African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 96: Chapter 91 Stealing the Cornerstone

South America, Paraguay.

Allied occupied territory (Triple Alliance of South America).

Devon Gillhart watched George Swindon leading a large group of children out of the village.

”Mr. Swindon, if the Almighty knows of your good deeds, He will surely reward you with good health and prosperous business,” Devon Gillhart said.

George Swindon replied, ”General Gillhart, you’re too kind. We just don’t want to see these children suffer. Wars should never concern these innocent children.”

”As a soldier, my duty is to obey, although this war has no distinction between good and evil, I am ultimately a participant in the war. Their parents might have died as innocent victims of the conflict, but I am powerless. The moral condemnation I feel compels me to support your company’s efforts even more,” Gillhart said.

Gilhart, an officer from the Argentine side in the Paraguayan War, is currently taking a break within Paraguay.

George is an employee of the Heixinggen consortium, on a business trip to South America to handle the situation surrounding war-induced orphans.

The population issue has always been the biggest problem faced by the East African colonies, but solving the population problem there cannot be rushed.

Otherwise, the simple introduction of a large amount of inferior population would have solved the problem, without even needing to import them, as the indigenous locals would be enough.

However, this is definitely not what Ernst wants. Ernst seeks stable and easily governable immigrants.

Traditionally, the Far East has been the main source of immigrants to East Africa, but Ernst’s strict restrictions have led to the number of Far East immigrants to East Africa not reflecting the true population scale of the Far East.

On one hand, to culturally assimilate immigrants in East Africa, Ernst has introduced a large number of illiterate populations.

On the other hand, Ernst needs to balance the population numbers from various sources, ensuring none dominates absolutely.

For instance, recent immigrants from Austria-Hungary have caused Ernst some concern, with too many Slavic people being introduced, particularly a majority of Croatians and Serbians, with Serbians being on a steep increase.

Therefore, Ernst is trying every possible way to expand his source of immigrants.

Perseverance pays off.

This opportunity came unexpectedly.

Coincidentally, recently while reading the newspaper, Ernst stumbled upon a seemingly insignificant news article.

The content of the news originated in South America, a region that in this era seldom makes headlines in Europe.

What did it write about! It’s about the most brutal war in South American history, the Paraguayan War.

How brutal was this war!

According to statistics, Paraguay’s population in 1865 was 525,000 people, while by 1871, it had decreased to merely 221,079. Among them, there were 106,254 women, 86,079 children, and only 28,746 adult men.

This war completely exhausted Paraguay’s potential, leaving behind a large number of widows and orphans, eventually leading to Paraguay’s unique polygamy system in later generations.

Now, although this war hasn’t ended yet, Paraguay is already beyond any efforts to reverse its fate. More than half of its military force of over ten thousand soldiers are elderly and children.

Paraguay is facing enemies not only in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay of the Triple Alliance but also the behind-the-scenes financiers, the British.

This year, the Triple Alliance has just expanded its forces again, presenting Paraguay with an even harsher scenario, as mentioned in the newspaper.

Thinking about the postwar serious population imbalance in Paraguay, Ernst realized it was indeed completely opposite to the East Africa colonies, wasn’t it?

Paraguay has more women than men, while East African colonies currently have more men than women.

Leaving this issue aside, Ernst was also interested in those orphans produced by the war.

They may be young, but their minds and culture can be more easily transformed.

Furthermore, most Paraguayans are of Spanish descent, fitting well to balance the colonial population, primarily composed of women and children, making them quality immigrants.

Thus Ernst began planning to acquire people from South America, using money as a means. The Heixinggen consortium soon connected with Argentine government officials.

Under the pretense of being unable to bear seeing so many war-induced orphans become homeless, Heixinggen consortium planned to adopt these children who lost their parents due to the war.

Not only that, but women who lost their husbands in the war could also bring their children to East Africa to live.

Currently, most men in Paraguay have been conscripted, sacrificed in the flames of war, leaving many single-parent families behind.

These single-parent families consist mainly of women who have lost their husbands and are raising children.

Some single women have not even gotten married, as the young and middle-aged men of Paraguay have almost been consumed by the war.

This is not an exaggeration. There are hardly any men running away from war in Paraguay; most are in the army, and the age range for conscription is gradually being expanded.

From elderly individuals with gray hair to young children, they can all be seen in the Paraguayan army.

By the end of this war, there might even be children as young as seven or eight years old and women soldiers in the army.

Currently, the ruler of Paraguay, Francisco Lopez, is yet to perish and continues to resist, so the Paraguayan government authorities still exist.

However, Ernst recruiting orphans and population from Paraguay is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for Paraguay’s future.

Already experiencing a significant population decrease due to the war, Paraguay could hardly withstand Ernst’s calculated schemes.

With a population that’s dwindled, what will post-war Paraguay use to continue its development? Ernst doesn’t care about Paraguay’s government survival or demise.

As long as he can bring in these immigrants, it would be like laying bricks for East African colonies’ development, solidifying the foundation for ruling the colonies.

So many single women, or rather forced single women, even those with children, although East African colonies promise to provide subsidies and free education, life would still face challenges.

These individuals are far from machines; their emotional problems also need resolution. It’s not Ernst’s wild guess, but those single men coming from the Far East are indeed desperate and willing to marry, even if the women bring children from prior marriages.

Many of them don’t mind adopting children from previous husbands since families in the Far East typically have as many children as they can afford. Having seven or eight children per family is not uncommon.

Influenced by traditional views, Chinese immigrants feel that as long as they can produce offspring, they satisfy their ancestors’ expectations, and adopting a child from a previous husband is no big deal as there are always more children to be born.

What Ernst thinks doesn’t matter; nobody can truly understand his intentions. Should someone smart from the Paraguayan government find him out, it would be no big deal.

Now that Paraguay is struggling to save itself, Ernst doesn’t even consider negotiating with Francisco Lopez, opting instead to bribe officials from the Triple Alliance who are fighting Paraguay, making it easy to transfer as many people as he desires.

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Gilhart inquired: ”Forgive me for being direct, but does your company really plan to adopt so many orphans? It’s not just dozens or hundreds; the entire Paraguay might have tens of thousands!”

George said: ”In this respect, you needn’t worry. Our company’s boss is a noble from the Kingdom of Prussia, a Prince of the Hohenzollern Heixinggen family, and is absolutely trustworthy. You should know that he frequently recruits orphans from the Far East and within Germany and sponsors them to pursue education. The future of these children is undoubtedly bright.”