Great Power Reclamation

The rain lasted for three days, turning the newly built patrol road on the border into mud. But next to the deep ruts in the mud, some crooked, fresh footprints appeared, pointing eastward—towards East Africa, mixed with the hoofprints of cattle and sheep.

On the watchtower of the Anvil outpost, Abdul held up the Peregrine reconnaissance device, his brow furrowed.

Thermal imaging shows that in recent nights, sporadic heat sources, not belonging to wild animals, have been observed gathering and dispersing in the abandoned village on the opposite hillside that originally belonged to the neighboring country of Karu.

Even more strangely, two days ago, during a patrol, they discovered a section of the long-neglected border fence that had been deliberately cut open, allowing people to pass through by crouching down.

On the muddy ground at the gap, there were several rough, non-military burlap shoe prints pointing into East Africa.

"He doesn't look like a scout, nor does he look like a smuggler."

Instructor Iron Hammer reviewed the data and photos of the traces:

“Smugglers have fixed routes and act furtively. These people… seem to be traveling with families, moving slowly and leaving messy trails.”

Soon, the forward patrol brought back a family of five: a couple in their thirties, two children under ten years old, and an old woman wearing an old headscarf.

They were ragged, emaciated, and the man was clutching a broken tin box tied with hemp rope tightly in his arms.

Upon seeing the armed East African soldiers, they immediately knelt in the mud, the men repeatedly speaking in a mixture of tribal dialects and broken East African Mandarin:

“We want to come here…we heard there are jobs here, and the children can go to school…we don’t need money, we can work, anything is fine…”

They came from a small village on the border of the Kingdom of Karu. Although the civil war in Karu had temporarily subsided, local warlords held sway, taxes were heavy, bandits were rampant, schools had long been closed, and clinics were just empty shells.

The man was originally the village blacksmith, and the woman was a weaver.

They heard a message from a fellow villager who had risked crossing the border to find construction work in the northern development zone. So, they took advantage of the rainy night, brought all their belongings and their elderly mother, cut through the barbed wire, and trudged through the mud to come across.

"They said that on construction sites in East Africa, you get three meals a day for every day you work, and at the end of the month you really get 'recovery vouchers' that you can use to buy salt, cloth and medicine."

The patrol captain reported to Iron Hammer, "They also said there's a medical team in the development zone, and the children can go to a temporary school to learn to read... Many people are spreading the word, and the bolder ones have already come over."

Iron Hammer silently watched the family shivering in the mud, their eyes filled with hope.

This is not the first, and it will certainly not be the last.

The bloodshed of war revealed the fangs of East Africa in defending its homeland, while the order that was quickly established in the lulls in the fighting, the factories and schools that began to operate, and the legendary promise that "everyone has work and children have books to read" attracted the desperate people in the surrounding turbulent lands like a magnet.

This is not an ambition for territorial expansion, but a siphon of hope for survival. This phenomenon is not achieved through propaganda or brainwashing, nor through inducement, but stems from the instinct for survival, and no one can stop it.
-
When the news reached Xuri City, Premier Yang's office was brightly lit. The Minister of Civil Affairs, the Minister of the Interior, and the Director of the Security Bureau sat around the table, their expressions complex.

"In the past month alone, more than 3,000 civilians from neighboring countries have illegally crossed the border into the western and northern border areas and voluntarily accepted resettlement. And the trend is increasing."

The Minister of Civil Affairs laid out the report, saying, "Our resettlement camps are under immense pressure in terms of capacity and resource allocation. Even more challenging are the legal and diplomatic issues—"

“This involves territorial and population sovereignty. Although the governments of countries like Karoo are weak, they have protested through informal channels, accusing us of ‘inciting immigration’ and ‘disguisedly seizing people’.”

The Interior Minister was more pragmatic: "But these people have indeed filled our labor shortage, especially skilled artisans and able-bodied men."

"The second and third phases of the Northern Development Zone are currently short of personnel. With proper management and rigorous screening, they are a valuable productive force and can accelerate the integration of the new control area."

The security chief expressed his deep concern: "It's certain that there will be a mix of good and bad. The coalition forces and their backers could very well use this opportunity to infiltrate spies and instigators."

