African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1172: Chapter 181: Deals and Threats

While the various countries of Europe were fighting each other to the death, East Africa launched a full-scale offensive, quietly expanding across regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Besides seizing markets and sources of raw materials that had originally belonged to Europe, it also kept making small moves against other countries’ colonies.

Among them, East Africa was also quite covetous of the Netherlands’ East Indies colonies, but had not taken any major action, and could only make a fuss over Kalimantan Island.

September 1914.

Germany and the Anglo-French Allied Army opened the bloody Battle of the Marne River.

Germany’s military operations in Belgium had basically come to an end. Although it ultimately took the Liège Fortress, the result did not meet Germany’s psychological expectations.

Mochi Jr. did not fully carry out the complete set of plans laid down by Schlieffen before his death, and diverted one-third of the forces originally assigned to the Belgian front to other areas. The harm caused by weakening the right wing soon manifested itself: the Belgian campaign on the Western Front, originally planned to be concluded in a few days, was dragged out for more than ten days at the Liège Fortress.

The Schlieffen Plan had been designed from the outset as a quick-victory scheme, but because of Mochi Jr.’s complacency, it dragged down the German Army’s operations on the entire Western Front. Of course, Germany still held the advantage, having successfully pushed the front line into French territory. As long as it made no further mistakes, the Schlieffen Plan could still continue to be implemented.

At this moment, the United Kingdom and France were also tightening their naval blockade of Germany. The powerful offensive capability displayed by the German Army was enough to make any country’s heart pound.

Rotterdam Port.

Entering the early 20th century, backed by shipping, Rotterdam Port had developed into one of Europe’s largest ports, and it was also one of the main transit ports for East Africa’s transportation of goods to Germany.

Before the outbreak of the First World War, the Netherlands had strictly observed the principle of neutrality, and unlike Belgium, it was not selected by Germany as a breakthrough point. This made the Netherlands one of the few earthly paradises on the European battlefield.

But as Belgium became a front-line battlefield, a large number of Belgian refugees fled to the Netherlands, reaching several hundred thousand in number, which greatly increased the pressure on the Dutch government.

Now, someone was finally willing to take the initiative to help the Dutch government share the burden of refugees. In the Dutch royal palace, the East African envoy Terel was meeting with Queen Wilhelmina and the top leaders of the Dutch government.

Terel went straight to the point and said, ”Your Majesty, we in East Africa can arrange for these Belgians to go to various places in East Africa to take refuge.”

Queen Wilhelmina said, ”Sir Teville, refugees are a hot potato for many countries right now. Do you in East Africa not find it troublesome?”

Teville said, ”Of course not. As everyone knows, East Africa is an immigrant country, so our demand for immigrants is still very high. After all, East Africa is a Great Power with a territory of over ten million square kilometers, and even within our own homeland there are many regions that have not been fully developed.”

This was also quite reasonable. Although East Africa’s immigration scale had shrunk significantly in recent years, the annual immigration effort was still enough to leave many countries far behind.

Of course, the main destinations of these immigrants were, in all likelihood, not East Africa’s homeland, but its colonies and other regions under its control.

The queen nodded and said, ”Naturally, we will not obstruct East Africa’s activities. However, none of this should be based on coercion. If you can persuade these poor people to voluntarily go to East Africa, we can even provide your country with some conveniences.”

The Belgian refugees were naturally pitiful, and of course, the Dutch government also had no desire to take in so many burdens.

”That goes without saying. We in East Africa are also one of the world’s few Great Powers, and East Africa is far safer than Europe, so I believe there will be quite a few people willing to develop their futures in East Africa.”

There were simply too many Belgians who had fled to the Netherlands, and most of them were penniless. So previously, the Dutch government could only, out of humanitarian spirit, provide relief to these refugees. It was only because the Dutch government had deep pockets that it could feed so many idle mouths.

Today, as the transit hub for trade between East Africa and Germany, the Netherlands was making so much money just on transit fees that counting it was enough to make the Dutch giddy. Letting a little bit leak out would be enough to feed the Belgian refugees.

