African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 211: Chapter 199: Taking Office

”Mr. Afonso, why have so many of your men left?” Merk asked.

Just yesterday, Santos had led many people away from the capital of the Yake Kingdom.

”They chose to leave and head to the Kazemb Kingdom in the south, which is truly unfortunate!” Afonso said regretfully, but a fleeting smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, going unnoticed by anyone.

...

Indecisive, Prince Constantine finally sent Maximiliano I’s suggestion to Ernst via telegraph from Dar es Salaam.

After staying in Dar es Salaam for a few days, people from the East African Central Government had arrived.

”Your Highness! How have you been living recently? Are you getting used to the weather in East Africa?” Von der Leyen, an official from the East African Central Government, respectfully inquired.

”Not bad, are we leaving for First Town today?” Prince Constantine asked.

”Yes, His Royal Highness the Prince notified us to meet you. The journey from Dar es Salaam to First Town isn’t too far, but it takes about two days,” Von der Leyen replied.

The road from First Town to Dar es Salaam, after being repaired and modified twice, is very smooth and has advanced to a stone-paved surface, while most roads in East Africa at the time were still dirt roads.

In fact, if one didn’t spare the horses, it could be reached in one day, but given Prince Constantine’s esteemed status, the pace couldn’t be too fast.

”Grand Duke Ferdinand, I’ll be leaving today. If there’s any news, I’ll notify you.” Prince Constantine said to Maximiliano I.

”Of course, Your Highness, if this succeeds, I’d be happy to serve,” Maximiliano I responded.

Prince Constantine and Maximiliano I talked several more times, and he found that Maximiliano I was genuinely obsessed with the navy.

So he proposed to Maximiliano I that if Ernst agreed to the suggestion, he could invite him to participate in the formation of the East African navy.

Maximiliano I indeed took the bait, as his own thoughts were simple: since East Africa’s future was for his grandchildren, he also felt obliged to contribute.

Soon, Prince Constantine and his accompanying Heixinggen entourage were all gathered. Dar es Salaam was just a transfer point for this trip, and a procession of over a thousand people began marching toward First Town majestically.

...

June 13, 1869.

First Town.

The East African government held a warm welcoming ceremony for Prince Constantine, with all citizens and officials of First Town taking a day off to welcome his arrival.

The residents of First Town also witnessed for the first time the demeanor of a member from the actual ruling family of East Africa.

The military band began playing, and this time First Town was well-prepared, avoiding the same mistakes as in the city of Dar es Salaam.

Five officials from the first echelon in East Africa stepped forward to greet Prince Constantine and began introducing themselves. In actuality, the East African Central Government was currently managed by six individuals.

One of them was Von der Leyen, who accompanied Prince Constantine, mainly responsible for East Africa’s economic affairs. Having gone to Dar es Salaam to pick up Prince Constantine to First Town, he wasn’t included in this line-up.

”Welcome, Your Highness, to First Town! My name is Arman, currently the Chief of Military in East Africa, and one of the first mercenaries to arrive in East Africa. I previously served in the Prussian army,” Arman said excitedly to Prince Constantine.

This was also Arman’s second close encounter with a truly significant figure (the first being Ernst), especially considering Prince Constantine was once his superior, although he was merely an insignificant soldier in the Prussian army at that time.

”You served in the Prussian army! What was your unit number...” Prince Constantine engaged in brief pleasantries with Arman.

”Your Highness, Chief of the East African Military General Staff, Sivert, reporting to you!”

Sivert clearly differed from the others, with an academic style ingrained deeply in the bones.

”I remember you; you were a student in the second term of the Heixinggen Military Academy, and you excelled in all subjects at that time...” Prince Constantine said.

Sivert was indeed a well-rounded individual, hence remembered by Prince Constantine. His excellent grades led Ernst, who was then in desperate need of manpower, to entrust him with significant responsibilities, dispatching him to East Africa. Currently, he’s the highest point of Chinese immigration to East Africa.

”Your Highness, hello, I am the head of the Agriculture Department in East Africa, you may call me Vigins.”

”Hello...”

”I am Bellrade, the head of the Disease Control and Prevention Department, from the Würzburg region in Austria.”

”Hello...”

The last one was Kara’er, responsible for major engineering projects in East Africa.

Along with Von der Leyen, these five individuals formed the six-horse chariot of East Africa, essentially representing the current development direction of the East African colony.

Previously, only Von der Leyen, Arman, and Sivert were referred to as the three-horse chariot. Now, the six-horse chariot clearly indicated a division and balance of governmental power.

Besides that, there were also other relatively important independent departments, such as communications, immigration bureau, etc.

In addition, subsidiaries and units under the Heixinggen consortium also participated in the administration of East Africa, so East Africa was effectively governed by a collaboration between the government and companies.

All in all, the East African government was a tangled mess, with a chaotic power system, which left Prince Constantine astounded.

One moment a Chief of Military, another moment a Chief of Staff, the titles sounded incredibly formidable, even more exaggerated than his position in the Prussian army, then directly came a department head, which did not sound like a legitimate government institution or official title, and ultimately there was even some sort of bureau, along with high-level executives from various companies under the Heixinggen consortium stationed in East Africa.

The whole administrative system of East Africa was in disarray, and so was the military, with East Africa divided into regular army and militia.

The militia hardly needed discussing; just hand them a gun and they could be conscripted temporarily. The regular army’s unit numbers were also all over the place.

Although the East African regular army was divided into eight military districts along eight directions, each district’s unit numbers were varied, with no unified standard.

This was clearly not the standard for what the East African military should have been. The German mercenaries responsible for the military were mostly from the Prussian army, possessing basic military literacy, and the students from the Heixinggen Military Academy also received systematic Prussian-style military education. So normally, East Africa should have directly copied the Prussian military model.

Therefore, the chaos in the East African military was completely the handiwork of Ernst; the governmental departments’ powers were fragmented, as was the military naturally.

Fortunately, East Africa’s opponents were carefully chosen natives, so even if the East African military was otherwise ineffective, in terms of organizational ability alone, they were several levels above the natives.

Although such practices greatly reduced the efficiency of the military, they facilitated Ernst’s strategy to balance various powers, preventing East Africa from having strong figures aside from himself.

However, now with Prince Constantine’s arrival, this special situation could come to an end.

With Prince Constantine taking over East African governmental affairs, Ernst could devote more energy to advancing some projects in Europe and East Africa.

Prince Constantine’s arrival at First Town also marked the official residence of the Heixinggen royal family in the East African colony, making this the future focus of the Heixinggen royal family, and First Town’s Sweet Palace officially the center of East African politics.