#1396 - International Conferences

The Congo represents the largest intersection between East Africa and Belgium, making it a viable springboard for influencing Belgium.

Since the time of Leopold II, Belgium and East Africa have maintained a good relationship, the bond between the two countries being Leopold II and his sister, Princess Charlotte, who is also Ernst's mother-in-law.

Leopold II has passed away, but Ernst's in-laws are still healthy and, without the interference of political affairs, live a relaxed and comfortable life, maintain an excellent mental state, and pay attention to their health, making it difficult for them not to live long lives.

The family members of his father-in-law, Archduke Ferdinand (Maximilian I), are inherently long-lived. For example, his brother, Emperor Franz, who is still holding on in Vienna, could potentially remain in power for several more years if nothing unexpected happens.

… …

May 17, 1922.

Rhine City.

At the Rhine City International Conference Center in the northeast corner of Rhine City, an international conference led by East Africa is underway.

The Rhine International Conference Center stands on the shore of Rhine City's artificial lake, adjacent to the Royal Gardens, boasting beautiful natural scenery and complete facilities.

This magnificent building, which the East African government began planning in 1910 and completed in 1915, represents the East African government's proactive attitude towards integrating into the international community at the time.

However, to date, the Rhine City International Conference Center is hosting a major international political and economic conference for the first time.

In front of the conference center building, a red carpet has been laid out, with colorful flower baskets placed on both sides. In the conference center's front square, Crown Prince Friedrich is personally receiving guests from various countries.

In May, the weather in Rhine City is transitioning from hot to cool, and a comfortable breeze blows across Crown Prince Friedrich's face as he solemnly awaits the arrival of important political figures from other countries.

Soon, a black East African-made Crown car drives in from outside and slowly stops in front of the red carpet. Subsequently, with the assistance of security personnel, the heavy, bulletproof car door is opened.

A middle-aged man, who appears to be about the same age as Friedrich, steps out of the car, wearing a traditional military uniform from the South German region, similar to some national leaders of this era.

"Cousin Ludwig, welcome to East Africa," Friedrich says, stepping forward to shake the middle-aged man's hand.

Ludwig I, the current King of the South German Kingdom, is also a member of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family.

Today, the Sigmaringen family can be divided into three branches: the German branch, the Romanian branch, and the South German Kingdom branch. Therefore, although the Sigmaringen family is not as dazzling as the Prussian royal family or the Rhine royal family, it still has a significant influence in the international community.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the heyday of the Hohenzollern family, which possessed two empires and two kingdoms.

Moreover, both Germany and the Rhine Empire were world-renowned powerful empires. As for Romania and the South German Kingdom, they could also be considered important countries in their respective regions.

Ludwig I says to Crown Prince Friedrich, "Cousin, why are you in charge of the reception today? Where is His Majesty the Emperor?"

Crown Prince Friedrich says, "Father says we young people need more practice. In reality, he just wants to be lazy, so I'm standing here. But it is indeed physically demanding, no wonder Father didn't come in person."

Ludwig I reaches out and pats Friedrich on the shoulder, saying, "Haha, you fellow, I don't know how many people want this job but don't have the opportunity. If I were the heir to the most powerful empire in the world, I wouldn't mind standing here all day."

For Friedrich, who was born in Rome, Ludwig I, as the King of a country, can only feel envy. Apart from its name sounding more stylish, the South German Kingdom is completely a backwater compared to East Africa.

The South German Kingdom has been striving for access to the sea, but like Russia, the South German Kingdom does have external ports, but the coastline is too narrow and lacks relatively good ports.

Currently, the South German Kingdom's access to the sea was achieved through several wars, clinging to the border of the former German colony, which is now the Cameroonian Province of East Africa.

Further north is the Nigerian region under British influence. Therefore, sandwiched between East Africa and Britain, the South German Kingdom's access to the sea is not very ideal, but extends out from the gap between the two major powers like a tentacle.

To put it more vividly, the South German Kingdom is like a person dying of thirst in the desert, and not far from him is a glass of water, which is the Atlantic Ocean. However, it is not easy for the South German Kingdom to reach this glass of water, because he has no strength at all, and even with all his efforts, he can only barely touch the outer edge of the glass.

