Compared to the rest of the peninsula, Port Elizabeth is doing well.

After all, Port Elizabeth is also located in the basin of the two river basins, water resources are quite abundant, in 1909, Port Elizabeth is not all desert around the present, there are many trees in the city, date palms and phoenix flowers are the most common, there is still a lot of arable land outside the city at the end of the last century, it has only been abandoned in recent years.

Some of the habits of desert peoples are really bad, they don't have much sense of belonging to the land, when the environment of one area deteriorates to the extent that it is not suitable for human survival, they will migrate to other areas, and there is no awareness of environmental protection and sustainable development.

The thinking of the Chinese is completely different from that of the desert peoples, and the subtropical savannah of Nyasaland was once unsuitable for human existence, and the wasteland that was painstakingly reclaimed produced more weeds than the crops planted, and if it were replaced by Africans or whites, they would not have the patience to persevere.

The Chinese are different, the weeds that grow are just pulled out, and if it doesn't work for a year, it will take two years, as long as they persist, the uninhabited grassland will sooner or later become a thriving farm.

In Port Elizabeth, too, those abandoned lands are not completely devoid of cultivation value, after thousands of years of farming, even if the land is fertile, there will always be a time when the fertility is exhausted, no fertilizer will be supplemented, and water conservancy will be built if the water is insufficient.

If they have a strong homeland plot, the desert of the peninsula will not get bigger and bigger, and the living space of human beings will not become smaller and smaller.

When Reid began to take over Port Elizabeth, Roque was inspecting the troops with the new Governor of Southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone.

Viscount Gladstone had come to inspect the state of the troops in southern Africa before deciding whether to continue to subsidize the funds to southern Africa, which was more cost-effective for the British government to pay for the formation of troops in southern Africa than the British mainland army.

Since it is to support the scene, the Northern Rhodesian Division and the 1st Cavalry Division are definitely the best choices.

The state of these two divisions is indeed good, the members of the troops are all young people no more than 30 years old, continuous intensive training, the physical fitness and mental outlook of the soldiers are not at all like the demoralized colonial servant army, and compared with the elite troops of Europe, it is not bad at all.

Coupled with the various new weapons equipped by the troops, Viscount Gladstone was presented with strong soldiers and high morale.

Although Roque was not a soldier in his previous life, he had seen so many military parades, and of course he knew how to show the strongest side of the army, so Viscount Gladstone was very satisfied with the state of the army in southern Africa, and the topic naturally could not avoid the arms race in Europe.

"I'm sorry Lord, if war breaks out, now the troops in southern Africa have the strength to launch an attack on southwest Africa and Tanganyika, and they are still unable to support Europe, you know, our biggest bottleneck is that the size of the troops is too small, and now southern Africa can be used for foreign operations, only these four divisions are 70,000 people, and there will be many other problems to fight in Europe, such as the clothing of the troops is a big problem, and the troops in southern Africa do not need cotton clothes." Of course, Roque still complained, how much money is given to do as much as possible, the British government gives so many millions every year, and half of it will be divided by the federal government, and it is almost a drop in the bucket when it comes to the Ministry of Defense.

Otherwise, there would be no compulsory military service in southern Africa, and the Ministry of Defence does not have the money to form more professional soldiers.

"Locke, five million pounds is a lot, and a dreadnought costs less than two million pounds." Viscount Gladstone is meaningful, the British government has also made a bloody investment in order to encircle southern Africa, and it is not easy to squeeze out this money at the moment of the arms race.

"But it is impossible for dreadnoughts to sail to land, and even if the Germans build ten dreadnoughts a year, it is impossible to shake the naval superiority of the Reich, so what about the European continent?" Roque is not in a hurry, it is the British government that should be in a hurry.

"There are French people on the continent, and we don't have to worry about it." Viscount Gladstone was still confident in France, and he certainly could not have imagined how bad France would behave after the war began.

"The results of the Franco-Prussian War have proved that the French are no match for the Germans, and even if the French are now strong, after the outbreak of the war, the French will still not be able to withstand the strong German offensive, and in the Tanganyika riots, the troops of southern Africa have proved that the Germans are not our opponents." In Africa, the Germans were on an expedition of laborers, and once they went to Europe, they would be replaced by troops from southern Africa to fight away, and it was uncertain who would win and who would lose at that time.

