August 19, 1914.

Black Horn City.

The outbreak of the European war and Germany’s invasion have caused tremendous trouble for Belgium, but as a Belgian colony, the Belgian Congo has also welcomed a rare opportunity.

The Belgian Congo and the prior Belgian colonial Congo Gold had very different circumstances.

Now that Leopold II has already passed away, the colonial rule of Congo has been taken over by the Belgian government, transformed from Leopold II’s money-making territory into a colony undergoing initial development.

On one hand, the Belgian Congo has a relatively small population; the native Black people were almost "wiped out" during Leopold II’s rule. On the other hand, the conditions here are much better than Congo Gold.

Although Congo Gold was much larger than the Congo Free State, it only had one underutilized seaport and was deep inland, making development difficult due to its vast size. For a small European nation like Belgium, the difficulty levels in developing a territory over two million square kilometers versus one of only two hundred thousand square kilometers are completely different.

The discovery and development of local iron ore have elevated the importance Belgium places on the Congo colony to another level, as Belgium is known for its steel industry and is one of Europe’s few steel powers; the development of the Belgian Congo is very significant for Belgium’s steel industry.

Apart from iron ore, other resources in the Congo colony are also very rich, at least compared to Belgium’s homeland. The export of potassium salt alone from the Congo colony can bring significant revenue to the Belgian government.

Mineral exports have become the pillar industry of the Belgian Congo. Given the advanced local industry and its proximity to East Africa, which is Africa’s leading industrial power, the Belgian Congo has always had a market.

Meanwhile, developing agriculture in the Belgian Congo holds great promise. Although Leopold II was cruel, it must be said that during his rule, the blood and sweat of Black people laid the foundation for initial agricultural development here.

Belgium, being a high-latitude country, although quite livable due to the warm and moist Atlantic air currents, cannot develop tropical agriculture.

The Belgian Congo provides this opportunity; it can almost develop all tropical agricultural products to satisfy Belgium’s domestic needs.

This allows Belgium to secure a stable supply of tropical agricultural products like rubber, coffee, and sugar, which it can basically achieve self-sufficiency.

After Leopold II’s death, the Belgian government changed some extreme policies regarding the Belgian Congo, shifting from pure exploitation to making significant investments while encouraging domestic migration to the Congo colony for development.

This was a necessary measure as the Belgian Congo showed immense value, especially with a giant nation like East Africa beside it; the Belgian government certainly can’t solely rely on the East African Government’s assurances.

Therefore, since 1908, within just five years, the Belgian government has successively migrated nearly 130,000 Belgians locally, whereas during Leopold II’s era, the Belgian population in the entire Belgian Congo was less than 30,000.

The influx of Belgians further developed the local economy, allowing for the development of many farms and plantations, while establishing a batch of small and medium enterprises mainly engaged in mining extraction, agricultural product processing, and import-export trade.

Before the outbreak of World War I, the entire Belgian Congo was already thriving, with economic development quality even surpassing that of Argentina.

This also provided a foundation for Belgian domestic migration. Once World War I broke out, Belgium faced wartime troubles at home, leading many Belgians to choose the Belgian Congo to escape the war.

Black Horn City became one of the primary destinations for Belgian refugees, and now Black Horn City’s development was not inferior to most cities within Belgium.

By 1913, the population of Black Horn City had reached 130,000, making it the political and economic center of the entire Belgian Congo, considered a large city even within Belgium, while the total population of the Belgian Congo exceeded 600,000, including over 400,000 Chinese immigrants, nearly 200,000 Belgians, and the rest mostly East Africans.

In Black Horn Port, ships bustle, with many vessels each day carrying goods from the Belgian Congo to Belgium’s mainland or East Africa.

However, at present, Black Horn Port has seen a new change, with many Belgian families carrying luggage seeking refuge in Black Horn City.

At the Black Horn City dock, Herman is leading his wife and his three children, searching for their objective.

"Is it you, Herman?" At this point, a burly man squeezed out of the crowd shouting loudly at De Croo.

That person came forward carrying a wooden sign with De Croo’s name written on it: Herman De Croo.

"Are you Hughes?" De Croo asked somewhat unsure upon seeing the visitor.

"It’s me, brother, what’s wrong? Can’t recognize me? Have I become much darker and stronger?"

Hughes De Croo is indeed Herman’s brother, but Hughes’ current appearance was quite different from Herman’s memory.

In Herman’s memory, Hughes was definitely not considered strong, as in Belgium, Hughes appeared thin and weak due partly to nutritional deficiencies, and his skin was not as dark as it is now; before Hughes left Belgium, he even seemed a bit delicate.

But now, Hughes appeared robust, sporting muscular biceps, complemented by peculiar short sleeves, his arm lines vividly exposed under the blazing sun. Below, he wore shorts and sandals; if not for the familiar voice, Herman wouldn’t have believed this person was his brother.

As if having read his brother’s mind, Hughes said somewhat embarrassedly, "Having arrived in the Belgian Congo, my appearance has indeed changed a lot over the years, mainly due to the environment here being different from back home."

Actually, compared to the homeland, the Belgian Congo is definitely a good place for ordinary Belgians to live, not only due to its climate; specifically, Black Horn City’s climate is quite favorable.

Though located in the tropics and adjacent to the tropical rainforest climatic region, the Benguela current along the coast keeps Black Horn City’s temperature at around twenty degrees, but the sun is somewhat scorching.

And Herman continued to ask, "Your outfit seems peculiar; is this how tropical people dress?"

Herman’s impression of tropics was hot, so he couldn’t accept his brother’s clothing temporarily, but he also noticed that most locals were dressed this way.

Hughes replied, "This is East African short-sleeves and shorts; East Africans normally dress this way, so we do the same. Wearing this in Europe’s summer should be comfortable, but cultural differences mean these clothes currently only trend in East Africa and nearby."

Certainly, Europe and many temperate countries don’t have such outfits, which is also reasonable, as Earth’s temperature nowadays is far from as hot as in Ernst’s previous life, calling to mind the Little Ice Age, which significantly impacted both the Far East region and Europe, where a centuries-long mini ice age occurred.

Thus, in this Era, especially in temperate regions like Europe and East Asia, clothes are generally thicker than in Ernst’s previous life. Of course, East Africa, being tropical and influenced by Ernst, is far more liberal in dress compared to Europe, opting for comfort, which has also influenced East Africa’s neighboring areas.

Given East Africa’s prominence in textile production, East African clothing customs permeate these regions along trade routes; the Belgian Congo is one such area abundant with East African industrial goods. After all, shipping clothes from Belgium would incur high transport costs; conversely, trade with East Africa is quite frequent, and many border trade markets exist where both nations share borders, leading the Belgian Congo’s lifestyle to rapidly adapt to East African customs.

Hughes commented, "Your suit seems rather out of place here; it’s easily identifiable as having just come from Europe. Compared to the homeland, the Belgian Congo has its own cultural and lifestyle habits, many of which resemble East Africa. Once you live here for some time, you’ll probably get used to it."

"Moreover, I must say whether you return to Europe is yet to be decided. I feel this place lacks nothing compared to home, with many opportunities presently; many homeland nobles and merchants are investing heavily here. If it could be developed to Cabinda’s extent, it would undoubtedly rival Europe:"