In fact, most of the South German Kingdom's territory is desert, with only a few grasslands and oases in the southwest direction.

Of course, the South German Kingdom is still a large country with a land area of ​​more than two million square kilometers. Even if the proportion of grassland in the southwest is not high, the area is not small. Judging from the situation in these areas in the previous life, it is still possible to accommodate tens of millions of people.

"The South German Kingdom is not like you East Africans, who have a large family and a large business. Although our territory is vast, most of it is barren desert with no utilization value. Of course, the more tragic thing is that the South German Kingdom's coastline is only a narrow area of ​​more than one hundred kilometers."

"In this era where poverty is destined without the ocean, we can only work hard to expand our coastline. However, the difficulty in doing so is that our neighbor is the British. If the opponent were changed to the Spaniards on the opposite side, perhaps this problem would not exist."

Bioko Island is a very inconspicuous island. Of course, this is only in relation to other regions of the world. In fact, the forces around the Gulf of Guinea still attach importance to Bioko Island.

Currently, Bioko Island belongs to the Spanish Guinea colony, which is roughly the bizarre African country of Equatorial Guinea in its previous life. Of course, Africa has never lacked bizarre countries, and most African national governments are very anthropomorphic.

The same is true for Equatorial Guinea in its previous life. As far as the territory of Equatorial Guinea is concerned, there is no doubt that the mainland part of Africa accounts for the majority, but the capital of Equatorial Guinea is built on Bioko Island.

This is as unreasonable as a unified Italy setting its capital on Sicily or Sardinia.

However, the reason for this situation is that the blame can definitely be placed on the colonizers, and the fact is that Spain's construction in Guinea is basically on Bioko Island.

As for the mainland part of Spanish Guinea, Spain, an older generation of colonial countries, has never attached importance to it and is not very willing to develop it.

Spanish Guinea is mostly characterized by a tropical maritime climate, with extreme humidity and heat, making development inherently difficult. This is evident from neighboring East Africa. Gabon and Cameroon, despite being under East Africa's control and backed by the industrial powerhouse of East Africa, remain the most underdeveloped regions within East Africa. Transforming the area requires significant effort, manpower, resources, and financial investment.

However, it's clear that Spanish Guinea isn't worth such an investment for Spain, especially the mainland portion. Situated close to the powerful nation of East Africa, the Spanish government is concerned that its investments in the region would only benefit East Africa.

Even before, facing competition from France and Germany in the last century, Spain primarily opted for compromise and concession, until the surrounding territories completely fell into East Africa's hands.

Therefore, the insecure Spanish government is even more hesitant to invest in the mainland part of Spanish Guinea. In contrast, Bioko Island, being an island, offers both offensive and defensive advantages, making it more appealing to the Spanish.

The coastline of the South German Kingdom directly faces Bioko Island of Spanish Guinea. Malabo, the capital of Spanish Guinea, and Bamuso, the only coastal city of the South German Kingdom, are separated by a sea with a straight-line distance of only seventy kilometers.

It can be said that Bioko Island blocks the South German Kingdom's front door. With just a navy, the only sea passage of the South German Kingdom could be blockaded. However, the Spanish government certainly wouldn't do that at this stage, as they have no real conflict with the South German Kingdom.

The South German Kingdom also has little interest in Bioko Island, being more interested in the land of Nigeria.

Expanding into Nigeria would not only extend the coastline and seize excellent seaports but also acquire vast fertile land, both of which the South German Kingdom desperately needs.

Nigeria's land can be considered among the best in sub-Saharan Africa, having supported a population of 200 million in its previous life. Of course, Nigeria is even more famous for its oil resources than its arable land.

To summarize Nigeria's agricultural development conditions simply: vast arable land, flat terrain, relatively abundant rainfall, and nourished and replenished by the Niger River, the second-largest river in Africa.

Even in the early 20th century, its agricultural conditions would be enough for the South German Kingdom, a country with a population of just over three million, to live a life of prosperity like Argentina.

Unfortunately, most of Nigeria is under British control, and the South German Kingdom clearly lacks the power to confront Britain.

