The news of the British's proposal to negotiate reached Vienna, and Franz approved it as soon as possible. Although the loss on the battlefield is not large, it hurts money!

Since you can't conquer Cape Town, it would be a waste of time to continue fighting. Looking at the intelligence coming from the front, Franz was also helpless.

The arrogance of the British Empire in this era is completely beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Millions of pounds are said to be smashed in, and at a glance they are all dense fortifications, how can the war be fought?

The original Cape Town strategy, under the tactics of the British, did not play its due role at all.

Don't look at the British falling into disadvantage, in fact, they still showed off their strength to the world once, and the funds that Britain smashed before and after the South African War this time are probably going to break 100 million.

No country in the world can afford this financial resource except Britain. If it had been a change of place, Franz would have flinched early, and he would have been so short-sighted if he had no money.

Even if it had the upper hand on the battlefield, the Viennese government paid no small price. The war has been going on so far, and more than 40 million Aegis have been smashed in.

The failure to capture Cape Town, Franz summed up the reason, not that the soldiers were not combative, nor that the commanders of the front line were incompetent, but that they were not rich enough to be arrogant.

Otherwise, thousands of 800 heavy artillery pieces will be transported at all costs, 1.8 million tons of shells will be fired, and no matter how many fortifications will be blown up.

Oh, it's like a road has to be built first. Otherwise, the logistics on the battlefield cannot be guaranteed, and there are artillery and no shells, and it is still in vain.

After a preliminary estimate of these expenses, it is estimated that there is a two or three hundred million Aegis, which is almost enough.

This is not something that the Vienna government can afford, or else the construction of railways in Africa would not be so slow. If the railway had been extended to the Transvaal earlier, the British would not have dared to provoke a war.

The Anglo-Boer war was not without benefits, and reality once again taught the world a lesson: war is a gold-swallowing beast, and if you don't have money, don't fight.

Gold in South Africa has not yet been mined on a large scale, and there is a widespread belief that there are no winners in this war. Austria defeated the British with the Boer vest, but did not capture the Cape of Good Hope, and the strategic goal was not achieved.

Economically, South Africa, which has not been developed, is not worth more than 50 million Aegis. The British bought Cape Town because of the Cape of Good Hope, and South Africa, which does not have this strategic location, is worth nothing in itself.

Compared with Austria, which suffered a small loss, the British lost blood. For the sake of the Boer Republic, a colony of average value, the war was launched on its own initiative.

The British spent a lot of money on the war and paid tens of thousands of casualties, not only did they fail to achieve their goal, but they were pushed back to Cape Town by the enemy.

Negotiations also come at a cost, and it is easy to start a war, but it is difficult to end it. If nothing else, whether or not to recover the lost land is a headache.

Even if this is a colony that is not worth much, the strategic security of the Cape of Good Hope must always be considered, right? If there is a conflict and the enemy is under the city, will the days be over?

Even if you don't fight, just the daily necessities are in the hands of others, and the price rises every three or five times, no one can stand it.

Therefore, the water outside the city, coal, farms, these necessities of the city, the British must take back.

The promise of empty white fangs is obviously impossible, and wearing the vest of the Boer Republic does not mean that the enemy outside the city is the Boer Republic. If you want to get all this at the negotiating table, you have to pay a price.

Franz didn't care what kind of result he talked about. Anyway, they can't suffer, and if the British are not in a hurry, it would be good to be in such a stalemate.

The Boer Republic can provide most of Austria's supplies of living materials, and the problem of feeding the front-line troops can be solved nearby.

The British in the city were in tragedy, and even fresh water had to be shipped from Madagascar or bought from the Portuguese. Not to mention other daily necessities, all of them have to be transported from the outside world.

Don't look at the convenience of sea freight, but also consider what the place is. The Cape of Good Hope is not a good place, it has always been a high-risk area for shipwrecks, and in a month or two, the monsoon will come and it will be a world of murderous waves.

The British had two paths in front of them, either stock up on enough supplies for the winter now, or end the war before winter came.

The plan never changed quickly, and just as the "Anglo-Boer negotiations" began, a sudden plague broke out.

It first appeared in the Indian colonial army, and the British did not pay attention to it, thinking that it was not adaptable, and what should be done or what should be.

In the course of the engagement, the plague was also brought into the cannon fodder units of the Boer Republic. On this battlefield where people die every day, it is also normal for a few people to fall ill, not to mention the cannon fodder troops who are not taken seriously.

Poor sanitation in the barracks accelerated the spread of the epidemic. Soon a large number of soldiers fell ill, the plague did not recognize people, and the white soldiers were not spared.

The British were the first to be discovered, and as the defending side of the city, the density of British troops was much greater, because the lack of water in the city exacerbated the deterioration of sanitary conditions.

These conditions brought convenience to the spread of the plague, and a large number of British soldiers fell ill, which attracted the attention of the military doctor Horace, who found out that the plague was coming.

