With the two old foxes, Britain and France, watching closely, Ernst felt some pressure. But East Africa's strength lay in having Germany and Austria as its two big brothers shielding it, so Britain and France could not go too far. Of course, relying on others was inferior to relying on oneself. Germany and Austria favoring East Africa was a matter of goodwill; if East Africa could not stand on its own feet, it would all come to nothing. In the final analysis, strength spoke for itself.
However, this war had also truly brought East Africa into the sight of international society. Though East Africa had existed for more than a decade, it had always acted with a low profile, like an invisible man.
Britain and France's targeting of it, coupled with East Africa suddenly taking on Portugal alone, shifted the attention of the rest of the world to Africa.
As interest soared, everyone suddenly discovered that quite a few countries had their eyes on Africa. Aside from the exceptionally gifted East Africa, even small nations like Italy and Belgium unexpectedly had colonies of their own in Africa.
Poor Italy. In his previous life, it had been a great power; in this life, Ernst had turned it into a regional minor state on the Apennine Peninsula. Yet East Africa's relationship with Italy was surprisingly good.
That was all thanks to the fact that Italy's colonial enterprise in the Abyssinian Empire could not do without East Africa's assistance. After all, like the Hechingen Royal Family back then, Italy was also engaging in colonial ventures for the first time and lacked experience.
Nor was the Abyssinian Empire some small country. Though East Africa looked down on it, the Abyssinian Empire was still fairly substantial on the world stage, with a population of over