Chapter 467 Observation
In addition to the Orange River, the Tugela River is also the geographical dividing line between East Africa and the Cape Colony. The Tugela River flows from Lesotho to the Indian Ocean.
The Tugela River is quite wide and rapid. On the Tugela River stands the famous Tugela Falls. The river falls from the large cliffs of the Drakensberg Mountains, forming a waterfall group with a height of 944 meters. The height is second only to Angel Falls, ranking second in the world.
So the terrain of the Tugela River Basin is extremely rugged, which plays a very good supporting role in East Africa's national defense.
To the north of the Tugela River, the construction of the New Hamburg Port has been completed. Its size is quickly approaching the two ports in the north and south, Maputo and Durban, becoming one of the three most prosperous cities in the region.
The observation ship of the British Natal Colony was wandering outside the New Hamburg Port, observing this emerging port that was both familiar and unfamiliar. A warship from East Africa followed behind it vigilantly to prevent the British from playing any tricks.
However, the British are not fools. As a dual-purpose military and civilian port, the New Hamburg Port has very strong defense capabilities. In addition to the naval base, the mobile forts set up at the entrance port can play a role in blocking the way.
"From the outside, this new port has a similar structure to Durban Port. It is in the shape of a trumpet with a small mouth and a large belly. It is very suitable for use as a naval base. Why didn't our people pay attention to it at the beginning? Instead, it gave the Germans an advantage?"
"Mr. Wilk, this question is easy to answer, because we have Durban Port, and the natural conditions of Durban Port are much stronger than this harbor."
“But judging from the construction conditions of the two ports, I don’t find that the German New Hamburg Port is any worse than the Durban Port?”
"The natural conditions of the New Hamburg Port are not as good as those of the Durban Port. However, East Africa has invested a lot in this area, especially the rapid population growth. This has made East Africa very capable of transforming the Durban Port, so it has overcome Local disadvantages.”
The current population of New Hamburg Port is about 30,000, but including the Zulu people, the number is about 70,000. East Africa has invested a lot in New Hamburg Port, especially railway construction, which makes this new city extremely busy.
"The Germans have very good infrastructure capabilities. We also saw the coastline of the Zulu Kingdom a few years ago. At that time, the so-called 'New Hamburg Port' was just a deserted bay, far worse than the Durban Port. Moreover, the southern part of the port is still a swamp, so the siltation situation in the port is very serious, but with the transformation by the Germans, in a few years, the new Hamburg Port will definitely surpass Durban and become the most prosperous city in the region."
The swamp area south of the port has been transformed by East Africa. Through the hard work of more than 20,000 Zulus, it took three years to create a new three-square-kilometer deep-water area for the new Hamburg Port.
The canal connecting the lake in the north has also been completed, which has greatly improved the conditions of the New Hamburg Port. The available area has far exceeded that of Durban Port. This is not the limit of the New Hamburg Port. There is another area of five square meters in the southern wetland. Kilometers of lakes, East Africa has yet to be developed.
"Mr. Wilk, the development of the East African Kingdom is inseparable from the explosive population growth in the German region. In the last war, they were able to mobilize tens of thousands of troops. This shows that the East African Kingdom has at least hundreds of thousands of people in its own territory, but only one The population of the New Hamburg Port is almost tens of thousands, and as far as I know the population of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa will only be larger, and there are other ports in East Africa, which shows that the population of East Africa is only in the coastal areas. There’s probably at least a few hundred thousand levels.”
As an old sailor who has been around the Indian Ocean coast all year round, Nleyi has a clear grasp of the ports along the East African coast, especially the two free ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. Nleyi believes that these two port cities are very likely to Both have more than 100,000 people, which is almost the same level as some large ports in Europe. After hearing this, Wilk felt that the situation was serious. If this was the case, East Africa could still attack the South African region from the interior. The total population of white people in East Africa is likely to exceed one million. Although a million people are not that many, they are different from those in Europe. In comparison, in Africa, there are probably only Egypt and some traditional white countries in North Africa, which have a stronger white population than the East African kingdoms.
Nleyi said: "However, things may not be as extreme as we think. A large part of the population in East Africa is yellow. Half of the residents I met in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are East Asians. , so East Africa is not as scary as we think.”
"So that's it?" Wilk said after hearing this: "It would be easier to explain if the East African Kingdom uses yellow people to fill the numbers."
It’s not that Wilk is discriminating against East Asians, but that the Far Eastern Empire has been too stretched over the years. Through wars in the past few decades, Britain has completely built up its confidence in the Far Eastern Empire, thus giving the British the illusion that East Asians are unbearable. With one strike, one ying is equivalent to a thousand, and a few warships can easily make the Far Eastern Empire give in. If half of the population in East Africa is East Asian, then the problem is "not big."
Of course, it is not just for East Asia. The British also look down upon the fighting capabilities of South Asians. The cost of colonizing India for the British was pitifully low.
Wilk, an investigator from the UK, did not conduct any prior investigation at all. Half of the Chinese immigrants served in the East African army. The Chinese made important contributions to the previous wars of aggression in East Africa, including the previous war in South Africa.
Of course, it is natural that the British do not pay attention to it. The South African War was mainly a war between the Germans and the Boers. The Transvaal Republic was so good at fighting that the British would only take it for granted. After all, the Netherlands, the mother country of the Boers, did not dare to fight in Germany. What do you say in front of you? It's not like you end up fighting in East Africa. If you end up, you will definitely let the Germans know what the power of a world hegemon is.
Wilk said arrogantly: "In the final analysis, it is race. Black people are the lowest in the world. Even in countries like India, they are much better than black people. So the Germans took advantage of us. When they did not pay attention to Africa, they encircled Africa on a large scale, but their good days are coming to an end. After the empire completes its affairs around India and the Orange Free State, we want East Africa to know who is the right one. The most powerful being among the colonists, this is something that the German barbarians on land cannot imagine."
Population and size do play a certain role, but the British do not follow this pattern. India, the Far East, and the United States have all suffered great losses at the hands of the British.
In the early years after the founding of the United States, Britain imposed a trade embargo on the United States. At one time, only ships under 60 tons could leave the port. The deadlock was broken only when the United States developed Pacific trade and did business with the Far Eastern Empire.
However, the Americans were not kind, and soon they also engaged in unfair competition through opium like their biological fathers, the British. It was difficult for the Far Eastern Empire to distinguish the difference between British and Americans. Many American businessmen made a fortune through opium. Especially businessmen in the Boston area.
Speaking of the trade embargo, this was what Ernst was most worried about before. Now the East African navy is beginning to take shape and has a certain counterattack capability. However, in order not to be targeted in the future, Archduke Ferdinand’s trip to Austria was carried out.
The British trade embargo against the United States was the result of the cooperation of Spain, France, etc., so East Africa cannot allow other countries to cooperate with the British actions, so it is necessary to drag the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the water. Any country targeting East Africa must consider it. The attitude of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Although the attitude of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is ambiguous, having an attitude is much better than not having an attitude. Moreover, the education Ernst received also told him that he should not rely too much on others. To be independent, he must be independent.
(End of this chapter)