African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1364: Chapter 63: Stirring Up Trouble

February 12, 1919.

It was a rather uneventful morning, but in the capitals of European countries like London, Paris, and Berlin, a newspaper article from overseas began to spread across Europe and beyond.

Though the war on the front lines remained fierce, with tens of millions of soldiers fighting, many regions of the warring countries—especially the capitals—were still quite safe overall. Aside from Paris being relatively close to the front lines, London, Berlin, and Vienna were virtually unaffected by the war.

London.

”Green, what’s the news today?” London resident Belton arrived at the kiosk as usual to order the day’s new paper.

The kiosk owner, Green, held up a newspaper and said, ”Mr. Belton, today’s edition of the Rhine Society’s paper, would you like to get one? It’s arguably the most important news today.”

”Rhine Society?” Belton asked, puzzled, ”Is this a German newspaper?”

No wonder Belton thought so; the word ”Rhine” is generally associated with Germany, although at the beginning of this century a Rhein Empire emerged in Africa, while Germany also has the Rhine River and the Rhine region.

Shaking his head in denial, Green said, ”Of course not. If it were a German paper, the police would trouble me, since Germany is our enemy now. I wouldn’t dare risk being charged with illegal propaganda.”

”As for the Rhine Society, actually you should know, it’s the official paper of the East African Government, but it has limited circulation in Europe and relatively minimal influence, so it’s quite normal that you haven’t heard of it before.”

Upon realizing the newspaper was from East Africa, Belton seemed to think of something, his breath becoming somewhat hurried as he said, ”Could East Africa be planning to join the Allies?”

No wonder Belton thought so; in today’s European war, it can essentially be distinguished between German and non-German. The Allies are either German countries or nations with a profound German influence, and East Africa is indeed the largest German country in the world.

Now, with the war reaching this point, even the United States has long since joined; it makes sense for East Africa to step in now. The European conflict has developed to the stage where nearly every country’s cards have been played; it’s time for East Africa to take action.

Green, startled by Belton’s assumption, said to him, ”That’s not the case, Mr. Belton. Although your thought isn’t unreasonable, today’s news will overturn your previous understanding; we shouldn’t perceive East Africa as entirely villainous.”

Due to long-standing negative portrayals by the British government, East Africa is not seen as virtuous in the eyes of the British, resulting in significant animosity among the British populace towards East Africa.

Pointing to the headline on the Rhine Society newspaper, Green said, ”East Africa’s official announcement is the latest news; they’re calling for an end to this damn war. This is the first good news we’ve heard this year.”

Belton cynically replied, ”East Africans calling for a halt to the war! It’s almost like an April Fool’s joke. From the outbreak of war until now, it has already been five years, and the East African government has been playing deaf and dumb all along.”

”With the escalation of the war, we and the Allies have grown to become sworn enemies. A random news release from them means little now.”

”If East Africa or the United States had called for an end to the war in 1914 or even before 1916, it might have been feasible. Halting the war now—is the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of soldiers’ lives on the front lines in vain?”

Among the belligerents, the United Kingdom’s losses were minimal. Thanks to the English Channel, the war could not spread to British soil, although the United Kingdom had deployed nearly ten million troops to fight on the Eurasian mainland, including substantial numbers of colonial troops, with fewer than a million British soldiers killed.

Of course, this loss is smaller only in comparison to other warring nations. To support the war, large parts of France turned barren, Germany fought on two fronts with significant casualties, and Austria-Hungary suffered greatly in the initial phases, especially in Eastern Hungary, which even became a battleground. As for Russia, it was the most tragic, with tens of millions of military and civilian casualties, leading to regime collapse, territorial concessions, reparations, and an impending civil war.

Green said, ”Mr. Belton, you don’t have to be so pessimistic. After reading the East African paper, I think there is some merit to what they say. In today’s war-torn Europe, all countries face various challenges, particularly whether it’s necessary to continue investing resources and lives in this uncertain war.”

”Currently, nearly one-tenth of our population is engaged in the war, and this isn’t even the worst of it. The worst-case scenario is the war’s trajectory doesn’t align with the Empire’s expectations. Last month, the Empire suffered successive defeats on the southern front, with no visible decline in the Allies’ fighting capabilities.”

For the British or citizens of every warring nation, the war has already eroded their previous enthusiasm.

Prior to the outbreak, under the manipulation of capital opinion, citizens supported warfare against other countries, becoming accomplices to war, but the backlash came quickly.

All of Europe, counting from 1914, is now in the fifth year of war. From a historical perspective, five years is merely a fleeting moment, but it is enough to alter one’s entire life.