African Entrepreneurship Record

By comparison, it can be seen that among France’s many colonies in the Indian Ocean, apart from Djibouti, the strategic value is hardly comparable to that of the United Kingdom, and Djibouti is almost inconsequential due to the presence of British Somaliland, Aden Colony, and Egypt.

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Recently, Rhein City has appeared particularly lively, with diplomatic personnel and leaders from various countries frequently entering and exiting Rhine Palace and the East African Government, especially England and France.

A year ago, however, it was a different scene. At that time, Austria and Germany of the Allies were most anxious. Now that the European war situation has changed, they are somewhat slack.

"A year ago, the East Africans were indifferent to us. Now even if they want to join the camp, it’s up to us to consider it repeatedly." said the German diplomat Bulls with an arrogant tone, just after leaving Rhine Palace.

Standing next to him was the Austrian-Hungarian diplomat Brielon, who spoke with slightly more ease: "Mr. Bulls, it’s better not to make rash conclusions. Any change could have a significant impact on the European battlefield. Although the situation we face today is not as cramped as before, we absolutely cannot offend East Africa."

Bulls replied indifferently, "Now that Austria-Hungary has joined the war, it’s equivalent to having one more helper on our side. As long as our three countries work together, we can basically prevent third-party countries from taking advantage."

"Currently, Russia’s second government has already shown a willingness to negotiate peace. Although they have yet to seize power, they exert strong influence among the Russian army and populace."

"Regardless of whether Russia is defeated or peace is negotiated, it means that we will gain a stable rear. Once we digest the spoils from the war against Russia, we will end the predicament of fighting on two fronts."

"East Africa is unlikely to join the Allies. The only concern is the Americans; however, with the Atlantic Ocean between us and them, even if they support England and France from behind, they are unlikely to succeed."

In Bulls’s view, once Russia, the major enemy, is dealt with, the Allies will basically secure victory. After all, the Allies haven’t lost even in a two-on-three scenario before, and now England and France are not a match for the Allies.

Bulls said, "The Ottoman Empire has been amassing strength in recent years, significantly improving military and industrial capabilities; they have imported a lot of weapons and equipment from East Africa, completing their military reforms smoothly."

"Even if they can’t compare to the Great Powers, they possess about eighty to ninety percent of the capability, which equates to three military powers clashing against two military powers."

"As for the Americans, unless they dispatch troops to Europe, but the Americans have weak combat power, they are hardly a threat; their army strength probably can only be compared with the Ottoman Empire."

Whether Allies or other alliances, there is a consensus that the American and East African army strengths are not commendable.

This consensus is essentially arrogance, stemming from Eurocentrism. Nations beyond Europe are wild territories, so how could they possibly understand ’military tactics’ and ’strategy,’ such profound art of warfare?

Actually, it’s not truly the Europeans’ ignorance of the powerful military might of East Africa and the United States, but rather a subconscious behavior.

If prejudices were put aside, Europeans would seriously analyze the military strengths of both the United States and East Africa; on paper, the two nations have considerable data, yet war always carries an element of wishful thinking.

Just like the two camps, both thought before the war that their side could quickly achieve victory and end the war, but the result was quite the opposite, as their pre-war thoughts considered factors most favorable to their nation.

This is similar to football; even fans of weaker teams harbor thoughts of "what if" and "maybe," especially when both sides are equally matched before the conflict.

The Allies and the other alliances initially held such mentality, ultimately propelling this largest-scale war in human history.

Recently, the success of the Allies on the Eastern Front has greatly boosted Bulls’s confidence. Once Russia exits the war, Germany can then transfer elite forces from the Eastern to the Western Front to organize the final battle. In such a context, he cannot foresee how the Allies might lose.

Bulls continued, "Also, it’s better if East Africa doesn’t join the war; once the war is victorious, we won’t need to share the spoils with East Africa."

"Our original intent wasn’t to fight tooth and nail in Europe only for the United States and East Africa to divide territories outside Europe."

"When the war ends, we might consider supporting countries like the Ottoman Empire, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, to balance against both East Africa and the United States."

Listening to Bulls’s boastful words, Brielon did not refute but said, "Controlling Europe means controlling the center of civilization. Once our two countries integrate European hegemony, we will have the ability to suppress the United States and East Africa."

"Of course, the primary task now is to defeat England and France; only by defeating them can we acquire the mantle of world order from their hands."

"Thus, we also need to stabilize East Africa and the United States, preventing them from joining the war. As long as the two countries maintain neutrality, England and France can persist for at most another year."

The victory on the Eastern Front has reshaped the two countries’ confidence towards the war. Although due to war reasons, the social contradictions within the two nations have become quite sharp, under the ’glimmer of victory,’ most people think to persevere just a bit more, good days are coming.

The reason why Bulls and Brielon harbor animosity toward East Africa and the United States is understandable; in diplomatic dealings over the past few years, they often gained little actual benefit from the two countries.

On the contrary, to continue supporting the war, the treasury of both countries has been increasingly depleted, with large amounts of genuine silver flowing to East Africa and the United States.

No one could remain indifferent to this situation; harboring some resentment internally is completely understandable.

Of course, another reason for the change in attitude of the diplomats from the two countries is simple, they have very little leverage to offer East Africa.

Although there is the lure of Indian Ocean hegemony, ultimately it is empty rhetoric, completely lacking in practical significance; after all, Germany and Austria-Hungary hardly have any presence in the Indian Ocean.

Bulls said, "The past two years can be described as a time of frustration unprecedented in my work experience; as a world power, Germany has never had a diplomat like myself kneeling and bowing before other countries."

Brielon could deeply empathize with this; their diplomatic careers in East Africa were naturally quite unsmooth, given that the two countries were consistently seeking favors from East Africa, and couldn’t be assertive in front of East Africa.

They had to accept orders from higher-ups, daily racking their brains to gain support from East Africa.

Brielon said, "Although East Africa claims to be a German country, there are ultimately distinctions from us, so they can’t be entirely considered our own people. Although Hungary has people pulling the strings, the East Africans are distinct from pure-blood Germans both in lineage and appearance."

"Over the years, East Africa has also actively promoted the recognition of Rhine people, and this recognition is similar to the previous distinction between Boer and Dutch, ultimately not aligned with Germany."

The Boer people can be considered a living example; as a new nation, they are essentially Dutch immigrants to South Africa, who are still active in the British South African colonies today.

And the differences between East Africans, Germans, or Austrian people of German descent are obviously greater than the differences between Dutch and Boer people.

Although the Boer people have French, German, British, and other origins, the Netherlands also has immigrants from various European countries, so the difference between the two can be almost negligible.

East Africa is completely different; placing East Africans in the German Region of Europe, one could basically distinguish East Africans from Germans with a glance.