Chapter 966 Visiting Mbeya
Mbeya Station is a large station, so the stop time is longer. At Tirpitz's strong request, and after applying by phone from the station, the East African government allowed him to observe the development of Mbeya city around the station.
Looking at the East African security personnel who were guarding him like thieves, Tirpitz said helplessly: "I have heard before that East Africa is relatively closed, and now it seems that is indeed the case. I just think about the people who have to travel around this East African city. So many restrictions.”
Aaron, the East African receptionist, naturally could not let Tirpitz "slander" his country at will. He explained: "Your Excellency, East Africa is actually a relatively free country. It's just that we are really strict about the screening and review of outsiders." It is much stricter. After all, East Africa has a short history. In order to maintain regional stability, we need to organize third-party forces to pose threats to East African national security, but these will not have a big impact on ordinary people in East Africa.”
"Well! Do you think I look like a spy? Or someone with evil intentions against East Africa?" Tirpitz said sarcastically. It would be hard for anyone to receive such treatment, so Tirpitz said this deliberately.
"Haha, Your Majesty the Count is naturally not an outsider. We in East Africa and Germany are brotherly countries. However, East Africa upholds the axiom of governing the country according to law, so this is unavoidable in terms of procedures. You must know that the population of East Africa is not aboriginal, so we must guard against some conflicts. People who have had troubles in East Africa use the indigenous people to cause an impact on the social order of East Africa.”
What Aaron said is reasonable. As for the countries that have had problems with East Africa, there is no doubt that in the eyes of outsiders, the only ones are Britain and Portugal.
Tirpitz, an old fox, naturally didn't believe Aaron's words. After all, East Africa was even more closed before the South African War. At that time, there were only two open cities in East Africa, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, and the Far Eastern Empire before the Opium War. Just like that, there was once only one legally open port in the Far Eastern Empire, Guangzhou.
Of course, there are different opinions from the outside world about the implementation of the isolation policy in East Africa, but they should not pay too much attention to it. After all, the African continent is not a hotspot. Except during the South African War, it was hardly reported in Europe. After the South African War, although the situation improved somewhat, it also better than nothing.
Tirpitz is too lazy to care about so much. Now he is only interested in Mbeya, a large city in the interior of East Africa.
It is already past three o'clock in the afternoon, but the streets of Mbeya are very prosperous, with people and vehicles rushing in and out, and the large chimneys of the factories in the industrial area are emitting exhaust gases into the sky.
There are many buildings and buildings in Mbeya City, the roads are neat and clean, and all street lights are electric lights, which shows that East Africa has spared no effort in the development of electric power.
Tirpitz also passed through many cities along the way. Those East African cities also have factories and power facilities. This is also in line with the national conditions of East Africa's major exporters of power equipment and products in the international market.
“What is the population of Mbeya?” Tirpitz asked Aaron.
"I don't know the specific number, but there should be half a million people. After all, it is one of the few big cities in East Africa." Aaron answered honestly.
At present, the actual total population of Mbeya City is more than 500,000, ranking fourth among East African cities.
If we look at population alone, Germany only has Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne, which are equal to Mbeya City. Munich is about the same size as Mbeya City, with more than half a million people. Therefore, Mbeya City’s population can also be ranked among the top five in Germany. . “Mbeya City is the earliest heavy industry base in East Africa, so it has a first-mover advantage. In the early days, East African military industry and heavy industry were concentrated in Mbeya City, and with the construction of the Central Railway, Mbeya City has maintained its huge advantage. ." Aaron said.
The policy support of the Central Railway and East African countries is an important reason why Mbeya City has been able to maintain rapid development.
In the previous life, Mbeya City was ranked sixth to eighth among cities in Tanzania, fluctuating up and down. Now, Mbeya City is ranked in the top five in East Africa. Naturally and the East African government attaches great importance to Mbeya City. closely related.
"So many years ago, East Africa attached great importance to industrial development, and it was still located in the hinterland of the country. It is no wonder that in the South African War, East Africa was able to fight with the two great powers of Britain and Portugal at the same time without falling behind. If Portugal had only been able to fight at the same time, I have invested as much in the colony as you, and I won’t be driven back to the mainland by you,” Tirpitz said.
The biggest difference between conventional colonists and East Africa is that they demand more than they build. In the past, the two Portuguese colonies only focused on developing coastal areas, and the inland was completely stocked. How could they compete with the striving East Africa under such circumstances?
Tirpitz continued. "The urban planning, construction level, and industrial development of the city of Mbeya are all qualified. Although it is only a glimpse, I can assert that if other East African cities are like Mbeya, then East Africa will be the next United States in the future."
"Originally, I thought that East Africa had only effectively developed its coast, but what I saw along the way made me understand that the development of East Africa is far from what the outside world showed. I am afraid that it is difficult for Europeans to imagine that the coastline on the African continent is already close to Located in the hinterland of a thousand kilometers, there is a city that is not inferior to the big cities in Europe. "
“I had the same idea before, but after seeing Mbeya City, I realized that my previous understanding was a bit ridiculous.”
So what was Tirpitz’s original idea? The answer is that like many uncivilized areas, especially South America, there is almost no civilization in the interior. The East African savannah is populated by lions and other wild beasts, and only sparse colonial strongholds are scattered in the interior of East Africa.
However, the towns and villages along the Central Railway, as well as the acres of farmland and plantations, all tell the story of the pioneering history of the East Africans. Like the United States' westward expansion, they are frantically moving deeper into the African continent and constantly expanding their land. And transform the occupied land into a contiguous livable zone.
Cities such as Mbeya, Dodoma, and Iringa have proved that East Africa is not only developing agriculture in the interior, but they are also capable of building cities that are not inferior to Europe. If in the future the more than 10 million square kilometers of land in East Africa are like central The scene along the railway line is so terrible!
You must know that a giant country like Tsarist Russia has a strong sense of oppression, but there are also many big countries around it, such as the Far Eastern Empire, Iran, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and even Germany itself, which can contain Tsarist Russia, while the United States is alone. Overseas, Brazil and Australia are uncivilized lands with sparse populations.
Although the population of East Africa is not that large relative to its land area, in Tirpitz there are probably 40 to 50 million people, which is already comparable to Germany. However, Germany has a small territory and the per capita resources it can enjoy are far less than those of East Africa.
"Your Excellency, thank you for your compliment, but the gap between our East Africa and Germany is still very big. Although we also have several big cities, most of them are populated by people. As you can see, our East Africa is actually based on German culture. "
"As the most populous country in the world, the Far Eastern Empire has almost unlimited population resources. As a naval officer, I think you also know something about the coastal cities of the Far Eastern Empire. Although the Far Eastern Empire is relatively poor and backward as a whole, their coastal cities have developed quite a lot. Yes, several of our big cities in East Africa should be in a similar situation.”
(End of this chapter)