Chapter 310 Aid to Africa
It is impossible for all these weapons production to be placed in one place in Mbeya. Then Mbeya's industries would be too numerous compared to other cities in East Africa. Industrial enrichment will definitely lead to the birth of big cities.
As a transportation hub city connecting Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) and Lake Malawi, Tanganyika and Zambia, Mbeya City has a high development limit and is rich in local resources, especially mineral resources. On the other hand, even assuming that Mbeya City itself has few resources, relying on convenient transportation, it can integrate the resources of the Malawi Lake District and Zambia's resources. Coupled with the local livable climate, it has a natural foundation for a big city.
It is undeniable that big cities have many advantages, especially in terms of industrial collaboration, but Ernst himself does not like big cities.
A city with an overpopulation is actually not livable. A city with a population that is too small will lead to insufficient resource utilization or insufficient support for the development of some industries.
In the previous life, Ernst defined a world-class city as one with an urban population of more than five million, but now the population of the entire East Africa has not reached five million, so it is somewhat unfounded.
However, the population of East Africa is growing at a very fast rate. Calculating the normal growth rate of Africa in previous generations, in the 21st century, the population in the Eastern Plateau alone will exceed 100 million. In the future, East Africa will be able to produce cities with a population of 5 million.
Therefore, Ernst’s arrangement for Mbeya City is to develop together with surrounding areas. Mbeya City should maximize its function as a transportation hub city, not only assuming the overall transportation hub function of the East African country, but also benefiting the entire South Africa from transportation dividends. Würzburg Province, western region of Mara-Lago Province.
Fully mobilize the development of the entire Lake Malawi Industrial Zone, rather than dominating one city. To put it bluntly, it is to promote the cluster development of small and medium-sized cities in the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone.
In this way, the region's future population and industries will not all be concentrated in Mbeya City, and at the same time it will facilitate industrial collaboration. Of course, the premise is that local transportation construction is done well.
…
Far East.
For the old empire in the Far East, something strange happened today. Richard, the East African Kingdom's ambassador to the Far East, requested the Qing government to learn "advanced" medical skills from the Far East, and also hoped that the Qing government would send medical personnel to "aid" the East African Kingdom.
Inside the Forbidden City.
Yi Xin: "Your Majesty, Ambassador Richard from the East African Kingdom of Africa requested medical assistance from our country yesterday. He said that life in Africa is in poverty, wild animals are rampant, and there are endless droughts and floods, leading to widespread plagues. The land is full of hunger, and there is a danger of loss of life and the collapse of the country, so we invite Chinese doctors to go to East Africa to fight against the epidemic, and we also want to send officials and students to China to learn Chinese medicine to avoid the danger of national subjugation."
Yi Xin was one of the three ministers of the Prime Minister's Office, which was the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" established in the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, when Richard conveyed the East African government's political will to the Far East government, Yi Xin would usually accept it first.
Tongzhi was instantly interested when he heard this. He had never heard of Western Yi admiring the Celestial Empire. The senior officials of the Far Eastern Empire had long been beaten to the point of losing their temper by Britain and France. Britain and France had always been domineering in doing things, so naturally they would not give the East a good look. , not to mention Eastern culture.
Tongzhi: "This East Africa is the new country that came to North Korea to set up an embassy last year?"
Yi Xin: "Exactly."
Tongzhi: "These Western countries have always been domineering, despised education, and did not respect saints. They suddenly asked for advice humbly. Is there some conspiracy?"
Yi Xin: "I hope your majesty knows that this East African kingdom is somewhat different from the Western countries. It is located in the west of the Little Western Ocean (Indian Ocean). It replaced Yuanmujiwa (Somalia) and Manbasa (Kenya) to form a country. This place It was caused by the fleet of Zheng He of the previous dynasty, and it is not the location of the authentic Western countries. The leader of the country is the Prince of Western Prussia, who traveled across the oceans to establish a country."
Tongzhi: "Oh! So this East African kingdom is a country established overseas by the prince of the Kingdom of Prussia?"
