African Nationhood

Chapter 96 New Bloemfontein Agreement (Part )
  October 1881, 10, Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.

As a federal state established earlier by the Boers, the entire Orange Free State has a land area of ​​just over 13 people.

The life of the Boers here is relatively better than that of their compatriots in the Transvaal.

Because the Boers of the Orange Free State were the first to find a profitable direction, which was animal husbandry.

The furs from animal husbandry and the sale of cattle and horses are a lot of income, unlike agriculture, which can only be used to make a living.

After the diamond mines were discovered in the Orange Free State, they gave in very restrainedly and allowed the British to occupy the diamond mines.

In addition, the leaders of the Orange Free State are very open-minded and very cooperative with the British demands, and never have any disputes with the British.

Therefore, the Orange Free State was able to maintain its national sovereignty under the oppression of the British. On the contrary, the Boers of the Transvaal Republic were more temperate.

This also led to the fate of the Transvaal Republic.

After a struggle from the end of last year to March this year, the British and the Transvaal Boers finally reached the Pretoria Agreement in August.

The content of the agreement between the two parties was no different from what was previously announced. Shi Jintang was in Europe and the United States at the time and did not attend the signing of the agreement.

Now that he is back, he first secured Governor Robinson through Cecil Rhodes.

In Kimberley, he notified Sir Johannes Henriques Brand, President of the Orange Free State, and Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal, through the British.

It was determined that the four parties would gather in Bloemfontein, and the content of the meeting was to sign a boundary treaty between the parties.

Therefore, this meeting can be regarded as an important meeting to determine the situation in southern Africa.

Since there is a direct train from Kimberley to Bloemfontein, most members of the Nanhua Company delegation took the train.

Since Shi Jintang had to take the security company with him, he took a carriage and the members of the security company rode with him.

The group of people walked through the territory of the Orange Free State with great momentum.

Governor Robinson arrived via a special train from Cape Town to Bloemfontein.

The departure dates of both parties are different, but the arrival time is almost the same.

Although Shi Jintang's butt hurt from sitting on the carriage, it was better than sitting on the train all day and night.

At least he can stop and go as he pleases, which is much more freedom.

In addition, his convoy is also loaded with a lot of grenades, so that in case of danger, his safety can be guaranteed.

This is also the fundamental reason why he gave up the comfortable train and took a carriage.

The person who came to greet Shi Jintang was Walter Thomson, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Orange Free State.

The balding middle-aged white man was surprised by Shi Jintang's youth. He really didn't understand why the British Empire would issue a royal charter to an Oriental.

It is even less clear why this young man was able to build such a huge territory in just two years.

But the diplomat's professionalism remained online, and he quickly adjusted his expression to a smiling face.

"Hello, General Manager Shi, my name is Walter Thomson."

"Hello, Deputy Minister Thomson, do you smoke?"

Walter Thomson welcomed Shi Jintang's overtures and reached out to take the Lucky Strike cigarette.

Then he used his lighter to help Shi Jintang light the cigarette.

The two smokers stood on the road talking and laughing and finished smoking a cigarette. Then Walter Thomson led Shi Jintang into his four-wheel carriage.

Compared with Shi Jintang's carriage, Minister Thomson's carriage was more luxurious and had better shock absorption.

The two of them were in the carriage. Apart from continuing to smoke, it was Minister Thomson who introduced the process of the four-party meeting to Shi Jintang.

“The order of talks is that the Orange Free State will first conduct boundary negotiations with the Transvaal Republic.

Then there was the Southwark Company and the Transvaal Republic, and finally the Southwark Company and the Cape Colony government. ” ˆ ˆ Shi Jintang had no objection to Orange’s arrangements.

The Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic were compatriots, and the border negotiations between them were just a formality.

The negotiations between Nanhua Company and Cape Colony were not difficult. The most difficult part, Shi Jintang, had already been bought with the shares of Diamond Company. This time it was also just a formality.

The highlight was the border negotiations between the Southwark Company and the Transvaal Republic.

Pretorius Jr. signed a secret treaty with Shi Jintang last year, but at that time the Transvaal Republic had not yet been restored.

This secret agreement, the property rights of Boer farms in the Orange Grove area of ​​South China Company (South Bechuanaland area), and how to divide the boundaries between the two parties are the focus of attention of both parties.

The carriage quickly arrived at the hotel where the meeting was staying. Shi Jintang and his party occupied four three-story buildings.

Shi Jintang randomly selected a building, the middle room on the third floor, and there were people from the security company besides Robin Trudeau.

The members of the security company kept Shi Jintang's room strictly confidential. Anyone who wanted to see Shi Jintang had to undergo a strict body search before being released.

The civilian staff of the delegation live together in a building on the edge and are not allowed to go out at will.

When people from the Orange Free State came to invite them, Shi Jintang went to the main venue of the meeting, the Orange Free State National Convention Center, under the escort of a security company.

The layout here is very solemn. When arriving at the conference center square, Shi Jintang first saw the flag of the Orange Free State, which was an orange and white flag.

Orange is naturally the color of the Dutch motherland, and white refers to them being Caucasian.

The flag of the Transvaal Republic is a four-color flag of green, red, white and blue.

The flag of the Cape Colony has a red background, with the "rice" logo representing Great Britain in the upper left corner, and a shield logo in the lower right corner, with a horse, a caravan, green plants and a goddess on it.

The flag of Nanhua Company is also bright red with a "rice" logo in the upper left corner and a golden monster with a dragon body and two lion heads in the lower right corner.

This is the element of the national flag that Shi Jintang selected after considering it. The country he established must be dominated by Chinese people, and it must also integrate into southern Africa.

The lion is the most iconic image in southern Africa and can better reflect the country's image.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in the future, the main logo of the national emblem will be made into a two-headed lion with its body hovering on the Chinese column, symbolizing the Chinese nation spanning two oceans.

……

There were Boer guards in black military uniforms standing outside the venue. Everyone in Shijintang was wearing upright and solemn August 1st-style Chinese uniforms (Mao suit and Lenin suit).
  This uniform dress attracted the attention of the meeting place, and both the Boers and the British were surprised.

The advantage of uniform dressing like this is that in addition to being highly recognizable, it also gives people a sense of simplicity and sophistication.

Especially Shi Jintang, who is taller than the white man Trudeau behind him and is a head taller than the other Chinese guards.

But his young and handsome appearance is much more attractive than Trudeau.

Sir Johannes Brand, President of the Republic of Orange, is 69 years old this year.

His hair and beard are all white, but he is in good spirits and walks lightly.

"Welcome, young General Manager Shi."

"Hello, Mr. President."

Shi Jintang smiled brightly and shook hands with the old white man warmly. Afterwards, the two parties exchanged greetings for a while, and Shi Jintang led the people to their seats.

Not long after he took his seat, he saw an old white man with a gray beard and a big nose slowly entering the conference hall.

Shi Jintang was refreshed, and his opponent finally appeared.

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  (End of this chapter)