At Qiuweit Palace, Ernst was also planning how to improve Hesse Province's transportation. This time, it was not something Ernst had thought of on his own; it had come up during a conversation with Prince Karl.
With East Africa's help, Sigmaringen had now gained a firm foothold in Africa. Thus, at the end of the year, Ernst came to ask Prince Karl about the construction of Sigmaringen's African colony.
Because of the relationship between their families, Ernst's family and Prince Karl got along very harmoniously. Even when discussing colonial affairs, they spoke as casually as if chatting about family matters.
Ernst asked, "Uncle Karl, how are things in your colony now?"
"At present, progress is going extremely smoothly. Thanks to your help, we have already settled more than forty thousand people in Chad. To my former self, that would have been utterly unimaginable!" Prince Karl said with a sigh.
Ernst merely smiled and said nothing. At the peak of East African immigration, from 1874 to 1875, East Africa had absorbed nearly four million immigrants in just two years. Even in ordinary years, immigration could reach around a million. Now, though immigration had fallen off a cliff, it still numbered no fewer than three hundred thousand annually. Sigmaringen's figures were therefore merely a drop in the bucket to East Africa.
After taking a sip of tea, Ernst asked, "As for the territory we planned out for you, have you managed to keep it under control?"
Prince Karl said excitedly, "Of course! A full two million square kilometers of land! Who would not be tempted? In any case, we have already secured many key regions. Other forces should not be able to squeeze in now!"
Ernst understood quite well the exhilaration of frantically staking out land in Africa. He said, "Once you