Even Britain cannot ignore the opposition of the entire Europe. However, it is impossible for the Boers to hang the British expatriates like this. If they were French or Germans, the British government would probably express regrets, but if they were Boers, the British government could only express regrets, which would be too ruthless. It is like, the same Chinese people were caught selling drugs in foreign countries and were sentenced to death. If the person arrested was a rabbit, it would express regrets. If it was Indonesia, it would strongly condemn, recall the ambassador and threaten economic sanctions. If it was my Qing Dynasty, this... the first Eagle War and the Second Eagle War occurred.

However, before taking action, the British always had to make some peaceful efforts, so Britain sent envoys to the Republic of Transvaal and demanded that the Boers change their verdicts.

Regarding the threats made by the British and implied by the threats, President Kruger of the Transvaal Republic brought government officials and officers in the army to discuss countermeasures.

"General Drarie, how are our army ready?" President Kruger asked.

"Mr. President, the military's dress-up training is still in progress. It will take at least two to three months to fully master new weapons and new ways of combat."

"It takes so long?" President Kruger frowned slightly. President Kruger had served as a soldier before and fought with the Zulus and even the British. In his time, the Boers' army was just a temporary recruitment of peasants with their own weapons. But with courage and excellent command, they could beat the Zulus every time, and the British were pissed off.

"Yes, Mr. President." General Delare understood the president's doubts and replied, "The current war is different from before. Not to mention anything else, it only takes a lot of time to build field fortifications and firepower training of various weapons. For example, artillery is already using high-explosive shells, and the Americans invented a tactic called "Barrel Xu Jin" and learned that it is very powerful, but the requirements for training degree and coordination proficiency are very high. There is also the offensive cover of machine guns, which is slightly less difficult, but it is not something you can learn without training..."

"Okay, my general, I don't quite understand these technical issues. I'm old. We just need to know when the young man will be ready." Hearing that General Drare talked about the new tactics, President Kruger had to interrupt him first, otherwise, this meeting would become a science popularization conference for new tactics.

"Mr. President, in two months, my soldiers will be able to master some basic tactical skills. It will take about a year to master all of these skills well and master them to the level of proficiency. And I also need more ammunition for training... much more than planned." General Delare replied.

"But General, the training funds we allocated to the army are much more than normal." Before President Kruger could answer, Finance Minister Hiyek asked.

"We originally did not expect the relevant training to consume ammunition like this." General Drare shook his head helplessly and said, "Especially the artillery barrage Xu Jin's technology, without live ammunition, it is really impossible to train."

"But recently, the expenses are particularly high, and there is not so much money in the treasury, unless the Legislative Council can allow us to increase taxes," said Shiyek.

It is simple to say that increasing taxes is, but if it is done, the resistance is always very great. Although the situation is critical now, the people can understand this and are willing to support the government. Because if the Republic of Transvaal was defeated and the entire Transvaal was completely reduced to a British colony, they would suffer greater losses. But in fact, things are hard to say. In short, it is always very difficult to get people to take out money from their pockets. For example, when Li Zicheng's troops were approaching Beijing, they were reluctant to take out the money. Although they knew that Li had broken into the city and asked for money, they would definitely be better than Chongzhen.

Therefore, increasing tax revenue is not a good idea unless it is absolutely necessary. But in the current situation, military demand is overwhelming. In the current Transvaal Republic, in order to survive, they must implement the "first army politics" that first meets the needs of the army.

"What if we sell our mining license?" President Kruger thought for a while and said.

Selling a mining license is also one of the most money-making methods in the Transvaal Republic. Hijek thought for a while and said, "Maybe, but because of the current situation, our mining license may not be as valuable as before."

This is natural, because even fools can see that there is a risk of war in South Africa. They spend a lot of money to buy mining licenses, then spend a lot of money to buy machinery, and then they are about to mine, but the Transvaal Republic fought with the British. Isn’t the previous investment completely ruined? The risk is so high, of course, this thing is not as valuable as before.

"How about issuing special government bonds?" President Kruger asked.

"This is feasible. At least it is feasible at home," replied Shiyek.

"Okay, you guys study it and come up with a plan first...ah, how long will it take for the fortress to be built?"

"His Excellency the President, if everything is normal, it will take two and a half years to build the fortress. If other irresistible factors occur in the middle, it may take more time," an official replied.

"This is too slow," said President Kruger. When he approved the project, no one expected that something like the Jensen Expedition would happen. So the construction period of two and a half years was not unacceptable. But now the situation is different.

"Is there a way to speed up?" President Kruger asked.

"It's difficult, because the bottleneck that concerns the speed of construction is not about construction, but about the transportation of raw materials." The official replied, "The British knew what we were doing, so they naturally would not let us use their railways and ports to transport the cement and steel bars needed to build the fortress, so we can only rely on the Portuguese port. The throughput of that port is far from Cape Town, and it cannot be used for all ships that deliver to us. Moreover, the railway connecting the Portuguese port is just a single-line railway, with a very limited capacity. Unless we can rent the Portuguese port and replace the railway with a double line. However, this is impossible, because the time required to expand the railway itself is not necessarily shorter than that of the fortress..."

"That is to say, at least for the time being, we are not ready to turn against the British directly?" President Kruger asked.

"Yes, Mr. President."

"So, we must now compromise with the British," said President Kruger.

"The British are not ready either." General Drare seemed a little dissatisfied.

"Yes. But General Drare, the British's preparations will not be affected too much by the current situation. But we are different. Once we fight with the British, according to our last study, our best approach is to seize all available ports, including Cape Town, to prevent the arrival of the British reinforcements. With the current preparations, do you think we can do this?" President Kruger asked.

After hearing President Kruger's words, General Drare stopped talking. He sent troops to occupy the entire South Africa now, and he was not sure of this. Although the British colonial soldiers were not very good, the British Kepler's defense was indeed real. In addition, the British had always been in conflict with the Boers, so the defense of these ports was very different from ordinary ports. When they were built, they not only considered how to deal with attacks from sea, but also attacks from land. Once they could not take these places, they had already fought with the British.

Under the premise, those countries that originally traded with them will be under strong pressure from the British, and it is hard to say what will happen at that time. For example, the American instructors in the army, the contracts signed by Transvaal and them clearly stipulated that once the war broke out, they could terminate the contract and withdraw them in advance. Not only these military instructors, but also the technical personnel responsible for fortress construction were the same. So, they really started fighting immediately, and the military training plan and fortress construction plan were eighteen and eighteen. Ninety, they were about to be ruined.

"But the dignity of the law cannot be trampled on," said the Attorney General.

"This is natural. But as the president, I have the right to pardon," said President Kruger. "Let's talk to the British. As long as they agree to some conditions, I will promise to pardon the British expatriates who are in trouble. And return all the captured British mine police to them. In order to avoid the British deliberately provoking trouble, we must be more proactive in releasing the 'goodwill'..."

...

In the afternoon of the same day, the Associated Press issued another news article. The content was an exclusive interview with President Kruger by an Associated Press reporter. In this interview, after the reporter mentioned the issue of British expatriates, President Kruger said: "They violated the laws of the Republic, and there is no problem. The judgment is fair. So I am not optimistic about the appeal they filed. However, I also know that these people are all used by people. Some greedy guys deceived them and used them to provoke wars and make profits. They are all poor people who are sold and help people count money. We also sympathize with such people. But you know, law is law. Of course, according to the law, I also have the power to pardon them..." r1058
Chapter completed!