Chapter 126 Border Patrol

Ernst tried his best to change Rudolf's fate, but he was really curious about the future. Anyway, no matter how Rudolf changed, it would not have much impact on his plan to develop East Africa. The specific effects would not be highlighted until after World War I. .

Someone said in a previous life that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was an empire owned by Franz alone. That makes perfect sense. The establishment and demise of this empire were closely related to Franz.

In any case, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no future at all. As for the dual system of government, Franz could only control it, and the separation would be a matter of time.

…

Camel bells were heard in the distance, and a camel team appeared on the horizon of Kenya. The number was not large, about twenty.

The camel leading the way walked gracefully on the sandy land, and the people sitting on it swayed rhythmically forward and back with the camel step by step.

Wearing a Mexican-style straw hat, a special light yellow Prussian military uniform, and carrying a Prussian De Lesser rifle behind his back.

The soldiers on the camels following the second position also carried a lion flag of the Hechingen royal family. These characteristics indicate that this is a regular armed force of the East African colonies.

The militiamen did not have access to the most advanced Dresser rifles, and they still used front-loading flintlock muskets that had to be loaded with gunpowder from the front.

The light yellow military uniforms are also rare in Africa. They were specially tendered by Ernst's factory in Germany. The Prussian army has been active in Europe and is not equipped with such clothing to deal with the tropical desert environment.

Africa is inherently hot, and most areas are very sunny due to the plateau terrain, especially the desert areas in northern Kenya.

Therefore, more and more straw hats are being purchased by East Africa. This is also a characteristic of East Africa. There are many people wearing straw hats in the fields, villages and cities, military and government agencies.

Currently, straw hats in East Africa are mainly ordered from the Far East. Straw hats are difficult to produce mechanically, and manual production is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Therefore, straw hats in East Africa are mainly imported. Mexico is also available, and there are abundant human resources there, but it cannot compare with the Far East, so the price of straw hats in the Far East is cheaper.

However, the style of Far Eastern straw hats was too monotonous. Ernst personally did not like this style, so Ernst asked people to provide the styles of Mexican straw hats to Far Eastern businessmen and asked them to purchase them according to the styles.

Of course, some immigrants from East Africa and the Far East can make straw hats, but at most they make them for themselves during their off-farm time. This thing is a test of patience. For immigrants who already have enough to eat and drink, it is not cost-effective at all, and even some The immigrants don't care about the scorching sun in Africa. After all, they used to face the loess and turn their backs to the sky, so they are used to the feeling of the scorching sun.

Thanks to the color of the clothes and straw hats, this East African camel team, from a distance, looks like the American West. The difference is that in the North American West, cowboys ride horses, while this team rides camels.

There are Germans, Austro-Hungarians (who overlap with the Germans) and Chinese in the camel caravan, which is very consistent with the current demographic composition of the East African colonies.

What they are traveling to is the border between Somalia and Kenya, that is, the border guards.

Of course, there is no clear border between Somalia and Kenya now, because the areas patrolled by the East African colonies are mainly deserts and grasslands, and there are basically not many people living there, let alone national power.

Currently, Somalia is a hodgepodge of indigenous tribes and Arabs. In the past, Somalia's colonizers were mainly British, French and Italian.

Only the British are truly active in Somalia, and the British are mainly active in the Somaliland region (coast of the Gulf of Aden) in northwestern Somalia.

France only occupies a small area and is still next to the British. (mainly Djibouti 1859)

The Italians had not yet arrived (in 1889), so the vast areas in central and southern Somalia were actually terra nullius in the eyes of Europeans (ignoring the local indigenous people).

If East Africa's energy was not mainly concentrated in northern Kenya and the northwest region of East Africa, Ernst would not mind taking over a large piece of Somali land.

However, Somalia cannot be taken lightly, especially Mogadishu. As an important port city on the coast of the Indian Ocean, it has a long history. Zheng He once visited there (called Mugudushu).

Therefore, unlike the indigenous people in the interior of Africa who have never seen the world, Somalia is deeply influenced by Arab civilization, and its strength is at least on the same level as Zanzibar.

The last battle in Zanzibar was dramatic, and the coastal area was not far from Dar es Salaam at that time, so it could support the battle at any time, which also gave the army confidence.

In North Kenya, which borders Somalia, the East African colonies have not yet been developed and there are not many people there. Ernst will naturally not take the risk to attack Somalia.

Don't end up stealing the chicken but losing the rice. It would be embarrassing like the Italians did to Ethiopia.

And unlike the Italians who simply want to colonize East Africa, the Italians need local indigenous people as laborers to create value for Italy.

In order to ensure the stability of future rule in East Africa, the local population will be cleared, so the resistance in Somalia will be stronger.

In his previous life, Mogadishu was a place where Americans all fell into disgrace. Ernst had no intention of taking action against Somalia without gathering a force of several thousand men.

