When the First World War first broke out, all participating countries believed that the war would end quickly, and their own military-industrial strength was enough to cope with the consumption during the war.
A year later, all the participating countries were surprised to find that the end of the war was far away. All the supplies that the participating countries had hoarded before the war had been exhausted. Food, medicine, weapons, clothing, and even soldiers began to be in short supply.
So the United States became Europe's savior.
During the war, the Allied Powers ordered more than 15 billion US dollars in supplies from the United States. All American companies involved in war supplies made great progress. By the end of the war in 1918, a millionaire was born in the United States.
Although the war benefited many people, the real winner was the arms dealer. DuPont produced 40% of the ammunition for the Allied Powers during the war, and its stock price soared from US$20 at the outbreak of the war to US$1,000. p>
What Roque hopes is that when Britain needs overseas supplements, it can become a "sponsor" of the British government through its relationships with the British government.
There is no need to completely kick DuPont out of the game. As long as we can carve up part of DuPont's orders, it will be enough for the Nyasaland Arsenal.
The same is true in other aspects. During the war, Europe needs more than just weapons, medicine, food, and even daily necessities, which will become in short supply during the war. What Rock is doing now in Johannesburg and Nyasaland is to become a member of the Allied Powers.
Suppliers are preparing, not just suppliers in one aspect, but suppliers in all aspects. As long as Nyasaland and Johannesburg can produce it, Rock will increase investment.
Thanks to free trade, Johannesburg and Nyasaland do not need to face technical barriers. As long as Roque is willing to pay, he can successfully purchase all advanced technologies, which will provide sufficient impetus for the industrial development of Johannesburg and Nyasaland. The next day, the trial panel will hold a fourth deliberation on the crimes of Austin Pence and three others. If this time the final conclusion cannot be reached, then the trial of Austin Pence and three others will be handed over to the justice. Roque had a brief exchange with Louis Botha before the collegial meeting began.
"Lord, Austin Burns and three other people must be punished. I cannot exchange the collective interests of the Boers." Louis Botha also rejected Roque's conditions.
After the trial began, Rock hoped that Louis Botha and Jan Smuts would give up their hatred. For this reason, out of humanitarian considerations, Rock was willing to compensate the Boers who died in the conflict, including those who were killed in the conflict.
The Boers who were injured in the attack, even though the compensation now seems to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The communication was not going smoothly. Louis Botha and Yang Smuts knew very well that if they gave up the pursuit of Austin Burns and other three people, they would lose their support among the Boers. This was Louis Botta's
Absolutely unacceptable to Botha and Yang Smuts.
"Louis, this is not an exchange. You should know what kind of conflicts will occur if those Boers are allowed to enter Johannesburg. The consequences may be more serious than they are now. If you insist on punishing Austin Burns and the others, then it will cause
You have to think carefully about the confrontation between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein." Roque was very dissatisfied and a little impatient at the same time. The reason why Louis Botha and Yang Smuts were so stubborn was that the conditions had not been agreed upon.<
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In fact, Louis Botha and Yang Smuts were not stubborn. They could not hold Austin Burns and three other people accountable, but the condition was that Johannesburg would pay high compensation to the Boers who were injured or killed in the conflict. The compensation was
The amount could be as much as millions of pounds.
This condition was unacceptable to both Rock and Philip, and even Ade began to feel disgusted with the greed of the Boers.
"Lord, Johannesburgers are as British as Bloemfontein people." Louis Botha didn't seem to care about Roque's threat, and his eyes flickered when he looked at Roque.
"Don't tell me this. I'm telling you clearly now that if you don't give up the pursuit, from now on, Johannesburg will sever any cooperation with Bloemfontein, and our previous cooperation will also be invalidated. Please consider this carefully, Mr. Mayor,
You may be very free now, but we are very busy and don't have much time to spend here." Roque's attitude is firm. If Louis Botta is stubborn, then Roque has no time to talk in circles with Louis Botta. He likes to play word games, right?
