When Horatio Herbert Kitchener left southern Africa, Rock was still a probationary inspector in the Cape Town Police Department and had no chance to meet Kitchener.
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. The former trainee inspector is now the Minister of Defense of Southern Africa. His title is the same as that of Viscount Kitchener. Kitchener was already the chief of staff of the expeditionary force when he attended the banquet in Cape Town. At that time, Rock Company
There is no qualification to enter the banquet hall.
Although in Egypt, Roque was also nominally controlled by Kitchina, but Kitchina obviously did not treat Roque like a superior treats a subordinate. Instead, he invited Roque to have afternoon tea just like meeting old friends.
"Do you taste any difference from the black tea in India? This is green tea produced in the Qing Dynasty. It doesn't add milk or sugar. It actually tastes good." Kitchina is quite thoughtful. During his work in India, he once sent troops
They invaded Lhasa and forced the then Lhasa government to sign the "Lhasa Treaty".
Luo Ke smiled and did not respond. India's black tea was also stolen from the Qing Dynasty.
After a simple opening remarks, Kitchina did not talk in circles and started talking directly: "How much is the production of Lee Enfield in southern Africa?"
"If we run it at full capacity, it will be about 50,000 pieces per month." Roque didn't tell the truth. Fifty thousand per month is the basic output, and if you go all out, you can at least double it.
"Too few. The War Department needs 2 million rifles before 1914." Kitchener has now begun to enter the role. This is not a problem for the Egyptian Governor to consider.
"It's impossible. There are still 14 months until 1914. We can't do it no matter what." Rock was surprised and didn't know why Kitchina limited the time to 1914.
There was still much that Roque didn't know. Kitchener's appointment as Minister of War was not due to nepotism. Although this man's character was a little weird, he did have strength. His dismissal as Commander-in-Chief of India was not due to his ability.
Not enough, but because of the discord with Governor Curzon, which has reached the point of affecting work.
People with ability usually have character, and Kitchina is a person with great character.
"If you in southern Africa can't do it, then the order will have to be given to the Americans -" Kitchina was savvy and not afraid of Roque not agreeing.
"Okay, we can do it -" Rock gritted his teeth. With two million rifles, even if the profit from one rifle was ten pounds, the total profit would be more than twenty million.
If the War Department buys so many rifles at once, it will definitely have to buy more bullets, so there is plenty of business.
"The price must be the price in 1910." Kitchina was very demanding and did not give Rock the chance to make a fortune out of the country.
"That's impossible, my lord, unless you can get me enough raw materials at the price in 1910, and you also have to find workers who voluntarily reduce their wages." Roark immediately refused, even if Kitchener went to the United States.
People, Americans will not lower prices.
The arms race has now entered a fever pitch, and the two major military groups have already pressed their capital. Not only the prices of military supplies, but also daily supplies have increased even more. The prices of various commodities on the market have increased by at least 50% so far this year.
Chickens are now a pound each, and rifles will definitely increase in price.
"There will be no other expenses." Kitchina still has leverage. Under normal circumstances, such a large arms purchase contract requires a lot of public relations expenses.
"Why so many? And why 1914?" Rock needed time to think about the gains and losses.
"The Ministry of War has decided to recruit 1 million new soldiers to join the army." Kitchina is indeed a ruthless person, and he will make big moves even before he takes office.
"Has a mobilization order been issued locally?" Rock's mood was complicated. Britain now has a total population of 40 million, one million recruits, plus veterans, which is almost a generation.
"Not yet, but we have to prepare for a rainy day. War may break out at any time. France and Germany have already entered a state of partial mobilization. Our army has no preparations now. Once war breaks out, France will definitely need our support, which will ultimately determine the outcome of the war.
It is still a land battlefield. This war is expected to last for a long time, maybe three years or more. We must be prepared for a long-term war." Kitchina regarded Roque as one of his own, and Roque
He can barely be considered a soldier.
Only now did Rock realize Kitchina's strength. This man was indeed a talent. No wonder he was appointed Minister of War by the British.
Many people believed that war would break out within a year or two. For example, George White discussed this issue with Rock.
However, most people do not have a clear understanding of this war. The general view is that the war will end within a year at most and will not last too long.
Kitchener was the first to predict that the war would last more than three years.
What Rock said before was because Rock knew that the world war had been going on for four years and he could easily become a magician.
Kitchina is different. He made this judgment based on the current situation, which is indeed commendable.
"With 1 million troops, our army already exceeds 1.5 million people -" Rock said the army, not counting the navy. If the navy is included, the total number of British troops has exceeded 2 million.
