African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 64: Chapter 60: Marching Towards Dar es Salaam

Mr. Durer donned an Arab robe and rode a horse, appearing on the streets of Dar es Salaam, blending in without drawing much attention.

Since Mr. Durer was German, his white skin combined with the attire of the Arab region made him look like a local Arab, if not examined closely.

Without attracting the attention of the soldiers from the Sultanate of Zanzibar, Durer rode swiftly towards the border area.

Initially, the East Africa Colony promised Sultan Magid not to station troops in Dar es Salaam. Instead, they settled for a compromise, leaving two hundred soldiers at a certain distance from Dar es Salaam on the border.

This was to prevent any changes from occurring in the Sultanate of Zanzibar or to ensure the smooth passage from Dar es Salaam port to the East Africa Colony.

After all, to a nation with a regular army of only a few thousand over the years, two hundred well-equipped troops already posed a certain level of threat.

Currently, the armed forces in the East Africa Colony number around eight thousand, with two thousand Germans, over three hundred Austria-Hungary immigrants, and the rest being Chinese immigrants.

These more than eight thousand troops were distributed over an area of over 700,000 square kilometers in the East Africa Colony.

Approximately three thousand troops were stationed in the three eastern Marine Districts. After deducting necessary local defense forces, the East Africa Colony could swiftly mobilize around fifteen hundred troops.

This fifteen hundred included two hundred troops in the direction of Dar es Salaam, three hundred in Tanga port, over five hundred in the First Town, and other troops in the rest of the Marine Districts that could be flexibly redeployed.

...

”Halt! Who goes there?” A soldier of the East Africa Colony stationed in the Kibaha area (about forty miles from Dar es Salaam port) stopped Durer, who was dressed in Arab attire.

”Our own, quickly take me to see your officer, I have important military intelligence to report.” Durer said, panting.

Upon hearing it involved military intelligence, the soldier did not dare delay and immediately reported to the camp officer.

After verifying the identity of the visitor, Felix, the military officer stationed in Kibaha, met with Durer.

”Officer, this is a letter from Mr. Bazir himself!” Durer handed the letter to Felix.

Felix took the letter, opened it, and began reading.

After a moment, Felix frowned and asked, ”Mr. Durer! Did you see any unusual movements of the Arabs on your way here?”

”Officer, I indeed saw many soldiers on the streets of Dar es Salaam. They seemed to be carrying out some sort of military operation, especially in the direction of the palace, where civilians were prohibited from passing. I bypassed them by exiting from the southern part of the district.”

”Are you sure it’s a military operation? Are you not mistaken?” Felix asked.

”Officer, on a usual day in Dar es Salaam, only the royal guards of the Sultanate of Zanzibar would be found in the district, while the army is stationed outside the city and at the docks.”

Durer continued, ”This morning, our people noticed an unusual deployment of Zanzibar troops at the docks, but no one paid much attention at the time. Around eight in the morning, the number of soldiers on the streets of Dar es Salaam increased, and there weren’t that many troops stationed at the dock, indicating that the troops from outside the city have entered it. Moreover, Mr. Bazir observed that most of the soldiers entering the city were armed, and the royal guards of Sultan Magid of Zanzibar were nowhere to be seen, indicating that significant issues have arisen in the Sultanate of Zanzibar. However, as we did not hear any gunfire, we’re hesitant to draw hasty conclusions but also cannot ignore the situation, so we’ve come to relay the information.”

After listening to Durer’s account, Felix looked at his advisor Hans Zhang and asked, ”Zhang, what do you think?”

Hans Zhang was a student who graduated from the Heixinggen Military Academy, his original name was Zhang Yuzhu. Upon admission, all students must choose a German name from a listed sheet, selecting one they found easy to pronounce.

At the time, Zhang Yuzhu thought the name Hans was simple and easy to remember, so he changed his name to Hans, and his surname was chosen based on its German phonetic rendering. The German instructors could not distinguish the various Chinese surnames, so they categorized similar-sounding surnames under one group.

