Chapter 443: Hiding One's Strength and Biding Time
Upon landing at the new port of Dar es Salaam, Ernst and his entourage transferred to a train headed for First Town. By this time, the First Railway was already bustling with activity.
As part of the Central Railway project, the First Railway was responsible for continuously transporting imported railway construction materials to the frontlines of the railway buildout.
This also led to a major development boom in the new port district of Dar es Salaam. A series of steel processing plants were built here, and East Africa's domestically built locomotive factory was also established in the new port area.
Towering smokestacks rose one after another, bringing industry and employment to the area, making it almost as prosperous as the city's main economic zone. Since the two areas were tightly connected, some uninformed merchant ships often mistook the new port for the original port, prompting the East African Navy to step up efforts to guide ships into the correct harbor.
Although the booming development of the new port was visible to the naked eye, specific data was tightly controlled—a subtle way for East Africa to limit the spread of information.
East Africa had already passed its fragile, early development stage. What followed now was a phase of hiding one's strength and biding time—a mode of thinking Ernst was deeply familiar with.
"It's even more prosperous than when I left," Ferdinand sighed from the side.
Ernst replied, "All thanks to the Central Railway. There are only three key development zones for the railway: the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone, the starting point at Dar es Salaam, and the terminus at New Hamburg Port. Construction on New Hamburg is still underway, so we're prioritizing the new port of Dar es Salaam, which already had favorable conditions."
There were only two ways to source the steel needed for railway construction: import it, or produce it domestically. Currently, East Africa had only two areas capable of independent steel production—the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone and the Northern Industrial Belt. The latter supported the northern railway projects, while the massive Central Railway relied solely on Lake Malawi.
Back when the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone was first established, conditions were terrible—especially the lack of transportation.
All heavy equipment had to be hauled by manpower or horse-drawn carts. The roads were in poor shape. Only in recent years, with the rise of cement production, did improvements to the transportation network begin.
In fact, the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone was always meant to be strategic. Ernst had planned for a scenario where East Africa's coast fell to invasion—allowing the Hechingen royal family to retreat inland and lead a counteroffensive.
That's why Mbeya, though deep inland, developed just as robustly as coastal cities like Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. It was raised to serve as a potential backup capital.
Now, with East Africa's power growing, such contingency plans were no longer necessary. Still, Mbeya's status as the heavy industrial core was established and would remain so—at least until Zimbabwe's heavy industry matured.
Zimbabwe faced challenges similar to those of Lake Malawi: poor transportation, but worse. At least the Lake Malawi zone could use the lower Rufuma River to reduce haul distances—Zimbabwe lacked even that. Without railroads, Zimbabwe's industrial potential remained untapped.
Karina, new to East Africa, observed, "It seems East Africa is doing quite well. Apart from having fewer people, its cities aren't much different from Austria's."
"That's not a fair comparison," Ernst explained. "Take Vienna—its population exceeds half a million, and its economic value rivals that of small nations. In fact, Vienna alone might generate more economic output than all of East Africa. So we're still far behind Austria."
What Ernst really meant was that the value created by the Hechingen Consortium was separate from East Africa itself. With it, East Africa was running on 'cheat mode.' Without it, the kingdom was just a large-sized colony on paper.
"You should count yourself lucky!" Archduke Ferdinand said. "Such a fine piece of land, and no one else claimed it. What if Austria had chosen Africa over competing with Prussia—how would that have changed things?"
"Nothing much," Ernst replied. "If Austria had tried to develop Africa, I bet it would've ended up like Portugal—maybe a bit better. Developing colonies requires boldness. To bring Africa to East Africa's current level, you need massive early-stage investment and a willingness to operate at a loss for a long time. And funding alone isn't enough—you also need strong organizational ability, which Austria lacks."
"Austria's not like me, a 'private operator.' Any official action would draw attention from all European powers. If Austria had stepped in, Britain and France wouldn't have stayed quiet."
Ernst's "private operator" claim was exaggerated—but it reflected the era. Many colonial ventures were initiated by individuals or private companies.
Britain's colonies, like India, started with the East India Company before being absorbed by the Crown. German colonies like East Africa and Southwest Africa began the same way—privately developed, later integrated into the imperial system.
Ernst's efforts differed in that he truly treated East Africa as his own business and focused on long-term development. In that sense, he was somewhat like Belgium's Leopold II.
However, Leopold's ultimate aim was to extract wealth from Africa, whereas Ernst sought nation-building. Their goals were very different.
This also came down to background. From Ernst's point of view, the Principality of Hechingen was a small town. Even if Germany hadn't collapsed, the best he could've hoped for was being a mayor. Why compete in Germany when he could explore in Africa?
Only someone like Ernst, who had lived and worked in Africa, could understand how favorable its natural conditions truly were—something people of this era simply couldn't see.
Ask most European nobles and they'd rather stay in Europe than become a tribal chief in Africa. Small nobles might think differently, but they lacked Ernst's capital.
"Sigh, no matter how you look at it, developing East Africa is still better than my time as emperor of Mexico," Ferdinand said. "That title looked glorious, but I was just a puppet manipulated by foreign powers. Even if I had ambitions, no one understood me. I faced constant opposition. East Africa is like a blank canvas—free to paint however you want. That's the difference between working for someone and building something of your own."
When he said "working for someone," Ferdinand really meant working for Napoleon III and the various Mexican factions.
"That's because Mexicans lacked vision," Ernst replied. "As long as they remain dependent on the U.S., they're doomed. Right now, America still plays nice because British and French forces remain in the Americas. Once they withdraw, America will reveal its true face—and the whole continent will be its playground. No one will even have a chance to play both sides."
Today, America still had a good reputation in the Americas. The Monroe Doctrine sounded great: "The Americas belong to Americans." It gave hope to Latin nations and told European colonizers to scram. But once it was truly realized, those same nations would lose all leverage.
Of course, Ernst said all this to comfort Ferdinand. The archduke was competent, but too idealistic and soft. He genuinely wanted to build Mexico—but the locals were too busy fighting for power. Naturally, the emperor had to go.
Mexican politicians believed, "If I were in charge, I could do it too." But history has shown time and again—they couldn't.
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