African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1712 Terrorist Attack

The Central Asian Highway passes through Soviet territory, so East Africa could not use this route to bypass the Soviet Union and establish deeper ties with the Far Eastern empires.

As for East Africa using this route to compete with the Soviet Union in Central Asia, East Africa obviously doesn't have such an idea at present. The entire Central Asian region, except for Afghanistan which has little value, is part of the Soviet Union.

East Africa certainly has the ability to use this to incite conflict between Central Asian peoples and the Soviet Union, but it is completely unnecessary for East Africa.

If East Africa truly wanted to target Central Asia under Soviet rule, it could have easily achieved this through Persia, given that a railway was built from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea in East Africa.

This railway is significantly superior to the Central Asian Highway in terms of speed, safety, and transport capacity.

Crown Prince Friedrich said, "Given the Soviet ideology, it is not surprising that they were highly wary and defensive towards us."

"If the German threat to the Soviet Union had not been so imminent, they probably would not have agreed to the construction of the Central Asian Highway."

East Africa sheltered the Russian government-in-exile. Although the organization is now largely defunct, as long as it continues to exist, it will inevitably become a source of friction between the Soviet Union and East Africa.

Not to mention that East Africa itself was also a member of imperialism, and naturally it was at odds with the Soviet Union.

Ernst said, "Well, as long as the Soviets can continue building the Central Asian Highway, allowing us to finally make use of our strategic layout in the Pacific and intervene in the Far East war in a timely manner, that will be enough."

"However, we still need to set a deadline for the Soviets. By the beginning of next year, the Central Asia Highway should be basically completed, and by the middle of the year, the highway should at least be operational."

From East Africa's own perspective, the completion time of the Central Asia Highway is not actually that urgent.

Even Ernst himself had to consider the issue more from the perspective of East Africa itself.

Looking at it from another perspective, East Africa has actually done more than enough for the Far Eastern Empire, and its situation is much better than in the previous life.

"Before the Central Asian Highway is completed, we must keep a close eye on the changes in the European direction. After all, if the Germans don't take action, Japan won't be able to make any progress in the Far East."

Japan's war against the Far Eastern Empire has now entered a completely new phase, lacking the sharpness of the past. One key factor is the strain on various strategic resources.

As a resource-scarce country, Japan had already consumed most of the resources it had accumulated for the war that it could not produce domestically. To replenish them, it could only look to Southeast Asia.

However, without Germany keeping countries like Britain, France, and the Soviet Union tied down in Europe, Japan clearly wouldn't dare to take action in Southeast Asia.

Therefore, the final outcome of the East African campaign against Japan will depend on Germany's next move.

Crown Prince Friedrich said, "Germany is unlikely to start a war anytime soon; they still need to digest the spoils of the Warsaw Pact."

"However, this process should not take too long. Unlike Italy, Germany did not take over the entire Tripoli colony. Instead, it extorted some military outposts and spheres of influence from Britain and France."

"It shouldn't be a big problem for Germany to digest these regions."

"At the same time, based on the intelligence we have gathered in Germany, the wheels of war in Germany will be fully set in motion next year."

"Now, whether on the Eastern or Western front, Germany's final military preparations are basically complete. Germany only needs to select some directions of war to start a new round of war in Europe."

Once Germany has fully digested the outcomes of the Warsaw Conference, there will be virtually nothing else to attract its attention.

At that time, Germany could launch a war without any scruples.

After all, Germany's current astonishingly high level of military equipment and its extremely large army size were clearly not something that the "petty benefits" promised by Britain and France at the Warsaw Conference could satisfy Germany's appetite.

Besides, Germany itself had no way out. Their economy was completely tied to the military industry. If they could not profit from a new war, the only thing facing Germany would be economic collapse.

Since the Great Depression of 1929, Germany's economic situation has not been very good. Although it has improved somewhat after Adolf came to power and still appears somewhat prosperous, it is entirely the result of overdrawing the future.

In particular, the debt problem has become a heavy burden on the German government.

After all, Adolf did not change the fundamental system of Germany after coming to power, nor did he redistribute the interests of the entire country like the Soviet Union (Russia) did.

Therefore, Adolf resolved Germany's economic crisis by borrowing, mainly from two categories: German domestic financial capital and foreign financial capital.

In his previous life, Adolf mainly borrowed money through the latter, after all, the Treaty of Versailles had squeezed Germany to an appalling degree, leaving Germany with a huge amount of debt that it would take several lifetimes to repay.

The situation is completely different now. The outcome of World War I has changed for Germany, which means that although Germany paid a huge price for the war, its domestic capital was not fundamentally damaged.

After the end of World War I, thanks to the postwar prosperity of the 1920s, German domestic capital recovered significantly.

Therefore, after Adolf came to power, since he did not intend to be an enemy of domestic capital and to confiscate and liquidate its assets, he could only "collude with it".

German capital groups lent money to the Adolf government to help him fulfill his campaign promises, further win over German public opinion, and support the development of Germany's military and defense industries.

Adolf, while protecting their interests, also cracked down on the German labor party organization.

Adolf's main demand was easily satisfied: to wage war to expand Germany's territory. Once the war was won, all of Germany's internal problems would naturally cease to be problems.

This is similar to how, in the previous life, after the United States won the Cold War, almost everyone was satisfied, and everyone temporarily got what they wanted.

At that time, the German government's debts could be transferred to the defeated countries, while the German people could still maintain their welfare benefits, or even improve them.

But all of this is predicated on victory in the war.

In addition to borrowing from domestic capital, the Adolf government also actively attracted investment from Europe and the world to Germany.

The results have been quite good, especially in Europe. Now, as the leading industrial power in Europe, Germany can attract capital, technology and industry from all over the continent.

