Chapter 269 Great Zimbabwe Ruins
The East African South Route Army's goal is to conquer the Matabele Plateau, and the arrival of the South Route Army is undoubtedly a disaster for the local indigenous people.
There were the Portuguese in the east and the Boers in the south. Originally, there was only the barren land in the west - the Kalahari Basin and other black countries in the north. However, with the East African expedition, they were completely surrounded by colonists.
If, as usual, there were only a few hundred or at most a thousand colonial armed forces, the Zimbabwean indigenous people could still handle it, but the entire Southern Route Army had more than 20,000 people, which was too much for the indigenous people.
The ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
A platoon of the Southern Route Army stationed here is responsible for setting up a material transfer station here to ensure smooth logistics channels.
"This is an empty city, but it's all made of stones and has a good height. It's really rare in Africa. But why did the local indigenous people abandon this place?" Platoon leader Demier asked doubtfully.
"Well, it's hard to say. It may not have been built independently by the indigenous people. It may also be the creativity of the Arabs." The deputy platoon leader said.
"I don't think so!" At this time, a voice came from nearby. I saw a middle-aged man carrying a backpack and using a cane, followed by a black man, helping him carry his luggage.
"Who are you? Why are you here? Why do you speak German?" Meidel looked at the unexpected visitor warily and raised his gun.
"Don't be nervous, friend. I am a German geographer, Karl Moher. I am studying the culture of the indigenous people here. This is my rented servant." Karl Mohr explained.
Hearing this man's self-narration made Meidel lower his guard a little. He said: "Germans, that's great! This is the first time I have seen Germans outside of the East African Kingdom in the interior of Africa. You are from Germany." that place?"
"This gentleman, I am a Saxon, from Dresden, have you heard of it?" Karl Moher said.
Meidel finally put down his gun. He walked up to Karl Moher, stretched out his hand and said: "Hello, Mr. Moher, I am also from Germany, and I used to be from Württemberg."
"Look at your attire?" Karl Moher said looking at the military uniforms of the East African Kingdom. Although the style is very similar to that of the German region, there are still some different elements.
"Army of the East African Kingdom."
"Kingdom of East Africa? Never heard of this country?" Mohe said curiously, and this is the name of an African country!
"Mr. Mohe, I wonder how long you have been in Africa?" Meidel did not answer immediately, but asked instead.
"Soon, only two or three years."
"That's no wonder, haven't you been back to Europe in these years?"
Karl Moher shook his head and said: "Not really. I am here to survey historical relics, such as the Stone City where you are. Because it is difficult to collect useful information, and the history of this relic is quite old, so I have been staying here. here."
"So that's it!" Maidel suddenly realized, "Actually, Mr. Mohe, your news here is a bit blocked. The East African Kingdom is a kingdom established by Germany in Africa, and it was established only a few months ago."
"Well, aren't there colonies overseas? I thought they were colonies of Prussia or the Austro-Hungarian Empire!"
"The Kingdom of East Africa was established by the royal family of Hechingen. Hechingen is a state in southern Germany. You should know that!"
"I have only heard of the name of the Prince of Hechingen, but I really don't know much about the details."
"Our king's surname is Hohenzollern."
"I see, the Hohenzollern family makes sense. However, it is really strange for the Germans to establish a country in Africa. But I have been here for a while, why haven't I seen you before?"
"That's because this place has just been added to its own territory by the East African Kingdom. Currently, except for the army, no immigrants have moved here." Meidel explained.
The East African army of more than 20,000 people looks intimidating, but it is spread over more than 500,000 square kilometers of land and cannot even make waves. Therefore, it is normal that Karl Moher has not encountered other East African armies before.
"Then your East Africa should be quite big! This is the interior of Africa. The Portuguese are in the east, which is where I landed from the port, and the Boers are in the south. You can only come from the north."
"It should be very big. It would take more than ten days just to get here from the newly established Southern Frontier Province in East Africa."
In fact, it is impossible for the vast majority of East Africans to know how large East Africa is, and even Ernst cannot know it, because the territory of East Africa is constantly changing.
Southern Frontier Province? Karl Moher heard another piece of news. This East African kingdom had divided administrative districts.
"I wonder if you have any unique insights into this ruins?" Meidel asked at this time, bringing the topic back to the scene when Carl Moher appeared.
"Yes, I personally think that this large group of stone buildings has a European style, and it is probably imported from Europe. You see, there are no roofs here, and they are all built with gray granite stones with exquisite technology. , some of the stones were also carved. Those tall stone walls on the mountain are clearly European-style buildings." Carl Moher said after hearing Meidel's inquiry.
"This... is really a novel point of view!" Medel commented, "But let me tell you that this thing was probably made by the African natives themselves. At most, it has something to do with the Arabs, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Europe. "
Hearing Meidel's refutation of his point of view, Karl Moher said: "What do you have in mind?"
"Although the scale of this ruins is not bad, it is too rough, and the carving marks you mentioned, in my opinion, are the skills of some primitive people and savages. I have seen many indigenous people, and some of their stone grasses are very good. , the kind made by hand-knocked stones, and this is a circle surrounded by a lot of stones. In the past, it may have included houses. It is not difficult to build a house with stones, and European architecture is not like this. Rudimentary.”
"What you said makes sense, but I don't think the African natives have the ability to build such a huge project on their own. I have been to many places in Africa. Such large-scale stone ruins only exist in North Africa. They are the only ones scattered here in the entire south of the Sahara. These stone cities, and I have investigated the surrounding indigenous people, they do not have such a skill inheritance, so it is absolutely impossible for these buildings to be completed by indigenous people."
…
The stone ruins the two argued about were actually the famous Great Zimbabwe ruins in Africa in the past. There are more than 200 ruins of the same style in the Zimbabwe area, and each of them is called "Zimbabwe" by the local indigenous people. There has been a dispute over who built it.
In his previous life, Carl Moher was the first person to make this miracle known to the world. Although it was called a miracle, it was still on the World Cultural Heritage List, but for Ernst, this thing was not worth the price at all. It is Africa (excluding North Africa) that really has no historical and cultural heritage to brag about, which is why the so-called Great Zimbabwe site is regarded as a "chicken head".
Except for Australia, sub-Saharan Africa is the most culturally deserted region in the world. Even if it is to play with stones, Indians would walk around dozens of streets in sub-Saharan Africa.