Chapter 380 Night Talk
Harare at night.
The temperature dropped quickly, so Ernst put on a coat. The weather in Africa, how should I put it, made Ernst feel a little warm.
Ernst didn't like the coastal climate of Africa very much, but in his previous life, Dar es Salaam, the most developed city in Tanzania, was located on the coast. Although there were places with good development inland, the infrastructure and some modern things were poor. mean.
So Ernst’s favorite company is to be dispatched to Nairobi and Harare, capitals of these landlocked countries. They have everything they need, except that the network is poor and the climate is not bad. However, most of the time Ernst’s activities are still there. Concentrated in some rural areas, after all, construction, especially building roads and bridges, involves a lot of work in the field.
Walking on the country road in Harare, Ernst said: "Sweet."
"Here, principal!" The inertia of his mind stirred, and he straightened his body and answered, as if he had returned to his student days.
Ernst said: "Don't be too nervous. You have been in the army for me for some time. I want to know some of the actual situation of our army."
Although Ernst is in charge of the overall situation, he cannot rely on his own assumptions about the situation of the troops. As the main commanders of the East African Army, only those who have participated in several battles at the same time have the right to speak.
Sweet said respectfully: "Yes, Principal! But what aspects do you want to know?"
Ernst thought for a moment: "Let's start with the basic situation of the army! Especially the soldiers' lives and emotions can be discussed."
Sweet: "Well, let me talk about what I personally heard and saw. At the grassroots level, the army is generally in relatively good condition. When I first arrived in Africa, the army was still based on mercenaries. From top to bottom, there is almost no difference between our army and Prussia. As the army expanded and the number of people increased, some bad habits of the Prussian army, or problems that are inevitable for armies around the world, also appeared in the East African army. At first, I think this is an officer issue, but as the number of students at the Hechingen Military Academy increases in the army, we can find that academic education is also an important influencing factor.
Although our troops have a relatively high level of education, except for immigrants from the German region, the level of education of immigrants from other regions is quite low. This means that after the quality of our military division commanders improves, they still cannot command the army smoothly, and even if they are The educational status of German immigrant soldiers who received compulsory education was also uneven. "
Ernst nodded and said: "This is inevitable. I actually thought about this when I sent the mercenary team to East Africa. The East African Army based on this must not be a well-disciplined army."
Sweet interrupted: "Principal, the mercenary team actually has military discipline, but it still implements the Prussian stick education, which restrains the soldiers through corporal punishment."
Ernst: "Of course I know this. I am relatively clear about the Prussian army, but military discipline is not considered unilaterally on the battlefield. It includes all aspects. For example, the Prussian army is considered to be highly disciplined among European armies, but they still cannot get rid of it. Post-war looting."
Sweet: "Principal, this is unavoidable, human nature is what it is, but East Africa has done a pretty good job at this point. At least the military and civilians get along harmoniously."
Ernst: "Haha, that's a problem with the organizational framework. The wars in East Africa all took place in the areas where indigenous people live. In addition, East Africa is not a free market, and there is no place to digest even the captured materials, so the soldiers do not care about the spoils. It’s not an urgent need.”
When Ernst said this, Sweet was a little confused: "Principal, isn't this great!"
Ernst shook his head and said: "East Africa is my experimental field, and I am the farmer working on this field. If you want the crops to grow well, what do you think needs to be done?"
Sweet: "Turn the soil, apply fertilizer, and remove weeds and insects!"
Ernst: "You see, plowing the soil changes the soil structure. The land in East Africa is definitely not outstanding in the world, so various methods are used to change the agricultural facilities in East Africa so that the land in East Africa can be developed on a large scale.
Fertilization is the nutrients needed by the crops themselves. Crops are the people of East Africa. Farmers have two choices when it comes to the state of crops. One is to ignore it, but they can still harvest. In this way, although they are idle, the food output will be reduced. It is to try to meet the demand for food and achieve a bumper harvest, but the supply of fertilizer cannot be cut off.
The last step is to eliminate weeds and insects, so what are the weeds and borers in East Africa! It seems to me that anything that could undermine East Africa's emergence as a world power is, not just external but internal as well. "
The moon and stars are particularly dazzling tonight.
Ernst stood under the white moonlight and said: "And this principle also applies to the army. The importance of the army is self-evident. It can even be described as the cornerstone of the country. The country is a powerful organ, and its source of power is It’s the military, and maintaining the stability and invincibility of the military is very important to East Africa.”
After hearing what Ernst said, Sweet somewhat understood: "Principal, what you mean is to reform the army!"
Ernst: "There is no rush. We will wait until the war against the Boers is over. After defeating the Boers, we may usher in a long period of real peace!"
If this war ends, Ernst will not plan to fight any more foreign wars for a long time. Although he had this idea before, he could not resist the temptation every time, and the territory of East Africa also expanded several times. .
After the elimination of the Transvaal Republic of the Boers, East Africa has made up for all its shortcomings. At least in this region of Africa, apart from West Africa, South Africa has the richest resources. West Africa has the advantage of oil, while South Africa has coal mines. Rich.
If there are resources, they must be developed. Ernst believes that East Africa is too weak now. This does not mean the military, but the economy. More than three-quarters of the region has not been basically developed, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Zambia. A series of plateaus in the northwest, the Okavango River Basin, the Azande Plateau, the White Nile Basin, the west side of the Mitumba Mountains, and then South Africa.
The vast land and abundant resources have been realized, and agricultural development in East Africa has been realized. Then Ernst wants to develop in the direction of an industrial country.
Now that the opportunity is ripe, East Africa's size can also support industrial development. This is something Ernst urgently needs to solve. If the great powers recover from the economic crisis, the enemies East Africa will face are diverse and complex. How to ensure that East Africa is in Maintaining the independence of East Africa while the great powers are dividing the world is the most important thing Ernst needs to consider at the moment.
The East African Kingdom is somewhat similar to Tsarist Russia, with all its economies concentrated in one place, but there are not many natives in Tsarist Russia's Siberia who can threaten its rule.
There are a large number of indigenous people in the East African Kingdom. In order to prevent them from becoming the leading party, the East African army can only maintain an invincible posture. Modern warfare relies on industry.