Chapter 183: Arrival
In the study.
After seeing off his father, Ernst breathed a sigh of relief. Now that things had come to this, he could only respect his father's decision.
All in all, sending his father to East Africa to preside over affairs indeed seemed the best solution. Prince Constantin had ample prestige and ability. In his own colony, no one would dare provoke a European monarch. A certain reverence for nobility was ingrained in the hearts of the settlers, and all those in the East African colony came from feudal or authoritarian regions (such as Paraguay), thus they naturally held nobles in awe.
The officials of the East African colony, who were mostly German mercenaries by background, understood the status of a German monarch. In the end, they were just hired hands—nearly all would not remain in East Africa permanently, and most were retired from the Prussian army, typically older men, so their time in East Africa wouldn't be long.
As for the students of the Heixingen Military Academy, they would certainly obey Prince Constantin. After all, the academy was in Heixingen, and Prince Constantin was a frequent visitor there, regularly interacting with the students.
Lastly, there were the employees of the Heixingen Consortium, not many in number and often rotating in and out. Their main task in East Africa was economic oversight, such as auditing.
In short, no one in East Africa would challenge Prince Constantin, because it was common knowledge that the Heixingen royal family owned the colony. It was just that most settlers in East Africa had never laid eyes on these legendary figures—rather like an emperor who spends his life secluded in the palace, yet remains the highest ruler all the same.
Ernst sat back down at his desk and looked at his still-unfinished plans for upgrading First Town. He would have to start over. With Constantin in the picture, he certainly could not stick to his original design. That budget he'd hoped to save was no longer escapable.
…
"Who goes there? Halt!" On the border of the Yeke Kingdom, several local tribesmen abruptly blocked Merck's group.
"Bring over the interpreter!" Becker ordered the soldiers behind him.
Soon, a dark-skinned local was pulled out from the rear of the troop. He had been recruited by the East African colony as a translator. Naturally, East Africans weren't about to learn every indigenous language, so they could only pick from among the indigenous slaves. In a population of over one million indigenous slaves, there were always a few with real linguistic talent. During their interaction with the colony, they had picked up German, making them suitable for use as interpreters.
"Tell them we've come from afar and mean them no harm," Becker said to the translator.
The translator relayed Becker's words to the other side, and both parties began to communicate.
"Where are you from?" one of the tribesmen asked warily.
"From a nation in the East," Becker answered.
Talking to these tribesmen about a 'colony' was likely pointless—there probably wasn't even a word for it in their language.
Upon hearing Becker's response, the tribesmen across the way visibly reacted, though it was hard to read too much in their expressions due to their skin tone. But "the East" immediately suggested the East African colony. The Yeke Kingdom had clashed with it a few times, especially when the East African colony had driven out the local people to the southwest and northwest regions.
Back then, some of the Eastern Bantu displaced to the southwest went to the Kingdom of Malawi, while others ended up in the Yeke Kingdom. Many who reached the Yeke Kingdom were welcomed by Msiri, who was from the Tanganyika region himself. Those people spread tales of the East African colony's terrifying might throughout the Yeke Kingdom, describing its troops as an army of devils.
The Yeke Kingdom's upper ranks and some of its soldiers did not believe these "wild rumors," knowing that firearms were not unheard of; indeed, the Yeke Kingdom boasted its own musket-equipped troops. However, many among the general populace believed otherwise—when enough voices repeat a tale, even falsehoods can sound like truth. Moreover, many of the kingdom's commoners felt their own king and the East African colony were the same band of devils, both hailing from the East and using firearms.
In fact, not many of the Eastern Bantu driven out by East Africa ended up in the Yeke Kingdom. The majority had been driven to the northwest, and Malawi took in most of those who went southwest. Only a small fraction ever reached the Yeke Kingdom.
Recognizing them as fellows from Tanganyika, Msiri enlisted these Eastern Bantu in large numbers, using them to suppress dissent within the Yeke Kingdom and among its neighboring forces. For those originating from the Tanganyika region, the Yeke Kingdom's army became a haven. Except for Msiri's most elite firearm units, the kingdom's army consisted largely of those valiant, battle-hardened Eastern Bantu.
The tribesmen who blocked Becker's path were precisely those Tanganyika-origin soldiers absorbed into the Yeke Kingdom. Their weaponry—uniform spears and bows—clearly marked them as part of the kingdom's peripheral forces.
"So you people are the devil's men!" one Eastern Bantu soldier shouted nervously at Becker and the others, clutching his weapon tight. The Eastern Bantu were fierce, capable of fighting wild animals hand-to-hand. But East Africa was far more ruthless, employing guns to open these warriors' eyes to a cruel reality. No matter how skilled you were, you could still be cut down by a blade. Those forced out of Tanganyika had never forgotten the terror of the East Africans.
"Don't worry, we mean no harm. We've come to meet your King Msiri," Becker told the Yeke Kingdom soldiers. Whether they labeled him as a devil or not was immaterial; as long as the mission succeeded, Becker would benefit greatly. He thus tried to address the tribesmen with a friendly demeanor.
After some back-and-forth, they finally grasped why Becker's group had arrived. "Distant travelers," said one, "we must first inform our great King Msiri. Only when His Majesty grants permission can you proceed to the palace for an audience."
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