Chapter 712: What We Saw on the Railway
"The first big city we reach along the railway to the west is Mbeya, but before that we have to pass through cities such as Dodoma. Dodoma is a railway hub, but its built-up area is relatively small, and it is not even among the top ten in East Africa. However, its geographical location is extremely important and has great strategic value. Unfortunately, East Africa is now so large that there are many places that can replace Dodoma. When more railways are added in the future, its position may be further challenged."
If East Africa is Tanzania in the previous life, then the city of Dodoma would almost be the core of the country. However, this is not the case in East Africa. Instead, Mbeya has become a relatively important hub city, and there is also the up-and-coming city of New Frankfurt.
This is the same as the Far East Empire in the previous life. Zhengzhou, which was located in the plain area in the early days, became an important railway hub. However, when railway technology and railway construction became popular and advanced, a large number of railway hubs emerged in the surrounding areas, such as Wuhan, Shaanxi, Hefei, Jinan, etc., which inevitably caused its transportation status to decline.
This decline is relative, just like the United States to the Far Eastern Empire. In fact, without the contrast of the Far Eastern Empire, the United States' position in the world and other aspects would not have changed at all, and would still be growing every year.
Dodoma City is also facing this situation. In fact, Dodoma City has developed well, but it is much inferior to the cities in the surrounding areas.
On the one hand, although Dodoma is located on a plateau, the hilly terrain in the area restricts urban development. In addition, the area lacks water resources and is not suitable for industrial development. Its annual precipitation can only be maintained at around 500 mm.
That is, the location of Dodoma is an important channel for the transition from the East African coastal plain to the plateau, so it has not fallen behind too much.
Mary: “Dodoma is somewhat similar to southern Austria.”
She and Wells first took the rail and then to East Africa, so they passed through southern Austria and finally went out to sea in Trieste. The Mediterranean climate area is in winter, with mild and rainy weather, and the rainy season in Dodoma happens to be concentrated between December and March next year, so it looks similar.
The rainy season is a time period of concentrated precipitation, but it does not rain every day, especially in Dodoma, a relatively dry place in East Africa. The only difference between the two may be the difference in vegetation.
However, it is not prominent along the railway because East Africa has planted a lot of vegetation along the railway, some of which are excellent tree species selected from all over the world.
Across the two railway lines are vast grasslands and occasional farmlands and villages. This is the current norm in East Africa's countryside. Even in the more "densely" populated east, there is still a lot of undeveloped land.
"The railway conditions in East Africa should be similar to those in Tsarist Russia. Although the mileage is longer, the density is not as high as that in Europe. Of course, we in East Africa have many advantages over Tsarist Russia in railway construction, especially in plateau areas like this, which lack tall trees and are very convenient for development. You will pass through Mbeya and Hohenzollern Provinces, where there are huge forests. To the north is the Congo rainforest, and to the south it will return to grassland. The climate in Bulawayo should be similar to that in Dodoma, but it is rich in mineral resources and has a flat terrain. It was once the capital of the Ndebele people, so the conditions are much better than in Dodoma."
Adlis was also in the group, so he told the Wells couple about the conditions in the interior of East Africa.
He often travels on the Central Railway through most parts of East Africa, so he is very familiar with the customs and culture of East Africa. He is one of the few people with broad vision in East Africa.
"When you enter the Matabele Province, you will see the Zambezi River Bridge, which is also quite spectacular. It is made entirely of steel and is a huge project in Europe. It is one of the major transportation projects in East Africa."
There are not many decent big rivers in East Africa, or rather, many rivers are shared with other countries, such as the Nile River, Congo River, Orange River, Limpopo River and Zambezi River.
What these rivers have in common is that their upper reaches are controlled by East Africa. The Orange River is an exception, but the upper reaches of its main tributary, the Vaal River, are under the control of East Africa.
The Zambezi River and the Congo River are obviously more significant to East Africa. The lower reaches of these two rivers are in the hands of the Portuguese. If East Africa seizes the downstream areas controlled by the Portuguese, East Africa will also have two world-class rivers alone.
Just like before this, even the small Rhine River (Rufu River) had a certain reputation in East Africa, which was simply a joke. To be honest, it would be a bit of a stretch for the Zambezi River to compare with the Rhine River, not to mention the Rufu River, which is only a small river of a hundred kilometers long.
Compared with the water transportation benefits of rivers on other continents, the hydropower resources of East African rivers are not enough. However, this is already a good situation, as it is better to have something than nothing.
"The Zambezi River should be the largest river in East Africa. We used to have descriptions of the Zambezi River in our textbooks. It extends from the heart of East Africa to the Portuguese colonies and finally flows into the Indian Ocean," Wells recalled.
"The previous geography textbooks on East Africa are out of date. The old textbooks can only be regarded as simple descriptions and are full of loopholes. For example, we also control the north bank of the downstream area. This is the result of the last East-Portuguese War. However, you should have studied in Africa, so you don’t know these." Adlis explained to Wells.
He went on to say: "And it won't be long before the Zambezi River becomes an internal river of East Africa."
Wells was surprised and asked, "There's going to be a war in East Africa?"
"Haha, actually there's nothing to be surprised about. Our army, especially in the south, has never been disbanded over the years. You should have noticed several military trains passing by our train in the past two days. These are all signs of war. Of course, this is my own judgment. Whether to fight or not depends on what the central government thinks."
Adlis naturally didn't dare to guarantee it, but there were indeed signs of East Africa preparing for war, and combined with East Africa's previous actions, Adlis thought that this should be the case.
The more than 10 million square kilometers of territory in East Africa was not given by others. East Africa has always been an extremely aggressive country. Even during the most stable years in East Africa, it radiated its influence across the ocean to the Pacific region.
Anyone who looks at the map of East Africa today would want to remove the two Portuguese colonies. After all, it is too discordant. For an obsessive-compulsive patient like Ernst, it is very difficult to endure it until now.
Of course, the economic and strategic value of these two colonies were Ernst's driving force. In Ernst's strategy, the coastlines of Mozambique and Angola must be obtained, and only then could East Africa truly become a two-ocean country like the United States.
As for the coastline of Southwest Africa, it is not even as good as that of Somalia. It is unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility and cannot undertake East Africa’s economic strategy and strategic deterrence to the South Atlantic.
The conditions of the eastern coastline are actually not bad, but if Mozambique can be taken, it will be of great help to the foreign economy of the central and southern regions. Exporting through the central railway still requires a long detour.
At the same time, it is also a huge threat to the port city of New Hamburg. In the East African railway planning, the railway along the Indian Ocean coastline has long been planned. The east coast of Africa, from Somalia to South Africa, has a narrow coastal plain area that will be the main artery connecting the East African economy in the future.
(End of this chapter)
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