Everything Takes Time

Ernst: "Militarily, disturb Matabele Province as little as possible. The railway department must prepare in advance, especially for war preparations against Portugal's two colonies. If war breaks out, wipe Mozambique and Angola off the map completely, thoroughly opening a land passage between East Africa's two oceans."

At the end of the day, Portugal's two colonies were more important to East Africa than Cape Town was at present. Once those two colonies were taken, East Africa's national defense and security problems would be more than half resolved, while nationwide planning for the economy, transportation, industry, and other sectors would become far easier.

"Never mind when the enemy chooses to start the war. We need to set a deadline. Once that time arrives, we must resolve the Portuguese problem once and for all. Then, just as when we attacked the Republic of the Transvaal, we will strike first," Ernst continued.

"And when should we set that deadline?" Felix asked.

After thinking for a moment, Ernst said, "East Africa is currently developing its economy with all its strength, so war cannot have too great an impact on production across the country, especially at this moment, when East African industry and infrastructure are still being laid from the ground up."

East African economic development had now transitioned from chaos and disorder toward rational order. Because East Africa was a new nation, and its system differed from that of most countries in the world, there was no model it could use as a reference.

Moreover, East Africa had begun cultivating its own talent relatively late. Its bureaucratic class therefore possessed less experience in governing than those of other regions of the world—one could even say it had no experience at all.

Thus, East Africa's early industrialization process had been extremely chaotic. These were all things