African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1424: Cheka Surveillance

Earning foreign exchange is not a strange phenomenon. On the contrary, the Soviet Union's method is too normal. Malazov knew that there was an island country called Japan in the Far East. In order to raise development funds, its government used all means to vigorously develop the service industry, sending a large number of men to work overseas every year, or women to Southeast Asia and other places to sell themselves for the country. The latter were called "Nanyang Sisters."

In 1902 alone, Japan's annual foreign exchange was about 1000 billion yen, of which the Nanyang sisters contributed about 20%, so much so that the Japanese economics community at the time exclaimed: "Japan will be a modern country built on women."

The Japanese yen from the late 19th century to the early 20th century was not the Japanese yen of later generations. It had a very high gold content. In 1871, the Meiji government stipulated that one yen was equal to grams of pure gold, which was equivalent to the US dollar at the time.

After entering the 20th century, although the Japanese yen experienced depreciation, the exchange rate with the US dollar was still one to two, that is, two Japanese yen could be exchanged for one US dollar.

However, before and after World War I, because the Japanese Nanyang service industry group was too miserable, it was condemned and restricted by the international community, and this industry went downhill. The Japanese government, which led this activity, shamelessly chose to abandon these "imperial heroes" and banned them from returning to their country. Many of them died in a foreign land.

In the early days of East Africa, the government actually organized extensive foreign exchange earning activities. At that time, in order to raise funds for colonial construction, East Africa opened some port cities and set up special red-light districts to obtain foreign exchange income by providing services to merchant ships and personnel passing through East Africa, such as opium dens, taverns, pawn shops, international pavilions, etc.

At that time, the Suez Canal had not yet been opened, and most ships on the Eurasian route had to pass through the East African coast, which made the East African government a lot of money.

Of course, East Africa’s lower limit is much higher than Japan’s, but compared with the current Soviet Union, it is simply bad enough.

As for the comparison between the Japanese government and the East African and Soviet governments, that is the difference between animals and humans, except that the Soviet Union is more like a good guy than early East African governments.

After all, the Soviet Union would not sell contraband such as opium to passing sailors, would not provide pirates with stolen goods sales services, and would not open official "service industry" venues...

East Africa was not spared from any of these bad things. For example, in the mid-to-late 19th century, the official service industry venues in East Africa were called "Pavilions of All Nations". A big reason for this was the unique locational advantage of East Africa at the time. It allowed them to capture black women from the inland or reach supply agreements with human traffickers from Arabia, Southeast Asia, India and other places.

Of course, the reason why East Africa is still considered a "people" is that at least East Africa will not treat its own citizens as "Japanese" like the Japanese government does.

The Japanese government is a country that is extremely cruel and bloody both internally and externally. So from this perspective, Japan is an "extremist" government that existed earlier than the Benito government. Even Benito can be regarded as a "saint" in front of the Japanese government. After all, Benito could not think of so many crooked tricks.

If Benito had a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the Japanese government, he would probably exclaim loudly: "How can people be so bad!"

……

Malazov and others spent the most boring time in Odessa. The Soviet government was too rigid, which led to a significant decline in the quality of Odessa's service industry compared with the Tsarist Russia and Ukraine periods.

Moreover, I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but this place is even more depressing than the planned economy era in East Africa, like a bird in a cage.

Kerrickel, a crew member of Malazov, asked in the hotel: "Captain, I always have an ominous premonition that someone is always watching us. This feeling makes me feel like a thorn in my back."

After hearing what Krikel said, Malazov glanced at the door unhappily and said, "This is nonsense! Since we entered Odessa, the Soviet Union has sent people to follow us. That guy has been watching us. It's no wonder you feel this way."

Krikel said, "Captain, don't you think the Soviets are deliberately targeting us? It seems that the Soviet government is not so harsh on other countries. Moreover, in addition to the official Soviet official, I feel that there are people watching us in secret."

Malazov poured himself a refill of wine, brought it to his mouth and took a sip, then said calmly, "What are you afraid of?"

"As the saying goes, if you don't do anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door. We are just ordinary people, without any value. Can the Soviet government really accuse us of a false crime and arrest us?"

"So, you just treat the Soviets as if they were wood. Anyway, after the cargo on the ship is loaded and unloaded, we will leave this crappy place and just endure for a few days."

