African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 491: Chapter 169: Intelligence in Maputo

Ernst was essentially giving them an opportunity, and it mainly depended on their own efforts. Traditional Chinese medicine indeed played a significant auxiliary role in current East Africa, but the premise was that the advantages of modern medicine had not been fully established yet.

This was true not only in the East but also in the West. In Europe, traditional Western medicine was still mainstream, and the mortality rate of modern medicine was even higher than that of traditional Western medicine. After all, traditional Western medicine had developed for thousands of years. Whether it was effective or not was unknown, but if it ended up killing someone, then it had no reason to exist at all.

Modern medicine seemed very vigorous at first glance, and if it weren’t for past life experiences, Ernst would have doubted whether modern medicine was some sort of evil sorcery.

If modern medicine was unreliable, then one could only rely on tradition, and among traditional medicines, only Chinese medicine was the most systematic, with the longest history and the most abundant experience. Regardless of anything else, the recuperative abilities of Chinese medicine were undoubtedly very strong.

However, for East Africa to develop, traditional medicine would eventually decline, so East Africa would only bet on modern medicine. Currently, traditional Chinese medicine, which was widely popular in East Africa, could only play a transitional role.

...

The year 1878 was approaching, and the Far East Empire had recovered the Southern Border Region ahead of time, which was a major event internationally.

In the East, Russia faced setbacks, but in the Western front, Russia progressed rather smoothly, dealing significant blows to its old enemy, the Ottoman Empire. Overall, Russia was successful, gaining some advantages in negotiations.

In fact, the Eastern front could only be considered a small part of Russia’s overall strategy in Central Asia and Southeast Europe (the Balkans), and it was carried out through agents. In the West, Russia took direct action.

Under Russia’s powerful military deterrence, East Africa was no match for Britain. The Benjamin government could only focus its attention on the Russians.

Changes were also happening in the Mozambique colony. Some British ships appeared in Mozambique, but the people who disembarked were Frenchmen, and all of this was reported back to the homeland by the East African intelligence personnel in Maputo.

The intelligence network established by East Africa in Maputo had a long history, completed back when East Africa was still a colony. Unlike the East African Kingdom, Mozambique was not as isolated, and there were still merchants from various countries engaged in trade activities in Mozambique.

”According to the information we received from our informant in Maputo, there were French officers on the British ships, and they appeared at the Governor’s Mansion. We do not know the exact details of their discussions, but the contact person is said to be English.”

Ernst: ”Hmm, got it. Continue to monitor the changes in Mozambique, and we need to be cautious of the Portuguese.”

Constantine: ”Could Portugal’s two colonies really dare to challenge us?”

Ernst: ”Father, this is not about whether to challenge or not; Portugal has no choice either. They know that East Africa will not tolerate two tumors growing on its body. The more they fear, the more they will resist. Clearly, they didn’t have the courage before; it looks like the British gave them the confidence.”

Upon hearing the word ’British,’ Constantine became serious: ”The British want to use Portugal against us!”

”To be more precise, they are testing us. The British are not clear about our strength and wouldn’t act rashly, so they need a pawn to test how strong East Africa really is. If East Africa has trouble dealing with just Mozambique, I believe the British will take action themselves next.”

Constantine tapped his index finger on the table and asked, ”How will they deal with East Africa? Through war?”

Ernst: ”That’s probably their only means. Of course, cutting off East Africa’s foreign trade is also possible, but we could also go all out against Britain. Cape Town is unpredictable, but we can still control the Mand Strait. It all depends on how strong East Africa’s land military is, and that happens to be something the British are unsure about.”

Constantine: ”If war breaks out, we might have to fight on two fronts, because Portugal’s colonies are conveniently on both sides, or even on four fronts if the British step in, from the direction of Cape Town, and considering the maritime aspects.”

Ernst: ”So we need to handle this carefully and not give Portugal any unrealistic ideas.”

Constantine: ”Are you planning to use a show of military strength to intimidate the Portuguese?”

Ernst shook his head and said, ”Not really. We still have to fight, because we also want to take this opportunity to adjust East Africa’s territory. Not to mention Angola, the position of Mozambique is too unfriendly to us.”

Constantine: ”Then what do you plan to do?”

Ernst: ”Take it step by step, neither too forceful nor too weak, and constantly achieve victories. Ideally, let the Portuguese see hope for victory, but just within grasp.”

Constantine could not understand: ”Why not just directly seize the Portuguese colonies? We should be able to do it in one go, right?”

Ernst: ”Swallowing these two colonies in one bite is indeed tempting, but we need to consider the thoughts of the International Community. If East Africa’s performance is too outstanding, France might get involved personally.”

If East Africa is too powerful, it’s probably not good news for countries with interests in Africa. What if East Africa were to unify the African continent?

Constantine nodded and said, ”If that’s the case, then it makes sense. But how do you plan to deal with Portugal?”

Ernst: ”We will take some areas from Mozambique and Angola, but without completely destroying the two colonies, leaving them some opportunities. But of course, this is all assuming the British can hold back.”

”What do you mean by that?”

Ernst: ”If the British don’t directly join the war, then we won’t completely annex the Portuguese colonies. If the British do get involved, then after the war, we will annex the two colonies. The British are the big fish; we need to think of a way to lure them out.”

”What does this have to do with the Portuguese colonies?”

Ernst: ”If Portugal and East Africa go to war, the process and outcome of the war will be the bait to lure the British. The bait must be enticing. This is also why I don’t want to cripple Portugal in a single battle. Even if the British get involved, they also need preparation time, and with just Cape Town, they have no certainty in their hearts. Therefore, they will most likely try to preserve the Portuguese while we, on the other hand, cannot afford to be hit for nothing. Portugal must pay a price, and losing half of their colonies seems reasonable to me. The remaining colonies will leave Portugal unwilling and regrouping their strength. And if the British are confident after observing the war process and decide to take up arms against East Africa, then we will give it our all.”

Constantine: ”What if the two countries don’t follow your script?”

Ernst: ”Then it doesn’t matter. After all, these two juicy pieces of meat belonging to Portugal are right at our mouths, and we can eat them whenever we want. My focus is still on the British. Similar to the American War of Independence, East Africa also needs such a victory to firmly establish its national identity and international status.”

Thus, East Africa can’t scare the British away; what if the British are too afraid to confront us directly? And even if they face us directly, if East Africa performed too well initially, the British might also raise their guard and take things seriously. A serious Britain is not to be joked with, and Ernst still hopes the British would treat East Africa like they did with Afghanistan and the Boers in the past life.

However, this is all just a guess, and whether the Portuguese have the courage is still unknown. Before the Portuguese make a decision, East Africa can seemingly do nothing.