Oceanic Trade

After the Hohenzollern Conglomerate's colonial team reached an agreement with the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the team had successfully established a foothold there.

The colonial team began building carriages, tents, and other means of transportation in Zanzibar, preparing to explore the interior.

Meanwhile, Dutch ships docked at the port of Dar es Salaam, replenished their fresh water and supplies, and continued their voyage, destination East Asia.

Hechingen.

The perspective shifted back to Europe, where a new construction was underway in Hechingen, not far from the city's outskirts, which had already become a large construction site.

"Ernst, are you planning to open a factory in Hechingen?" Prince Constantin asked.

After the war, Prince Constantin retired from the Prussian General Staff in Berlin and returned to Hechingen.

Not long after his visit to Venice, Ernst had returned home and asked him for a piece of land.

Prince Constantin had initially assumed Ernst intended to take over his business and develop the agricultural sector. Even though he wasn't involved in the labor, a landowner still needed to be good with numbers.

Prince Constantin thought Ernst would use the land for crop experiments, as Ernst had mentioned establishing a large farm in East Africa some time ago.

To his surprise, his fields had been leveled in just a few days! They were now piled high with bricks, earth, sand, gravel, and cement that Ernst had ordered. The miscalculating Prince Constantin had no choice but to ask him directly.

"Father, I'm going to build a school here," Ernst said, looking with satisfaction at the partially constructed building before him.

This statement only confused Prince Constantin further. Building a school in Hechingen seemed like utter madness.

This wasn't just Prince Constantin's imagination. Hechingen had no shortage of schools. Prussia had long since implemented compulsory education, and the children of Hechingen already had places to attend school. Ernst couldn't possibly conjure up students out of thin air! Therefore, Ernst couldn't be planning to establish an elementary school. However, there was also a middle school in Hechingen, established during the era of Margrave Frederick.

The number of students in Hechingen who could attend middle school each year was very small. Most students went out into society after completing elementary school, as the cost of middle school was quite high. They would either return to farming or find an apprenticeship in the city through connections.

Only about a hundred to two hundred students could attend middle school annually, and in good years, perhaps two to three hundred, while in bad years, it could be as few as eighty.

Therefore, Constantin was unsure what kind of school Ernst intended to build and asked, "As far as I know, the education market in Hechingen is already saturated. You can't possibly waste your resources for nothing!"

After several years of interaction, Constantin had realized his son was someone who didn't act without purpose. He was becoming more and more like a merchant. Fortunately, Ernst had been so successful so far that Constantin didn't oppose Ernst's development plans. However, Constantin was certain Ernst would never engage in a losing venture.

"Father, I'm going to establish a military academy in Hechingen to train talent for our family," Ernst explained to Constantin.

Upon hearing the words "military academy," Constantin's eyelids twitched, and he quickly asked Ernst.

"What are you trying to do? Military academies require government registration, don't they? You're not pursuing a military career, so isn't establishing a military academy redundant? If you had just given me a heads-up, I could have secured a position for you in the army."

Constantin asked in confusion, "Besides, even if you wanted to build a military academy, wouldn't you choose a large city? In a rural place like Hechingen, without military cooperation, who would come?"

Ernst knew Prince Constantin had misunderstood and began to describe his idea: "Father, you've misunderstood. I am indeed going to establish a military academy, but this military academy has no relation to Prussia. It's being prepared for the development of East Africa. The so-called military academy isn't what you're imagining."

Constantin understood immediately. This wasn't a formal institution; it was essentially a training program for colonial teams. However, Constantin's doubts grew.

"Even for the development of East Africa, is it necessary to train 'talent' separately? Couldn't you just form a colonial team or hire a mercenary group?"

Colonial endeavors in those times certainly required military force, but it was usually government armies, commercial teams, and mercenary organizations that undertook such tasks. Constantin had never heard of a school being established specifically for colonial activities, let alone a military one.

"Father, this relates to my vision for East Africa. The future East Africa might be larger than all of Germany combined, so preparing military personnel in advance is essential. With such a vast territory, if we were to claim it all for ourselves, people would undoubtedly become covetous."

