African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 304: Chapter 291: Entering the Pass!

This taxation system, an ancient relic dug out from the trash heap, is a brand new version that the natives of Sub-Saharan Africa have never seen before.

Of course, only the newly occupied territories adopt this, regions like Zambia and the Azande plateau, which are adjacent to East Africa, still adhere to the old systems. Especially during the European wars, East Africa can afford to implement such systems due to its affluent immigrant population.

The Zambian government institutions have been established, and each area is managed by a governor, without any need to compromise with native powers. The Azande Plateau came a bit later, as East Africa was not actively developing it. However, since it’s close to the Great Lakes Region, it’s easy to control. Moreover, with a large number of natives previously cleared out, there’s no need to invest much effort.

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Soron Lake (Tanganyika Lake).

Muplom Port, a small fishing port at the southern end of Soron Lake, was where Mwesili, guided by the East African Kingdom, finally arrived with his core group of three thousand soldiers and civilians.

Before Mwesili arrived, East Africa had gathered tens of thousands of natives here. Short huts filled the southern shore of Soron Lake, creating a rather spectacular sight.

”Kaburi the guide, why are there so many Black people gathered here?” Mwesili asked, looking at the congregation of Black people on the shore.

Kaburi: ”Mr. Mwesili, these are gifts from the East African Kingdom to you. After all, the places you are going to have quite a few native powers as well, so you urgently need people. Most of these are East African natives who speak Swahili, and they understand your language and can follow your commands. They are all adult males, and I believe you can organize them into a powerful army, becoming the overlord of West Africa.”

Such a great thing? Mwesili could hardly believe the East Africans were being so kind, giving away people for free. Wouldn’t it be better for them to stay and create wealth for themselves?

Kaburi continued, ”Mr. Mwesili, do not underestimate these people. They have been trained by East Africa and are very organized. They have extensive experience in agriculture, with most of them coming from farms. You can take them to West Africa, and continue planting crops to amass your personal wealth.”

Kaburi’s explanation basically cleared any doubts. These are East Africa’s ”laborers,” or slaves. Now is their retirement time, and Zanzibar can’t recruit so many ”laborers,” and their recruitment is selective. The Ottoman customers are very strict about the quality of slaves, so they might as well let these people hitch a ride with Mwesili to West Africa.

As for engaging in agriculture, that’s uncertain. Many have been involved in building houses and laying the foundation for East Africa. Regardless, these are all high-intensity jobs in East Africa.

Under these high-intensity projects, these natives looked glamorous but were extremely worn out. The lucky ones could be used for a few more years, might eventually become incapable of labor due to overwork, and East Africa would naturally not want to take over this responsibility.

East African pastures and penned cattle and horses are rapidly expanding. These animals can replace most of the natives, and when they age, the East Africans can slaughter them for meat, make bone soup, but these natives serve no such purpose. It’s too troublesome to dig a pit for them, and exposing their bodies could cause plagues. So, taking advantage of the situation now by sending off the older, sick, or secretly injured natives makes everyone happy.

Mwesili: ”I wonder what crops they can grow!”

Kaburi: ”There’s a lot, basically most of East Africa’s crops, like rice, wheat, bananas, and potatoes...”

Mwesili impatiently moved forward to check the condition of these gifted natives. He wanted to confirm whether the East Africans were really so kind-hearted. He casually approached some natives and said in Swahili, ”Stand up.”

Then he circled around them and found no major issues. Arms and legs were intact, there was no swelling on their bodies, and they were muscular, even healthier than some of the slaves in his tribe.

This must be credited to East Africa’s meals. Although the slaves had large workloads, they mostly ate cassava and corn, but the quantity was sufficient, and it was their own grown food, especially cassava, which is drought-tolerant, hardy, high-yield, and harvestable year-round.

East Africa only needed to allocate a large tract of barren land, allow these natives to plant cassava, and it would basically satisfy the food needs of these slaves, without delaying East Africa’s own crop production.

Mwesili ordered: ”Take a few steps for me to see.”

A few natives who had been ”trained” by East Africa for a long time immediately followed Mwesili’s order and took a few steps, as this ”big man” was standing with the East Africans. They dared not disobey orders, fearing beatings or the worst punishment, solitary confinement.

Mwesili then asked them to perform some high-intensity exercises, and after repeated experiments, he found that the East Africans were indeed not deceiving him; the natives were of good quality and generally very healthy.

Mwesili said with great satisfaction, ”Mr. Kaburi, thank you very much for East Africa’s gift. These people are very good.”

”Hahaha, of course, Mr. Mwesili, you are a friend of ours. East Africa has always been generous to friends,” Kaburi laughed, then silently added to himself, ”As if!”

People are consumables, especially those engaged in heavy manual labor for many years, and the same goes for the East African Kingdom’s slaves. Although they eat a lot, their nutrition is relatively single, and they have been greatly exhausted from prolonged heavy manual labor while being penned by East Africa.

These slaves sent to Mwesili were dispatched precisely according to their service time based on the life expectancy of European railway workers.

Although East African slaves do not engage in railway work, their workloads are no less than those of European railway workers, all involving heavy physical activity. Just like sending them to Mwesili during their best state makes them seem energetic and in good shape.

But in reality, if Mwesili continues employing them in heavy manual labor once they move to West Africa, they are likely to collapse within a certain time frame. Of course, if Mwesili does not do so and lets them rest gradually, they could live a long time.

Take Mwesili’s army, for example, which rarely trains, mostly relying on firepower to suppress native opponents, and following Mwesili leads a very comfortable life, definitely the wealthiest group among African natives.

However, if Mwesili plans to take these East African slaves to West Africa for farming, the outcome might be different; the risk of these slaves dying in a short period is quite high.

But according to East African government predictions, Mwesili is unlikely to do so because Mwesili’s regime has a characteristic: plundering wealth from other tribes and kingdoms. Just like the saying ”enemy stores the grain, I store guns, the enemy is my warehouse,” this is Mwesili’s forte.

And East Africa’s judgment was entirely accurate. Mwesili had already planned in his mind to organize a regular combat troop from the slaves gifted by East Africa and make a big move in West Africa.

A regular combat troop, which is one without firearms, as using firearms is a privilege only available to Mwesili’s confidants.

Mwesili’s reliance on these East African slaves is quite apparent. They all speak Swahili, making them fellow countrymen, his own people, and these slaves are robust and full-grown males. Once in West Africa, they can show the West Africans, who have never seen the world, the combat prowess of East African Bantu people.

To sum up, Mwesili’s strategy is two words, ”cross the border.” His all-black ”Eight Banners” forces will head to West Africa to seize generational wealth and fortune.

Of course, Mwesili also noticed that the East Africans gave him only ”strong men,” without a single woman. But then he thought, women are war treasures; East Africa certainly wouldn’t give them up easily. But that’s no problem, he could just plunder local West African people.

This is where Mwesili misunderstood East Africa. There are no children or women among East Africa’s slaves; they have long been driven to the northwest.

However, Mwesili’s sly plan to snatch women from West Africa works coincidentally well, as the vast majority of the native women and children driven away by East Africa did indeed end up there, though they are now the assets of various West African tribes and kingdoms.