African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 708 - 12 Natal

Cape Town.

"The demands of the Transvaal people are too excessive! Is this a blatant threat against us?" Governor Battle Frier was truly angry with this group of brainless Boers.

Direct confrontation with East Africa! Battle Frier felt the Boers were not really aiming to confront East Africa, but rather challenging him as their superior. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

And Battle Frier couldn't express his grievances because the Orange Free State is still a British colony at the moment.

If the Transvaal starts a war against East Africa now, what should Britain do? Ignore it? Clearly, that's not feasible.

This is essentially no different from Britain directly entering a war with East Africa, given that the merging of the Orange Free State into the Cape Colony is a historical fact.

So Battle Frier could only accept the Transvaal's extortion.

"Tell those Transvaal people that we can provide them with military aid, but only for six months; after that, they'll have to handle things themselves. Subtly imply that once the Orange Free State regains its status as an independent country, it can have 'independent' fiscal rights, especially in taxation. Beyond that, don't say more."

This was the limit Governor Battle Frier could achieve, after all, offending people is a task meant for the Transvaal.

As for the diamond and other resource mine owners and merchants, it's merely an extra tax payment. These funds are enough for the Transvaals to sustain themselves; diamond business is extremely profitable, although East Africa has been exporting, they are as restrained as the British. After all, something that sells at a high price won't be treated like a stone.

Moreover, during this era, there is no synthetic diamond technology; the value of diamonds still remains "stable."

...

British Natal Colony.

Pretoria is the capital of the Natal Colony, basically the location of Natal Port. The suffix of this name indicates it was once an important military fortress.

Of course, this glorious history must be traced back to the prosperous times of the East Indian Ocean and African routes, which were eventually brought to an end by the British.

At the time, Pretoria was a critical point on this route, echoing with Cape Town, as the positioning of Cape Town Port could only control the Cape of Good Hope but couldn't radiate to the Mozambique Channel, this vital international gateway.

Although the Suez Canal's construction was pushed by the French, control is now in British hands, decreasing the strategic value of the Natal Colony. Yet now, due to East Africa, Pretoria, this once-important port city, is flourishing again.

First, New Hamburg Port City has driven regional commerce trade development; secondly, the increased military presence has led to the prosperity of the consumer market.

"Today another ship arrived at Natal Port, with noticeably more Indians on the streets, many being soldiers, this is the British's most common tactic, using Indians as lackeys. However, now the number of Indian sepoy troops in Natal has exceeded expectations; clearly, they're not merely here to assist Britain in managing the colony, as managing a colony doesn't require so many hands."

"The Natal Colony is almost becoming an Indian nest, without a doubt, the Indians here outnumber the natives. The air is filled with the aroma of curry and masala, it seems the Brits have stockpiled considerable forces and numerous Indian fodder here."

This isn't an intentional defamation by the National Defense Security Bureau's personnel of the Natal Colony; rather, the culinary business in the streets is indeed exceptionally booming.

And most of the businesses here are run by Indians, as the British don't cook, and with so many troops, food supply naturally needs Indian cooks to solve it.

Amid such thriving business, Indian restaurants and snack stalls are everywhere, but Indian cuisine also provides convenience for East African intelligence agents, as it slightly matches East African tastes.

After all, many American cooks are Black people, and many dishes are created by them; these primitive societal folks can't cook anything good, similar to British Indian cuisine, reinforcing the idea that Anglo-Saxons are naturally poor cooks.

"The increase of British troops is incredibly slow; if we weren't counting ships at the port daily, we might not notice the subtleties. Therefore, Britain surely wants to take everyone by surprise in the future, this conclusion must be sent back home."

"They utilize commercial ships to transport soldiers from India to the Natal Colony in batches. I believe similar moves must be happening in other parts of Cape Town, so it's tricky to ascertain the number of British and Indian sepoy troops in South Africa, hence colleagues in Cape Town must probe into this."

Cape Town is the core for British people in South Africa. Locations like Natal must comply with Cape Town's orders, so besides observing the mounting Indian population here, East Africa struggles to gain other intelligence in Natal.

As for military intelligence, that's bottom-line the duty of East African Military Intelligence, as the East African National Defense Security Bureau is still immature, thus only undertaking peripheral tasks.

This is not because the military intelligence is more proficient; truthfully, its work even lacks the technical content compared to the National Defense Security Bureau, as military intelligence can solely serve warfare, whereas the National Defense Security Bureau's business scope is broader and more proactive.

East Africa seldom exposes intelligence agents to risky missions because they need rich experience as sustenance, and due to East Africa's brief history, it cannot afford the loss of such uniquely talented individuals.

Within such a scenario, East Africa's National Defense Security Bureau's success chance diminishes greatly, but ensures safety, as opponents are existent; some forces have intelligence organizations in this world.

Some can trace back over a hundred years, harboring many seasoned foxes; East African intelligence agents aren't ready for such confrontations yet.

"Certainly there are our people in Cape Town; it's simply unsure of their developments. However, I think it might be slightly easier there than here, as Natal is too close to East Africa, adding to the substantial military presence here. So the British's crackdown on spies is more intense than in Cape Town."

Considering Cape Town isn't at the forefront of confrontation, in contrast, opposite the Natal Colony lies a major East African city, New Hamburg Port City, along with East African troops, so East Africa will undoubtedly gather information about British forces in Natal, it's a consensus of the British Army.

Europe lacks independent intelligence organizations but military-affiliated intelligence agencies are essential, akin to East Africa's Military Intelligence, whereas institutions like East Africa's National Defense Security Bureau are genuinely missing.

However, Japanese intelligence agencies should be relatively strong, evident in East Africa's National Defense Security Bureau stationed in Japan, and Japanese culture has deeper roots than European, well-versed in Far East Empire classics like Sun Tzu's The Art of War, applying traditional solutions like deception, intrigue in this era is no exception.

Naturally, Japanese intelligence primarily focuses on confronting the Far East Empire, while East Africa's National Defense Security Bureau seizes the chance to raid Japan mainland. Consequently, the two intelligence entities parallel each other, rarely crossing paths, indeed an unexpected consequence.