African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1162: Visit of Francis IV

1914 9 Month 30 Day.

The city of Rhine welcomed a group of new guests. Since the outbreak of the European war, Washington and Rhine had become the focus of frequent visits from the two major camps.

This time, the delegation visiting Rhine City was composed of the Ottoman Empire, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the outbreak of the war, the importance of East Africa to the Allied camp became increasingly prominent, especially in terms of overseas sources of materials. East Africa almost achieved a monopoly on most of the strategic materials in the trade among the three countries.

In 1914, the total population of Rhine City successfully exceeded . A large number of corporate headquarters and government agencies were located in Rhine City. At the same time, the development of other industrial and agricultural industries showed a vibrant scene. Together with New Frankfurt, Kabwe, Lusaka and other cities, it formed another core of the economy in central East Africa.

In the center of the Rhine city, classical and ultra-modern buildings complement each other in an orderly manner. After the city's economy was liberalized, a large number of people poured into the capital. The streets are crowded with cars and people coming and going, reflecting the profound cultural heritage and vigorous vitality of the city.

This is very rare. After all, East Africa has never been a country with a deep history. However, East African cities, led by Rhine City, have made East Africa look similar to some European cities with a deep historical heritage through architecture, art, and design.

It is also very different from the style of modern American architecture, especially the exaggerated architectural forms of New York's various types of skyscrapers and dense steel and concrete forests.

East Africa has its own unique understanding of some modern buildings, which are deeply marked by Ernst's aesthetics of Far Eastern urban architecture in the past. At first glance, it is far less wild and artistic than the new architecture in Europe and the United States.

This is fundamentally different from the classical architecture in the Rhine city area. In terms of classical architecture, East Africa completely and rigidly replicates the essence of European classical architecture, and it can be said that it has done so meticulously.

However, the modern buildings in Rhine City pursue more practicality and aesthetic unity, which makes the East African new-style architecture appear somewhat conservative, unified, and stereotyped compared to the rough new-style buildings in Europe and the United States that are developing today, but it can achieve a very good effect.

This cannot be seen in a single building, but within the entire urban complex, it appears to be very integrated, natural and smooth.

To put it simply, it is like the way many people write. Currently, European and American architects pursue the pinnacle of individual fonts and incorporate their own artistic characteristics. However, after being arranged into sentences or articles, some fonts will appear very abrupt. However, the simple, square, and featureless fonts of East Africa use the unified design and planning of the city to make the entire font very pleasing to the eye.

This made Friedrich Franz IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was visiting East Africa for the first time, feel very sad.

The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is one of the important states in northern Germany. Although Prussia unified Germany, there are still many monarchs under it. The most famous of them is the Kingdom of Bavaria or the Principality of Hechingen.

Bavaria is the second largest kingdom in Germany after Prussia, and the special thing about the Principality of Hechingen is that its nominal ruler is the famous Emperor Ernst of the Rhine Empire.

So as the monarch of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, if the East African factor is excluded, the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is theoretically more important than the Principality of Hechingen. But there is no need to worry about it now, because the monarch of the Principality of Hechingen still holds the title of the Rhine Empire. The two are not comparable at all.

The person responsible for receiving Franz IV was Prince Friedrich, the heir to the throne of the empire. After all, Franz IV's status in East Africa was only comparable to that of the royal family and Archduke Ferdinand's family.

Franz IV's uncle was Tsar Nicholas II, and his grandfather was the nephew of the former German Emperor William I. Crown Prince Friedrich said to Franz IV, who was amazed, "Your Excellency, it seems that you are very interested in our urban construction in East Africa?"

Francis IV said: "Of course, this is my first time in East Africa. To be honest, East Africa has greatly exceeded my expectations. This city can be said to be one of the most beautiful cities I have seen outside of Europe. It is like a work of art, which makes people linger."

In front of Frederick, Franz IV could only say nice things. After all, from any perspective, Frederick was not comparable to the nominal monarch of his own German state.

Of course, the admiration for East African urban construction is not fabricated, but rather comes from the heart. Today, European countries are caught up in the flames of war, and a peaceful region like East Africa is probably the paradise second only to the United States.

Crown Prince Friedrich, who inherited his father's character, said modestly: "There is still some gap between East Africa and Europe and the United States. There is still a lot to learn. After all, compared with the traditional German region, East Africa's development history is still very short. Most of East Africa's achievements are based on the development of developed countries such as Germany."

The traditional German region is naturally relative to East Africa. After all, East Africa calls itself a German country, so East Africa is naturally the new German region.

Of course, this is mainly to distinguish the concepts of the Greater and Lesser Germany regions in Europe. Among the two plans for German unification, the one that was realized was the Lesser Germany advocated by Prussia, while the Greater Germany would include German regions such as Austria.

However, for various reasons, the concept of New Germany has not yet been widely recognized. Moreover, New Germany is not like New France. The Rhine Empire is a world power today, and New France was just a colony at its most glorious time. What's more, it has now been divided up by Britain and the United States, with only one Quebec region having some influence.

Franz IV: "Your Highness is a little modest. I have come all the way from Dar es Salaam to here and have a full understanding of East Africa's national conditions. Except that the population is a little sparse compared to Germany, East Africa's development is no less advanced than anywhere else in Europe."

The entire area of ​​Europe is smaller than that of East Africa, but its population is indeed three to four times that of East Africa. However, the population distribution in Europe is not uniform. For example, Germany has a land area of ​​more than 500,000 square kilometers, but is home to more than 60 million people. Therefore, Germany has a relatively dense population, while other regions such as the Balkans and Northern Europe may not be as dense as many areas in East Africa.

"Now that European countries are mired in the quagmire of war, East Africa has taken advantage of this opportunity to thrive around the world and its economy is booming. It is really enviable."

Although the focus is on Europe, it does not mean that European countries are unaware of the trends in East Africa, the United States and other countries. Today, East Africa and the United States are making a lot of money all over the world. East Africa in particular acquired all of Germany's overseas colonies before the war. Just based on this point, East Africa made a lot of money.

Of course, that is to say, East Africa did not take advantage of the fact that Britain and France were busy with the European war to launch a sneak attack on the two countries' core overseas interests. It is hard to say about France, but Britain would definitely withdraw from the European war directly. After all, no matter how big the threat from Germany was, it could not compare to the safety of India.

As for the economy, European countries can only allow East Africa and the United States to conquer their respective overseas markets. Of course, this situation will end after World War I. As long as the overseas colonies are not lost, Britain and France will have a way to take back most of the market share after the war. Therefore, the most important thing at present is to solve the current troubles of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

This is exactly what Germany does not want to see. Germany has sacrificed too much for World War I, including its own colonies, so Germany will never allow failure in the war. If it does not defeat the Allies, even if it ends in a draw, it will be a strategic failure for Germany.

Franz IV's visit to East Africa was obviously another lobbying activity on behalf of the German government. In fact, the German government also put a lot of effort into the United States, but compared with Britain, it was ultimately difficult for Germany to make a real breakthrough in the United States.

(End of this chapter)