That evening, the garrison near Johannesburg joined forces with the Johannesburg Police to launch a joint operation to sweep down all the Boers living in the Johannesburg City Hotel and throw them into the camp.

Reason?

No reason!

Although negotiations are ongoing, if a peace agreement is not signed, and there is still a state of war between the British and the Boers, is there a reason to arrest hostile suspects in wartime?

No, just as the expeditionary force, if attacked, would have put all the Boers within ten miles of it in a concentration camp, there would be no reason at all.

After being imprisoned in the concentration camp, the life or death of those Boers, Roque didn't care, there were many such things during the war, and in the future, if the Boers want to settle accounts, please also go to the expeditionary force, and it has nothing to do with the police station.

The police department only provides information and lookouts, and it is the expeditionary force that is responsible for doing it, and don't forget that the police department has no law enforcement powers.

Such a large-scale operation would certainly attract the attention of all parties, and the Boer representatives, who were negotiating, also noticed the problem, and they directly fed back the pressure on the negotiating table, and as a result, on the third day, Alfred Milner asked Roque to go to Pretoria to explain.

"Colonel Marcos Lloyd of the Royal Canadian Corps believed that the Boers might adversely affect the security of Johannesburg, and that Colonel Marcos Lloyd had received information that the Boers had some connection with the Cape guerrillas, so the police department took action with the Royal Canadian Regiment."

"Is it just that the Colonel thinks so?" Alfred Milner didn't give Roque a chance to escape.

"Well, of course, I think so too." Roque admits that he played a bad role in it, but will never admit that the police department is leading the matter.

In fact, it is true that Roque is not in charge, but Roque did play a role in fanning the flames, and the Royal Canadian delegation did get a lot of benefits, so Roque is not afraid of Alfred Milner holding him accountable.

You know, the Boers who returned to Johannesburg early were all merchants, and those who had the strength to flee abroad before the outbreak of war had a certain amount of economic power.

Those Boers returned to Johannesburg to make a copy, since they were copying, they definitely couldn't come back empty-handed, and now their belongings have been confiscated by the Royal Canadian Regiment, so even if the Expeditionary Force Command intervenes, they don't want Marcos Lloyd to admit their mistakes.

If he had admitted, Marcos Lloyd would have to hand over the belongings of the Boer merchants, which would have led to a mutiny.

The British army has a colonial tradition of troops, a very bad habit is looting, they really interpret what it means to "bandits are like combs, soldiers are like grates", these British troops are more excessive than robbers, all that can be robbed is snatched, and those who can't be robbed must be burned, not only the Old Summer Palace of the Qing Dynasty, but also the British troops burned down the White House in the United States during the American Revolutionary War.

The White House is called the White House because it had to use white paint to cover up the traces of the burning.

Not only did they rob the enemy, but the British troops launched a ruthless attack, and they did not let go of their own people.

After the outbreak of the Boer War, the Expeditionary Force Command hired Zulu people to fight for the British with the lure of cattle and sheep on the Boer farms, but after the war, the Expeditionary Force Command did not fulfill its promises, and all the livestock on the Boer farms were sold by the Expeditionary Force, and now, those livestock are in the cowsheds and sheepfolds of the Chinese farms.

Of course, Alfred Milner also knew what the virtues of the British army were, so Alfred Milner didn't say anything more, just stared at Roque with eagle-like eyes.

How thick-skinned Roque is, just look at it casually, and just keep a straight posture so frankly.

"The negotiations have reached a critical juncture, don't trouble me lately, Sir Locke!" Alfred Milner has the focus.

"Yes, I understand!" Roque knew what Alfred Milner meant.

"Tell me what you think about the negotiations." Alfred Milner seemed to ask casually, and this time he didn't rush to get Roque away.

"I'm sorry Your Excellency, but I'm not optimistic about this, I've always been a firm believer that the Boers can't be trusted, and now the four districts of the Cape, the total number of Boers is much higher than ours, so if we promise to give them the opportunity to govern themselves in the future, it means that we will lose all the gains we have gained through the war, and we may lose the Cape and Natal." Roque does not hide it, and directly tells the history of himself.

