This Christmas Eve is destined to be unsafe for some people. While the entire city of Pretoria is celebrating the festival, Bukavu, three thousand kilometers away, is gloomy and gloomy. This is a permanent semi-military stronghold.
There are more than a thousand troops stationed in the stronghold, plus civilians who took temporary refuge after the rebellion broke out.
This rebellion was not without warning. Two months ago, the Belgian government decided to levy a special commercial tax in the Congo Free State. The tax was originally targeted at large companies in the Congo Free State, but in the end all taxes were passed on to the Congo Free State.
The total amount of taxes levied on Africans in the state far exceeds the amount levied by the Belgian government, reaching an average of nearly fifteen francs per Congolese.
Fifteen francs, equivalent to about 0.6 rand, is not a large amount, but it is undoubtedly a huge sum of money for Africans in the Congo Free State, and ordinary families cannot afford it.
At the end of November, mercenaries from the Kasai Company surrounded a tribe that had not paid their taxes on time, and massacred the entire tribe regardless of the tribal chief's pleas. This seriously exceeded the bottom line of the Congolese people.
In the past, during the Belgian colonization, even though the Belgians imposed levies and imposed severe punishments, they would not use such cruel methods. After all, dead people cannot generate profits.
Therefore, the Africans in the Congo Free State and the Belgians seem to have reached a tacit agreement. The Africans in the Congo Free State accept the slavery of the Belgians. As conquerors, the Belgians recognize that the Africans in the Congo Free State can survive on this land.
At this time, the Belgians have been able to maintain the basis of colonial rule.
Now this tacit understanding was broken. After the news spread, the Tetera people in the Kuango River Basin revolted. In just half a month, more than 100,000 Congolese joined the rebels, and the Congo Free State was full of chaos.
Rebel activities were discovered around Bukavu half a month ago, and Bukavu immediately entered a state of war. A week ago, Bukavu was surrounded by rebels, and external traffic was interrupted.
"We still have a lot of ammunition, but the food can only last for a week. If there are still no reinforcements, we can only implement a food rationing system." Security Captain Lieutenant Bobby felt heavy, with two obvious dark circles under his eyes.
He used to be a very clean person, but now he smells bad, his hair seems to have not been washed for several days, and his trouser legs are full of mud spots.
"How long can we last if the food rationing system is implemented?" Charles David, the head of Bukavu, looked worried. He had just accepted the employment of the British-Belgium Rubber Company and came to the Congo Free State a month ago. Unexpectedly, he encountered this kind of situation.
It's really a bad year.
"In about ten days, we now have too many women and children. Originally, we prepared enough supplies for the security team for three months, but we didn't expect that there would be so many more people now." Lieutenant Bobby was also helpless and rebelled.
The army became more powerful and intensified. In the few strongholds that were breached, all the men were killed, and all the women were taken away. Needless to say, the fate of those women must be tragic.
Lieutenant Bobby can only be grateful that his wife and children are in Antwerp and not in the Congo Free State. If he can escape this disaster this time, Lieutenant Bobby will resign and return to Belgium. At this special moment, Lieutenant Bobby
Bobby finally realized that nothing is more important than being a family together.
"So what do we do in ten days?" Charles David has never faced this situation before, and the business major at the Free University of Brussels does not have any courses in this area.
"Either break out, or we all die together." Lieutenant Bobby's expression was calm. He would never surrender. During his years in the Congo Free State, Lieutenant Bobby knew very well how white people treat Africans. If
If it falls into the hands of Africans, life will definitely be worse than death.
"Think of a way, you are the security captain." Charles David was confused.
"I organized people to pick fruits outside the city, but they were attacked by rebels. These rebels were different from the Africans I knew before. They were very skilled in using weapons and their shooting accuracy was very high. They were no worse than our security guards.
We had many people, and the rebels were outnumbered, so we suffered heavy losses. Later, I organized people to go fishing in the lake, and we were also attacked by the rebels. It is hard to imagine that the fishing boats we used were still wooden boats, but the rebels used iron boats.
The hull boat was destroyed, and the rebels also put machine guns on the boat to shoot at us. We were unable to compete. Now we have lost all the fishing boats and have no way to escape." Leed Bobby's expression was numb, and he wanted to say something bad but couldn't.
Know who to scold.
"I knew it, I knew it, damn Southern Africa, damn Nyasaland, the damn British, it's all their fault -" Charles David roared unscrupulously, bursting out from the office window.
The glass is shaking.
Leed Bobby said nothing, quietly waiting for Charles David to finish venting.
"——Is there any news from the head office?" Venting won't solve the problem. You still have to face reality later.
"As before, let us hold on and wait for reinforcements." Lieutenant Bobby stood up, picked up a bottle of wine, looked at the label, and then poured two full glasses.