?You like intrigue, right?
Just play with yourself.
"Lord, what do you mean?" Louis Botha's face changed drastically. If what Roque said is true, then Bloemfontein cannot bear the consequences.
"That's what you think you mean, if you insist on putting Austin Burns on trial, then just pay off your loan yourself, not even a penny from Johannesburg, and those potatoes shipped to Bloemfontein, so to speak.
Well, if you insist, I would rather bury those potatoes back in the ground than send them to Bloemfontein." Rock finally transformed into someone who would rather pour milk into the river than give it to those who really need it.
Capitalist.
"The two cannot be confused at all." Louis Botta did not expect Roque to be such a threat.
"But in my opinion, this is the same thing. The investigation results have been reached. It was you Boers who caused this conflict. If you want to hold people responsible, then you might as well hold James Herzog and De Wet accountable.
, I heard that you held funerals for James Herzog and De Wit a few days ago. What, do you still think that they are heroes? They should be treated like heroes?" Rock asked questions like a barrage of questions.
, his patience has been exhausted, and even the good impression he had towards Louis Botta has disappeared without a trace.
If Louis Botha can forget his hatred and focus all his energy on reconstruction, then Roque can still cooperate with the Boers.
Now the Boers have become a cancer. They do not produce, do not work hard to save themselves, and wait all day for funds from London and rescue from Johannesburg. Rock doesn't know why the Boers have fallen to this level, and he doesn't want to know. Since the Boers themselves
If they are willing to fall, then let them perish in hell.
"My lord, James Herzog and de Witt have made contributions to peace. You cannot insult them." Louis Botha looked angry. For the Boers, James Herzog and de Witt
Te is truly a hero.
At least that's what most Boers think.
"Okay, I insulted them, and I apologize. You want Austin Burns to be put on a public trial first, right? OK, then let Austin Burns be put on a public trial." Rock stopped talking nonsense and reached the stage of public trial.
Of course, Rock cannot interfere, but the Boers have also lost their role. The only one who can play a role at that time——
Haha.
Abandoning communication with Louis Botta, Roque went directly to Philip and asked Philip not to participate in the subsequent trial.
"Why?" Philip thought Roark had given up his efforts.
"I'm going to prepare for Phyllis's wedding--" Roark's reason was very good, and Phillip immediately beamed.
"Go, go, I'll go talk to the Governor." Philip urged again and again.
Rock has a relationship with Austin Burns, but Phillip does not, so Phillip doesn't care about Austin Burns' life or death.
After leaving the Palace of Justice, Rock went directly to Justice Duke Cowper.
"Lord, I am sorting out the files related to Austin Burns and the others. It doesn't look good for Austin Burns and the others. Even if they escape the death penalty, I'm afraid they will inevitably be imprisoned." Duke Cowper told the truth, no.
Dare to give Rock the promise of innocence.
"It doesn't matter. If you go to jail, go to jail, as long as the person doesn't die." Rock doesn't force it. As long as the person doesn't die, Rock can find a way.
To put it bluntly, it was a matter of money. Roque tried to use money to buy off Louis Botta and Jan Smuts, but Louis Botta and Jan Smuts opened their mouths and put forward conditions that Roque could not accept.<
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Then Rock simply took the money that was originally intended to be used to bribe Louis Botha and Yang Smuts to bribe the judge. No one except the Boers with ulterior motives could refuse Rock's goodwill.
Louis Botha and Yang Smuts did have reasons why they could not give in. If Austin Burns and the others escaped punishment, it would mean that from now on, the survival status of the Boers could not be guaranteed. After all, that day was
Austin Burns and others ordered the shooting of the Boers. If such behavior will not be punished, then the Boers will have no dignity at all in the future.
Rock doesn't care how important the dignity of the Boers is. Austin Burns and the others prevented the Boers from entering Johannesburg and made a great contribution to Johannesburg. Rock cannot ignore this. All Johannesburgers should pay tribute to Austin Burns and the others.
