Berbera's behavior of seizing ships was like waves in the sea, causing no waves.
The Japanese government did express serious protest to the British government, but other than protest, the Japanese government could do nothing.
Now the Japanese government still needs the support of the British government to complete the grand mission of "departing from Asia and joining Europe".
As for whether this behavior will lead to the breakdown of the alliance between Japan and Britain, Rock doesn't care. If it breaks with the British government, Japan will not even be able to use lamp oil. Guess whether the United States will help Britain or Japan?
You don’t need to think about this problem. The United States and the United Kingdom are also thicker than water.
The British government did not do anything. After the Japanese government protested to the British government, Winston sent a telegram to Rock, instructing Rock to investigate the matter and give an explanation to the Japanese government.
Winston still had a backup plan when sending the telegram, and there was no time limit, which meant that Roque could check it slowly.
Rock is very satisfied with Winston's attitude. That's right. If you don't give money, you must give some benefits. Not all the goods carried by Japanese merchant ships are British Dukes. There are also cargo owners who are Japanese and have been detained for five years.
After the ship, the next Japanese merchant ships all paid their dues honestly, and Rock was finally able to implement the "strangling tactics" against the Somaliland rebels.
When the 2nd Cavalry Division began operations, Roark took the destroyer "Alligator" to Socotra Island, which is located at the mouth of the Red Sea.
The location of Socotra Island is very special. It guards the outlet of the Red Sea and its strategic value is very important.
Roque had been plotting Socotra Island a long time ago, hoping to buy Socotra Island and build a port as a supply point for Southern African merchant ships traveling between Southern Africa and Port Elizabeth.
This request was rejected by the British government. The British Royal Navy has a military base on Socotra Island. Socotra Island is surrounded by naval restricted areas and civilian merchant ships are strictly prohibited from entering.
Rock played a little trick at that time. In the name of establishing a base, he sent mercenaries from the Umbrella Company to the island and built a supply depot in the northeast of Socotra Island.
Now ten years have passed, and the supply depot with only 125 people at the beginning has grown into a town of about 3,000 people, all of whom are the families of mercenaries.
The arrival of the destroyer "Crocodile" was warmly welcomed by the residents of the town. Among the welcoming crowd on the pier, there were even Royal Navy officers and soldiers. These guys came to see the fun. Unless Rock took the initiative to visit the naval base on the island,
Otherwise, the proud Royal Navy would not take the initiative to visit Rock.
Not even if Roark is a British field marshal.
Socotra covers an area of 3,635 square kilometers. The island has been isolated from the African continent for 18 million years. The long-term geographical isolation has allowed Socotra to retain many unique animals and plants. The most eye-catching ones are the mushroom-like ones.
Socotra Dragon's Blood Tree, the sap of this tree is dark red, so it is called Dragon's Blood Tree. Legend has it that dragon's blood can improve the effectiveness of spells.
This is no joke, many wizards and alchemists in Europe think so.
In addition to the dracaena, there is also a plant called the desert rose. This kind of rose looks like an alien. It has pink flowers on its stick-like branches, which sounds very magical.
Rock saw the desert rose and the Socotra dragon's blood tree in front of the base commander Bloom's office. It was indeed magical. The dragon's blood tree was like a huge umbrella, and it was carefully pruned.
"When we first came here, there were no wells here, and drinking water had to be transported from Port Edward. Now we not only have wells, but we have also reclaimed nearly 5,000 acres of land. We have our own pastures and all the food.
They can be self-sufficient and can also be provided to the naval base. Trucks come to the naval base every day. After all, our prices for milk, eggs, mutton, and coffee are cheaper than shipping from the mainland." Bloom is of German descent and has British ancestry.
, both German and English are fluent, and most of the mercenaries working in Socotra are Chinese, so Broome's Chinese is not bad now, but it's a pity that he can only speak and write.
This is already very good. There was no construction machinery when Broome and his friends opened up the wasteland. Rock can imagine how difficult it was for them at the beginning.
"It's really difficult. The soil here can be used to grow crops, but there are a lot of stones in the soil. We have to get rid of all the stones. We used explosives to blow up some huge stones, which made the naval base send people over several times a day. They thought
We have a battle here." Broome is lucky, or the residents of this town are lucky. They have a strong force behind them. The town is not only self-sufficient now, but also has hospitals and schools. They also have
It was not affected by the world war. Compared with Europe which was in ruins, this place is like a paradise.
"Now we have a clear division of labor. Some people are responsible for running the supply station, and some are responsible for running the farm. My wife is also learning to grow vegetables from my Chinese neighbor. She uprooted the desert roses in the garden and planted cucumbers and tomatoes.
