African Entrepreneurship Record

Regarding how to develop the Matabele Plateau (Zimbabwe), the first step is to increase local popularity, so the East African government held a government meeting on this matter.

Of course, it was more of a brainstorming exercise by government personnel, and the final decision was made by Constantine and Ernst.

Von der Leyen: "Economically speaking, the Matabele Plateau is currently a blank area. There is no population except the army. However, there are a lot of local indigenous people. We can first use the indigenous people to develop some local resources, and immediately The Matabele Plateau is very far away from East Africa, and there is Zambia in the middle. Therefore, only in terms of land transportation, the distance to develop the Matabele Plateau is too far, and the administrative management is also very inconvenient. In this regard, I propose to cooperate with Mozambique. Communicate and allow them to open up access to the sea. If it can be transported by sea, it can greatly improve the environment of the Matabele Plateau."

Jarman: "For security reasons, the Portuguese in Mozambique will probably not agree to our request, so it's better not to have too much hope in Mozambique."

Sweet: "The correct way is to solve the communication problem first. The telegraph line in Zambia has almost been repaired to the Southern Frontier Province. Once completed, the telegraph line will be directly introduced from Zambia to the Matabele Plateau, so that we can communicate with the local people in time. The garrison maintains contact, makes quick decisions, and responds to emergencies and potential risks."

Constantine said: "The indigenous economy can be considered. The Matabele Plateau is now in a colonial state, so we can use the garrison to get these indigenous people active first and let them roughly sort out the land and plant some crops. It is best It is high-yield potatoes and cassava, so that the land can be initially developed. Later, it will be much easier for us to let the immigrants take over the developed land. As for the transportation issue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will first contact Mozambique and communicate with them. If they do not It doesn't matter if we are willing to provide access to the sea. We will develop the Matabele Plateau and the telegraph line step by step. After completing the Zambia main line, we will immediately start the construction of the Matabele Plateau section. The Zambia branch line can be temporarily delayed. time."

Sweet: "Your Majesty, when it comes to traffic issues, we must not forget to level the roads in the Matabele Plateau and Zambia, especially the construction of bridges on the Zambezi River and many tributaries of the Congo River. In some river sections, we must Vessels assist in the orderly flow of traffic.”

Von der Leyen: "We have experience in this regard. We just need to mobilize and organize local indigenous people to develop agriculture. The construction of transportation infrastructure can be carried out at the same time. When farming is busy, we will go to work in the fields. When farming is slack, we will organize indigenous people to build bridges and pave roads. And agriculture Development can also solve the problem of indigenous food rations. As long as we manage the food distribution problem, we can temporarily turn the indigenous people into East African wage workers, and when we no longer need them, we can easily kick them away."

Felix: "Managing the indigenous people is actually not an easy task, especially in undeveloped areas, which are generally vast and sparsely populated. Our troops are like sesame seeds sprinkled on them, so we'd better fill in the immigrant population." Previously, I used tribal chiefs to assist in the rule of East Africa. I have an idea. In addition to the hard-line means of military suppression, we can also use the soft means of economics to control the indigenous people, which can at least reduce some of the indigenous resistance. That is, we use industrial products. , to improve the quality of life of these high-level tribes and let them fall into luxury and enjoyment, so that they cannot do without East African industrial products, and we use industrial products in exchange for food outside of taxation, and use this food to invest in transportation construction, so that By closing the loop, management efficiency can be greatly improved.”

East Africa also collects taxes from the indigenous people, especially the newly annexed areas. Most of them are in this form. This is why East Africa can minimize the resistance of the local indigenous people.

The taxes levied on the indigenous people in East Africa are more similar to the Ottoman tax farming system. Under strong military suppression, most indigenous regimes and tribes temporarily accepted the management of the East African government as subordinate forces, and then East Africa prioritized ensuring the interests of the indigenous ruling class in taxation. There is a 50-50 split with these people, but the work is all done by the indigenous rulers, and East Africa only needs a share of the money.

Temporarily supporting the continued existence of these indigenous regimes will greatly reduce the chance of indigenous resistance in the vast area east of the Kuango River and north of the Limpopo River in East Africa. Of course, if you do not even accept the "advanced" system of tax farming, The indigenous forces in East Africa did not show any mercy and directly eliminated them to set an example.

In order to scare the monkeys, other indigenous kingdoms and tribes unconditionally supported the tax farming system in East Africa. Those who understand the current affairs are distinguished, and the top leaders of these indigenous forces can also enjoy better treatment than before.

Because most of the indigenous forces were in the stage of slavery, the level of productivity was extremely low, and the tax farming system in East Africa actually had the characteristics of a feudal system.

At the same time, with the help of technology promotion, these indigenous people were forced to enter the farming era and settle down, so that they could receive taxes. The original indigenous rulers could also enjoy the support of tax revenue after productivity increased. The living standards of the upper-level indigenous people also improved. There would be no more organized indigenous resistance to East African rule.

Of course, the indigenous ruling class is now enjoying dividends, and they will definitely not be satisfied with this over time. After all, the temptation to monopolize tax revenue is much stronger than a 50-50 split with East Africa.

However, East Africa has long considered this. When the indigenous people are dissatisfied with the rule of East Africa, it is almost the time when East Africa will clean up the local population and make living space for East African immigrants.

Constantine: "Under the tax farming system, these indigenous ruling classes will also accumulate a large amount of food in their hands. We use industrial products to buy this food back from their hands, and then we can hire the indigenous people to renovate the infrastructure during the slack period. And the infrastructure It will be perfect and provide convenience for the garrison and immigrants in East Africa, further strengthening our local governance capabilities. When the immigrant population reaches a certain level, we will take action against these natives, Felix, is this what you mean?"

Felix: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Felix's strategy is very good. As for whether the natives will obediently accept East Africa's arrangements, that is inevitable.

Under the East African tax farming system, apart from the share that East Africa took away through its military strength, the indigenous top leaders actually took the lion's share. They would collect more taxes and fees from their own forces in the name of the East African government.

The output left to indigenous slaves and civilians may only be enough for them to barely survive. East Africa obtains the resources they control from slave owners and chiefs through industrial products and invests them in the slack period. These indigenous people will eat more in order to eat more. You must accept employment in East Africa.

Because East Africa has confiscated grasslands and forests and does not allow the indigenous people to hunt prey, they can only rely on farming to support themselves. The heavy tax pressure forces these indigenous people to take more jobs to support themselves.

In fact, when the tax farming system was first implemented, the happiest people were the indigenous slave class. They originally worked for slave owners for nothing, but now they can have their own harvest. Although it is pitiful, it is spiritually great. The needs of these slaves were met.

In this way, the resistance of the slaves was reduced, and the slave owners who were unwilling to accept the tax farming system also found that their rule was more stable, and because the slaves' enthusiasm increased, their own benefits also increased greatly.

The most important thing is that they can enjoy the convenience of industrial products through the East African Industrial Products Exchange Plan later, and their quality of life can continue to be greatly improved.

In East Africa, the tax farming system can be used to reduce the intensity of indigenous resistance, complete infrastructure construction, and reduce garrison costs. Finally, when the immigrant population comes, they can turn their backs without any burden and use the land, roads, and houses developed by the indigenous people. Confiscated.

Therefore, the current tax farming system is satisfactory to the indigenous bottom class, the ruling class, and the East African forces. Everyone thinks that their future is bright.