African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1723 Inspection
1939 3 Month 9 Day.

Soviet Foreign Minister Livinov, carrying Joseph's letter, departed from Moscow and officially embarked on his journey to East Africa. Accompanying Livinov was a sizable negotiating team, demonstrating the sincerity of the Soviet Union in this cooperation with East Africa.

Although it is already March, the weather in Moscow is still cold, and there is still snow on the roads.

At the Moscow train station, Livinov sat in his carriage, glancing at the condensation on the window, his heart filled with anxiety. His deputy, Spiridonov, poured Livinov a cup of hot water from a kettle.

"Comrade Livinov, the weather in Moscow hasn't completely changed yet, so you need to keep warm. Also, the temperature changes from Moscow to East Africa during our trip abroad are quite significant."

Livinov accepted the enamel water cup and politely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Comrade Spiridonov, but do you know anything about East Africa?"

Spiridonov, sitting in the chair opposite him, shook his head and said, "East Africa is a foreign country to the vast majority of us. I used to be mainly in charge of European diplomacy."

"This is my first time visiting East Africa, but I think East Africa should be a very developed country, probably similar to Germany."

Livinov said, "Perhaps! In the last century, Africa was just a barren wasteland of civilization pieced together from fragments of indigenous tribes and Western colonies. Who could have imagined that such a place would one day give rise to one of the world's most powerful imperialist nations!"

The existence of East Africa directly made Africa one of the most important political and economic blocs in the world today, forming one of the three core regions that dominated global affairs in the early 20th century, along with Europe and North America.

Spiridonov said, "East Africa and our country should be very different in terms of customs and culture. After all, East Africa is the only tropical power in the world, which is the opposite of the situation in the Soviet Union."

"Even if I don't gain anything from this trip to East Africa, I think it will still be worthwhile to see the scenery and social atmosphere of a tropical capitalist power."

Livinov nodded and said, "I hope this trip goes smoothly! Now we need to unite the forces around the world against the scourge of extreme nationalism and militarism."

"The situation in Europe is extremely pessimistic for us. In the Far East, we are also constrained by Japan. East Africa may be the only external window we can access in the future."

……

When the Soviet negotiating team departed, construction of the Gwadar Port in East Africa was still underway.

Gwadar, East Africa.

Today, Gwadar has been completely transformed into a sizable small town. A wide asphalt road has been built from the peninsula inland, and construction vehicles are constantly transporting various building materials and supplies along this road.

The town of Gwadar can be divided into two parts: the port operation area on the southern peninsula and the inland city of Gwadar in the north, where a large number of residential buildings, warehouses and other facilities have been built.

Gwadar Airport is located in the northern part of Gwadar's northern urban area.

Gwadar Airport is now extremely busy and under pressure. Before the Central Asian Highway was opened, all aid supplies to the Far East relied on the airport for transit.

Occasionally, planes taking off from East Africa land at Gwadar Airport, refuel, and then take off again in the northeast direction.

At that moment, an East African passenger plane was slowly landing at Gwadar Airport. A short while later, a young man stepped off the plane.

"Welcome, Princess Konica, to Gwadar!" The important figures of Gwadar had all gathered at the airport, waiting for this young man.

Konica is a member of the Rhine royal family and Ernst's grandson. He came to Gwadar to inspect the port and the construction of the Central Asian Highway.

Prince Konica greeted local politicians, military personnel, and business leaders one by one.

Then he turned to the mayor of Gwadar, Mojamin, and the major general of the Gwadar naval base, Vilit, and said, "Enough of the small talk. My mission in Gwadar this time, besides inspecting the city's development, is more importantly to inspect the construction progress of the Central Asia Highway."

"I will stay in the area for a day or two. General Vilit, please allocate some personnel and arrange for the personnel to go to the Central Asia Highway as soon as possible to assist with the inspection."

Major General Villett naturally dared not be negligent, after all, the person in front of him was the emperor's own grandson, and he dared not imagine his fate if something went wrong during this inspection.

Major General Vilit said, “Your Highness, rest assured, we will select the most elite personnel from the local area to ensure your safety. However, I think there shouldn’t be anyone reckless enough to antagonize East Africa. But Your Highness, I wonder if your inspection tour this time includes the entire Central Asia Highway?”

