African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 623: Chapter 301 Military Advisory Group

Otto City, the capital of the Heixinggen Province.

This city was formerly known as ”Pillotolius,” a city the Boers once took pride in, commemorating the Boer hero, old Pillotolius.

East Africa definitely couldn’t keep a city with such a strong sense of personal heroism. East Africa certainly respects heroes, but old Pillotolius represents the Boer’s hero.

It could even be said to be the belief of the Transvaal people. Keeping this name would mean leaving room for fantasy for the Transvaal people, something East Africa definitely wouldn’t give the enemy.

As an important hub of the East African Central Railway, Otto City connects the north and south of East Africa, serving as a pivotal city for the central and southern railway lines.

Every day, over thirty trains pass through Otto City, many heading to New Hamburg Port City, connecting the economy of the Matebel Province and the Southern Border Province.

Trains terminating at Otto City are more for military functions, transporting military supplies from the northern part of East Africa to the border.

This time, East Africa’s support for the Oranges is among them. Supplying the Oranges is no significant burden for East Africa because even without the Oranges’ plea for help, East Africa still annually supplies tens of thousands of troops in the South Africa region with living supplies, food, and weapons through the Central Railway.

”Sergeant Delany, there are a total of five carriages of military supplies provided to the Oranges, including 1,300 rifles, 250 boxes of ammunition, five three-pound cannons, and seventy shells... In addition, there are various items like compasses and binoculars. This is the detailed list. Please have your person in charge sign to receive them once verified.” said the logistics staff responsible for escorting this batch of supplies.

After confirming everything was correct, the Defense Army’s Southern Military District received the supplies and quickly moved them from the train to horse-drawn carts.

Although East Africa’s tires have just been introduced to the international market, within East Africa, especially the military, vehicle upgrades were completed beforehand.

”These supplies were exchanged for livestock by the Oranges. Now we formally hand over this batch of livestock to you!”

The quartermaster responsible for the handover twitched his mouth slightly and said helplessly, ”These Orange people are really causing us trouble. Even with railway transport, handling so many livestock isn’t very convenient. If it were something else, it might have been easier.”

”Haha, the Oranges aren’t stupid. Livestock is the least valuable thing to them. Other things, like gold, diamonds, and even British Pounds, are much more important to them,” Delany laughed.

”That’s true. Like farmers needing to cash in their crops, workers waiting for wages, and factories primarily selling products, everything is still about making money. The Oranges want to exchange their livestock for something useful to them, which is essentially for wealth. Hard currencies like gold are like that, so they naturally don’t want to exchange with us East Africans,” the quartermaster agreed.

”The conflict between the Oranges, Transvaal people, and the British is ultimately about protecting their interests. For the Oranges, their wealth is quite substantial, but the British are emptying their pockets, so they have no choice but to resist,” Delany said.

Delany completely sympathizes with the Oranges, not out of prejudice, because after all, self-interest drives everyone.

During the material handover, a group of people disembarked from the rear carriage of the train, which was different from the freight carriages, as it was a passenger carriage.

The group of young officers that got off the train were mostly in their twenties.

Delany also noticed the uniqueness of these young officers, at least in terms of bearing, which was not at all like the grassroots troops, looking more like European noble soldiers with a naturally proud aura.

”Who are they?”

The quartermaster pouted and said, ”Graduates from the Austro-Hungarian military schools, mostly just fresh off campus with little combat experience, but they already have promising futures. An education certainly provides an advantage.”

”Then why are they coming to South Africa? Shouldn’t they first gain some experience in the northern grassroots units?”

”They’re different from the Heixinggen Military Academy students. The Austro-Hungarian military school’s level is definitely higher than ours in East Africa. As far as I know, their leader is a graduate of the Vienna Theresa Military Academy. Graduating from there means top-tier military talents even Europe acknowledges.”

”They’re not being assigned to our Southern Military District, are they?”

”Haha, you’re overthinking. They’re here in the Orange Free State for training exercises, acting as a military observation group, and responsible for assisting in teaching the Oranges how to use Austro-Hungarian weapons.”

During their conversation, the so-called ”observation group,” the East African Military Advisory Group stationed in the Orange Free State, had already lined up.

Leading them was Kore, a graduate of the Theresa Military Academy, and many others were graduates from other Austro-Hungarian military schools.

Thanks to the agreement between East Africa and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, numerous East African students can study in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If East African education were stronger, there might even be a significant number of exchange students. Presently, East Africa can only take advantage of this because no European student would be foolish enough to study in East Africa. Not even students of the Far East Empire have any interest in East Africa.

However, East Africa doesn’t need to introduce international students from the Far East Empire. If East Africa did, they might end up becoming East Africans themselves.

”This is Otto City, the last major city on our route. Next, we report to the border troops, and after that, the officers will arrange the river crossing for us. Therefore, the following trip won’t be easy, and we might not get effective rest until we reach Warm Castle,” Kore said seriously to the advisory group members.

”This mission involves going deep into a war zone, so don’t take it lightly. I know many of you are professionally trained elites, but you have no real battlefield experience. You may be confident now, but this mission is extremely dangerous. It’s not just theoretical; it’s about participating in the war, practicing, and learning. Only through trials and tests can you become truly excellent soldiers in the future,” Colonel William, arranged by the East African Ministry of Defense, said.

”Colonel William, I’ve heard you’re a Heixinggen Military Academy graduate. Have you experienced war, or have you only bullied natives?” one of the outspoken ones asked.

”Haha, I am indeed a graduate of the Heixinggen Military Academy. The academy’s reputation may not be famous, but I must tell you, Heixinggen Military Academy students have contributed to East Africa’s territory of over ten million square kilometers. Many of East Africa’s excellent military personnel come from the Heixinggen Military Academy.

About bullying the natives, using advanced weapons indeed seems unfair, but war only cares about winning and losing.

Also, I personally, as a Heixinggen Military Academy student, participated in the Prussian War, which you should have learned about. Representing the Principality of Heixinggen, the Heixinggen Brigade had some minor achievements in the war, and I also participated in East Africa’s war against the Portuguese Mozambique colony, having fought the Portuguese,” William said.

Just having the experience of participating in the Prussian War was enough for William to boast. The Prussian War was one of the most significant conflicts of the 19th century, directly altering the European landscape and having a profound impact on global progress.