"A more comprehensive system for identification, registration, and monitoring must be established. The biometric identification and rapid background screening system supported by the 'Kunlun' chip must be implemented immediately at major border crossings and resettlement camps."

Yang Da listened quietly, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. A sense of crisis? No, perhaps this was another form of "crisis gift".

The war cost East Africa blood, but it also forged its backbone and demonstrated its ability to protect and develop itself.

This ability, against the backdrop of turmoil and failure, became the most dazzling and real advertisement.

“First, let’s clarify the principles,” Yang Da finally spoke, his voice steady.

"The borders of the Eastern Federation are sacred, and we will not actively incite or encourage illegal border crossings. Any border crossing must be handled in accordance with our laws and international practices."

He then changed the subject: "However, for civilians who have already crossed the border, are unarmed, have no criminal record, have voluntarily expressed their willingness to abide by our laws, and can contribute to our reconstruction, we can establish a 'special temporary identity channel' based on humanitarian principles and actual development needs."

He elaborated on a plan: to establish a "transition reception and assessment station" at the border, where all those who cross the border illegally would first be gathered.

Preliminary screening was conducted using rapid biometric and background check technology provided by Junken Electromechanical (connected to a limited but ever-expanding database).

Those who pass will be granted a one-year "temporary builder status" and assigned to a designated development zone or infrastructure project, enjoying basic labor protections, food rations, medical care, and educational opportunities (for their children).

Those who perform well after one year, have no security issues, and possess basic knowledge of the official East African languages ​​can apply for permanent resident status.

"At the same time," Yang Da's eyes sharpened, "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should issue a formal note to Karoo and other countries, clarifying our position:
We have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. All measures are necessary to address the humanitarian situation at the border and to safeguard our country's security and development.

However, we are willing to explore cooperation on security and development in border areas, including jointly combating cross-border crime and providing livelihood assistance, on the premise of respecting sovereignty—provided that the other party must effectively control the activities of armed groups on its side of the border.

This is a combination of seemingly gentle but actually forceful measures: it upholds the bottom line of law and diplomacy to avoid giving others a handle to use against it; at the same time, it transforms the influx of people into a driving force for development through practical benefits and strict management.
They are passing the buck back to neighboring governments that are incapable of governing their own countries but want to blame others.

“A sense of crisis,” Yang Da concluded, “forces us to be more efficient, smarter, and more united. Now, this external pressure to ‘vote with our feet’ is a new impetus.” “It demands that we build a better internal system, make the system fairer, make opportunities more real, and make the ‘East African Dream’ more than just a slogan.”

"Only in this way can the attraction be sustained, the influx of people be transformed from a burden into wealth, and the surrounding turmoil truly become a backdrop to our stability, rather than a fire that spreads from us."
-
The policy's influence quickly reached the grassroots level, giving hope and motivation to those refugees who had previously seen no hope.

On the edge of the northern development zone, a new "integrated community" is being planned and constructed.

Unlike the earlier resettlement camps, the houses here are sturdier and include small workshops, a cooperative market, and a "universal primary school" under construction.

Marta was elected by the community as one of the temporary leaders of the women's cooperative because of her weaving skills and management abilities. She was responsible for organizing the new female workers who could weave or sew.

She met the blacksmith's family who had crossed the border in the rain that night. The woman's name was Aisha, and she was indeed a skilled weaver, able to weave coarse cloth with intricate traditional patterns.

Marta incorporated her into the group and told her that the cooperative's products would be supplied partly to the army and partly sold to other countries through the "Military Reclamation Supermarket" trade network.

"Really...can it be sold outside?" Aisha's eyes lit up in disbelief. In her hometown, her skills couldn't earn her much food.

“If the product is good, why not?” Marta said confidently, pointing to the notice posted on the community bulletin board about the “special temporary status” and the conditions for becoming a permanent resident after one year:
"Work hard, learn our language well, and you and your child will become true East Africans in the future."

The blacksmith Haji (who shares the same name as Marta's husband) was absorbed into the construction team.

When he received his first decent set of tools and sturdy work clothes, and ate a hot and filling lunch on the construction site, this silent man's eyes welled up with tears.

