Chapter 393: Chapter 70 Night Talk
Night, Harare.
The temperature dropped quickly, and Ernst added another layer of clothing. African weather, how should I say it, made Ernst feel somewhat familiar.
Ernst doesn’t particularly like the coastal climate of Africa, but in his previous life, the most developed city of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, was located along the coast. Although the inland areas had some development, the infrastructure and modernization lagged behind.
So, Ernst preferred being dispatched to Nairobi, Harare, these inland capitals where everything necessary is available, though the network is somewhat lacking and the climate is decent. However, most of the time Ernst’s activities were concentrated in rural areas, as much of the construction, especially building roads and bridges, happened in the wilderness.
Walking on a rural road in Harare, Ernst said, "Sivert."
"Present, Principal!" Sivert responded instinctively, straightening up as if back in his student days.
Ernst said, "There’s no need to be too tense. You’ve been with the army for some time now, and I’d like to understand some actual conditions of our army."
Although Ernst oversaw the bigger picture, he couldn’t rely on his imagination to know the state of the troops. Someone like Sivert, who served as a major commander in the East African Army and had participated in several battles, was qualified to speak on the matter.
Sivert respectfully said, "Yes, Principal! But which aspects would you like to know about?"
Ernst thought for a moment: "Let’s start with the basic conditions of the troops! Especially regarding the soldiers’ livelihoods and their morale."
Sivert: "Alright, I’ll share some of my personal observations. Generally speaking, the condition of our troops is relatively qualified at the grassroots level. When we first arrived in Africa, the troops were originally based on mercenaries, and from top to bottom, our army was almost no different from the Prussian, but as the army expanded, with the increase in numbers, some of the bad habits of the Prussian army, or issues that every army in the world can’t avoid, also appeared in the East African Army. Initially, I thought it was the officers’ problem, but with the increase of students from Heixinggen Military Academy within the army, it was clear that educational background is also a major factor influencing these issues.
Our troops, despite having a relatively high level of education, are comprised of immigrants whose educational levels, except for those from the German region, are quite low. This makes it difficult to command the army smoothly even after our commanding officers improved their skills. Even among the German immigrant soldiers who had undergone compulsory education, the quality of education was uneven."
Ernst nodded and said, "This is unavoidable. I had considered this when I first dispatched mercenary teams to East Africa. An army built on this foundation certainly can’t be a disciplined force."
Sivert interrupted, "Principal, actually, the mercenary teams had military discipline, but what was enforced was still the Prussian-style discipline through corporal punishment."
Ernst: "I am aware of that. I am quite familiar with the Prussian army, but military discipline doesn’t reside only in battlefield considerations. It includes many aspects. For example, in Europe, the Prussian army is considered disciplined among the armies, but they still cannot avoid the post-war looting behavior."
Sivert: "Principal, this is unavoidable; it’s human nature. However, East Africa has handled this rather well. At least the army and the civilians get along well."
Ernst: "Hehe, that’s a matter of organizational structure. Wars in East Africa always occur in native regions. Also, East Africa is not a free market; even captured supplies have no place to be absorbed, so soldiers are not eager for spoils of war."
When Ernst said this, Sivert was perplexed: "Principal, isn’t that a good thing!"
Ernst shook his head and said: "East Africa is my experimental field, and I am the farmer tilling this land. If you want the crops to grow well, what do you think needs to be done?"
Sivert: "Plowing the soil, fertilizing, and weeding and pest control!"
Ernst: "You see, plowing is about changing the soil structure. East Africa’s land is by no means excellent globally, so various methods are adopted to change East Africa’s agricultural facilities for large-scale land development.
Fertilizing is the nutrients that crops themselves need. The crops represent the people of East Africa. A farmer has two choices in dealing with the crops’ state: one is to ignore them and still harvest. Though relaxing, it will cause a reduction in yield. The other is to satisfy as much as possible the needs of the crops, which could bring a bounty. But the supply of fertilizer mustn’t be interrupted.
Finally, weeding and pest control, what are East Africa’s weeds and pests? To me, anything that may hinder East Africa from becoming a world power is included, internally and externally."
The moon and stars were exceptionally bright tonight.
Standing in the pale moonlight, Ernst said, "This principle also applies to the army. The army’s importance is self-evident; it could even be described as the foundation of the nation. A nation is a powerful institution, and its strength comes from the army. Maintaining the army’s stability and invincibility is very important to East Africa."
Hearing so much from Ernst, Sivert began to understand, "Principal, you mean to reform the army!"
Ernst: "There’s no hurry. After the war with the Boers, we’ll talk about it. Once the Boer War is over, we might usher in a long period of real peace!"
If this war ends, Ernst is not planning to engage in any external wars for quite some time. Although previously tempted, each time, East African territories expanded multiple times.
After eliminating the Boer-led Transvaal Republic, East Africa would have filled all its shortcomings. At least in the African region, aside from West Africa, South Africa is the most resource-rich, with West Africa’s advantage being oil and South Africa’s being rich in coal mines.
Having resources needs to be developed. Ernst thinks East Africa is currently too weak, not militarily but economically. Over three-quarters of its areas haven’t seen basic development, like Zimbabwe, Zambia, the plateaus of northwestern Zambia, the Okavango River basin, the Azande Plateau, the White Nile basin, the west side of the Mitumba Mountains, and then there’s South Africa.
Agricultural development has been realized in East Africa, with its vast land and abundant resources. So Ernst now wishes to move towards becoming an industrial nation.
The opportunity is ripe now. East Africa’s capacity can also support industrial development. This is what Ernst urgently needs to address. If the great powers recover from the economic crisis, the enemies East Africa will face will be myriad and intricate. Ensuring East Africa maintains its independence amidst the great powers’ partitioning of the world is currently what Ernst considers most important.
The Kingdom of East Africa bears resemblance to Tsarist Russia, with its economy entirely centralized, but Siberia had few natives that could threaten its rule.
Within the Kingdom of East Africa, there is a large number of indigenous people. To prevent them from becoming collaborators, East Africa’s army must always maintain an invincible posture. And modern warfare relies on industry.