Scolding and scolding, after scolding, Luo Ke will also help if he can help, to put it mildly, they are all poor people, saving people's lives is better than creating a seventh-level floating slaughter.

To put it mildly, if you settle these women well, you will be able to make less trouble for the police station in the future.

In order to avoid the crowds, Scarlett bought a farm 20 kilometers away from the town of Ziwei, which is more than 50 kilometers away from Johannesburg, in a remote and uninhabited area, the few farms were all destroyed by the expeditionary force, houses and cattle sheds were burned, stored hay was burned, not to mention livestock, and not a single wild dog was missing.

Although Scarlett didn't want to rely on anyone, without Roque's help, this stupid woman probably wouldn't be able to survive the most difficult start.

Roque called the construction team, first of all, to build enough farmhouses on the farm, these farmhouses are not exquisite, they can shelter from the wind and rain, just have a place to live, the livestock needed by the farm, Roque will also find someone to buy, after the expeditionary force withdrew, the materials in the Johannesburg market gradually began to decrease, food and living materials had to be purchased from Cape Town, livestock had to be imported from Australia, prices began to soar, if Roque didn't help, just Scarlett's savings, it wouldn't last long, and the women on the farm would be starved to death.

In the entire Transvaal, it is estimated that there are more than 5,000 women who need Scarlett's care, this is a hot potato, the Governor's Mansion does not dare to speak easily, but Scarlett has no hesitation to take these women down, Roque doesn't know what to say, he can only provide help within his ability.

In mid-March, the Minister of the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, arrived in Johannesburg after his visit to Orange and began to inspect the resettlement of Boers in the Transvaal.

Philippe Matilda and a group of officials greeted Joseph Chamberlain at the train station.

Joseph Chamberlain is over 60 years old this year, although he is over the age of six, but his mental state is not bad, he does not need help to walk, his thinking is still very quick, the only thing that can't keep up with the situation should be Joseph Chamberlain's glasses, he still wears the kind of antique glasses with only one lens, which looks very funny.

In 1897, when the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne was celebrated in England, representatives of the colonies gathered in London, and Joseph Chamberlain took the opportunity to propose the establishment of the Imperial Parliament, but unfortunately no one responded.

The "Imperial Parliament" was definitely a very advanced concept in the nineteenth century, and a similar organization, the "League of Nations", did not appear until 1920, and if Joseph Chamberlain's proposal succeeded, then there would be nothing to do with the League of Nations in the future, and the "Imperial Parliament" could completely replace the League of Nations and play an important role at home and abroad.

The temporary setback did not hit Joseph Chamberlain, who next year will resign from his post as colonial minister and lead his supporters to organize the "Tariff Reform League" and set off a huge movement for tariff reform.

Unfortunately, the "Customs Reform Union" was also unsuccessful, and the impact was even greater, splitting not only the Conservative Party, but also the largest parliamentary split in England since the civil war in the 17th century.

At the beginning of last year, Joseph Chamberlain pushed Australia to become a Dominion, which made Britain one step closer to Joseph Chamberlain's "Commonwealth".

The welcome luncheon was held at the official residence of Philippe Matilda, who had worked in the Colonial Office and was a subordinate of Joseph Chamberlain before he came to Johannesburg as mayor.

Roque, as police chief, also attended the welcome luncheon, and sitting next to Roque was Joseph Chamberlain's son, Neville Chamberlain.

Yes, it was the famous "appeasement" Chamberlain.

Neville Chamberlain has just turned 33 years old, and he has not entered politics because the Chamberlain family has entered politics enough, in addition to Joseph Chamberlain, who served as a colonial minister, there is also Neville Chamberlain's half-brother Austin Chamberlain.

Austin Chamberlain now holds the position of Postmaster.

Neville Chamberlain is now a businessman who owns two metalworking companies.

The conversation between Roque and Neville Chamberlain began with metalworking.

