Chapter 455 The Sword Guides the Ocean

The purpose of the exercise is to take precautions. For East Africa, the actual national defense pressure is not as great as that of other countries, but it is easy for other countries to disgust East Africa.

Ernst, who showed up during the exercise, quickly took the train back. He came to inspect to show that he attached great importance to the army, and he had more important things to do.

July 1875.

Bagamoyo Port.

"This time our fleet's mission is to depart from East Africa, pass through the Strait of Malacca, pass through Kalimantan Island, and finally arrive in the Far East to pay state visits to various countries in the Far East." Archduke Ferdinand said to the naval officers.

This made the young Austrian officers very excited. After all, this mission was quite rare, and even in Austria before, they might not have encountered such an opportunity.

There are many Austrian officers in the East African Navy, which is understandable. After all, the structure of the East African Navy was built by them and Archduke Ferdinand.

The East African Navy is no longer a rookie. With the help of the Austrian Navy, it has developed quite impressively. Especially after two new ironclad ships were commissioned last month, the number of East African ironclad ships directly reached three.

As for why the first naval expedition chose the Far East, it was to show off... or to promote the country's prestige.

This time, he borrowed a large amount of money in the Far East to support the Far Eastern Empire's war against Tsarist Russia. Although the interest was not low, Ernst was also afraid that the Far Eastern Empire would default on its debts.

The incidence rate of this kind of thing is actually close to zero. The Far Eastern Empire has always valued face. Although more than ten million taels is a lot, it is not enough. In fact, in history, the Far Eastern Empire repaid HSBC eight million taels in the second year. The interest was more than three million taels, and the principal was repaid within one year.

Therefore, debt collection is just an excuse. The real purpose of the East African Navy is to explore the East.

Ernst has been coveting the East for a day or two. Of course, this East mainly refers to the Indian Ocean, plus the Southeast Asia region. For East Africa, everything east of the mainland is the East.

Although the Indian Ocean is important, there are only a few islands in the center of the ocean, and they are still in the hands of Britain and France. Moreover, with the commissioning of the East African Navy's ironclad ships and the control of the islands, the western Indian Ocean is actually the back garden of East Africa, so In Ernst's eyes, what is really important is the Nanyang region.

The status of the Strait of Malacca alone is irreplaceable. Of course, this is not something that East Africa can covet now, but there are many islands in Southeast Asia!

Among the many islands in the South Ocean, the East Indies (here refers to Indonesia), Kalimantan (Borneo), the Philippine Islands, and Sumatra are all existences that cannot be ignored (in fact, the above islands all belong to the East Indies), and there are a bunch of A small island with an important location.

Among these islands, the Netherlands has the greatest influence, followed by the United Kingdom, then Spain, and finally Portugal (East Timor). Kalimantan is already an area that Ernst is interested in. The main country on Kalimantan is the Netherlands. , the Kingdom of Sarawak, Lanfang and other seven republics.

The Dutch have three territories on the island of Kalimantan, in the northwest and south of Kalimantan. In the middle of the Dutch colony is the Republic of Lanfang.

The Lanfang Republic, also known as the Lanfang Company, or the Lanfang Republic, is a Chinese country that was established as early as 1777 and is mainly composed of Chinese who came south during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The ruling class of the Lanfang Republic is actually very strange. It is claimed to be the first republic in Asia. It is actually ruled by a coalition of local Chinese families, and its organizational form is more similar to the East India Company.

None of this was important to Ernst. He simply fell in love with the geographical conditions of Kalimantan. The South Ocean is the "crossroads" of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and Kalimantan is the "crossroads" of the South Ocean.

Ernst said to his father-in-law: "On this voyage, we will regard the Lanfang Republic as a key area. This is likely to be our first colony in the East Indian Ocean in the future, so this time the navy can appropriately send troops to the Lanfang Republic." Put forward conditions and requirements to lay the foundation for our next step to expand our economic and political influence on Lanfang Republic."

You have to pick soft persimmons, and Lanfang Republic is a soft persimmon in Ernst's eyes, and it is a relatively familiar soft persimmon.

