Chapter 1684 Fundraising

In a courtyard made up of cave dwellings, various textiles donated by East Africa are stored here in different categories. This courtyard is a clothing factory built by the local government, and the factory is very busy.

This clothing factory is not small; it has more than 400 workers.

However, the equipment was very scarce and rudimentary, and they mainly relied on foot-operated sewing machines and a large amount of hand sewing. Many of the sewing machines were purchased or seized from the Kuomintang-controlled areas through secret channels.

The production sites were mostly borrowed or renovated cave dwellings, houses and simple sheds.

Of course, relying solely on this clothing factory with just over four hundred people is clearly insufficient for the armed forces in the Northwest.

In addition to the central clothing factory, the central base area also widely adopted the model of "decentralized production and centralized management".

The clothing factory would cut out the garment pieces, which would then be distributed to military units, government agencies, schools, and even rural women's rescue associations for sewing. Finally, the pieces would be collected and inspected.

This actually formed a huge "production network", which greatly expanded the actual production scale.

At this moment, Director Liu, the person in charge of the clothing factory, was receiving the newly delivered batch of clothes.

"Comrade Liu, we're here to add to your workload again. Thank you for your help!" a soldier escorting the cotton-padded clothes said jokingly.

Factory Director Liu looked at the newly delivered cotton-padded clothes with great joy and said, "If I could have this kind of trouble every day, I would be willing. These cotton-padded clothes are a rare material for a place like ours."

The soldier said, "As long as you are not afraid of hardship or fatigue, that's fine."

In response, Director Liu said, "Compared to the soldiers on the front lines, we are already very fortunate. What is this little bit of hardship? I just want to ensure that as many soldiers as possible can dress well during battle and not get cold while sleeping at night."

Director Liu's awareness filled the soldier with respect. He said, "I think that when our comrades on the front lines are able to wear cotton-padded clothes from the clothing factory and have new quilts, they will definitely appreciate the contributions of you logistics personnel."

"Comrade Liu, where should we put these new cotton-padded coats for you?"

Factory Director Liu said, "I've already had Sister Wang and the others prepare a cave dwelling. You can put these cotton-padded clothes in that cave dwelling, and I'll show you the way."

Soon, the cave dwelling, which was being used as a warehouse, was filled to the brim.

Factory Director Liu said, "The cotton-padded clothes from Rhine are of very good quality, but their materials and sizes are a bit extravagant for us. We could take some of the cotton from two sets of cotton-padded clothes and make a new one, so that more people can wear new cotton-padded clothes."

The cotton-padded clothes made in East Africa are made with plenty of cotton, and the sizes are all on the larger side.

The reason is that with the development of East Africa over the past few decades, the physical fitness of the East African people has been greatly improved. For example, in terms of height, the average East African is definitely taller than the people of the Far Eastern Empire at this time, and their physique is also more robust.

If these cotton-padded clothes were directly distributed to the troops, they would appear too bulky and hinder movement.

Therefore, the clothing factory's job was to modify these cotton-padded clothes provided by East Africa to fit the size of the Labor Party fighters.

Of course, this way the saved materials can be used to make more cotton-padded clothes, which is a win-win situation.

The soldier said to Director Liu, "You can tell how wealthy the Rhine is just by looking at these cotton-padded clothes. How wonderful it would be if we were as rich and powerful as them!"

Factory Director Liu said, "I heard from Comrade Xiao Li that the Rhineland is one of the most powerful and richest countries in the world."

"Therefore, the people of the Rhine have never suffered from hunger or cold, and the land of the Rhine is also very vast, I heard it is much larger than our country, so they have much more land and cattle and sheep than we do."

In reality, Director Liu was unaware that East Africa has no winter at all. Therefore, East Africans have little understanding of the two problems of hunger and cold that have plagued the Far Eastern Empire since ancient times.

As for the vastness and abundance of East Africa, they have little concept of it. After all, in this era, many people only have a vague idea of ​​how big their own country is.

In this era, most people in the Far Eastern Empire only knew that their territory was certainly not small. After all, the Far Eastern Empire had been the hegemon of the entire region since ancient times, and the people on this land had also cultivated a great-power mentality.