"I found an iron mine in the middle of the Limpopo River and a copper mine in Nyasaland, but unfortunately I didn't have the equipment and technicians, so I couldn't mine it." Roque is sorry, but this is certainly not the case.

The actual situation is that Roque does not have equipment and technicians, but as long as Roque needs it, Roque can buy equipment at any time and hire enough technicians at any time, so Roque is not unable to mine, but does not want to mine.

Digging for gold is no more fun than iron!

"Africa is indeed rich in resources!" Neville Chamberlain sighed, but he didn't take the bait.

Roque is not in a hurry, the bait has been released anyway, as long as Neville Chamberlain is not willing to be lonely, then he will definitely take the bait.

The family model of the Chamberlain family is similar to that of most aristocratic families nowadays.

A normal aristocratic family should be someone who enters the political circle to speak for the family, and someone who goes into business to gather wealth for the family, the two complement each other and are indispensable, and the lack of any aspect will cause irreparable defects.

The family model of the Chamberlain family was that Joseph and Austin built prestige for the family in political circles, and Neville amassed wealth in business.

This model is indeed good, but Neville Chamberlain must not be reconciled, simple businessmen can't get on the stage, everyone yearns for a broader stage.

"Yes, there are a lot of resources here, but there are also many difficulties, the biggest problem is that there are not enough people here, so to develop the economy, you have to rely on the Zulus, but too many Zulus will cause serious social problems, so we have been trying to balance the relationship between the economy and development." Roque does not shy away from the problem, there is a mine underground, and it must be able to dig it out.

"Zulu, what's the problem?" Neville was curious.

"Mr. Chamberlain, you should know that I am Chinese, and there is a proverb in the Chinese world: those who are not of my race will have different hearts! So, the Zulus seem harmless now, but when the Zulus population base reaches a certain point, then they will become a problem. Roque has no scruples about saying this now, because Roque is also British now, just like Neville.

"Call me Arthur, Sir Locke, the real Mr. Chamberlain is on the throne." Neville's words were not without envy, the real Mr. Chamberlain did not have a knighthood, but Roque was already a baron.

This can't be helped, in the United Kingdom, it is very difficult for a civilian official to be knighted, the twenty dukes of the United Kingdom, almost every one of them has made irreplaceable contributions to the empire, Roque, who was also born and died in exchange for this, the last time he was knighted, the only civilian official who was knighted in the four regions of the Cape was Ade, strictly speaking, in fact, Ade was not a pure civilian official.

"No, no, Arthur, economics and politics are just as important, if not more important than politics." Roque pushed the boat with the water, and in terms of status, Roque and Joseph Neville are actually about the same level.

"Sir Locke, what is the size of your iron and copper mines?" Arthur still took the bait, or rather, Roque's sentence "If you are not of my race, your heart will be different" played a big role.

"The scale is very large, although the specific reserves have not yet been determined, but the area is very large, the area of the mining area is more than ten square kilometers, the key is that the conditions are very good, both mines are open-pit mines, and the mining cost is very low." Roque is not lying, both mines are indeed high-quality mines, and they have not been mined until the twenty-first century.

For the people of the Chamberlain family, it is impossible to impress them with minerals that do not have much mining value, after all, Joseph Chamberlain served as the colonial minister, and all the colonies of the British Empire were within the scope of Joseph Chamberlain's work, otherwise Neville Chamberlain would not have run a metalworking business smoothly.

Neville Chamberlain actually did not have much talent in business, in 1890, the Chamberlain family's financial situation was sluggish, Neville and his brother Austin went to Andros Island in South America to run a pineapple hemp plantation, but it was unsuccessful, in 1896 the plantation closed, Neville returned to England, successively worked in Birmingham several factories as a manager, operating the metal manufacturing industry, which gradually became famous and became a successful professional manager.

Most people who have probably seen this experience will sigh at Neville's talent in metal manufacturing.

