Chapter 216 The Future is Promising
"Hmph! These Germans are so ungentlemanly! They don't even say hello. They really don't take our Kingdom of Portugal seriously!" Yaris said to his men indignantly.
"President, what are you going to do?"
"Do? What? We are just a chamber of commerce, and the other party is the army! Are you going to hit a stone with an egg?"
"Should we contact the government and ask them to deal with the Germans?"
"Do you count on those good-for-nothings in the back? The Portuguese youths today have long lost the spirit of the Portuguese Kingdom! If they were not so timid, they should have offended the Sultanate of Zanzibar to keep the Germans out. Now that the Germans have become powerful in Africa, I'm afraid that the entire Mozambique is no match for the Germans."
"President, you don't have to be so pessimistic! We have been developing in Africa for hundreds of years, and the Germans only arrived in East Africa three years ago."
"Bah! Remember this, when you look at problems in the future, you must grasp the key points and not look at them with the old perspective." Yaris taught them: "I ask you, why did Portugal give up expanding inland over the years?"
"this?"
"It's because of our lack of capabilities. Not only in the colonies, but even in the kingdom itself. I'll leave it at that. East Africa can already have a full-fledged army inland, but we can't do that."
"President, this shouldn't be difficult!"
"Of course it's not difficult, but you don't even look at the level of the garrison in Mozambique. In recent years, it's even difficult to defeat the natives. The Germans have even brought out cavalry now. They must have more troops in East Africa. They are indeed Prussian barbarians. I'm scared when I think of their mobilization capabilities. Even if the number is not large, 50,000 Germans are enough to make all the colonies of the kingdom in Africa suffer."
After careful consideration, the Kazembe Chamber of Commerce chose to forbear, but still sent a letter to the Mozambique government to explain the situation.
…
Time waits for no one. After the cavalry battalion set off, other troops in East Africa also began to pour into the area of the "pocket" plan.
The East African Arsenal is also speeding up the process of refurbishing second-hand weapons and distributing weapons to newly landed immigrants.
After several raids in East Africa, there is no need for so many guns in the hinterland of East Africa because the indigenous people have disappeared, so most of them have been taken back and only a few have been left for the security team to deal with wild beasts.
A steady stream of armed immigrants will go all the way into the Zambia region, creating conditions for the complete occupation of the "pocket" area in East Africa.
At the same time, construction began on a telegraph line extending from Mbeya to East Katanga to ensure smooth communications. While the Kazembe Chamber of Commerce was still using letters to convey messages to Mozambique, East Africa had already used telegrams to send messages back to the first town.
…
In a blink of an eye, it was the end of 1869 again.
This time the statistics will be summarized in the hands of Prince Constantine and Ernst at the same time.
This year, the East African immigrant population reached 2.453 million, among which the number of newborns was particularly impressive, reaching more than 200,000.
In terms of territorial expansion, the focus is on the west, mainly the Mitumba Mountains, the area between Lake Solon and the Lualaba River, which is about 300,000 to 400,000 square kilometers. There is also an ongoing advance into the southwest. If completed, at least 600,000 square kilometers of new land will be added next year. In addition, the north has been eroding the land in the Omo River basin, which means that by April next year, the territory of East Africa may exceed 3 million square kilometers.
In the industrial field, the East African Railway Company and a large number of mines that have introduced equipment will drive the development of the mining industry in East Africa. In addition to Mbeya, minerals near the Great Lakes region can also be developed.
As of November 30, 1869, according to statistics, agricultural development has been satisfactory, with more than 25.5 million mu of cultivated land developed, mainly by expanding the scope of existing cultivated land. However, due to the influence of the advance into the Southwest, good results should be achieved next year.
The newly developed land this year is mainly used for rice and other food crops. There is little change in wheat, while the output of corn, soybeans, potatoes, etc. has increased significantly.
The total grain output exceeds 2.5 billion jin, or about 1.25 million tons.
In terms of per capita output, it is about twice that of Italy. However, in addition to food crops, East Africa also has large-scale cash crops. At the same time, we must exclude the large areas of cassava planted to solve the food problem of the indigenous people. The yield of this crop is very high, and it is not the staple food of East Africans, so it is not included in the statistics. This is something that Italy does not have.
The population of East Africa, excluding the indigenous people, is close to one-tenth of Italy's population, which is around 25 million.
Although East Africa is close to or even surpasses Italy in some areas, Italy has accumulated experience over thousands of years. Therefore, based on agricultural and population data alone, East Africa's national strength cannot reach one-tenth of Italy's.
As the Paraguayan War is about to end, Ernst will introduce some immigrants from poor areas of Italy to replace this gap starting next year.
Sicily is an important source. Although Sicilians, like people in the Far East and the south, prefer to form associations, when they arrive in East Africa, they will all be diluted, and it is enough to prevent them from gathering together.
Now the villages in East Africa can be said to have become very complete. There are no so-called ethnic gathering places. According to the template, all people's residences are scattered. That is to say, your neighbors may be immigrants from any other region, but not from the same region.
Neighbors are forced to communicate and integrate with each other, and with German as the common language, a new German-speaking nation will eventually emerge.
In addition to the newly occupied land, road construction in East Africa has been basically completed, and the main roads can be connected to all cities and towns. The next step of the "laborers" will shift to the construction of mines, railways and large-scale water conservancy projects.
The above data show that East Africa already has the foundation of a country. If it develops smoothly, starting from next year, with the help of transportation, mining and agricultural production, East Africa will become an agricultural and mineral exporting country.
Now that the Suez Canal has been opened, Ernst intends to strengthen cooperation with the Austrian royal family, with the focus on Austria rather than the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Strengthening Austria's voice is equivalent to strengthening Germany's voice, which is equivalent to strengthening East Africa's voice.
It was very important for Ernst to use East Africa's mineral and agricultural resources to accelerate the development of the Austrian region. It was very dangerous to recognize Prussia as the big brother, but Austria did not have this hidden danger because Hungary was holding it back.
After all, Austria could not possibly take over East Africa, which is so large. Hungary alone is enough to torment it. How could it possibly establish a tripartite empire?
At the same time, an independent country will be established in East Africa next year, and it must be recognized by the world powers, so it is important for the Austrian royal family to take the lead. If they can get recognition from Prussia, Romania and a bunch of German states, it will basically be stable.
As for Ernst's concessions to Austria, the wording was ready-made for whatever Prussia thought. Austria was closest to East Africa, and the Suez Canal directly opened up the trade route between the two countries. We were all German countries and should help each other.
Moreover, the Prussian royal family is also the Hohenzollern family. The development of Hechingen in East Africa is a good thing for the Hohenzollern family, and it also makes it easier for the Prussian government to recover some rights of the former Principality of Hechingen (Europe).
All aspects have been taken into consideration, so naturally there is no opposition. As for other countries, there are only Britain, the United States and Tsarist Russia. East Africa has a good relationship with Tsarist Russia and there is no conflict of interest.
The United States is currently busy fighting with Britain and Spain, and Britain also needs to pay attention to the situation of Franco-Prussian law. As for France, its attitude is actually not important. There should be a new government by this time next year. Ernst, who is familiar with the historical answers, only needs to place a bet on the new French government in advance. Moreover, East Africa is a remote and poor place, so France may not necessarily interfere in East Africa.
(End of this chapter)
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