African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 816: Chapter 120: Threat

In response to Herman’s words, Salisbury found himself unable to refute. Indeed, it was the United Kingdom that first initiated the war, which essentially established the UK as the main party responsible for this conflict. However, this did not affect Salisbury’s attempt to blame East Africa.

”The original intention of our British launching this war was entirely to maintain regional peace and stability. East Africa itself is the most unstable factor in Africa. From the time the Heixinggen Kingdom established its first colony until now, East Africa’s territory has expanded to more than ten thousand square kilometers, making your East African Kingdom the most evil state in African history. These lands were all taken from the natives, which makes you more like the Russians...” Salisbury said without restraint.

”Cough, cough...” The Tsarist Russian representative, Chersky, expressed his displeasure with a grim face, thinking there’s no way something good would come out of a Briton’s mouth.

Salisbury also realized his faux pas and hurriedly changed the topic, ”Of course, although Russian land is vast, Russia itself has a ’long’ history, while East Africa obtained these great amounts of land in just a few decades, making it arguably the most aggressive country in the world.”

On the outcome alone, Salisbury is entirely correct; East Africa is indeed a rather greedy state. Alternatively put, calling Ernst greedy is not wrong at all.

However, there are few countries or politicians in this world who are not greedy. Ernst seized the opportunity of the times; having the ability to annex so much land but not acting on it would be contrary to Ernst’s ambition—it would be folly not to capitalize on an opportunity.

Just like with Angola and Mozambique, if East Africa doesn’t acquire them, various obstacles will arise for East Africa.

Herman: ”Lord Salisbury, this is outright slander against our Heixinggen Kingdom. All countries have expansion activities in Africa, especially your United Kingdom, north with Egypt, east with British Somaliland, south with Cape Town, and west with the Gold Coast. Worldwide, the United Kingdom has the most colonies, especially in India, Australia, Canada, etc. In terms of population, economy, politics, or military, the UK’s expansion is the most pronounced in the world. Does the same logic not apply to East Africa as being greedy and aggressive, but the UK is the firebrand of civilization?”

”Well said.” thought the other country representatives.

As a world overlord, there are plenty of countries hostile to the United Kingdom, especially among those present. Except for Portugal and the Boers, most are chess players in world politics, coveting the British Empire’s assets for a long time, some hostile simply because of resentments against the British, such as the Russians.

Chersky completely agreed with Herman’s words, considering the Brits a bunch of pirates and infuriated that they dare accuse the great Russia.

Of course, Chersky was also quite envious of East Africa. Russia had risked its life to expand to obtain a sea outlet, while the little Heixinggen Royal Family expanded in such a short time to so much land, igniting nothing but envy.

Chersky was not alone in this sentiment. However, the overall sentiment towards East Africa was not just envy but also frustration and regret, lamenting the late timing. If any country present had engaged East Africa in competition at the same time, they’d have had a greater advantage than the small Heixinggen Royal Family.

Unfortunately, it’s too late now. By the time the Berlin Conference occurred, East and South Africa were nearly settled, and West and North Africa had too many competitors, showing how crucial timing is.

Of course, making efforts now isn’t too late either. West and North Africa are also large and much richer than East and South Africa, which is the thought shared by many country representatives.

Russia and the Austria-Hungary Empire, however, are exceptions. Their geographical location destined them to be uninvolved in Africa, particularly West Africa. Now, Tsarist Russia is trapped in the small Black Sea and Baltic Sea, with its main task being expansion on the Europe and Asia continent, rather than reaching over to West Africa. The Austria-Hungary Empire is primarily constrained by domestic politics and an easily checkable central position.

Herman’s words significantly provoked Salisbury, who said to Herman, ”You Eastern African swine, we of the United Kingdom are messengers of civilization, aiming to change those uncivilized wildlands, something you barbarians cannot comprehend.”

”Cough, cough...” Count Allen Tal spoke up, ”Lord Salisbury, please refrain from personal attacks. The gentlemen present here are all respectable people. If you wish to release emotions, do so after the meeting in your hotel room. Displaying such behavior in a public area is quite uncouth.”

Count Allen Tal’s words added fuel to the fire, but also served as a bitter medicine intended to cure, forcing Salisbury to act slightly more ”gentlemanly.” He then seated himself upright in his chair again.

The redness of Salisbury’s face revealed the difficulties he endured in containing himself, clearly indicating he was enraged.

As the meeting host, Allen Tal steered the meeting back on track: ”Personal grievances and negative emotions may cloud your judgment. Our aim here is problem-solving, not arguing for the sake of arguing; therefore, the two country representatives should quickly reach a consensus on how to resolve this war.”

Having calmed down, Salisbury asserted resolutely, ”The stance of the United Kingdom is very clear: East Africa should withdraw its troops, restore pre-war borders, and compensate us for our war losses.”

At this moment, Von der Leyen spoke up, ”Hehe, Count Salisbury, the United Kingdom started this war and thus is destined to pay the price. Your demands resemble those of a victor, but I don’t see the United Kingdom as having the upper hand in the war, especially as the Defense Army is less than four hundred kilometers from Cape Town.”

Salisbury retorted, ”Do not think that East Africa has us cornered. For the United Kingdom, supplanting East Africa is as simple as drinking water for our Empire’s army. However, the war effort may not even compensate for our military expenses against a poor country like East Africa.”

”You’re only unscathed due to geographical remoteness, but this shortcoming means little to the Royal Navy, which can easily tip the war balance with a slight intervention.”

In response to Salisbury’s tough stance, Herman threatened directly, ”We of the Heixinggen Kingdom do not rely on excuses for combat but on actual capability. Currently, we hold over sixty thousand British military prisoners, which signifies the nature of our positions. Additionally, Angola and Mozambique, Orange, Northern Cape Town, Eastern Cape Town all demonstrate that East Africa does not fear war and has the capability to secure victory.”

Count Herman’s words revealed a major piece of information: only East Africa knew the exact situation regarding the number of British prisoners, but it occurred to everyone that there were tens of thousands of British captured by East Africa.

Some even speculated about the inclusion of Indians among them, as capturing tens of thousands of British soldiers seemed ”impossible” to accomplish.

Even upon first hearing the news, Salisbury found it hard to believe. Yet he hesitated to deny it outright—if it were true, it would mean serious trouble for the United Kingdom.