In fact, the current Congo Free State is almost the same as the world has been turned upside down.

The conflict with Nyasaland has directly led to the collapse of the stability of the Congo Free State, and although the resistance of the Teryla people has not subsided, the chief of Teryla has been driven out of the Congo Free State and fled to the German Tanganyika, and the impact on the Congo Free State has been extremely limited.

In the conflict, the Congo Free State suffered heavy losses, not only the colonial army formed by Leopold II suffered heavy losses, but even the mercenaries composed of whites were completely annihilated by the northern division of Rhodesia, which not only directly led to the resurgence of the Tateira people who had already died down, but also other originally stable areas, which were also affected by the Tétera people, and the resistance against the Belgians emerged in an endless stream, and even the colonial army that was previously obedient began to disobey the orders of the colonial authorities.

As mentioned above, the colonial army formed by Leopold II in the Congo Free State, although the officers are white, the soldiers are all Congolese, which is actually a great hidden danger, once the military spirit fluctuates, then Leopold II's colonial rule will completely collapse.

Leopold II also knew that there was a big hidden danger, but Leopold II had no choice, Belgium was also a small country and a widow, and could not provide enough troops for Leopold II, and the Congo Free State was still Leopold II's private property, and the Belgian government probably also had ideas, so Leopold II could only rely on the Congolese to form a colonial army.

This was also a common tactic used by colonial powers, and without Roque making trouble, this pattern would have lasted until the end of the Cold War in the mid-20th century, and Roque only advanced the process and did not change the final outcome.

There are still changes, at least these difficulties that Leopold II had to face do not exist here in Roque.

Leopold II had to face not only the collapse of the Congo Free State, but also international reproach and pressure, as well as domestic demands in Belgium, which were more fatal than the chaotic Congo Free State.

In order to suppress the rebellious Congolese, Leopold II granted more rights to commercial enterprises such as the Katanga Company, the Antwerp Company, the Kasai Company, and the British and Belpie Rubber Company, which had huge interests in the Congo Free State, leased more land to these companies, and allowed these companies to form armies to maintain their rule in the Congo Free State.

At the same time, Leopold II denied it in every possible way, resolutely refused to recognize the cruel rule in the Congo Free State, and invited the British and French to join the investigation team formed by Leopold II to go to the Congo Free State to investigate the truth.

It has to be said that Leopold II's calculations were very good, and Britain and France also had extensive interests in the Congo Free State, and Britain and France certainly supported Leopold II on this issue.

Take 10,000 steps back and say, Britain and France's butts are not clean, all colonial countries have just conquered the colonies, and when they integrate the colonies, they use almost similar methods, but the colonies of Britain and France have been stabilized, so Britain and France will speak out on this issue to show the fairness and justice of their own governments.

In fact, it's just 50 steps and 100 steps.

After the end of the rainy season, a new round of construction began in Johannesburg.

This round of construction is no longer about urban construction, but on road transportation, and Johannesburg will take advantage of the dry season to improve the transport network within Johannesburg, as well as build a road to Pretoria.

The city of Johannesburg is responsible for this part of the cost of the road between Johannesburg, which belongs to the internal transportation network of Johannesburg, but Johannesburg has to start many construction sites at the same time, and now there is a serious shortage of funds, so this part of the cost has become a problem.

"Locke, the Imperial Bank has promised to lend money to the Johannesburg City Council, and the terms offered are very good, and the City Government really has no reason to refuse." Owen was a little worried, and Roque hoped that Owen would lobby the Johannesburg City Council on behalf of the RAND Bank, but listening to Owen, it seemed a bit of a problem.

Before the RAND Bank was founded, Imperial Bank was already operating in Johannesburg, so Imperial Bank was the biggest competitor of RAND Bank.

In exchange for loans to other local governments, the Imperial Bank estimates that the government's ability to repay will be considered, and then set a relatively high condition according to the risk, Johannesburg has no worries about this, everyone knows that Johannesburg relies on the Rand gold mine, even if there is no money in the short term, in the long run, there is no problem with the ability to repay, so this is a safe investment, all banks want.

The RAND Bank, of course, wants it too.

"Owen, the RAND Bank is the biggest financier of the Liberal Party, and it is also a local bank in Johannesburg, doesn't the city government leave this opportunity to the RAND Bank, and go to the Imperial Bank?" Roque was very dissatisfied, and said that the fertilizer water did not flow into the fields of outsiders, and Owen and the city government were turning their elbows outward.

