Chapter 1033 The End of the First Five-Year Plan
To be precise, the current world structure is dominated by the top seven countries, namely the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and East Africa. As for Japan and Spain, although they are also among the great powers, Japan is only It has great influence on North Korea, and it cannot be said to fully control North Korea before the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
Spain basically had no sense of presence after the Spanish-American War. Although many countries in the Americas were originally Spanish colonies, they are now basically mixed with Britain, the United States, and France.
In this diversified world structure, the North Korean model in East Africa can naturally be played. Moreover, there is an essential difference between East Africa and North Korea in the previous life. That is, East Africa is large in size. Even if it does not participate in international cooperation, it will not be much different. What's more, East Africa is also an important link in world trade.
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October 6, 1905, the year-long Russo-Japanese War finally came to an end, and the world pattern also underwent major changes.
Through this war, Russia became the biggest loser. Russia's sphere of influence in the Far East shrank significantly. The Russian Navy lost almost half of its assets compared with before the war. The Baltic Fleet and the Far East Fleet were basically wiped out, which meant that the Russian Navy was completely wiped out. At that time, only the Black Sea Fleet was left in the Russian Navy. As for rebuilding the Russian Navy, it is very difficult for Russia today. At the same time, Russia has also become the object of ridicule by other countries in the world. Japan and Russia caused more intense humiliation to Russia than the Crimean War. Russia Conflicts within society have intensified again...
In short, the Russo-Japanese War had a great impact on Russia, and it can be said to have shaken the foundation of the Tsarist government.
On the other hand, although Japan won the war, it was not easy, especially because military expenditures were too large, and the Russian government refused to pay reparations to the Japanese government, which will have a serious negative impact on the Japanese economy in the next few years.
Of course, the advantage is that with this war, Japan has officially clarified its status as a great power and become one of the leaders of the world order, especially its political influence in the Far East.
The Russo-Japanese War also had a relatively large shock to East Africa, because before the war, most people in East Africa were relatively optimistic about Russia.
"The end of the Russo-Japanese War triggered the reconstruction of order in the Far East. Japan's political gains were huge. However, it was within our expectations that Russia would achieve this result. This is the result of despising intelligence work and having an arrogant attitude. , we must also take a warning and not underestimate other countries just because of the rapid economic and industrial development during the First Five-Year Plan period,” said Merk, Chief of Staff of the Defense Forces.
Under the influence of Ernst, high-level officials in East Africa were relatively objective in their analysis of the development of the Russo-Japanese War. In addition, they monitored the entire process of the Russo-Japanese War. Therefore, the tragic defeat of the Russians was completely understandable to high-level East African governments.
Ernst also said at the right time: "During the First Five-Year Plan, our achievements are far from enough to make us overly conceited. Although our strength is definitely in the middle and upper reaches among the great powers, if we want to truly reshape the world order, then Our country’s industrialization level must at least reach the average level of Western European countries.”
"In the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's failure can actually be regarded as the success of Japanese industry. Although Japan's industrial growth rate is not as fast as ours, it can be said that it is unparalleled in the entire Pacific region. Russia underestimated Japan's development speed. , lack of preparation before the war, that’s why we stumbled.”
"However, the development of Japan also tells us that all regions of the world are developing now. Not only Europe, the United States and East Africa are making progress, but some countries in South America, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, and many countries in the Far East are all accelerating. develop."
With the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the First Five-Year Plan for East Africa is also coming to an end. Currently, all the industrial development plans formulated in the First Five-Year Plan for East Africa have been completed.
During the First Five-Year Plan, by the end of the Russo-Japanese War, East Africa's steel output was more than 5 million tons, close to 6 million tons, exceeding the target. The railway mileage has reached 150,300 kilometers. The national railways have basically covered major areas and have successfully completed the expected tasks.
In 1904, the annual automobile production reached an astonishing over one million units, and the number of automobiles ranked first in the world. At the same time, the production scale of tractors, trucks, etc. was ranked first in the world, and it was leading other countries by a cliff.
At the same time, the United States, the world's second largest automobile producer, had an annual output of just over 10,000 automobiles in 1905, and Europe could not even match the United States.
The main reason why East Africa's automobile output is so terrifying is the first-mover advantage and assembly line production. Of course, in order not to disrupt the normal development of the international automobile industry, the vast majority of automobiles in East Africa are produced by the military and the country. Only coastal automobile factories and European and American counterparts compete.
In fact, in terms of automobile production alone, East Africa and foreign countries are no longer the same world. This is the main reason why East Africa hides and tucks it in. When the US automobile industry develops, it will be East Africa that completely bloodbaths the world's automobile market. when.
During the First Five-Year Plan, East Africa consolidated its position as the world's largest power country. Electric power equipment exports continued to rank first in the world. This is currently East Africa's most profitable industry in the international market, creating a large amount of tax revenue for the East African government.
Similarly, due to the development of the automobile industry in the petroleum industry, East Africa has naturally climbed to the first place in the world in this field. In the early 1990s, East Africa was still behind the United States, but in the mid-to-late 1990s, East Africa became more powerful than the United States. By the time the First Five-Year Plan is completed, East Africa has firmly secured its position as the world's number one, with its oil import volume alone far exceeding the sum of other countries.
In addition to these key industries, the heavy industry sector in East Africa has developed rapidly during the First Five-Year Plan. Each heavy industry sector is not only ranked first in the world, but is also at the forefront, or will not lag behind other countries.
Of course, East Africa is basically at the forefront of the world in emerging industrial sectors, except for the chemical industry. Therefore, as time goes by, East Africa's industrial advantages will become greater and greater in the future. When many traditional industries are completely replaced by emerging industries, even if Without a five-year plan, East Africa is confident of becoming the world's leading industrial power in the next 40 to 50 years.
In contrast, East Africa's light industrial production has not achieved much, and it can even be said to be far behind European and American countries. Except for the cotton textile industry and food processing industry, the per capita share of most light industrial products is far lower than the average of the great powers. level.
In this case, East Africa’s Second Five-Year Plan must give priority to the development of light industry and realize the industrial production of most light industry products.
Developing light industry is not difficult for the East African government. After all, the technical threshold of light industry is not as high as that of heavy industry. After the heavy industry system in East Africa matures, the development of light industry will only be a matter of course.
At the same time, the reason why East Africa's heavy industry has a huge advantage over light industry is not due to the First Five-Year Plan. For more than 30 years before the First Five-Year Plan, East Africa followed Germany's development path, giving priority to the development of heavy industry to drive domestic industry. develop.
After the heavy industry took shape, East Africa focused on emerging industries such as electricity, internal combustion engines, and petroleum. This resulted in East Africa's industrial investment never tilting towards light industry.
So in a sense, the development of light industry in East Africa can be said to be nearly thirty years later than that of heavy industry. This is also the main reason why East Africa's light industry has not developed.
(End of this chapter)