African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 193: Chapter 181: Arrival

In the study.

After seeing off his father, Ernst took a breath. Since things had come to this, he could only respect his father’s decision.

At the moment, it seems that having his father oversee East Africa is indeed the best solution. Prince Constantine’s prestige and ability are sufficient, and there isn’t anyone uninformed enough to provoke a ruler from Europe in one’s own colony.

Respect for nobility is ingrained in the immigrants’ hearts. Immigrants to the East African colony come from feudal or autocratic regions (Paraguay), and naturally have reverence for nobility.

The officials of the East African colony, and those with mercenary backgrounds, are German. They know the status of a German monarch, and they are merely workers. The vast majority will ultimately not stay long in East Africa, with most being retired personnel from the Prussian army, already of considerable age, so they won’t stay long in East Africa.

As for the students of Heixinggen Military Academy, they are certainly obedient to Prince Constantine. After all, Heixinggen Military Academy is built in Heixinggen, and Prince Constantine is a regular visitor there, frequently interacting with the students.

Finally, there are the employees of the Heixinggen Consortium, not numerous and often rotated, primarily responsible for economic affairs in East Africa, essentially checking accounts.

In other words, no one in East Africa defies Prince Constantine. It’s a well-known fact that the Heixinggen royal family are the masters of East Africa.

It’s just difficult for the immigrants in East Africa to see the legendary figure, much like an emperor who spends a lifetime in the deep palace without hindering his position as the highest ruler.

Ernst sat back at his desk, looking at the incomplete plan for upgrading First Town, realizing it had to be overhauled.

With Constantine’s factor in the picture, First Town certainly could not be upgraded and remodeled according to the original design. The funds originally intended to be saved now seemed unavoidable.

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”Who goes there, halt!” At the border of the Yake Kingdom, several natives suddenly blocked the path of Merk’s party.

”Bring the native translator over!” Becker commanded the soldiers behind him.

Soon, a dark-skinned native was singled out from the end of the team. He was the translator hired by the East African colony. It’s impossible for East African people to learn the native language, so they could only choose from native slaves.

Among the hundreds of thousands of native slaves, there were always a few with decent linguistic talent, learning German through contact in the East African colony, so they were temporarily used by the colony as translators.

”Tell them we are guests from afar and mean no harm.” Becker spoke to the translator.

So the translator began to convey Becker’s words to the other side, initiating dialogue between the parties.

”Where are you from?” the native cautiously asked.

”From a country in the east,” Becker replied.

Telling these natives about the colony would be fruitless as their language likely lacks the concept of a colony.

Upon hearing Becker’s words, the natives’ expressions visibly changed, though their complexion revealed nothing.

The east certainly suggests the existence of the East African colony. The Yake Kingdom has had some interactions with the East African colony, especially when the colony expelled the indigenous peoples to the southwest and northwest regions.

At that time, native Eastern Bantu people entering the southwest partly joined the Malawi Kingdom and partly the Yake Kingdom.

Among those who entered the Yake Kingdom, many Eastern Bantu people were pacified by Mwesili since Mwesili also hails from the Tanganyika region.

These people spread the horror of the East African colony throughout the Yake Kingdom, depicting its army as a devil’s force.

The upper echelons and some soldiers of the Yake Kingdom certainly didn’t believe the tales of these Eastern Bantu people. After all, they had seen firearms themselves, and the Yake Kingdom even had its own troop fully armed with rifles.

However, more Yake Kingdom citizens believed it, with the saying ”three men make a tiger”—tens of thousands of mouths can make the dead appear alive.

Moreover, Yake Kingdom’s common people genuinely believed their king and the East African colony were of the same demonic group, as both hailed from the east and used firearms.

The quantity of Eastern Bantu people exiled by East Africa and sheltered by the Yake Kingdom wasn’t large. Most natives were expelled to the northwest at the outset.

Only a small fraction remained, while the Malawi Kingdom took a substantial share, leaving few Eastern Bantu people entering the Yake Kingdom.

Out of compassion for fellow countrymen, Mwesili extensively pacified and utilized these Eastern Bantu people to suppress domestic opposition and neighboring forces.

The Yake Kingdom’s army became a haven for these native Tanganyika people, aside from Mwesili’s most elite firearm troops. The rest of the army mainly consisted of the more valiant and belligerent Eastern Bantu people.

And the natives blocking Becker and others were precisely those Eastern Bantu people integrated by the Yake Kingdom.

Their weapons were all spears and bows and arrows, clearly showing they were part of the Kingdom’s outer army.

”Are you people from the devil?” a soldier of the Eastern Bantu people nervously shouted to Becker and the others, gripping his weapon tightly.

The Eastern Bantu people on the East African plains are truly brave and belligerent, naturally capable of fighting beasts, but the colony was unreasonable, directly using firearms to open the eyes of these Eastern Bantu people.

No matter how skilled, one fears a kitchen knife. The natives who fled the Tanganyika region couldn’t forget these terrifying East Africans.

”Don’t worry; we mean no harm. This time, we’ve come mainly to see your King Mwesili,” Becker said to the soldiers of the Yake Kingdom.

No matter if they were devils or not, as long as the mission is accomplished, Becker would profit greatly, so he tried to speak kindly to these natives.

After a bit of negotiation, the natives finally understood Becker and the others’ purpose, and said, ”Guests from afar, we must first report to the great Mwesili Majesty; only with his permission can we let you proceed to the palace for an audience.”