Chapter 211 "Pocket" Plan
"Your Majesty, the East African army has been integrated. I think we should be able to take over the South next year."
Felix took the teacup and placed it in the middle of the map, in the northern part of the upper Zambezi River.
"There's no rush for this matter. There are only a few months left this year. I think we should first reach an agreement with M'siri and ask him to give up the land east of the Lualaba River. This way, we in East Africa will be able to completely control all the territories east of the upper Congo River. As for the south, we have to wait until at least next year!" Siewert suggested.
Prince Constantine seemed not to hear the conversation between the two people. He bent down, looked at the map carefully, and his brows suddenly frowned.
He put his thumb on the location of the Kingdom of Malawi marked on the map and said, "Why didn't we take over the Kingdom of Malawi? I see it is stuck between the Upper Malawi Lake Region and the East Katanga Region. The land is quite large, just like the situation before the Austro-Prussian War when the eastern and western territories of Prussia were separated by those small countries in the middle."
Since coming to East Africa, Prince Constantine's horizons have been broadened. The original states in the North German region have now become what he calls small countries. Without 100,000 square kilometers of land, they are not in Prince Constantine's eyes.
"Your Majesty, the Prince has specifically ordered that the Kingdom of Malawi not be moved rashly. You see, to its southeast is the Portuguese Mozambique, so it is positioned as a buffer zone."
"This is too cheap for these natives. This country doesn't look small on the map. I think we can still consider the north. Even if there is only land in the south, I think it is more than enough to be used as a buffer zone."
"You don't have to worry about this, Prince. In fact, this map is already quite outdated. We have been encroaching on the land of this country since the expansion of East Africa in the Tanganyika region. When we were developing Karonga City in the Upper Lake Malawi region, we dealt with the affiliated tribes of this kingdom. So far, the northern part of the kingdom is under our control, so there is no need to worry."
"That puts me at ease. The main reason is that the land of East Africa on this map looks like a long snake. If someone uses this salient to launch a surprise attack on the land route between Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) and Lake Malawi, the territory of East Africa will be cut in half."
Constantine analyzed from a geopolitical perspective that as for who would raid East Africa from here, that is a matter of opinion.
"Your Majesty, it is better to use a sand table to judge the situation around East Africa. It is more intuitive on the sand table."
"Sand table?"
"It was promoted by His Royal Highness the Prince, but it was only implemented in the East African Central Government and the military. It was used to record the changes in East African territory and the topography of Africa at all times."
"Then why didn't you tell me before?"
"The main reason is that the sand table is relatively large. There is now a room in the East African Central Government's office that is used to display it. The rest are in the military camp. The royal palace was built not long ago, so there is no sand table."
"When you go back, remember to get me one too and put it in the middle of the conference hall."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied Siweitt.
"Okay, let's continue talking about the expansion plan in East Africa. Although this map is crude, we'll just use it for now!"
Sit and Felix did not say anything, but listened carefully to what Prince Constantine said.
"By the way, what was the matter with your proposal to trade with Musiri?"
Siwei Te said: "I was in charge of this matter before. Msiri was the former owner of the East Katanga region and the former king of the Yeke Kingdom.
We seized this land peacefully through negotiation, so the Msiri regime has not been eliminated. This guy is now ruling the Luba Kingdom.
The Luba Kingdom is an ancient country in Africa. Data shows that during its most glorious period, it had a population of over one million and its territory reached Lake Tanganyika. By the 19th century, the country had fallen apart.
M'siri developed on the basis of the small chieftaincies that split from it. In addition to M'siri, our East Africa actually also has intersections with the Luba Kingdom.
The part of the territory we occupied between the Mitumba Mountains and the Lualaba River in the northwest was the land of its splintered small tribes.
The main body of the Luba Kingdom was located west of the Lualaba River, and the eastern part was the area bordering us, where Musiri is now.
Before you arrived in East Africa, His Royal Highness's plan was to use the Lualaba River as the boundary, and everything east of it would belong to East Africa. In this way, the entire area east of the upper Congo River would be under the control of East Africa.
So the content of our deal with Musiri is that he crosses the Lualaba River and goes to the eastern part of the Luba Kingdom to continue to be the king, and the land east of the Lualaba River will be taken over by us. "
"So, it's the area along the river! It doesn't look too big, and we can definitely take it this year." Prince Constantine said, "By the way, Felix, what exactly did you mean by taking over the south?"
"Your Majesty, the south I mentioned actually refers to the southwest, which is the area where the cup was placed just now. It is mainly north of the Zambia River. You see, the upper reaches of the Zambia River are very close to the Lualaba River, and the two rivers form a big circle. What I mean is to take over the land within this circle." Felix said.
Felix's proposal is in line with his hawkish personality. His circle basically includes the whole of Zambia and most of Katanga.
Judging from the map alone, this piece of land is almost as large as Tanzania, and the river marks the boundary with Zimbabwe in the south.
"What's the story of this area?" Constantine asked.
Felix replied, "Because it is shaped like a pocket, I call it the 'Pocket' plan. This area is based on the two major rivers, the Congo River and the Zambezi River, and has a tropical savanna climate. Especially the further south you go, the less precipitation there is, so marching shouldn't be too difficult. The most important thing is that the south is like the former Tanganyika region, with no countries, only tribes. Our soldiers will be very suitable for this kind of warfare."
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"Isn't there also the Kingdom of Kazembe?" said Siweitt.
"The Kingdom of Kazembe is nothing to worry about. It is too close to us. We can destroy it as soon as we head south," said Felix.
"Will this cause dissatisfaction among the Portuguese?" Siwei Te said with a little concern.
"Although there are some Portuguese businessmen in Kazembe, this is not a Portuguese colony or sphere of influence. I don't think there is any problem," said Felix.
"Well said, I agree with this plan!" Constantine said, "First come, first served. The Portuguese are not the owners of this place, and keeping the Kingdom of Malawi is enough to give them face. Mozambique alone is not the entire Kingdom of Portugal. If they want to protest, let them protest!"
(End of this chapter)
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