Chapter 712 What we saw on the railway
“The first big city we reach along the railway west is Mbeya, but before that we have to pass through cities such as Dodoma. Dodoma is a railway hub, but its built-up area is relatively small, and it cannot be ranked even in East Africa. 10. However, the geographical location is extremely important and has strategic value. Unfortunately, East Africa now has a huge land area, and there are many places that can replace Dodoma. When the number of railways increases further in the future, its status may be further challenged."
If East Africa was Tanzania in the previous life, then the city of Dodoma would be almost the core of the country. However, this is not the case in East Africa. Instead, Mbeya has become a more important hub city, as well as the rising star New Frankfurt.
This is the same as in the previous Far Eastern Empire. In the early days, Zhengzhou, which was located in the plain area, became an important railway hub. However, as railway technology and railway construction progressed, a large number of railway hubs emerged in the surrounding areas, such as Wuhan, Shaanxi, Hefei, Jinan, etc. Avoid its decline in traffic status.
This decline is relative, just like the United States to the Far Eastern Empire. In fact, without the Far Eastern Empire, the status of the United States in the world and other aspects has not changed at all, and it is still growing every year.
Dodoma City is also facing this situation. In fact, Dodoma City is developing well, but it is much inferior to cities in surrounding areas.
On the one hand, although Dodoma is located on a plateau, it has hilly terrain, which limits urban development. Water resources in the area are relatively scarce, making it unsuitable for industrial development. Its annual precipitation can only be maintained at around 500 millimeters.
That is, the location of Dodoma is an important passage from the East African coastal plain to the plateau, so it has not fallen too much.
Mary: “The environment of Dodoma City is somewhat similar to that of southern Austria.”
She and Wells first transferred to the railway and then to East Africa, so they happened to pass through southern Austria, and finally went to sea in Trieste. The Mediterranean climate area was in winter, the climate was mild and rainy, and the rainy season in Dodoma City happened to be concentrated around 12 It will be between March and March next year, so it looks about the same.
The rainy season is a period of concentrated precipitation, and it does not rain every day, especially in places like Dodoma, which are relatively dry in East Africa. The only difference between the two may be the difference in vegetation.
"The railway condition in East Africa should be similar to that of Tsarist Russia. Although the mileage is long, the density is not as high as that of Europe. Of course, we in East Africa have many advantages over Tsarist Russia in railway construction, especially in this plateau area, which lacks tall trees. To facilitate development, you will pass through Mbeya and Hohenzollern provinces along the way, where there are vast tracts of forests. To the north is the Congo rainforest, and to the south the grassland scene will be restored. The climate of Bulawayo City should be similar to that of Duoduo It’s about the same as a horse, but it’s rich in mineral resources and has flat terrain. It was also the former capital of the Ndebele people, and the conditions are much better than Dodoma City.”
Across the two railway lines are vast grasslands and occasional farmland and villages. This is the current normal state of the countryside in East Africa. Even in the more "densely populated" east, there is still a large amount of undeveloped land.
Adliss was also on the trip, so he informed the Wells couple about the situation in the interior of East Africa.
However, it is not prominent along the railway line, because East Africa has planted a lot of vegetation along the railway line, some of which are excellent tree species selected from all over the world.
He has traveled through most of East Africa by train on the Central Railway all year round, so he has a very good understanding of the customs and customs of East Africa. This kind of person is one of the few talents in East Africa who has a broad vision.
There are not many decent big rivers in East Africa, or many rivers are shared with other countries, such as the Nile River, Congo River, Orange River, Limpopo River, and Zambezi River.
What these rivers have in common is that the upper reaches are all in the hands of East Africa. The Orange River is an exception, but the upper reaches of its main tributary, the Fal River, are under East African control. The Zambezi and Congo Rivers are obviously of greater significance to East Africa. The lower reaches of these two rivers are in the hands of the Portuguese. If East Africa seizes the downstream areas controlled by the Portuguese, East Africa will also have two world-class rivers alone.
Just like before, even the small Rhine (Rufu River) could have a certain reputation in East Africa. It was just a joke. To be honest, the Zambezi River was a bit reluctant to compete with the Rhine River, let alone the Rufu River. The river is a small river hundreds of kilometers long.
Compared with the water transportation benefits of rivers in other continents, the water resources of East African rivers are very insufficient, but this is already a good situation, and it is better than nothing.
“The Zambezi River should be the largest river in East Africa. There was a description of the Zambia River in our textbooks before, extending from the hinterland of East Africa to the Portuguese colonies, and finally emptied into the Indian Ocean.” Wells recalled.
"The previous geography textbooks on East Africa have long been outdated. The old textbooks can only be used as simple descriptions and are full of loopholes. For example, we also control the north coast of the lower reaches. This is the result of the last East-Portuguese War, but you should have studied in Africa. , so I don’t understand these things.” Edlis explained to Wells.
He went on to say: “And it won’t be long before the Zambezi River becomes our internal river in East Africa.”
Wells was surprised: "There's going to be a war in East Africa?"
"Haha, in fact, there is nothing to make a fuss about. Our country's army, especially in the south, has not been disbanded in recent years. You should have noticed several military columns passing by our train in the past two days. This is all a war. Of course, this is my own judgment. Whether to fight or not depends on what the central government thinks."
Adlis naturally dared not guarantee it, but East Africa did show signs of preparation for war, and coupled with East Africa's previous actions, so Adlis believed that this should be the case.
East Africa, a land of more than 10 million square kilometers, was not gifted by others. From the beginning to the end, East Africa has been a highly aggressive country. Even in the most stable years of East Africa, it also radiated its influence across the ocean to the Pacific region.
Anyone who takes a look at the current map of East Africa will want to remove the two Portuguese colonies. After all, it is too disharmonious. For an obsessive-compulsive disorder patient like Ernst, it is already very difficult to endure it until now.
Of course, the economic and strategic value of these two colonies was Ernst’s driving force. In Ernst’s strategy, the coastlines of Mozambique and Angola must be acquired. Only then can East Africa truly become a two-pronged country like the United States. foreign countries.
As for the coastline of Southwest Africa, it is not even as good as the Somali region. It is in a difficult position and cannot bear the economic management and strategic deterrence of East Africa towards the South Atlantic.
The conditions on the eastern coastline are actually not bad, but if Mozambique can be captured, it will be of great help to the foreign economy of the central and southern regions. Exports through the central railway still have to take a long way.
At the same time, it is also a huge threat to the new Hamburg port city. In the East African railway planning, the railway along the Indian Ocean coastline has long been planned. The east coast of Africa stretches from Somalia to South Africa. One day, the narrow coastal plain area will be the future economy of East Africa. Great arteries in series.
(End of this chapter)