The court has not expressed its attitude about England declaring war on Transvaal, but the newspapers have been discussing the principle of war and avoiding war. Just as the government and the country were speculating, major newspapers in the north and south simultaneously published an edict that, as a civilized country, the Qing Empire would protect the personal safety, personal freedom and property safety of all foreign personnel in our country under any circumstances.

The local governments of various trade ports also posted a notice. In order to maintain local peace and avoid diplomatic conflicts, gatherings and marches are not approved for the time being, and police forces are drawn to strengthen patrols. All foreign-related cases will be handled seriously, quickly and strictly.

In everyone's opinion, this is undoubtedly a tactful way for the court to express its attitude - avoid war! The notices posted by various trading ports also illustrate Yuan Qi's attitude. Obviously, this is not only the attitude of the court, but also Yuan Qi's attitude.

Yuan Qi, who had always been tough on the outside, actually gave in to the face of English Gillian's strength. For a while, the government and the people were talking about each other. During this period, the main battle and the war avoidance of war, which had been arguing in the newspapers, also showed a one-sided trend.

Affected by this, the stock market, which has been falling continuously in recent times, has quickly stopped falling and rebounded. The originally tense atmosphere of various trading ports has also dissipated. The merchants, factory owners, technicians, and British foreign teachers hired by various schools, as well as British scientific researchers from various research institutes, are all relieved and no longer rush to evacuate and wait and see for the time being.

However, the Minister to China Weituma did not believe that Yuanqi would give up Transvaal's gold mine so easily. He knew very well that unless Yuanqi gave up the implementation of the gold standard, it would be impossible to give up Transvaal's gold mine. Of course, this attitude of the Qing Dynasty was enough to minimize the economic losses caused by the war between the two countries.

He immediately drafted a telegram - the Qing Dynasty might not give up the South African gold mine, but this move is conducive to safeguarding the economic and commercial interests of the two countries. He hopes that the empire can follow suit and effectively protect the personal safety, personal freedom and property security of Chinese people in their local and colonies.

Port Maputo, South Africa.

In just a few months, the fortifications in the southern part of Maputo Port have been completed. Enclosed forts built with steel and cement are scattered in a staggered manner on the large defensive positions. Soldiers are busy setting up layers of barbed wire on the crisscrossing trenches.

Under the afterglow of the sunset, Xiao Mingliang held a telescope with a complicated expression and slowly glanced at the entire defensive position. Although time was a little rushed, the entire fortification was constructed in a normal manner. However, he was still a little worried, after all, he had to hold on for too long.

If the British took the lead in attacking Maputo, they would need to stick to it for four or five months. Even if they could delay for three months, they would need to stick to it for at least one or two months. He had no idea about this.

Putting down the telescope, Xiao Mingliang glanced at Tang Zaosheng and said, "I will lead the fleet back, and Maputo will be handed over to you."

"Don't worry, commander." Tang Zaosheng saluted with a solemn expression: "The ministry will do its best to protect Maputo!"

Xiao Mingliang slowly shook his head, "It is enough to damage the British army to the greatest extent possible. If you can't defend, retreat. Once the British Navy blocks Maputo Bay, Maputo will lose its due value. There is no need to defend it. However, all artillery must be blown up before retreating. The technology of Chinese artillery control, retreat and advancement is something that Europeans have not yet mastered."

"Don't worry, commander." Tang Zaosheng hurriedly said: "I promise that there will be no artillery or artillery in the hands of the British."

The supply fleet and a large number of merchant ships left with the Nanyang Fleet. The originally crowded and bustling Maputo suddenly became deserted, but the road construction project was not affected at all, and horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts transporting various materials were still in a constant stream.

However, the local natives did not have information, had poor language, and were slow to react. Moreover, there were tens of thousands of Qing soldiers stationed in the Qing army camp. They did not realize the approaching war and were still immersed in a sudden happy life. The arrival of the Qing people not only provided them with countless opportunities but also brought them rich material.

Capital of Transvaal, Pretoria.

Vice President Boggs quickly walked into President Martinas Pretorius' office and said anxiously: "The Qing fleet and all merchant ships have evacuated Maputo!"