Roque is not dead asking for money, the environment in Europe and southern Africa is completely different, in southern Africa, Nyasaland and Rhodesia, Bechuana are all subtropical regions, there is no snow all year round, Europe has a harsh winter, when the southern African army arrives in Europe can get used to it is still two different things.

Roque also chose to pull the troops to the Okavango swamp for exercises in order to adapt the troops to various climates, but the environment in the Okavango swamp is still different from the environment in Europe.

"It's not too early to draw conclusions, the French Army still has strength." Viscount Gladstone acknowledged that the Southern African army had done well in the Tanganyika rebellion, but at the same time did not consider France to be completely degenerate.

Unlike Britain, which is desperately building warships, France has been strengthening its army construction after the Franco-Prussian War, trying to wash away the shame of the past, and now France has maintained a land force of nearly one million, and more troops can be called up at any time, so Viscount Gladstone will have confidence in France.

Unlike southern Africa, European countries measure the combat effectiveness of their armies, and numbers are still the main factor.

"Just their Seventy-Five Miss? The French are also stubborn and stupid, fast rate of fire is important, power and range are more important, and the technology of the Germans is not bad at all compared to the French. Roque commented that the French troops were not polite at all, although the French blockade technology against Germany played a certain role, but objectively it also forced the Germans to go further and further on another road.

Which is better or worse can only be proven after the outbreak of war.

"I will try my best to continue to give you interest-free loans in the future, but you also have to make sure that if the empire needs it, you will prove that you have not wasted the money that the empire has given you." Viscount Gladstone finally agreed to help, but the exact amount was not promised.

Viscount Gladstone, the "governor", has much worse rights than the previous Earls of Ade and Selborn, in southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone is a mascot, the nominal head of state, in fact, he doesn't care about anything, in southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone can only play the role of a link between the southern African and British governments.

Even so, if Southern Africa could contribute to Britain in its time of need, it would have been a result for Viscount Gladstone, which is why Viscount Gladstone would have agreed to help.

"That is for sure, the Ministry of Defense is the most incorruptible army of the Federal Government of Southern Africa, and its accounts can withstand any audit, even waste is not allowed, and corruption and misappropriation do not exist at all." Roque is confident that even in the 3rd and 4th Divisions as far away as Cape and Natal, most of the junior officers have been trained by the Nyasaland Army Academy, and the Ministry of Defense still has a high level of control over the troops.

Viscount Gladstone did not respond, now no one thought how cruel the next war would be, compared to the world war, the Boer War was just an appetizer, and when the war broke out, the British government would find out how wise their investment in southern Africa was.

The Southern African troops are indeed worthy of the description of "elite", and when the northern Rhodesian division first arrived in the Okavango swamps, it was not used to the stricter training content, and now all four divisions can at least do well in training, which makes Viscount Gladstone really unbelievable.

In Viscount Gladstone's view, the content of training in southern Africa is also almost harsh, although Viscount Gladstone does not know the specific situation of the French army and the German army, but Viscount Gladstone is very sure that even if the French army and the German army receive such training, at most it is a passing level.

Saying that passing is actually lifting, not to mention anything else, 20 kilograms and 50 kilometers of cross-country, there are not many troops in the world that can do it.

In the evening, Viscount Gladstone and Roque ate together in the officers' canteen of the Northern Rhodesia Division.

It's not that Roque is detached from the masses, it's really that the army in these years is so hierarchical, officers and soldiers are two completely different groups, and the soldiers who can serve as officers have at least been in the army for several years, and they have to study at the Nyasaland Army Academy before they have the qualifications to serve as officers.

And these soldiers, some of whom have just emigrated to southern Africa, are not good at speaking English and Chinese, and have not made any contribution to southern Africa, and if Roque wants to make everyone equal, and others don't say it, the officers in the army will not be happy in the first place.

Compared to the soldiers' food, the officer's canteen is still good, there are special chefs, and you can also order food, Viscount Gladstone and Roque are definitely of the highest standard, you can eat whatever you want.

When it comes to the Okavango Marsh, game must be a staple on the table, and Roque has to try to recommend it to Viscount Gladstone, who is willing to try the taste of animal offal.

Viscount Gladstone's favourites are french fries and goulash with potatoes, as well as vodka stuffed with potatoes.

No way, there are so many potatoes in southern Africa, so there are a lot of potatoes-related delicacies.

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