African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1212: Chapter 221: Discussion

”Commander Zhang, how do you feel?” Wang Hailong sat beside the old man and asked Commander Zhang, who was still in awe and unable to recover.

”It’s truly amazing, truly amazing. I never thought our gap with the Western world had reached this extent!” Commander Zhang said helplessly.

Looking through the car window, Commander Zhang saw not only East Africa’s prosperity, wealth, and strong power, but he also saw the Far East Empire’s backwardness, poverty, and helpless weakness.

He held onto the window frame and asked Wang Hailong, ”Young man, do you think we still have a chance to surpass Western countries? Seeing the construction of Dar es Salaam City, I even feel a sense of powerlessness in my heart.”

Wang Hailong comforted Commander Zhang about his concerns: ”No need to worry too much, Commander. Although the Western world is developing rapidly now, as long as people of insight in our country can unite, we will eventually achieve national and ethnic rejuvenation.”

”Just take East Africa, for example. You should know that last century, East Africa’s situation was not much better than ours. Before the arrival of the Rhein Empire’s royal family, there wasn’t a single modernized nation in the entire Africa.”

”At that time, Africa’s most powerful ancient civilization, Egypt, was merely a semi-colonial state toyed with by England and France, and the vast area south of the Sahara was a desert of civilization. If not for East Africa’s unexpected rise, what we would see now wouldn’t be a prosperous and powerful Dar es Salaam, but a desolate beach with scarce human presence.”

”And it took East Africa just half a century to develop from a thorny land into a world-class power. Our Far East Empire’s foundation was much better than East Africa’s used to be. As long as we follow the right path, we can certainly replicate the success of the Rhein Empire today.”

Wang Hailong’s words were somewhat exaggerated, though East Africa indeed developed from a backward colony, Dar es Salaam was not as underdeveloped as he said. After all, before East Africa, the Sultanate of Zanzibar did have a certain degree of development here and moved its capital from Zanzibar Island.

However, the existence of East Africa did greatly elevate the entire Africa’s upper limit and successfully constructed East Africa into one of the world’s most powerful countries, which is why many Far East students are quite envious.

Commander Zhang said, ”The way you put it, I indeed feel a bit better. I know a little about East Africa as well, East Africa certainly used to have poor basic conditions, developed entirely from a colony. In comparison, our initial conditions were far better than those of East Africa.”

Wang Hailong: ”There’s still some difference, as colonies vary. Today there are many colonies worldwide, but most haven’t reached East Africa’s level, like Brazil in South America.”

”East Africa’s rise also signifies that the hope for our nation to restore the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties is still great. After all, many East Africans originally came from the Far East. We only began to fall behind in modern times; our ancestors created grand achievements. Therefore, only by achieving national rejuvenation can we honor the spirits of our ancestors.”

The emergence of East Africa serves as an encouragement for the Far East Empire, especially since half of East Africa’s heritage comes from the Far East Empire. From the Far East Empire’s perspective, East Africa is a nation founded by Germans and Chinese.

This indicates that the Chinese are definitely not the ”inferior” ethnic group in the eyes of some Western countries and people. If that were the case, how could East Africa, with half of its population having Far East Empire ancestry, develop so powerfully?

In some sense, the achievements East Africa has made today far surpass those of other countries worldwide, as East Africa’s history is only fifty years old, yet in such a short period of time, it has achieved results that many countries couldn’t accomplish in a lifetime, clearly much more challenging.

As Commander Zhang looked at the East African pedestrians outside the car window, he also agreed, saying, ”Indeed, our wisdom is absolutely on par with Europeans. It’s just that things rise and fall, and everything undergoes cycles of strength and decline. Our nation has experienced dark times during the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and has had glorious phases such as the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the Han and Tang dynasties flourish. Now, as more and more of our people awaken, we will certainly return to the peak.”

Although mixed-race people constitute the majority, there are still pure white and yellow races in certain amounts, so on the streets of Dar es Salaam City, one could see East Africans who looked identical to Far East Empire personnel.

Seeing these familiar faces naturally integrated into East African society with spirit and vitality, Commander Zhang also gained greater confidence in the future of his nation and country.

Wang Hailong said, ”Many Western countries, due to our temporary lagging, label us with various stereotypes. This is not the case in East Africa, where we can learn a lot of useful knowledge. Once we return home, we will apply the knowledge acquired in East Africa to the country’s development.”

”In my view, East Africa’s successful experience is in no way inferior to Japan’s. Although both nations evolved into powerful countries at almost the same time, East Africa’s foundation was even weaker than Japan’s. East Africa and our country have numerous similarities worth emulating.”

Japan during this era greatly influenced the Far East Empire, as seen in the Far East Empire’s study abroad situation, whose student numbers in Japan greatly surpassed those of other countries.

However, the students studying abroad in East Africa are not fond of Japan. On the one hand, historical grievances exist between the two nations; on the other hand, they are clearly influenced by East Africa’s opinion.

East Africa’s depiction of Japan is certainly not favorable, especially considering the territorial dispute over the Ryukyu Islands between the two countries. Japan’s government has continually protested against East Africa’s ”illegal” occupation of the Southern Ryukyu Islands.

As for Wang Hailong’s claim that East Africa’s foundation was weaker than Japan’s, it is subjective. The Japanese Meiji Restoration and East African colonial expansion occurred nearly contemporaneously. While Japan had the established assets accumulated over a thousand years, East Africa freely exploited resources that hadn’t been developed over billions of years on the African Continent.

East Africa’s biggest hindrance during its development was the lack of population infrastructure, whereas Japan was different in this regard. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan already had a substantial population, hence each country’s foundational conditions had their own advantages and disadvantages. However, overall, East Africa certainly had a better stance.

Japan initially had better development conditions than East Africa, but as time went on, after East Africa attracted enough immigrants, it surpassed Japan in many aspects.

Commander Zhang said, ”Japan is undoubtedly a major threat to our nation. However, Japan’s rapid rise in a short period is clearly worth noting. Nowadays, we have a prevailing trend of studying in Japan, among which some individuals are bought by the Japanese nation. Regrettably, the government lacks an understanding of this, which is likely also a case for other countries. Therefore, even while studying abroad in East Africa, do not constantly follow East Africa blindly; you must have your own rational thoughts and reflections.”

Commander Zhang’s long-term experience with Western countries and Easterners tells him that these powers, as well as certain self-important white nations, are full of talk filled with morality yet ruthless, always consuming others without leaving a trace.

Hence, while East Africa maintains a fairly decent relationship with the Far East Empire, one still has to be cautious, as East Africa is merely one among many unyielding mighty countries that are somewhat reasonable.

Naturally, those who once faced East Africa’s exploitation, like Black Slaves, Nanyang natives, the Abyssinia Empire, Portugal, and Boers who were brutally bullied by East Africa, would undoubtedly have scathing criticisms about this perception. No one understands East Africa’s shamelessness and savagery better.