African Entrepreneurship Record

Kaiboer frowned, pretending to be conflicted, even though these territories East Africa wanted were not very important for the Netherlands.

But what worried him wasn’t the land itself; what truly concerned him was East Africa’s insatiability. As the old saying goes, today we cede five cities, tomorrow ten cities.

Now East Africa dares to covet these islands; who can assert that in the future East Africa won’t set its sights on Java Island or Sumatra Island?

Of course, Kaiboer is well aware that the Netherlands simply cannot refuse or offend East Africa at present. No need for East Africa’s mainland to act; the East African Navy from the Lanfang Overseas Province alone can easily change the flag across the entire Dutch East Indies.

Thus, Kaiboer hesitantly said, "Minister Frier, your country’s demands truly put us in a difficult position!"

"Although these islands are not large, each is a top strategic location. I dare not make a unilateral decision to give them to East Africa without justification."

Frier said, "Naturally, we won’t make things difficult for you. In this acquisition of these islands, we are willing to offer a high price of ten million Rhine Shields. Of course, unlike East Kalimantan, this time we are purchasing some ownership of these islands outright."

And Kaiboer pondered internally; ten million Rhine Shields is certainly not insignificant, because among these dozen islands, the only one of value is the largest, Belitung Island.

And the total area of these islands East Africa is purchasing does not exceed ten thousand square kilometers, among which Belitung Island alone occupies over four thousand square kilometers.

While the Dutch East Indies’ total area, even after losing the land of Kalimantan Island, still exceeds more than one million square kilometers.

Therefore, what East Africa is demanding is indeed like a drop in the ocean for the Netherlands, and this shouldn’t impact his political reputation domestically.

Moreover, the islands East Africa is purchasing, save for a few, are mostly uninhabited zones, even lacking soil to sustain a large population.

Considering all factors, Kaiboer deemed the transaction worthwhile.

Additionally, even if they didn’t proceed with this deal, East Africa might directly buy forcibly or even simply seize the entire Dutch East Indies, leading to a true disaster for his political career.

Although Kaiboer had made his final decision internally, he didn’t show it outwardly and told Frier, "Your Excellency, I need to discuss this matter with the Queen, the Cabinet, and Parliament, so I can’t give you an answer just yet. Please give me a few days."

Frier, naturally not concerned about whether this "deal" would go through, replied to Kaiboer, "Of course, I can stay here for five days. I hope your government and Prime Minister can make a decision soon, as I will return to East Africa regardless in five days."

This statement carried a slight underlying threat, straightforwardly implying that if the Dutch government didn’t provide an answer within five days, East Africa would bypass negotiations with them.

At that time, the fate of the Dutch East Indies would not be up to the Netherlands but East Africa’s plans.

This was clearly a threat, and warning bells rang in Kaiboer’s mind as he respectfully said, "Don’t worry, Your Excellency, within the next few days, we will certainly provide your country with a satisfactory response."

Kaiboer then sent off Frier, this troublemaker, from his residence and instructed his butler, "Prepare the car; I need to report this matter to Her Majesty the Queen at the palace."

That same day, Kaiboer reported the situation to Queen Wilhelmina.

Queen Wilhelmina asked, "What characteristics do these islands East Africa wants have, and what is their purpose?"

Kaiboer answered, "Your Majesty, the East Africans’ purpose is clear. The islands they’re coveting are tightly linked to maritime routes, pertaining to the Sunda Strait, Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait, and other major transport passages."

"Take for example, Pantai Island, Sangiang Island, Belitung Island, and Subi Island. These islands, aligned, create a route from East Africa through to the East Indies, extending to the South Sea and finally reaching the Far East Empire."

"So it’s clear that East Africa’s move is to strengthen their influence in the South Sea Region and conduct strategic deployments."

Queen Wilhelmina said, "According to your assessment, shouldn’t these regions be strategic locations, quite important?"

Kaiboer shook his head and said, "They are indeed strategic locations, but Your Majesty, these islands are actually only useful to a global great power like East Africa."

"East Africa clearly has ambitions for world domination, especially over maritime supremacy, and the South Sea Region is one they highly prioritize."

"Just recently, East Africa forcibly annexed nearly fifty thousand square kilometers of land from the Siamese in the Kra Isthmus."

"And combining recent activities by East Africa in the South Sea Region, it’s astonishing to discover that from the 1870s to now, a mere few decades, East Africa has become an unignorable great power in the South Sea Region. Their colony size there is second only to our own and the United Kingdom, even exceeding France."

Queen Wilhelmina asked, "But the lands obtained by East Africa shouldn’t be of high value, right?"

Prime Minister Kaiboer agreed, "Indeed so, since East Africa, although having orchestrated the South Sea Region’s layout for decades, ultimately came later. Regions like Siam, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, and wealthy areas we control like Java Island have long been divided up."

"However, East Africa’s current colonial potential is not to be underestimated. Although not effectively developed, the area is large enough."

"Especially East Kalimantan and Mindanao Island, these two areas in the South Sea Region have relatively decent conditions."

"I believe East Africa is wise in targeting these areas first, as the African Continent once was disregarded by European nations, yet the Hohenzollern Family seized the opportunity, creating the monster of East Africa on that continent."

"Hence, even though East Africa’s South Sea colonies are not highly developed now, no one can know if in the future they will become like East Africa’s mainland."

Queen Wilhelmina also sighed, "The rise of East Africa is indeed a legendary history, but this audacity is unique to the Rhein Empire’s royal family. We certainly wouldn’t emulate Emperor Ernst’s daring move to introduce millions of immigrants from the Far East Empire."

"Without such a large initial population, developing East Africa wasn’t possible. When the Netherlands once dominated the world, we suffered from a small population and country size. Otherwise, today’s world might still be under our control!"

As the former illustrious "Sea Carriage Driver," the old maritime overlord, now overtaken by a newcomer like East Africa, it indeed leaves the monarch and minister feeling wistful.

Of course, now is not the time to reminisce about the Netherlands’ former glory. Kaiboer shifted the topic to territorial issues, saying, "East Africa clearly intends to bypass the Malacca Strait under British control, although they’ve acquired the Kra Isthmus, which is merely a transit passage, more strategic than economic in value."

"So they’re eyeing the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait as two alternative routes. As for Makassar Strait, since East Africa controls East Kalimantan, this route is entirely within their surveillance."

Makassar Strait lies between Kalimantan Island and Makassar Island, so as long as East Africa controls East Kalimantan, it implies Makassar Strait is a fully accessible corridor for them. And the Balambangan Islands East Africa requests is merely to further strengthen their control over this area.

In reality, even if the Netherlands controls parts of Makassar Island, it cannot pose any threat to East Africa.

Kaiboer continued, "Regarding more distant locations, Palau Island, formerly a German colony, is now East African territory, serving as East Africa’s fifth route to the Far East."