African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 781 - 85: Futile Resistance

In the fertile land of Angola, the smoke of war did not completely end with the collapse of the Portuguese kingdom's colonial regime, even though East Africa destroyed Angola's spiritual pillar—Luanda.

Because compared to Luanda, there is a group of "true" masters on this land of Angola, whose most genuine interest is not the so-called "patriotism," but rather the land and abundant resources of Angola.

Angola's plantations and mines, these "Portuguese" who really live in Angola, their resistance against East Africa did not end with the fall of Portuguese rule.

In the war against Luanda, East Africa had no time to manage these plantation or mine owners. Now that the direct war is over, to acquire Angola's land, East Africa has had to launch a new round of military operations.

Engage.

Engage is 267 kilometers away from Luanda, a Portuguese plantation, and at this time, a company of the 416th regiment is fighting here against the plantation's guards.

Gunshots echo intermittently from the ditches to the left of the Engage plantation, smoke grenades dropping in arc-like trajectories, leaving trails of black smoke over the verdant fields.

"The old-fashioned grenade launchers still use black powder, although it's less powerful than smokeless powder, the smell of gunpowder from the grenade launcher is intoxicating!" Company commander Parker said with great satisfaction in the temporary trench.

As a newly formed unit, much of the equipment in Parker's unit hasn't been updated in time and is the old stock taken from the East African defense warehouse.

Smokeless powder is a great invention, but unfortunately, the timing for East Africa to produce smokeless powder is too close to the South African War, so even before the war, not all units could switch to new equipment and new ammunition.

For Parker, these weapons, despite some flaws, are more than sufficient to deal with the Portuguese plantations that struggle to even muster weapons.

"Captain Parker, these Portuguese are truly ungrateful, their main forces have been annihilated by us, so why do they not give up resistance? Do they really think they can contend with us with their rudimentary weapons and black slaves with weak combat resolve?"

Parker said, "Men will die for wealth, birds will perish for food. For these plantation owners, land is their foundation. They've come all the way from Europe to here, cultivated the land, and now, because of the incompetence of the state, their centuries' worth of accumulation are plundered away. It must be difficult for them to accept this outcome."

Of course, this is an exaggerated statement. After all, truly wealthy people who live in Angola are just a minority. After amassing considerable wealth here, they still return to that lavish and extravagant world of Europe. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Even though Portugal is somewhat out of fashion among European countries, it was once a great nation that the Portuguese can nostalgically remember.

In the colonial era, the former glory of the Portuguese Empire was a passport for the Portuguese to comfortably accept the identity of "civilized people."

Of course, behind the luxury and propriety of European gentlemen and capitalist masters lies the painful sacrifice of countless countries and civilians in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

As long as a country has sufficient strength, it is easily "respected" by other countries. Portugal can't do it now, but the glory of their "pirate" ancestors won't allow anyone to truly belittle this country. After all, what if, possibly, Portugal once again accomplishes feats like during the early Age of Exploration?

However, none of this concerns the warriors of East Africa. To Parker, Portugal is merely a stepping stone for the great Heixinggen kingdom to stand atop the world, and in the future, East Africa will not be inferior to any country in the world.

Just like now, the black slaves of the Portuguese plantation opposite, who haven't even the basic freedom, serve merely as cannon fodder for the plantation owners amid warfare. With such opponents, Parker has already lost interest.

Parker said, "From the moment of the victory in the war of Luanda, Portuguese rule in Angola was completely ended. However, these plantation owners with their vast plantations, often tens of thousands of acres, lost the capacity to be protected by the Kingdom of Portugal. These are their private properties, so they must be dissatisfied with us in East Africa. After all, our actions infringe upon their tangible interests, but the 19th century is a time based on power."

"If it were us who were defeated, I imagine the situation we'd face wouldn't be much better than in Angola now. So for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of the German, we must fight against the Portuguese and win. This is a completely just war of self-defense."

Of course, Parker's righteous talk doesn't change the fact that East Africa is depriving Portuguese "civilians" of land in Angola. Although a few months ago this war was indeed a war of national defense.

Now the East African army, like Napoleon in his time, is being defined as "invaders" instead of the national heroes.

However, for this, East African soldiers have no burden in their hearts. Firstly, in the 19th century, it is about who has the bigger punch who gets to speak. Portugal lost this war, so East Africa, as the victor, obtaining all the spoils, is completely reasonable and fair.

Secondly, for these private large plantations, East African soldiers have no sympathy, as they themselves are not great plantation owners.

In East Africa, land nationalization is implemented. Although nationalization cannot make East African citizens instantly wealthy, it ensures they're well-fed and clothed, which for East African citizens in this era is extremely fortunate. Compared to the dire suffering of the vast majority of people in other countries at the end of the 19th century, East Africa is indeed "paradise."

Moreover, private land ownership in this era carries a derogatory connotation to most East Africans, especially in cases like Angola, where land privatization results in the entire plantation belonging to the plantation owner, while the laborers underneath them cannot share even a fraction of the profits.

East Africa, to some extent, also "exploits" its citizens, but this is an unavoidable thing. Given international competition requires East African citizens to be diligent.

After all, East Africa's underlying strength cannot compare to most countries. This disadvantage in foundational strength can only be compensated by "effort."

Of course, the only pity is that the rulers of East Africa are the Heixinggen royal family, or else East Africa might have taken a different path and become a pioneer of this era.

However, for now, under Ernst's governance, East Africa's performance in all aspects is basically up to standard, which already fully meets the psychological expectations of East African citizens. In fact, even if Ernst does nothing now, he would still become one of the most "great" figures in East African history.

Because now Ernst has essentially created a new nationality, although it bears the shell of the German, everyone knows it's just a shell.

In the future, regardless of which direction East Africa develops, nothing can change the historical fact that Ernst created this nation and country.

Unless one day, East Africans are completely annihilated like Native American Indians, or such governing structures cease to exist, and world unity is realized.

The 19th century is an era of turbulent winds, but as long as Ernst lives long enough, East Africa has a chance to pass through dangerous times. This is the privilege of a founding monarch, although the nominal founding monarch of East Africa is Constantine, this is unique, but because the Heixinggen royal family has always had sparse descendants!