African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 579: Chapter 257 Comparison

In conclusion, Japan’s national conditions are inherently inadequate. If development relies solely on domestic resources, the level that can be achieved is quite limited.

However, this statement is not absolute. The development of a country has a significant relationship with its own resource endowment, but ultimately, national governance depends on human governance.

Japan happens to have a lot of potential in human governance. One reason is the ability to learn from stronger nations after recognizing its shortcomings, and the second is that Japan has a large enough population. There are always advantages to having many people; it all depends on how to transform this, turning population from a burden into wealth.

For instance, why does Japan’s silk industry have strong international competitiveness? That’s because labor costs are too low, and Japanese people can endure hardships. They work diligently, and the government does not hold back but strongly supports the development of commerce and industry. Therefore, naturally, the UK and US are willing to invest in such a country, while also being able to restrain the Far East Empires.

Similarly, many Japanese work abroad, bringing a significant amount of remittance to Japan.

For national development, especially for countries with extreme population excess, like Egypt, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and similar nations from past lives, remittances are one of the important sources of national income. If relying solely on domestic employment opportunities, it would inevitably result in a massive flow of displaced persons.

Besides low-end industries, especially labor-intensive industries, where Japan has inherent advantages, Japan also places great importance on education and science. In this era, that is extremely rare, providing a foundation for Japan’s future industrial upgrades. So Japan becoming the only Asian great power several decades later is the result of its own efforts.

”General Gleiss, I want to ask, if Japan really goes to war with you, as the highest commander in the East African aspect, how much confidence do you have to win?” Luo Yijun asked curiously.

Although East Africa has many Chinese and can only count as half a foreign country, it is still a Western nation. Nowadays, Western countries are powerful, and East Africa doesn’t rank at the top in terms of strength within Western nations, but it is not weak either. Therefore, Luo Yijun is eager to know what kind of sparks will fly when this ”unremarkable” Western country is compared to Japan, the second strongest nation in the Far East.

Gleiss was not arrogant, although he was quite familiar with the Japanese navy. Although the strength is not strong, if the whole country is mobilized, it can still collide with his own fleet.

Therefore, he was somewhat humble, or rather conservative, saying: ”Probably sixty-four favor! Of course, my side is sixty, and the Japanese navy is forty. However, the navy is the most unpredictable military branch, prone to overturning common knowledge unexpectedly, given the vast dangers of the sea.

According to your Far East Empire’s statement, warfare emphasizes timing, geography, and human harmony. I can affirm timing and geography are not on our side. Our East African navy is a newcomer here, naturally not very familiar with these waters.

Therefore, the only thing that the East African navy can compare with the Japanese navy is human harmony. In terms of human harmony, we have some advantages on our side, but I am not very sure about the Japanese side.”

Upon hearing Gleiss, a German speaking about Oriental culture, Luo Yijun felt quite proud. His country’s culture being recognized by other nations is always a matter that can make people feel pleasant.

He said: ”I didn’t expect the General to have quite a study on Far Eastern culture. You are right; our Oriental sages summarized three decisive factors in war: timing, geography, and human harmony. Just wondering what advantages your navy has in terms of human harmony?”

Gleiss did not hold any suspense but spoke directly: ”This comes down to three aspects. Firstly, which is a universally recognized point, is that our navy’s ships and equipment are a notch stronger than Japan’s.

Secondly, let’s talk about the official aspect. Our East African advantage lies in the fact that our commander-in-chief once was Ferdinand, the Navy Commander of the Austria-Hungary Empire. Other officers either originated from the Austria-Hungary navy or, like myself, have been trained in Austria’s naval school.

Aside from the officers, let’s talk about the sailors. Our sailors have a higher cultural level than Japan, which greatly benefits the mastery and command of the ships. After all these years of development, the minimum education level in the navy is elementary school.

In the past, Japan did not completely implement compulsory education until 1907, which can’t compare with the current East Africa. East Africa also borrowed the advantage of Germany’s compulsory education, although there are not many professional teachers, teachers who follow the textbooks are quite readily available.

This is easy to understand. There are quite a few pure German people in East Africa, and almost all Germans have attended school. The immigrants in East Africa are mainly young people, so most Germans have yet to forget their knowledge.

Speaking of this, Ernst is quite grateful for the kindness and grace of all German nations, promoting compulsory education naturally had a significant effect on Germany. Historically, the United States benefited from this part of Germany’s immigration, so many knowledgeable immigrants arrived in the US. It was hard for the US not to develop.

Now with Ernst’s interception, these people have benefitted East Africa and contributed to its construction.

Although most are just elementary school students, even so, East Africa’s pure German immigrants amount to five or six million, equating to several million elementary school students. Coupled with East Africa’s literacy campaign and education popularization, as long as development proceeds step by step, the future of East Africa will be boundless.

In this regard, the US is somewhat worried, having been intercepted by East Africa for so many prime immigrants while accommodating so many Black people. Whenever Ernst thinks about it, his heart shivers. Although East Africa also has many Black people, in an era where the average life expectancy is only thirty-five, wait for another thirty or forty years, and East Africa will no longer have this issue.

Previously, Ernst was somewhat conscientious, considering finding ways for the Black population, using them for a few years and then sending them away. Now he is completely immune to this, once the bottom line is breached, there is no bottom line.

The Black people represent economic interests, especially for East Africa. Among a population close to fifty million, Black people account for half. Therefore, at least half of East Africa’s national economy is created by Black people.

Especially East Africa’s tropical economic crops like coffee, cotton, rubber, etc., require Black people to complete, saving a significant amount of manpower cost for East Africa.

In the face of enormous economic benefits, the East African government even considered introducing more Black people, but this was vetoed by Ernst.

East Africa’s vast number of elementary students also means that both the navy and army do not lack quality personnel, especially navy, which is a high-tech military branch.

In the East African navy, even a middle school education is quite common, and there are quite a few university students. In this respect, the Japanese navy is far from being able to compare with East Africa.

After all, even if Japan popularizes compulsory education, it still struggles to achieve anything without resources. The knowledge from compulsory education has to be learned from Europe, with significant educational funding invested in studying abroad, which is costly. East Africa does not have this issue as the Heixinggen royal family has its own schools and land in Europe, reducing costs considerably, along with the large number of people with elementary education in East Africa itself.

Moreover, as a militaristic country, Japan invests heavily in industry and military sectors. In comparison with other nations, its educational funding is quite limited, so without half a century, Japan’s compulsory education will not yield results.