Chapter 814 Comeback?

During this period, Archduke Ferdinand was very confident in the East African Navy. During the South African War, the East African Navy was under the greatest pressure. Under such high pressure every day, the East African Navy gained a lot of experience and eliminated a large number of hidden problems. .

"Now the naval department, after the baptism of war, it can be said that except for the powerful navy of Britain, we dare to show our swords against any navy, so we are fully confident to win the island of Madagascar, which is very close at hand." Archduke Ferdinand said to Ernst said confidently.

"Madagascar is not a small place. If you want to control the vast area except for the Kingdom of Immerina, you will definitely not be able to do it with less troops. Therefore, this time the army should be stationed on Madagascar permanently after the navy seizes the target, and the number of troops should not be less than one brigade. It is best to equip cavalry. At the same time, in order to guard against the private expansion of the Kingdom of Immerina, we must knock the mountains and shake the tigers to let them stay peacefully in the eastern plateau area." said General Staff Officer Sweet.

At present, the Kingdom of Imerina is the biggest obstacle to East Africa's expansion to Madagascar. Since the Kingdom of Imerina has the highest level of civilization on Madagascar, they also have the intention of annexing the entire island of Madagascar.

This is obviously not in the interest of East Africa, so the Kingdom of Immerina must be dealt a heavy blow to restrain its people from migrating into the East African region in the future until the East African people's base in Madagascar is enough to prevent the expansion of the southwest and southwest of Madagascar. .

This is a typical "immigration real border" policy, which in turn can also be called an "immigration invasion" plan. East Africa has been able to develop from a small area in East Africa to a large country spanning the southeast, central, north and three African regions, relying on a steady stream of people. Immigration activities.

This kind of rogue style of play is simply impossible for traditional colonists to resist. Once they confront East Africa, they will be short of manpower.

However, for a long time in the future, East Africa is unlikely to have a large population on the island of Madagascar. In this case, the knock on the Kingdom of Imerina is particularly important.

The current population distribution in East Africa is very uneven, especially in places such as Angola and Mozambique, where the population base is basically zero. Even the most densely populated eastern part of East Africa is actually relatively spacious and sparsely populated.

For a long time in the future, the priority development direction of East Africa will definitely be the west and south, as well as the developing central part. For the time being, there is not much remaining population to consider Madagascar.

"The territorial expansion of Madagascar must be completed within one year. Otherwise, we will miss the best opportunity when France or Britain complete their colonization of the Kingdom of Immerina. Therefore, we must completely complete the expansion before the end of 1890." Complete the conquest of the west and south of Madagascar." Ernst said: "As for the military strength, let the Southern Military District place a brigade on Madagascar, and the Northern Military District provide a cavalry brigade, especially in the arid areas of southern Madagascar."

This is basically equivalent to placing a division of troops on the island of Madagascar, which is more than enough to deal with the Kingdom of Immerina, which has a population of only more than two million.

That is to say, the island of Madagascar is close to the mainland of East Africa. Otherwise, it would be difficult to support the scale of this garrison. But in turn, because Madagascar is close to East Africa, East Africa cannot turn a blind eye to this place.

…

September 21, 1889.

Not long after the South African War, East Africa once again launched a colonial war against Madagascar. A total of more than 12,000 East African navy and army troops landed on Madagascar.

And this also gave a painful lesson to all Madagascar ethnic groups except the Imerina people, because the Imerina people are of the yellow race, and most of the other forces except the Kingdom of Imerina are Bantu people. , that is, black people who lived in West Africa in ancient times.

Of course, this is purely coincidental. They happen to live in the area that East Africa is about to expand. East Africa has always been merciless to black people. In addition, the lack of population in the development of Madagascar has resulted in a large number of Bantu people becoming slaves.

However, the black population in the East African controlled area is not large. Because they live in the savanna area, these black people are no different from the black tribes who lived on the East African grasslands. The entire black population of Madagascar is only a few hundred thousand, and there are many black people. Yellow hybrid.

As for the rapid increase in the black population in Madagascar in the previous life, it was entirely caused by the introduction of black slaves by France in order to expand plantations. The French introduced at least more than 500,000 black people into Madagascar.

In addition, Madagascar is too close to the African continent, and even black people with low technical levels can cross the sea, so there are naturally more and more black people on Madagascar.

However, since the founding of East Africa, the French have been unable to introduce cheap black slave resources even if they occupy Madagascar. Unless they introduce people from West Africa regardless of the cost, it is obvious that Madagascar is not worth the French effort.

Of course, the French are still huddled on the northern and eastern coasts, and they have not even settled the Kingdom of Immerina, so the history of Madagascar has been completely changed beyond recognition.

…

"What do the East Africans want to do? Our two countries have just signed an armistice agreement, and now you are attacking Madagascar. It is too much. Do you want to provoke the South African War again?" Bruce, the first British Minister to East Africa, asked the East African government protested.

No wonder Minister Bruce was nervous. When the East African cavalry appeared at the border of the Kingdom of Imerina, he was almost frightened to death.

It is even thought that East Africa will "come back" and start a new war. This worry is not unnecessary. After all, Britain did not gain an advantage in the South African War.

Therefore, they were very worried that the victorious East Africa would become swollen, which was not conducive to the stability of the South African region. The ensuing military operation in Madagascar further confirmed Minister Bruce's speculation, which is why he actively contacted the East African government.

"Minister Bruce, please be patient. Of course we respect your country's interests in Madagascar. However, as far as we know, Britain's influence on Madagascar is limited to the Kingdom of Imerina, and it does not even have troops deployed. The western and southern parts of Madagascar have been 'terrain without man' since ancient times, so our East African activities in Madagascar are completely reasonable and legal." The reception staff of the East African Embassy answered.

Hearing this, Minister Bruce asked: "Does this mean you will not invade the Kingdom of Immerina?"

"Naturally, East Africa has never had an idea of ​​the Kingdom of Immerina. Our military operations in the west and south of Madagascar are entirely to ensure the security of the western Indian Ocean route."

Regarding East Africa's shameless remarks, Minister Bruce sneered: "On the island of Madagascar, the Kingdom of Imerina is our core interest in the UK, so no matter what East Africa does, it cannot enter the territory of the Kingdom of Imerina. At the same time, in order to determine the spheres of influence of the two countries , we must have a detailed demarcation of the borders of Madagascar."

The East African government easily accepted Bruce's request. After all, it could not "bully others too much", and East Africa was happy to see the Madagascar issue peacefully resolved.

However, even if the trouble in East Africa is solved, it will not be easy for Britain to control the Kingdom of Immerina, because France is the real main force in expanding to the Kingdom of Immerina, and it is the kind that the British cannot stop.