Chapter 507: Playing Both Ends
With the lesson learned from the last time, Portugal has become much more cautious, so Grand Duke Varus asked: "You still want us to test the waters now? Portugal can no longer withstand the toss!"
Williams said, "Don't worry. We can sign an alliance this time. If there is a war next time, Britain will definitely be the one to suffer. Portugal just needs to follow us. You can take back the lost territory and go further. All we want in the British Empire is to kill the potential threat from East Africa and prevent it from becoming a country like the United States or Brazil."
Williams specifically mentioned Brazil, which made Varus understand what the British meant. East Africa was so large that a powerful country might rise in Africa, which was not what the world hegemon, Britain, wanted to see. If one or two colonies became emerging powers, then should Britain's colonies also follow suit and become independent countries, like India! Or Australia, Canada and the like.
Just like in the past, under the civil and military power of the United States, many countries that were tortured to death by the United States seemed to have been reborn from the brink of death. Not only did they not develop according to the American thinking, but they further threatened the American hegemony.
In the Middle East, Iran is also a headache for the United States, and it was the United States that caused Iran's rise. Iran does have a trend of revival, and this is not nonsense from Ernst. Just look at the growing influence of Iranian factions in Arab countries and it will be clear. Iran does not have the appeal that Egypt has, but Ernst believes that the small groups supported by Iran are more combat-effective than the Arab countries as a whole.
As for the negative comments about Iran in the media, just take a look. If Iran is really that bad, it would not have so many followers in the Middle East. That is something that Saudi Arabia cannot buy with money.
Iran can be said to be the last hope of Arab civilization in the entire Middle East. It has embarked on its own development path and completed industrialization. The key point is that it was not supported by the West, but developed under the blockade of the Western world.
In addition to the two countries mentioned above, the last one to look at the overall situation is the most powerful challenger to Western hegemony, the Far Eastern Empire.
The above three countries have formed three important forces on the world island that the United States cannot underestimate. In Ernst's view, it is because of the existence of these three countries that the United States, a country located in America, will not be able to truly control the world island.
As for other countries, such as India, there is not much to say. Indian politicians are very good at governing the country and are good at maneuvering in the diplomatic field, but they lack the proud temperament to lead the world.
This is different between Russia and Iran in the Far East. They have always been the manipulators on the Eurasian continent. The Far East and Iran have a strong historical heritage, and their ancestors were once among the leaders of the Eurasian continent. As for Russia, it has also demonstrated its dominance and provoked half of the world to confront the United States.
As for whether what Ernst said makes sense, just look at the attitudes of the world hegemons of all dynasties towards Afghanistan. They must know this. As for Afghanistan, even the natural conditions in northern Myanmar are probably much better than its conditions. As for becoming the graveyard of empires, it is nothing more than Afghanistan's location.
Of course, this is just Ernst's personal opinion. Ernst believes that the three countries mentioned above are the ones that have broken away from the Western world's thinking patterns and have developed well.
…
After pacifying Portugal, the next power Britain turned to was Belgium. Belgium had now established a firm foothold in Congo-Brazzaville, especially with the assistance of East Africa. Ernst had to admit that he and Leopold II had some like-minded interests.
However, the British did not know the relationship between Belgium and East Africa, so they wanted to pull Belgium into the camp to encircle East Africa.
The British could not help but worry that East Africa's expansion was too rapid and might enter West Africa. The location of the Belgian Congo colony happened to be adjacent to East Africa, making it the only foothold that Britain could find.
As for France, the strongest country in West Africa, it is now being held back by Germany. The establishment of East Africa has provided a template for Germany, so Germany also wants to try whether it can take over such a large piece of territory in Africa. However, only West Africa has conditions as good as those in East Africa.
As an enemy, France naturally tried every means to disrupt the Germans, but this also prevented France from fully devoting its energy to colonizing West Africa.
The same is true for Italy. A balance of power has been formed between Italy and the Abyssinian Empire, so looking around East Africa, only Belgium is relatively leisurely.
Brussels, Belgium.
"Your Majesty, we in Britain came here with sincerity. East Africa is expanding too fast. The Germans' ultimate goal is the whole of Africa. Sooner or later, you will confront East Africa."
Just like the African grasslands, African wild animals can move freely, which makes the wild animals in the whole of Africa seem to be carved out of a template. Britain also believes that East Africa has the ambition to annex the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. After all, under the same climatic and natural conditions, it is easy to integrate a civilization. The British certainly did not believe it before, but East Africa has already ruled most of southern Africa, so this possibility does exist.
Leopold II pretended to be surprised and said, "Is it really as Ambassador Claire said? East Africa shouldn't be so cruel!"
"Haha, Your Majesty, where do you think the millions of square kilometers of land in East Africa came from? Was it given to them by the Africans next door?"
Leopold pretended to be serious and said, "Then I wonder what your country's plan is?"
Claire told Leopold II directly what she had said about Portugal. A barely perceptible smile flashed across the eyes of the old fox Leopold II, but his expression did not change, as if he had really listened to what the British said.
Leopold II said: "Don't worry, we will cooperate with you on this matter. As long as Belgium is there, East Africa will definitely not be able to go north. We will stop East Africa, but if East Africa bypasses Belgium, we will be powerless."
Claire was not satisfied with Leopold II's words. Claire said, "That's not enough. Although the Congo rainforest is not valuable, it is very large. If your country is willing, you can take over the Congo Basin."
Leopold II pretended to be embarrassed and said: "The Congo rainforest is not easy to enter. We lack weapons and ships..."
"We will try our best to help you in this regard. As long as you can stop East Africa, we can give you preferential treatment in arms trade."
Leopold II seemed to have made a big decision and said, "Okay! Then I can only try my best."
In fact, Leopold II was very satisfied with blackmailing Britain. As for going against East Africa, Leopold II had no intention of doing so.
After sending Claire away, Leopold II sold out the British and sent the news of Britain's attempt to win over Belgium to East Africa.
As for the threat from East Africa, that had nothing to do with Belgium. East Africa had contributed a lot and provided a lot of support to Belgium's early colonial construction, so Leopold II was very confident about East Africa because he knew that East Africa's target would definitely not be Belgium.
In addition to the very good royal relations between the two countries, the fact that East Africa could help Belgium colonize Congo-Brazzaville shows that East Africa had no intentions on the region. After all, Leopold II was clear about East Africa's strength on the Ubangi River. It can be said that Belgium was able to colonize Congo-Brazzaville with the tacit consent of East Africa.
Just as he balanced Britain and France in his previous life, Leopold II balanced the relationship between East Africa and Britain. He had the best of both worlds. With British weapons and East African food, he continued to expand westward and northward. Wouldn't life be better then?
(End of this chapter)
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