Recaps

Rudolf approved Clavel’s plans to integrate Hungary, while the Soviet Union concluded that the Hungarian Labor Party regime could not be saved from the German-backed offensive. Yosef ordered the Soviets to evacuate Hungarian personnel, wealth, and industrial materials, leaving the Soviet Union with resources that aided—but did not solve—its industrial shortcomings.

• Rudolf told Clavel to proceed with his recommendations for Hungary while taking Hungarian national sentiment into account.
• At the end of January 1927, the German Army entered Hungary through Austro-Hungarian Bohemia to help suppress the rebellion.
• Yagoda told Yosef that the Soviet Union could provide only limited smuggled aid because Hungary was surrounded and blockaded.
• Yosef judged the Hungarian Labor Party regime’s position beyond saving and ordered the Cheka to transfer its personnel and important supplies to the Soviet Union.
• The Hungarian Labor Party cooperated with the Soviet Union in secretly moving Budapest’s treasury and industrial materials, including technical resources from Hungarian factories.
• The resources from Hungary supplemented Soviet industry, but the Soviet Union still lacked a complete industrial system and enough trained technical personnel.

On March 2, 1927, Crown Prince Friedrich inspected Bella, East Africa’s leading chemical industry center, and heard how its transport links and factories supported the Empire’s industrial growth. The chapter left East Africa aiming to close the gap with Germany and compete with the United States in petrochemicals.

• Friedrich arrived at Beira Station, where Pierre and other provincial officials welcomed him and discussed the station’s crowded passenger facilities and plans for a new Bella City East Station.
• Friedrich outlined Bella’s importance as an East Coast transport hub and asked local officials to prioritize their regular work while he inspected the city’s industries.
• Mayor Kyar showed Friedrich the Pungwe River industrial zone and explained how imported crude oil was refined and processed into chemical products for domestic markets.
• Kyar described Germany’s advantages in chemical research and technology, along with German firms’ investments and technical cooperation in Bella.
• Kyar told Friedrich that East African universities and enterprises were expanding research and training, and that Mbeya University of Technology had developed a new synthetic fiber for commercial use.

Friedrich inspected Bella’s Rosen Chemical Plant as East Africa’s economy continued shifting from state ownership toward a larger private market. He urged the factory’s manager to keep investing in technology, treat talent well, and protect workers, while the story left Rosen Chemical facing growing competition in a recovering international arms market.

• The chapter described Bella’s rapid growth and East Africa’s shrinking but still influential state-owned sector.
• Manager Matthiesen introduced Friedrich to Rosen Chemical Plant’s products, production, and rising domestic and international orders.
• Matthiesen explained that East African chemical production had mastered German technology and now exported goods to Germany.
• Friedrich warned Matthiesen that the factory needed technological innovation and wider market channels to compete with European and American firms.
• Friedrich urged Rosen Chemical to improve its treatment of talent and meet national minimum standards for worker benefits.

In Banjarmasin, Li Hui met Lin Yaozu after the East Kalimantan Colonial Army returned from a months-long rainforest operation. Lin described the brutal march and discussed East Kalimantan’s future, while he and Li reflected on the improved lives and growing confidence of local residents under East African rule.

• Li Hui prepared fish at his popular fresh-food stall in Banjarmasin and greeted Lin Yaozu, a soldier returning from the inland operation.
• Lin Yaozu explained that his unit had encountered no indigenous fighters but had endured months of exhausting marches through wet, insect-filled rainforest.
• Lin said his unit expected the campaign to be East Africa’s last major purge in the colony and that future attention would shift to the northern border near British territory.
• Lin described the army’s supplies and two-month leave, and he and Li praised the improved living conditions and treatment residents experienced under East African rule.
• Lin noted that immigrants from the Far East Empire were arriving in Banjarmasin and could eventually gain Imperial citizenship after meeting the residency requirement.