To be honest, Roque was not familiar with this history, but Roque knew that after the establishment of the Union of South Africa, Louis Botha and Jan Smuts served as presidents of the Cape Federation, so the answer was obvious, ten years after the end of the war, that is, in 1910, Britain lost its domination of South Africa.

"The right time may never come." Alfred Milner was not stupid either, and what he promised was to give the Boers autonomous status at the "right time".

According to Ade's thoughts, he probably thinks that the time will never be right.

The problem is that after the end of the Second Boer War, British politicians found that due to the high cost of modernization war, and the defense of the British Empire's overseas territories and the British mainland at the same time, it was economically and strategically unfeasible, so after the end of the Boer War, Britain began a global strategic contraction, entrusting some overseas colonies to white dominions such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Britain's own strategic focus shifted back to Europe.

Under this general trend, Ade's abacus eventually became a victim of the times, and like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, when Jan Smozi asked Campbell Bannerman for autonomy, Campbell Bannerman accepted it without hesitation.

At that time, Ade had returned to England and became a member of the House of Lords.

Now Ade must not know that his plan is ultimately to make a wedding dress for the Boers.

"Maybe it will come back tomorrow, Canada is already self-governing, Australia has been given autonomous status on January 1 this year, and now New Zealand is asking for self-government, Your Excellency Governor-General, when do you think the Cape will be able to achieve autonomous status?" Roque is not in a hurry, reality is moving towards the situation that Ade least wants to see.

"Do you know something?" Ade's brain circuitry is also wonderful.

"No, I don't know, I just know that if the Boers are allowed to return to the Transvaal, then as long as the Transvaal is elected, the Boers will definitely get the government, and what will we do then? Accept the rule of the Boers? Or get out of here? "Roque's question is poignant, and no one with a sense of responsibility will ignore it.

Ade must be responsible, and immediately realized that Roque's words were likely to come true.

"What do you want to do? Violence to prevent those Boers from returning to the Transvaal? "Ade's just asking.

"Not just to stop them with violence, but to destroy the Boers in the Transvaal, to take their farms, to burn their houses, to make it impossible for them to settle in the Transvaal, to force them to go to Orange or Natal, to at least guarantee our dominance in the Cape and the Transvaal, if the Boers think they can make a comeback after the war, then they are wrong, we must not lose the victory we won on the battlefield with blood and lives at the negotiating table." Roque's last sentence was categorical, and the Chinese also contributed to the British victory in the Second Boer War, so Roque was definitely qualified to speak on this issue.

It can be seen that Ade was instigated by Roque's words, and he looked at Roque with admiration, but Ade could still remain calm: "So you and Lord Favart bought farms in Johannesburg and Pretoria?" ”

Roque paused before he realized who Lord Favart was.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor, Director Henry and I are buying farms, even if we don't have enough people to cultivate them, we can't leave those farms to the Boers, the Transvaal has the Rand gold mines, and the economy is the strongest in the four regions of the Cape, so we can't lose the Transvaal." Roque admits that he has selfish intentions, but he definitely does not associate with the Chinese.

Ade nodded and didn't speak, which already meant agreeing with Roque's statement.

"How's that Crocodile Bay hydropower station?" Ade was concerned about the investment of the Governor's Palace, although the share certificate sent by Roque to the Governor's Mansion was the same as that given to Owen was 100,000 pounds, but the 100,000 pounds of the Governor's Mansion had a real investment of 50,000 pounds in it.

"We have been in contact with Westinghouse in the United States, and Westinghouse has agreed to sell us the equipment that has been successfully used in the Nicaragua hydroelectric power plant, and some of the equipment has been loaded from the United States and is expected to arrive in Cape Town next month, and now the problem is that we lack enough steel and cement, in Favart, a new cement plant is under construction, which is expected to be ready for production in six months, and in addition, I hope to find an iron mine, so that we don't have to buy steel from home." Roque really wanted all the building materials to be produced locally, but that wasn't realistic.

