Chapter 325: The Ndebele People's Supporters
The Zhuhai Commercial District differs somewhat from the Special Economic Zone of the previous era. The old Zhuhai SEZ was established by the inland government to attract investment from Macao and other places across the border. In contrast, the East African government has no such concern; it's simply aiming to get a share of the southern Far Eastern market. The reason it chose Zhuhai is that all the prime locations in the south have long been taken by the British and the French.
Tangjiawan lies behind Xiangshan County. Xiangshan County at this time roughly corresponds to what would become Zhongshan and Zhuhai in later times. So in terms of future prospects, one could still place some confidence in it.
That said, this "confidence" is really just Ernst's personal view. His own people don't quite grasp it; Xiangshan as it stands is basically an inland county. Its coastal area is largely mudflats. For instance, at Tangjiawan, where East Africa rents space to build a port, there are only a few small fishing villages along the shore. Any trade infrastructure there will have to be paid for and constructed by East Africa itself.
That's simply how trade works in this era. The Qing government has only been opening up its coastal areas for about two decades. The really good spots were claimed long ago by the British and French. Meanwhile, places like Guangzhou or Shanghai, blessed with such advantageous geographic positions that they connect by river to inland areas (via the Pearl and Yangtze Rivers), are so desirable that no one party could monopolize them.
Look at Germany in the previous era: it came late and could only choose Jiaozhou in the north as its base. Then, to link up the interior, it had to invest painstakingly in railroads. By the time they finally finished the railway, they barely had time to profit before Japan stepped in to reap the benefits.
…
East Africa, Matabele Plateau.
Lobengula truly has some real skill. By uniting all levels of Ndebele military leaders under him, the nearly all-warrior Ndebele people have forcefully mustered a rebel army of fifty thousand, plus another one hundred thousand "servant troops" formed from the Shona.
They have seized the inland transport strongholds set up by East Africa, cutting off the supply routes East Africa had built for bringing in provisions on its southward expedition. If these routes can't be reopened soon, in time the East African border troops will face food shortages.
Siweite personally traveled to Southern Salzburg Province to organize an anti-rebellion force of over five thousand soldiers, heading south along the Luangwa River. He also dispatched cavalry to notify the border troops on the Matabele Plateau to coordinate an encirclement and suppression from three directions—east, west, and south.
Bulawayo.
Capital of the Matabele Kingdom and Lobengula's stronghold.
The royal vizier was reporting on the uprising to Lobengula: "Your Majesty, the military leaders in all regions have accomplished their missions, destroying seventy-eight East African strongholds in total and supposedly wiping out over ten thousand of the enemy."
Clearly, that battle report is fabricated. If East Africa truly had over ten thousand soldiers stationed in the Matabele interior, the Ndebele uprising would never have had any chance to break out.
And for each of those East African outposts—meant to protect the transport of grain and commercial goods—there were at most twenty or thirty people stationed, sometimes fewer than ten.
However, Lobengula was in high spirits and didn't bother scrutinizing the figures. Inflating battlefield merits is a common phenomenon, and as far as he was concerned, he had achieved the effect he wanted.
Lobengula said, "Excellent. Order them to keep up the offensive. We must drive the East Africans out of the Matabele Kingdom once and for all!"
He had a very ambitious mentality, shaped by years of fighting around him and contending for his throne.
When he finally subdued all domestic forces and took the throne, the East Africans appeared. At the time, Lobengula wasn't sure how strong East Africa was, and his realm was still reeling from internal upheaval, so he could only stand by and watch as the East African army entered the Matabele Kingdom.
Indeed, East Africa's southern expedition force had impressed Lobengula, but he soon discovered that the East African main force was deployed east and south, confronting the Portuguese and the Boers.
At the same time, the East African Kingdom sent envoys demanding that he submit. Why should he share what he already controlled, not to mention pay tribute? That was intolerable for Lobengula.
He told his subordinates, "These pale-skins only defeated the brave Ndebele warriors because of their superior firearms. Now we, too, have formed our own firearms unit. As soon as we destroy the East Africans entrenched in the south, our Matabele Kingdom will be victorious in the end!"
As a branch of the Zulus, the Ndebele are no strangers to firearms. Back in the Transvaal, they suffered at the hands of the Boers, so after Mzilikazi led them into Zimbabwe, the kingdom worked proactively with the Portuguese to purchase guns and form a firearms unit.
When Lobengula took the throne, he continued that policy. But now, instead of buying from the Portuguese—who were also rivals—he sourced weapons from the Boers.
The Portuguese Governor of Mozambique was wary about East Africa, but he still deemed East Africa powerful enough that fighting them, without backing from home, would only benefit the British to the south.
The Boers had a different mindset. If the Ndebele show up with gold to trade, the Boers gladly welcome them. East Africa? That's none of their concern, especially not when gold is involved.
Previously, if the Ndebele brought lumps of gold around, the Boers would have taught them a harsh lesson, but they feel threatened by the arrival of these Germans. Of course, the Boers are not eager to personally fight these "Germans," even in theory. The mere thought makes them uneasy. But if the Ndebele come asking for arms, that's the Boers' chance to gauge the Germans' strength indirectly.
Through weapons smuggling, the Boers delivered firearms to the Matabele Kingdom—firearms they themselves had obtained from British traders. Boer smugglers then sneaked across the Limpopo River, trading in the riverside forests with the Ndebele.
In just three months, the Boers transferred five thousand muskets to the Ndebele, most of which were surplus British Army weapons retired after the Crimean War.
In the past, the Boers would never have offered such help to the Ndebele, since they'd been eyeing the land north of the Limpopo themselves. Now that the north is under the East African Kingdom, the Boers' path for expansion is blocked, so the Ndebele go from being their enemy to becoming a pawn they can use. After all, the Ndebele's rebellion hurts the East African Kingdom, and the Boers make a profit in gold—two birds with one stone.
Those five thousand guns are precisely what Lobengula is depending on. Adding the original one thousand or so firearms in his force, he can muster six thousand gun-wielding troops in total. Along with the rest of his force, numbering in the tens of thousands, he sees himself as the likely winner.
Lobengula has clearly been misled by the Boers. He imagines East Africa to be like the Boers—few in number, relying purely on firearms to claim African territory.
But that is only how things appear in Zimbabwe. Over in Zambia, the East African colonists easily outnumber the entire Ndebele population. They just happen to be farther away, so development of Zimbabwe lags behind. That led to fewer troops being posted there, giving Lobengula a false impression.
Though Zimbabwe does host a considerable number of East African soldiers, these troops don't farm on their own. If one cuts off their food supplies, after about a month they'd be out of rations and forced to surrender—so he thinks.
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