"Okay, let's take the price in 1910." Rock gritted his teeth. No matter what, he got the order first. Anyway, the price in 1910 was also very profitable, and Kitchener was conservative. Two million sounds like a lot.
, in fact, it won’t be enough even if you really buy it. I will definitely continue to order in the future. It is up to Rock to decide how much the price will increase.
Making money in arms depends on timeliness. Kitchina is ordering rifles now because he is not only afraid of soaring prices. He is also worried that if he orders them only when needed, but the production in southern Africa cannot keep up, then it will affect the country.
The decisive battle with Germany.
This battle cannot be lost.
"I want to return to southern Africa as soon as possible to organize production and complete orders as early as possible -" Rock also felt Kitchina's urgency. Now that the Balkan War has ended, the two major military groups have been completely formed, and any small accident may happen
Leading to the outbreak of war, Rock will definitely return to southern Africa to take charge of the situation.
"This is best. Although the situation in Egypt is dangerous, it has not yet reached a fatal level. Our main enemy is Germany." Kitchener hit the nail on the head. Neither the Austro-Hungarian Empire nor the Ottoman Empire would bring any harm to Britain.
There was too much pressure, but no one dared to take it lightly when facing Germany.
Rock nodded silently, secretly glad that Southern Africa did not need to face German pressure and only had to deal with Tanganyika and Southwest Africa.
No matter how arrogant Roark is, he will not think that southern Africa has the ability to compete with Germany. Although Germany's current army and navy combined are less than one million, once Germany issues a mobilization order, its troops can expand to
More than five million people, considering Germany's combat effectiveness——
Southern Africa cannot be defeated even if men, women, old and young join the battle.
Think about how the Transvaal and Orange were bulldozed by the British Expeditionary Force. If Southern Africa faced Germany, the end would be the same as the Boers during the Boer War. In the face of absolute strength, no strategy or tactics would be possible.
Yes, as long as the war can turn the tables, it is not absolute strength.
In fact, it is not that urgent. Under Rock's leadership, Southern Africa completed the construction of strategic warehouses last year. There are now more than one million rifles in stock in Southern Africa. These rifles were originally prepared by Rock for the world war.
Not only sold to Britain, but also to France if France needs it. Once the war breaks out, whether the caliber of the bullet is universal will no longer be a problem. Solve the problem first, and then talk about other things.
Of course, there is no need to rush back to southern Africa. The telegram can be sent first. Rock sent telegrams to Henry and Sam respectively. One of them is responsible for organizing raw materials and the other is responsible for organizing production. As long as there are no problems with them, Rock will not reply.
Southern Africa is the same.
In November, Kitchina's transfer order was officially issued, and Kitchina left Egypt and returned to his homeland to serve as Minister of War.
By this time, Rock had returned to southern Africa, and the production of rifles had increased to 100,000 pieces per month. All factories were working overtime to produce, not just rifles, but bullets and shells of various calibers, explosives and artillery, as long as they were and
War-related factories were working overtime, and even the fishing boats in the North Sea began to go all out to catch fish for Stoudemire's canning factory. Rock ignored these things and began to mobilize troops after returning to southern Africa, ordering the Northern Rhodesian Division and
The 1st Cavalry Division moves towards Tanganyika and the border with southern Africa.
"Why Tanganyika? We should deal with Southwest Africa first." Derek Dodd did not understand Rock's arrangement. From a geographical point of view, Southwest Africa is indeed easier to fight than Tanganyika.
After the railway between Walvis Bay and Bechuanaland was completed, the armies of Southern Africa could directly launch attacks into Southwest Africa by taking trains along the railway.
"Silly! Sooner or later, Southwest Africa will belong to us. It doesn't matter if it's sooner or later. Tanganyika is not necessarily the same. So as long as war breaks out, we must capture Tanganyika first." Roque will not make a mistake on this point.
Confused.
Derek Dodd had a complicated expression, but did not speak, acquiescing to Rock's arrangement.
To the north of Tanganyika is Sudan, which is jointly administered by Britain and Egypt. One thing is certain, Britain is definitely not willing to see Southern Africa annexing Southwest Africa and Tanganyika continuously, even if Southern Africa is Britain's biological son.
That's why Rock wanted to capture Tanganyika first, and then slowly attack southwest Africa. In this way, Britain could not declare war on southern Africa no matter how reluctant it was.
It would be funny if that were to happen. Think about the fact that both Sudan and Southern Africa could lose British overseas territories. If Sudan declares war on Southern Africa, it would be equivalent to British King George V declaring war on himself.
This kind of thing has happened before, and it has happened several times.