The rapprochement between France and Russia also accelerated negotiations between Britain and Austria. To increase their influence, the British were even prepared to bring Prussia into the alliance. Unsurprisingly, this faced strong opposition from both France and Austria. The pie was only so big, and dividing it among three was already challenging enough—how could they let in another competitor? If Prussia joined the alliance, would Russia also have to join? And if the Russians joined, the Nordic Federation could also come in. One would lead to another, and before long, all European countries would be in the alliance, rendering it useless. The British have a knack for causing trouble, always looking to stir things up. Being their ally requires constant vigilance. One misstep and you could get caught in a trap, which isn’t much safer than being their enemy. The shifting European situation also affected the Anglo-Boer War. Since the British reinforced their troops with an Indian regiment, Viscount Falkner’s second plan became unusable. Even when they deliberately exposed a flaw, the British showed no intention of coming out to fight a decisive battle, adopting a stance of remaining unmovable regardless of changes. As time went on, the population in the Cape Town area also plummeted. Most war refugees had been evacuated by John Bull, leaving mainly the army behind. With the reduced logistical pressure, the British didn’t sit idly by. They were stockpiling supplies for the winter, apparently preparing for a prolonged war. By now, the nature of the war had changed, with frequent skirmishes between Indian and African soldiers, while British and Boer forces acted as overseers. It was cannon fodder against cannon fodder, and no one cared except the finance departments. The original strategy of using these troops to increase the defenders’ casualties and force the British to withdraw had failed. There was no way around it. Dragging it out like this, Austria would be the first to crumble. Recruiting was difficult, and there weren’t enough cannon fodder. The African continent, being vast and sparsely populated, coupled with previous immigration strategies, led to a decline in the native population within the Austrian colonies. As the war progressed, the colonial government provided a million cannon fodder troops, almost every tribe that could be found had been conscripted once. These troops either perished in early battles, fell in siege warfare, or were executed by their own overseers. The current rate of conscription could no longer keep up with the consumption rate on the front lines. Of course, with such high casualties, the number of deserters among these cannon fodder troops was naturally significant. In the vast South African region, it was easy for deserters to hide in the forests. Once they hid in the forests, the Boer Republic Army had no way to continue pursuing them. As long as they didn’t flee in large groups, it was easy for them to stay hidden. The impact of deserters goes without saying. The newly occupied British South Africa had not yet seen new settlers, so the local indigenous tribes naturally bore the brunt. Deserters still needed to eat, and although the jungle was rich in food, it wasn’t enough to sustain the growing number of deserters. With insufficient food, they had no choice but to resort to robbery. Naturally, no one dared to target the Boer Republic Army—attempting to rob a modern army with just cold weapons was sheer madness. Following the law of the jungle, the weak fell prey to the strong. Indigenous tribes without young warriors faced disaster as these deserters, who wouldn’t dare to challenge the Boer Republic Army, showed no mercy to their fellow natives. Actually, they couldn’t even be considered “fellow natives.” Only members of their own tribe were considered “their people,” while others were enemies. They treated these enemies harshly, causing chaos around the Cape Town area and leading to the destruction of numerous tribes. Viscount Falkner was unaware of these changes and didn’t concern himself with internal conflicts among the indigenous tribes. The prolonged inability to conquer Cape Town had significantly increased the pressure he was shouldering. Expecting the British to surrender was nearly impossible. With their naval superiority, unless Britain and Austria completely broke ties and the Austrian African colonial troops joined the fight, Viscount Falkner lacked the confidence to decisively crush the opposition with his current forces. Governor Delf was under even greater pressure than Viscount Falkner. Despite his struggles, Viscount Falkner had at least won some battles, even if the results were modest. In contrast, Governor Delf had faced nothing but defeat. The nearly six-month-long siege had not been without results. Cape Town was nearly destroyed by constant shelling and loss of life. If satellite imagery were available, it would show that most of the original city of Cape Town had fallen into the hands of “Boers”, with the British holding only a small area. However, this held little significance, as there was a series of reinforced concrete fortresses stretching from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope. While the quality of these structures was poor, there were plenty of them. Governor Delf’s turtle tactics might not have been impressive, but they were undeniably effective. Of course, such tactics were only feasible for the deep-pocketed British. Despite the poor quality of these makeshift fortresses, nearly all materials had to be imported. For example, cement and steel were shipped from Britain, adding significantly to the