Reclamation

While Prussia and Austria were locked in fierce battle, the East African Colony Coastal District had already driven out all the natives. Aside from those sold to slave traders in Zanzibar and a portion retained for heavy labor, the rest were given back their own weapons and set free.

Of course, the East African colony was not showing them mercy by expelling these natives. They had been scared out of their wits by the Binhai District's military might and naturally did not dare return. They could only head west or north. There, they were bound to encounter other native tribes. Armed but without land or food, they would naturally clash with those other tribes. Once they fought each other to the death, the East African colony could sit like a snipe and clam's quarrel, with the fisherman reaping the gain, and take over the new land.

Besides, whether natives who had lost their tribes could survive at all remained unknown. In any case, there was only one goal: reduce the number of natives.

It was impossible to plant crops across all the newly acquired land, but the areas around the new settlements could be developed first.

Most of these places had abundant water sources, providing stable water supplies for both production and daily life. Although rainfall in the Binhai District was relatively plentiful, the East African colony now had a small population and little cultivated land. As long as they found a river, they would not need to live at heaven's mercy.

As the easternmost district at present, the Binhai District lay close to the Indian Ocean and had a humid, hot climate, making it highly suitable for rice cultivation.

Thus, these newly developed lands naturally favored rice as their staple crop. Wheat suffered reduced yields in excessively high temperatures, making it more suitable for the western highlands.

Moreover, the western part of the East African colony received relatively little rainfall, making it suitable for drought-resistant crops such as wheat and millet.

Sisal was currently the colony's greatest flagship product. East Africa was suited to growing many tropical cash crops, such as cotton, bananas, rubber, and coffee...

But sisal grew best here and had a relatively strong market, while competition for other cash crops was far more intense.

Besides that, cloves were also an important crop of the colony. The Sultanate of Zanzibar was famous for its abundant clove production, so the Binhai District near the Sultanate of Zanzibar naturally did not overlook clove cultivation.

Clove yields were relatively low, so sales were not a problem. Each shipment could be carried directly back to Europe for sale aboard Dutch fleets.

The East African colony had now begun using horses and oxen to plow fields. As more horses arrived, the supporting plowing equipment was also put in place.

The colony's communications now began using horses as well. News that once took one or two months to travel back from the various settlements could now return within one or two weeks.

With the aid of horses, the East African colony had also begun exploring farther afield, gathering intelligence on regions including Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Horse plowing was prevalent in Europe, which meant Europe did not lack warhorses as ancient East Asia did. Horse plowing made horses essential tools of production, and ordinary people were eager to raise them on their own initiative.

At the same time, this made cattle less important in Europe, turning them into common food on the dining table. That was why Europeans liked eating beef and drinking milk.

This was also related to Europeans' inability to process ingredients. For instance, Europeans did not know how to castrate boars, leaving pork with a strong gamey stench that could only be concealed with the heavy aroma of spices.

Of course, Europe did not eat much pork now. Only the German territories ate somewhat more of it, and after Germany unified in the future, the amount would rise further.

Beef, meanwhile, only needed simple preparation to taste good, so it naturally won Europeans' favor. A pat of butter and a little salt were enough to make a simple, delicious steak.

In the East African colony, Ernst naturally chose horse plowing. Cattle were mainly raised for meat. The Maasai of later generations were nomadic people of East Africa who made their living by herding cattle.

Forcing the use of horse plowing would inevitably increase demand for horses. As important means of transport, horses could improve the East African colony's transportation capacity.

After all, the East African colony currently had virtually no infrastructure and remained at the stage of traveling on foot. Only a small number of Germans had military horses for travel.

Coupled with East Africa's flat, open terrain, which was exceptionally suitable for horses to gallop across, the more horses they needed, the better.

Manda, at the northernmost edge of the Binhai District, now had curling cooking smoke rising into the air as immigrants began lighting fires to prepare meals.

The nearby fields had also more or less finished being plowed and planted. Using waterwheels, river water was drawn into the rice paddies, and fields crisscrossed the entire expanse of land.

These paddies were all fairly large. Horses were used to turn the soil, though some natives were also used as draught power.

Some of them had already been planted with rice seedlings, while others still needed time. To the east lay a stretch of hills used to grow sisal.

Rows upon rows of sisal ran from top to bottom, covering the hills. From afar, they resembled East Asian tea plantations, circling the low hills in layer after layer, a rather magnificent sight.

The Binhai District's climate had also been favorable lately. The rains came at stable times and were rarely late or early.

This counted as one of the Indian Ocean's advantages. As everyone knew, El Niño and La Niña phenomena were especially pronounced in the Pacific region, intensifying climatic fluctuations in the East Asian region.

Though the Indian Ocean was also affected, the effects were not prominent. Apart from the equator and highland regions, East Africa's climate was mainly shaped by shifts in the trade wind belt. Each year, when the trade wind belt moved south or north, it brought a certain amount of rainfall to East Africa.

This gave East Africa two rainy seasons each year. At the same time, the East African coast was also affected by ocean currents, with the Binhai District experiencing this most clearly.

Without the Somali Cold Current, rainfall along the East African coast would definitely increase, creating orographic rain similar to that of northeastern India.

The East African colony's stable climate also enabled agricultural production to proceed in an orderly fashion. The colony had already developed a relatively mature agricultural calendar, which could guide and organize new immigrants in agricultural work.

At present, due to unrest in the East Asian region, the number of immigrants coming to develop the East African colony was rapidly increasing, especially from the north.

Influenced by Chuang Guandong, northern residents now had two choices: develop overseas, or head northeast for development.

For those going overseas, East Africa was currently the best option. Ernst had made arrangements early, and northern regions had not encountered the outside world as early as the south. Thus, the immigration network Ernst had established in the north was larger in scale and more mature.

The southern regions, especially the southeastern coast, had more channels. Some chose to develop in Nanyang, while the Americas were their second destination. After all, they had broader connections, and many went overseas together in groups based on clans and local communities.

Thus, southern immigrants overseas tended to band together, but their internal strife was also quite severe. Overseas, they likewise gathered together and formed footholds similar to Chinatowns. Clan brawls were a defining feature of southern clans, and overseas their interests overlapped even more heavily. If you ate one bite more, he ate one bite less, so bloody clashes were even more frequent than back home.

This was also one reason Ernst did not dare choose southern immigrants. They needed only to farm honestly and not stir up trouble, especially by forming groups. Although Chinese immigrants currently made up the largest population in the East African colony, no one led them; they were a heap of loose sand. Ernst was very satisfied with that.

While Prussia and Austria fought fiercely in the German territories of Europe, the East African colony remained peaceful, with everyone contributing to its development.

House construction, farmland development, canal digging, road building, livestock raising—an East African colony centered on agriculture was rapidly taking shape.