Chapter 1269 Sense of Distance
Maria, the three siblings have little interest in the unfamiliar "Mount Kilimanjaro". After all, Tsarist Russia's territory exceeds more than 20 million square kilometers, and various terrain wonders abound within it.
However, it is relatively novel for East Africa to dare to say that Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in East Africa.
Princess Maria said: "Has the East African government measured the peaks across the country? As far as I know, there should be many tall peaks in East Africa, and it should be difficult to measure the heights of these peaks!"
Maxim said: "Anyway, Kilimanjaro has been the highest peak in East Africa for as long as I can remember. The geography textbook also says so. It is true that no higher mountain than Kilimanjaro has been found in these years. There are no relevant data for other regions outside of East Africa than Mount Kilimanjaro.”
Geographical survey is a long, huge and complex process, such as measuring land area, sea area, number of lakes, mountain height, etc. Nothing is simple.
And it is very likely that as time goes by, the data of previous generations may be overturned by latecomers. For example, in the past, the Soviet Union overturned the data of its country's highest peak more than once.
Prince Maxim also said: "Generally no one notices the source of these data. Anyway, when I was in school, the geography textbook described it like this, not only Mount Kilimanjaro, but also the largest lake in the empire, the Great Lakes ( Lake Victoria) and the deepest lake, Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika), no one knows who compiled these data.”
“However, after all these years, the results of our National Geographic Survey of East Africa have not overturned these data.”
This is obviously Ernst's fault. After all, the first generation of East African textbooks can be traced back to the founding of the Hechingen Military Academy. Ernst participated in the compilation at that time, and accidentally added a lot of 21st century geographical knowledge into it. .
Crown Prince Alexei said at this time: "These are all small problems. Even if Kilimanjaro is not the tallest mountain in East Africa, so what! When we really find a mountain higher than him in the future, let's talk about other things. After all, the geocentric theory It can also be replaced by the heliocentric theory, and these mountains are still standing there. The answer will be found one day. "
So after the Russian prince's theory, several people no longer paid attention to this issue.
Looking at the vast primitive jungle in the east, Crown Prince Alexei asked: "By the way, Your Highness Maxim, are there lions and elephants in your East African forests? These are the most representative animals in East Africa, and we still have them." I didn’t see it!”
"This place is so close to the forest, your Rhine Empire should have its own royal hunting ground!"
Basically, the great nobles in Europe have their own hunting traditions, and the Hohenzollern family is no exception.
Although Alexey is thin, it also makes him desire wildness and conquest more. After all, the more people lack something, the more they hope to get it. And Alexey, a victim of hemophilia, hopes to have a strong body. The body is naturally no exception.
Of course, there is also the young curiosity about strange things. Lions, elephants, crocodiles and other famous African wild animals will naturally arouse the curiosity of the prince.
Prince Maxim said: "Of course there is a royal hunting ground, but it is not in this area. This rainforest is an undeveloped area, and there must be a lot of wild animals in it."
"However, the lions and elephants you think of probably don't have anything. After all, generally speaking, lions and elephants live in grassland areas."
"It is not that there are no endemic species in forest areas, but they are not common. For example, African forest elephants are generally distributed in the Congo rainforest, and are still some distance away from us."
"There are probably not many wild animals left in the rainforest around Rhine City, especially in the outer areas. Our long-term development here in East Africa has led to a sharp decline in the number of wild animals in the country."
"If you really want to see animals, I can take you to the city zoo later, where you can see all kinds of unique African animals, including lions, hippos, crocodiles, rhinos, zebras, hyenas, and elephants."
Hearing what Maxim said, Alexey immediately gave up. He said: "I don't want to see animals that are kept in captivity. It would be too boring. After all, it's not like we haven't seen it in Europe. European zoos There are even savages discovered in Africa and other places.”
"What I want to see are the kind of wild animals that are free in the grasslands or forests, especially the huge herds of animals that are rumored to roam the grasslands in Africa. That would be truly spectacular!"
After listening to the little kid's words, Maxim said speechlessly: "Then you will be disappointed. East Africa is not an uncivilized place like other parts of Africa. The scene you mentioned is relatively common in West Africa. As for us in East Africa, It can only be seen in certain protected areas.”
"The most famous of them is the Serengeti grassland. Since the history of East Africa, it has been our country's protected area, or the most famous wildlife reserve in the country."
"We have basically not developed it there, so you can see what you call a huge fauna, and you can even see a huge landscape with thousands of wild animals migrating according to seasonal changes."
Hearing this, Alexei said excitedly: "Then can we go somewhere to see it?"
Maxim said: "Then you have to wait for a while. The Serengeti is thousands of kilometers away from the Rhine City. Wherever you want to go, you must be well prepared."
"Because the level of development there is low, the Serengeti is also more dangerous. The wild animals there are relatively wild and numerous, and their attack power is not bad."
“If you want to travel to the Serengeti grassland, you must prepare special vehicles, firearms, and a lot of supplies.”
Alexei said: "More than a thousand kilometers is not too far. After all, it is only six or seven hundred kilometers from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Our journey from Dar es Salaam to the Rhine City is only more than a thousand kilometers."
People from different countries have different perceptions of distance. For example, the Dutch may just walk a certain distance and then go abroad.
Russia and East Africa are both world powers, and Russia has nearly 10 million square kilometers more land than East Africa. Of course, this is the data before World War I.
Therefore, one thousand kilometers is not too far away for Alexey and others. After all, living in such a big country, a walk between two cities may start with hundreds of kilometers.
For example, Alexei's family, the Tsar's family, although they usually live in St. Petersburg, they obviously visit Moscow, Russia's second largest city, occasionally.
Moscow is the capital of Russia, and the Kremlin is the residence of the Tsar, although the Tsar and his family rarely go there.
The Rhine royal family also has a profound sense of distance. After all, East Africa is the second largest country in the world (in terms of area), and the movement trajectories of East Africans are generally not small.
Take the Ernst family for example. They can't always stay in Rhine City. Occasionally when they have free time, they might go to visit their hometown in First Town, go on vacation to the Great Lakes District, or inspect various parts of the country.
In fact, since the capital was moved to Rhine City, the last point has become more convenient. After all, Rhine City is relatively close to the center of East Africa.
Therefore, starting from the Rhine City, it is more convenient to go to various places across the country. Of course, when it comes to going abroad, that is another matter. Because it is far inland, the Rhine City has become the most unsuitable place for going abroad. one.
At present, under the premise that the performance of aircraft cannot be guaranteed, the means of travel are basically railways, highways, and sea transport, and East Africa's external exchanges basically rely on sea transport.
Choosing the latter means that you have to transfer. That is to say, land transportation is relatively developed now. From the coast to the inland, you can arrive at the fastest or even within one day. If it were placed in ancient times, placing the capital in the Rhine City would basically mean So East Africa gave up on the ocean.
After all, according to the ancient communication speed, the enemy might have captured the coast. At this time, the Rhine City received news that the enemy had arrived in East Africa, and the day lilies were cold.