Chapter 457 Planting the flag and occupying the land
After taking over the Dongwanlu government, the Heixingen consortium subsequently entered the Lanfang Republic. After leaving more than 300 armed forces in the Lanfang Republic, Ferdinand The Archduke headed east with his fleet.
These three hundred armed men did not stop in Dongwanlu, but continued to Pontianak, a city in the Republic of Lanfang in the south.
Dongwanlu is built on the west bank of the Wanlu River, a tributary on the right bank of the Kunjiang River (Kapuas River), while Pontianak is located at the outlet of the Kunjiang River. It is an excellent port and is also the capital of Kalimantan. The largest city on the island, residents are mainly Chinese.
The straight-line distance between Dongwanlu and Pontianak is about 20 to 30 kilometers, so there are still differences between the two cities. Dongwanlu became the capital because of the gold mines. This is where the Lanfang Kingdom (company) made its fortune. place.
Relying on convenient transportation conditions, Pontianak has developed into the most economically outstanding city in the entire Kalimantan Island. Here, the East African Armed Forces have established contact with the Zanzibar Chamber of Commerce.
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"Is Balabac Island ahead? It seems to be an uninhabited area similar to Sumatra! Find a place to dock." Archduke Ferdinand looked at Balabac with a telescope Buck Island environment.
Logically speaking, Balabac Island should belong to the Spanish Philippine Colony, guarding the Balabac Strait, with Kalimantan Island to the west and the Philippine Islands to the east.
However, East Africa does not recognize this default territory, because Balabac Island is really an uninhabited area as Ferdinand said.
In the previous life of the 21st century, the total population of Balabac Island was just over 15,000, and its main products were shells and coconuts. Now, except for the sparse indigenous tribes, there are really no people on Balabac Island.
This island has no economic value at all, and its strategic position cannot be reflected at all. After all, Kalimantan and the Philippine Islands are both quite backward areas.
The strategic value of Balabac Island cannot be realized until later generations of Americans set up military bases here. In fact, the purpose of setting up military bases by the United States is to cause trouble for the Far Eastern powers in the South China Sea. Of course, There are also reasons for the good economic development of Southeast Asia in later generations, which gave Southeast Asia a certain position in the world economic map, at least better than Africa.
Archduke Ferdinand took the fleet to find a place where they could land, and prepared to spend the night here. He conveniently planted the East African flag on the beach.
“From today on, this is the territory of our East African Kingdom!”
In this way, the Kingdom of East Africa had its first colony in the Southeast Asian region. In fact, it was wrong to call it a colony. There were not even a few people on Balabac Island. To colonize, you must have people to colonize.
In the following days, Archduke Ferdinand led the navy to build a simple military fortress at the landing site, leaving twenty or thirty people and some supplies to prepare to start heading north.
It won’t work if we don’t leave supplies. Balabac Island has no economic foundation at all. The entire island is a tropical rain forest. We can’t let the people left behind just eat coconuts to satisfy their hunger.
Occupying Balabac Island is so unpretentious. There are many unmanned lands like this in the Pacific. In the previous life, Germany planted its flag on uninhabited islands in the Pacific like East Africa and acquired a large number of overseas colonies. , such as Nauru Island in the German Marshall Islands Protected Area in its previous life.
Ernst knew that Nauru was rich in guano resources, but the destination of the East African Navy’s first voyage was not there. The East African Navy had a lot of lessons to make up for, so he first practiced on Balabac Island. .
It is said that East Africa cannot bite off more than it can chew. East Africa does not have the ability to enclose large-scale islands in the Pacific. Take Balabac Island, for example, which is part of the Palawan Islands in the Philippine Islands.
In later generations, this place should belong to the Philippines, which is now the Spanish East Indies, but just claiming it is of no use. I am afraid the Spanish will have to wait until they discover the Germans on Balabac Island. It’s the end of the year, because the population of these islands is too sparse. Finding the Germans on Balabac Island is probably as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, and the Spaniards won’t care if they find it. Balabac Island has nothing but rainforest.
