African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 677 - 365 Hidden Internal Crisis

"The deep underlying reason for the agreement between Germany and France this time lies in France's increasing focus on Southeast Asia over the past few years. France has gained a significant advantage in Vietnam and Cambodia, essentially establishing the core of its colonial presence in the Far East."

"In 1883, France had already expanded the scope of its Far East colonies to near the Beibu Gulf of the Far East Empire, with the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam having completely become a protectorate of a major power."

"In Africa, France's biggest progress is the northern expansion of the coastal colony in Gabon, annexing the western Oren Kingdom (a former kingdom in central Gabon), while the westward and southward paths are blocked by Belgium's Congo colony."

"Germany also has certain advances in Africa, primarily in the Bam Kingdom in the Gulf of Guinea (part of German Cameroon), which is adjacent to the Spanish Guinea colony, with the British Bonny colony to the west."

From these points, it can be seen that France cannot exert full force in West Africa, while Germany's colonial endeavors survive in the cracks.

There are many means of colonization, and Germany's colonial policy is conservative. In contrast, East Africa is radical, and from the beginning, it was not 'colonialism' but rather the 'overseas nation-building' enterprise driven by the Heixinggen royal family.

The two differ greatly in nature. Colonization is where the industrial and commercial capital of various countries seeks a reservoir to serve the homeland's interests, seek immense profits from the colonies, and promote domestic development, with the homeland always being the core.

However, the Heixinggen royal family did not have a 'homeland core' from the beginning, because before Ernst's transition, the Heixinggen Principality had already effectively been integrated into Prussia. The Heixinggen royal family, without a 'homeland', was almost indistinguishable from the ordinary nobility prevalent in Europe, having almost no advantage other than a network of connections, which itself required strength to consolidate. Losing their 'fief', the Heixinggen royal family's political value drastically diminished, and they were 'relatively poor'. This was tolerable for one generation, but would only weaken in the subsequent ones.

This is the fundamental reason Ernst vigorously promoted 'overseas nation-building'. In playing fancy on the European continent, they would only transform into the wandering 'capital' Jews became. With every country blocking them, the majority of wealth accumulated by Jews over generations was plundered, and it could even be said that the current state of Jews is that of 'chickens to be plucked' cultivated by Europe.

Thus, the financial path was never Ernst's ultimate goal. Wealth can solve a significant portion of problems at any time, but power is the foundation of the Heixinggen royal family's standing.

In Europe, the Heixinggen royal family transformed from 'fief nobles' into a noble family vassal to the Kingdom of Prussia. This effectively represents a decline in the importance of the Heixinggen royal family, implying that however it develops in Germany, the ceiling is set, and it can never surpass the Prussian royal family, especially with the sparse population of the Heixinggen royal family, making political development in Europe destined to be unsmooth, which was very apparent before the Heixinggen royal family expanded into Africa.

After establishing the East African Kingdom, the Heixinggen royal family directly ascended to leaders of significant political entities worldwide. Even if many European countries hold prejudice against African countries' identities, it does not change the facts of East African Kingdom's existence and development.

This is the development strategy of the Heixinggen royal family. Actually, Jews have a similar strategy, though Jews never had the concept of 'self-reliance,' but instead continued the 'parasitic' tradition. In Europe, unable to find a way out, Jews increasingly focused their efforts on the newly emergent, completely capitalist nation of the United States.

Currently, German colonization is still primarily driven by civil forces. Although Bismarck convened the Berlin Conference, there was public motivation, though it was not as intensely historical.

Because now Germany has a better option, which is the 'Greater German Economic Circle' emerging from German industry and commerce.

The so-called Greater German Economic Circle is highly targeted, essentially the 'fat piece' of East Africa. East Africa's potential has already been demonstrated, and simultaneously, to develop economically, East Africa exports large quantities of food, minerals, and other raw materials, possessing a market consumption capacity stronger than most outside Europe and America, and is highly attractive to any country in the world.

The rise of this idea in Germany is understandable, though not the outcome the Heixinggen royal family wishes to see. This is also why East Africa sent Sivert, who has Chinese blood, to attend the Berlin Conference.

This also reflects a characteristic of East Africa's immigration policy in maintaining the Heixinggen royal family's rule, which is that the vast group of Far East immigrants is the most steadfast supporter of the Heixinggen royal family.

If East Africa were populated entirely by German immigrants, the Greater German Economic Circle could become a reality, as attracting Germans could allow complete manipulation of East Africa's politics, economics, and military, side-lining the Heixinggen royal family, turning East Africa into an economic colony.

This is a societal issue. Just like in America, where so many people harbor no notion of nation or home, the issue in East Africa is more pronounced than in America. America now has a century-long history, while East Africa only over twenty years.

Also, while Americans do not get along with the British, German settlers in East Africa do not have such feelings toward Germany, so East Africa must vigilantly guard this issue.

Actually, not only does East Africa oppose the 'Greater German Economic Circle', but the Austro-Hungarian Empire also does not agree with this concept. Ultimately it is a question of dominance; if East Africa leads, then naturally it would agree; however, conversely, Germany and Austria would surely not agree either.

Of course, the 'Greater German Economic Circle' is merely the one-sided wishful thinking of some civil groups. Although the German government also hopes for such, it knows this is unachievable. The Greater German plan (Deutsch-Austrian merger) is still possible, but merging East Germany is utterly impossible.

Firstly, East Africa has already formed its own systematic interest group, possessing an autonomous national consciousness. This interest group is separate from the European noble system, and apart from the Heixinggen royal family, there is no way to network with the European aristocratic groups.

Of course, at the current stage, the main issue is that European nobility won't recognize the noble system of East Africa, just as Europe does not recognize Russia as part of Europe; it's the same reasoning. Europe's demonization of Africa has lasted at least several centuries, and prejudices of various kinds can't be shed from East Africa as an African country.

However, Ernst does not care much about it; should such a backward entity as the nobility be eliminated, Ernst wouldn't mind. As for the East African nobility, it's entirely due to the Heixinggen royal family being a traditional feudal monarchy that enfeoffment of nobility is a necessary means of governance.

Moreover, it doesn't matter that Europeans do not acknowledge it. From the historical perspective of the previous life, whether European nobility can even be retained is a question. Not to mention now, where France has again become a republic. Although the nobility still exists, the Republican Faction's power is steadily growing; eventually, the nobility will become just a title, even unable to retain that.

Someone like Ernst, who knows that absolute monarchy will eventually be phased out, naturally won't go against the tide of history unless the Heixinggen royal family wishes to inherit the fate of the Tsarist Russian royal family from the previous life.

Currently, though, East Africa suits the monarchy system, and no other systems would work. However, with economic development and structural changes, the royal family must willingly compromise in the future to seek other benefits, ensuring the continuity of the Heixinggen royal family.

Actually, the biggest crisis for the East African nation is the internal crisis, where everything is highly unstable from top to bottom. A wrong path would cause the collapse of over a decade of Ernst's effort. Currently, Ernst's goal is to ensure that East Africa, as a nation, bets on the correct major direction and subsequently mends the rough national system of East Africa continually. This process would require at least fifty to sixty years, ultimately allowing various societal sides to merge and compromise, for East Africa to mature as a nation.

If a nation is immature, it would frequently undergo military coups and wars and experience political instability, just like African nations did in the previous life.

Therefore, East Africa's path remains long, especially during the 19th to the 20th century, a period of strong international upheaval. Only by maintaining national resilience can East Africa compete with other countries and become the ultimate victor.