Although Captain Malazov did not know that the Soviet Union would be so wary of East Africans, he did not take the Soviet government's actions to heart, unless the Soviet Union wanted to cause an international dispute, and East Africa was not afraid of the Soviet Union.

If, under normal circumstances, its citizens were arrested or harassed by the Soviet Union without reason, the empire would certainly not remain indifferent. This is where Malazov's confidence came from.

So, Malazov told his employees: "Drink without worrying about anything else."

In Odessa, perhaps only alcohol can fill the spiritual void of the East African crew members. After the initial rectification by the Soviet government, many entertainment venues in Odessa were banned or rectified. For sailors drifting on the sea, this is naturally not a good thing. Therefore, in the Soviet Union, perhaps only vodka and other alcoholic drinks can heal their spiritual loss. Soon under the anesthesia of alcohol, the hotel became noisy again.

At this time, it was time for the Soviet surveillance personnel outside the door to take up their shift.

"Odoyev, what's the matter? Did these East Africans do anything out of line?" A Soviet youth in casual clothes came to the door of the hotel where Malazov and his group were staying and asked.

A young man named Odoyev complained: "Not at all. Based on my observations over the past few days, they are just normal East Africans who only know how to have fun and enjoy life every day."

"It's completely meaningless to watch them, and it also wastes our department's precious time and energy. It would be much better to go to the docks to check for contraband than to waste time here."

After hearing this, the Soviet youth said to Odoyev: "There is nothing we can do about it. East Africa is a red-list country, so we have to pay attention to people coming to the Soviet Union from East Africa."

"As you know, the remnants of the Romanov dynasty established the so-called Tsarist Russian government-in-exile in East Africa and have been engaged in various anti-Soviet sabotage activities."

“As East Africa is the harbouring of these criminals, we must always be cautious. The East African government uses these criminal remnants and reactionaries to infiltrate and sabotage our great motherland.”

Odoyev said: "I should know this, but this kind of work should be left to the professional guys in the Cheka. After all, the East Africans are not fools. How could they hire such a good-for-nothing to conduct espionage activities in the empire?"

As he spoke, Odoyev cast a disdainful glance towards the hotel. At this time, the aftereffects of the vodka and other drinks had already taken effect, and the crew of the Malazov were already drunk and staggering.

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's hard to believe that drunkards like these are part of a spy organization. And our observations over the past few days have confirmed this. They will return in a few days. It's impossible for them to do anything big in such a short time." The Soviet youth who came to take over the shift said, "That's good. After all, our Foreign Trade Bureau is a sensitive unit, but we are not professionals like the Cheka. So the best outcome is that they are foreign hostile elements. Don't let our department run into them."

It is better to have less trouble than more. The Foreign Trade Bureau under the Soviet Trade Committee should not do the work of the Cheka in terms of its functions.

While the two Foreign Trade Bureau personnel were talking, in the window opposite the hotel, Mikhailov, a real Cheka officer, was also recording in his notebook: No abnormalities.

His colleague, Demetre Fuka, sat on a chair and said, "After three days of observation, we found that they are just ordinary people. The details revealed by their actions, as well as their words, deeds and observation ability during our close contact, all indicate that they are not from the East African National Defense Security Agency, or other reactionary forces."

"Moreover, judging from their mental state and attire, they completely match the characteristics of sailors who have been exposed to the wind and sun on the sea for many years. Therefore, we can conclude that these people are of no value to us."

"Besides, with the Trade Committee watching us, there's no need for us to waste energy on them, so we can retreat first."

Mikhailov said: "That's my judgment too. It seems that the superiors have been a little suspicious recently. Every East African looks like someone from the East African National Defense Security Agency."

Demetre Fuka said: "The superiors' concerns are not without basis. Recently, the number of East Africans coming to the Soviet Union has suddenly increased a lot. This is obviously not normal."

“You know, if it was 1920, because the New Economic Policy had just been implemented and foreign trade had resumed, it would be normal for foreigners to flock back in to look for business opportunities.”

"But this is 1925, and the influx of East Africans into our country is intriguing."

"After all, East Africa is a capitalist country, and it is also a place where the remnants of the Romanov dynasty are taken in. We can never be too careful."

"What's more, the East African National Defense Security Agency and the Military Intelligence Department are our most difficult opponents. During the defense war, there were shadows of various East African spy organizations and intelligence personnel in the country."

