African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1093 Britain's Sincerity - Dubai

Therefore, Russia is definitely an existence that the governments of various countries will not ignore. Under normal circumstances, it will only take 20 to 30 years for Russia to return to the ranks of the world's naval powers.

In fact, strictly speaking, the Russian Navy has never fallen out of the ranks of the world's naval powers. The Russian Navy, which lost nearly half of its forces in the Russo-Japanese War, is still one of the most powerful navies in the world.

Before World War I in the previous life, the Russian Navy had recovered to a level of nearly 700,000 tons, second only to Japan, but far exceeding Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. You must know that Italy was also among the great powers in the previous life, and its naval strength was still good.

Among the current world powers, East Africa has replaced Italy, and is an enhanced version of Italy. As for the current Kingdom of Italy, it is a medium-sized European industrial power of the same type as Belgium.

This brings us to the capabilities of the Italian government. Even though it suffered serious setbacks in the last century, it recovered quickly. This is not comparable to the incompetent government of Portugal. After all, the current Italian government is not weak, and the previous generation of Italian government almost unified the entire peninsula.

It is worth mentioning that the Italian navy is now developing well. The total tonnage of the country's navy exceeds 100,000 tons. Although it is less than half of its arch-rival, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is considered a small and powerful navy in Europe and the world.

Having said so much, it can be seen that the competition faced by the Royal Navy is far greater than in its previous life, and the culprit for this situation is East Africa.

So Russell directly rejected Freer's unreasonable request: "This is impossible. A total tonnage of one million tons is not necessary for you. We in Britain can fully guarantee the safety of East Africa in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic."

East African officials did not believe a word of Britain's assurances. If the British government really had such moral integrity, East Africa would not have to vigorously develop its naval strength. After all, the main opponent East Africa faces in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic is the Royal Navy.

Freer said: "Since our two countries have differences on this topic, why not put it aside for now and see what benefits your country can provide us. After all, we cannot reveal our cards first."

The attitude of the East African government will ultimately depend on the benefits that Britain can bring to East Africa. As for the naval issue, East Africa has a more flexible bottom line. If Britain can meet the needs of East Africa at the current stage, it is not impossible to adjust the naval tonnage downwards.

Russell saw that Freer was unmoved, so he could only put forward Britain's conditions: "We can thaw the diplomatic frost with East Africa, end the economic sanctions that have lasted for the past 20 years, and open up the South American and Middle Eastern markets to East Africa."

Having said that, Russell also specifically observed the reactions of East African officials, and the result was naturally no reaction.

If it were just this condition, it would not be enough to attract the East African government. After all, markets such as South America, the Middle East, and even Central Asia are not controlled by Britain alone. Naturally, the infiltration of East Africa over so many years has achieved many results. Therefore, in the eyes of the East African government, this condition is simply a generous offer.

As for the UK easing its relations with East Africa and ending its economic sanctions on East Africa, it is indeed important to East Africa, but the UK's economic sanctions on East Africa have lasted for more than 20 years, and East Africa has long been accustomed to it.

Russell also saw from the indifferent expressions of the East African government officials that this little bit of benefit really could not impress East Africa, so Russell decided to reveal some tough stuff.

Russell said with a serious expression: "At the same time, we can also agree to the East African government's demand for a sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region. To this end, we can transfer the sovereignty of a piece of land that originally belonged to the Persian Gulf region to East Africa."

Freer asked calmly, "I wonder what your country thinks?"

Since Freer took the initiative to ask, it means that East Africa is not indifferent. This detail greatly enhanced Russell's confidence. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he said calmly: "Bring the map here!" Soon, Russell's assistant spread the prepared map on the table. A range had been marked in red on the map.

Russell pointed to the location of Dubai in his previous life and said, "This is the Pirate Coast of the Persian Gulf. If the East African government agrees to our request, we can give this place to East Africa."

Why Dubai? Because Dubai was a bad place in the eyes of the British government at that time, which can be seen from the name of Dubai in the past.

There is a saying that the name Dubai comes from Persian, which means locust larvae. East Africans are definitely familiar with locusts prevalent in the Arab region. After all, the desert locust is one of the main pests and diseases that East Africa needs to control.

In the last century, the largest locust disaster even caused a crop yield reduction of more than 40% in the entire northwest region of East Africa. However, with the increase in East Africa's population and the improvement of the governance system, the probability of locust disasters has been reduced by more than 60% in East Africa. Moreover, with the passage of time, East Africa's means of dealing with locusts have greatly increased. Now desert locusts are no longer a problem in East Africa.

Currently, the large-scale desert locust disaster faced by East Africa has transformed into responding to the large-scale desert locust migration in the Red Sea and Arabian Peninsula regions.

Dubai was originally a place rich in sand from the 19th century to the early 20th century. Coupled with the unlucky name of "locust larvae", it can be regarded as a truly barren land.

So Freer frowned and said to Russell: "Ambassador Russell, are you sure you are not kidding us? You know that we in East Africa are more familiar with the land in the Persian Gulf region? I'm afraid this area is not even suitable for human survival!"

Russell was naturally aware of this, otherwise the British government would not be so "generous". Knowing that Dubai and the surrounding areas were a barren land, the British government would offer them to negotiate with East Africa.

He said: "Don't be fooled by the fact that this is a desert, but it is located in the Persian Gulf region. If we control this place, East Africa will have a stable foothold in the Persian Gulf region. We in Britain have never been so kind to a country!"

Freer, who didn't know the true value of this place, laughed in his heart. He shouldn't have any expectations of the British government.

Freer said sarcastically, "Rather than calling it a stronghold, I'm afraid that even the water supply here is a big problem. There is no condition for agricultural development. Moreover, such a small area may not even accommodate a 100-man army. Your country's sincerity has greatly improved my knowledge. If it is this area, then our East African Navy is willing to reduce several hundred tons to express our East African sincerity."

A few hundred tons is just a drop in the bucket for the current size of the navy, and this also expresses the psychological expectations of East African government officials about the value of Dubai.

Russell naturally could not accept such a result. If it was just a reduction of a few hundred tons, it would be equivalent to no result at all. After all, the standard tonnage of the world's naval powers is now over 200,000 tons, and that is measured in ten thousand.

Russell said: "All problems can be solved through negotiations. If you are not satisfied with this result, we can also talk. If you can offer a bargaining chip that satisfies our country, it doesn't matter even if it means ceding the entire Pirate Coast (equivalent to the United Arab Emirates in the past) to East Africa."

The reason why Britain chose this place is not just because it is a barren land. After all, the entire Persian Gulf coast is basically a large desert, and there is very little land suitable for farming.

The most important thing is that the Pirate Coast does not have much significance in the British strategy. For example, Kuwait, which is naturally connected to the Persian Gulf outlet that the Ottoman Empire or Tsarist Russia dreamed of, is certainly not something that Britain would give to East Africa. As for colonies such as Bahrain and Qatar in the Persian Gulf, they are even more favored by Britain. After all, as an island country, Britain itself attaches great importance to islands.

(End of this chapter)