Pretorius was shocked. After England declared war on Transvaal, the Qing navy evacuated Maputo. What does this mean? He said in a deep voice: "The news is reliable?"

Boggs said: "How could such a big thing go wrong?"

"Maputo also has Qing troops stationed?"

"Yes, there are still about 10,000 troops." Boggs said: "The withdrawal of the Qing Navy is enough to show a problem. The Qing Navy is not an opponent of the British Navy! In this war, the Qing Dynasty will undoubtedly lose!"

After pondering for a moment, the little Pretorius said: "The Qing people were not stupid. They knew they would be defeated, but they still left so many troops? Maputo had 10,000, Bedi was stationed at 6,000, and outside the city...."

Boggs said in a deep voice: "The Qing people obviously wanted to fight a land war. As long as the British blockade of Maputo and cut off the Qing army's logistics supplies, the Qing army would have no chance of winning in this war."

"There is no need to worry." Pretorius said little, disregardlessly: "This is not a question we should care about. As long as we do not participate in the war, even if the British win, they will be nothing more than surrender and no loss."

Seeing the other party, Boggs was speechless and silent for a while before he said, "We cannot guarantee our right to wait until the British win before surrendering. We must take this opportunity to ask for a large number of weapons and ammunition from the Qing people and train our own army. No matter who wins the final victory, we have bargaining chips in our hands."

"This is a good idea." Little Pretorius nodded. "Gold mines are both wealth and sin. It is indeed necessary for us to form and train our own army!"

Langracht Farm.

The threat of war seemed to have no effect on this place rich in gold. In just a few months, tents had been built in this place. The roar of steam engines echoed on the land, and the crusher roared day and night, smashing piles of ore into powder.

Groups of black slaves were busy in the mining area, either carrying ore or transporting ore powder to mixers and stirring with mercury, which was a busy scene.

Feng Zicai, who had never seen gold mining, watched with interest in the crowd, how to extract gold from the stone. Although English had declared war on Transvaal and war was imminent, he was not worried at all. Perhaps the English Navy could show off his power in the ocean, but when it comes to land warfare, he did not take the English Army seriously at all.

Not to mention England, he didn't take it seriously, even the German Army, who was powerless to fight back in the French-Prussian War. In his opinion, no army could be the opponent of the Qing army!

Seeing the ore being crushed into powder and poured into a blender to stir and heat it with mercury, he said excitedly: "Is this the amalgam alchemy method?"

"Return to the general." Jiang Qinghao, who is in charge of the mining area, quickly replied: "Mercury can merge all gold invisible to the naked eye. This process takes a long time, usually about ten days. After full integration, the mercury containing gold is heated and distilled, and the mercury evaporates, and the rest is gold.

This method is more advanced than the method of rinsing the ore powder with water to obtain gold. It can maximize the extraction of gold from the ore and save water. The water in this place is not sufficient, so it must be saved."

Feng Zicai nodded and said, "How much does it cost to mine with machines?"

Jiang Qinghao is so familiar with gold mining that he can't be familiar with it anymore. He waved his hand and screened everyone away. He whispered: "Because it is a black slave, the cost is very low. The cost of a ton of ore is about three grams of gold. This mining area is a rare rich ore. One ton of ore can extract three hundred grams of gold."

A hundred times profit! Feng Zicai couldn't help but jumped and said softly: "How much gold can be mined this year?"

After hesitating, Jiang Qinghao said: "The mining area that the general saw can handle fifty tons of ore a day. In a year, it should be five tons of gold. If there are more slaves, the output should be higher..."

"Five tons?" Feng Zicai said in surprise. He had never thought that gold was calculated in tons. It was rare to see gold on the Qing market, and silver was calculated in yuan. For a moment, he really had no idea about five tons of gold.

Jiang Qinghao knew that ordinary people had no such concept, so he quickly explained: "More than 160,000 ounces, almost 170,000 taels, equivalent to less than 4 million taels of silver."

This mining area can have such a high income in a year? There are five mining areas like Transvaal! Feng Zicai couldn't help but be shocked. No wonder the shopkeeper did not hesitate to make big moves, which is too profitable!