"However, after the defense war, these organizations suddenly disappeared. This shows how difficult our opponents are. It would be great if they were as easy to deal with as Britain's MI6."

As the world's largest intelligence agency and the fastest growing in recent years, it is impossible for the Soviet Cheka to be unaware of the East African National Defense Security Service and other intelligence agencies.

On the contrary, during the Russian Civil War, the Cheka had already found clues about the East African National Defense Security Agency. In addition, East Africa was the seat of the Tsarist Russian government-in-exile, so the Cheka paid more attention to its intelligence work in East Africa.

However, in the eyes of the Cheka, the East African Defense Security Agency has always been very cunning. It is the most difficult, most technical and professional intelligence agency in the world they have ever faced.

Up to now, the Cheka has not actually captured many East African intelligence personnel. Even if there are, they are some peripheral members, but they are all bribed Soviets, that is, former Russians, or some reactionary forces that have cooperated with the East African National Defense Security Agency.

Mikhailov said: "The intelligence agencies in East Africa are indeed difficult to deal with, otherwise we would not have put so much effort into dealing with them, especially this time, a large number of East Africans have poured into our country, and there may be many East African spies or remnants of the exiled government among them."

"Odessa is a very sensitive area. The unrest here has just ended. It seems calm on the surface, but in fact, there are undercurrents."

"Germans, Austro-Hungarians, British, Ottomans, East Africans, former Ukrainian puppet government personnel, remnants of the Tsarist Russian government, old aristocrats, capitalist speculators and careerists, etc."

"Because of Odessa's special geographical location, all intelligence gathered here, and it has become the intelligence sub-center of various countries in Eastern Europe. The situation is even more serious and prominent than that in St. Petersburg."

"So the organization must not relax its vigilance against Odessa to prevent the imperialists and feudal remnants from counterattacking and making a comeback."

Not to mention those imperialist countries that extremely hated the Soviet Union, even feudal countries like the Ottoman Empire sent a number of intelligence personnel to Russian Black Sea towns such as Odessa.

After all, the Ottoman Empire and the predecessor of the Soviet Union, Russia, were serious enemies, with as many as twelve Russo-Turkish wars in history alone.

These included a recent military conflict in the Caucasus between Russia and Ottoman Türkiye during the Labour era, but the war still ended with a Russian victory.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire was extremely hostile to the Soviet Union, or the Eastern Slavs. Even if Russia's political system and regime changed, it could not change the hostile relationship between the two countries.

Of course, the chaotic situation in Odessa's underground is hidden beneath the economic prosperity. Today, Odessa is the most important foreign trade city in the Soviet economy.

The Soviet Cheka therefore focused on observing people entering and leaving Odessa, and East Africans were the focus of the Cheka's recent surveillance.

Captain Malazov and his crew suffered an "unprovoked disaster" because of this. Of course, this unprovoked disaster must be questioned. After all, without the East African National Defense Security Agency and the Tsarist Russian government-in-exile in East Africa, the Soviets would not have been so wary of East Africa.

In fact, the number of Russia's original overseas exile organizations is not small, such as the Russian bourgeois government in exile, the Belarusian government, the Polish government, the Ukrainian government, the remnants of the White Bandits, and so on.

The reason why East Africa was particularly vigilant was that the Tsarist Russian government-in-exile in East Africa was too legitimate. Alexei was the biological son of Nicholas II. Therefore, in the eyes of the Soviet government, the Tsarist Russian government-in-exile in East Africa was the most threatening of all the reactionary forces in exile abroad.

The Soviet Cheka also tried to sneak into East Africa to carry out direct assassinations of members of the exiled government, especially the remnants of the Romanov dynasty such as Alexei's siblings.

However, the result is obvious, it was unsuccessful. After all, East Africa itself is one of the safest countries in the world, and guns and other weapons are strictly controlled, which makes it difficult for organizations to cause trouble in East Africa. Coupled with the East African government's strict protection of the Tsarist Russian government in exile, it is even more impossible for the Cheka to succeed.

Sometimes, Cheka personnel were even targeted by special departments such as the East African Defense and Security Bureau as soon as they entered East Africa, which led to the failure of the operation. This is why the Cheka was so impressed by the East African Defense and Security Bureau, the Military Intelligence Bureau and other agencies.

(End of this chapter)