Thus, in terms of returns for East Africa's assistance to Germany, East Africa had fully lived up to Germany's expectations. It was only that these returns were not what Germany needed most urgently. What Germany needed was East Africa's all-round strategic cooperation, not those "empty showpieces" on the economic front.
However, Germany obviously could not claim that economic cooperation between the two countries was unimportant. After all, Germany's geographical position, climate, and territorial scale had condemned it to disadvantages in many respects, especially its dependence on East Africa for support in numerous strategic materials.
Moltke said, "In fact, East Africa's proposal is also the best choice for us. At this point in time, there is simply no way for us to spare attention for overseas territories. If we can trade those overseas territories for East Africa's support, that would not be a bad outcome either. Those overseas territories were scraps left over after Britain and France had divided the feast."
"For the Empire, as long as we defeat Britain and France, rich colonies such as the Middle East and India will be ours for the taking. Therefore, turning these colonies into cash is what benefits us most."
Moltke's words plunged Germany's senior officials into silence. In truth, the German government understood this principle in its heart, but it still felt somewhat stifled. The hardest hurdle to cross was the one in their minds.
Now that Moltke had laid the matter bare, it at least provided the German government with some psychological comfort. Everything was for the Empire. As for East Africa, Germany should instead work even harder to win it over. Even if they could not become comrades-in-arms, it would still be good for Germany so long as East Africa displayed a friendly attitude toward it.
After all, apart from