Japanese captain Ruan Pingtaro and shipping executive Sayo Sanshita discussed Borneo’s resources and Japan’s ambitions to expand across Nanyang. The chapter revealed that Ernst intended to exploit Japan’s expansionism to disrupt the Pacific order and give East Africa an opportunity to intervene, while the United States remained East Africa’s chief concern.

• At Macin Port, Sayo Sanshita envied Borneo’s mineral and agricultural wealth, and Ruan Pingtaro agreed that Japan could benefit greatly from controlling the island.
• Ruan Pingtaro and Sayo Sanshita discussed Japan’s plans to dominate Nanyang and identified the United States, East Africa, and the Soviet Union as major threats.
• Sayo Sanshita argued that Japan would need to control the Far East and Nanyang, and perhaps Australia, to become a true world empire.
• Ernst planned to use Japan’s ambitions to destabilize Nanyang and Oceania, then have East Africa intervene and claim the gains.
• East Africa viewed the United States as its main obstacle because American Pacific strength and colonies could challenge East African influence.

As German-Austrian forces advanced toward Budapest, Prem urged citizens to defend the Hungarian Labor Party regime while Kun’s committee fractured over his peasant-focused policies and relations with the Soviet Union. Kun accepted responsibility for Hungary’s worsening position and said he would resign after the crisis, but would remain to oversee preparations for war.

• German-Austrian forces captured Komárom Fortress after advancing through Győr, bringing the Battle of Budapest closer.
• Prem rallied Budapest’s citizens to resist the invaders and argued that the city’s defenses and popular support could secure victory.
• At a Hungarian People's Committee meeting, pro-Soviet members blamed Kun’s land policies for Hungary’s defeats, while his supporters defended his efforts to win over peasants.
• Kun quieted the infighting, accepted primary responsibility for Hungary’s deteriorating situation, and urged the committee to focus on defeating the enemy.
• Kun said he would resign after the crisis but would stay in office for the time being to complete Hungary’s war preparations.

Ernst and Friedrich discussed Hungary’s impending defeat and the risks of restoring Habsburg rule, then planned how East Africa could contain Labor Party ideas and prepare for a looming global economic crisis. The chapter left East Africa readying its economy and seeking cooperation with Germany and the United States to challenge Britain and France’s colonial market monopolies.

• Ernst told Friedrich that Hungary’s Labor Party government was nearing collapse, and warned that restoring the old order could fuel renewed class unrest.
• Ernst said East Africa would distort Labor Party ideas through its own controlled Labor Party rather than simply ban them.
• Friedrich described East Africa’s efforts to expand overseas markets and colonies as industrial overcapacity and tariff wars grew.
• Ernst ordered preparations for a possible economic crisis, including increasing immigration, selling non-core assets, protecting capable firms, and steering investment toward the real economy.
• Friedrich said East Africa was building reserves, improving its investment environment, and streamlining state-owned and royal enterprises.
• Ernst proposed working with Germany and the United States to widen access to world markets and break the colonial monopolies of Britain and France.

In Rhine City’s Hölderlin Bookstore, students browsed books and comics while adults argued over whether popular entertainment was ruining East Africa’s youth. The chapter revealed that Ernst’s government deliberately encouraged commercial culture to weaken traditional intellectuals and distract the public, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Li Jun studied a mathematics reference book at Hölderlin Bookstore, and Hans urged him to enjoy his vacation instead.
• Hans went to look for the latest issue of King of Dinosaurs and praised its fearsome dinosaurs, while Li Jun asked how dinosaurs had gone extinct.
• An elderly man and a stern middle-aged man condemned comics and popular novels, warning that the post-1910 generation was becoming ruined.
• Other customers defended young people’s entertainment and argued that urban life had simply changed how they spent their free time.
• The chapter explained that Ernst’s government tolerated lowbrow cultural products to diminish traditional literati’s influence, distract ordinary people, and counter rival political ideas.