Full of gratitude, so——
Louis Botta and Jan Smuts wanted Austin Burns and others to die, but Rock insisted on letting Austin Burns and others live.
"Then there is no problem. If you are just serving a sentence, there are many options. The prison in Pretoria has been built. I suggest you, Lord, find a better cell for them." Duke Cowper said.
It was a happy experience. Rock's generosity was well-known in the Transvaal. Duke Cowper helped Rock, and Rock would naturally reciprocate.
This time Rock finally understood why the prisons in Europe were in such good condition. The prison and police station in Pretoria had not been separated yet. Henry's people were responsible for guarding the prison. Rock could not get Austin Burns and the others to do anything.
out of prison, but it is still possible to make their life in prison more comfortable.
It's not impossible to get people out of jail. There are many legal loopholes in this era. Dr. Jameson, who should have been in jail, is preparing to run for prime minister in Cape Town. When the limelight is over, Roque wants to imprison Austin Peng.
It's easy for them to get out of prison, just find any excuse.
Not surprisingly, the fourth collegial meeting ultimately failed to reach any consensus. Next, the case will be transferred to the justice for trial.
As for the public trial that Louis Botta and Jan Smuts wanted, Ade did not approve it, and the trial of the chancellor will also be conducted in a closed manner.
Ade is not stupid. The best way to deal with this matter now is to cool it down. Don't continue to hype it up and let people slowly forget about it.
The public trial will not do any good to the government. Instead, it will expose the contradictions between the Transvaal and Orange. At that time, the whole world will pay attention to this small trial. No matter what the result of the public trial is, the British Empire will become the world's
The laughing stock of the world.
Roque originally wanted to stay in Pretoria for a few days, but on the night when the collegiality failed, Roque received bad news. Someone died of illness in Johannesburg, and the cause of death was probably the plague.
Plague!
For Rock, the plague seems to be dispensable, because the plague has been basically eliminated in the 21st century, so Rock has no impression.
But for people in 1902, the plague was equivalent to a death notice. The plague was also known as the Black Death. When you hear this name, you should understand the destructive power of the plague.
Europe is the hardest hit area by the plague. In the mid-14th century, the plague spread across the European continent. Within three years, nearly 30 million people in Europe lost their lives due to the plague.
Over the next three years, plague continued to ravage the entire European continent, killing nearly one-third to half of the population in Russia.
If we include several plague outbreaks in the next 300 years, nearly half of the people in Europe died due to plague, and nearly 300 million people lost their lives worldwide.
In 1348, the German chronicler Lübeck recorded the death toll, with the highest number of deaths in one day being as high as 1,500.
Therefore, when someone died from the plague in Johannesburg, it immediately aroused everyone's attention.
"Locke, are you sure?" After receiving the report, Ad immediately confirmed the authenticity of the plague.
"I'm very sure. There is a hospital and a biological laboratory in Ziwei Town. Professor Abu from the laboratory personally examined the deceased and determined that the cause of death was the plague." Roque also felt heavy, not knowing whether Johannesburg could survive this test. In terms of sanitary conditions, Johannesburg is not much better than Pretoria, so since someone in Johannesburg died due to the plague, Pretoria will certainly not be immune.
Calculating this way, the epidemic in Orange should be more serious. It is just because Orange lacks enough medical personnel that it is not confirmed to be a plague outbreak.
"From now on, all work will be stopped. All officials must return to their jurisdiction immediately. A thorough screening of the jurisdiction must be carried out. Hurry up and take action. If there is a large-scale outbreak of plague, then the Transvaal and Orange will all be affected."
It’s over!” Ade shouted hoarsely, and the fear of the plague had penetrated into his bones.
Then return to the precinct, and Roque, Philippe, Louis Botta, and Jan Smuts took the same train to leave Pretoria.
On the train, Louis Botha proposed to Roque, hoping to get medical assistance from Johannesburg.