African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 500 German Ambassador

 The First Town, taking advantage of the East-Portugal War, Germany also dispatched diplomats to the First Town.

 After more than ten years of development, No. 1 Town is no longer the small town it once was, but has become an elegant, civilized, and prosperous emerging city.

It has both European classical style and the atmosphere of a modern city. The appearance is not much different from European cities. However, the convenient life brought by the industrial revolution is reflected in the first town. Ernst is not a man who makes do with his life. People, so they are very concerned about the planning of the first town and city.

Walking on the streets of First Town, Klein was filled with emotion. He felt that his previous understanding of African countries had been subverted.

"Oh, I didn't expect that East Africa is developing really well. Looking at the planning and population, it should be more prosperous than Stuttgart! If you add Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, it doesn't seem to be much different from Germany."

Von der Leyen glanced at Klein, the German ambassador to East Africa, suspiciously. He felt that there was something in Klein's words!

"Haha, Mr. Klein, you are kidding. How can East Africa be as good as Germany? The coastal areas of East Africa are pretty well developed. The cities are all newly built in recent years, so they look pretty good. Because of the convenient transportation, the population is also very good. It’s more, but a large population doesn’t mean anything, not to mention that Germany’s population is already larger than that of East Africa, and the gap between us in East Africa and Germany is vast.”

Klein doesn’t think so. Recently he also visited Dar es Salaam and Soga near the First Town. As far as he knows, Bagamoyo is not far from the First Town. The ships of Bagamoyo can be seen in the canal in the north, so East African cities have a tendency to develop in clusters, which reminds Klein of the Ruhr area in Germany.

Of course, these cities in East Africa cannot be compared with the Ruhr area. There are 20 or 30 towns in the Ruhr area, and the degree of industrialization is quite high.

 These cities in East Africa mainly have policy and transportation advantages. First Town and Soga are both supported by policies. Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam are excellent ports on the East African coast.

In fact, according to the division of East Africa, Dar es Salaam should be divided into two cities, one in the south and one in the north. The north, which is the original city of Dar es Salaam, focuses on business and service industries, and the south focuses on industry and manufacturing. , so to be precise, there are currently five cities nearby with the first town as the center, and Zanzibar Island across the sea.

The biggest shortcoming of the coastal areas of East Africa is the lack of resources. However, the convenience of shipping has offset this disadvantage. Inland goods will also be distributed here, so the development is not bad.

"Mr. von der Leyen, you're welcome. East Africa has started developing in too short a time. I think it's quite good to be able to achieve this level. I'm afraid some small countries in Europe are not as developed as East Africa." Klein said.

Klein realized that it would have been great if Germany had paid attention to colonizing this area of ​​East Africa! However, Germany was not unified at that time, so it naturally had no time to engage in overseas colonization. Austria actually had the conditions to do so, but Austria's energy was held back by Prussia, and only the royal family of Hechingen had the discernment. Fortunately, East Africa is also German. That is to be our own people, which is much better than leaving it to the British and French.

 After reunification, Germany has only begun to pay attention to the importance of colonies in the past two years. This is mainly due to the influence of the general environment. Other powers are stirring up trouble around the world, but Germany is the only country in Europe that has not taken any action.

Germany's industry is developing at an extremely rapid pace, and its strength is not comparable to the same. Naturally, it is not satisfied with the current international situation. However, Prime Minister Bismarck is a man who can keep his composure, which Ernst particularly admires.

At present, Germany is a bit like the Far Eastern Empire that was suppressed by the United States in its previous life. It seems like the sun is rising, but in fact it has quite a big problem.

Germany's difficulty lies in its disadvantaged geographical environment. France and Russia are both top powers, so it is difficult for Germany to move around in Europe and there is almost no room for expansion. The disadvantage of the Far Eastern Empire is that the world's energy and minerals are controlled by the United States. If the Far Eastern Empire in the previous life was solved When it comes to energy and mineral issues, we are not afraid of US suppression at all. The current world hegemony is in the hands of the British, but the British hegemony is very limited. Tsarist Russia and France are both capable of challenging the British hegemony. Germany and Austria are slightly worse, but German industry is developing rapidly, Austria-Hungary can continue to rest on its laurels, and Spain is half dead. But they can still maintain the dignity of the great powers. The United States, East Africa, the Far Eastern Empire, and the Ottomans can all live well by relying on their size.

The East-Portugal War actually established the international status of East Africa. Although Portugal was not strong, none of the countries in front of it were weak.

So Klein said: "In the future, Germany, Austria-Hungary and East Africa will represent the influence of the Germans in the world. Germany is the strongest, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not bad, and East Africa has great potential. If the three countries unite, can change the world’s voice.”

Hearing Klein's confident words, Von der Leyen poured a basin of cold water on him and said: "I would like to see that day come, but I'm afraid it's impossible to achieve now. Without twenty or thirty years, the world structure won't be the same. If there are too many changes, the UK alone will weigh us down. Unless the UK completely declines, everything will be an illusion."

Von der Leyen's words also reminded Klein that Britain is indeed an insurmountable mountain. Now Britain is at the height of its power and does not appear to be declining at all. On the contrary, it is becoming more and more majestic.

Klein said: "The United Kingdom is indeed powerful. At least the British have the final say on the ocean. No one can challenge the British position. We can only accumulate strength first and wait for the British to cause problems themselves."

Von der Leyen struck again: "Not only the United Kingdom, but also Germany, France, and Tsarist Russia. None of these countries want to see the rise of Germany."

In fact, von der Leyen also wanted to include the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, if Germany was too strong, it would not be a good thing for some people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, this kind of thing is hard to say. In the past, Austria had a conflict with Prussia. Fighting for the rights of Germany, so the relationship is not good. Now that Austria is out, naturally there is no intention to cause trouble to Prussia. Hungary has become a major worry for Austria.

 Klein then had a lot of chats with von der Leyen, but they both revealed one idea, which was the idea of ​​a three-nation alliance between Germany, Austria and the East.

According to Klein, East Africa's current strength is not bad, so it is natural to want East Africa to side with Germany. However, East Africa does not follow this method now. East Africa itself has not yet digested it, and it does not care much about international affairs.

As long as East Africa develops steadily for 20 to 30 years, it will be able to completely secure its status as a world power. It will not be of any benefit to East Africa to participate in international disputes without any reason.

Therefore, East Africa doesn’t have much idea about taking sides. Don’t look at the British eyeing East Africa. As long as Britain does not take the initiative to launch a war against East Africa, East Africa will not want to pay attention to Britain. Moreover, even if Britain launches a war against East Africa, East Africa will not be afraid.

 At this stage, East Africa and the United States are very similar. They are not very interested in international affairs. Of course, the United States still pursues a little more than East Africa, such as the United States' influence and control over the Americas, and its greed is very strong.

East Africa does have its own interests in the Indian Ocean, but Ernst only laid out the Lanfang Republic and did not establish the Monroe Doctrine like the United States. Therefore, East Africa is still relatively honest now. As for East Africa's land of more than 10 million square kilometers, what about East Africa? Those who came here will naturally be incorporated into the East African territory after their national power increases. In the final analysis, it is strength. Therefore, as long as East Africa concentrates on improving its national power, it will be able to take the initiative in changes in the international situation in the future. Ernst also planned to come to Bismarck. It's just that later Wilhelm II didn't have the patience of Bismarck.

 (End of this chapter)