Expedition to Europe

In Moon Bay, we faced the British, but in Djibouti, we faced the Ethiopians.

After Lan Fang and France exchanged Djibouti, Djibouti and Little Aden on the other side of the Red Sea became part of the Western Province. When Qin Zhiyuan arrived in Djibouti, Chen Kangjian met Qin Zhiyuan in Djibouti according to regulations.

When Chen Kangjian took over Djibouti, the entire population of Djibouti was only more than 5,000 people. This was because the French built a railway between Djibouti and Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and the population had increased a lot. From this, we can see how desolate Djibouti was before.

The entire area of ​​Djibouti is only 23,000 square kilometers. Although the area is not large, the terrain is complex. Most of the territory is plateau mountains with volcanic rock materials. The coastal areas are mostly plains and plateaus, and the inland areas are mainly plateaus and mountains. Including the coastal areas, most of Djibouti has a tropical desert climate, while the inland areas are almost similar to the tropical savanna climate. The whole territory is hot and rainy all year round, and there is almost no rainfall in the inland areas.

It is no wonder that the French would abandon this place without any nostalgia, that is, Lan Fang, and only took this place as a treasure under the threat of the British.

The current Djibouti is of course different from the past. After Lan Fang took over Djibouti, more than 20,000 Lan Fang people moved from Lan Fang's homeland, and then nearly 20,000 members of the "Qin Legion" moved in. The current Djibouti is equivalent to a large construction site. Chen Kangjian vowed to build it into a military base and become Lan Fang's nail to guard the Red Sea.

Djibouti itself also has the conditions to build a military base. The Tadjoura Bay, which is 56 kilometers wide, 80 kilometers long, and 1,082 meters deep at its deepest point, is wedge-shaped and penetrates deep into the interior of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden, dividing Djibouti into two different parts, north and south. There are mostly mountains to the north of the Tadjoura Bay with complex terrain, and most of the south is a plateau with an average altitude of 500 to 800 meters.

Chen Kangjian's construction is carried out around the Tadjoura Bay.

This place is different from the Moon Bay. You don't have to care too much about the environment. You can do whatever is convenient.

"We are currently quarrying stones in the mountains, and then transporting the stones to Tadjoura Bay by rail. I plan to build a breakwater about ten kilometers long in Tadjoura Bay, so that battleships and aircraft carriers can be directly docked in the breakwater, and it is also convenient for merchant ships to use." Chen Kangjian is really generous, talking about the sand table in the Governor's Mansion.

"Ten kilometers - have you considered the cost?" Qin Zhiyuan had a toothache. The construction of military bases is also part of the military expenditure, and Qin Zhiyuan has to pay for it.

In fact, Qin Zhiyuan's funds are not tight, and can even be called ample. Old Renault's national debt business is doing well, and Qin Zhiyuan is ready to add more.

"It doesn't cost much--" Chen Kangjian looked confused, and had no idea about the cost: "Explosives are used for quarrying. We have plenty of them in our warehouse. If we don't use them, they will expire. Stones are everywhere. Anyway, no one will charge me. This is a remote place, and no one asks whether it is environmentally friendly or not. Blow up the mountain and throw the stones into the Bay of Tadjoura. It's just right to build a base on the mountain. It's a very good plan--"

It sounds really good. It is estimated that someone is behind Chen Kangjian's advice, otherwise Chen Kangjian's brain would probably not come up with this idea.

"Where are the people? Labor costs?" Qin Zhiyuan thought a lot, and labor costs are the biggest cost.

"Hehe, labor really doesn't cost much. Don't we have a railway to Addis Ababa here? I hired some people from Ethiopia. Labor there is very cheap. As long as they are fed, it's fine. Although the black guys are a bit lazy, they can do the work." Chen Kangjian has already come up with a perfect plan.

"Hire?" Qin Zhiyuan didn't believe it.

Ethiopia is a very tenacious country. Before World War I, only Ethiopia and Liberia were independent countries in Africa, and the rest were colonies of European countries.

Liberia was able to become independent because of the support of the Americans. After the Civil War, the Americans needed a piece of land to settle the independent blacks, so Liberia was created. Ethiopia was able to become independent entirely because of the strength of the Ethiopians.

As early as the 16th century, the Portuguese and the Ottoman Empire invaded Ethiopia, but because of the resistance of the Ethiopians, neither the Portuguese nor the Ottoman Empire succeeded. In the middle of the last century, the British and the Sudanese invaded Ethiopia one after another, and then failed one after another. At the end of the last century, the Italians did not believe in evil and declared Ethiopia an Italian "protectorate". Unfortunately, this "protectorate" only existed for about five or six years, and then the Italians were forced to recognize Ethiopia's independence.

For such a country, it is hard to believe that their citizens accept the employment requirement of "just being well fed".