In Edo, Yoshino Ai read the Oriental Evening News and discussed Japan’s ambitions to seize the resource-rich Philippines and expand into Nanyang and Australia. The chapter revealed that East African capital was using the newspaper to inflame Japanese greed and provoke conflict with Britain and the United States.

• Yoshino Ai bought the Oriental Evening News from Sakata Genji and read its report on the American Philippines.
• Yoshino studied the newspaper’s maps of Luzon’s minerals and American military bases, then argued that Japan could seize the islands from their isolated garrison.
• Yoshino described the Philippines, Dawan Island, and Sakhalin Island as future battlefields and urged Japan to prepare for conflict with the United States, East Africa, and the Soviet Union.
• Yoshino argued that Japan should dominate Northeast Asia, advance into Nanyang, and take Australia for its vast resources.
• The chapter explained that East African backers had funded the Oriental Evening News to intensify Japanese interest in Australia and encourage conflict with Britain and the United States.

At Japan’s Naval Academy, Nan'un Chūichi and Senior Oda discussed the navy’s weakness under the London Naval Treaty and Japan’s dependence on foreign resources. Nan'un argued that Japan should expand south to seize the Nanyang region and Australia, leaving the story with his plan to build the strength needed to challenge the great powers.

• Nan'un Chūichi clipped Oriental Evening News articles about Luzon and added them to his collection of illustrated geographical albums.
• Senior Oda praised Nan'un’s interest in geography and condemned the Imperial Japanese Army for supporting naval disarmament at the London Naval Conference.
• Oda argued that Japan was vulnerable to maritime threats and could not sustain a prolonged war against East Africa or the United States.
• Nan'un said Japan needed to leave the London Naval Treaty and secure independence from imported resources.
• Nan'un advocated seizing the Nanyang region and Australia, especially Australia, northern Borneo, and the Strait of Malacca, to strengthen Japan and the navy.
• Nan'un regarded Britain’s colonies as easier targets than East Africa or the United States and believed Japan should first acquire those resources before challenging the greater powers.

East African Ambassador Charsson visited Darjeeling to restore relations with Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan and upgrade the shared diplomatic office into an embassy. He explained that East Africa planned to build an airport in Sikkim, which could enable future air links and help contain India; the chapter left those plans still under consideration.

• Oda endorsed Nan'un Chūichi's argument that Japan should expand south into the resource-rich Nanyang region, while noting East Africa and the United States would stand in its way.
• In Darjeeling, Charsson praised the local tea as Thrain welcomed him and discussed East African diplomacy with the Himalayan states.
• Charsson told Thrain that East Africa planned to restore diplomatic relations with Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan and establish a shared embassy in Sikkim.
• Charsson explained that he had been tasked with pursuing an airport in Sikkim, which could connect the landlocked states to East African bases by air.
• Charsson speculated that airfields in the three states could help East Africa encircle India and restrict its future military and economic development.

Charsson met King Namgyal in Gangtok and revealed East Africa’s plans for Sikkim and the future of South Asia. He urged Sikkim to rely on East Africa after Britain withdrew, while proposing covert investments in the kingdom.

• East Africa established the Bechani Australian Tea Company office in Gangtok as a cover for its secret diplomatic work.
• Charsson told King Namgyal that he was East African and presented his credentials and a letter proposing relations between East Africa and Sikkim.
• Namgyal doubted that Sikkim could benefit from cooperation and said his kingdom could not defy Britain.
• Charsson predicted that British India would eventually become independent and warned that a powerful India might threaten Sikkim.
• Charsson proposed that Sikkim align with East Africa after Britain left South Asia and said East Africa would invest in Sikkim while seeking its support and cover.

Charsson persuaded King Namgyal to let East Africa use Sikkim as a base for its operations, under the cover of a tea company. The chapter then described East Africa’s global network of proxies and the limits on the Soviet Union’s ability to challenge its influence.

