hot potato. No matter what you say, you can only provide help within your ability.

In mid-March, Colonial Minister Joseph Chamberlain finished his inspection of Orange and arrived in Johannesburg, where he began to inspect the resettlement of Boers in the Transvaal.

Philip Matilda and a group of officials greet Joseph Chamberlain at the railway station.

Joseph Chamberlain is over 60 years old this year. Although he is over sixty years old, he is in a good state of mind. He does not need help when walking, and his thinking is still very quick. The only thing that can’t keep up with the situation is Joseph Chamberlain’s glasses. He wears still The kind of antique glasses with only one lens, it looks funny.

Although it is funny, no one dared to laugh at Joseph Chamberlain. In 1897, the United Kingdom held the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne. Representatives from various colonies gathered in London. Joseph Chamberlain took the opportunity to propose the establishment of an imperial parliament, but unfortunately no one responded.

The "Imperial Parliament" was definitely a very advanced idea in the nineteenth century. A similar organization, the "League of Nations", would not appear until 1920. If Joseph Chamberlain's proposal can be successful, then there will be no League of Nations in the future. "Empire The "Parliament" can completely replace the League of Nations and play an important role both domestically and internationally.

The temporary setback did not hit Joseph Chamberlain. Next year, Joseph Chamberlain will resign as the Colonial Minister, lead his supporters to organize the "Tariff Reform Alliance", and set off a massive tariff reform movement.

It is a pity that the "Tariff Reform Alliance" was also unsuccessful, and the impact was even greater. It not only split the Conservative Party, but also caused the largest parliamentary split in Britain since the Civil War in the 17th century.

At this time, Joseph Chamberlain was full of ambition. At the beginning of last year, Joseph Chamberlain promoted Australia to become a dominion, which made the United Kingdom one step closer to the "Commonwealth" in Joseph Chamberlain's mind. This time Joseph Chamberlain inspected Transvaal and Orange , It may be that there is no idea to promote the establishment of a self-governing dominion in South Africa.

The welcome luncheon was held in the official residence of Philip Matilda. Before Philip came to Johannesburg as mayor, he worked in the Colonial Affairs Department and was under Joseph Chamberlain. Now Philip and Joseph Chamberlain reunited in Johannesburg. The two We had a good time talking.

Roque, as the chief of police, also attended the welcome luncheon. Sitting next to Roque was Joseph Chamberlain's son, Neville Chamberlain.

Yes, that is the famous "appeasement" Chamberlain.

Now Neville Chamberlain has just turned 33 years old. He has not entered the political arena, because the Chamberlain family has entered the political arena. Brother Austin Chamberlain.

Austin Chamberlain is now Postmaster General.

Neville Chamberlain is now a businessman who owns two metalworking companies.

The conversation between Rock and Neville Chamberlain began with metalworking.

"I found an iron mine in the middle reaches of the Limpopo River, and a copper mine in Nyasaland. Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment and technical personnel, so I can't mine it." Rock expressed regret, but the actual situation is of course not. so.

The actual situation is that Rock does not have equipment and technicians, but as long as Rock needs, Rock can buy equipment and hire enough technicians at any time, so Rock is not unable to mine, but does not want to mine.

Digging for gold is no more fun than rolling iron!

"Africa is indeed rich in resources!" Neville Chamberlain sighed repeatedly, but he was not yet hooked.

Rock was not in a hurry, anyway, the bait had been released, and as long as Neville Chamberlain was willing to be lonely, he would definitely take the bait.

The family model of the Chamberlain family is similar to that of most aristocratic families nowadays.

In a normal aristocratic family, someone should enter the political arena to speak out for the family, and someone should go into business to gather wealth for the family. The two complement each other and are indispensable. The lack of either aspect will cause irreparable defects.

The family model of the Chamberlain family is that Joseph and Austin have accumulated prestige for the family in politics, and Neville has accumulated wealth through business.

This model is indeed good, but Neville Chamberlain must not be reconciled. A simple businessman cannot be on the stage, and everyone yearns for a broader stage.

"Yes, here is rich in resources, but there are also many difficulties. The biggest problem is that there are not enough manpower here, so if we want to develop the economy, we have to rely on Zulu people, but too many Zulu people will cause serious problems. social problems, so we have been trying to balance the relationship between economy and development." Rock does not avoid problems, there are mines underground, and they must be dug out.

"Zulu, is there a problem?" Neville was curious.

"Mr. Chamberlain, you should know that I am Chinese. There is a proverb in the Chinese world: People who are not my race must have different hearts! Therefore, the Zulu people seem harmless to humans and animals now, but when the population base of the Zulu people is large enough Then they will become trouble." Rock said this now without any scruples, because Rock is also British now, just like Neville.

"Call me Arthur, Sir Locke, the real Mr. Chamberlain is on the throne." Neville's words were not without envy. The real Mr. Chamberlain has not yet been knighted, but Rock is already a baronet.

There is no way, in the UK, it is very difficult for civil servants to be knighted. Almost every one of the [-] dukes in the UK has made irreplaceable contributions to the empire. Last time, Ade was the only civil official who was knighted in the four regions of Cape. Strictly speaking, Ade was not a purely civil official.

"No, no, Arthur, economics is as important as politics, even more important than politics." Rock followed suit. In terms of status, Rock and Joseph Neville were actually on the same level.