Larger than Germany? Prince Constantin couldn't fathom it. Was his son's mind malfunctioning? Such a wild idea.

Constantin naturally knew about Africa but hadn't specifically researched it. He took Ernst's hand and urged him to go home.

"Come, let's go back and study this."

Shortly after, a world map was spread out on the table before Constantin. He pointed to Tanzania on the map with his finger. "Is it here?"

"Yes, Father," Ernst replied, beginning to draw on the map with a pen. Soon, a circle took shape on the map.

This circle encompassed what would later become Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and southern Kenya.

"This is my initial vision. European countries haven't paid attention to this region yet. I plan to follow the example of the British East India Company and use the Hohenzollern Conglomerate to bring this area under the rule of our House of Hohenzollern." This was the first time Ernst had revealed his ambition to anyone.

"Unlike India, which is an ancient civilization with a long history, East Africa only has Axum as a civilization," he said, crossing out the Ethiopian region on the map with his pen.

"Axum's sphere of influence is in northern East Africa, and I won't interfere there. The only threats to us in all of East Africa are the colonial teams of various countries and the Sultanate of Zanzibar," he continued, marking Zanzibar and the Portuguese colony of Mozambique with small circles.

"These colonial teams are not a significant threat. Most of them are small groups involved in slave hunting and ivory poaching. As long as we act before the European powers take notice, we can clear them out by various means."

Ernst went on to say, "The Sultanate of Zanzibar has a population of over a hundred thousand and is an Arab country, so the threat is not significant. Our first colonial team has already successfully landed."

"As for the Portuguese, they have been in decline, and their control over their colonies is not as strong as before. However, Mozambique is a threat, and we must be cautious of the local colonial government," Ernst said with a serious expression.

"However, the Portuguese are not particularly interested in other parts of East Africa, mainly operating along the coast. This gives me room to maneuver."

Ernst continued, "I plan to send people to establish many strongholds in the interior of East Africa, focusing on the areas between Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Malawi," he said, outlining the region between the three lakes with his pen.

"By immigrating several hundred thousand people, this area can be completely incorporated into the rule of our House of Hohenzollern."

Prince Constantin heard this and asked, "Where will you find so many people? That's more than the entire population of Hechingen!"

Ernst replied, "Here!"

His pencil pointed directly at Qing China in East Asia.

Prince Constantin frowned and asked, "If you intend to achieve this goal through an external ethnic group, why go so far when you could use the local indigenous people?"

"Father, that's an easy question to answer. Qing China is the most populous country in the world, with an oversupply of human resources. Moreover, the common people live in hardship, and many leave their homes every year to seek a living overseas due to famine and war. For the indigenous people of Africa, we are invaders, and they will not willingly accept our rule. Therefore, by bringing in people from Qing China, these individuals, finding themselves in a strange new land, will have no choice but to depend on us for survival."

"Then why not bring in people from Germany?" Constantin asked.

"I would like to, Father, but the cost of bringing people from Germany is too high. The first colonial team alone was hired at great expense. However, people from Qing China will work for us as long as they have food. This is a matter of cost."

Ernst continued, "Secondly, now that the American Civil War is over, most Germans will choose to develop their lives and careers in the mature American market. If you talk to them about going to Africa, they'll likely be intimidated at the mere mention of the continent."

Influenced by past public opinion, Africa represented a land of wild beasts and tropical diseases in Europe. Consequently, Europeans had only established colonial outposts along the African coast, hesitant to venture into the interior, which created an opportunity for Ernst.

"Then how will you control the Chinese? You know that too many people can lead to chaos," Prince Constantin said.

"My current idea is to cultivate our own talent. This is also the original intention behind establishing the Hohenzollern Military Academy. The students will be recruited from China. We will instill our ideology in them, ensuring their obedience, and later they will assist the Germans in dividing and governing Chinese immigrants in Africa. Once the land in East Africa is developed by the Chinese, we can stop importing immigrants from China and instead attract people from Germany and Europe. Then, the Hohenzollern Conglomerate will establish a preliminary industrial system for East Africa. Finally, we will drive out the indigenous people, thereby establishing a nation similar to Brazil and the United States."