The soldier said, "I don't know how big this Rhineland is, but the Japanese's wretched island must be much smaller, which is why they invaded us. I wonder how the Rhineland compares to the Japanese country!"

Factory Director Liu didn't have a definite answer either. She said, "According to Xiao Li, the way we are facing the Japanese is the same as how the Japanese faced the Rhineland. I heard that the Rhineland's weapons are more advanced than the Japanese's, and their army is also stronger."

"Moreover, those good things we captured from the Japanese troops would probably be nothing more than a pile of junk in the Rhineland."

Regarding this, the soldier said, "That's quite possible. I've seen the clothes the Japanese soldiers wore, but compared to those of the Rhineland, their clothes are inferior. The Rhineland's cotton clothing has more material, and the outer fabric is more durable and the colors are better."

Factory Director Liu said, "Not only that, but Xiao Li also said that there are countless cars in the Rhineland, and cars are rare not only here, but even in Japan they are a rarity."

"The Japanese cars used an unknown amount of steel, while in the Rhineland, almost every family owns a car."

When comparing East Africa and Japan, the number of cars is undoubtedly the most direct reference point when comparing them on the ground.

In addition, there is the difference in people's mental state. When Japanese people stand with East African citizens, the former are not only short in stature, but also obviously malnourished.

As for other aspects, such as clothing and housing, they are not so obvious. For example, East Africa certainly has far more high-rise buildings than Japan, but East Africa itself is not particularly fond of building high-rise buildings among the great powers, at least compared to the United States.

Of course, if we compare Mombasa and Cabinda, which are relatively special cities, in Japan, then there is no doubt that the differences between the two are quite large.

The skyscrapers of Mombasa and Cabinda are comparable only to a few cities in the United States, serving as a model for East Africa's urban development. Mombasa showcases East Africa's strength to Eurasia, while Cabinda targets countries along the Atlantic coast.

The existence of these two cities is mainly to prove that East Africa is not incapable of building like the United States, but rather that there is no need to excessively pile up too many tall buildings.

Factory Director Liu said, "I believe that after we drive out the Japanese, we will definitely be able to catch up with the Rhineland. After all, we have been the most outstanding nation in the world since ancient times, and it was only in the last hundred years that we were surpassed by other places."

...

While the East African government was continuously channeling funds into the Far Eastern Empire, the people of East Africa were also actively contributing. In addition to the surge of donations from the colonies in Southeast Asia to the Far Eastern Empire,

There are also many people in East Africa who care about the Far Eastern Empire and want to contribute to it.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Mombasa.

The president of the Far Eastern Empire Chamber of Commerce and other high-ranking officials in the area wanted to organize a fundraising event in Mombasa specifically for the cause of the anti-Japanese war.

Chamber of Commerce President Zhao Bosheng first shared his thoughts.

"Fellow countrymen, our homeland is currently suffering from war. Although we are in East Africa, we cannot sit idly by and watch as wolves and tigers devour our homeland."

"Especially Japan, a beastly nation devoid of humanity, committed countless crimes in its Far Eastern empire..."

"To help our weak nation, we hope everyone can contribute and drive these beasts off our land as soon as possible!"

His suggestion was immediately endorsed by the vast majority of the Chamber of Commerce.

A senior member of the chamber of commerce said, "I am willing to donate some of my savings to help our country. Chairman Zhao, do you have any specific ideas or measures?"

President Zhao said, "I would like to hold a fundraising event in Mombasa, and this fundraising will not only be for our chamber of commerce, but for the entire city of Mombasa."

"As we all know, East Africa is a country of immigrants, and the Chinese immigrant community in East Africa is quite large. Even though most of them have naturalized and become Germans, the blood ties still exist."

"If we can gain the broad support and sympathy of the people of East Africa, it will undoubtedly bring tremendous help to our motherland."

Another chamber of commerce official said, "President Zhao, will the East African government allow us to do this?"

If the fundraising were merely aimed at the expatriates of the Far Eastern Empire in East Africa, it would naturally not be a big deal. However, targeting all citizens of Mombasa would obviously attract the attention of the East African authorities.

