Chapter 1046: Chapter 55: End of the "15 Plan

To be precise, the current world order is dominated by seven leading countries, namely the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and East Africa. As for Japan and Spain, although they are also among the great powers, Japan only has significant influence over Korea, and before the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War, it could not be said to have complete control over Korea.

After the Spanish-American War, Spain has virtually no presence, and many countries in America, originally Spanish colonies, now mainly associate with the United Kingdom, United States, and France.

In this diversified world order, East Africa naturally plays a role similar to Korea, with substantial differences from Korea in previous generations, mainly due to its larger scale. Even without participating in international cooperation, East Africa won’t fall too far behind, especially since it remains a vital part of global trade.

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On October 6, 1905, the year-long Russo-Japanese War finally came to an end, leading to significant changes in the world order.

As a result of this war, Russia emerged as the biggest loser. Russia’s sphere of influence in the Far East was substantially reduced, and almost half of its navy assets were ruined compared to pre-war levels. The Baltic Fleet and Far Eastern Fleet were virtually wiped out, leaving only the Black Sea Fleet. Rebuilding the Russian Navy seemed exceedingly difficult for Russia at the moment. Moreover, Russia became a subject of ridicule from other nations, and the humiliation brought by the Russo-Japanese conflict exceeded that of the Crimean War, further intensifying internal conflicts within Russian society...

In summary, the Russo-Japanese War greatly impacted Russia, shaking the very foundations of the Tsarist government’s rule.

On the other hand, although Japan emerged victorious from the war, it experienced little relief, especially due to the overwhelming military expenditures. Moreover, the Tsarist government refused to compensate the Japanese Government, which would have severe negative consequences for Japan’s economy over the coming years.

However, the war’s benefits for Japan were substantial, as it solidified its status among the great powers and positioned itself as one of the leaders of world order, particularly enhancing its political influence in the Far East.

The Russo-Japanese War reverberated through East Africa as well, as prior to the war, the majority of the East African populace favored Russia.

"The end of the Russo-Japanese War instigated the reconstruction of the order in the Far East, with Japan gaining enormous political benefits. However, Russia’s outcome was within our predictions; this demonstrates the consequences of neglecting intelligence work and a haughty attitude. We must learn from this and not underestimate other countries just because our economy and industry developed rapidly during the Five-Year Plan," remarked Merk, the Chief of General Staff of the Defense Army.

Influenced by Ernst, the East African leadership analyzed the war’s developments quite objectively, with extensive monitoring of the Russo-Japanese War. Therefore, Russia’s crushing defeat was utterly understandable to the East African government leadership.

Ernst also stated timely, "The achievements during the Five-Year Plan were far from sufficient to make us overly arrogant. Although our strength among the great powers is certainly mid-to-upper tier, genuine reshaping of the world order necessitates that our level of industrialization at least reach the average of Western European countries."

"In the Russo-Japanese War, Russia’s defeat could also be seen as a success of Japanese industry. Although Japan’s industrial growth rate doesn’t match ours, throughout the Pacific Region, it stands unrivaled. Russia underestimated Japan’s development pace, went unprepared for war, thus stumbled."

"Moreover, Japan’s development reminds us that development is occurring globally, not just in Europe, America, and East Africa. Countries like Argentina, Chile, and Brazil in South America, the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, and many countries in the Far East are accelerating their development."

"Hence, during the Second Five-Year Plan, to address increasingly complex international situations, our primary focus will be national defense and industry development. Simultaneously, issues in our industrial structure are quite serious, with severe imbalance in light industry development. Thus, during the Second Five-Year Plan, defense industry and light industry will be our development priorities."

As the Russo-Japanese War concluded, East Africa’s First Five-Year Plan also drew to a close, having completed all the industrial development objectives set forth.

During the First Five-Year Plan and by the end of the Russo-Japanese War, East Africa’s steel production exceeded five million tons, reaching nearly six million tons, surpassing the goal.

The railway mileage extended to 150,300 kilometers, with the national railways largely covering key regions, achieving the anticipated objectives perfectly.

In 1904, annual automobile production soared to a staggering over one million vehicles, making it the world’s largest. Simultaneously, production scales of tractors and trucks were world-leading, sharply ahead of other countries.

During the same period, the United States, the world’s second-largest automobile producer, had an annual production of only over ten thousand vehicles in 1905, with Europe unable to even surpass the United States.

The fearsome automobile production in East Africa primarily stems from its first-mover advantage and assembly line manufacturing. Of course, to avoid disrupting the normal development of the international automobile industry, most East African-made automobiles were absorbed by the military and domestically, only competing with coastal auto factories and European and American counterparts.

Indeed, simply from the perspective of automobile production volumes, East Africa and overseas are no longer in the same realm, and this discretion is primarily to await the maturation of the American automobile industry before orchestrating a full-scale sweep of the global auto market.

During the First Five-Year Plan, East Africa secured its status as the world’s largest electricity producer, continuing to lead in electrical equipment exports, currently the most profitable industry for East Africa in the international market, generating vast tax revenues for the East African Government.

Similarly, due to the automotive industry development, East Africa also rose to world-leading status in the oil industry. In the early 1990s, East Africa remained beneath the United States, but by the mid-1990s, East Africa surpassed the United States. With the completion of the First Five-Year Plan, East Africa firmly seated itself atop the global rankings, with its petroleum imports far exceeding the combined total of other countries.

Besides these key industries, the heavy industry sector in East Africa experienced remarkable growth during the First Five-Year Plan. Though perhaps not the world’s largest, all major heavy industry sectors occupy top positions, without lagging far behind other countries.

Of course, in emerging industry sectors, excluding the chemical industry, East Africa is largely at the forefront globally. Given time, East Africa’s industrial advantage will grow increasingly prominent, and as traditional industries are fully replaced by emerging ones, even without a Five-Year Plan, East Africa has confidence in becoming the world’s leading industrial nation within the next forty to fifty years.

In comparison, East African light industry output lacks significant achievements, trailing far behind European and American countries. Apart from cotton textiles and food processing, most light industrial product per capita rates fall below the averages of the great powers.

In this scenario, the Second Five-Year Plan in East Africa must prioritize light industry development, realizing the industrial production of most light industrial products.

Advancing light industry is not particularly difficult for the East African Government, as the light industry sector does not face the high technological barriers characteristic of heavy industry. With the maturation of the heavy industry system in East Africa, developing light industry is a mere natural progression.

Additionally, East Africa’s extensive advantage in heavy industry over light is not a consequence of the First Five-Year Plan. Prior, for over thirty years, East Africa adhered to the German development path by prioritizing heavy industry to stimulate domestic industrial development.

Following the establishment of robust heavy industries, East Africa then targeted emerging sectors such as electricity, internal combustion engines, and oil, which ensured investment continued favoring heavy over light industries.

Thus, in a certain sense, East Africa’s light industry development lagged behind heavy industry by nearly thirty years, which is the primary reason light industry remained undeveloped for so long in East Africa.