So what is the point of East African colonies patrolling the border between Somalia and Kenya?

This is about the policy of the East African colonies. To put it bluntly, it is the same as closing the door and beating the dog. Since we want to attack the indigenous people in northern Kenya, we naturally have to cut off their connections with the outside world.

At the same time, it was necessary to prevent indigenous people from abroad from penetrating into the East African colonies.

You know, there are many tribes in Africa. They have no concept of territory. They go hunting and grazing wherever there are water and grass.

If East Africa cleans out the local indigenous people, and then allows the indigenous tribes from outside the country to sneak in, then it will be a waste of time!

Especially in northern Kenya and Somalia, the climate is more arid, and many tribes make a living by nomadic herding.

Therefore, the mission of the East African Border Patrol is to forcibly separate Somali tribes from Kenya and expel Somalis from the border area.

The temporary border between Kenya and Somalia is dominated by desert and grassland. The best means of transportation in the desert is camels.

The East African colonies came into contact with camels very early, because there were many in Zanzibar. Every batch of East African immigrants who came ashore could see camels in coastal cities such as Dar es Salaam.

Therefore, it is not too late for the colonial government of East Africa to use camels to form cavalry. After receiving some of the camels from Zanzibar, it established a camel cavalry of more than 200 people.

Now this cavalry force is all active in northern Kenya. In its previous life, Kenya was also a big camel country, with a number of more than three million, second only to Sudan and Somalia.

Of course, it is impossible for the East African colonies to raise so many camels in Kenya. The range of camels is most suitable for deserts, but it is not very flexible in other areas (mainly because other livestock have more advantages).

Among the East African colonies, only northern Kenya is currently suitable for large-scale camel breeding. However, there are also many pastures in northern Kenya, and the area is far above the desert, so it can be used for large-scale cattle and horse breeding.

…

Hans Barker was the leader of this camel team, a German born and raised in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and an Austrian German with upright roots.

Therefore, it is self-evident why Hans Buck can become the captain of the patrol.

In East Africa, the people who are most guarded against are not the Chinese at all, but Serbian and other Orthodox immigrants.

In this era, Europeans believe that civilizations are hierarchical, and the only country in the world that can compete with traditional Europe is Tsarist Russia.

Heretics are often more abhorrent than heretics. The worst thing about the Orthodox Church is that it competes with traditional European churches (even Protestants) for orthodoxy.

However, the Chinese people's lack of faith (ancestor worship does not count) is not the main target of the Germans in East Africa, but the main target of missionary work.

Although there are no churches in East Africa, many believers (especially Austrian Catholics) are keen to introduce their religion to the Chinese.

The Serbian and other Orthodox churches are different. If they weren't relatively honest (after all, they are all peasants, they were once ruled, and they were also the lowest status group in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so they are used to it), they would probably be able to compete with Catholics, Protestants, etc. stand up.

Germans and other Europeans are not without criticisms of the Chinese. For example, those two-faced people (pragmatism) who speak like God when they open their mouths and God when they shut up make Europeans feel that the Chinese are not very pious.

As for those who believe in the same religion as the Arab region, it is not impossible. The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. In particular, many immigrants who fled from the Ottoman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian Empire were recruited into East Africa by the East African colonies. However, the number is rare and currently there are I haven’t seen anyone come forward and say that they are from the Arab Church.

Of course, these are all details. After all, life and work are very busy, and everyone is uneducated and stupid, so there is no time to target each other.

Hans Back found a shady spot behind the camel, put on a mat, took off his water bottle and took a quick sip.

Other team members also got off their camels to take a break to regroup.

"Heinz, how far do we have to go before we reach Divo (name of place)" Hans Back asked.

"Almost, there are still about thirteen miles. We just passed the dry riverbed marked on the map an hour ago." Heinz replied.

"That's good, let's rest and set off in ten minutes!" Hans Back took out a box of blue Cornflower cigarettes from his pocket.

Pull it out all the way, light it on fire, and start smoking with a look of relief.

The blue cornflower was the national flower of Germany in its previous life. The homeland of the cornflower, which symbolizes happiness, is in Europe.

So Hessingen Tobacco launched this cigarette for sale in Germany. In France, it introduced iris, in Tsarist Russia it was sunflower, and in Austria it was edelweiss...

This series of cigarettes uses famous flowers from various countries as product symbols and is also called the national flower series.

In East Africa, cigarettes are naturally provided by tobacco factories in the German region, mainly for the military and the government. Of course, ordinary people can also spend money to buy them. There are wages in East Africa, which are relatively meager, but the entertainment industry in East Africa happens to be equivalent to a desert. So many people spent their wages on tobacco. At first, only immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire smoked, but later some Chinese also learned to smoke.

Taking a break from work and fighting can really relieve your mood.