But this was clearly not a long-term solution. If East Africa could take in this group of freeloading Belgian refugees, the Netherlands would certainly earn even more.

And this was no difficult matter for East Africa. The ships going from East Africa to Rotterdam and other Dutch ports were basically empty, and on the return journey, taking some people along to Togoland, Gabon, and other places would not waste much effort.

After they had finished discussing this matter, Terel said, ”Your Majesty’s kindness is moving. God will certainly bless you with a long life.”

Wilhelmina merely smiled at Terel’s flattery.

At this moment, Terel said again, ”By the way, Your Majesty, I wonder if you still remember the dispute we once had with your country over Kalimantan Island?”

After laying so much groundwork, Terel finally revealed the dagger hidden in his cloak. Belgian immigrants were ultimately a minor matter for East Africa. Even the Netherlands’ status as a transit point was not all that attractive to East Africa. After all, Germany actually did have outlets on the Atlantic Ocean; it was just that the German Navy was currently bottled up in the Baltic Sea, while East Africa’s merchant ships could still reach Germany’s homeland.

Terel’s words made Wilhelmina’s expression change. The Netherlands had long been well aware of East Africa’s ambitions toward the Dutch East Indies.

The East African Government had repeatedly signaled its intention to purchase the Dutch colonies on Kalimantan Island, but had always been rejected by the Dutch government.

This time, Terel’s bringing up old matters clearly indicated that East Africa had set its sights on Kalimantan Island, and even on the East Indies as a whole.

If it had been peacetime, the Dutch government could naturally have refused outright. After all, East Africa, bound by the rules of the International Community, still had to save face.

But now was a very delicate moment. The European powers were all too busy to look after themselves, let alone concern themselves with events outside Europe.

If at this time East Africa decided to force itself upon the East Indies, the Netherlands would not even have a place to go to complain, such as its closest partners, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Indeed, the Netherlands also had good relations with Germany, because Wilhelmina had a very good relationship with the Prussian royal family: her mother and her husband were both German nobles, and in the previous life it was this very Dutch queen who took in the ”pitiful” William II.

However, since Terel had chosen to negotiate with her, clearly there was still room to maneuver. Otherwise, if East Africa truly deployed its troops, then given the Netherlands’ military strength in the East Indies, the only thing it could do was raise its hands in surrender.

Thinking this through, Wilhelmina’s taut heart relaxed a little. She maintained a calm expression and asked Terel, ”Sir Terel, does your country intend to take advantage of our difficulties? The East Indies are our most important overseas territories; there is absolutely no room for negotiation.”

Terel countered, ”Your Majesty need not be so quick to refuse. We in East Africa are only interested in Kalimantan Island, not the East Indies as a whole. After all, we know that among the East Indies only Java Island has the greatest economic value for your country.”

”Kalimantan Island is different. On the one hand, apart from being somewhat large in area, it has no other advantages, and this piece of such barren land is even divided among our two countries and the United Kingdom.”

”With the strength of the Netherlands, it is simply impossible to hold on to Kalimantan Island. The final result will be nothing more than our country or the United Kingdom acquiring the remaining territories on Kalimantan Island.”

”So your country might as well sell Kalimantan Island to the Empire. In this way, by throwing off this burden, your country can concentrate its energy on developing Java Island. After all, the Netherlands’ national power is limited, and there are so many natives on Java Island that the various uprisings alone are enough to give your country a headache. So pulling back your forces and pocketing tangible benefits is what best serves your country’s interests. I wonder if Your Majesty agrees.”

Teville’s words were both a statement of reason and tinged with threat. Generally speaking, colonial uprisings were relatively easy to suppress, but once a third-party power became involved, it was a different story—just as the United States had once orchestrated similar operations in Spanish colonies, greatly weakening Spain’s control over the Philippines and Cuba.

East Africa could naturally employ the same tactics against the Netherlands. At present, Terel was admonishing them kindly; if he failed to obtain the desired result, then East Africa could not be blamed for resorting to force. And once East Africa used military means, the issue would no longer be something that could be settled with a single Kalimantan Island.