• Charsson told Namgyal that East Africa needed Sikkim’s help with land, workers, and supplies while concealing its plans behind Bechani Tea Company.
• Charsson assured Namgyal that East Africa would avoid British scrutiny and argued that cooperation could improve Sikkim’s future as British influence declined.
• Namgyal agreed to make a gamble with East Africa and offered help with its strategic objectives.
• East Africa expanded its overseas influence by supporting local proxies across colonies and pursuing both neo-colonial and traditional colonial goals.
• The chapter explained that East Africa’s power, other imperial powers’ opposition, and nationalist elements within the Soviet Union limited the Soviet Union’s ideological reach.

In 1928, Kemal prepared sweeping secular reforms for the Ottoman Empire, beginning with moving the capital from Istanbul to Ankara and abolishing the Caliphate. Mehmed VII agreed to Kemal’s demands, while Kemal prepared to confront religious opponents with force.

• Kemal told Mehmed VII that the government would move the capital from Istanbul to Ankara to improve security and strengthen control over the Fertile Crescent.
• Kemal warned Mehmed VII against rumors about Mehmed VI’s death and promised to protect the royal family if the Sultan cooperated.
• Kemal proposed abolishing the Caliphate while preserving Mehmed VII’s secular title of Sultan, and Mehmed VII agreed to relinquish the Caliph title.
• Kemal argued that religion had obstructed the Ottoman Empire’s development and outlined plans for sweeping secular reforms.
• Kemal prepared to suppress resistance as his reforms expanded to religious law, property, education, customs, and public dress.

The Ottoman Empire’s Kemalist government prepared a Five-Year Plan influenced by East Africa, laying out agricultural and industrial reforms alongside the relocation of the capital to Ankara. The chapter left the Soviet Union and Ottoman Empire beginning their plans in 1928, joining East Africa as major powers pursuing planned economic development.

• The chapter described East Africa, the Soviet Union, and the Ottoman Empire as three major powers pursuing Five-Year Plans despite their different climates, economies, and political systems.
• Kemal outlined plans to redistribute land, reclaim religious institutions’ land for the state, ease taxes on farmers, and establish state farms and cooperatives.
• Kemal proposed state-led industrialization, nationalizing key industries, prioritizing light industry, raising tariffs, and improving transport links.
• Kemal connected the capital’s move to Ankara with implementing reforms and strengthening government control over distant and separatist regions.
• The Soviet Union and the Ottoman Empire advanced their Five-Year Plans in 1928, joining East Africa in a development model that later influenced countries after the 1929 economic crisis.

In 1928, Americans celebrated the United States surpassing East Africa in reported industrial output and trusted the booming stock market to keep bringing prosperity. Their confidence contrasted with East Africa’s slower, more controlled development, which the chapter presented as steadier in the face of hidden economic risks.

• The chapter described East Africa as one of the world’s most influential powers, with a reputation for intervening in conflicts across many regions.
• Outside the New York stock exchange, Andre and Wilson claimed that America had regained its place as the world’s leading industrial power and blamed East Africa’s government intervention for its supposed decline.
• The narrator explained that America’s reported industrial lead partly reflected inflated output and stock speculation, while East Africa still had the larger industrial scale.
• Andre, Wilson, and Karol praised the booming stock market as Americans embraced stock trading and luxury consumption.
• Wilson predicted that America would widen its lead over other countries and replace Britain as the world’s economic model.
• The chapter concluded that East Africa’s pragmatic, controlled approach could limit its losses when an economic crisis came.

In 1928, East African officials and the Royal Family accelerated the sale of overseas assets and the accumulation of gold to prepare for a looming economic crisis. Ernst and Friedrich also worked to expand trade with the Soviet Union and Ottoman Empire, hoping East Africa could gain markets and influence during the downturn.

• In Chicago, Kuinleir and Antonio discussed the city’s size, East Africa’s urban development, and the gangs and black market fueled by American Prohibition.
• Kuinleir told Antonio to speed up the discreet sale of Hechingen Bank’s Chicago assets and convert the proceeds into gold and other hard currency.
• Kuinleir proposed buying gold and silver jewelry from private citizens because direct large-scale purchases risked attracting government attention.
• Ernst ordered Friedrich to clear out overseas nonperforming assets by the end of the year to avoid losses from a possible economic crisis.
• Friedrich reported that most Royal Family assets had been sold and said East Africa was expanding trade with the Soviet Union and Ottoman Empire to secure future markets and make their industries reliant on East African products.

