African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 468: Chapter 146: The Sword Points to Nanyang

The purpose of the exercise is precautionary. For East Africa, the actual national defense pressure is not as great as other countries, but if other countries want to make things unpleasant for East Africa, it is also quite easy to achieve.

After making an appearance at the exercise, Ernst quickly boarded a train and returned. His visit was to show his attention to the military, but he had more important matters to attend to.

July 1875.

Bajamojo Port.

”This time, our fleet’s mission is to set off from East Africa, pass through the Malacca Strait, go past Kalimantan, and finally arrive in the Far East to conduct state visits to various countries,” said Grand Duke Ferdinand to the navy officers.

This made the young Austrian officers very excited, as this mission was quite rare, and even in Austria, they might not have encountered such an opportunity.

There are many Austrian officers in the East African Navy, which is understandable since the East African Navy’s structure was established by them and Grand Duke Ferdinand.

The East African Navy is no longer a rookie. With the support of the Austrian Navy, it has developed quite vigorously, especially after two new ironclad ships were commissioned last month, bringing the total number of East African ironclads to three.

As for why the first naval voyage chose the Far East region, it was to show... no, it was to promote national prestige.

This time a large amount of money was borrowed from the Far East to support the Far Eastern Empire against Tsarist Russia in the war. Although the interest was not low, Ernst was also afraid that the Far Eastern Empire would back down and play tricks on the debt.

The occurrence rate of such events is actually close to zero. The Far Eastern Empire has always been very conscious of its face, although more than ten million taels is a lot, it’s not unpayable. In fact, historically, the Far Eastern Empire repaid HSBC eight million taels the next year, with interest of over three million taels, earning back the principal within a year.

So debt collection was just an excuse; the real purpose of the East African Navy was to explore the East.

Ernst has been eager for the East for quite some time, and of course, this mainly refers to the Indian Ocean and the Nanyang region—the East encompasses everything east of the mainland for East Africa.

Though the Indian Ocean is important, the center of the ocean consists of only a few islands, controlled by the British and French. Moreover, with the commissioning of the East African Navy’s ironclad ships and the control of islands, the Western Indian Ocean has practically become East Africa’s backyard, making the Nanyang region truly important in Ernst’s eyes.

Just the position of the Malacca Strait is irreplaceable. Of course, this isn’t something East Africa can covet now, but Nanyang has many islands!

Among the many islands of Nanyang, the East Indies (referring to Indonesia here), Kalimantan (Borneo), the Philippine Islands, and Sumatra are notable regions (in fact, these islands all belong to the East Indies), and there are also numerous strategically important small islands.

Among these islands, the Netherlands has the greatest influence, followed by Britain, then Spain, and lastly Portugal (in East Timor). Kalimantan is an area Ernst has set his sights on, and the main countries on Kalimantan are the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Sarawak, and seven republics such as Lan Fang.

The Dutch have three territories on Kalimantan, located in the northwest and south of Kalimantan, with the Lan Fang Republic situated in the middle of the Dutch colonial areas.

The Lan Fang Republic can also be called the Lan Fang Company or the Lan Fang Grand Director Republic; it is a Chinese nation, established as early as 1777, primarily composed of Chinese descendants from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties who moved southward.

The ruling class of the Lan Fang Republic is actually quite peculiar, claimed to be the first republic in Asia, but actually governed by the union of local Chinese families, with an organizational form more similar to the East India Company’s groups.

None of this is important to Ernst; he merely appreciates Kalimantan’s geographic conditions. Nanyang is the ”crossroad” of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and Kalimantan is the ”crossroad” of Nanyang.

Ernst said to his father-in-law, ”On this voyage, we should focus on the Lan Fang Republic, as it is likely to become our first colony in the East Indian Ocean. So this time the navy can appropriately present conditions to the Lan Fang Republic, laying the foundation for our next steps in expanding economic and political influence over them.”

Squeeze the soft fruits first, and the Lan Fang Republic is the soft fruit in Ernst’s eyes, plus it’s a well-known soft fruit.

