African Entrepreneurship Record

Ernst said to Wimal, ”Black people are important soldiers, especially given our youthful population structure in East Africa now. Moreover, there’s an important factor: our East African territory has expanded more than six or seven times compared to before. Previously, our core territory was only in the eastern region, but now it includes the central and southern regions, both of which are under threat of war.”

The main source of East Africa’s new population has actually shifted from immigration to childbirth, which presents a kind of happy dilemma of population pressure.

Conversely, if a country faces an aging population, it would probably be less cheerful. In Ernst’s view, such countries are on a downhill path. Of course, this is also an inevitable future for East Africa, unless East Africa stagnates completely, just like its predecessors among African countries that consistently remain third-world nations.

Before the new generation grows up, the cost of nurturing in East Africa is quite high. However, in the future, when the new generation, who has received compulsory education, matures, East African national strength will definitely erupt at some point, probably within the next twenty or thirty years.

”Your Highness, the Crown Prince, we have registered all laborers, and the data has been updated. In the event of a conflict, we can ensure the timely allocation of personnel,” Wimal said.

The frequency of updates regarding Black people in East Africa remains high, especially in these years of massive infrastructure projects, resulting in tens of thousands of wounded and dead each year, so the data is updated quickly. This is a rather troubling issue for East Africa’s statistical departments.

But certain things must be done; if by a stroke of misfortune, the Black people flip the situation, Ernst would have nowhere to cry.

”When it comes to Black people, only under unavoidable circumstances can they be allowed into the military system; otherwise, let them be good laborers. In East Africa, the Mamluks’ reversal plot should never be reenacted,” Ernst emphasized.

The Mamluks were slaves introduced from the Arab regions by ancient Egypt, more precisely ”slave soldiers.” So these Mamluks turning the tables and becoming the ruling class of Egypt was due to introducing slaves into the military system—a disastrous consequence.

The military is a place that tempers people, and unsurprisingly it’s also the easiest place to ”flip one’s situation,” as the military values merit. The Mamluks seized control by mastering military power and turning the tables.

East African Black people can indeed take this path, after all, East Africa cannot completely equip the Black auxiliary troops with ”inferior weapons”; even cannon fodder need ”handy” weapons.

In fact, in previous battles in East Africa with African natives, incidents of ”reversals” were not rare at all. Even indigenous tribes armed with stone spears and bows and arrows could inflict heavy losses on complacent East African armies. However, the continuous influx of immigrants to East Africa prevented such rare battle scenarios from becoming widespread.

For example, in the past, there were only a few thousand Germans in German East Africa, yet some Black tribes could contend with the Germans.

The most famous was the Maji Maji rebellion in 1905, which erupted against colonial rule under the leadership of Kinyikitile Nguale in German East Africa, rapidly sweeping through the southern regions of German East Africa.

Subsequently, in 1907, the Germans suppressed the uprising through harsh means such as famine. Nonetheless, the Maji Maji rebellion significantly dealt a blow to German colonial rule, forcing Germany to adopt moderate means to manage German East Africa.

So the strict prevention of Black uprisings is political correctness in East Africa and a crucial policy in Ernst’s governance.

Wimal stated: ”Yes, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, we have never relaxed our surveillance on Black people, after all, Black uprisings in East Africa are not uncommon. There are dozens of instances every year, although none reach significant proportions.”

No matter how well treated Black people are in East Africa, they remain slaves. Even as commoners, there are disgruntled individuals, let alone slaves who are not even considered part of the lowest society, as even cattle and horses rank before them—a significant feature of slave societies.

”Very good, small-scale uprisings are acceptable for us, but being acceptable doesn’t mean we won’t address them. Objectively, such errors are unavoidable, but subsequently, there should be no leniency in the procedures; responsibility must be held accountable, penalties must be imposed, and relevant personnel and departments must conduct reviews and record them as evaluation standards,” Ernst emphatically stated.

This is akin to the principle that all plane crashes are human errors. Even in the Far East Empire of the twenty-first century, they cannot be avoided, let alone in a backward country like East Africa. However, in this era, East Africa already has a significantly higher administrative efficiency than ordinary countries.

”Of course, division of labor must be clear; now we don’t need Black people to enter the army, so let them continue to stick to their posts, stabilizing production order, especially in agriculture and engineering projects.”

What Ernst aims to achieve during wartime is ensuring stable national production, as war is extremely costly. Many countries with poor financial conditions, when faced with war, essentially sacrifice their entire future, so rising from the ruins of war is exceedingly difficult, especially for those defeated nations.

This inevitably brings up Germany’s foundation; having endured two world wars, it still managed to become one of the key players in Europe, demonstrating the unimaginable unification and accumulated wealth of Germany, most importantly the accumulation of talent.

Ernst continued, ”We need war, not only to cope with the world’s changes since the 1884 Berlin Conference but also to resolve East Africa’s geopolitical disadvantages, particularly the coastlines of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The incomplete coastline not only hinders East Africa’s economic layout and development but also increases our defense difficulties.”

”Without a complete coastline, many railways and ports cannot be directly connected. It’s like how Austria-Hungary had to focus resources on Trieste after losing the Venice area previously. Western South Africa clearly doesn’t have such a population and industrial capacity, which is not conducive to our trade interactions with America and West Africa.”

”In the Indian Ocean area, Mozambique has numerous excellent ports, and the southern coastal plains of Mozambique can be regarded as one of the best lands for agriculture in Africa. Its fertility and terrain are not inferior to the Great Lakes Region, and with excellent ports as support, its advantages for developing an export-oriented economy surpass those of Somali. Somali only has proximity as an advantage, but with future technological advances, faster ships will be available. Thus, Mozambique’s agricultural advantages can be fully realized, especially since the southern territory of Mozambique already belongs to the subtropical climate, which is the most important aspect.”

”Certainly, all of this is based on the premise of preparing for large-scale war. Once war breaks out, we will face the risk of being surrounded on all sides. Although East Africa is the most populous country in Africa, our land area is also significant, so our population density is not as high as many other countries. In this vast and sparsely populated national condition, if the enemy waged a mobile warfare aiming to destroy East Africa’s infrastructure and industrial capacity, then our years of accumulation would come to nothing.”

”Moreover, our enemies are not weak. If they exert their full strength and mobilize a million troops, it is a possibility too. Therefore, our military and frontline residents must be prepared for war to avoid being caught off guard.”

Of course, Ernst did not mention that East Africa began extensive infrastructure development in the seventies to achieve an ”industrial development plan” in the future, akin to the Soviet Union seizing the opportunity to become an industrial nation in a short period.

Industrialization requires funding, so it’s crucial not to let war disrupt East Africa’s production order. Thus, maintaining East African industrial production order and ensuring stable fiscal growth during wartime, with Black people as an important labor resource, is a key method for East Africa to accumulate original capital.