Chapter 1162: Visit of Franz IV

September 30, 1914.

Rhine City welcomed a group of new guests. Since the outbreak of the European War, Washington and Rhine have become the focus of frequent visits from the two camps.

This time, the delegation visiting Rhine City was composed of the Ottoman Empire, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the outbreak of the war, the importance of East Africa to the Allied camp became increasingly prominent, especially in terms of overseas sources of materials. East Africa almost achieved a monopoly on most strategic materials in the trade between the three countries.

In 1914, the total population of Rhine City successfully exceeded 600,000. A large number of corporate headquarters and government agencies were located in Rhine City. At the same time, the development of other industrial and agricultural industries showed a vibrant vitality, forming another core of the central economy of East Africa with cities such as New Frankfurt, Kabwe, and Lusaka.

In the center of Rhine City, classical and ultra-modern buildings complement each other and are scattered in an orderly manner. After the city economy was liberalized, a large number of people poured into the capital. The streets were busy with cars and people coming and going, reflecting the profound cultural heritage and vigorous vitality of the city.

This is very rare. After all, East Africa has never been a country with a deep history. However, East African cities, led by Rhine City, have made East Africa look like some European cities with a deep historical heritage through architecture, art, and design.

And it is very different from the style of modern American architecture, especially the exaggerated architectural form of various types of skyscrapers and dense steel and concrete forests in New York.

East Africa has its own unique understanding of some modern buildings, which are deeply marked by Ernst's imprint on the architectural aesthetics of the Far East cities in the past. At first glance, it is far less wild and artistic than the new architecture of Europe and the United States.

This is fundamentally different from the classical architecture in the Rhine City. In classical architecture, East Africa is a complete stereotyped reproduction of the essence of European classical architecture, which can be said to be meticulous.

However, the modern architecture of Rhine City pursues more practicality and aesthetic unity, which makes the new architecture of East Africa appear somewhat conservative, unified, and stereotyped compared to the rough new architecture of Europe and the United States, but it can achieve a good effect.

This is not visible in a single building, but in the entire urban complex, it appears to be very integrated, natural and smooth.

To put it simply, just like many people write, European and American architects are currently pursuing the pinnacle of individual fonts and integrating their own artistic characteristics, but after arranging them into sentences or articles, some fonts will appear very abrupt, while the simple, square, and featureless fonts in East Africa use the unified design and planning of the city to make the entire font very pleasing to the eye.

This made Friedrich Franz IV, Duke of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who came to East Africa for the first time, feel very sad.

The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is one of the important states in North Germany. Although Prussia unified Germany, there are still many monarchs under it, the most famous of which is the Kingdom of Bavaria or the Principality of Hechingen.

Bavaria is the second largest kingdom in Germany after Prussia, and the special thing about the Principality of Hechingen is that its nominal ruler is the famous Emperor Ernst of the Rhine Empire.

So as the monarch of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, if East Africa is excluded, the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is theoretically more important than the Principality of Hechingen, but there is no need to worry about it now, because the monarch of the Principality of Hechingen still holds the title of the Rhine Empire, and the two are not comparable at all.

The person in charge of receiving Franz IV was the Imperial Crown Prince Friedrich. After all, Franz IV's status in East Africa can only be compared with the royal family and Archduke Ferdinand's family.

Franz IV's uncle is Tsar Nicholas II, and his grandfather is the nephew of the former German Emperor William I.

Crown Prince Friedrich said to Franz IV who was amazed: "Your Excellency, it seems that you are very interested in the urban construction in East Africa?"

Franz IV, who was asked, said: "Of course, this is my first time in East Africa. To be honest, East Africa has greatly exceeded my psychological expectations. This city can be said to be one of the most beautiful cities I have seen outside of Europe. It is like a work of art that makes people linger."

In front of Friedrich, Franz IV could only say good things. After all, Friedrich was not comparable to the virtual monarch of his German state from any angle.

Of course, the admiration for the urban construction in East Africa was not fabricated, but was inspired. Now that European countries are caught in war, a peaceful region like East Africa is probably the paradise second only to the United States.

Crown Prince Friedrich, who inherited his father's character, said modestly: "There is still some gap between East Africa and Europe and America. There is still a lot to learn. After all, compared with the traditional German region, East Africa's development history is still very short. Most of East Africa's achievements are based on the development of advanced countries such as Germany."

The traditional German region is naturally relative to East Africa. After all, East Africa calls itself a German country, so East Africa is naturally the new German region.

Of course, this is mainly to distinguish the concept of the big and small German regions in Europe. In the two plans for the unification of Germany, the small Germany advocated by Prussia was realized, while the Greater Germany would include German regions such as Austria.

However, due to various reasons, the concept of New Germany has not been widely recognized for the time being, and New Germany is not like New France. The Rhine Empire is a major power in the world today, and New France was only a colony at its most glorious, not to mention that it has now been conquered by Britain and the United States. The country is completely divided, with only one region of Quebec having some influence.

Franz IV: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a little humble. I have come here from Dar es Salaam and have a full understanding of the national conditions of East Africa. Except that the population is somewhat thinner than that of Germany, East Africa has not developed at all now." As good as anywhere in Europe.”

The area of ​​Europe as a whole is smaller than that of East Africa, and the population is indeed three to four times that of East Africa. However, the European population is not evenly distributed. For example, Germany has more than 500,000 square kilometers of land, but more than 60 million people live in it. Therefore, Germany The population in China is relatively dense, while other regions such as the Balkans and Northern Europe may not be as dense as many regions in East Africa.

"Nowadays, all European countries are deep in the quagmire of war, but East Africa has taken advantage of this opportunity to prosper all over the world, and its economy is booming. It is really enviable."

Although the energy is involved in Europe, it does not mean that European countries are not aware of the trends of countries such as East Africa and the United States. Now East Africa and the United States are making a lot of money around the world, especially East Africa, which got all of Germany before the war. Overseas colonies, from this alone, East Africa has made a lot of money.

Of course, that is to say, East Africa did not take advantage of Britain and France being busy in the European war to sneak attacks on the two countries' core overseas interests. It is hard to say for France. Britain will definitely withdraw from the European war directly. After all, no matter how great the threat from Germany is, it cannot compare with India's safety.

As for the economy, European countries can only allow East Africa and the United States to conquer cities and territories in their respective overseas markets. Of course, this situation will end after World War I. As long as overseas colonies are not lost, Britain and France will have ways to control them after the war. Most of the market share has been regained, so the most important thing now is to solve the immediate troubles of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

And this is exactly what Germany does not want to see. For the sake of World War I, Germany has sacrificed too much, including its own colonies, so Germany will never allow the war to fail. If it does not defeat the Allies, even if it is a draw, it will be considered strategic for Germany. failure.

Franz IV's visit to East Africa was obviously another lobbying activity on behalf of the German government. In fact, the German government also put a lot of effort into the United States. However, compared with the United Kingdom, it was ultimately difficult for Germany to achieve actual breakthroughs in the United States.