Konica nodded and said, "In addition to inspecting the construction of the Central Asian Highway in Gwadar, the Khanate of Qarat, and Afghanistan, I also plan to enter Soviet territory. After all, the Central Asian Highway is a dead end without Soviet cooperation."

His words immediately put Major General Villett on edge.

"Your Highness, is it really necessary to put yourself in danger just for a highway?"

Clearly, Major General Villett was not at ease with the Soviet Union. In the whole of Central Asia, East Africa was not afraid of Afghanistan, the Khanate of Qarat, or the British causing trouble. Only the Soviet Union was the most unstable factor.

Therefore, in Major General Vilit's view, the Soviet Union was nothing short of a dragon's den and a tiger's lair.

Prince Konica was not worried about the Soviet Union. He said, "You don't need to worry about that, Major General Villett. Since I said that, it means that the Empire and the Soviet Union have already made arrangements."

"Although the Soviet Union was somewhat extreme in its ideology and diplomacy, it was, after all, a major power, so it also had to abide by basic international rules."

“They wouldn’t dare to make things difficult for us this time when we entered the Soviet Union, especially since the Soviet Union’s own situation doesn’t allow them to do so.”

Major General Vilit understood perfectly. The international and geopolitical situation facing the Soviet Union was indeed not good, and could even be described as dire. It could be said that, apart from Afghanistan and the northwest of the Far Eastern Empire, the Soviet Union was almost surrounded and infiltrated by the Axis powers.

Of course, even if the Soviet Union didn't take any drastic measures, and even if it was concerned about Prince Konica's safety because it needed East Africa's help, Major General Vilit couldn't afford to be careless.

He said, "Your Highness should still be careful, after all, we cannot ignore those with ulterior motives who may pose a threat to your safety."

"Your safety is directly related to the relationship between the Empire and the Soviet Union, and this could be exploited by other countries and forces hostile to the Soviet Union."

Prince Konica agreed with Major General Villit's reminder, even though the probability of such a situation occurring was extremely low.

The Soviet Union's mortal enemies were none other than the Axis powers, and therefore, the Axis powers were the least willing to see the Soviet Union maintain close ties and interactions with other countries. Given an opportunity to disrupt Soviet-East African relations, it's possible that some extremists might seize the chance to exploit it.

The reason why this situation is said to be extremely unlikely is that the area Prince Konica inspected this time was relatively safe compared to other places.

The Khanate of Qarat was within the British sphere of influence, and now Britain not only wouldn't offend East Africa, but would instead try its best to win over East Africa, just as it did during World War I.

Afghanistan was a region in East Africa influenced by Britain and the Soviet Union. The Axis powers did not extend their reach into Afghanistan. If it were neighboring Persia or the Far Eastern Empire, the situation would certainly be different.

The Germans are now establishing their own presence in Persia, while the Far Eastern Empire is a hotbed for Japanese espionage.

Therefore, patrols along the Central Asian highways are relatively safe, with very little, if any, influence from the Axis powers.

However, even if the probability is close to zero, Prince Konica will not relax easily. He told Major General Villit, "I will be careful."

"The main purpose of this inspection of the Central Asia Highway construction is to observe the progress of the project and the quality of traffic on the highway. Our requirements are not high, so I will try my best to complete this series of tasks in the shortest possible time."

Hearing Prince Konica say this, Major General Villett felt a little relieved, as he was worried that the prince would cause trouble and dawdle after arriving here.

Major General Vilit said, "Your Highness, for your safety, I think we should not make a big fuss and expose your identity and whereabouts. Secondly, during this inspection, we should not stay in places outside of Gwadar for too long."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. We don't need to worry about the quality of the Central Asian Highway when testing it. After all, the Empire's requirements for the Central Asian Highway are more of an emergency measure."

Prince Konica readily accepted his suggestion, saying, "That's exactly what I was thinking. Now, I'll leave the rest to Major General Villett."

Prince Konica then settled down temporarily under the arrangement of the Gwadar government, and he will inspect Gwadar tomorrow.

The construction standards in Gwadar are extremely high, given the large number of military facilities there, as well as many important transportation and strategic deployments.