British and French capitalists, when choosing investment targets, would obviously prioritize Germany, since Germany is currently the most profitable place in Europe's industrial development.

They make far more money investing in Germany than they would investing in their home country or elsewhere in Europe, even though Germany might be a potential enemy of their homeland.

However, there is no doubt that for capital, national interests are more attractive than practical interests. But they probably didn't anticipate the Adolf government's hostility towards them as creditors, or rather, its complete disregard for this risk.

……

1939 2 Month 12 Day.

Strasbourg.

This city is the capital of the Alsace-Lorraine region of Germany, with a total population of nearly 300,000.

In 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War, the Lorraine region was effectively divided in two, rather than being completely occupied by Germany. The western part of Lorraine, mainly consisting of the departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle and Meuse, remained in France, while Nancy became the capital of the French Lorraine region.

Germany occupied the eastern part of Lorraine through the Treaty of Frankfurt, which, together with part of Alsace, formed a new imperial territory, namely Imperial Alsace-Lorraine.

Germany's administrative divisions are very complex, stemming from the vastly different developments Germany underwent in this time and space. Having survived World War I, Germany retained the territorial division model under a monarchy.

The fate of the Alsace-Lorraine region also took a dramatic turn. Due to its defeat in World War I, the region returned to France for a period before World War II. Later, Germany recaptured the area in 1940 and incorporated it into the Saar-Palatinate region, under the jurisdiction of Saarbrücken.
Saarbrücken was the former capital of the Saarland state of Germany.

The Alsace-Lorraine region has been under German rule ever since, which is why Strasbourg's status has continued.

This made Strasbourg in 1938 far more prosperous than in its previous life, when its total population under French rule was only close to 200,000.

However, it should be noted that Strasbourg's population already exceeded 170,000 before World War I.

Clearly, Strasbourg's political status under German rule gave it a huge advantage in economic development. As the capital, it attracted a large number of officials, soldiers, scholars and workers from other parts of Germany.

As the regional capital, Strasbourg also boasts a highly developed industrial sector, with machinery manufacturing and metallurgy being its pillar industries. In recent years, the electrical equipment and chemical industries have also experienced significant growth under the guidance and investment of the German government.

At the same time, the German authorities expanded the city according to modern plans, built new urban areas with wide boulevards, public buildings such as palaces, libraries and residential areas, reflecting the power and modernity of the German Empire.

Strasbourg was seen by Germany as a “model city” showcasing its governance achievements and cultural superiority, a “window to the German Empire,” and aimed at winning the approval of Alsaceans and countering French cultural influence.

However, it is undeniable that even after so many years of effort, there are still many people in the area who uphold French culture.

However, overall, Strasbourg has been a relatively stable region over the past decade or so, except for a brief period of chaos during the Great Depression of 1929.

However, after Adolf came to power, a series of policies he implemented stimulated the German economy to recover and prosper again. Strasbourg's economy also returned to its former tranquility after its recovery.

Today is Sunday, and many German citizens are strolling around the central square of Strasbourg. Some are just passing by, while others are setting up stalls in the square to sell various small commodities to German citizens or tourists on their day off. In short, the central square is very crowded on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in the central square of Strasbourg, an ordinary-looking man was pushing a small wooden cart toward the very center.

The wooden cart was covered with a black burlap cloth, and no one knew what was inside, but no one paid attention to the man's somewhat unusual behavior.

After pushing the cart to the center of the square, the man simply placed it there and then left as if nothing had happened.

An abandoned cart was parked here, and it soon attracted the attention of someone who was interested.

"Who put this cart here! It's so inconsiderate! Come and move it, don't block the traffic!" an elderly German man shouted at the crowd in the square.

Clearly, no one answered his question.

This made him very angry, and he said, "Isn't anyone going to claim him? Then I'm going to have the police take him away."

At this moment, a passerby said, "Sir, I think I just saw a middle-aged man pushing this cart past, but he's obviously not here now, or maybe he went to the toilet."

Hearing the passerby's reply, the old man said speechlessly, "Even if you're going to the toilet, you should put the cart somewhere that won't get in the way. There are people coming and going in the square now, and this cart not only blocks the way, but also damages the city's appearance."

"Besides, he's too careless. Doesn't he know there are plenty of petty thieves in Strasbourg? Even if he doesn't know what's inside, he should still be careful."

"When he gets back, I'm going to give this young man who doesn't know how dangerous the world can be a real lesson."

This responsible German citizen spoke righteously, and then he actually stood in front of the cart, waiting for its owner to arrive.

Passersby around didn't pay any attention to this and went about their own business.

The elderly German man standing in front of the stroller had nothing to do while waiting for the stroller's owner to return.

This made him focus his attention, which was rare. He became curious about what was in the cart, which was specially covered with black cloth.

As he pondered, he seemed to hear some movement under the black cloth covering the cart.

"Huh?" He wondered if it was his imagination, but he thought he heard a sound like a clock ticking, and the sound was very close to him.

As he was getting on in years, he began to doubt his hearing.

However, to confirm, he focused even more intently on finding the source of the sound, and this time he was certain that there was indeed the sound of a clock nearby.

Moreover, the barely perceptible sound seemed to be coming from under the black linen of the cart. He brought his ear closer, and the sound indeed became clearer.

Just as his ear was almost touching the burlap.

boom……

A loud bang echoed across Strasbourg Square, sending bricks flying everywhere and wooden carts shattering into pieces.

The poor old man and several innocent passersby were also lying near the center of the explosion, completely unrecognizable, their faces mutilated into pieces of flesh and bodies...

Strasbourg Square instantly descended into chaos, filled with cries of pain and screams. Everyone knew something terrible had happened; it was likely a terrorist attack.

(End of this chapter)