Ernst planned East Africa’s overseas infrastructure deals and set cautious terms for cooperation with the Soviet Union. In Bolivia, Smith and Reyes considered how to stop President Hernando’s support for the Asuncion-Lima Railway, but Reyes said opposition could succeed only by overthrowing the elected government.

• Ernst told Friedrich that East Africa should pursue long-term overseas construction contracts and use breach penalties to protect its enterprises during a future economic crisis.
• Ernst said East Africa should negotiate with the Soviet Union from a position of strength, seek full payment or barter, and avoid excessive concessions.
• Smith urged Reyes to help the Mining Alliance block Hernando’s proposed cooperation with East Africa on the A-Li Railway.
• Reyes explained that many Bolivians and Mining Alliance members supported the railway because it would benefit trade and mineral exports.
• Reyes said that stopping the railway would require overthrowing Bolivia’s elected government.

Smith and Reyes used claims of oil in the disputed North Chaco region to push Bolivia toward war with Paraguay and obstruct the Asuncion-Lima Railway. Bolivia invaded Paraguayan-held territory, and Paraguay appealed to East Africa for weapons and supplies.

• Reyes suggested that provoking a Bolivian-Paraguayan war would derail the Asuncion-Lima Railway, and Smith proposed exploiting their dispute over the North Chaco region.
• Smith falsely told Reyes that Mobil Oil Company had confirmed abundant oil in the region, and Reyes agreed to press Bolivia to claim it.
• Reyes persuaded President Hernando and most Bolivian officials to occupy the North Chaco region, arguing that Bolivia could defeat Paraguay and secure postwar railway concessions.
• Smith secured American support for Bolivian arms purchases and military training, while Mobil Oil Company spread claims of Chaco oil, especially to Paraguay.
• At the end of 1928, Bolivian troops captured Paraguayan border outposts in the North Chaco region, prompting Paraguay to seek weapons and supplies from East Africa.

After Bolivia invaded the North Chaco region, Paraguay’s President Gualtieri decided to fight for the territory and its suspected oil reserves, seeking East African backing to counter Bolivia’s United States support. Paraguay mobilized its forces as East Africa approved military assistance and sent supplies across the Atlantic.

• President Gualtieri and his ministers resolved to defend North Chaco, citing its territory and the oil Mobil Oil Company had reportedly discovered there.
• Paraguay’s foreign minister urged Gualtieri to seek East African support, linking the war effort to the Asuncion-Lima Railway and future oil development.
• Defense Minister Jose recommended mobilizing at least 10,000 troops, and Gualtieri decided to request a war loan from East Africa.
• Paraguay transferred military forces westward as East Africa approved support for its counterattack against Bolivia.
• East African troops stationed in Asuncion joined the effort, while ships carrying military supplies sailed from East Africa toward South America.

East African Battalion Commander Gosell sent more than three hundred soldiers to support Paraguay against Bolivia, then led them into their first battle in the North Chaco region. The Garrison Battalion captured a Bolivian outpost with three casualties, leaving the rest of its force ready to continue the war.

• Gosell told the Garrison Battalion that East Africa would fight alongside Paraguay and assigned more than three hundred soldiers to the campaign.
• A scout reported that a Bolivian force of two or three hundred men occupied a lightly fortified outpost about one kilometer away.
• Gosell deployed the Garrison Battalion’s artillery and machine guns after Bolivian cavalry tried to probe their position.
• Hans fired a shell near the Bolivian machine-gun position, and Gosell ordered First Company to charge under machine-gun cover.
• East African soldiers stormed the outpost with grenades and captured the surviving Bolivians, suffering three casualties while killing twenty-nine and wounding forty-seven.

