As a supplement to the agreement, Ernst had specifically obtained an entry ticket into the arms industry from Prussia, first solving the problem of going from nothing to something.
This time, Ernst had stated his purpose in advance: it was for the weapons and equipment needs of the East African colony under the Hechingen Royal Family's administration.
After all, there was no real problem with dealing in weapons and equipment in Europe itself, but setting up a production line was another matter. Even relatively outdated technology would be kept from spreading as much as possible.
Since Ernst had emphasized that it was for colonizing East Africa, the Prussian Government did not need to worry too much about how it would be used. They only needed to send people to inspect the accounts and collect reasonable taxes.
This time, the Prussian Royal Family and the government had been quite generous. Aside from a small arms factory, they had also provided several soon-to-be-retired muzzle-loading flintlock production lines, as well as ammunition production lines. At the same time, they promised that Ernst could purchase other materials he needed from Prussian military enterprises such as Krupp in the future. Naturally, he would have to pay for them, and they could not be used in Europe.
Prussia was now accelerating the retirement of its muzzle-loading flintlocks and shifting toward producing breech-loading rifled guns because of the Second Schleswig War. That was why they had generously given the muzzle-loading flintlock production lines to Ernst, conveniently clearing space for new production lines.
Ernst was already more than satisfied to obtain these obsolete weapon production lines. He planned to equip the East African colony with these weapons that were clearly about to become outdated.
There were increasingly more Chinese immigrants in the East African colony, and more settlements would be established in the future. Yet Ernst's armed forces in East Africa consisted only of hired Germans, numbering just over two thousand, while the Chinese immigrants had already reached nearly three thousand.
In truth, over two thousand men was no small number. On the eve of World War I in a previous life, German East Africa's forces included 68 white officers, 60 white non-commissioned officers, 132 white medical officers and administrative personnel, 2 Black officers, 184 Black non-commissioned officers, and 2,286 Black soldiers.
Such a tiny army had nevertheless suppressed more than 900,000 square kilometers of land. Now, Ernst's investment in the East African colony was far beyond what Germany in his previous life could compare with.
At the military level alone, he already had two thousand white soldiers of his own people, and Chinese forces would be organized later as well.
In his previous life, although German East Africa had been Germany's most valuable colony, Germany had not regarded it as especially valuable. Germany mainly grew cash crops there, such as cotton, rubber, and sisal.
Germany had mainly pinned its hopes on going all in on the European continent. As long as it won in Europe, it could freely divide up leadership over the world, and then it would have whatever colonies it wanted.
Thus, during World War I, Germany had actively abandoned its overseas colonies and concentrated on fighting the Entente Powers in Europe.
Ernst, however, viewed East Africa as his own escape route, so he paid much more attention to its population, agriculture, and industry.
His current efforts to increase immigration were meant to prevent a South Africa-like situation from arising later, replacing the birds in the cage with new ones. In that regard, he was learning from the Americans, though Ernst would not do it so crudely. Massacres were impossible; he would most likely choose to send them elsewhere by ship.
Agriculture was what Ernst was currently working on in East Africa. Aside from planting cash crops, he had retained food crops as the main priority. He could not delay the colony's development plan for a little immediate profit. Only with sufficient food could immigrants be properly settled.
Industry was still somewhat distant. East Africa's basic conditions were currently too poor, leaving no room for industrial development. Even basic industries such as mining were not something Ernst planned to undertake.
Before he had completely gained control of East Africa, discovering some extraordinary mineral deposit might well bring disaster upon himself. Therefore, Ernst proceeded cautiously.
And to take control of East Africa, he needed an army of considerable size. Almost no Germans were willing to go to East Africa for development, so Ernst planned to organize a portion of the Chinese into a Chinese army.
It would be used to control East African territory. As the colony expanded in the future, clashes with those tribes and other colonizers would inevitably occur.
Ernst did not want to repeat German East Africa's experience during World War I, when it had been ganged up on by the colonies of surrounding countries. Even if war broke out, his side should have several times the enemy's troops. Compared with a fair duel, ganging up on the enemy was the kingly path.
Using natives to form an army was certainly unreliable. In his previous life, Britain had rallied colonies from various countries across Africa and assembled a native army of a full 250,000 men to deal with German East Africa, only for them to be toyed with like monkeys by German East Africa's several thousand colonizers in the early stages.
Thus, the natives' combat ability and willingness to fight could easily be imagined. Perhaps they knew they were being sent to die, so they simply gave up altogether. Ernst, however, preferred to believe that this was simply their usual state.
It was not impossible to change these natives' lazy, perfunctory nature. As long as education was handled properly and they started with the next generation, they should be able to set them straight.
But who could bear the cost in money and time? Besides, colonizers came to make a fortune, not to alleviate poverty. Society's wealth was finite; rather than hope to pry money from colonizers' hands, it was better to make them work themselves to the bone.
Of course, not all colonies were like this. Colonies such as the United States and Canada, where the "clearing" had already been completed, had only "their own people" left. They could no longer be treated like natives.
Thus, they shifted toward the state of normal countries. The East African colony had not yet reached that point and, for the time being, lacked the ability to pack up and send out all the natives.
Limited by population numbers, Ernst planned to establish a Chinese army of fifty thousand men in East Africa within the next three years.
To ensure that this army did not slip out of control, all officers would be Germans, while students of Hechingen Military Academy would serve as staff officers and in other deputy positions to assist with management.
Ernst also wanted to expand the German population in East Africa, but there was currently no good way to do so. Who would be willing to seek development in such a "barbaric" place?
Only once the East African colony's infrastructure had been completed, and Europe had fallen into great chaos beneath the threat of war clouds, could Ernst reach into Europe and draw over those ordinary people.
As the first Chinese army formed in the East African colony, its weapon issue would naturally be resolved by these outdated muzzle-loading flintlock production lines.
This envisioned force would not be a standing army. Rather, it would be a special kind of force like a peasant army, one that would normally participate in production and construction.
After all, the East African colony's current opponents were merely those uncivilized native tribes. Most were still at the stage of using stone and wood to make spears and bows, supplemented by a small number of iron tools.
Such opponents were not worth forming a professionally trained standing army to handle. As long as the Chinese immigrants took retired European flintlocks and learned to fire and aim them, they would be striking down upon those native tribes from an entirely higher dimension.
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