However, with the support of East Africa and Germany, the South German Kingdom has still managed to develop some new territories in recent years.

The reason Germany is involved is due to its former colony of Cameroon. However, after Germany sold Cameroon as a package to East Africa, the South German Kingdom basically returned to being dominated by East Africa.

Therefore, Ludwig I said, "In recent years, we have made some progress in Nigeria, but with the end of the European war, the British have refocused their attention on Nigeria, greatly hindering the kingdom's westward expansion."

"During this trip to East Africa to attend the Southeast African Common Market conference, I also hope to gain some of your support, especially in terms of weapons and material assistance."

When talking to Friedrich, Ludwig I was quite straightforward, after all, the relationship between the two countries aside, the fact that they both belong to the Hohenzollern family is enough.

Strategically, the South German Kingdom was initially established by East Africa as a population barrier to separate East Africa from Black Africa, while also acting as a proxy to cause trouble for the British.

Today, the geographical concept of Black Africa is far from comparable to what it was in its previous life. In its previous life, Black Africa was the entire sub-Saharan Africa, but after the emergence of East Africa, the living space for Black Africa, or rather, black Africans, has been greatly reduced.

Except for West Africa, white or mixed-race people dominate in the former Central Africa, North Africa, East Africa, and South Africa.

Mixed-race people can be divided into three types. The first is black-white mixed, the typical example being the Abyssinian Empire (Ethiopia), and there is also a small distribution in North Africa, such as Egypt, British Somaliland, and other regions.

The second type is yellow-white mixed, typically East Africa, the South German Kingdom, Darfur, and the Belgian Congo.

The third type is relatively rare, which is yellow-black mixed, mainly distributed in the Kingdom of Imerina in eastern Madagascar. However, the overall race of the Kingdom of Imerina is still mainly Asian, with closer blood ties to Southeast Asian natives. In addition, some island nations in the Indian Ocean also have distributions, especially in the French colonies of Mauritius and Reunion.

Under the influence of East Africa, the second type, the yellow-white mixed race, not only occupies the majority of mixed races but is also the largest ethnic group in the entire African continent today, with German as the main language.

Whether it is East Africa, the South German Kingdom, or even Belgium's Congo colony, German occupies a mainstream position.

The South German Kingdom is the fourth-largest German country in the world and the second-largest German country in Africa. East Africa also supports the South German Kingdom's westward expansion into West Africa.

East Africa is not afraid of the South German Kingdom breaking away from its control. After all, East Africa alone occupies nearly half of Africa's area. Unless a country can unify North Africa and West Africa, no country on the African continent can pose a threat to East Africa.

And the South German Kingdom, let alone uniting North Africa and West Africa, is now struggling to cope with Nigeria alone. Even if the South German Kingdom can annex Nigeria, its limit is only a regional power.

In the current situation in Africa, the possibility of the French unifying North Africa and West Africa is much greater than that of the South German Kingdom, and this is without the interference of countries such as East Africa in West Africa and North Africa.

Crown Prince Friedrich said to Ludwig I, "Cousin, the main reason for gathering you in Rhine City this time is for an economic conference. The issue of support for the South German Kingdom can be discussed after the meeting."

"You don't need to rush, after all, our East Africa's attitude towards the South German Kingdom has been consistent, that is, to support the South German Kingdom's expansion to the northwest. At that time, you can have more discussions with my father on the issue of aid."

Hearing Crown Prince Friedrich say this, Ludwig I had no choice but to give up. However, he had already decided to actively cooperate with East Africa's planned Southeast African Common Market, thereby further deepening the relationship between the two countries and exchanging it for further support from East Africa for the South German Kingdom.

In fact, in recent years, due to the South German Kingdom's reckless expansionist policy, the country's economic and population growth has not been very ideal, so it needs East Africa's support even more.

The root cause of this is that the South German Kingdom missed the best opportunity for expansion in Africa. Before the South German Kingdom was established, the entire Africa had already been divided up, so the South German Kingdom's expansion could only take more extreme measures.

Moreover, the South German Kingdom is also limited by its population, especially the lack of immigrant population from the German region.