Chapter 680 Buffer Zone

Kairos said: "The location of Belgian Congo is actually very important. In Europe, it is equivalent to Luxembourg or Belgium. If a war breaks out between Germany and France, these two countries will be in danger. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a battleground for military strategists. In addition, we have a very good relationship with Belgium, so we must always pay attention to Belgian Congo and pass on intelligence that is beneficial to East Africa to East Africa."

If a war breaks out between Germany and France, Belgium and Luxembourg, which are located on the border between Germany and France, cannot be avoided, so both countries will try to win them over.

But they are very clear-headed and almost no longer take sides between Germany and France, especially in Belgium, where the population is divided into two major groups: German and French.

For example, Lenoir, who worked for the Hechingen Group, was originally a Frenchman in history, but in fact he was a Belgian born in Luxembourg in his previous life, so he was half German. This was one of the reasons why the Hechingen Group could easily invite him to work in Germany.

Leopold II himself was also a master of balancing acts. He walked between Germany and France without any setbacks and gained a lot of benefits. This was the reason why the Belgian Congo was established. At the Berlin Conference, the two major powers gave face to Belgium. In addition, East Africa and Portugal did not object, so it can be said that the Belgian colony had the strongest legitimacy in Africa.

"Belgian Congo is a colony after all. It is very different from our East Africa. In particular, the rule of Leopold II can be said to be quite brutal. This is particularly evident in the attitude towards black people. So when you see them, don't stand up for them." Kairos reminded his new colleague Val.

"Mr. Kairos, I'm not a pushover. I know that the national interests of East Africa are what we should protect. As for the bad things happening in the Belgian Congo, I won't say anything about it." Val stated.

"It's best that you think this way. In fact, many young people nowadays have forgotten the foundation of our East African country, which has never been kindness and compassion, because they have too little experience. Otherwise, it would be difficult to gain a foothold on the African continent. So I was a little worried about you, but now it seems that you are indeed different from ordinary people." Kairos praised.

Val scoffed at this. Although he received ten years of compulsory education in his motherland, his family was not comparable to those immigrants who came later. His parents arrived in East Africa in 1868. He was actually seven years old at that time. He and his parents sailed across the ocean from the Far East Empire to live in East Africa.

He was lucky to have come at the right time, becoming one of the first primary school students to receive compulsory education in East Africa.

Therefore, he still has many memories of the process of nation-building in East Africa and even life in the Far East Empire. However, through sporadic images and his parents' oral accounts, he knows how difficult life was.

Moreover, he had experienced the entire process of slavery in East Africa. After all, East Africa used a large number of black slaves in the early days. At that time, East Africa could not afford cattle and horses, so black people had to undertake most of the labor force.

The Wal family had allocated several slaves for use, but the problem was solved later due to the de-blackening of the East, the improvement of the performance of production tools in East Africa, and the rapid development of animal husbandry.

Therefore, not only does Val have no sympathy for black people, he even thinks that it is natural for Belgium to enslave black people. This is related to his previous living environment.

Just like in central and western East Africa today, many plantations and farms still use a large number of black slaves. Until alternatives are found, they absolutely support the continued use of black slaves.

In the Eastern region, where slavery has actually been abolished, most people probably think the same way, and they are even willing to return to the era of slavery.

Although cattle and horses are more powerful now, black slaves can complete a lot of work, especially in agricultural maintenance and labor, where they have unparalleled advantages.

For example, in cotton planting, when the cotton harvest season comes, cows and horses are not capable of picking cotton, but black people can do it easily.

However, East Africa followed the trend of the times. Slavery was ultimately a backward and cruel system, destined to be abandoned by the times. Moreover, East Africa was often criticized by abolitionists represented by the Virgin Mary in Britain and France.

Of course, from Ernst's perspective, he was more afraid of the backlash of colonialism. So in order to solve the problem once and for all, he had to make these "victims" completely disappear from the land of East Africa.

Val: "Mr. Kairos, you said before that the Belgian Congo is as important as Belgium in Europe. Do we in East Africa have the same idea and want to take advantage of Belgium?"

Kairos: "That's about it. It's well known that the hatred between us and Portugal cannot be erased. Such an enemy exists and has blocked many of our country's outlets to the two oceans, so there must be a war between us and Portugal. War is the result of the superposition of multiple factors. An important strategic location like the Belgian Congo is naturally within the focus of our East African military."

Kairos explained this to Val openly. After all, his future work would inevitably involve dealing with East African intelligence agencies and the military, so it was necessary for him to understand some of the work content in advance.

After all, Kairos is the East African consul to the Belgian Congo and a diplomat, and Val is his assistant. In this case, there are still many tasks to be done.

Val: "The military wants to attack Portugal through a detour?"

Kairos: "I didn't say that. After all, we in East Africa love peace very much. All parts of the country are busy with construction and have no intention of external expansion."

In fact, East Africa has only not fought a war in recent years, and has indeed become much more honest. After all, a large-scale war will greatly occupy the government's energy and hinder national development. As for small-scale wars, that may not be the case. The army can be trained at any time to ensure its military level.

There have been relatively few small-scale wars in East Africa in recent years, with the military mainly engaged in suppressing slave uprisings and clearing wild animals.

Kairos went on to say, "Some things can only be understood, not expressed in words. Moreover, the Belgian Congo is a buffer zone, which is a neutral zone tacitly agreed upon by all countries at the Berlin Conference. Therefore, we in East Africa cannot easily attack the Belgian Congo until the last moment."

As for the last moment, it naturally refers to when the war situation is unfavorable and East Africa has to take various measures to ensure victory on the battlefield, including borrowing a passage through the Belgian Congo and attacking Angola from the rear.

However, this situation is generally unlikely to happen, at least most East Africans think so, because East Africa has defeated Portugal once and still remembers the Portuguese's fighting power, so there is a psychological advantage.

The East African military naturally has the same mentality, but as the country's most important weapon, the army cannot act rashly and all necessary contingency plans must be taken into consideration.

The armies of various countries will increase the data of their enemies to the greatest extent possible, just like many countries in the past regarded the United States and Russia as their imaginary enemies. In the simulation, they wished that all the US troops could drive Gundams, and then fight against such an army that is impossible to exist in reality under extreme conditions.

When simulating war, the East African General Staff would also take into account the possibility of failure on the front line. After all, Portugal has the support of the British, and Portugal itself has some capabilities. What if it is really helped up by the British!

As for the capabilities of the British Army, its scale is indeed not as large as that of Germany and France, but its individual soldier quality is firmly ranked in the top five, at least better than Tsarist Russia.

(End of this chapter)