"General—" a guard quickly stepped forward to report: "President Transvaal asked for a visit."

He actually came here? Feng Zicai frowned and said, "Prepare horses—."

Jiang Qinghao said, "General, it's okay to let him in. Even the experts can't see the gold output. Let him see the situation of mining gold mines by machinery..."

"Do you want him to understand that the gold mines here cannot be mined by manpower?" Feng Zicai said, "Then invite him directly." As he said, he smiled and said, "The cable telegram has been connected, and the production situation will be reported to the shopkeeper immediately."

Although Little Pretorius knew that the gold mine had started, it was the first time he entered the mining area. He was not surprised at all about the many black slaves in the mining area. During this period, the Qing army plundered many black slaves. What he was surprised at was that the black slaves were all wearing orange work clothes, gloves, and shoes on his feet. Compared with the black slaves in the Boer farm, the treatment of black slaves here is also very good?

What shocked him even more was the machines. He didn't expect that the Qing people would use so many machines to mine gold mines. What made him uncomfortable was that the roar of the machines was a little loud, which made his ears a little painful. Seeing the stones being easily beaten into small pieces and then into powder, he couldn't help but sigh that these machines were so powerful that they heard that the stones here were hard and not easy to crush.

When he came to the mixer and looked at the mud-like ore powder inside, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of alchemy method is this? Feng Zicai quickly came up and laughed loudly: "Why did Your Excellency the President chase the mine? Let's go to the tent to talk."

After leaving the construction site, the roar of the machines became smaller and smaller. When he entered the tent, Little Pretorius said with emotion: "Today is an eye-opener. This kind of machine mining is not comparable to human mining." He was tactful about the gold output. He had no time to care about it at the moment, and he knew that the other party would not tell the truth.

"The gold mine here is only suitable for machine mining." Jiang Qinghao said as he poured a cup of cold drinks for the two and the translator. When he saw that the other party did not continue to ask about the gold mine, he immediately retreated tactfully. Only then did Pretorius say: "Have your naval fleet evacuated Maputo?"

"It's not about evacuation, it's about escorting the merchant fleet back." Feng Zicai said: "It's mainly about releasing the British Navy to attack our fleet."

Little Pretorius naturally would not believe this explanation. He smiled and said, "English has declared war on our country. Our country plans to formally form an army, hoping to purchase corresponding weapons and ammunition from your country. Of course, we can only borrow money."

Feng Zicai smiled and said, "Aren't you delivering your country's two thousand rifles and a batch of ammunition?"

"We need eight thousand rifles and artillery," said Pretorius Little: "My country plans to form a regular army of 8,000 people. Since Britain and Geely declare war on our country, our country cannot stay out of the matter. We hope to fight the British army with your army."

There were not many eight thousand people, and Feng Zicai didn't take these Boers seriously at all. He pondered for a moment and said: "We welcome your country to work together to fight the British army, but we have no extra weapon reserves in South Africa and need to be transported from the country. I will tell you truthfully about your request."

Transportation from the country? Pretorius, a young man, secretly complained that the British fleet had already moved south, and it was estimated that Maputo would be blocked soon. How could he transfer it? He thought about it: "Can you borrow two thousand branches first... one thousand branches are OK."

What a joke? Feng Zicai was secretly amused. Not to mention that they were equipped with the latest semi-automatic rifles, it was impossible to give them to the other party. In this case, it is still difficult to determine whether the other party will firmly join forces with them to fight the British army. How could it be possible to continue to provide weapons at this time?

He shook his head slowly and said, "It's not that you don't borrow it, it's really nothing extra." After a pause, he continued, "However, I can guarantee that the seized British weapons, including artillery, can be given priority to you."

The British army's standard rifles were no different from those given by the Qing people. What Little Pretorius wanted more was the new semi-automatic rifle equipped by the Qing army. However, the other party could not force him if he didn't give it to him. Besides, having is better than not. He immediately smiled and said, "It's better that this is good. Our country will do its best to assist your army in fighting the British army."
Chapter completed!