For the countries along the Indian Ocean coast and in the Middle East and inland Central Asia, mention of Britain had once made them gnash their teeth in hatred.
But after East Africa and the Soviet Union emerged, they suddenly discovered that compared with those two great powers, the British had been merciful enough.
King Shah sighed. "We once regarded Britain as a flood and a savage beast, but once Britain truly declined, countries like the Soviet Union and East Africa proved, in some ways, even fiercer than Britain."
"Although East Africa has restrained itself somewhat in recent years, dealing with East Africa still makes my heart tremble. It always feels like seeking a tiger's hide."
East Africa's reputation in the Middle East and Central Asia was almost entirely negative. Its expansion along the Persian Gulf coast back then had frightened quite a few people out of their wits.
East Africa held roughly more than two hundred thousand square kilometers of territory in the Middle East. That was by no means a small area, even if most of it was desert.
Not a single follower of the Arab religion could now be found across those more than two hundred thousand square kilometers of land.
Thus, it was inevitable that Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries would be wary of East Africa. Coupled with East Africa's own history of expansion, such suspicions had ample basis.
Interior Minister Mahmoud reassured him, "At least East Africa has changed somewhat from before in the international community."
"East Africa's expansion was mainly concentrated before the 1920s, around the outbreak of the European War. Over the past decade or so, East Africa has hardly expanded its overseas territory at all."
"Looking at it from another angle, if Afghanistan possessed East Africa's strength and encountered the European