"Sir Locke, what is the scale of your iron ore and copper mines?" Arthur was still hooked, or in other words, Rock's sentence "The hearts of people who are not mine must be different" played a big role.

"The scale is very large. Although the specific reserves have not been determined, they cover a large area. The area of ​​the mining area is more than ten square kilometers. The key is that the conditions are very good. Both mines are open-pit mines and the mining cost is very low. "Rock didn't lie, these two mines are indeed high-quality mines, and they haven't been mined until the 21st century.

For the members of the Chamberlain family, minerals that do not have much mining value cannot impress them. After all, Joseph Chamberlain is the colonial minister, and all the colonies of the British Empire are within the scope of Joseph Chamberlain's work. Otherwise, Neville · Chamberlain will not run a metalworking business is smooth sailing.

In fact, Neville Chamberlain did not have much talent in business. In 1890, the Chamberlain family’s financial situation was in a downturn. Neville and his brother Austin went to Andros Island in South America to manage a pineapple hemp plantation, but they were unsuccessful. In 1896 The plantation closed down, and Neville returned to the UK. He successively worked as a manager in several factories in Birmingham, operating metal manufacturing, and gradually became famous and became a successful professional manager.

Most people may have seen this experience and would have lamented Neville's talent in metal manufacturing.

That's right, Neville University did study metallurgy, but Neville's success has little to do with his studies. The real focus lies in: In 1895, the year before Neville returned to China, the Marquess of Salisbury, That is to say, the current prime minister is in power for the third time, and Joseph Chamberlain is formally invited to join the cabinet, so Joseph Chamberlain serves as the colonial secretary, so——

"Dozens of square kilometers, that's really valuable for mining." Neville still had a bit of integrity, so he didn't take the initiative to come over, and was still waiting for Rock to offer conditions.

"Yes, Henry and Cecil and I have reached an agreement to set up a company to develop mineral resources in the Transvaal and Rhodesia. Now we only lack one channel, the channel to sell products to the outside world." Rock made a price , keeping Neville out of production, which Neville isn't good at anyway.

"Who are Henry and Cecil?" Neville didn't understand the situation in the Transvaal.

"Henry is Lord Fawalt, and Cecil is the Cecil of the South African company." Rock did not hide that there were two people, but in fact, Rock didn't need Neville at all.

If you don't need it, you have to use it. Rock is now in business, and his purpose is not simply to make money. It is Rock's real goal to pull more people into his chariot and establish an indivisible community of interests.

In fact, besides Neville, Rock also planned to bring Winston into the company, so that until World War II, Rock didn't have to worry about the pressure from London.

For their own benefit, Winston and Neville will naturally share the pressure from London for Rock.

Don't think how principled politicians are these days, people like Winston and Neville are short of money.

It's hard for a man with money, but it's hard for a man without money!

Neville looked solemn after hearing these two names, and had a deeper understanding of Rock's connections.

After lunch, Rock invited Neville to the Police Club for afternoon tea.

Apart from Roque and Neville, the Police Club is closed for guests this afternoon.

This gave Neville a deeper understanding of rights.

No matter how much money a businessman makes, can he book out a police club at will?

Don't be ridiculous, just look at the name, the boss who dares to use such a name will not sell the face of a businessman at all.

"In Johannesburg, the police club's afternoon tea is the best. Not only are there a variety of varieties, but there are also performances to enjoy." Rock was dressed in casual clothes, and Henry and Xiao Si, who had just arrived in Johannesburg, accompanied him. There was a band on the lawn beside the terrace, Xiao Si Two Indian women are performing belly dance on stage.

"I'm sorry, there was a serious violent case in Pretoria last night. I was so busy all night." Henry looked haggard, and as soon as he sat down, he started stuffing, stuffing, stuffing——

"I just came back from the construction site. It's so troublesome to build the railway. Why do we have to build the bridge? Can't we send the train there by boat?" Xiao Si also looked haggard, and he didn't even have time to change his clothes.

The railway has now crossed Fawalt and continued to Rhodesia. After Cecil Rhodes passed away, Stoudemire seemed to be a different person. He was responsible for his work and was on the construction site every day.

"Be content. There is a severe drought this year, and there is not much water in the river. If the bridge is repaired earlier, we can use the train one day earlier." Rock has no self-consciousness to take the initiative to work, and there are no serious violent cases in Johannesburg. Now Rock and Henry The work has been reversed, Roque is in charge of the superstructure, and Henry is in charge of the specific work.

From Fawalt to Salisbury, the distance is more than 800 kilometers. The importance of the railway is self-evident. Stoudemire did not sell the Zulus in Nyasaland to the Portuguese, but took them all to build the railway. Men, women and children all joined the battle, which is why Rock did not go to the construction site. God knows how many Zulu people will be swallowed up by this railway. It is said that more than [-] Zulu people have died after half a month of construction.

Of course, the effect of such rush work regardless of life and death is also very good. Zulu people these days are really not lazy. The punishment for lazy guys is not fines, nor flogging, but direct shooting. The speed extends towards Salisbury.

Is it fast?

In fact, it is not too fast. In 1867, almost 35 years ago, when Chinese workers were laying the American Pacific Railway, they set a world record of laying 12 miles and 10 feet (about 200 kilometers) in 16.41 hours.

Stoudemire's goal is to break this record and create a miracle that belongs to Rhodesia.

(End of this chapter)