Back in Johannesburg, Rock finally truly felt the benefits of "becoming a baron".
Owen was full of envy, jealousy and hatred towards Roark, the "baron". Henry of the Alsop family hid far away when he saw Roark. That idiot Arnold had been sent back to England by Baron Philip. Little Cecil
·Rhodes invites Rock to his home again.
"Congratulations, Sir Locke." Little Cecil Rhodes took the initiative to toast to Locke.
"Thank you Cecil, I still hope you just call me Locke." Locke didn't take "baronet" seriously. He didn't even have a fief, so he really had nothing to show off.
Relatively speaking, although little Cecil Rhodes did not have a title, he was the king of Rhodesia, and in terms of strength, he completely surpassed Rock.
Regarding Rock's modesty, little Cecil Rhodes smiled and said nothing. He said that including all the nobles in the British Empire, there is no one who is qualified to show off in front of little Cecil Rhodes.
More often than not, Cecil Rhodes Jr. called Roark "sir". He didn't have much respect for him, he just followed tradition.
In Johannesburg, the Rhodes family had a detached status. The investigation team stayed in Johannesburg for half a month and summoned dozens of people related to the outbreak of the Second Boer War, but never summoned any member of the Rhodes family.
Including Frank Rhodes, who directly led the Johannesburg rebellion before the war.
"What is the conclusion of the investigation team?" Roque is more concerned about this matter. The investigation team has left Johannesburg for Pretoria, which also means that the investigation is over, but Roque has not heard the final conclusion.
"There is no conclusion. No one needs to be responsible for the outbreak of the war. If there is, then Paul Kruger has the greatest responsibility." Cecil Rhodes Jr. looked proud and wanted to deal with the Rhodes family in Johannesburg.
It's impossible.
Paul Kruger was the President of the Transvaal Republic before the war. After crushing the rebellion in Johannesburg, Wilhelm II sent a "congratulatory" telegram to Paul Kruger, and then the Transvaal was established.
The Republic's ultimatum to the Cape Colonial Government.
Viewed this way, what Cecil Rhodes Jr. said makes sense, and Paul Kruger is indeed responsible.
"I heard that Baron Mahanless will stay as Lieutenant Governor." Rock tried to exchange information with Cecil Rhodes Jr.
"Yes, so if he can find out the results of the investigation, he will be a fool." Little Cecil Rhodes was full of confidence. This was another political exchange. If Baron Mahanless wanted to stay, he must get the Rhodes family.
recognition.
This is where Cecil Rhodes Jr.’s confidence lies.
"Have you recently been buying farms around Johannesburg?" Cecil Rhodes Jr. was interested in Rock's every move.
Cecil Rhodes Jr. said that Rock and Cecil Rhodes, Jr.'s father, Cecil Rhodes, were the same kind of people. He had a father like Cecil Rhodes.
Cecil Rhodes had to live under the aura of Cecil Rhodes, so one can imagine the admiration of little Cecil Rhodes for his father.
In the past year or so in the Cape, Rock has risen like a rocket, from an insignificant Chinese patrolman to a "baronet" in the British Empire. Many people cannot narrow the gap in their lifetimes, but Rock has
It only took more than a year to do it. From this perspective, Cecil Rhodes Jr.'s praise of Rock was not entirely polite.
It is said that a young person is better than a good person. For Cecil Rhodes, although his achievements are far out of reach, he does not want to live in Cecil Rhodes all his life.
In the shadow of Cecil Rhodes, but little Cecil Rhodes didn't know how to surpass his father, so every move of Rock at this time, for little Cecil Rhodes,
It's a good reference.
"Yes, I need many farms, not only to accommodate the families of Chinese miners, but also for the long-term plan in the future. The gold mine will be dug out one day, and the farm will continue to prosper." Rock said bluntly, De Beers
Both Uni-President Mining Company and Rock were recruiting Chinese miners, and Cecil Rhodes Jr. must have known about it.
As for the gold mine, in this era, only Rock can be sure that the gold in Johannesburg will not be exhausted until the 21st century.
But Cecil Rhodes Jr. certainly didn't know that, so this provided Rock with the perfect excuse.
"Would you consider a farm in Rhodesia?" Cecil Rhodes Jr. offered the bait.
"Rhodesia?" Roark really hadn't thought about it.
Rhodesia is the future Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, as well as part of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. This vast area is now under the jurisdiction of the South African Corporation.
"Yes, Rhodesia. Maybe you haven't been to Rhodesia. The land there is more fertile than the land in the Transvaal. There are also large reserves of copper mines in Northern Rhodesia. The key is, in Rhodesia
"If you want to buy a farm, it's very simple. I can give you the best price." Cecil Rhodes Jr. is confident. In Rhodesia, Cecil Rhodes Jr. is the king.