, and onions. Just because I raised an opinion, she kicked me out with the dog, causing me to sleep on the street with the dog." Bloom's thoughts were jumping very fast, and one could hear that Bloom was thinking.
Lum and his wife have a very good relationship.
"Very good, you have worked hard." Rock was really happy for Bloom and the residents of the town. Although they were isolated from the world, they were happy from the bottom of their hearts.
"It's not hard. I'm very grateful that you didn't look at us differently just because we are Germans. It was really difficult when we first came to Socotra, but the difficult days passed quickly. Now we are raising and milking cows."
, raising sheep and shearing wool, there are also a lot of chickens, ducks and geese, and we can eat all kinds of eggs. We also have several fishing boats, which often go out to sea to fish, and can catch several thousand kilograms each time. The two churches in the town interact with each other.
Without interfering, some people believe in Catholicism and some believe in Protestantism. When you go to church to worship on the weekends, if there are too many people in the Catholic church, it is okay to go to a Protestant church. You will be warmly welcomed by everyone." This scene described by Bloom
, if it were on the European continent, it might cause an uproar.
But no one cares about this kind of thing in a small town. There are only a few thousand people in this small town. We meet each other without looking up. Today you lend me two green onions, and tomorrow I will go pick a cucumber from your garden. This is not the case at all.
thing.
"How many students are there in the school?" Roque is still concerned about the next generation, which represents the future of southern Africa.
"The combined middle school and primary school cost more than 600 yuan. Last year, two of our children were admitted to Nyasaland University, and another child was admitted to Rhodes University. They both promised to return to Socotra after graduation.
They work, so we collectively bear their tuition fees." The data reported by Bloom made Rock very happy. In a town of more than 3,000 people, the middle school and primary school add up to more than 600 people. This demographic structure has great prospects.
Ah, it won’t happen in a few decades.
It won't take more than a few decades. According to the current population growth rate, it won't take many years for the population of southern Africa to be as large as that of the United Kingdom.
There are now about 45 million people in the UK, and more than 500 million people in the colonies.
During the World War, the birth rates of the participating countries were appalling. The United Kingdom, with a total population of 45 million, had only 790,000 births each year in the two years after the World War. Germany, with a population of 67.2 million, had about 1 million births; the worst was France, with 3,980 births.
With a population of 10,000, less than 500,000 were born. It is no wonder that the country was bulldozed by Germany just after the outbreak of World War II.
Even during the World War, the population growth rate of Southern Africa exceeded 5%, so in a few years, the population of Southern Africa will exceed that of the United Kingdom. By then
Lunch was eaten at Bloom's home. Bloom's home is a two-story red brick building. Bloom and her wife from Germany have five children. The eldest daughter is attending middle school and studying.
The results were pretty good, and I played "What a Beautiful Jasmine" on the violin for Rock before dinner.
The girl's performance won warm applause. Rock encouraged the girl to study hard and asked about her ideals.
The girl's dream is to attend medical school in Johannesburg, and she hopes to join the Southern African Defense Force after completing her studies.
Such an ideal is worthy of encouragement. Roque specially gave the girl a gold pen produced by Iteno, and also gave gifts to other children.
After a pleasant meal, Rock and Bloom inspected the farm in the small town together.
The farm is right next to the town, and there is a hill made of stones in the middle. Bloom said that the stones that make up this hill are all picked from the reclaimed land. At first, these stones were transported to distant places.
Abandoned, people later threw the stones in the middle of the farm as a souvenir, so there was this hill made of gravel.
There is a huge dragon blood tree on the top of the hill, which was specially transplanted to commemorate the town. The name of the town is Dragon Blood Town. It sounds a bit fantasy, but it is a true portrayal of the people in the town.
"We are still continuing to reclaim land. In the future, we plan to reclaim 10,000 acres and double the current scale. By then we will be able to export agricultural products. In fact, it is already very good now. We sell milk and eggs to the naval base.
You can earn about five thousand pounds a month." Bloom's words simply made Rock ashamed. Look at how others make money, and then look at yourself.
Luo Ke suddenly felt that he had played a negative role. Setting up a card to charge something was really unethical, and he would be punished by God if he did it too much.
There are currently about 500 cows on the farm in Dragon Blood Town, all of which are under centralized management. Rock also suddenly noticed something after visiting the cowshed. The farm in Dragon Blood Town seems to be a collective operation and is not privately owned by the residents.
all.
This was once the model that Louis Botha dreamed of, but unexpectedly it did not appear in southern Africa. Instead, it took root in Dragon Blood Town.
