Chapter 381: A State Gift
North bank of the Limpopo River.
"Mr. Wiggins, you've had a hard few months. We've prepared a small boat for you—once you cross the river, you can head back to the Transvaal Republic. Here's a letter we'd like you to deliver to your president." An East African soldier handed Wiggins a letter.
Wiggins, who seemed mentally worn down, looked incredulous. "You're really letting me go?"
He'd been escorted to the Limpopo River by two East African soldiers. Wiggins had assumed the East African Kingdom meant to execute him. He'd been under house arrest all this time, barely spoken to, and was on edge. Wiggins knew what he'd done; the East Africans had more than enough reason to shoot him a hundred times over.
"Of course, Mr. Wiggins. While we really don't like the sort of person you are, your sentence is up, and you might still be somewhat useful. Now you can serve as a messenger between our two countries. We hope you'll convey our friendship to your government."
Freed at last, Wiggins promptly answered, "No problem! I'll get the letter into the president's hands!"
Waving a hand, the East African soldier said, "Then please head back right away—and don't ever try anything like that again."
Wiggins tucked the letter into his jacket, and seeing that the East African soldiers truly meant to release him, he nodded vigorously. "Today I swear to God that I'll never again set foot on East African soil."
Under the gaze of the East African soldiers, Wiggins boarded a small boat, rowing toward the opposite bank. Once he was across, he was sure they had kept their word and hadn't shot him in the back. Next, he needed to find a nearby Boer farm that could help him return to Pretoria.
Unbeknownst to him, he was carrying a "Declaration of War." For the East African Kingdom, this was a formal "state gift" to the Transvaal Republic.
In the Declaration of War, East Africa accused the Transvaal Republic of aiding the Ndebele in plotting rebellion inside East African territory and attempting to overthrow its government. Therefore, East Africa declared a state of war on the Transvaal Republic.
Wiggins never imagined he had such a document hidden in his clothes. In fact, when East African forces marched into Transvaal territory, he was still en route to deliver it.
…
Bulawayo.
Ernst, Crown Prince of the East African Kingdom, personally reviewed the East African troops training there. After more than ten days of forced marches under the sun, Ernst—whose skin had been somewhat fair when he'd first arrived from Europe—was now a deep bronze. "African sunshine is really something," he mused.
"Your Highness, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the 331st Division from the East African Mountain Troops awaits your review!" A sturdy, short man saluted Ernst.
Ernst returned the salute.
The East African Mountain Troops had been specially assembled to deal with the Zulus, and most of the soldiers came from German-speaking areas of the Alps and from Guangxi and the Yimeng Mountains in Shandong, both in the Far East.
One reason the Boers had never completely crushed the Zulus was the Drakensberg Mountains, which severely limited the mobility of Boer cavalry in mountainous terrain.
So from the day East Africa occupied the Azande Highlands, a dedicated mountain unit was formed there specifically for fighting in rugged terrain.
When selecting the troops, Ernst focused especially on recruits from Guangxi. First, Guangxi people are known for their fearless character. The Taiping Rebellion, and later the Guangxi warlords and their performance in the war against Japan, all proved that people from Guangxi can really fight.
From the Ming Dynasty onward, the "Wolf Soldiers" of Guangxi were famous for their fierceness. Living far from the political center, they were less influenced by Confucian orthodoxy. Ernst didn't mean to criticize Confucianism, but from the Song Dynasty on, Neo-Confucian teachings (Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy) harshly suppressed certain vital elements of the Far Eastern ethnic spirit.
Though the Han Dynasty revered Confucian teachings, its scholar-officials could still say things like, "All lands illuminated by the sun and moon are Han territory. All places reached by our rivers are Han dominions." Other ethnic groups would see that as incredibly arrogant, but Ernst considered it the height of national pride.
And in the 19th-century world, moral or righteous talk did little good. The great powers showed no mercy; European colonizers, starting with the Portuguese, were basically armed swindlers who tricked Native Americans out of everything.
Inheriting that tradition, the East African Kingdom is also a colonial power, driven by its interests—land, resources, subjugating native peoples. Ernst, having lived two lives, sees farther. He knows colonization can eventually backfire, so he's even more ruthless about uprooting potential trouble. That might not stop backlash entirely, but East Africa remains cautious.
Guangxi's distinctive geography shaped people who don't fear hardship and have strong grit. Until productivity fully advanced, the mountainous regions always lagged behind the plains. Many revolts in the Far East began in mountainous zones.
One final, crucial point: Guangxi's climate closely resembles East Africa's. It lies near the tropics and has a large population. Though the Taiping Rebellion began there, Guangxi wasn't as severely affected as Jiangxi, southern Anhui, or Nanjing, which practically turned into wastelands and never fully recovered.
Hence, Ernst didn't feel guilty about recruiting immigrants from Guangxi. By East African standards, moving from Guangxi to East Africa was practically striking it rich.
After the mountain troops came the East African artillery. They favored small-caliber guns, which in Africa might be like "using a cannon to kill mosquitoes." This time, Ernst concentrated thirty percent of East Africa's artillery in Bulawayo to fight the Boers.
The Boers were known for their tactic of circling wagons (often pulled by oxen) to create a defensive barrier for firing at enemies with firearms. Artillery was essential to break this formation. One well-placed shell and the Boer ox-and-horse corral wouldn't hold.
Last to parade were East Africa's cavalry. It was the first time East Africa deployed cavalry on such a large scale. The Boers are a horse-riding people, and the best way to counter cavalry is with cavalry. After so long, East Africa's own cavalry was taking shape.
Aside from those forces, the bulk of East Africa's invasion of the Transvaal Republic would still be infantry. But there was a big difference this time: the first use of machine guns.
Machine guns had existed since the American Civil War, and East Africa did have some. But in previous East African campaigns, they'd barely shown up. After all, the old foes were mainly African natives—no need to waste advanced weapons or ammo. Yet facing the Boer cavalry, machine guns are crucial.
You could say Ernst had been preparing to confront the Boers for a long time. From the moment he moved into Zimbabwe, he knew there would inevitably be an "East Germany" vs. "Transvaal" showdown—since he simply couldn't resist that temptation.
Rather than stationing troops on the Limpopo River, the review was in Bulawayo to avoid tipping off the Boers. Before Ernst's arrival, the East African Army had already held numerous drills treating the Transvaal Republic as a hypothetical enemy. Releasing Wiggins was done at a carefully chosen spot on the Limpopo's banks so he wouldn't discover East Africa's true intentions.
When the inspection ended, Ernst gave the order: "Move out! Target—the Transvaal Republic!"
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