When the Liu family began a new life, a colony team led by Ryan discovered an indigenous tribe on the banks of the Kuando River.

The size of the tribe is not large, more than a dozen thatched houses with original spires have been burned, the whole tribe is empty, there are a few white bones scattered in the open space next to the tribe, and in the distance there are a few hyenas that are most common in the African savannah.

"Across the river is South-West Africa, and in the past few years there have been frequent German slave catchers crossing the border into Bechuana to plunder the population, and this tribe is probably abandoned at that time—" Jackson had a good idea of what had happened during that time.

"It could also be a tribal vendetta-" Ryan does not turn over old accounts, the German slave catchers will illegally enter Bechuana to plunder the population, and the slave catchers in southern Africa are not idle, and the colonial pioneer team led by Ryan is from southwest Africa.

"There are no people in this vicinity for hundreds of miles, there is no one, if it is a tribal vendetta, then where is the victorious tribe?" Jackson was unhappy with Ryan's attitude of covering his ears and stealing the bell.

"Of course it's been swallowed up by more powerful tribes—" Ryan replied casually, not dwelling on the issue: "Okay, Mr. Technician, now let's get to work, I think this is a good place to set up a settlement, the land around here is still quite good, close to the water source, the terrain is high and you don't have to worry about the river flooding in the rainy season, bulldoze these houses, enough to house hundreds of people." ”

In fact, the natural environment of southern Africa is really good, even in Bechuana, which is known for its desolation, the Kuando River basin is also rich in water and grass and fertile soil, and the African aborigines have never had the awareness of farming in the past, so a large area of land that is suitable for reclamation as fertile land is idle and cannot produce any value.

Ryan's pioneer team has been staying in the Kuando River Basin during this time, and as he learned more and more about the Kuando River Basin, Ryan was surprised to find that compared with the high-quality farms in Johannesburg, Rhodesia, and Nyasaland, the Kuando River Basin is not bad at all, and the soil here has been nourished for thousands of years, and once it is reclaimed, it can guarantee a bumper yield for more than ten years, or even decades, without any fertilizer.

In the Cuando River Basin, the biggest threat to newcomers is not from wildlife, but from German South-West Africa.

As Roque and Smalls have said before, many of Africa's borders are as straight as they are measured with a ruler.

In addition to these straight boundaries, the meandering boundaries on the map are generally the natural boundaries of rivers.

This was the case in Bechuana, where the western border between South-West Africa and Bechuana was all straight and straight, and in the north, the border began to become meandering because of the Kuando River, and the territory of South-West Africa stretched 450 kilometres between Bechuana and Rhodesia, and the narrowest point of this narrow strip was no more than 30 kilometres.

Jackson was also concerned about this problem: "It's less than five kilometers from the Kuando River, and even if it's a good place for immigrants, I'm afraid no one wants to settle here because of the threat of Southwest Africa." ”

"Don't worry Mr. Technician, the slave catchers in Southwest Africa can penetrate deep into our Bechuana, so do you think we won't retaliate?" Ryan was triumphant, and the Afrikaners never swallowed their anger.

Because of the retaliation of southern Africa, the narrow strip of northeastern southwest Africa has now become a no-man's land, and the area of this narrow strip is actually very large, more than 20,000 square kilometers, but because of the thought of the governor of southwest Africa, the mature farms in this area have all been abandoned, and even German immigrants cannot survive in this area.

"If you are bored with revenge on each other, can't you sit down and have a cup of tea in peace?" Jackson opposed the violence, squatted down and scratched the soil casually, dragged a weed and chewed it in his mouth, and easily concluded: "The conditions are indeed good, and the settlement can be established-"

After thinking about it, Jackson added: "If it can solve the security problem." ”

Unexpectedly, Jackson said that in the afternoon, the German Southwest African cavalry was found on the other side of the Kuando River.

The army and robbers of this era are actually not clearly positioned, and many of the slave catchers in German Southwest Africa are themselves armies of German Southwest Africa.

Of course, southern Africa did not have a position to accuse the Germans, in order to compete with Spain for maritime supremacy, the Queen of England also issued a "privateer license", and as a result, the pirates became "royal pirates", and Britain also relied on many pirates to complete the primitive accumulation of capital, and finally completely defeated the Invincible Armada and became the modern maritime hegemon.

After learning the news, Ryan immediately gathered the security team and rode to the banks of the Kuando River to find the Southwest African cavalry.

