African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 6: Chapter 3 In Berlin_2

”Tom, go to the workshop today!” Ernst instructed Tom.

”Yes, young master.”

The carriage slowly left the school gates, winding through the streets of Berlin, and after some time, stopped in front of a blacksmith’s shop.

Ernst pushed open the door and walked into the room, which was cluttered with miscellaneous items, mostly tools, hammers, axes... randomly thrown on the ground.

The furnace was burning with flames, the room filled with the smell of charcoal, and solidified molten iron splattered by the edge of the furnace.

The blacksmith shop, now referred to by Ernst as the workshop, was rented by him. Besides the original blacksmith, Ernst had also employed a middle school student specializing in engineering, Pete. Ernst interrupted Pete, who was feeding the fire.

”Pete, is the item ready?” Ernst asked naturally.

”Boss, it’s done. See if it’s like this!” Pete said as he opened the wooden box on the counter behind him.

He opened the lid of the box and took out a metal item, a brass handle with thin iron pieces sandwiched between two thick iron plates. It was a T-shaped razor.

As a time traveler, the most urgent priority of course is making money. Although Ernst was born aristocratic, there’s never enough money. Not to mention, the aristocratic status isn’t secure; after defeat in World War I, even the German Emperor had to abdicate and flee abroad.

Being an aristocrat in a small place, although with high status (before being annexed, Heixinggen was a marquisate, and Constantine was a Marquis, now a Prince of Prussia, a status equivalent to that of a duke), Hohenzollern Province sounded lofty, but actually wasn’t even bigger than the county he lived in in his previous life, with a population of less than a hundred thousand.

In such a small place, where one’s family isn’t the only dominant one, Sigmaringen next door is obviously more prosperous than his family.

Drawing from historical experience, it’s still best to use the current aristocratic status to accumulate more wealth, so that even if the empire falls later, one can still settle down securely and won’t end up destitute.

Of course, these are distant concerns. Ernst wasn’t too anxious yet; more so, he was intent on realizing a bold idea from his previous life’s heart.

As one reaches a certain status, ambition naturally accompanies, and Ernst was no exception.

Understanding the future situation, Ernst naturally wasn’t optimistic about the future of the European continent. Not to mention distant events, there is the series of wars for Prussian unification of Germany awaiting immediate attention, followed by two world wars when he becomes old.

If one resolutely stayed in Germany, the fall of the German Empire alone would affect him. By then, German aristocrats would be lambs to be slaughtered, and even with abundant wealth, they might be raided by powerhouses and the Republican Government, so it was necessary to plan ahead.

Europe is by no means a peaceful land; the continent is a turbulent place with powerhouses concentrated, squeezed alongside England, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and future US and Soviet intervention, making Europe devoid of future prospects. Hence, now is Europe’s best era, Germany’s best era.

Where does Ernst want to go? He couldn’t ignore the place of his previous life’s work, Tanzania.

While studying East Africa’s history in his past life, Ernst often felt emotional, as it was Germany’s most valuable colony, German East Africa was indeed a heaven-sent land.

Sadly, Germany gambled everything in the end and didn’t even have time to develop German East Africa, the Empire perished, which was also related to Germany’s inadequate attention at the time.

Currently, no European country is focused on East Africa. Britain and France have extensive colonies, Germany is not yet unified, only the Portuguese have some footholds along the East African coast, but aside from Mozambique’s coastal plains, they haven’t penetrated inland East Africa.

In the previous life, Germans invading East Africa didn’t encounter any noteworthy resistance; only Africa’s indigenous tribes remained notable.

These indigenous people remain in primitive tribal social systems, imagining the desolation of East Africa.

However, to Ernst, the desolation is a benefit. As long as people migrate in, slowly develop East Africa, and use means to manage the natives in primitive societal structures, won’t it be easy to establish a nation in the future?

First, East Africa doesn’t have substantial resources (development came late.), hence few colonialists pay attention.

Secondly, East Africa has a low population density, unlike the densely populated Philippines in East Asia, colonialists cannot extract labor value, which also implies fewer native populations. Easy to displace, it can avoid repeating the South African incident.

Lastly, East Africa has good agricultural conditions, expansive lands, valuable for cultivation, and other conditions are also favorable.

In Ernst’s view, if he could obtain management rights over East Africa, he could establish an independent kingdom as a future retreat.

This kingdom may be insignificant in a global context, but after Africa’s wave of independence, the nation he founded could certainly outperform surrounding indigenous countries.

Of course, the premise is not to act foolishly like the Boers, wanting everything and eventually leaving the country.

It’s not that Ernst looks down; even a pig might be tougher than the ”Benevolent Monarchs” of latter-day Africa.

As for why Ernst believes he can create a foundation in distant Africa, aside from his optimism about African environments and resources, there is also the exemplar of ”Benevolent Monarch” Leopold II of Belgium.

Before powerhouses set their sights on the African continent, establishing a fait accompli, ultimately under the guise of the German flag, and through alliances with Austria-Hungary and Germany, he could secure a foundation overseas for the Hohenzollern family.

Of course, all these fanciful imaginations face the reality issue of — making money. Ernst currently can’t even produce the initial capital for colonization, naturally he must use his decades of life experience to earn money.

That’s right, the T-shaped razor in front of him is the first step. At this time, people still used those straight-handle razors. Ernst was still young, not yet at an age to have a scraggly beard, but seeing those straight-handle razors made his face ache.

Fortunately, in his previous life, he had seen his grandfather’s old-style razor, which was invented by the American Gillette.

Regarding this razor, Ernst only remembered the general idea, so after arriving in Berlin, through sketches, he had Pete replicate it, and now the initial form appears completed.

”Pete, you did a great job. If this razor is mass-produced, what do you think are the challenges?”

Pete looked serious and carefully replied to Ernst.

”Boss, see!” he said, removing the blade from the razor, grabbing both ends of the blade, and with a ”snap,” the blade broke.

This thin blade’s strength was too low to be used. Unless the blade’s strength issue is solved, sales are impossible.

Ernst pondered for a moment and asked, ”Is there any solution?”

Pete said, ”Perhaps metallurgy experts have a way, we could seek their help. Another method is through repeated experimentation.”

”Alright, continue experimenting to find a solution, and I’ll think of a way regarding the experts.” Ernst decided to tackle the problem on both fronts in an effort to resolve it promptly.