Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 645 Potatoes

Compared with other parts of the peninsula, the situation in Port Elizabeth is still good.

After all, Port Elizabeth is also located within the Mesopotamia Basin, with abundant water resources. In 1909, the surroundings of Port Elizabeth were not all deserts. There were many trees in the city, and date palms and phoenix flowers were the most common. There is a lot of arable land that has only been abandoned in recent years.

Some habits of desert peoples are really bad. They don’t have much sense of belonging to the land. When the environment in an area deteriorates to a level that is not suitable for human survival, they will migrate to other areas. For environmental protection, sustainable development, etc. There is no relevant awareness at all.

The thinking of the Chinese is completely different from that of the desert peoples. The subtropical grassland of Nyasaland was not suitable for human survival. The wasteland cultivated through hard work grows more weeds than crops. If it is replaced by Africans or White people, simply don't have the patience to hold on.

The Chinese are different. We just need to pull out the weeds that grow. If it doesn’t work for a year, it will take two years. As long as we persist, the barren grassland will become a prosperous farm sooner or later.

It's the same in Port Elizabeth. The abandoned land is not completely worthless. It has been cultivated for thousands of years. Even the fertile land will always be exhausted when there is no fertilizer. If there is no fertilizer, it will be supplemented. It is really impossible to build water conservancy. Planting date palms or mesquite trees can also play the role of soil consolidation and slope protection.

Such things as soil consolidation and slope protection are a fantasy for nomads. If they have a strong homeland plot, the desert on the peninsula will not become larger and the living space of human beings will not become smaller.

When Li De began to take over Port Elizabeth, Rock was inspecting the troops with the new Governor of Southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone.

Viscount Gladstone is here to check the status of troops in southern Africa, and then decide whether to continue to subsidize funds to southern Africa. Compared with the British mainland army, it is more cost-effective for the British government to pay for the formation of troops in southern Africa.

Since it is necessary to support the situation, the Rhodesian Northern Division and the First Cavalry Division must be the best choices.

The state of these two divisions is indeed good. The members of the troops are all young people under the age of 30. With continuous intensive training, the physical fitness and mental outlook of the soldiers are not like the colonial servants with low morale. The elite European troops are not bad at all.

Coupled with the various new weapons equipped by the troops, Viscount Gladstone presented a strong army with high morale.

Although Rock was not a soldier in his previous life, he has seen so many military parades, and of course he knows how to show the strongest side of the army, so Viscount Gladstone is very satisfied with the state of the southern African army, so the topic naturally cannot be avoided. Start an arms race in Europe.

"Sorry my lord, if a war breaks out, the troops in southern Africa are now fully capable of attacking Southwest Africa and Tanganyika, and we are still unable to provide support to Europe. As you know, our biggest bottleneck is that the size of our troops is too large. Little, now southern Africa can be used for external operations, only these four divisions have 7 people, and there will be many other problems when going to Europe to fight. For example, the clothing of the troops is a big problem. The troops in southern Africa do not need cotton coats. "Of course Rock still complained. How much money is given to do so many things. The British government gives so many millions every year, and the federal government will take half of it. It is almost a drop in the bucket when it comes to the Ministry of Defense.

Otherwise, compulsory military service would not be implemented in southern Africa. The Ministry of National Defense has no money and is unable to form more troops composed of professional soldiers.

"Locke, 500 million pounds is a lot, and the cost of a dreadnought is less than 200 million pounds." It's not easy to get the money out.

"But it is impossible for dreadnoughts to land on land. Even if the Germans build ten dreadnoughts a year, it is impossible to shake the empire's naval superiority. Then what about the European continent?" Rock is not in a hurry. What should be in a hurry is the British government.

"There are French people in continental Europe, so we don't need to worry." Viscount Gladstone is still full of confidence in France. He must have never imagined how badly France will perform after the war begins.

"The results of the Franco-Prussian War have proved that the French are not the opponents of the Germans. Even if the French are fighting hard now, after the outbreak of the war, the French still cannot withstand the strong German offensive. In the riots in Tanganyika, the southern African troops It has been proved that the Germans are not our opponents." Rock made the facts reasonable, but this is actually a sneaky change of concept. In Africa, the Germans are working hard on expeditions. Once they go to Europe, they will be replaced by southern African troops to fight away. It is uncertain who wins and who loses.