Among them, ports, airports, highways, and warehousing systems were areas that Konica focused on inspecting. Afterward, he also visited local military camps and observed the maintenance of military facilities.

As a new city, Gwadar's facilities and infrastructure are all newly built, so there are naturally no major problems with their maintenance and use.

Konica was naturally quite satisfied with the situation in Guadal.

Two days later.

The convoy for Prince Konica's inspection of the Central Asian road was officially formed. Major General Vilit prepared a battalion of soldiers to be responsible for Prince Konica's safety. Thus, a huge convoy consisting of more than 30 trucks and more than 400 people set off from Gwadar and headed north into the territory of the Khanate of Qarat.

As soon as he entered the territory of the Karat Khanate, Prince Konica found that the road conditions had completely changed. The originally smooth and comfortable asphalt road had become a gravel road, which was very bumpy. Fortunately, the road was still relatively wide and there were not many potholes.

Major General Villit personally accompanied Prince Konica this time.

He explained to Prince Konica, "Regarding the construction standards of the Central Asian Highway, we are only responsible for ensuring that the road is passable; as for the quality of the road surface, it is entirely up to the countries along the route."

"Among the various sections of the Central Asian Highway, the section through the Qarat Khanate is considered to be in relatively poor condition because the Qarat Khanate itself is just a poor, small country, so they do not have sufficient funds to upgrade the road surface."

"In comparison, Afghanistan has placed more emphasis on the construction of the Central Asian Highway, so once you enter Afghanistan, the road conditions will be significantly improved. Of course, it is still not as good as the Gwadar section."

Afghanistan attaches great importance to the Central Asian Highway, which is no exception. After all, Afghanistan is a landlocked country and does not have its own access to the sea. Now that East Africa is leading the construction of the Central Asian Highway, Afghanistan sees this as an important opportunity for its economic development.

Once this highway is completed, Afghan goods and products can use the Central Asian Highway to eventually reach the sea from Gwadar Port and find more buyers.

In fact, Afghanistan is already making use of the Central Asian Highway. After all, apart from the Soviet section, the section of the Central Asian Highway from Afghanistan to Gwadar Port has been fully completed and put into operation at the end of last year.

East African freight companies and Afghan merchants have already begun trading via the Central Asian Highway.

Prince Konica nodded, though he was actually in great pain, as a prince rarely suffered such torment.

He gripped the handles on the vehicle tightly, feeling that if he wasn't careful, he would be jolted up and have a heavy headbutt on the metal roof.

Rear Admiral Villett didn't feel much. After all, he was a naval officer, and the rocking of a warship on the high seas was much more exciting than this small scene. Even getting a comfortable sleep was a luxury.

At this point, Prince Konica asked, "Do you know anything about the Soviet section of the road?"

Major General Villit said, "We don't know much about the Soviet section of the road, but I've heard that the roads near their border are in pretty good condition."

"Of course, Your Highness, you shouldn't have too high expectations for the Soviet Union's construction. Apart from a few major cities, the road conditions in other parts of the Soviet Union are just barely usable."

The Soviet Union, or rather the Slavic people, have always been known for their relatively crude infrastructure. Of course, this is also related to the Soviet Union's geographical environment. Even if the Soviet Union put a lot of effort into building a modern road, just one winter would be enough to cause its quality to decline significantly.

After roads are frozen and frost-covered, even if they were previously repaired to be smooth, they will become bumpy and uneven. Of course, they can be maintained with a higher investment of resources, but it is obviously not worthwhile for the Soviet Union to bear such costs.

This is why, even in the 21st century, highways were a rarity in Russia.

Prince Konica said, "I hope the Soviet Union can put in more effort! The war in the Far East has deteriorated to an extreme point, and all kinds of supplies are extremely scarce. Relying solely on air transport to deliver supplies is like a drop in the ocean."

"If there were even a slightly decent road, the pressure on the Far Eastern Empire could be greatly reduced."

And so, after a bumpy ride, Prince Konica's caravan finally left the Khanate of Qarat. Along the way, Prince Konica also saw many construction tools left over from East Africa, as well as caravans from Central Asia.

(End of this chapter)