He whispered to his experienced East African mentor:

"Back in our area, building fortifications for warlords not only didn't pay you, but you could also get killed... This place is really nice."

The old master patted him on the shoulder: "Good, stay and do a good job. Here, you earn your living with strength and skill, not with guns or connections."

Carissa's Queen's Technical College also received its first batch of selected teenagers from newly immigrated families.

They had poor academic foundations, but their enthusiasm for learning was astonishing. Karisa's group gained two new members: a boy from Karu who was fascinated by mechanics, and a girl from a neighboring country who wanted to study medicine.

Since they couldn't speak the language, they communicated using blueprints, gestures, and simple East African words. Their yearning to change their fate was palpable and intense under the laboratory lights.
-
At the border, the winds were shifting. The soldiers' attitudes changed too; although they didn't quite understand the diplomatic rhetoric, they grasped the core meaning.

When Abdul and his comrades patrolled, they would occasionally encounter herders from the other side of the border, in the country of Karu.

In the past, those people would always warily and quickly drive the sheep away. But now, some of the bolder ones will wave or even shout from a distance:

"Hey! Brothers in East Africa! Do you hire shepherds over there? My sheep are the best!"

"My son wants to go to your school. What are the requirements?"

Even more outrageous, during a patrol, they discovered that a simple outpost, originally controlled by the Karu local warlord and located in a disputed depression, was completely empty! The place was deserted, with only some garbage left behind.

The previously blurred boundary marker, made of piled stones, seemed to have been quietly moved a few meters towards East Africa. The signs of movement were very recent, not like natural erosion.

When Iron Hammer learned of this, he went to check it out himself and returned with a strange expression. He didn't order the boundary marker to be moved back, but instead increased patrols and the deployment of sensors in that area.

"The will of the people is sometimes more effective than cannons."

He told Abdul, “But behind this is responsibility. We attract people not with empty words, but with real security, jobs, and hope. If we fail to keep this promise, the boundary markers moved here today may be moved again tomorrow, and even more things will be taken away.”

The pressure is very real. More entry points mean greater pressure on food, water, housing, education, and healthcare, as well as more complex challenges in maintaining public order and managing society.

But as Yang Da said, this pressure is being transformed into a powerful driving force that compels reform and stimulates efficiency.

All departments are working at full speed, streamlining processes and innovating methods to quickly transform the technological advantages brought by the "Kunlun" chip into improved governance capabilities.
-
In the remote military reclamation city, Ye Yuze listened to a briefing on the influx of people into East Africa and border dynamics for a long time. He then said to his assistant beside him:

“Tell Xiaofeng that in Wall Street and the City of London, we can start telling the story of ‘East Africa’s demographic dividend 2.0’ and ‘the siphon effect of stable oases.’ The focus is not on expansion, but on the success of the endogenous growth model and the formation of regional magnets.”

He walked to the map, his gaze falling on the jagged borders of East Africa and its surrounding areas.

"War opened Pandora's box, releasing fear and death, but also... hope and comparison. When people can see the possibility of another way of life, and that possibility is within reach, their feet will make the choice themselves."

He paused, his voice deep and resonant: "When we built our city on the Gobi Desert, wasn't it also thanks to a group of people who were unwilling to accept their fate and wanted to change their way of life?"

"East Africa today is simply a re-enactment of the story of the military reclamation city from back then, on a larger stage and in a more complex era. The core remains unchanged: to give people dignity, to give people hope, and to give people a visible, accessible, and ever-widening road."

“This path,” Ye Yuze’s finger lightly traced the outline of the Eastern Federation on the map, “is now not just being walked by them alone.”

The rain at the border has stopped, but the mud is still wet. New footprints continue to be added, heading east, towards that land forged in the fires of war, which is now struggling but determined to give birth to new life.

East Africa may not have expanded its territory legally by an inch yet, but the "territory of hope" it carries is quietly growing through the votes of countless people, expressed through their footsteps and hearts.

This growth is accompanied by enormous pressure and risks, but it also burns with unprecedented vitality and possibilities.

Future history books may record that the true turning point of this war was not the outcome of a single battle, but rather the moment, on a rainy night, a family cut through barbed wire and stepped onto the muddy road. (End of Chapter)