African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 302: Chapter 289 ”Stealing the Country

Valonga Province, East Africa,

”Hey, Maurice, look quickly, there’s a snake on the tree ahead.” An East African soldier shouted.

”Boer, you got bitten! There’s no saving you! Just drag him off and bury him.”

”Maurice, you bastard, that’s not how you joke around. I’m just stating a fact.” Boer cursed angrily at his comrade.

”Alright, stop arguing. Where’s the snake?” The squad leader asked.

”Squad leader, look below the fork of the tree to the left. My eyesight is top-notch; I spotted the green guy hiding under the leaves at a glance.”

Following the direction Boer indicated, the squad leader saw the snake’s form. He attached the bayonet to the gun, then lightly flicked the butt of the gun, causing a green African tree snake to fall to the ground. The startled tree snake quickly disappeared from sight.

”Good thing it’s not a mamba, otherwise it would have been more troublesome to deal with.” The squad leader said.

The African tree snake is a rear-fanged venomous snake with low venom yield and inefficiency in venom delivery, so it’s less dangerous. Of course, since it is a venomous snake, the East African soldiers still chose to handle it cautiously.

As for the mamba, it’s a common venomous snake in East Africa, with the black mamba being the most famous, although they typically inhabit grasslands.

The reason East African warriors fear the black mamba is not because of its venom but due to its aggressive nature.

Other African snakes generally do not attack humans unprovoked, but the black mamba will chase and bite. Capturing a black mamba in East Africa requires great skill, as its speed surpasses other snakes. The East African green mamba, from the same genus, is less extreme in temperament.

Regarding venom, in this era, venomous snakes had a high fatality rate. If bitten, survival was left to fate.

East Africa has not remained inactive; they’ve already hired venom research and biology experts in Mombasa to form an institute dedicated to researching antivenoms for African venomous snakes like the black mamba and the puff adder.

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Heixinggen, Hohenzollern Castle.

”Your Highness, why don’t we directly bring in medical talent from Europe instead of going through the trouble with the East? I’ve heard their medicine is more like medieval witchcraft.”

Tom couldn’t understand Ernst’s recent initiative to bring medical talent from the East. It’s not that Tom was opposed, but the project required funds. Since money was involved, one had to be cautious. However, Ernst’s thoughts were often unpredictable, so Tom felt it was better to confirm.

In fact, East Africa had previously acquired medical knowledge worldwide but at little to no cost. This time, Ernst intended to spend significantly to recruit medical talent and books from the Far East, as well as effective prescriptions.

”Tom, the reasoning is simple. While some might masquerade as traditional Chinese medicine practitioners for deceit in the East, a significant portion has been passed systemically over three thousand years. It has undergone longer scrutiny than Europe’s, and the historical documents left by Easterners are richer, while most of our parchments recorded the Bible.”

The existence of Eastern medicine certainly isn’t this short-lived. Still, Ernst had his judgment: the extensive appearance of practical documents in the Far East occurred during the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Warring States Era, recorded and spread in bamboo slips, especially with the rise of private academies. Numerous intellectuals, including medical talents, wrote and theorized, systematically clarifying experiences from predecessors while innovating boldly. The abundance of bamboo slips ensured the continuous succession and development of the medical system in written form rather than orally.

Errors may exist, but more results from experiments on that land; if ineffective, they’d have been eliminated long ago.

The decline of Eastern medicine actually started before the Ming Dynasty. By then, medicine had begun to stagnate. When the Western Industrial Revolution reached a certain stage, modern medicine reversed the trend.

In Ernst’s era, chemistry and biology had begun to exert strength, preparing to kick traditional medicine off its throne.

However, Ernst wasn’t confident enough to attempt contemporary European medicine. One would never know if their concoctions were poison or antidote, especially with drugs often touted as ”panaceas.”

”But Your Highness, how can you guarantee the people we’re bringing from the Far East aren’t frauds? We’re not familiar with Eastern medicine.” Tom asked curiously.

”It’s simple. We just need their government to provide us conveniences. Let Ambassador Richard negotiate this with their highest leaders. With official endorsements, I believe it will be easier. Ideally, we can engage with their Imperial Hospital and also obtain medical prescriptions and related books from Far East regions like Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.”

With official collaboration, a lot of fakers could be screened out.

Ernst’s plans clicked in his mind. His aim was to poach medical formulas from various Far Eastern countries, then apply for patents in the West. Ernst would rather let East Africa benefit than let Japan or South Korea get a piece.

After all, East Africa is an immigrant nation. Theoretically, the achievements of Far East immigrant ancestors are also those of East African ancestors. What’s yours is mine, and mine is still mine. There’s no guilt in this, as everyone knows East African history is short, and East Africa wouldn’t blatantly claim historical naming rights.

Ernst continued, ”In this Eastern medical import plan, we must also be careful of those quacks who use opium as a cure-all from infiltrating East Africa.”

”Your Highness, the main problem with this task is our unfamiliarity with Eastern medicine,” Tom said.

”That’s why we must focus on official channels and have our judgments. Some mistakes don’t matter. Once East African medicine matures in the future, we’ll sift through the collected wealth to find what’s right,” Ernst replied.

It’s like a high-stakes game. If something like the premium XX white medicine is found, it’s a huge win; if not, it doesn’t matter, as overall, there’s no loss.

Of course, Ernst would subsequently invest in modern medical research. As for now, he’d pick readily usable traditional medicine.

Hence, East Africa currently can only extensively promote traditional medicine. Ernst chooses to trust Eastern medicine. As for modern medicine in East Africa, the educational system hasn’t developed enough yet, making progress challenging. It might be better to develop in Europe, which has the talent, expertise, and most comprehensive equipment.

In the early efforts, Ernst vigorously promoted Eastern medicine in East Africa and registered its traditional medical patents. Consequently, many Far Eastern countries privately dubbed East Africa as the ”thieving nation,” with Japan being particularly affected because East Africa registered many traditional medical achievements unique to Japan. Meanwhile, Korea claimed East African medicine evolved through Korean traditional medicine, somewhat proudly asserting that the origin of East African medicine lies in Korea.

East Africans would certainly disagree, especially the ”old Chinese medicine doctors” of East Africa, repeatedly emphasizing that these are the achievements of our Eastern ancestors, granting East Africa inheritance rights.