Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 953

Later in November, Phyllis brought the children to Cyprus as well.

In a blink of an eye, Rock has been away from home for more than a year. 9-year-old Gavin is in the fourth grade of primary school, seven-year-old Alvin is in the second grade, and Judy, who is less than three years old, is very quiet. She has been in poor health since she was a child. The most favored of the three children.

If possible, Roque would like to be with the children all the time and grow up with them.

It's a pity that Rock can't do it. Rock's time is always precious, and the children's education cannot be affected. Phyllis is very strict with the children. Gavin and Alvin have tutors after school. Now he is fluent in Chinese, English and French, and Gavin has even started to learn Afrikaans and Boer. Seeing what Phyllis means, she wants to train Gavin and Alvin to be language geniuses like Franz Joseph I .

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual-system multi-ethnic country that used more than a dozen languages. It is said that the old emperor Franz Joseph I was the only person in the Austro-Hungarian Empire who could speak all languages.

Language can be regarded as a basic quality for nobles, and Phyllis is proficient in several languages ​​such as English, French, German, and Italian.

Now of course Chinese is added, and Phyllis also fell in love with Chinese calligraphy.

Compared with the Latin alphabet, square characters do have a unique charm.

Phyllis brought the children to spend Christmas with Rock.

Although I said Christmas was a little early in November, I haven't seen each other for more than a year, and I don't care about Gavin and Alvin's early vacation. Anyway, the tutor came to Cyprus with him.

"The war will definitely not end in a short period of time, and it may last for another year or two. The war will not end until the blood on either side is shed." Rock also told Phyllis this, facing other People, Roque is now very confident that the war will end within a few months.

Politically correct.

"Yes, the higher the price we pay, the higher the expectation for the harvest. If the war is over now, I am afraid that domestic companies will not agree." is thriving.

Since the outbreak of the World War, the economy in southern Africa has been booming like never before. Fruits that rotted on the trees and were not harvested before have become the best-selling export materials. The Allies simply want as many as they have.

Including fruits, almost all commodities in southern Africa are sought after. The British and French allied forces directly sent military representatives to the factory. This time, it was not to receive the factory, but to ensure that the products would be loaded and sent directly to Europe as soon as they came off the production line. .

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Association shines brightly. Farmers’ enthusiasm for production is unprecedentedly high. The same is true for eggs. The price rebounded quickly after a short-term drop. Some time ago, when it was the cheapest, one pound could buy 3500 eggs. Now One pound can only buy less than 1000 eggs, and the price has tripled compared with the previous period.

Of course, there is supply and demand at work, and the depreciation of the pound is also an important reason.

After the outbreak of the World War, the British pound was lifted from its direct link with gold, and the British Ministry of Finance frantically increased the circulation of banknotes. The money printing machines kept working day and night, and the value of the currency depreciated all the way.

However, in the world, the British pound is still the strongest currency. Compared with the British pound, the franc and the mark have depreciated more. In the world, only the U.S. dollar and the rand are still linked to gold and can be exchanged for gold directly from the bank. The value has also depreciated a lot compared to before the outbreak of the world war.

At the same time as the currency depreciated, the income of the federal government of Southern Africa also doubled and rose. Before the outbreak of the World War, the federal government of Southern Africa owed nearly 4000 million to the Rand Bank. Now it has basically broken even. Using Phyllis In other words, the arrogance of a certain finance minister in Pretoria can be felt in Port Edward.

If the world war ends now, the enterprises in southern Africa will suffer heavy losses. Stimulated by the demand in Europe, the production capacity of almost all enterprises in southern Africa has greatly improved compared with before the outbreak of the world war. The Nyasaland military industry group also In the continuous expansion of factories, once the machines stop, the whole country will be affected.

"Even if Germany is divided up after the world war, it will not be able to make up for the losses we have suffered." Rock duplicity, of course the world war should continue to be fought, it is best to consume all the wealth accumulated by the old empire for hundreds of years, so that southern Africa There is a chance to stand out.

Just last month, the British House of Commons forcibly passed the "Military Service Act". This is the result of the joint efforts of Winston and Kitchener. However, the "Military Service Act" has caused a lot of controversy. Opinion.

The new "Military Service Act" stipulates that the government has the power to forcibly recruit nationals into the army. This is the first time in British history. In order to win the war, both Winston and Kitchener have gone all out. The British Expeditionary Force already has 100 million troops on the Western Front Although it looks like a lot of troops, it is not enough to defeat Germany. After the implementation of the new "Military Service Law", it can guarantee that [-] new soldiers will join the army every month. This is good news for the Allied Powers, but it is very bad for Britain.