Chairman Zhao said, "To be honest, I am fully prepared for this, as I have already made contact with East African government officials."

“They supported my ideas, and not only that, they also provided us with a solution: the East African government would help us assist the Far Eastern Empire.”

"As everyone knows, even if we want to support our motherland, it is extremely difficult for us to contact our motherland and send supplies back home."

"Now, our country has fallen, and the Japanese beasts have imposed a tight blockade on our nation. If we rely solely on our own strength, it is clearly difficult to break through the blockade and deliver the supplies our country needs to our soldiers."

The Japanese blockade of the Far Eastern Empire was clearly an issue that overseas Chinese could not avoid if they wanted to support their motherland.

After all, they couldn't just sail their warships and forcefully break through Japan's maritime blockade, then transport supplies to the Far Eastern Empire's rear through ports controlled by Japan.

In fact, the overseas Chinese in the Southeast Asia region were able to provide support to the Far Eastern Empire largely through the land route connecting Southeast Asia and the southwestern border of the Far Eastern Empire.

Related routes include the Burma Road, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the Stilwell Road, and the Hump, all of which are very famous routes.

President Zhao said, "The East African government has made it clear that it supports our country, and they are now accelerating the construction of the Central Asia Highway to support our frontline soldiers through our northwest region."

"According to information I received from East African officials, this route will be officially opened by the end of this year."

"If this aid route is established, it will undoubtedly be of great significance for us to provide assistance to our motherland, and may even become the most important artery for our motherland to obtain external support."

"Although aid corridors are being built in the southwestern and Southeast Asian border areas of the Far Eastern Empire, those corridors are progressing too slowly and are easily affected by war and harsh natural environments."

"Therefore, the advantages of the Central Asia Highway become apparent. This route is the least likely to be affected by Japan, and the supplies and funds we raise can be better transported to China via the Central Asia Highway."

At this point, a member of the chamber of commerce asked, "President, do you mean we should cooperate with the East African government?"

Chairman Zhao nodded and said, "That's right. Moreover, our cooperation in East Africa must be supported by the East African government. Otherwise, many tasks will be difficult to carry out, since this is not our homeland."

The person who asked the question then asked, "But are East Africans trustworthy?"

Chairman Zhao explained his concerns: "There is absolutely no need for anyone to worry about this, because the East African government itself is the main country supporting the Far Eastern Empire. From this point of view, our goals are actually aligned with those of the East African government."

"Now, an air route has been opened from Gwadar Port in East Africa to our country. This route is actually the route through which the East African government provides aid to the Far Eastern Empire."

"If anyone has any doubts about the attitude toward East Africa, they can go and see for themselves!"

"Besides, there is another point that confirms what I said, and that is the East African newspapers and news. Everyone reads these things quite a bit."

"I think you can all see that the news and newspapers in East Africa are biased towards the Far Eastern Empire, and they have made all sorts of accusations against Japan, and even directly exposed Japan's various beastly behaviors."

Public opinion in a society can, to some extent, reflect the attitude of a country's government. After all, public opinion is easily manipulated, and the social atmosphere in East Africa is undoubtedly unfavorable to Japan at present.

At this point, another senior member of the Chamber of Commerce said, "I also trust the president's judgment, after all, East Africa is a major destination for Chinese immigrants."

"Many descendants of Chinese immigrants have even become high-ranking officials in East Africa. They certainly have goodwill and sympathy for their motherland, and their status can also influence East African decision-making. So we don't need to be suspicious of them. The East African government has no reason to play tricks on us like this."

Even among the assimilated Chinese immigrants, their descendants clearly harbored a certain "bias" towards the Far Eastern Empire, as they could not deny the blood flowing in their veins.

Of course, if they had to choose between East Africa and the Far Eastern Empire, they would undoubtedly support East Africa. However, since East Africa and the Far Eastern Empire have no conflict and instead share common interests, this option is no longer available.

Chairman Zhao said, "That's right. East Africa can actually be considered half, or at least a third, of Chinese-majority countries. I think that's why the East African government took the initiative to contact me."

"We can leverage their resources and channels to support our motherland more efficiently and conveniently."

(End of this chapter)