East Africa’s army advanced through the North Chaco, while Friedrich ordered a hardline response to the United States’ influence in South America. Ernst traveled from Mogadishu to Vienna for Franz’s funeral and Rudolf’s coronation, arriving in Europe as emperor of the Rhine Empire.

• Gosell ordered the security battalion to disarm 177 Bolivian prisoners, leave them for the Paraguayans, and continue toward the next military outpost.
• Friedrich declared that East Africa would not let the United States disrupt the Asuncion-Lima Railway and proposed encouraging Panamanian claims over the Panama Canal.
• Friedrich said East Africa should station troops in Bolivia after the war to protect its interests and expand its influence in southern South America.
• Ernst visited Mogadishu, decided that East Africa should build a North African Railway, and sailed for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Ernst arrived in Trieste on January 13, 1929, traveled by rail to Vienna, and drew the attention of the European dignitaries gathered there.

Ernst attended Emperor Franz’s funeral in Vienna and warned Crown Prince Rudolf that a severe global economic crisis could threaten the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Meanwhile, Friedrich oversaw East Africa’s 1929 census, which was expected to show the empire’s population approaching or exceeding two hundred million.

• Ernst arrived in Vienna and offered Rudolf condolences on Emperor Franz’s death, explaining that Archduke Ferdinand could not make the journey.
• Friedrich directed East Africa’s 1929 census to include its colonies, while Dong Yu estimated the empire’s population could surpass two hundred million.
• Friedrich described a mainland population target of three hundred million and proposed moving more people into the colonies to strengthen imperial control.
• Ernst warned Rudolf that an economic crisis was likely within the next few years and could endanger Habsburg rule.
• Ernst advised Rudolf to use state intervention to keep Austro-Hungarian industry from collapsing, while cautioning that Soviet-style policies could provoke unrest or dissolution.

Ernst advised Rudolf to use an economic crisis to expand the Austro-Hungarian central government’s authority and stabilize the population. East Africa’s 1929 census revealed rapid growth across its mainland and colonies, prompting officials to assess the Empire’s population, urbanization, and industrial standing.

• Ernst urged Rudolf to prepare for economic crisis by strengthening military control, public confidence, and central administration, and suggested Hungary as a pilot region.
• East Kalimantan Governor Klein learned the colony had 3,215,043 residents, including hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, and ordered eligible newcomers naturalized while suspected religious infiltrators and foreign spies were expelled.
• Klein sent East Kalimantan’s census figures to the mainland after its population surpassed Alaska’s, making it the Empire’s most populous colony.
• Director Dong Yu reported that East Africa’s colonies had 6.94 million people, led by East Kalimantan, Alaska, and Mindanao, while the mainland population stood at roughly 197 million.
• Dong Yu reported that East Africa’s urbanization rate had reached about 45 percent, and Crown Prince Friedrich predicted that continued growth could make the Empire the world’s strongest country within two or three decades.

East African officials reviewed rapid urban growth and the steel industry, while Friedrich considered the American and German economies and the great powers’ shifting attitudes toward the Soviet Union. The chapter left East Africa positioned to exploit the Soviet Union’s isolation and instability while viewing it as both a threat and a strategic advantage.

• Dong Yu explained that Rhine City, New Frankfurt City, and Kabwe had grown into a major urban cluster, while Maputo City, Kampala City, and Tete City reflected regional development policies and industrial advantages.
• Friedrich discussed the distribution of industry across East African cities and the narrowing economic gap between the eastern, central, and western regions.
• The Ministry of Industry reported that East African steel output reached sixty-two million tons in 1928, while Friedrich noted that American and German production had also surged.
• Friedrich assessed Germany’s industrial strength and the efforts of other powers to use the Soviet Union to contain German influence.
• Friedrich considered East Africa’s ambiguous approach to the Soviet Union, including using anti-Soviet policy to expand its influence and exploiting Soviet internal dissent.