Not daring to slack off, Hores immediately reported the news of the discovery of the epidemic. It was reported to the Governor of Delphi on May 18, 1871.

It is impossible to verify when the epidemic first appeared. The British medical system was not yet perfect enough to equip Indian soldiers with full-time doctors.

Bolt from the blue This is, for the Governor of Delphi, this is one of the worst news that there is no such thing. Without any hesitation, the Governor of Delphi immediately convened a high-level meeting and issued an epidemic prevention order:

"Immediately isolate all the sick and send electricity to the country to request that professional plague prevention specialists be sent to the country. The epidemic prevention work must be done now, what should you do to consult a doctor. ”

This is all he can do, the plague is not under control, and the medical technology of this era is limited, so he can only resign himself to fate.

Soon after the British discovered the outbreak, it was also discovered by the Boer Republic army outside the city.

The first to be infected was Ensign Mercks, who was sent to command the cannon fodder unit, and during his doctor's visit, he chatted and complained about the number of sick people under his hands, which aroused the curiosity of a trainee doctor.

Curiosity doesn't necessarily kill cats, but Dr. Lukedu went to the black barracks to check on the spot, and he was shocked when he checked it.

This is clearly a plague, but a plague that has spread. The number of infected troops in a single unit is not terrible, but the total number is terrifying.

After the news was reported, Viscount Fikney immediately sent people to investigate, and it was found that the number of infected people who had been identified was as high as more than 2,000, including 87 Boer soldiers.

This is only the virus carriers who have already developed the disease, and it is not known how many there are. Looking at the data in his hand, Viscount Fikney was speechless for a long time.

Fortunately, the cannon fodder unit and the main force were stationed separately, and the main force rarely came into contact with them, except for the officers who managed this force.

Needless to say, the epidemic prevention work began to start automatically. The Austrian army had a special anti-epidemic department, usually staffed by military doctors on a part-time basis, and this unit with the waistcoat of the Boer Republic army was no exception.

All units have carried out anti-epidemic work in an orderly manner in accordance with the anti-epidemic regulations that have been promulgated.

Viscount Fickney asked with concern, "Has the type of epidemic been determined?" What caused this plague? ”

The plague is also divided into three, six, nine and so on, and the most lethal is naturally the plague first, including the Black Death, which almost wiped out Europe, which is a type of plague, and then smallpox, cholera, malaria, and influenza.

All of them are afraid killers, regardless of whether they are high or low, they are all killed.

The military doctor Lesnar, who was in charge of the epidemic prevention work, thought for a while and said: "The transmission route of the plague is still uncertain, and its origin is preliminarily judged to be two situations.

The biggest possibility is that the corpses on the battlefield were mishandled, which led to the breeding of viruses and finally caused this plague.

Another possibility is that it was brought from outside, according to the information we have gathered, there was a plague outbreak in India not long ago, and it is very likely that the Indians brought it.

If the virus originated in India, then the plague would not be difficult to solve, and it has been proven that the outbreak in India is not very transmissible.

Judging by the current situation, the former is more likely. If the virus originated in India, then the virus has mutated. ”

Wars are often accompanied by disease, and this war in South Africa may seem unremarkable, but the death toll is definitely among the highest in human history.

Not only are there people dying on the battlefield, but there are not necessarily many fewer people dying outside the battlefield than on the battlefield. As a result of the war, the total population of South Africa was less than 30 percent of what it was before the war.

With so many people dying, the disposal of corpses became a problem. On the surface, most of the corpses on the battlefield were incinerated or buried in deep pits.

But the flesh and blood are always missing. It may seem like a small harm, but when it adds up, it is not known what will happen.

At the beginning of the war, Franz secretly issued an order to do a good job of epidemic prevention. So this Boer Republic army was not unprepared, but it did not expect that the plague would break out at the end of the war.

The source of the plague, which is only the concern of professionals. Viscount Fickney is more interested in prevention and control, no matter how it came about, as long as the epidemic can be controlled.

After a little thought, Viscount Fikney made a decision: "Order the main force to withdraw from the occupied streets first, and let the 7th Division of the South African Special Dispatch Army take over the defense." ”

In the face of the plague, all the results are clouds. In this kind of broken and scarred street, no one knows which corner there are corpses that have slipped through the net.

It is too dangerous to have the main forces stationed in such a place, and it is safer to camp outside the city.

The 7th Division of the South African Special Dispatch Army is the unit with the most serious outbreak of the epidemic, and letting them take over the defense is waste utilization.

If the British run to attack, then give it to them. Viscount Fickney has decided to put the quarantine camp at the forefront to see if he can get the British to add a few more patients.

Even if it doesn't work, disgust the British. To vent the resentment in my heart, the war has been fought until now, and the two sides have long formed a blood feud.

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