Chapter 631 Preparation
"Your Highness, how will the benefits of labor cooperation be distributed?" asked von der Leyen.
Ernst said: "You calculate a reasonable range as the company's operating expenses, and how much of the rest they can get depends on their own ability."
As the organizer, it is understandable for East Africa to charge money for providing services. After all, shipping fees, work arrangements, and related rights protection all require financial guarantees.
"Everyone should be registered, one copy for the mainland and one for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially recording family and address information. After all, this is overseas work and communication is not very convenient, so it should also solve their worries." Ernst continued.
…
By September, Ernst had begun preparing to fulfill his promise to Karina to return to Europe to visit her grandmother. The family began packing their things and traveling to Europe, but the plans changed.
"Ernst, can little Friedrich and Jenna go to Austria this time? Grandma also wants to see her little grandson. She hasn't seen her since Friedrich was born!" Karina asked her husband when she learned that little Friedrich could not go to Austria.
Jenna is Ernst and Karina's second child, a princess who is just two months old. Because she is too young, Ernst and Karina's trip to Europe has to be postponed for four months, to February next year.
The safe age for a baby to travel on a ship is at least six months, so to be on the safe side, you have to wait four months.
"Karina, it's not that I don't want to take little Friedrich with me, but you are aware of the situation of our Hechingen royal family. There are only three males, me, my father, and little Friedrich. Our population is really sparse. After all, going to sea has certain risks, so it is better to let little Friedrich stay in East Africa with his father. Besides, my father is old, and he won't be lonely with his grandson by his side." Ernst explained helplessly.
He may also want to take his family to Europe to visit relatives, but this era is not the previous life after all. There are big problems with transportation and medical levels, so it is better to be safe.
Of course, the more important consideration is political. As a monarchy, East Africa is of course maintained by the royal family. Therefore, there must be no problems with the royal family, and someone must be stationed in East Africa, even if it is just symbolic.
As for the past, East Africa was small and Ernst could control it through the Hechingen Consortium in Europe. But now East Africa is no longer what it used to be and is considered a "great power". Naturally, it can no longer be easily controlled by others.
Moreover, as long as the royal bloodline remains in East Africa, the country in East Africa will continue to operate smoothly. This is Ernst's hard work, so all eggs cannot be put in one basket, just like the Egyptian air crash in the previous life, where one plane directly lost a nest of generals.
The only drawback is that Friedrich is a little too young, but it is better to have one than not. Besides, there is Constantine to look after him. In recent years, Ernst has been very concerned about his father's health, so he doesn't let him worry too much about state affairs. At least judging from his complexion, Constantine can still live a long time.
In preparation for this trip to Europe, Ernst did not plan to do anything big in East Africa at the end of 1881. He would proceed step by step and wait until he returned to decide on everything.
"Oh, it would be great if we were still in Europe. That way, if I want to visit my relatives, I can just rely on railways and carriages, which is much more convenient." Karina said.
"Haha, even if we were still there, we wouldn't be able to build such a huge foundation. Europe is still too small, especially between the major countries. There is almost no buffer space and we are facing the threat of war at any time. So East Africa is safer." Ernst said.
Now, except for the United Kingdom, all the major powers in Europe are adjacent to each other. Spain is adjacent to France, France is adjacent to Germany, Germany is adjacent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia. Tsarist Russia is not the Russia of the previous life. It is separated from Western Europe by small countries in Eastern Europe. The contradiction between Germany and France is very sharp, and there is also restlessness between Russia and Austria. The existence of the United Kingdom is simply a divisive one. Although the whole of Europe is likely to explode, the current economic situation is good, there is still a lot of room for overseas colonization, and each country still has some strategic determination.
As for East Africa being divided into half of Africa, it is actually not important, because most of the land occupied by East Africa belonged to the three spheres of influence of Britain, Portugal and Belgium in the past, plus two unimportant German African colonies.
German East Africa, namely Tanganyika, has some value, but German Southwest Africa is just scraps.
Portugal and Belgium are no longer on the same level as far as East Africa is concerned. The two countries were able to retain such large colonies in Africa in their past lives, relying more on luck and connections rather than strength.
The only country that is unhappy with East Africa and has the power to cause trouble is Britain, but they have now missed the best time to intervene in East Africa. Otherwise, it would not be so easy for East Africa to develop inland. Colonies such as Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Transvaal, Bechuanaland, etc. can be said to be stolen by East Africa from Britain.
Moreover, Britain is the world's largest colonial power. Cutting off a large piece of East Africa that originally belonged to Britain cannot change this fact. Therefore, East Africa's influence on the world pattern is not as great as imagined.
All we can say is that East Africa has come to the table, but the strength of the veterans at the table has not changed. It is still developing along the general lines of the previous life. As for major changes, it will take at least a few decades for them to be reflected.
"Ernst, you are right. Peace and safety are better than anything else. Although the conditions in East Africa are worse than in Europe, it is far away from the war." Karina agreed.
Ernst shook his head and said, "We are not far away from the war. Our south is very unstable, but these will not affect the areas we have already developed, especially the east and inland areas. Overall, there are risks of war, but they are all controllable.
It only takes a small spark for the powder keg in Europe to explode. This is also the benefit of a unified country. The fragmented state of Europe is bound to lead to this result. However, with the updating and iteration of weapons, the intensity of war is getting greater and greater. I am afraid that future wars will become more and more horrific. "
Constrained by the times, Karina could not imagine how future wars would develop. According to her knowledge, the caliber of artillery would become larger and larger and there would be more and more of them. Perhaps in the future, cannons would replace firearms.
Of course, she was just thinking about it, because the current military development is indeed like this. From land to sea, the armies of various countries are pursuing caliber justice.
"Okay, don't think too much. We in East Africa will most likely stay out of it unless we get involved ourselves, so this is not something we should worry about," Ernst comforted.
Even in the world war in the previous life, the main impact was on the Eurasian continent. As for East Africa and North America, although they would be affected, they were safe as a whole. The only one that was not affected too much was probably South America, which was truly isolated.
(End of this chapter)
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