In fact, South Africa is not only rich in gold and diamonds, iron ore reserves are also very rich, South Africa is the largest iron ore resources in Africa, accounting for more than 40% of Africa's total iron ore reserves, but there is a rand gold mine in front of the jade, no one will pay attention to the Transvaal iron ore.

Roque will certainly not ignore this problem, gold can make the rich, but steel can make the country strong, Roque has hired Christian Prospecting Company to look for iron ore near Kimberley and in the Limpopo River Valley, both of which are rich in iron ore, although the reserves are worse than Australia's iron ore, but the supply of the Transvaal in the current period is enough, as for Australia's iron ore, it is not too late to plan in a few years.

"Locke, are you focusing on the factory or the farm?" Ade was completely confused, and he suddenly realized that he didn't know anything about Roque.

"Your Excellency the Governor, the farm can feed people, and the factory can make the country strong, and no one should ignore it." Rock told the truth that compared to the future leaders of the Transvaal and even South Africa, Ade is an out-and-out doer.

"Yes, farms can feed people, factories can make countries strong-" Ade muttered to himself, frowning and not knowing what he was thinking.

Until Roque took his leave, Ade didn't speak again.

Roque went to Henry as usual, and was surprised to find Cecil Rhodes Jr. with him.

"Haha, Locke, what is the Governor looking for you?" Cecil Rhodes Jr. laughed at the sight of Roque, Pretoria really has no secrets for this land snake.

"Do you believe me when I said the Governor was looking for me coffee?" Roque is talking nonsense, the word "drinking coffee" has not been played with in these years.

"Of course, not to mention the Governor, I want to have coffee with you-" Cecil Rhodes Jr. was envious of Roque, don't care what Ade is looking for Roque, Roque is summoned by Ade so often, which fully shows that Roque is already on the list in Ade's heart.

"Disciplined, right?!" Henry wasn't that easy to fool.

"Don't talk nonsense with me, let your people keep an eye on it, the reservoir has already started construction, it needs a lot of cement, and if it is put into production one day later, it will be one day later to make money." Roque was in a hurry, eager to repair the hydropower station tomorrow, and then he could devote himself to farming.

"When did you get a cement factory?" Cecil Rhodes Jr. was surprised that Favart did not have a gold mine, and Cecil Rhodes Jr. did not expect Roque and Henry to still move in Favart.

"Don't rush me, it's not so fast." Henry is not in a hurry, in fact, the construction progress of the cement plant is already very fast, Henry sent the police in Pretoria to Favart to supervise the work, and those little blacks are very fast.

"How's that, envy? Soon I'll start a steel mill, would you like to join? Roque extended an olive branch to Cecil Rhodes Jr.

"Iron and Steel Plant-" Xiao Si felt a little unable to keep up with Roque's pace, but he still reacted quickly, and immediately sent out an invitation like Roque: "Of course, I'm also going to join - Locke, why don't you go to Rhodesia and have a look, Rhodesia also has many mines." ”

Rhodesia at this time included Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia, with Southern Rhodesia being the future Zimbabwe and Northern Rhodesia being Zambia.

Xiao Si is talking about Northern Rhodesia, where there is the world's largest sedimentary copper deposit, the Zambia-Gang Copper Belt, which accounts for a quarter of the world's total copper reserves, and Zambia will also be known as the country of copper mines in the future.

"Of course, we can, or let's set up a mineral development company." Roque proposed.

"Yes!" Henry maintains formation.

"Great idea!" Although Xiao Si already has De Beers Unified Mining Company under his name, the two are not in conflict.

De Beers Unified Mining Company is still mainly engaged in gold and diamonds, and the company proposed by Roque will certainly not be dominated by gold and diamonds, so there is no conflict between the two.