"How much is an acre?" Of course Rock was excited. Before 1980, Rhodesia was a rich agricultural country. The largest city in Rhodesia was called Salisbury, named after the former British Prime Minister.
In terms of naming, the future Salisbury will be Harare, which was the name changed by the local Shuna people after they came to power.
Before 1980, like South Africa, Rhodesia was also a white country. Although there were black people in Rhodesia, they had no political rights and were just vassals of this country. By squeezing the locals, Rhodesia became a paradise for white people.
, all of this ceased to exist after 1980. In the 21st century, Zimbabwe’s economy has completely collapsed. Even the agriculture that it was once proud of needs external assistance. Salisbury, the former “Garden City”, has also been rated as the best in the world.
An uninhabitable city.
"Don't be so stingy. One acre and two acres are not qualified to be discussed at this dinner table." Little Cecil Rhodes looked down on Roark's petty attitude. In terms of "acres", who is poor?
I can't afford to lose this person!
"Okay, how much does one square mile cost?" Rock is patient. For Rock, it is best to use "ten thousand square miles" as the unit.
"How much did you buy in Johannesburg?" Cecil Rhodes Jr. asked for a reference price.
"About 160 pounds." Rock told the truth. It was easy for little Cecil Rhodes to obtain this information, so there was no need to lower the price.
Although the guerrillas are still fighting, and although the peace negotiations have not yet produced results, after Alfred Milner participated in the negotiations, the dawn of peace talks has emerged, so farm prices around Johannesburg are rising rapidly, and Roque First
Compared with the first time I bought the farm, the current price has increased six times.
When Rock first bought a farm of 78.5 square miles, he spent almost 2,000 pounds, an average of a little more than 25 pounds per square mile. Now Rock buys a farm of the same area for almost 160 pounds. To be precise, the price has increased 6.4 times.
"I'll give you a 50% discount!" Cecil Rhodes Jr. had a lot of money.
"50% off? These are remote areas, and you have the nerve to ask for 50% off?" Rock laughed dumbly. The price of farms around Johannesburg has increased because gold mines may be discovered on farms around Johannesburg. Why is the land in Rhodesia selling for so much?
expensive?
"Hahahaha, it's 10% off, if you want to buy it." Cecil Rhodes Jr. was also joking. The total area of Rhodesia is 1.25 million square kilometers. The current population, including only white people, is about 50,000.
The price of land is unbelievably low.
In other words, Luo Yi bought a 12-square-kilometer farm in Bechuanaland. Although he only spent 280 pounds, Luo Yi still shouted that he was cheated. When converted into miles, 12 square kilometers is 4.6 square miles, but Luo Yi spent
At 280 pounds, the average price per square mile is more than 60 pounds, which is much more expensive than the farm prices around Johannesburg.
Of course that was before the price increase.
The "backcountry" here refers to land without underground mineral deposits, which does not mean it is a "backcountry" in the true sense.
It is said that in the whole of Africa, except for deserts, there are no "remote areas" in the true sense. If it is left to the Chinese, it will not take many years to be everywhere in the south of the Yangtze River.
"Okay, give me ten thousand square miles first." Rock had a big appetite.
"Ten thousand, are you sure?" Little Cecil Rhodes was startled.
The total area of Rhodesia is 1.25 million square kilometers, which is less than 500,000 square miles in British terms. According to the price offered by Cecil Rhodes Jr., 10,000 square miles costs 160,000 pounds. In this era, except for the top nobles,
Basically no one can come up with 160,000 pounds at once.
"Can I owe it first?" If Rock sold all the gold in the basement of Rock Gold Mine, he could easily make up 160,000 pounds, but Rock didn't dare to sell.
Selling too much gold to the market at one time will cause the price of gold to drop sharply, and Rock will become the public enemy of all mine owners in Johannesburg. This kind of loss-making business must not be done.
"Ha, no credit!" Cecil Rhodes Jr. refused. What a joke. If we could get credit, the vacant land in Rhodesia would have been taken over long ago.
"Okay, then a thousand square miles?" Rock settled for the next best thing. It was really impossible to come up with 160,000 at once, but he could still come up with 16,000 square miles.
"Really want to buy it?" Little Cecil Rhodes didn't expect that Rock would really buy it.
"Really buy it!" Rock would definitely not let go of such an opportunity.
"Okay! Sell it!" Cecil Rhodes Jr. decided. As the first heir of the Rhodes family, Cecil Rhodes Jr. is not short of the sixteen thousand pounds. Cecil Rhodes Jr.
·Rhodes’ purpose is to observe and see what tricks Rock can come up with.
In Johannesburg, there are actually many people who have the same goal as Cecil Rhodes Jr. Otherwise, farm prices around Johannesburg would not have risen so fast.