In fact, there are not a few people, only five or six cavalry, not even a unified military uniform, equipped with a variety of weapons, there is no courage to face Ryan and them, found Ryan and their more than 30 cavalry, the cavalry in southwest Africa immediately fled, so angry that Ryan scolded.

"Look, that's the crux of the matter, the cavalry of Southwest Africa will appear at any time, and we can't be stationed here for long." When Ryan returned to camp, Jackson was comfortably sipping coffee.

The wilderness of southern Africa is indeed full of dangers, and in addition to wildlife, the greatest threat to humans also comes from humans.

If the cavalry from Southwest Africa just now didn't run, then Ryan wouldn't mind playing a robber, this business is indeed very addictive, and the money is really fast.

"If you want me to say, you whites and Africans are cancers in this land, and these lands have no value in your hands, and in the hands of us Chinese they will become pastures, farms, towering trees, factories and railroads—" Ryan and Jackson have been together for a long time, and they are also very presumptuous in their speech.

"I have the ability to say this in front of the Lord—" Jackson was half lying comfortably in his chair, and Twelve was roasting a leg of lamb beside him, and when he had finished baking a slice, he put it on a plate with a small blade and brought it to Jackson, and Ryan casually dragged the chair and sat next to Jackson, and Twelve immediately brought the coffee to Ryan.

Such an environment is really impossible for people not to fall.

"We've got to find a way to get the Germans off the other side of the river." Ryan has a strong sense of territory, and he can't afford to snore on the side of the couch.

"You're the captain of a colony team, and it's not your turn to think about this kind of problem." Jackson laughed, this issue is too much to implement, in Jackson's opinion, Ryan just can't do it.

"The rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of the husband!" Lai An is not discouraged, he is humble and does not dare to forget the country, and he has no sense of ownership, which is no different from salted fish.

The person who should solve this problem is accompanying Ade to review the troops.

The exercises finally began in earnest as the Cape 3rd Division, which was furthest away, arrived in the Okavango swamps.

Ade also came to Bechuana at the end of September, accompanied by the President of the Southern African Parliament, Philip.

"The First Cavalry Division, the Northern Rhodesia Division, the Cape Third Division, and the Natal Fourth Division, these four divisions are the main forces of our southern Africa, with a total strength of 68,000 troops, which can be used for overseas operations at any time, and then our Ministry of Defense is also preparing to form an air force and armored troops, and the first cavalry division may become the first mechanized force in our southern Africa and even in the world." Roque was in charge of introducing Ade and Phillip, and the real Secretary of Defense, Hopkins, listened with great interest, as if these things had nothing to do with him.

"Locke, slow down, for us in southern Africa, the number of troops is already too many, and we simply can't support such a large army at the moment." Ade was very worried, 68,000 troops was too much for southern Africa, although Roque did not say how many more people would be needed to form the air force and armored forces, but the current scale has overwhelmed the federal government.

"Sir, the Ministry of Defense is also trying to reduce the burden on the federal government in every possible way, so the Ministry of Defense has set up an engineering force composed of six conscripts to undertake business externally and reduce the burden on the federal government as much as possible." Roque is also thinking of a way not to pin his hopes on the federal government and the RAND Bank, and to make some money.

Before the establishment of the federal government, the colonial troops of the states were actually similar to the private soldiers of the colonial government, and the colonial troops in southern Africa would also undertake some profit-making business at that time, but most of the profits generated were divided among the army generals and were not used for the development of the army.

In Rhodesia, the construction of strategic warehouses led by the Ministry of Defense was undertaken by the engineering troops, and the savings amounted to 600,000 rand.

If the savings had been made before the federal government was formed, they would have been divided among senior officials of the Department of Defense.

This will not happen now, Roque leads by example, he will never embezzle funds, and the management of his subordinates is also very strict, the upper and lower levels are effective, the ministers lead by example, and the officers below do not dare to go too far, so all the departments of the Federal Government of Southern Africa, the Ministry of Defense has the highest degree of integrity.

"I don't care what you do, anyway, in recent years, the federal government is not going to increase the funding of the Department of Defense." Ade explained to Roque in advance, lest Roque complain that the federal government did not support the work of the Department of Defense.

"We raise our own funds—" Roque is confident that even if the federal government doesn't give it, the Department of Defense will be able to support itself.

To make money, it is too easy for the army, and of course Roque will not let the army do business, which will put the cart before the horse and seriously affect the combat effectiveness of the troops.