African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 639 Unequal Transactions

"Technology is multi-faceted and involves various industries. It does not have to be limited to the industrial field, such as the medical industry and handicraft industry. East Africa has always attached great importance to the development of medicine, but after all, this is not the strength of a new country like ours in East Africa. Although we draw a lot of traditions The best of medicine, but we also need help from Austria-Hungary.”

Ernst said this, in fact, the industrial development of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has only begun to achieve significant development in recent years, and it may be stronger than Tsarist Russia among several top powers.

Of course, the backwardness is only relative to the three countries of Britain, France and Germany, and is now beyond the reach of East Africa.

 The main traditional foreign markets of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while the domestic market was a large internal circulation market, as was the case with the relationship between Austria and Hungary.

However, the large domestic market of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not stable. The most important thing was that there were many conflicts between the economies of various ethnic groups, which affected the stability of the market. The multi-ethnic nature intensified the market stability of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was the reason why the Austro-Hungarian Empire obstacles to industrial development.

Same issues, such as resource allocation in East Africa. The coal resources in Southern Frontier Province have helped the development of industry in coastal cities in East Africa. People in Southern Frontier Province will not think there is anything wrong with this.

As for the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is easy to cause misunderstanding: "The Austrians are plundering our resources." This kind of illusion.

Therefore, it is very difficult for Austria to integrate the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the contrary, opportunists like Hungary can still negotiate. When encountering the extreme nationalism of Serbia, they can directly attack the old empire.

 Experience in previous lives proves that even without the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Serbia would never have been able to become the leader of Yugoslavia or the Balkans. It would have been extremely nationalistic if it succeeded, and it would have been extremely nationalist if it failed.

Looking back at East Africa's sweeping ethnic policies, it has better achieved harmonious coexistence among various ethnic groups or races in East Africa and built a national consensus.

Of course, we can’t see any effect now, because the first generation of German immigrants still have pride in their hearts, but when they marry other ethnic groups and races, it will naturally become a family relationship.

“We can only play a role in this regard, but if you really want to learn something valuable, you can only rely on yourself,” Franz said.

  As for the domestic resources of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, unless they were state-owned enterprises or royal enterprises, Franz really could not make the final decision. After all, "private property is sacred and inviolable."

 East Africa is the opposite. East African assets are in the hands of the state, in other words, in the hands of the royal family of Hechingen. Therefore, Ernst can mobilize the resources of the entire country, but Franz cannot.

However, with the support of the Austro-Hungarian government, East Africa can also save a lot of trouble. Although they cannot contribute, it is easy to hold back if they really want to.

 …

Ernst did not take advantage of this transaction with Franz, and even suffered some losses. The benefits obtained between the two parties were not equal, but this was the price that backward countries had to pay.

And the Austro-Hungarian Empire did provide enough help to East Africa. For example, the East African Navy would not be able to be established without the help of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This alone is very rare.

 There is also the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s educational support for East Africa, which is also priceless. Therefore, Austria has done its best for this ally in East Africa. It is reasonable to help Austria digest some industrial products, which is a courtesy exchange. Just like the Far Eastern Empire became the world's factory in the previous life, it was gained by pretending to be a grandson for more than ten years. For such a large country, and a nuclear power, pretending to be harmless to humans and animals, and swallowing its anger, ordinary countries simply cannot do this. Turn, if it were the neighboring country to the north, they would have broken through their defenses long ago.

In comparison, East Africa’s behavior is nothing at all. If Japan could encounter such a good thing at this time, I am afraid that it would do anything like treating a thief as its father.

Of course, Franz did not get any advantage this time, which also shows that East Africa learned or gained too much from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If you want it now, it is the special skill of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Normal countries will definitely not do such things as teaching apprentices to starve their masters to death, so Ernst is very satisfied if he can take something from the hands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. .

In fact, Franz was also quite troubled by the fact that Ernst, a "beggar", was chosen. This also shows from the side that East Africa as a country is developing rapidly, and many low-end industries are no longer interested in it, or have already I own it, so I want to move further to mid-to-high-end.

 The fundamental reason for this result is that East Africa is not a small country at all, and it can be spent with just some money and assistance.

If you include black people, the population of East Africa exceeds 50 million, which is directly more than the population of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this case, the Austro-Hungarian Empire simply cannot bring it.

Therefore, the two countries can only cooperate more closely from a military and political perspective. This is mainly reflected in the navy. Although Africa is not far from Europe, it is also separated by the Mediterranean Sea.

Moreover, the number of people in the East African Army is about the same as that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the territory of East Africa is several times that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the stakes are too big, it is easy to lose sight of the bottom. This is also the reason why East Africa adopts "defend from the north and attack from the south" in its foreign policy. reason.

 The countries in the south, that is, the British and Portuguese colonies, are more hostile to East Africa, while the threats from the northern countries are much smaller, so East Africa adopts a moderation posture and supports Belgium and Sigmaringen, which have friendly relations with East Africa, as barriers.

 As the country becomes larger, more troops are needed to defend it, and East Africa cannot afford too many troops, so maintaining it at two to three hundred thousand is a reasonable range. Like the United States, it even saves troops.

 The cost of a European-level regular army of more than 300,000 is not a small amount, and only countries with deep pockets such as Germany can afford it.

 Hence, the military expenditure in East Africa has been maintained at a relatively high level, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s army happens to be maintained at around 300,000, which has already put a certain amount of pressure on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Furthermore, the defense pressure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is greater than that of East Africa. Germany, France, and Russia are not easy to mess with. That is to say, they are in an alliance with Germany and Russia. Otherwise, the 300,000 troops will not be enough.

Russia has one million conventional troops. Although the level is not up to the standards of other countries, it is more than enough to deal with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This is Ernst's idea. After all, after the reforms of Alexander II, Tsarist Russia has already made great achievements in the industrial field and Austria-Hungary. The Hungarian Empire is very close. Of course, the Austro-Hungarian Empire can still keep its enemies at bay if it wants to. European countries maintain fragile military checks and balances.

In the 19th century, one thing was better than that of later generations, that is, as long as the country has autonomy and strives to develop industry, it has the possibility of catching up. Without autonomy, it can only act as a colony and strive to develop industry. In this era, as long as the country has the courage to If you put in the effort, it will be easy to achieve results, because the technical barriers are not as strict as those of later generations.

Take the equipment levels of various countries as an example. There is almost no generational difference between the great powers, and it is easy to imitate weapons, especially army equipment. The real barriers are high-tech services such as the navy. This is also the reason why the UK can maintain its lead in the navy. An important reason.

 (End of this chapter)