Chapter 380 Night Talk
Harare at night.
The temperature dropped quickly, and Ernst put on an extra coat. How should I put it? The weather in Africa made Ernst feel somewhat familiar.
Ernst didn't like the climate along the African coast, but in his previous life, Dar es Salaam, the most developed city in Tanzania, was located on the coast. Although there were some well-developed areas in the inland, the infrastructure and some modern things were lacking.
Therefore, Ernst likes to be sent to Nairobi, Harare and other capitals of landlocked countries. They have everything they need except that the internet is a little poor. The climate is also good. However, most of the time, Ernst's activities are concentrated in some rural areas. After all, construction, especially road and bridge building, involves a lot of work in the field.
Walking on a rural road in Harare, Ernst said, "Sweet."
"Here, Principal!" His mind suddenly shuddered, and he straightened his body and answered, as if he had returned to his student days.
Ernst said, "Don't be too nervous. You have been in the army for some time. I want to understand some of the actual conditions of our army."
Although Ernst was in charge of the overall situation, he could not rely on his own imagination to understand the situation of the troops. Only those who were the main commanders of the East African Army and had participated in several battles had a say.
Siwei Te said respectfully: "Yes, Principal! But what do you want to know?"
Ernst thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with the basic situation of the troops! Especially the soldiers' lives and emotions. We can talk about them."
Siwei Te: "Well, let me talk about some of my personal experiences. At the grassroots level, the troops are generally quite qualified. When we first arrived in Africa, the troops were still based on mercenaries. From top to bottom, there was almost no difference between our army and Prussia. As the army expanded and the number of troops increased, some bad habits of the Prussian army, or problems that are unavoidable in armies all over the world, also appeared in the East African army. At first, I thought it was a problem of officers, but as the number of students from the Hechingen Military Academy increased in the army, I found that academic education is also an important influencing factor.
Although our troops have a relatively high level of education, except for immigrants from the German region, the education level of immigrants from other regions is quite low. This means that even if the quality of our army and division commanders has improved, they still cannot command the army smoothly. Even the German immigrant soldiers who have received compulsory education have uneven education.
Ernst nodded and said, "This is unavoidable. I actually thought about this when I sent the mercenary team to East Africa. The East African Army based on this must not be a well-disciplined army."
Siwei Te interrupted and said, "Principal, in fact, the mercenary team has military discipline, but it still implements the Prussian-style stick education, using corporal punishment to restrain the soldiers."
Ernst: "Of course I know this. I am quite familiar with the Prussian army. However, military discipline is not just a battlefield consideration. It includes all aspects. For example, the Prussian army is considered to have strict discipline among all the armies in Europe, but they still cannot get rid of post-war looting."
Siwei Te: "Principal, this is unavoidable. It's human nature. But East Africa has done a good job in this regard. At least the military and civilians get along well."
Ernst: "Haha, that's a problem with the organizational framework. Wars in East Africa all take place in areas where indigenous people live. Plus, East Africa is not a free market, so even the captured supplies have nowhere to go, so the soldiers don't have a very urgent need for spoils."
Ernst said this, and Sweet was a little confused: "Principal, isn't this great?"
Ernst shook his head and said, "East Africa is my experimental field, and I am the farmer working on this field. If you want the crops to grow well, what do you think needs to be done?"
Siwei Te: "Till the soil, apply fertilizer, weed and remove insects!"
Ernst: “You see, tilling the soil is to change the soil structure. The land in East Africa is definitely not the best in the world, so various methods are used to change the agricultural facilities in East Africa to enable large-scale development of the land in East Africa.
Fertilizers are the nutrients needed by the crops themselves. The crops are the people of East Africa. Farmers have two choices regarding the state of the crops. One is to ignore them, but they can still harvest them. Although this is less stressful, the grain production will decrease. The other is to meet the demand for grain as much as possible, which can yield a good harvest, but the supply of fertilizers cannot be cut off.
Finally, weed control and pest control. What are the weeds and borers in East Africa? In my opinion, any obstacle that may undermine East Africa's becoming a world power is not only external, but also internal. "
The moon and starry sky are particularly dazzling tonight.
Ernst stood under the pale moonlight and said, "This also applies to the army. The importance of the army is self-evident. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as the cornerstone of the country. The country is a powerful institution, and its source of power is the army. Maintaining the stability and invincibility of the army is very important for East Africa."
After listening to Ernst's words, Siwei Te understood a little: "Principal, you mean to reform the army!"
Ernst: "There is no rush. Let's wait until the war against the Boers is over. After defeating the Boers, we may have a long period of real peace!"
If this war ends, Ernst does not plan to wage any foreign wars for a long time. Although he had this idea before, he could not resist the temptation every time, and the territory of East Africa has expanded several times.
After the destruction of the Boer Transvaal Republic, East Africa has made up for all its shortcomings. At least in this region of Africa, apart from West Africa, South Africa has the richest resources. West Africa's advantage is oil, while South Africa has abundant coal mines.
With resources, they need to be developed. Ernst believes that East Africa is too weak now, not in terms of military, but economically. More than three-quarters of the area has not been basically developed, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, the plateaus in northwest Zambia, the Okavango River Basin, the Azande Plateau, the White Nile Basin, the west side of the Mitumba Mountains, and then South Africa.
The country had already achieved its goal of becoming a vast land with abundant resources, and agricultural development in East Africa had also been realized, so Ernst's next step was to develop the country towards an industrial country.
Now the opportunity is ripe, and East Africa's size can support industrial development. This is something Ernst urgently needs to solve. If the great powers wait to recover from the economic crisis, the enemies East Africa will face will be diverse and complex. How to ensure that East Africa maintains its independence when the great powers divide the world is the most important thing Ernst needs to consider at present.
The East African Kingdom is somewhat similar to Tsarist Russia in that its economy is all concentrated in one place, but there are not many indigenous people in Siberia of Tsarist Russia who can threaten its rule.
There are a large number of indigenous people in the East African Kingdom. In order to prevent them from becoming guides, the East African army can only maintain an invincible posture. Modern warfare relies on industry.
(End of this chapter)
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