African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 197: Chapter 185 Persuasion

In fact, Prince Constantine thinking of immediately setting out for Africa is an impossible matter in terms of procedure, given that Prince Constantine’s status is not ordinary.

He is not only the ruler of Heixinggen but also a prince of the Kingdom of Prussia, and going to East Africa would require taking along some confidants of the Heixinggen royal family, as it wouldn’t be appropriate to simply disband these loyal servants who have served the Heixinggen royal family for generations.

Heixinggen may not be large in area, but as a country, it has all the necessary administrative organizations, even though it merged with Prussia and ceded some powers.

This only included powers like military and taxation; the Heixinggen royal family still retains a large number of people under its command, including servants and guards.

These people’s future arrangements need to be made; those willing to follow Prince Constantine to East Africa will be taken along, those unwilling will be given a substantial severance pay, and those who neither wish to go to East Africa nor have anywhere else to go will stay to continue managing Heixinggen’s industries.

After all, the castle and industries need manpower to manage them. However, after Prince Constantine leaves, they will no longer belong to the Heixinggen royal family but will be managed by the Heixinggen consortium, transforming from royal house affiliates into employees.

Simultaneously, Prince Constantine’s destination must be thoroughly discussed with the family, and the first to receive the news was the neighboring Sigmaringen.

”Constantine, are you really going to go overseas alone?” Prince Karl Anton asked Prince Constantine.

As one of Prince Constantine’s closest friends and relatives, Karl Anton didn’t quite understand Prince Constantine’s decision.

Due to geography and family reasons, Heixinggen and Sigmaringen have a very good relationship, especially in this generation, with the best relations between Prince Karl Anton and Prince Constantine.

The two jointly decided on the integration of the two countries into Prussia, offering each other political support. In recent years, Constantine has withdrawn from the Prussian political scene, but his support for Prince Karl Anton remains unwavering.

And Sigmaringen has indeed developed well. Karl Anton’s two sons have prospered, and he himself holds a prominent position within the Kingdom of Prussia. If Prince Constantine hadn’t faded from the kingdom’s power center, he might be on a similar footing with Prince Karl Anton in the Kingdom of Prussia now.

”Yes, for the family’s expansion overseas, I, with these old bones, also want to contribute,” said Prince Constantine.

”But there’s no need to personally go to East Africa, is there! In this era, almost no high-ranking nobility like us venture overseas for development, Europe is still the world’s center, and the overseas situation is intricate and complex, it’s probably something you can’t grasp!”

Prince Karl Anton was not alluding to anything else but the former Empire of Brazil, where the Portuguese royal family was forced to flee to Brazil due to Napoleon, establishing a briefly existing state.

”Frankly speaking, we aristocrats have established ourselves in Europe largely by relying on mutual support between family and political allies. Overseas, after all, are areas where our power struggles to reach; we have no strength there, so taking risks overseas is undoubtedly too great,” Prince Karl Anton said to Constantine.

In Karl Anton’s view, the East African colony might just be like those traditional colonies, where the sovereign country employs a muddling-through approach to maintain colonial rule.

It’s about using a minority to temporarily suppress the majority because colonies are meant for plunder; who would sincerely commit to vigorously building up a colony without any ulterior motive?

Even if Britain and France have undertaken some constructions in their colonies, it’s for extracting even greater potential from them. Only Portugal was forced into heavily developing Angola and Mozambique out of necessity.

The risk of independence for overseas colonies is still there, which is why Karl Anton strongly persuades Constantine not to take the risk of going overseas.

”Ah, Karl, I’m different from you. Heixinggen is a small country with not much potential. Since merging into Prussia, I have lacked substantial motivation for struggle.

Unlike you, whose sons have almost all found themselves in worthy positions, Ernst, due to his youth, missed the good times. Even if he wanted to make his mark in Europe in the future, the opportunity would likely be slim. After all, I’m getting old, and after my death, Ernst’s situation will grow even more difficult.”

Constantine was referring here to Ernst’s prospects, much like Sigmaringen, with Ernst himself having a chance to become a king in Europe. However, such opportunities falling from the sky might be encountered twice only by Sigmaringen.