"Locke, if the conditions of the RAND Bank and the Imperial Bank are the same, or even the interest rate is higher than the Imperial Bank, then the city government will also choose the RAND Bank, but the interest rate of the RAND Bank is now twice as high as the Imperial Bank, if you were the mayor, what would you do?" Owen raised his nose and eyes, it's not that his buddies don't give face, it's that the asking price of the Rand Bank is too high.

"Hehe, Owen, if the RAND Bank doesn't set the interest rate high, where will it get the money to donate to the Liberals?" Roque was right, and he didn't listen to Owen's crooked words when he collected the money.

"It's two different things—" Owen is poor in words, and he is really short-handed.

Johannesburg is no longer the era of the city government's single-handed cover, with the political stability, Johannesburg's various "committees" have also been established, these committees are actually government oversight agencies, if the city government blatantly favors the RAND Bank, preferring to choose the high-interest loan of the RAND Bank rather than the low-interest loan of the Imperial Bank, then the city government really cannot explain.

At this stage, the RAND Bank can only compete with the Imperial Bank in the Transvaal and Nyasaland, after all, the Imperial Bank is also a big business, and the people behind it are more noble than the Baron of Nyasaland in Roque, so Roque has to use some small means to achieve his goal.

"It's one thing, the RAND Bank has to make a profit, and then it can give back to the society, what can it do if it doesn't have money to support the development and growth of the Liberal Party? What can be used to support the municipal government to improve people's livelihood? What dividends are paid to shareholders? Roque reminded Owen that even though the Imperial Bank was powerful, in Johannesburg, the RAND Bank was the first snake.

This reflects the benefits of Roque pulling people into the car in the first place.

If the RAND Bank is Roque's private property, then Roque is not so confident in speaking now, in fact, the city government does not need to be entangled at all, the meat is still in the pot, and Johannesburg is the last beneficiary, no matter how it is calculated, it is more appropriate than giving the money to the Imperial Bank.

"Well, I can try to help and get at least some of the shares of the RAND Bank." Owen promised to help, Roque was right, Owen also has a stake in the RAND Bank, and I believe Philip also knows the difference between inside and outside.

After getting Owen done, Roque still has to urge Christian.

Christian is busy right now, spending less and less time in Johannesburg, spending more than half of his time commuting between Pretoria and Bloemfontein, two cities that are also taking advantage of the dry season to strengthen their infrastructure.

With the end of the rainy season, the plague finally ended, with more than 40,000 people dying in the worst-hit Orange, and many more fleeing Orange for the Cape and Natal, or to German South-West Africa and Portuguese East Africa.

This objectively reduced the burden on the Orange government, because Bloemfontein suffered a lot during the plague, and the Boers finally stopped waiting for aid in Bloemfontein, but left Bloemfontein to reclaim their farms and start a normal life.

The Orange government is a blessing in disguise, so many people have died, and so many people have run away, and other local governments are expected to cry and grab the land, but it is a good thing for the Orange government, and the Orange government has finally begun to have the energy to rebuild, and the road is of course the most important.

"If you want to get rich, you must first build roads", the Orange government also understands this principle, so the first thing Bloemfontein needs to build is the road between it and Johannesburg.

"Wait for the Orange side, mainly the Johannesburg side, and the Orange side still has a." Roque, of course, pays more attention to Johannesburg, not to say anything like "ignoring the big picture", where everyone is selfish.

"Orange means that the road between Orange and Johannesburg, in Orange, the Orange Government is responsible, and in Johannesburg, Johannesburg is responsible; Lord Matilda was not interested in this suggestion, for the sake of the Governor's Palace, Lord Matilda agreed to the request of the Orange government, but did not allocate funds for this road, nor did it put this road on the agenda, for which the Orange government was very dissatisfied, and heard that the lawsuit was going to the Governor's Palace - "Christian is the main contractor for the construction of the road, which section to build first, in fact, is a matter of Christian's words, Philip is not as good as Christian."

Of course, Christian will also do things that make people have nothing to say, the focus is different, and it must be built on the basis of going hand in hand, anyway, the road is not repaired in a day, as long as the road is repaired within the contract period, no one can find a problem.

As for the lawsuit between the Johannesburg City Government and the Orange Government, this was expected by Roque, and the separation of the brothers was still settled, not to mention the relationship between Johannesburg and Orange.