Thus, names like ”Zhang, Zhao, Jiang...” that were difficult for Germans to pronounce, were all phonetically rendered in German into something similar to ”Zhang.” Therefore, they simply wrote it as ”zhang” in German phonetics.

These students, upon arrival in Germany, previously illiterate, followed the instructors to change their surnames to ”zhang.”

After the name change, Zhang Yuzhu became ”Hans Zhang.”

...

Advisor Hans Zhang thought for a moment and said to Felix, ”Given the current situation, if we report to the colonial government first and wait for a decision before taking action, it will certainly be too late.”

”If a coup really occurs in Zanzibar and a new government is established, this new government’s attitude towards us could differ from before. Currently, we have only a little over twenty staff stationed at the Dar es Salaam port, with potential new immigrants arriving this afternoon. These immigrants are unarmed, and the twenty-odd military staff would certainly be unable to withstand the Zanzibar government troops.”

”Immigration is the primary concern of the East Africa Colony, and the headmaster repeatedly emphasized ensuring the safe arrival of immigrants to the colony. If military unrest does break out in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, it might threaten the safety of the new immigrants arriving at the port today!” Hans Zhang analyzed.

In fact, the current East Africa Colony immigrants are not limited to the Dar es Salaam port. They can also land at Tanga port. However, since the conditions at Dar es Salaam port are better, the Dutch prefer to dock there. Immigrants from Austria-Hungary, due to having to detour via the Atlantic, also tend to choose the nearer Dar es Salaam port, with the Heixinggen cartel’s fleet only shipping goods from Tanga port.

This situation can only change after the opening of the Suez Canal. But at that time, Tanga port may not even be the closest to Europe... (Mombasa was secured after this event.)

”You’re right; if we delay our actions by even a step, we might lose control of the situation. Thus, action must be taken immediately,” Felix agreed.

”We should now send someone to report the situation to the East Africa Colonial government, while also advancing towards the Dar es Salaam port.”

”Mr. Durer, you should stay here for a rest! Those responsible for handling immigrants pass by here at noon, and you can return to Dar es Salaam with them then.”

Felix said this as if he were disregarding Zanzibar, truly reflecting his overconfidence. As a former member of the Prussian army, Prussia often fought the odds alongside the king in Europe.

Felix believed that with courageous troops, they might not necessarily lose when fighting the odds. Furthermore, in Felix’s eyes, Zanzibar’s army looked like ”weaklings.” After all, various European countries were madly expanding worldwide, and even though Prussia wasn’t involved, it was still a formidable military power on the continent.

Countries like Zanzibar were often pummeled by the Dutch and the Portuguese, and naturally, were no match for Prussia.

Felix’s temper was hot-headed. As the saying goes, if a general is bear-like, so is his army; and only Hans Zhang, as an advisor, could mediate Felix’s temperament.

This was because Hans Zhang, having graduated from the Heixinggen Military Academy, received systematic military training and conducted himself in the manner of a Prussian officer. Every interaction with Hans Zhang reminded Felix of conversing with his former Prussian noble officers, which often brought nostalgia for his days in Prussia.

However, when it came to warfare, Felix, as a former Prussian soldier, inherently possessed a certain bold and unyielding strength. Since arriving in East Africa, frequent victorious skirmishes with natives had significantly inflated Felix’s self-assurance.

Despite this, Felix managed the troops carefully, strictly adhering to Prussian military regulations, and executed troop formations and combat without a hitch. Thus, advisor Hans Zhang mostly did not oppose Felix and instead supported his actions.

”I command, gather the entire army immediately, and march towards Dar es Salaam port!” Felix ordered.

The straightforward and impetuous troops under Felix executed orders with vigor. Upon receiving the command, they swiftly gathered their equipment and assembled.

Felix and Hans Zhang, leading by example, marched at the front, advancing eastwards along with the soldiers.

Despite having only two hundred troops, they exhibited the demeanor of a regiment, moving in a dust storm towards Dar es Salaam port.