Although European nobility often intermarry, and the German region has a tradition of exporting kings, positions don’t just turn up out of nowhere.

Especially amid these past few years of Europe’s chaotic political landscape, even if there were a chance, Constantine may not necessarily accept it.

In Europe, being invited to become a king is not as trivial as being invited for dinner; it’s to maintain others’ interests, such as Maximilian I, who was Napoleon III’s pawn in Mexico—a high-status puppet at best.

A country like Romania, situated within the Ottoman Empire’s sphere of influence and eager to ally with Europe, requires a king to strengthen its ties with Europe, and such is an extremely rare opportunity.

”That’s no big deal; there are so many European nobles, especially those of our high status, not just a few. Neighboring France alone has three royal families, with so many beneath them. Making further progress is indeed difficult, but as a feudal lord, Heixinggen itself has good natural endowments, and you have only one son, Ernst, who will be enough to inherit your title in the future. Moreover, the vast Heixinggen industry means many nobles favor your family, something that others can’t easily envy!” Prince Karl Anton still couldn’t quite grasp Constantine’s thinking.

In truth, Prince Karl Anton actually envies Constantine deeply. Nobles like them often lack money. In the German area, Heixinggen’s royal family easily ranks among the wealthiest, Heixinggen Bank alone is one of Europe’s notable large banks. If Constantine sought a marriage alliance for Ernst, there would surely be a host of elite nobility flocking in pursuit.

Though major nobles themselves are also wealthy, their expenses are even more significant, especially those European nobles who came through the Middle Ages. Historically, they’ve often worried about debts, and Ernst appears to outsiders as a symbol of youth, wealth, and noble status.

”Money is not everything; at least our Heixinggen royal family isn’t very interested in money right now.” Constantine uncharacteristically showed a touch of pride: ”Having just enough wealth is sufficient—when wealth reaches a certain stage, it no longer has significant meaning to high-ranking nobles like us. Achievements are still about making further inroads in politics.”

”But it doesn’t mean you need to go to that miserable place called Africa to endure hardship! Given Heixinggen’s current strength, I see quite a few opportunities within Europe for maneuvering. Especially since your relations with Austria-Hungary are good—idly, at least, you could find a throne to seize on the Balkan Peninsula!” Karl Anton said.

”There are indeed many opportunities on the Balkan Peninsula, and the success rate is high. But the situation there is too complex, surviving in the crevices between three major powers—I’m sure Karl (Carol I, King of Romania) hasn’t complained to you any less!” Constantine retorted.

”That’s true, but it beats that barren land of Africa. Even if Karl can’t hold things down, we wouldn’t stand idly by. But if you go to Africa, even if we wanted to intervene, we’d be unable to.” Karl Anton remarked.

”The barren land isn’t necessarily bad; at least it indicates good potential. Furthermore, Europe is too competitive, and making a breakthrough is truly difficult. Although the place might be fraught with dangers, dealing with natives may be easier than handling a bunch of old foxes in Europe.” Constantine said with a feigned indifference.

The more he understood, the more Constantine realized the potential of East Africa. Prior to deciding on going to East Africa, Constantine’s impressions of Africa were quite similar to those of Prince Karl Anton.

Yet as more and more data was laid before him, Constantine had no choice but to acknowledge that his previous optimistic expectations for East Africa had been far too conservative.

Having been greatly developed under Ernst, East Africa showed virtually no weaknesses, with only a navy lacking. However, as East Africa remained focused on inland expansion, the demand for a navy was not yet pressing.

Thinking of a new emerging state with a population of over two million that was easy to govern and an area over two million square kilometers that continued expanding, being enveloped by the Heixinggen royal family only heightened Constantine’s excitement.

Still, being near influential people can corrupt one’s conduct. Following his son, Constantine had also picked up bad habits, mastering the art of making a fortune in silence.

He told Karl Anton: ”Africa may be harsh, but back in the day, our Hohenzollern family rose from extreme difficulties, taking many generations to reach today’s achievements. In future development of the East African colony, German support will be indispensable. By then, don’t be stingy in gaining more support for me in the kingdom.”

He made no mention of the current developmental situation in East Africa or the significant interests of the Heixinggen royal family in East Africa, instead proposing to seek help.