Chapter 443: Keep a Low Profile
Ernst and his party landed at the New Port in Dar es Salaam, and then took a train to the First Town. At this time, the First Railway was already quite busy.
As part of the Central Railway, the First Railway was responsible for delivering railway construction materials purchased overseas to the front line of railway construction.
By the way, the new port area of Dar es Salaam has been vigorously developed. A series of steel processing plants have been built here, and East Africa's independently built locomotive factory has also been established in the new port area.
Towering chimneys have sprung up in the new port, and a large number of industries have provided employment for many residents, making the new port area as prosperous as the Dar es Salaam Economic Open Zone. Because the two places are closely connected, some uninformed merchant ships often mistake the new port for the original Dar es Salaam Port. For this reason, the East African Navy has also begun to step up its efforts to guide a number of merchant ships to enter the old port correctly.
Although it is obvious to the naked eye that Xingang has developed well, they cannot really get access to the specific data. This is also a way for East Africa to hinder the spread of information.
East Africa has passed the stage of development where it was walking on thin ice. What follows is a way of thinking in which it will keep a low profile and make fortunes quietly. Ernst is most familiar with this way of thinking.
"The construction is much more prosperous than when I left!" Ferdinand exclaimed.
Ernst said: "This is all thanks to the construction of the Central Railway. There are only three focus points in the construction of the Central Railway. One is the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone, one is the starting point Dar es Salaam, and the other is the end point New Hamburg Port. The construction of the New Hamburg Port still needs time, so we can only develop the New Port of Dar es Salaam with good basic conditions first."
There are only two ways to get the steel needed for railway construction: one is to buy it from abroad, and the other is to produce it in East Africa. The only two places in East Africa that can independently produce steel are the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone and the Northern Industrial Belt. The Northern Industrial Belt is responsible for the construction of the northern railway, while the larger Central Railway can only rely on the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone.
The conditions for establishing the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone in East Africa were extremely poor, mainly referring to transportation conditions.
All large equipment is pulled by people and horses, and the road conditions in the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone are not good. Only in recent years, as East Africa's cement production capacity has increased, the traffic conditions in the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone have begun to improve.
In fact, the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone is a strategic industrial zone. At that time, Ernst was considering that if the East African coast was lost, the Hechingen royal family could move inland to lead a counterattack.
Therefore, although Mbeya is located deep inland, its development is in no way inferior to the coastal cities of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. It was developed to be a secondary capital.
However, with the rise of East African national strength, this consideration has now come to an end, but Mbeya's position as the heavy industrial center of East Africa has been established, and it will continue to maintain this advantage until the heavy industry in Zimbabwe develops.
The current development difficulties of Zimbabwe are similar to those of the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone, that is, inconvenient transportation, and it is more serious than that of the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone. The Lake Malawi Industrial Zone can also rely on the downstream shipping of the Ruvuma River to reduce part of the distance, but Zimbabwe does not have this condition at all, so without railways, Zimbabwe cannot fully play its role.
Karina, who had just arrived in East Africa, said: "It seems that East Africa is developing quite well. In terms of cities, except that there are fewer people, there is actually not much difference between them and Austria."
"This comparison is actually wrong. Take Vienna for example. Its population is over 500,000, which can almost be compared directly with some small countries. The economic value of Vienna alone may be higher than the economic value created by the entire East Africa. So we in East Africa are still far behind Austria." Ernst explained on the side.
Ernst's explanation is actually to separate the value created by the Black Hingen Consortium in East Africa from East Africa. With the Black Hingen Consortium, East Africa is equivalent to turning on a plug-in. Without the Black Hingen Consortium, the East African Kingdom is actually just a colony that looks large in area.
"Just be happy! Such a good place has not been targeted by other people, so you took advantage of it. What do you think would have happened if Austria had avoided competing with Prussia and chose to develop Africa?" Archduke Ferdinand said suddenly with an idea.
"Not very good. If Austria is allowed to develop Africa, I bet that at most it will develop to the level of the Portuguese next door. Colonial development requires courage, and if you want to develop Africa to the level of East Africa today, you need to invest regardless of cost in the early stage and be prepared to operate at a loss for a long time. Moreover, financial investment alone is not enough. It also requires strong organizational capabilities, which Austria lacks."
"Besides, Austria is not an individual business owner like me. Its every move will attract the attention of European countries. If Austria takes action personally, other countries will not remain indifferent. At least Britain and France will not sit still."
Ernst called himself a self-employed person, which was actually an exaggeration. However, it was actually the norm in this era for colonial companies and individuals to carry out colonial operations overseas independently.
For example, many of Britain's colonies came about in this way. India was developed by the East India Company and then taken over by Britain.
This is how many German colonies were established in history. The East African colonies and the Southwest African colonies were developed by private companies, which then demanded local protection and were finally incorporated into the German colonial system.
The biggest difference between Ernst's development of Africa and those colonial merchants, companies, and teams is that he truly developed East Africa as his own industry and took a long-term development route. In this respect, Leopold II of Belgium and Ernst were somewhat similar.
However, Leopold II's ultimate goal was to make money from Africa, which was very different from Ernst's idea of establishing an independent country. It can only be said that everyone's pursuits are different.
Of course, this is also related to the different starting points of each person. From Ernst's perspective, the Principality of Hechingen is just a small town. Even if Germany did not collapse as it did in history, Ernst would at best be a mayor in Germany. So instead of struggling in Germany, it would be better to try his luck in Africa. Only Ernst, who has lived and worked in Africa, can understand how good the natural conditions in Africa are, which is something that people of this era cannot see.
For example, if other European nobles were given a choice, they would definitely prefer to be nobles in Europe rather than chiefs in Africa. Small nobles may have different ideas, but their economic strength cannot compare to that of great nobles like Ernst.
"Well, no matter what, developing in East Africa is better than when I was the emperor in Mexico. Sitting in that position, it seems glorious, but in fact I am just a puppet manipulated by various forces. Even if I want to make a difference, I will not be understood and will be obstructed by all parties. East Africa is like a blank piece of paper, you can scribble whatever you want. Maybe this is the difference between starting a business and working for others." What Archduke Ferdinand meant by working for others was actually working for Napoleon III and various forces in Mexico.
"That's because the Mexicans are blind. In fact, if Mexicans don't get rid of their dependence on the United States, they will suffer in the future. Now the Americans are still pretending because the forces of Britain, France and other countries have not withdrawn from America. Once Britain, France and other countries that balance the United States withdraw, the United States will show its claws. By then, the entire Americas will be nothing more than a plaything of the Americans, and they won't even have a chance to please both sides."
Currently, the reputation of Americans in America is quite good. The Monroe Doctrine sounds so good, "America for Americans", and it really boosts the morale of the North and South American countries. You European colonists should get out of here as soon as possible, because when it comes true in the future, they will no longer have any chance.
Of course, Ernst said this to comfort Archduke Ferdinand. Archduke Ferdinand was actually quite capable, but he was too naive and too weak. He really wanted to develop Mexico, but the Mexicans only wanted to fight for power, so the emperor had to be removed first.
After all, Mexican politicians think that they can do it, but Mexicans have proved over hundreds of years that they really can't do it.
(End of this chapter)
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