"Really, I hired them!" Chen Kangjian was tight-lipped, and he almost swore to the heavens.

"Okay, as long as you don't ask me for money." Qin Zhiyuan didn't pursue it. He hired her.

How should I put it? African blacks really don't have much status these days. Qin Zhiyuan still remembers that there were many pictures circulating on the Internet in the 21st century, all of which were about the miserable conditions of African blacks. Many African children and women had their arms or feet chopped off by Western colonizers, or their hands and feet were chopped off. Those were the families of black slaves. As long as those slaves failed to complete their tasks, their families would be cruelly punished by Western colonizers.

Qin Zhiyuan certainly would not allow such a thing to happen, so Qin Zhiyuan emphasized to Chen Kangjian: "I don't care where you get the people from or how you get them. After getting them, you must treat them according to the standard of treating workers. You can't deliberately abuse them. At least let people have enough food and make some money. Otherwise, you should be careful. Even if I don't make trouble for you, Zixin will not be able to justify it."

Qin Zhiyuan still has a bottom line and will definitely not abuse black people like Western colonizers.

"No problem, Your Majesty, please rest assured. At most three years, I will return you a military port with complete facilities. The political system conditions are definitely not inferior to Cam Ranh Bay." Chen Kangjian vowed and was still confident.

In the evening, Qin Zhiyuan received Gao Hongshi's report: "Duke Wu Ding got the manpower from Yemen, and some of them were from Somalia and Ethiopia. There are slave hunting teams in these two places, organized by the British and Italians. Basically, one person can be bought for about 100 yuan."

One hundred yuan, this is the price of a life at this time.

"This damn place is really hot. If we turn it into a military base in the future, the soldiers stationed here will suffer." Qin Zhiyuan didn't focus on the slave hunting team. The hot weather made Qin Zhiyuan unable to concentrate on thinking.

Djibouti has a tropical desert climate. From April to October every year is summer, the average temperature is 37 degrees, and the highest temperature can reach more than 45 degrees. The temperature difference between day and night is still a bit large. At night, the temperature will drop sharply again, and the temperature at night can sometimes drop to zero degrees.

"If it is a good place, the French will not give it to us." Gao Hongshi doesn't like the French now. Since the "helicopter incident", Gao Hongshi has some opinions about the French government: "It's not always like this. A little further south is Ethiopia, and the geographical environment there is still good."

The original text is in Liu # 9 @book/bar!

In fact, Africa is not all desert in the general sense. It is only desolate in North Africa. The vegetation in Central Africa is much more lush, especially in Cameroon, Congo, and Gabon. It has a standard tropical rainforest climate and tropical savanna climate, and the environment is much better than Djibouti.

"Ethiopia - forget it." Qin Zhiyuan understood Gao Hongshi's meaning, but he didn't have too many ideas.

In fact, the fact that Britain and Italy could not occupy Ethiopia did not mean that Lan Fang could not occupy Ethiopia.

Britain and Italy invaded Ethiopia in order to enslave the Ethiopian people and build some plantations and mines to better serve capitalism, so the British and Italians attacked Ethiopia with reservations. Lan Fang was not like this. Lan Fang always wanted land but not people. With the Republic of China behind it, Lan Fang had enough manpower and only needed living space, so if Qin Zhiyuan wanted to, it was still possible to conquer Ethiopia.

Of course, if you want to attack Ethiopia, you will also face many difficulties. Ethiopia is mainly mountainous plateaus, most of which belong to the Ethiopian Plateau. The central and western parts are the main body of the plateau, accounting for two-thirds of the whole territory. The East African Rift Valley runs through the whole territory, with an average altitude of nearly 3,000 meters, known as the "Roof of Africa".

It can be said that the British and Italians are placed at this average altitude. If Lan Fang wants to attack Ethiopia, then Lan Fang soldiers must first overcome the severe "altitude sickness", otherwise the attack on Ethiopia will only end in failure.

The impact of altitude sickness on people is still very large. Headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest tightness, etc. are all considered mild. Severe cases will cause difficulty breathing and mental confusion. Once strenuous activities are carried out, the symptoms will be further aggravated. Therefore, the reason why Ethiopia can be independent is not due to the strong resistance of the Ethiopians, but rather to the terrain of Ethiopia. The "Roof of Africa" ​​is not given for nothing.

"You can ask Lao Yang to try. It will be much easier to go through Sudan." Gao Hongshi was still unwilling to give up. This was like meat delivered to his mouth. It would be uncomfortable not to eat it.

"Both the British and the Ottomans launched the attack from Sudan. It doesn't matter which direction they attack Ethiopia. Altitude sickness is a problem that must be faced." Qin Zhiyuan disagreed. The main reason was that the gains did not outweigh the losses.

Ethiopia borders Sudan, and Sudan is now part of Egypt. It is all Yang Deshan's territory.