Prince Constantin listened to Ernst's plan, his mind in turmoil for a long time. It was a monumental undertaking, but there was indeed theoretical room for execution.

If Ernst succeeded, it would be equivalent to re-establishing a nation overseas for the House of Hohenzollern, a new nation comparable in scale to Germany, and one led by the House of Hohenzollern. The prospect of such territorial expansion made Prince Constantin's heart race.

"Hmm, since you have your own ideas, I support you. Setting aside other matters, I still have my connections and influence within Germany, so go ahead and do what you need to do!" Constantin said calmly, suppressing his inner excitement.

Jiaozhou Bay.

The German Commercial Liaison Office, a new office flying the Prussian flag. There was another one in Zhuhai, but Ernst had specifically emphasized establishing one in the north, directly selecting Jiaozhou Bay.

In addition to promoting the products of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate in northern China, the German Commercial Liaison Office in Jiaozhou Bay had a special mission: to select five hundred healthy youths from the north, particularly from the region along the Ji River, and bring them back to Germany.

The criteria were: no diseases, no formal education, and most importantly, they must come from impoverished peasant families.

These were the students Ernst had chosen. In China, local clans tended to band together, posing a destabilizing factor for governance, especially in the south where clan influence was pervasive. Therefore, Ernst was not recruiting in the south.

As for the Ji River region, it was Ernst's hometown from his previous life. In this era, there was no standard Mandarin, and dialects were widespread. Ernst did not want his subordinates speaking languages he couldn't understand. If it was his hometown dialect, Ernst could grasp the general meaning, as the northern languages were much more unified than the southern ones.

Ernst intended to personally serve as the principal of the Hohenzollern Military Academy and might even teach classes. The language had to be unified; otherwise, it would be awkward if these youths couldn't understand Ernst. Giving them three years to learn German would mean Ernst wouldn't have to personally supervise and manage them afterward.

The German Commercial Liaison Office in Jiaozhou Bay was also responsible for recruiting workers for East Africa and for large-scale commodity trading. Besides Ernst's own products, he had reached cooperation agreements with some merchants in Berlin, seizing this opportunity to jointly open up markets in the Far East for Germany.

Flagship products like cigarettes and kerosene lighters were already gaining popularity among officials and nobles in the Far Eastern market. The Hohenzollern Conglomerate, in turn, used Dutch ships to transport cheap raw materials from the Far East and labor from East Africa back.

The Dutch also added a considerable amount of Far Eastern specialties, including silk, porcelain, and tea, which were major commodities.

Through this long-distance trade voyage, Ernst had initially established trade routes connecting Europe, East Africa, and the Far East. Although it relied on Dutch assistance, it also provided valuable experience for the Germans aboard the ships.

Once the Suez Canal opened in the future, Venice's fleet would also be largely assembled, at which point a commercial route entirely dominated by Germans could be established.

The primary process of this commercial route would be: exporting industrial goods from Europe, selling them in the Far East, recruiting labor from the Far East to develop East Africa, and then transporting agricultural products and minerals from East Africa back to Europe.

Of course, in the initial stages, the Hohenzollern Conglomerate would operate this route at a loss. East Africa was still a wasteland, and production could only commence once the population arrived. Furthermore, the Far Eastern market had not been fully opened, and the business of the two commercial liaison offices was still limited to coastal areas. Advertising and personnel salaries all cost money, so Ernst had to rely on profitable industries in mainland Germany to subsidize his colonial activities.

However, this process might take several years. The good news was that the Berlin Energy Power Company had made significant breakthroughs, meaning Ernst's "money-making hens" were about to increase. Coupled with the rising reputation of the Hohenzollern Development Bank in Germany, Ernst found himself with even more abundant funds than before. Indeed, banking was the true wealth generator and industrial incubator.