Yi Xin: "Exactly, Prussia is a powerful military power in the West, and it also has envoys stationed in China."
To be honest, Yi Xin is quite embarrassed in this regard. He is also a prince of the Qing Dynasty, and his status can be compared to Constantine. When the Prussian prince established his country overseas, didn't he put himself on the fire?
Tongzhi didn't know Yi Xin's little thoughts and said: "Prussia, I know, is a small country in the east of France. I heard that its people are fond of fighting and ruthless, and all the people are soldiers. The Prince of Prussia is naturally good at using force, so it's not surprising."
Coincidentally, now that Prussia has defeated France, the news of German reunification has not spread to the Far East, so Tongzhi's monarchs and ministers are still in Prussia, a small and precarious country around France. After all, everyone has heard Napoleon's statement.
Tong Zhiyou said: "This East African kingdom does not ask Prussia for help, but instead asks us for help. What does this mean?"
Yi Xin: "As I said before, Prussia went to war and used the power of a small country to support the soldiers of a large country. The natural economy was in decline and people's livelihood was difficult. How could they support overseas places."
Tongzhi: "It's the same truth, but after all, this East Africa has some real inheritance from Prussia, so it can't be that bad!"
What Yi Xin said just now was too terrifying. It’s wild beasts, drought, floods, and plague. Sooner or later, East Africa will be over!
Yi Xin explained: "The territory of the East African Kingdom was originally a barren land with little civilization. Its monarch was originally a warrior and he must not have known how to govern the country. Therefore, he admired the prosperity of the Chinese culture, which was very different from the British, French and other Western barbarians."
In other words, East Africa was originally a barren land, a wasteland in terms of culture and inheritance. In addition, Constantine was a warrior who ruled the country and was not good at running the country. East Africa is not Western orthodoxy, so it is sentimental to learn from us. Excusable.
I have to say that Yi Xin still has something. Even Europeans may not know East Africa that well.
The summary is good. Although there are some biases, it overall objectively describes the situation before the establishment of the East African Kingdom. However, forget about admiring the Celestial Empire. Ernst is here for free, so he specifically asked Richard to save some face.
Richard was originally a businessman, so he knew how to talk to people and tell ghosts. He really pretended that the African continent would be over sooner or later, and the Manchus would help us.
Tongzhi was overjoyed after hearing this. The current Far Eastern Empire was really the most aggrieved. Ten years ago, the British and French allied forces came to the capital. Xianfeng scared away Rehe and shattered the last vanity of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Only then did the Westernization Movement succeed. carry out.
At this time, as long as a country comes to flatter, it can make the rulers of the "Celestial Dynasty" who have lost their dignity regain a sense of superiority.
Although this East African kingdom is not an authentic Western Barbarian, it is still half Western Barbarian. If the East African Kingdom learns from itself, it means that the Western countries learn from themselves.
Tongzhi: "Since the East African Kingdom is seeking help from the Celestial Empire, we cannot lose the tolerance of the Celestial Empire and allow the East African Kingdom to send official students (overseas students) to study in the Imperial Hospital. At the same time, we will recruit hundreds of doctors from the private sector to save the suffering places in East Africa and publicize the great grace of the Celestial Empire. .”
Tongzhi acted generously and took the initiative to provide medical assistance to East Africa without any profit plan. With the official endorsement of the Qing government, the East African Kingdom was not polite. While cooperating with the Far Eastern officials, it actively learned medical experience from the Far Eastern people and recruited Folk medical talents.
Although the medical system in the Far East is not very developed now, it is about the same in the world. Especially since the Far East has a large population, there are always unsatisfactory medical personnel. Under Ernst's instruction, the East African Embassy first recruited medical talents from the private sector and then requested The Manchu and Qing government screened these doctors so that they would not come to East Africa to defraud them through some crooked ways.
This aid to Africa is a good face-saving project for the Qing government, so it doesn't dare to be careless. It really brings charlatans to Africa, but it kills people and is publicized in East Africa. How can I still mess around in the international community after the Qing Dynasty? .