African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1114: Chapter 123: East Africa’s Infiltration into Bosnia

Reflecting on the entire Bosnia region, the situation is similar to that in Sarajevo; Bosnia can be described as a natural arena for Croatians, Serbians, and the Ottomans.

Later, Austria-Hungary occupied the area, but it was not smooth sailing. The infiltration by Ottoman Empire remnants and Serbia, an external force, made the local investment scenario quite adverse.

Therefore, the Heixinggen consortium and the East African Government behind it could only adjust strategies, choosing the relatively easier-to-control southwest region of Bosnia as the main penetration area.

Being a German country, East Africa naturally distrusts the remnants of the Ottomans and the Serbians revitalized by extreme nationalism. Thus, the Heixinggen consortium colluded with the Austrian-Hungarian military at the time to drive the Ottoman remnants centered in Mostar and the Serbian immigrants inland to places like Sarajevo in Bosnia.

This is the main reason why the residents of the lower Neretva River valley are predominantly Chinese and Croatian nowadays. Of course, in the official narrative of the lower Neretva River valley, there are no so-called ”Chinese”; these Chinese are Germanized Germans, including Croatians and Serbians inland similarly.

As for the true Germans, such as Austria-Hungary government officials and officers, there are still a certain number of Germans in the local upper society.

The general manager of the Mostar Hydropower Plant company, Kerleff, is a typical East African German. Although Austria-Hungary controls the local military and administrative power, the economy of the lower Neretva River valley is completely controlled by the Heixinggen consortium backed by East Africa.

This also reflects a tacit understanding between East Africa and the Austria-Hungary government. Austrian-Hungary investment in Bosnia is concentrated in the north or key areas like Sarajevo, while the sparsely populated lower Neretva River valley region was completely out of Austria-Hungary’s governance capability.

Even after the Austria-Hungary occupation of Bosnia, only a platoon of Austria-Hungary troops was stationed in Mostar; apart from a slight military role in Mostar, Austria-Hungary thoroughly ignored the region.

At that time, Austria-Hungary would not have imagined East Africa would crazily introduce nearly a hundred thousand immigrants from the Far East Empire to settle down in the lower Neretva River valley.

Now, the Chinese immigrant population in the lower Neretva River valley has more than quadrupled, becoming the dominant ethnic group, adding fuel to the Balkan Peninsula’s ethnic melting pot.

Now the situation has solidified, and the Austria-Hungary government directly accepted the reality, which does not cause any psychological burden to Austria-Hungary, a multi-ethnic country without a dominant nationality. It is quite professional since the governance over Bosnia has always been a mess.

East Africa’s actions in the area instead stabilized Austria-Hungary’s control over Bosnia, as the attributes of Far East immigrants establish they are far easier to govern than Serbians or Ottoman Empire remnants.

Moreover, due to East African capital support, backed by the large East African market, agriculture and industry developed rapidly in the lower Neretva River valley, making it one of the fastest developing regions in south Austria-Hungary, becoming an important financial source for Austria-Hungary in Bosnia, further reassuring the Habsburgs.

Puloch Port City and Mostar City swiftly became new industrial cities in south Austria-Hungary. East African capital constructed textiles, food processing, aluminum smelting, and other industries here, and Mostar City has already become an important aluminum product production center in Austria-Hungary territory.

The aluminum smelting plant is a major consumer of electricity, which is the main reason behind the construction of the Mostar Hydropower Plant. Once completed, the hydropower plant will further boost local industrial capacity.

Meanwhile, Puloch Port, leveraging its port advantages, became an important maritime outlet in Bosnia and, with Mostar City, forms the twin star cities of the lower Neretva River valley.

After all, Bosnia’s inland, including the most important city, Sarajevo, cannot avoid Mostar City and Puloch Port for maritime access. The Heixinggen consortium activated the entire southwest Bosnia’s economy through railway and road construction, even forming a siphon effect towards Sarajevo.

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Kerleff continued his completion ceremony speech: ”As a typical mountainous city, Mostar has developed with difficulty. With the collective effort of various figures in the lower Neretva River valley, we are dedicated to making Mostar a jewel of the Balkan Peninsula.”

”The completion of the Mostar Hydropower Plant has basically solved the local electricity shortage problem. Nowadays, urban and industrial development cannot be separated from adequate electricity supply. The hydropower plant will greatly promote industries like aluminum electrolysis and textile.”

Mostar has rich bauxite resources, and East Africa, an industrial major power with a grasp of aluminum electrolysis technology, plus its abundant hydropower construction experience over the past half-century, makes Mostar difficult not to develop. This indeed contrasts sharply with Bosnia’s inland chaos.

After the speech, Kerleff warmly conversed with the Mostar City officials appointed by Austria-Hungary.

Honestly, under East Africa’s deliberate support, the lower Neretva River valley region is also considered an economically developed area within Austria-Hungary territory. For Austria-Hungary officials, it is also a good place to gain credentials, as East Africa practically feeds them without requiring much effort.

This also earned East Africa’s immigrants in the lower Neretva River valley region a warm welcome from the local government. Of course, the East African capital group controlling the local economy effectively controls the discourse there.

As long as Austria-Hungary government-appointed officials do not deliberately cause trouble, the Heixinggen consortium is still willing to give them some face, like the first mayor of Mostar City, who was a complete fool and ambitious nobleman. Eventually, the consortium drove the ignorant noble scion back to Vienna through public opinion and control over the area.

Frankly, the lower Neretva River valley is practically a colony of East Africa within Austria-Hungary territory. Moreover, maintaining the stability of Bosnia requires Austria-Hungary to focus on this region.

The lower Neretva River valley, with a population of 630,000, is not only Austria-Hungary’s most important tax source in Bosnia but also a vital recruitment source and a German linguistic enclave in south Austria-Hungary.

Evidently, Austria-Hungary’s inability to unify the national language in Bosnia is further exemplified here, as besides Ottoman Empire remnants, there are Slavs. Contrarily, the lower Neretva River valley region under East Africa’s support became the only area achieving complete German language education.

Austria-Hungary’s military mainly composed local people, like Austria, Bohemia, Hungary have their own armies; this tradition in Bosnia is no exception.

In Bosnia’s traditional three main ethnic groups - Ottomans, Croatians, and Serbians - none are proficient in German, coupled with a resistance to Austria-Hungary’s rule, prompting Austria-Hungary to shift recruitment efforts primarily to the lower Neretva River valley since the 1990s.

Without language barriers, and possessing better organizational abilities than the other three ethnicities, along with high compliance, Chinese became Austria-Hungary’s best recruitment source in Bosnia.

Austria-Hungary only needed to dispatch a few senior officers to organize a very combat-worthy army, also making the Habsburgs understand the main reason why East Africa gathered a significant number of immigrants from the Far East Empire back in the days.

Not only are Far East immigrants industrious, but they also lack evident political demands, with high compliance and organizational capacity; if Hungary had such awareness, the Austrian Empire would not have been replaced by today’s dualistic system.