Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 150: 10) Move to the East

Ferdinand did not dare to bet. He knew Germany's opposition was only against France. in August 1895, Wilhelm II and the Margrave of Salisbury met in Kuwait. Germany made it clear that they did not dare to be interested in Turkey. Provided that the partition plan, the British will leave France behind, and the two sides will further in-depth talks!

History is an accident. The Marquis of Salisbury has delayed and did not attend the second Kuwait meeting, losing the chance to communicate with Wilhelm II in-depth, "Britain and Germany" lost the best opportunity for cooperation!

The British and Germans did not communicate deeply, and the Germans made a strategic misjudgment that a British compromise with France and Russia in the Near East to get out of the diplomatic deadlock would increase the chances that the Franco-Russian alliance would turn on Germany on the European continent.

It stopped the road to the Anglo-German alliance before it had even begun!

None of this has happened yet, and Ferdinand has no idea what the future holds and where the world landscape will go once Britain and Germany are close together.

After all, Germany at the end of the 19th century did not yet have the strength to challenge the British, and the British Empire was still developing rapidly.

Just look at one set of data.

Between 1890 and 1900, Britain's GNP grew by 34% in that decade, and Germany's GNP growth rate was precisely 34%!

Due to the gap in the bottom, the combined strength of the two sides not only did not shrink but continued to grow, with the British having a clear advantage!

During this period, in the British mind, the biggest enemy was Russia, followed by France. Even though the United States ranked in front of Germany, the British had not yet felt the threat of the Germans to its supremacy!

Of course, Germany did not have the strength to challenge the British, and the pressure of the Franco-Russian alliance was enough to make the Germans concentrate on developing their land forces! Build a large navy? The Germans are not that ambitious!

If he were to stop this partition plan, the main target is still Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, and he could only do it from these countries.

There is no good way. However, Ferdinand has a stupid way. The simplest and most practical way is - to intensify the conflict between countries!

It happens that the contradictions between these four countries and formed the main conflicts in the world at present. The parties conflict too much!

Ferdinand knew that although the British-Russian conflict was serious, since the Russian Empire's strategic focus eastward, the conflict between the two countries had eased a lot, and the possibility of an outbreak was unlikely!

The German-French conflict, it goes without saying, does not need to be provoked. The first chance both sides will stumble on each other, there is no room for Ferdinand to intervene.

The rest is the Anglo-French and the Anglo-German conflict, where the risk of sowing discord is too great. Ferdinand did not mean to do it himself. Not many people in the world can afford the anger of Britain, France, and Germany!

Then we can only use the positive plan to create an event to attract the attention of the Great Powers!

'A dead friend doesn't stop me!'1)

Ferdinand first thought of the Anglo-Boer War, which took place between 1899 and 1902, a war between the British and the Boers for the domination of South Africa!

There is no choice. Who said South Africa is too rich and shiny?

In 1867, the discovery of diamonds in South Africa by Dutch descendants took the world by storm, and there was an influx of treasure hunters.

In 1869 another discovery of a large diamond then worth 625,000 francs. More Europeans are convinced that South Africa has rich treasures, causing a rush to search for diamonds as never before.

In 1884 and 1886, the world's richest gold deposits were found in the Transvaal, and the "gold wave" was launched in Europe.

In order to monopolize the diamond-producing region, the British colonial authorities in the Cape began to annex South African lands: in 1871, they annexed the diamond-producing region of West Griqualand; in 1877, they annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia; and in 1877-1878, they annexed all of Kaffraria and the northwestern Walvis Bay.

In order to stop the Boers from moving to the eastern coast, Britain again prepared to seize Zululand in 1878 and destroy the Zulu nation. 1887 saw the annexation of Zululand by Britain.

After the defeat of the Zulus, the conflict between the British and the Boers was inevitable. 1880 saw the annexation of the Transvaal region, but after the defeat in the battle of Majuba Hill, the British had to withdraw from the Transvaal in 1881.

Shortly after that, large gold deposits were discovered in the Transvaal, and with them came British gold miners from the Cape and Natal regions. Thousands of Englishmen began settling in the area and asking for the right to vote and pay taxes equally - but without success. The result was a very tense situation in the area.

In the early 1990s, the British South Africa Company territory expanded to the Congo border. The British African Lakes Company encroached on Nyasaland, thus uniting the British colonies in South Africa.

Prime Minister Rhodes of the British South African colony called for the British to conquer the world and realize the so-called "Cape Cairo" plan in Africa, i.e., to try to unite British North and South Africa into one.

By the mid-1990s, the only obstacles to Rhodes' "Cape Cairo" imperialist project were the two Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State.

While Rhodes organized the foreign immigrants in Johannesburg to subvert the rule of President Kruger of the Transvaal Republic from within, he prepared armed attacks from outside.

In December 1895-January 1896, the Rhodes faction made a sneak attack on the Transvaal Republic from the west, which Kruger completely crushed.

The Boers leaned on Germany to defend their interests against Britain. The Anglo-Boer conflict became increasingly intense, and a large-scale war was brewing.

Simply put, the situation in South Africa is now on the verge of a crisis. Britain is now throwing out its plan to divide Turkey so that it can stabilize its rear and focus on fighting for South Africa - the world's largest gold producer!

Knowing that South Africa is rich and shining, how could Ferdinand not go to get a piece of the pie? As early as 1885, when the United Mining Co., Ltd. was established, the company entered South Africa and ran into the land. And did not rush to mine but first got the land ownership into their hands.

A few years ago, Ferdinand's intelligence network also reached into the South African region, and after several years of operation, it now has a certain kind of power.

There is no doubt that the British-Boer conflict, as long as the South African gold mines are still in place, is impossible to ease. In front of the huge benefits, the British, in any case, found it impossible to let go of it. The same Boers are also unwilling to give up the wealth in hand!

Both sides only need a single spark, and war will break out, and all Ferdinand has to do now is to set off that spark.

On this issue, Rhodes, the prime minister of the British colony of South Africa, is the best ally, or rather the British capitalists behind him are the best allies.

On the issue of pushing Britain to war against the Boers, everyone's interests were aligned, and there was a lot of common ground to talk about that. Under the leadership of the United Mining Co., Ltd., the capitalists who were eyeing the South African gold mines linked up with each other!

Translator:

1)It means for your benefit at the expense of others.