costs due to the long transport distances. The poor quality of the fortresses was a result of necessity. Local sand was of poor quality, and when it ran out, they used dirt. Due to a lack of fresh water, they used seawater in the construction. All these compromises resulted in increasingly shoddy fortifications, often prioritizing quantity over quality. However, the Boer republics’ attacking forces were unaware of these issues. Having already faced tough resistance, they were now engaged in urban combat and had yet to encounter the tofu-dreg projects. If they knew these were shoddy constructions, why build them at all? The reasons were numerous, including using defensive works to intimidate the enemy and employing temporary fortresses for strategic deception. These were the reasons Governor Delf reported to the British government, barely holding the situation together. Such strategic deception might have been effective before the outbreak of hostilities, but once the war began and shells started flying, the reality would quickly be revealed. However, the fortresses still needed to be built. Otherwise, how would the capitalists supplying the raw materials make money? These special businesses belonged to influential figures back home. Governor Delf, being a man of goodwill, would never do anything to cut off someone’s source of income. This was also the reason for his current anxiety. Once the last area of Cape Town fell, the shoddy construction behind it would be exposed. Costing millions of pounds, these defensive structures would be worthless on the battlefield. If that happened, it would be hard for Governor Delf to retire peacefully. He would undoubtedly take the blame. “Will, how are the negotiations between the Foreign Office and the Austrians progressing?” Harsh reality led Governor Delf to place his hopes on the Foreign Office. If they could resolve matters with Austria, the “Boer Republic Army” outside the city would disperse immediately. Did they really think that putting on a disguise would make them unrecognizable? If the Boers were really this strong, they wouldn’t have needed to migrate inland in the first place. “Governor, the negotiations are progressing very smoothly, but they haven’t touched on the South African issue. The Austrians insist that we are fighting against the Boers, and if we want to negotiate, we should do so with the governments of the Boer republics.” Will was very frustrated. No one wanted to lift the veil. Negotiations regarding the Anglo-Boer War were at a standstill and would continue to be so unless they were willing to swallow their pride and follow the Austrian suggestion to negotiate with this disguised “Boer Republic government”. The British government couldn’t bring itself to do this, so the issue was shelved. This was just the official statement. Governor Delf knew very well that the real reason was that no one wanted to take the blame. On the battlefield, they had already been defeated. How could they expect favorable terms at the negotiating table? Concessions from Britain on the South African issue had become inevitable. If they signed a disadvantageous treaty, it would be a permanent stain on one’s diplomatic career. Self-interest is instinctual for politicians. Governor Delf accepted this reality without complaint. With a deep sigh, he said, “Enough, there’s nothing more we can do now! Will, send a telegram to the British government. To protect the empire’s interests and mitigate the losses from the war, the Cape Town colonial government requests to enter into diplomatic negotiations with the Boer Republics.” This signaled the complete collapse of Britain’s South African strategy. As the main instigator, Governor Delf was naturally going to be held responsible. However, negotiating now was better than negotiating after a complete defeat. If they were pushed all the way back to the Cape of Good Hope by the enemy, Delf would have to die on the battlefield to give an explanation to the homeland or he would face a military tribunal. Given this, it was better to take responsibility proactively. Considering that this war had fed many aristocrats, his fate wouldn’t be too bad. There were plenty of people who had suffered defeats, and not everyone was held accountable. Delf’s only problem was that he had actively instigated the war and then failed to win it. As long as he could secure a somewhat acceptable treaty, he could go home and lay low for a few years until the situation blew over. With his connections, he could resume his career later. In times of crisis, the British were still efficient. On the same day, they proposed negotiations with the “Boer Republic government.” When Viscount Falkner received the British request for negotiations, he was stunned. He had exhausted all his efforts in this war and couldn’t figure out how to take Cape Town. He hadn’t expected the British to surrender. Negotiations were inevitable. Without the means to take Cape Town by force, there was no point in continuing the fight. The Austrian nobles participating in this war all had their own estates and couldn’t be away for too long. They had achieved enough military merit and had accomplished their goals. Continuing to fight the British to the death would benefit no one. Although the British fortifications were indeed shoddy, Viscount Falkner and his men had no knowledge of this and assumed they were genuine fortresses. With this lack of information, Viscount Falkner didn’t dare take risks. Otherwise, he might have gambled on launching a full-scale attack to drive the British out of South Africa at any cost.
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