Hechingen Military Academy

In just a few short months, Hechingen Military Academy had completed its initial staff construction, and the teachers Ernst had recruited had not yet begun teaching.

This was because the more than 500 youths recruited from the Far East were too frail and needed a period of recovery. Most of them were sallow and malnourished.

Ernst did not dare to let the youths, who had just crossed the sea to Europe, eat too much. They were already physically weak and had been at sea for such a long time. The rocking of the ship was unbearable even for a normal person, let alone these children.

Furthermore, they had been in a state of famine for a long time, so their digestive systems were in no condition to handle rich food. If they ate too much oily food rashly, he was afraid the toilets wouldn't be enough for them the next day.

Therefore, after they landed, Ernst only prepared some vegetables, bread, and potatoes for them to ease into their diet. The portions were small each time, as he was afraid they would wolf down the food and burden their bodies. Even so, their eyes were full of light, a reflection of their hunger for food.

For children from the East in this era, being able to eat every day was already a great blessing. Some had even eaten bark and mud before. The food Ernst prepared was like a feast to them, as they were not picky eaters.

Ernst was able to guarantee that these unfortunate children would have enough to eat, and he was even willing to pay out of his own pocket to supplement their meals with some meat.

In recent years, affected by wars, the already corrupt Qing government had intensified its exploitation of the lower classes. The indemnities to foreign powers and the war expenses for suppressing the southern rebellion were all squeezed from the common people. As for the frequent natural disasters in the north and the countless refugees, the Qing government turned a blind eye.

From this, one could also understand how difficult life was for the people of the ancient Eastern country. For these farmers who owned no land, they not only received no return for their hard work and sweat but also might end up with huge debts.

With a few words from the landlords, the taxes levied by the imperial court were doubled from the tenant farmers. When natural disasters or man-made calamities struck, countless families went bankrupt. The lucky ones would beg their way to distant lands, while the unfortunate ones would die on the roadside, their bodies left in the wilderness.

Thus, Ernst's Far East Commercial Liaison Office had extremely smooth recruitment in Qing China. For those who had lost hope of survival, anyone who offered them a meal was like a reborn parent. This made it understandable why some people crossed the ocean to America to build railroads.

This was also why later generations of Chinese were the most able to endure hardship. You couldn't imagine their poverty just a few decades ago. As long as they were given hope, they would be the best workers in the world.

As for countries like India, it was a case of an entire class habitually giving up. They had learned this thousands of years ago. In Ernst's eyes, they couldn't even compare to the African natives.

Although the African natives might not be good at doing things, their attitude towards life was positive and upward. Indians tended to be passively compliant and "realistic."

This "realism" was not a good word, but rather a vague expression of the Indian worldview and values. After all, Indians had developed a civilization, but their national character did not match it.

This was also why Ernst dared to employ Chinese people. Although there was some emotional inclination, it was actually driven by self-interest. Ernst had to maximize his profits, so he naturally needed disciplined and obedient labor.

In this era, Europeans were the highest quality labor force in the world because European education was at the forefront globally, especially in the German regions. Compulsory education freed commoners from illiteracy, allowing them to adapt better to an industrialized society.

Even in the Prussian army, ordinary soldiers had primary school education and could follow orders precisely. Therefore, universal education was a general trend of the times.

Ernst wanted to develop East Africa, and of course, he wanted to use such high-quality labor. However, the enlightened German populace was not foolish. One had the Americas, where opportunities were everywhere, living standards were high, and modernization was advanced. The other was Africa, full of wild beasts and poisonous insects, with not even a decent road. Everyone knew where to go to make a living.

Without investing a lot of money, who would be willing to go to East Africa to open up land and risk their lives for Ernst? Since the best option was unavailable, he would choose the second best. Thus, the Chinese became the inevitable choice.

Firstly, throughout its history, East Asia's various dynasties were adept at mobilizing civilian labor, organizing the populace through lower-level government offices to build roads, dig canals, or undertake large projects, thus possessing general obedience and being easy to manage.

Secondly, modern Chinese had endured enough hardship, and society was extremely competitive. Their spirit of enduring hardship and working diligently could be said to be the best in the world. Europeans, who had experienced the Black Death and the resulting population decline, could not fully appreciate this. Coupled with the long influence of serfdom in Europe, Europeans and their lords had reached a certain balance. After all, serfs were the lords' assets, and excessive use leading to accidental death would be a loss. Moreover, the labor costs had been driven up by the Black Death.

Not only that, but the Black Death also caused widespread panic throughout Europe. It was like drawing straws; one might die at any time. Therefore, European nobles indulged in pleasure, which inadvertently promoted the development of culture and art. The nobles at the top focused on enjoyment, causing less trouble, and the common people below lived better lives.

Therefore, Europeans found it difficult to understand the current desperate work attitude of the Chinese. Without sufficient wages and adequate rest, they would revolt.

Finally, Ernst did not need highly skilled labor at all, at least not currently. Ernst was a person with extremely strong control. Uneducated Chinese, lacking the broader perspective of Europeans, had lower aspirations and were more easily satisfied and managed than Europeans.

Ernst was currently only opening up wasteland in East Africa and needed people who knew how to farm. Ernst believed that no region could directly skip agricultural modernization and achieve industrialization. Now, Ernst intended to organize Chinese farmers into companies to farm in Africa.

The people hired from the Far East were already looking for a way to make a living, so there would be no wages. Large-scale collaborative production did not require them to exert intense physical labor, and they could also use local natives to plow fields.

That's right, Ernst was just a profit-driven nobleman, not a saint. As for the natives in those tribes, Ernst would not only expropriate their land but also temporarily utilize the slaves that the Sultanate of Zanzibar did not need.

The Sultanate of Zanzibar had been selling slaves to various Arab regions since the time of the Omani Empire. They also did not need the local natives who were not physically fit.

Currently, Ernst did not have the ability or energy to transport these natives to other countries and regions, so he could only use them as tools of production to open up wasteland.

Originally, most of these natives relied on hunting and gathering for a living, so it would be difficult to get them to farm. Farmers also needed experience.

Therefore, Ernst only planned to have these natives undertake simple, heavy physical labor such as pulling plows and digging irrigation channels.

After all, there were no tractors or excavators now, and even if there were, Ernst couldn't afford them. The entire East African land reclamation could only rely on human labor.

As Ernst's last shred of conscience, if these natives lived long enough to survive Ernst's reliance on manual labor, Ernst would find a way to transport them to other countries and regions.

And this group of youths before him were the reserve talents to assist Ernst in managing the Chinese in East Africa in the future. He couldn't possibly assign translators to all the Chinese; there probably weren't many Germans who spoke Chinese.

As for later on, once Ernst popularized German in East Africa, this would no longer be necessary. However, this would take a long time, at least until the next generation of Chinese.

As a native German in this life, Ernst would not do anything to undermine his own foundation. Therefore, the future of East Africa must be dominated by Germans. In the early stages, Germans would inevitably be the ruling class, and later, mixed-bloods would be prioritized for employment until ethnic integration was complete, leaving no trace of future trouble.