Just like Nauru Island, it was the British who discovered Nauru Island, but it was not until 1888 that Germany classified Nauru Island as its own colony from a pile of scraps. At that time, no one knew about the islands on the island. The value of guano (phosphate), without guano, Nauru Island would probably remain unknown. There is not even guano on Balabac Island, so what is the point of East Africa occupying Balabac Island? In addition to training the navy, the most important thing is to use this place as a springboard. To the east is Mindanao Island in the Philippines, to the north is Palawan Island, to the west is Kalimantan Island, to the northwest is the South China Sea, and to the northwest of Balabac Island is the Far East The empire is a bunch of islands in the South China Sea.
“The supplies left behind are enough for you to stay here for three months. When we arrive in Zhuhai, we will send messages to the country. Save the ammunition in case of encounter. It’s better for the savages to be prepared.”
Savages are real savages. There are also savages in the Congo rainforest in East Africa. They are different from ordinary indigenous people. No matter how backward the indigenous people are, they still have tribal civilizations. The savages cannot even join the tribes.
“At this location, if you want to explore the interior of the island, it’s best to go together. However, don’t go deep unless there is a serious situation. There are generally swamps or dangerous creatures in the rainforest area, although I don’t know if there are any on Barabala Island. , it’s better to be careful.”
Before boarding the ship, Archduke Ferdinand carefully told the soldiers who were left behind that this was indeed a difficult task.
The difficulty of survival in the tropical rainforest is probably only slightly higher than that in northern Siberia. Fortunately, Balabac Island is not large, otherwise the traffic problem alone would be enough to make people's scalp numb.
The difference between rainforests and ordinary forests is the deep accumulation of water. This is also an important reason why rainforests are difficult to develop. After all, it is the rainy season all year round, and it can rain at any time. Even setting fire to the mountains will not work. .
The situation on Balabac Island is better, it is smaller, and it is easier to discharge rainwater into the sea. If it is an island as big as Papua New Guinea, it will produce large-scale wetland swamps.
In fact, this can be seen from the island of Kalimantan next door, but Kalimantan still has a relatively large population and a higher level of civilization.
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After eight days, Archduke Ferdinand finally arrived at the Zhuhai port area of the Far Eastern Empire with his fleet. Archduke Ferdinand finally had the opportunity to see the world for himself. It is the largest ancient civilization in the world.
“The agriculture in the Far East is very developed, and the urban population is similar to that of Europe. If you consider its area and population, then this country’s potential is indeed too great.”
Archduke Ferdinand made a relatively high evaluation when he first arrived in the Far East, but there was one thing that really made him uncomfortable, and that was the strange hair accessories of the Far East Empire.
"Your Excellency, there is no need to be surprised. The Far Eastern Empire has a long history, but our understanding of the Far Eastern Empire in the West only stops at the stereotype of the Qing dynasty. In fact, it can be seen from the ancient paintings of the Far East. They didn't have this hairstyle more than two hundred years ago."
"I know this. There are many Far Eastern paintings in Ernst's collection, but one can only feel it if one goes deep into the environment. , I have seen their form from books before. But after coming to the Far East, I found that this experience can only be imagined but cannot be expressed in words.”
Archduke Ferdinand’s feeling can only be described by the word “weird”, without any derogatory meaning, for men in East Africa. The most popular hairstyle is the buzzcut, so apart from skin color, Ferdinand feels that the East Asian immigrants in East Africa are not much different from those in Europe, and they appear to be very energetic. However, the Far Eastern Empire gives him the impression of malnutrition, sallow complexion, and thinness, even worse than those in East Africa. Black people have mental states.
This is for sure. Before the German colonization, black people lived on rich natural resources and had no worries. They hunted when they were hungry, picked wild fruits, and could also engage in activities and dance. , drawing tattoo.
With rich meat supplements, good food, good sleep, and no worries, can your mental state be bad? On the contrary, after the Germans arrived, his mental state declined rapidly.
(End of this chapter)