With the navy backing him, the Lan Fang Republic doesn’t dare disrespect East Africa. After all, the Lan Fang Republic hasn’t had an easy time in Nanyang these years, which is a predicament faced by all countries in the Nanyang region.

Grand Duke Ferdinand asked, ”Do you value the Lan Fang Republic so much because it is a Chinese country?”

This was a question from the heart of Grand Duke Ferdinand, so he took this opportunity to ask, as Ernst’s actions showed that his regard for the Chinese was second only to the Germans.

”There is that aspect, because I have a considerable understanding of Chinese history and am well-acquainted with Chinese, but that’s not the main factor. The fundamental reason is still that the Lan Fang Republic is an independent country, and this is very important to us in East Africa. Currently, we don’t need to get into conflicts with other European countries, and if we wish to establish a foothold in the East Indian region without conflicts, we can only target lands of no master or independent countries. Father-in-law, do you think a colony with a development foundation is more valuable, or a land of no master?”

”Of course, a colony with a development foundation.”

”Exactly, before our industrial revolution, the Chinese always held the most advanced civilization in the East. Seres was one of the world’s four great powers during ancient Roman times, and even before Rome existed, the Chinese were already the most powerful civilization in the world, far stronger than Greece and Egypt. As a Chinese-dominated country, the residents of the Lan Fang Republic are actually synonymous with advanced productivity in the Nanyang region. Of course, I’m referring to the period before the industrial revolution.”

”Chinese people are indeed very disciplined, industrious, and courageous,” Grand Duke Ferdinand said, comparing it to the Chinese sailors in the navy.

”Exactly, the regions influenced by Huaxia civilization in East Asia are similar, but the Nanyang region happens not to be among them. Their time of enlightenment is likely equal to the period of colonization by European colonizers, and their efficiency is not much better than that of African natives.”

Industrialization and colonial rule stress efficiency. The soil of the Nanyang islands is poor (except for volcanic ash-covered islands like Java Island), and their civilization development is not ideal. So pulling natives into industrial civilization is as challenging as in Africa.

Therefore, a Chinese-led country like the Lan Fang Republic is instead an ideal region for colonization. In fact, judging by the later development status of Malaysian Chinese, they are indeed premium ruling subjects.

Moreover, the Lan Fang Republic is now considered an independent country. East Africa can conduct economic infiltration for a few years, and then it can naturally fall into East Africa’s sphere of influence without conflicts with other colonizers. Even if a conflict arises, there’s no fear, as the Dutch are the only threat capable of challenging the Lan Fang Republic. Would Ernst really be afraid of the Dutch?

Furthermore, Ernst’s focus on the Lan Fang Republic as a key area for naturalization has another reason: integrating the local Chinese forces to resist other colonial competitors.

The overseas projection ability of East Africa is not very strong, and in Nanyang, it cannot compare to the advantage of countries like the Netherlands. Just put it this way, there are many lands of no master in Nanyang, but occupying these lands holds no value for East Africa at present. Even if East Africa plants a flag in some lands of no master, countries like the Netherlands can easily disregard them.

So East Africa needs a fulcrum to intervene in the affairs of the Nanyang region, and the best target for this fulcrum is the Lan Fang Republic, as we are somewhat like brethren, making cooperation easier.

Although it’s unknown whether the Lan Fang Republic agrees psychologically, under the threat of the East African Navy, Ernst believes they will agree.

Moreover, the demands of the East African Kingdom are not excessive; they just require the right to trade and invest, which is relatively easy to accept.

In a few more years, it will be natural to request a garrison. After all, with the Dutch threat nearby, the Lan Fang Republic might actively request a garrison from East Africa. With troops stationed, the remaining matters will be easier to handle, allowing for a comprehensive promotion of German education and civilization in the Lan Fang Republic, completely transforming it into a strategic foothold of East Africa in the Nanyang region.

In Ernst’s perspective, this is all a natural progression. After all, Singapore was able to establish English as an official language in the previous life, so implementing German in the Lan Fang Republic is also feasible.