Like Britain, France is also trying to recruit more soldiers. In several battles this year, France has 40 people killed in battle and countless missing. These missing people may have died in battle, but there are no bodies. It can only be considered missing.

These missing officers and soldiers are the worst. Their sacrifices are meaningless, and their families don't even get pensions.

The total number of casualties of the French army in the world war has exceeded 200 million.

Compared with Britain and France, the Russian Empire was even worse. In 1914, only in Goerceli and Tarnov, the Russian Empire had 15 officers and soldiers killed in battle, 68 officers and soldiers were injured, and 90 soldiers were captured. The Russian Empire lost in 1914. Without Poland and Galicia, no matter how large the territory and population of the Russian Empire were, it would not be able to withstand such consumption.

Unlike the heavy casualties of the front-line troops, Tsar Nicholas II expressed optimism about the prospects of the war. He didn't know how much the front-line officers and soldiers hated the war, how much they hated the corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy, and how much they hated him. Loved him as he did before the outbreak of the world war, and respectfully called him "Tsar Papa".

The Allies' biggest bright spot in 1914 was the Eighth Army led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, which drove Imperial Russian forces out of East Prussia and occupied Poland and Galicia in 1914.

On the side of the Allied Powers, the biggest bright spot is undoubtedly the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. What I want to explain here is that in the propaganda of the Allied Powers, all parties deliberately downplayed the role of the Southern African Expeditionary Force. Otherwise, the Southern African Expeditionary Force would almost contract All the major victories this year, from the "Operation Horn of Victory" at the beginning of the year to the just-concluded Battle of the Dardanelles, the southern African expeditionary force was invincible, and the Ottoman Empire, which had existed for hundreds of years, was dying. Eight months ago, No one expected that the Ottoman Empire would lose so quickly and so badly.

On the second day after arriving in Cyprus, Phyllis started working. She also had a mission to come to Cyprus. In addition to Roque's wife, Phyllis also has an identity as a representative of the Southern African Business Federation. She wants to represent Big companies in Southern Africa expressed condolences to the Southern African Expeditionary Force, especially the women in the Southern African Expeditionary Force.

Roque also had a job. Kitchener went to France in November to have a meeting with the new French Minister of War Joseph Gallieni. After finishing the work, he did not return to London immediately, but came to Cyprus to find Roque.

Faced with strong pressure from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, the Ottoman Empire finally admitted defeat. As early as after the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force captured Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire was in secret contact with London, hoping to withdraw from the war in a decent way.

Kitchener hoped that the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force would continue to attack, put more pressure on the Ottoman Empire, and force the Ottoman Empire to make concessions at the negotiating table.

"Before there is no more reinforcements, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force has no ability to continue to attack. Our occupied area on the Asia Minor Peninsula is close to 24 square kilometers, which is about the same size as the mainland, but the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force is only less than 30. People, it is very difficult to defend the current occupied area." Rock also wanted to attack, but the objective reality did not allow it.

"Can Port Elizabeth deploy more troops?" Kitchener helped Roque find a way, hoping that Roque could make greater contributions.

"Bring in the troops of the Southern African Expeditionary Force in France. I am confident that I will completely defeat the Ottomans before the New Year." Rock knows the situation on Martin's side. After capturing Damascus, the occupied area of ​​the Southern Inner Alliance has exceeded 60 square meters. Kilometers away, the pressure is even greater. Rock has already returned the Najd Sultanate troops drawn from the Southern Allied Forces to Martin. Martin is also short of major generals.

Relatively speaking, the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front has exceeded 100 million people. Even if all the divisions in southern Africa are transferred, it will not have much impact on the British and French Allied Forces. Before the New Year, there will be no war on the Western Front.

Kitchener didn't speak. Haig had just been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force. At this time, troops were transferred from the Western Front. What did Haig think?

Roque is not in a hurry, and now Roque doesn't need to be in a hurry to show. The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force has been in the limelight for a while. It is estimated that many people are hoping that Roque will be unlucky. Since the capture of Constantinople, London has given the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force Support was clearly declining, and Winston was useless as Minister of Munitions.

Many things are so helpless. When the Eastern and Western Fronts are retreating, everyone hopes to open up a second battlefield to ease the pressure on the Eastern and Western Fronts.

The problem now is that Rock and the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force have performed so well that they are outstanding, which has caused some people to worry. Ade and Philip also expressed similar concerns in the telegram.

(End of this chapter)