Chapter 441 Returning Home
After not staying long in Vienna, Ernst and his party will return to East Africa for the next show. This trip to Europe can be considered a successful conclusion.
Ernst gained a lot from this trip to Europe. The Hechingen Consortium acquired 240 German companies, including many banks and large enterprises. At the same time, East Africa plans to introduce 40 large factories of various types. Three, mainly engaged in steel, coal, copper ore smelting and processing, non-ferrous metal smelting, and shipbuilding.
At the same time, a large amount of equipment was purchased to prepare for technological updates and iterations of existing enterprises and factories in East Africa to improve productivity levels. In addition, East Africa and Germany and Austria have finalized nearly one million tons of steel orders to ensure the construction of the East African railway. The orders from East Africa have almost single-handedly saved the steel industries of Germany and Austria.
In fact, the economic crisis in Germany and Austria, at least for South Germany and Austria, is not as serious as in the past. Both places are the most industrially developed regions in each country, and the main problem they face is agricultural overpopulation.
To solve the problem of agricultural overpopulation, East Africa naturally takes action, so this problem no longer exists. The unemployment rate in the two places has remained at a low level. Although the economic crisis has led to overcapacity, due to the outflow of people, the Ordinary people haven't had much impact. Why don't they just go to East Africa when they lose their jobs? There is always a way out.
The steel consumption in the East African Railway Plan is more than 8 million tons, of which nearly 2 million tons will be provided by Europe. East Africa can then produce it itself and purchase it.
Taking advantage of this economic crisis, Ernst plans to increase the annual steel production in East Africa to at least 600,000 tons next year, mainly to increase the development of the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone.
The Lake Malawi Industrial Zone is currently the only large-scale coal and iron-producing area in East Africa that is capable of large-scale development. Zimbabwe must wait for the completion of railway construction, so it will take at least a few years.
Port of Trieste.
"Our own ironclad ship in East Africa!" Archduke Ferdinand said to his family with some pride. When I came here, I was still on a sailing battleship. When I went back, it was a shotgun exchange for a cannon.
The eyes of the Austro-Hungarian Navy next to them were full of helplessness and envy.
“Alas, as a world power, we may not even be able to compare with Africa now. In the future, the East African navy may surpass us.”
“Isn’t it just an iron-clad ship? Although this iron-clad ship It's indeed better than our Lisa Powerful, but also made by us in Austria, it is the essence of the Austrian shipbuilding industry.”
“I hope so! If the Imperial Parliament does not increase military spending, the future of the Imperial Navy can only be said to be bleak.”
What the Austro-Hungarian Navy said was actually an exaggeration. It was mainly a complaint that the Empire did not pay attention to the navy. The East African Navy still has a long way to go!
"Okay, father-in-law, let's set off quickly!" Ernst urged from the side.
As the East African flag was raised on the Archduke Ferdinand, the ownership of this ironclad ship was made clear for the first time.
However, Archduke Ferdinand still has some unfinished ideas: "It would be perfect if there were a few more ships!"
The Archduke Ferdinand is considered a giant in the Mediterranean, so The East African fleet, headed by the ironclad Archduke Ferdinand, was indeed somewhat attractive on its return journey, and attracted the attention of the British when passing through the Suez Canal.
"Is this ship built by Austria the year before last?"
"It seems that we guessed wrong at the beginning. This ironclad ship was not prepared for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. It was planned to be sold to East Africans.”
Because of being stationed on the Suez Canal. The British army here know the East African Kingdom fairly well. In addition to British ships and Austro-Hungarian ships, the most common ones using the Suez Canal are East African ships.
"This armored ship is considered top-notch in other countries, but it's just that." The British Empire is still very confident.
“However, for a colony of the East African Kingdom, it is a bit unreasonable to buy such a big ship.” “Haha, the commander-in-chief of the East African Navy is Archduke Ferdinand, who was once the emperor of Mexico, and there are people behind the East African Kingdom. The Bank of Hechingen supports it, so the issue should not simply be considered a colony, but financial resources. India can also afford such a warship, but under the protection of the Royal Navy, they do not need to do so. "
“Speaking of Hechingen, I actually want to know how much money the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company makes every year. They travel back and forth between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean all year round, and most of their cargo is agricultural products. and minerals, is it really profitable to engage in plantation in Africa? ”
“It is definitely profitable, but the risks of plantation are also very high. Most people are not qualified to play this high-end game, and the initial investment is very high. Damn it, if you can't make short-term profits, capital won't be interested. After all, there are too many businesses that can make money quickly."
"Haha, you are talking about stocks! All the stocks I bought last year have plummeted. , Fortunately, I didn’t play too much..."
While the British were talking, the East African fleet had drifted past and headed towards the Red Sea.
Ernst introduced the situation in East Africa to Karina, mainly to refute rumors.
"Karina, East Africa is actually not as deserted as the rumors say. At least the area we live in is not much different from Europe."
"Then there are really cannibals in East Africa. Tribe? "
"This... I can only say that it did exist before, but it no longer exists. "
The existence of cannibal tribes is not a rumor. A primitive tribal society like Africa, It cannot be judged by the moral standards of the current era.
"Then have you seen cannibals?"
"Of course it's impossible. I haven't been to East Africa for long, so how could I possibly have seen cannibals? These are all what I saw from the collected information. "
Ernst has not encountered cannibals, but the East African soldiers who expanded inland have encountered them, and there have been many battles.
“So is there malaria in East Africa?”
“You still know about malaria!”
"My grandmother told me. She said that Africa is full of plagues. If they had known that the Hechingen royal family was going to move to Africa, they would never have picked a man as their grandson-in-law."
"This is pure slander. East Africa The environment is extremely good. If you don’t believe it, you can ask your parents. They have lived in East Africa for a long time. I dare not say anything else. East Africa is definitely not as dangerous as the rumors in Europe.”
Princess Charlotte laughed. He said: "East Africa is indeed not dangerous, but the inland areas are hard to say. The coast is very good."
Ernst: "Not only the coast, more people can improve the living environment, so take As for the Far East, there is a place in the Far East called Lingnan. In ancient times, it was a place specially used to exile criminals. In the past, the environment there was similar to Africa and not suitable for living. However, with the development of generations, it is now one of the densely populated areas in the Far East. 1. After nearly ten years of development and transformation, we in East Africa have actually achieved similar results.”
This is not because East Africa is very capable, but that the environment in East Africa is definitely easier to transform than in Lingnan. First of all. The reason is that the terrain of East Africa is flat and transportation is convenient. The second reason is that grasslands are easier to develop than forests. The third reason is that human productivity levels have undergone earth-shaking changes due to the industrial revolution, and the ability to transform nature has been greatly enhanced. Finally, it is Ernst’s wise and heroic spirit. Guiding role, many mature experiences and theories have greatly prevented East Africa from taking detours.
(End of this chapter)