Colonial Development

On the low hills to the southwest of Hohenzollern Conglomerate's First Town, rows of freshly planted sisal seedlings are being tilled into the soil by agricultural workers.

Along the pathways on either side, indigenous laborers use iron plows procured from Europe to turn the soil, while Chinese workers tend to the areas around the sisal seedlings. This is delicate work, and if left to the indigenous laborers, they might damage the sisal roots. Therefore, it can only be done by experienced and meticulous Chinese farmhands using hoes, little by little.

On the land that has already been prepared, Germans, under the guidance of a Hispanic agricultural expert, direct and supervise indigenous workers in digging drainage channels.

From the high slopes down to the flat land, wheat seedlings have already been planted. To ensure sufficient water for the wheat, new irrigation canals are under construction.

With the arrival of more and more Chinese immigrants, the agricultural scale has become quite considerable. These new immigrants are assigned to work under experienced elders who arrived earlier, participating in land reclamation. The Germans are in leadership positions, primarily responsible for supervision, management, and military affairs.

To prevent any ill-intentioned indigenous tribes or slave-hunting parties, the stationed German mercenary groups patrol the surrounding territories in groups.

The main force continues to explore inland, mapping the area, and sometimes, on their return for rest, they will incidentally capture laborers and clear the land around First Town.

The entire First Town is expanding westward at a visible rate. As long as subsequent personnel arrive, new strongholds will continuously appear in the interior of Tanzania.

The entire colonial team has already begun planning a second stronghold, located thirteen kilometers southwest of First Town along the Little Rhine River. For ease of statistical management, the name, as before, is simple and unadorned: Second Town (Luvu). In addition, a Third Town is also in the planning stages.

Third Town (Kitonga) is located north of First Town, approximately ten kilometers away in a straight line. Construction will begin once sufficient personnel are in place.

Thus, a nascent East African colony is taking shape, centered on First Town, connecting to the port of Dar es Salaam to the east and expanding westward, covering an area of approximately 150,000 mu.

Sisal thrives in hot, humid environments with evenly distributed rainfall on high slopes, particularly in climates with high daytime temperatures, dryness, ample sunshine, and heavy fog or dew at night.

East Africa perfectly matches these conditions. Daytime temperatures are high with strong sunlight, while at night, due to the plateau terrain, the atmosphere is relatively thin, providing poor heat retention and rapid heat loss. Moisture in the air easily condenses. Therefore, the diurnal temperature range in Africa is greater than the annual temperature range.

The ideal temperature range for sisal growth is 27-30°C, with an upper limit of 40°C and a lower limit of 16°C. The diurnal temperature difference should not exceed 7-10°C, which aligns with the temperature conditions in East Africa.

The suitable annual rainfall is 1200-800 mm. It is quite adaptable, tolerating poor soil and drought, but is susceptible to waterlogging. However, it exhibits strong growth and a wide range of adaptability. It is best planted in loose, well-drained, fertile sandy loam with a low water table. Areas with poor drainage and constant dampness are not suitable for planting. Its cold tolerance is low, and it is prone to physiological leaf spot disease.

This data was provided by the Hispanic agricultural expert Ernst invited from Mexico. Sisal is native to the Mexican Plateau and was later spread worldwide by Europeans.

This Hispanic expert was a farmer engaged in sisal cultivation in Mexico. Although his education level was not high, his grandmother was from Germany, so he also spoke German. This is why the East African colony hired him.

The Mexican Plateau and the East African Plateau are similar, both located near the equator with comparable environments. The difference is that East Africa is closer to the equator, with the equator passing through its center, while Mexico lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator.

Rainfall distribution in Mexico is uneven; some areas are tropical rainforests, while others are tropical deserts. East Africa has better conditions, with tropical grasslands generally found south of Ethiopia and Somalia.

The East African colony operates under a corporate management structure. Chinese immigrants here are nominally workers of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate, and in practice, they are. The land belongs to the Hohenzollern Conglomerate, which also arranges for these agricultural workers to labor collectively.

All immigrants are divided into different work groups for the planned development of East African land. Ultimately, the food supply is determined by the efficiency of each group's work.

The colony's management team dispatches personnel to inspect the agricultural workers' output. The inspection standards include workload, time taken, the quality of farmland development, and the subsequent growth of the crops.

In theory, these agricultural workers are entitled to wages, but none have received them yet. The Chinese farm laborers do not seem to mind. Their primary purpose for coming here is to make a living. In the Far East, most have lost their land or gone bankrupt due to unforeseen circumstances, leaving them with no other options but to cross the ocean to East Africa.

The East African colony encourages such people to seek a livelihood in East Africa because the most significant shortage is of people. After comparing the work of Chinese and indigenous laborers, the colony's high-level officials found that the efficiency of the Chinese was far superior to that of the indigenous people and that they were easier to manage.

Most of those indigenous people require colonial team members to stand by with whips, supervising them before they reluctantly begin to work, although this is also influenced by the exploitation by the Hohenzollern Conglomerate.

However, comparison reveals everything. The Chinese laborers on one side are working hard without complaint and follow instructions precisely, showing no sign of reluctance. Why can't you local lazybones do the same?

As a result, the colony's high-level officials have gradually "understood" the boss's intentions. These Chinese are indeed naturally superior workers, no less than the Germans.

However, these Chinese workers do have substantial appetites. Ordinary Germans who can barely make ends meet in Europe find it difficult to comprehend the Chinese desire to eat their fill.

In the East African colony, the more work done, the more food is provided. Naturally, they work desperately.

Due to colonial land reclamation, the animals on the East African grasslands have suffered greatly. Wildebeest, lions... all large animals have been hunted by the colonial team.

The meat from these animals has mostly ended up in the stomachs of the Chinese laborers. For many Chinese laborers who haven't seen meat in a long time, it felt like a festival.

Even in Qing China at this time, many common people couldn't get a drop of oil during the New Year. Unlike now, as long as they work hard, they can get a meal, and occasionally, they can eat meat. Although the work is hard every day, happiness and contentment appear on these faces for the first time.

With the basic survival issues resolved, some families have already begun the process of having children. Yes, there are Chinese families in the East African colony.

The East African colony encourages family immigration, as forming families is a condition for maintaining stable rule. Of course, large families and clans are not included in this. Large families and clans are considered unstable factors by Ernst, as they tend to band together, making them difficult to manage and unfair to social development.

Therefore, when recruiting population from the Far East, Ernst strictly prohibits the involvement of large families and clans. These families and clans might not consider coming to East Africa, but Ernst wants to nip any potential problems in the bud.

As for small families of two or three people, Ernst welcomes them wholeheartedly. If nothing else, any family formed or already established in the East African colony will be allocated separate housing. As for single men, most have to share dormitories.

Currently, the gender ratio in the colony is severely imbalanced. Those who form families are a minority, and they were already married in the Far East. There are even fewer single female workers recruited.

Solving the marriage problems of these single men in the future will fall on Ernst's shoulders. However, Ernst does not have the capacity to deal with these matters right now.

Ernst is currently more focused on industrial development and changes in the European situation.