Chapter 533: Dangerous
Let’s not talk about the overseas colonies. Since the Far Eastern Empire sent people to communicate and inspect, East Africa naturally cannot lose its etiquette.
However, Ernst feels that there is nothing worthy of investigation in East Africa. How did East Africa come about? This is difficult for other countries to copy. One of the biggest characteristics is that East Africa still has not got rid of its colonial nature.
East Africa has never been called independent from the beginning to the end. It is a country that evolved directly from a colony. Other independent countries, such as the United States and Brazil, bear the imprint of their former suzerainty, but East Africa does not have a former suzerainty. Of course, the Prince of Hechingen does not count. In fact, after the royal family of Hechingen moved to Africa, the so-called Prince of Hechingen was further weakened.
Of course, the weakening influence does not mean that the Royal Family of Hechingen gives up this right. Anyway, it does not matter how many titles the monarch holds. The size of the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen is considered to be a "marquis" level, so the king of East Africa It is understandable that he also holds the title of Prince of Hechingen, and there may be times when he can be put to use.
For example, there is no burden when communicating with Germany. The status of the Principality of Hechingen is very special in Germany. It is not only one of the German states, but also part of the Kingdom of Prussia. This is very different from other German states, such as Fu The Kingdom of Tenberg is a German state, not part of the Kingdom of Prussia.
The Princely Kingdom of Hechingen is actually at the same level as the Kingdom of East Africa and the Royal Territory of Alaska.
They are all countries ruled by the Hechingen royal family, or the Hechingen line of the Hohenzollern family. Of course, the Hechingen princely kingdom is a nominal rule, and the latter two are actual rules.
So the Kingdom of East Africa is a very strange existence for Germany, or Prussia. Countries are divided into close and distant countries, and the location of East Africa is very intriguing.
But it is correct to win over each other. The two countries are related in terms of culture, history, politics and economy.
"Actually, East Africa is different from most countries in the world. It is a country that evolved from a colony, and it is still evolving and has not finally been formed. For example, we still have a slavery system, and our country has special national conditions. , but external communication is smooth, but it requires one more procedure, and the German region needs to be used as a medium," said Leder, director of the Cultural Bureau of Dar es Salaam City, who came to receive the Far East delegation and these guests.
Leder’s direct introduction to the Far East Mission is not possible. What’s going on? We just came here to take a look, we didn’t think we were here to learn about East Africa!
In fact, the Far Eastern Empire mission did have this little idea before, learning skills from the foreigners to control them! As a late-developing country, East Africa can naturally learn from it.
However, other countries in East Africa will definitely not be able to do this. First of all, East Africa has learned from the Far East in terms of seclusion!
East Africa can be closed off, but the Far East currently does not have this condition. Moreover, the closed country in East Africa can draw nutrients from the German region, while the Far East Empire can only be sucked by other countries.
Of course, after being opened to the country, it is easier to be sucked by the big powers, but it also gradually adapts and grows in the environment of being beaten.
Of course, shutting down the country is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, at any time, policies change according to the situation.
The reason why the Qing government resorted to seclusion was inseparable from the overseas anti-Qing elements. At the same time, the Far Eastern Empire’s thinking model had always been bound by Confucianism, but Confucianism had lost its vitality and was unwilling to accept changes.
Confucianism can naturally adapt to the development of the times. After all, extremist religions such as Christianity can develop new annotations that adapt to the development of capitalism, and even factions such as Latin American liberation theology can emerge.
Confucianism in the Qing Dynasty was like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, without any intention of repentance. Confucianism has been developing and changing, but this development and change stopped abruptly after the Qing Dynasty. If it loses its innovative power, it will naturally embark on the path of decline. However, Confucianism is still unwilling to give way to new ideas. Its status can be said to be forced out, and it even has a tendency to evolve into a religion. It is called "Confucianism", and its morality If you are not worthy of your position, you will be severely punished later.
East Africa does not have this kind of trouble. It can just copy the results of its predecessors. There is no force in East Africa that can compete with the royal family, so the development direction of East Africa is controlled by Ernst.
And Ernst has a strong desire for control. In his opinion, he cannot control the future of East Africa. While he is still energetic, he must develop according to his own wishes.
"Your Excellency Leder, you are so humble. I heard that you Germans are generally more straightforward. Any country can learn from it, so there is no need to belittle yourself. Moreover, your East African development is changing with each passing day. This makes us But I’m very envious.”
Leder was not being modest, he was just telling the truth, so he explained: “East Africa is the same as the United States of America. Both of our countries developed through the slavery system. A large amount of undeveloped land, these two things are not available to you in the Far East, so I am not being modest, but East Africa really has no value for your reference. If you have the time, it is better to go directly to Europe and the Ottomans for inspection. "
Leder sincerely suggested this. East Africa and the United States are countries drawn on a blank sheet of paper, and they do not have intricate interest relationships.
The Far Eastern Empire has a long history, complicated domestic forces, and deep-rooted interest groups. There are only two ways to change it. One is to cut off the flesh from the top to protect itself, or to passively tear down and rebuild.
It's not that Ernst looked down on the Qing government. Their knives would not dare to cut him, or no one was willing to pay.
Just like the greedy monkey in the story: a large nut or fruit is placed in a small, sturdy bottle. The monkey puts his hand in and grabs it, and then he can't take it out. As long as he puts down the nut, Just take out your hand, and the monkey refuses to give up, dragging the big bottle around and then being caught alive.
However, it is undeniable that a country like East Africa with no historical background is extremely fragile, so Ernst established a secluded country. If East Africa is invaded by external cultural ideas, it will directly kneel down. This point is learned from other colonial countries. You can see it.
Ernst's responsibility was to protect East Africa from the wind and rain in his previous life. Only when East Africa was large enough to protect itself could it be allowed to develop independently.
This is just like chips. Without changing the track, if latecomers want to cope with the pressure of first movers, they must first secure the domestic market before they can survive.
Ernst was well aware of how unstable the system in East Africa was. It was even more likely to die violently than the rigid Soviet Union. On the premise of ensuring the rule of the Hechingen royal family, maintaining stability in East Africa, It will take at least fifty years to gradually improve East Africa's political system by identifying and filling the gaps.
This is the so-called cultural self-confidence and institutional self-confidence. If someone believes in this model, only then can we continue to add fresh blood to this model and complete self-innovation.
So East Africa seems very big, but in fact it is quite fragile. Relying only on the army and force cannot maintain the long-term stability of the regime.
What's more, Ernst was not a saint. He always put the interests of the Hechingen royal family first, which put higher demands on the political system of East Africa. If he was not careful, he would be in catastrophe.
(End of this chapter)