June 12, 1892.
Jiaozhou, Far East Empire.
As time passed, Jiaozhou had become even more prosperous than before. As the foremost trading port of East Africa, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Far East Empire, Jiaozhou's development did not lag in the slightest behind that of the several coastal treaty ports in the south.
Jiaozhou's permanent population had surpassed four hundred thousand, placing it among the leading major cities in the north and making it the north's economic window to the outside world.
The Jiaozhou region was already highly developed and prosperous, with industries unrivaled in the north. Most were investments from East Africa, Germany, and Austria-Hungary, though merchants from other countries also gathered here. Naturally, this included spies from a certain wolf-ambitious nation, their mouths watering at the sight of prosperous Jiaozhou.
Of course, the Germans held considerable influence in Jiaozhou. With three great powers behind them, even nations such as Britain and France could not do as they pleased here. Thus, the wolfish ambitions of a certain small island nation in the Pacific Ocean could only be reined in.
After a certain major African power released a batch of immigration quotas, the response was enthusiastic. Less than an hour after the notices went up, a long line had formed outside the East African Consulate in Jiaozhou.
Unlike before, when East Africa had stopped at nothing to attract immigrants—coaxing and deceiving alike—East Africa itself could now draw many people willing to go there and seek their futures.
"The immigration conditions back then were utterly different from today! Take the ships to East Africa, for example. Their interiors were cramped, with people packed into spaces no bigger than a palm. They were only slightly better than the slave ships of earlier years."
Standing in the queue, Wang Defeng recalled