The potato vodka produced in Johannesburg can definitely make people drunk and relieve all their worries.
"Will we have reinforcements?" Charles David sat slumped in his chair, his vision was out of focus, and his voice was a little vague.
"Who knows, everyone is asking for help. We in Bukavu are not a place that must be rescued." Leed Bobby did not hold out much hope. There were faint gunshots in the distance, but this was not reinforcements.
, it is estimated that another plantation owner who tried to take refuge in Bukavu was attacked by the rebels.
Information spreads very slowly in this era. Some planters in remote areas may have just learned about the outbreak of the rebellion in the Congo Free State. When many planters learned about the outbreak of the rebellion, they did not think that the problem was so serious. As a result,
If you miss the best opportunity to escape, by the time you realize that the situation is completely out of control, you will have lost your chance of escape.
Just when Charles David was about to speak, a huge cheer suddenly came from outside the window.
Lieutenant Bobby stood up and opened the window, and heard someone shouting in a crying voice: "Ship, there is a ship, there is a ship coming——"
In the Congo Free State, the river is the lifeline. The Belgians developed the Congo Free State along the river. The river next to Bukavu is called the Lusi River, which connects Lake Kivu and the North Sea.
Due to the expansion of Nyasaland, the Congo Free State has lost control of the North Sea coast. The Rusi River has also been blocked by the North Sea police, and there are fewer and fewer ships. However, the ships that can still appear at this time must be from the North Sea direction.
Coming along the Lusi River, Lake Kivu has been blockaded by the rebels. The Belgians cannot break through without warships, and only North Sea police ships can travel freely.
Mentioning the maritime police ships in the North Sea also makes the Belgians hate it to the core. The Germans probably feel this even more deeply. It is estimated that Nyasaland is the only country in the world that uses standard destroyers as maritime police ships, and the Nyasaland Navy
Police ships are equipped with more powerful weapons than destroyers. In the North Sea, Nyasaland's marine police ships are a giant that is difficult to challenge.
Regardless of whether it was a marine police ship from the North Sea or not, appearing in Bukavu at this time was a savior. Charles David and Leed Bobby did not dare to neglect, and reached the highest tower of the stronghold as quickly as possible.
They didn't even need a telescope to see the destroyer trying to dock at the simple dock. It was indeed a North Sea police ship. Charles David and Leed Bobby didn't recognize the square letters on the ship's side, but they knew the square letters.
It was invented by the Chinese.
While Charles David and Leed Bobby were observing, Captain Shi Zai of the Xuanwu was also observing Bukavu with his telescope.
"The river next to the dock is too shallow, and the Xuanwu cannot dock, so we have to send a small boat." First Officer Thorndike's expression was very complicated. A rebellion broke out in the Congo Free State, the Belgians massacred Chinese in Antwerp, but the North Sea Police had to be ordered to do so.
Rescue the Belgians in the Congo Free State, which Thorndike could not accept.
Nyasaland's marine police ships are named after cities in southern Africa. There are four thousand-ton marine police ships in the North Sea, namely the Little Rock, the Xuanwu, the Xuanji, and the Ulysses.
"Then send them and tell them that only women and children can be allowed on board, and our capacity is limited and we can only board a hundred people." Shi Zai put down the telescope in his hand, looked back at Thorndike who was hesitant to speak, and then
He was not angry: "Go if you are told to go. Soldiers have a bounden duty to obey orders. If you understand, you must execute them, and if you don't understand, you must execute them."
Along the way, Shi Zai often heard Thorndike’s complaints.
Not only Thorndike, but most of the officers and soldiers on the Xuanwu could not figure it out. Nyasaland never respected repaying kindness with kindness. The official guideline was to retaliate with kindness. When others bully you, you must fight back bravely. There is no such thing as compromising. p>
What made the officers and soldiers particularly unacceptable was that this order was not issued by Roque, but by the Nyasaland State Government, so the officers and soldiers scolded Anton secretly.
"I don't understand -" Thorndike was unconvinced. Although he said he understood, his feet did not move at all.
"What do you understand? If a Chinese was killed in Antwerp, we will declare war on Belgium and slaughter the city of Antwerp directly? Don't think that the governor is as narrow-minded as you. The Belgians will definitely not be able to protect the Congo Free State this time. In the future, the Congo Free State will
The ownership is still uncertain. Why do you think we are here to save people? We are not saving people, but human hearts and moral principles. If we stand on this point, we can take over the Congo Free State in an open and honest manner." Shi Zai was convinced, regardless of who had this idea.
Yes, Nyasaland has now reached out and grabbed the moral high ground. It would be ungrateful for Belgium to accuse Southern Africa of fanning the flames in the future.
"I'll send someone right now -" Thorndike ran very fast now.