With this naval support, the Lanfang Republic dare not not give East Africa face. After all, the Lanfang Republic has not been able to get along well in the Nanyang region in recent years. This is also the dilemma faced by the Nanyang countries.

Archduke Ferdinand asked: "Do you value the Lanfang Republic so much because it is a Chinese country?"

This was a question in Archduke Ferdinand's heart, so he took this opportunity to ask it. After all, Ernst's various behaviors showed that he valued the Chinese second only to the Germans.

"There is this factor, because I have done a lot of research on Chinese history and know the Chinese quite well, but this is not the main factor. The fundamental reason is that the Lanfang Republic is an independent country. This is very important for us in East Africa. We cannot make the same mistake now. If there are conflicts with other European countries, but if you want to have a place in the East India region, you can only choose those terra nullius or independent countries. Father-in-law, do you think a colony with a development foundation is valuable? , or is there value in a terra incognita?”

"Of course it is a colony with a basis for development."

"That's right. Before our industrial revolution, the Chinese had always controlled the most advanced civilization in the East. Seris was one of the four major powers in the world during the ancient Roman era. And before Rome existed, the Chinese were already the world's most advanced civilization. The most powerful civilization in the world is far more powerful than Greece and Egypt. As a Chinese-dominated country, the Lanfang Republic’s residents are actually synonymous with the advanced productivity of the Nanyang region. Of course, I am talking about before the industrial revolution.”

"The Chinese are indeed very disciplined, hard-working and brave." Archduke Ferdinand said, referring to the Chinese sailors in the navy.

"That's right. In fact, the areas affected by Chinese civilization in East Asia are almost the same, and Nanyang is not included in this list. The time they accepted civilization was probably the time when European colonists colonized, and their efficiency is not much higher than that of African indigenous people. .”

Industrialization and colonial rule emphasize efficiency. The soil of the Southeast Asian islands is barren (except for islands covered with volcanic ash such as Java), and the development of civilization is not ideal. Therefore, if you want to bring the indigenous people into industrial civilization, it is as difficult as in Africa.

Therefore, a Chinese-dominated country like Lanfong Republic is an ideal area for colonization. In fact, judging from the development status of the Chinese in Malaysia in later generations, this is also the case. They are definitely high-quality subjects to be ruled.

Moreover, the Lanfang Republic is now considered an independent country. East Africa will first undergo economic penetration for a few years, and then it will naturally be included in East Africa's sphere of influence. There will be no need to conflict with other colonists, and there will be no fear of conflict. It will be able to threaten the Lanfang Republic. He is a Dutchman. Is Ernst afraid of the Dutch?

Moreover, Ernst chose Lanfang Republic as a key naturalization area for another reason, that is, it could integrate local Chinese forces to resist other colonial colleagues.

After all, East Africa's overseas radiation capability is not strong. It does not have the advantage of countries such as the Netherlands in Southeast Asia. In this way, there are many unclaimed lands in Southeast Asia, but occupying these unowned lands is of no value to East Africa now, even if East Africa has some unclaimed lands. If you plant your flag in the main land, the Netherlands and other countries can simply ignore it.

Therefore, East Africa needs a fulcrum to intervene in the affairs of the Nanyang region, and the best target for this fulcrum is the Lanfang Republic. Everyone is half of us, and it is easier to cooperate.

Although he did not know whether the Lanfang Republic would agree psychologically, but under the threat of the East African Navy, Ernst believed that they would agree.

Furthermore, the demands of the East African Kingdom are not excessive. They require the power of trade and investment, which is relatively easy to accept.

As for the garrison in a few years, it will be logical to ask for the garrison. Anyway, the threat of the Dutch is on the side. The Lanfang Republic may take the initiative to request garrison in East Africa. With the garrison, the rest of the things will be easier to handle. In the Lanfang Republic Promote German education and German civilization and completely turn Lanfang Republic into East Africa's strategic fulcrum in the Southeast Asia region.

When Ernst thought about this, everything was a matter of course. After all, Singapore had been able to use English as its official language in previous lives, so it was also feasible to implement German in the Lanfang Republic.