Rock is not desperate for money. The environments in Europe and southern Africa are quite different. In southern Africa, Nyasaland, Rhodesia, and Bechuanaland are all subtropical regions, where there is no snow all year round, while Europe has severe winters. Whether the troops in southern Africa can get used to it when they arrive in Europe is another matter.

Rock also chose to pull the troops to the Okavango swamp for exercises in order to adapt the troops to various climates, but the environment of the Okavango swamp is still different from that in Europe.

"It's too early to draw conclusions. The French army is still strong." Viscount Gladstone admitted that the southern African army performed well in the Tanganyika rebellion, but at the same time he did not think that France had completely fallen.

Unlike Britain, which was desperately building warships, France has been strengthening its army building after the Franco-Prussian War, trying to wash away its shame. Now France has maintained an army size of nearly one million, and can recruit more troops at any time, so Viscount Gladstone will Have faith in France.

Unlike southern Africa, European countries measure the combat effectiveness of their troops, and the number is still the main factor.

"Just relying on their seventh-fifth lady? The French are also stubborn and stupid. Fast fire rate is of course important, but power and range are more important. Compared with the French, the German's technology is not bad at all." Rock commented that the French army is not bad at all. To be polite, although France's blockade of Germany's technology played a certain role, it also objectively forced the Germans to go further and further on another road.

Which is better or worse can only be proven after the outbreak of war.

"I will try my best to continue to give you an interest-free loan in the future, but you must also ensure that if the empire needs it, you must prove that you have not wasted the money the empire gave you." Viscount Gladstone finally agreed to help, but the specifics The amount is not promised.

Viscount Gladstone, the "governor", has far worse rights than the previous Earls of Adelaide and Selborne. In southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone is a mascot, the head of state in name, what is actually going on? Regardless, in southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone can only act as a link between southern Africa and the British government.

Even so, if Southern Africa can contribute when Britain needs it, this is the achievement of Viscount Gladstone, so Viscount Gladstone will agree to help.

"That's for sure. The Ministry of National Defense is the cleanest force in the federal government of southern Africa. The accounts can withstand any audit. Even waste is not allowed. Corruption and embezzlement do not exist." Rock is confident in this regard, even if he is far away The third and fourth divisions in Cape and Natal, and most of the grassroots officers have received training from the Nyasaland Army Academy. The Ministry of National Defense still has a high degree of control over the troops.

Viscount Gladstone did not respond. Now no one has imagined how cruel the next war will be. Compared with the World War, the Boer War is just an appetizer. When the war breaks out, the British government will find out their investment in southern Africa How sensible.

The troops in southern Africa are indeed worthy of the description of "elite". When the northern Rhodesian division first arrived in the Okavango swamp, they were not used to the more rigorous training content. Now the officers and soldiers of all four divisions are training At least he can get good, which makes Viscount Gladstone really unbelievable.

In Viscount Gladstone's view, the training content in southern Africa is almost harsh. Although Viscount Gladstone did not know the specific situation of the French and German troops, he was very sure that even the French and German troops Accepting this kind of training is at best a passing level.

Speaking of passing is actually an exaggeration. Among other things, there are not many troops in the world who can do it cross-country at [-] kilograms and [-] kilometers.

In the evening, Viscount Gladstone and Roque dined together in the officer's mess of the Northern Division of Rhodesia.

It's not that Rock is divorced from the masses. It's because the army is so hierarchical these days. Officers and soldiers are two completely different groups. Soldiers who can serve as officers have at least been working in the army for several years. Studied at Nyasaland Army Academy before qualifying as an officer.

And some of these soldiers have just immigrated to southern Africa. They can't speak English and Chinese well, and they haven't made any contribution to southern Africa. willing.

Compared to soldiers' food, the officer's canteen is pretty good. There is a dedicated chef, and you can order food. Viscount Gladstone and Rock must be the highest standard, and you can eat whatever you want.

When you come to the Okavango swamp, wild game must be the staple food on the table. Rock has to recommend it to Viscount Gladstone, and then Viscount Gladstone is willing to try the taste of animal offal.

It’s just a taste, Viscount Gladstone’s favorites are French fries and goulash, as well as vodka made from potatoes.

No way, there are too many potatoes in southern Africa, so there are many delicacies related to potatoes.

(End of this chapter)