Yes, Neville did study metallurgy at university, but Neville's success had little to do with his studies, the real point is: in 1895, the year before Neville returned home, the Marquess of Salisbury, the current prime minister, took office for the third time, and officially invited Joseph Chamberlain to the cabinet, so Joseph Chamberlain became colonial minister, so—

"Dozens of square kilometers, that's really valuable for mining." Neville was still a little disciplined, didn't take the initiative to come over, and was still waiting for Roque to make a condition.

"Yes, I have reached an agreement with Henry and Cecil to set up a company to develop the mineral resources of the Transvaal and Rhodesia, and now we only lack a channel, a channel to sell products to the outside world." Roque offered not to let Neville get involved in production, which Neville was not good at anyway.

"Who are Henry and Cecil?" Neville didn't know what was going on in the Transvaal.

"Henry is Lord Favart, and Cecil is the Cecil of the South African Company." Roque doesn't hide it, there are two people here, in fact, Roque doesn't need Neville at all.

You have to use it if you don't need it, Roque is now in business, the purpose is no longer simply to make money, to pull more people into his chariot, and to establish an inseparable community of interests is Roque's real purpose.

In fact, in addition to Neville, Roque also plans to bring Winston into the company, so that until World War II, Roque does not have to worry about pressure from London.

Winston and Neville, for their own benefit, will naturally share the pressure from London for Roque.

Don't think how principled politicians are these days, people like Winston and Neville are short of money.

Rich men, it's difficult to be rich men!

Neville's face was solemn when he heard these two names, and he had a deeper understanding of Roque's connections.

After luncheon, Roque invited Neville to the Police Club for afternoon tea.

With the exception of Rock and Neville, the Police Club is not open to other guests this afternoon.

This gave Neville a deeper appreciation for rights.

No matter how much money a businessman makes, can he charter a police club at will?

Don't be funny, just look at the name, the boss who dares to use this kind of name will not sell the face of a businessman at all.

"In Johannesburg, the afternoon tea at the Police Club is the best, not only with a sumptuous variety, but also with performances to enjoy." Roque was dressed in casual clothes, accompanied by Henry and Small, who had just arrived in Johannesburg, and there was a band on the lawn next to the terrace, and two Indian women were belly dancing on the small stage.

"I'm sorry, there was a serious case of violence in Pretoria last night, and I was so busy all night." Henry's expression was haggard, and as soon as he sat down, he began to stuff, stuff, stuff without any image—

"I just came back from the construction site, it's really troublesome to build the railway, why do you have to build the bridge, can't you send the train there by boat?" Xiao Si also looked haggard, and he didn't even have time to change his clothes.

The railway has now crossed Favart and continues to extend to Rhodesia, and after the death of Cecil Rhodes, Xiao Si is like a different person, working personally and responsibly, on the construction site every day.

"Be content, there is a severe drought this year, there is not much water in the river, the bridge is repaired as soon as possible, and we can use the train a day earlier." Roque did not have the consciousness to work on his own initiative, and there were no serious cases of violence in Johannesburg, and now Roque and Henry's work has been reversed, with Roque in charge of the superstructure and Henry in charge of specific work.

From Favart to Salisbury, the distance is more than 800 kilometers, the importance of the railway is self-evident, Xiao Si did not sell the Zulu people of Nyasaland to the Portuguese, but all pulled to build the railway, men, women and children went into battle, which is also the reason why Roque did not go to the construction site, God knows how many Zulus will be swallowed by this railway, it is said that now half a month after the start of construction, the Zulu have died more than 100 people.

The Zulu people in these years are really not lazy, and the punishment for the lazy guy is not a fine, nor a whipping, but a direct shooting, so the railway is extending to Salisbury at a speed of ten kilometers a day.

Isn't it fast?

In 1867, almost 35 years ago, when laying the American Pacific Railroad, Chinese workers set a world record of 10 miles and 200 feet (about 16.41 kilometers) of track laying in 12 hours.

Xiao Si's goal is to break this record and create a miracle that belongs to Rhodesia.

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