Chapter 1035: Chapter 44: Southern German Kingdom

To be honest, it’s quite commendable that East Africa remembers to share some resources with the Lan Fang Overseas Province during the first five-year plan period, given that the local development level is still not high. To a certain extent, supporting overseas territories means tightening their belts.

It’s not just the Lan Fang Overseas Province; even the two provinces on the nearest Madagascar Island, Mahajanga Province and Toliara Province, are currently underdeveloped, with a population even less than that of the Lan Fang Overseas Province. If they weren’t so close to the East African mainland, they would have long become a feast for France.

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Rhine Palace.

"Your Highness, the Southern German Kingdom is seeking assistance from our country. Here is the letter from King Leopold for you!"

The Southern German Kingdom, originally the Sigmaringen Chad Colony, considered that Chad Colony had the foundation to upgrade to an independent country after the Rhine Empire was formally established in East Africa. Thus, the Sigmaringen royal family officially upgraded the Sigmaringen Chad Colony, centered around the Shari River Basin and Chad Lake Basin, to the Southern German Kingdom in 1901.

The name Southern German Kingdom is quite fitting, especially after East Africa chose the Rhine Empire as its national name; one option among the new East African citizens was picked by the Sigmaringen royal family. Since the Chad region is located in the southern hemisphere, the Sigmaringen royal family finds the Southern German Kingdom quite suitable as their second kingdom (the first being Romania).

The monarch of the Southern German Kingdom, previously Prince Leopold of Sigmaringen, is now Leopold I.

As of 1900, the population of the Southern German Kingdom had surpassed 1.3 million, mostly consisting of Chinese immigrants concentrated around the Chad Lake, covering approximately 1.4 million square kilometers of territory.

However, a large part of the territory lies in the desert areas of western Chad and Sudan, with no current practical value.

Based on climate classification, the territory of the Southern German Kingdom is divided into three parts: the northern desert zone, the central Sahel Zone, and the southern Sudanese grassland zone. Chad Lake is located in the Sahel Zone, and overall, these areas are quite arid.

Ernst glanced through the letter roughly. It turns out Leopold is preparing to use force against the west and expand the Southern German Kingdom’s territory, so now he’s seeking help from East Africa, requesting support in the form of weapons and ammunition.

"The Southern German Kingdom is seeking our support for rifles and ammunition as war materials. They plan to expand west along the Komadugu Yobe River Basin."

The Komadugu Yobe River is the second-largest tributary into Chad Lake; the largest is the Shari River sourced from East Africa in the south.

The Shari River can be considered the mother river of the Southern German Kingdom, with over seventy percent of Chad Lake’s water coming from the Shari River.

The Shari River Basin and the area around Chad Lake are currently the most densely populated areas in the Southern German Kingdom, primarily focused on cotton and grain cultivation.

The Shari River is beneficial, but it’s not completely controlled by the Southern German Kingdom, as its upper stream belongs to East Africa.

Due to the brotherly bond between East Africa and the Southern German Kingdom, East Africa naturally wouldn’t cut off the water from the Shari River. However, as a European, Leopold is also aware of the fragile ecosystem of his country. Therefore, expanding westward has become the national policy of the Southern German Kingdom, making the expansion along the Komadugu Yobe River Basin the first step of Leopold’s ambition.

"Leopold is likely not just looking to acquire more land and water resources. We all know the Southern German Kingdom is eager for a coastal outlet, so ultimately reaching the ocean is Leopold’s true goal," Ernst said to his subordinates.

Sivert: "This path may not be easy. There are many indigenous kingdoms in the west of the Southern German Kingdom, and their level of civilization is not low. Furthermore, the coast is primarily under German and British influence. Achieving this goal is only possible if we or Germany provide full support from behind."

On one hand, in West Africa, especially in the western part of the Southern German Kingdom’s Nigeria region, the Black people’s power is significantly different from the original East African indigenous people. Their level of civilization is much higher, mainly influenced by Ottoman Empire civilization.

On the other hand, these indigenous countries have British interventions behind them. Therefore, the Southern German Kingdom’s expansion towards the Komadugu Yobe River Basin is bound to lead to friction with the British.

Merk: "This is not a big concern. The Southern German Kingdom’s population and level of civilization far surpass those tribes or kingdoms in the Nigeria region. As for the British, as long as there’s no threat to Britain’s so-called Southern Nigeria Protectorate, the current expansion of the Southern German Kingdom won’t be directly intervened by the British."

The Southern Nigeria Protectorate, the coastal region of Nigeria controlled by the British, is matched by the Northern Nigeria region, which also has a British Northern Nigeria Protectorate. However, the Northern Nigeria Protectorate is governed by a puppet regime supported by the British, unlike the Southern Nigeria Protectorate directly ruled by the British.

Ernst agreed with this view: "As long as we don’t touch the core interests of the British, the expansion activities of the Southern German Kingdom will hardly face forced obstruction from the British. Moreover, not all indigenous forces are under the British protectorate."

Even though the British have established the so-called Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate, the areas adjacent to the Southern German Kingdom are mostly independent armed forces from West Africa.

Thus, according to the East African Government, this westward expedition by Leopold is feasible. The only potential obstacle for the Southern German Kingdom may be the indigenous forces there. While these indigenous forces are more developed than the East African indigenous people, they are still quite limited against the Southern German Kingdom.

East Africa is also not worried about the Southern German Kingdom growing too strong. Currently, the Southern German Kingdom appears to be a large country in terms of surface area.

However, the land quality is too poor, and the agricultural foundation is very weak. Even if the entire Shari River and Chad Lake Basin is developed, the population it can support is ultimately limited.

To change this outcome, one would have to annex the entire Nigeria region, acquiring a large amount of arable land, mineral resources, and coastal outlets.

But such a situation is essentially impossible to occur, primarily because the population in Nigeria is extremely large. As Africa’s most populous nation in the previous lifetime, even in the early 20th century, the population base of Nigeria couldn’t have been small. According to East African Government estimates, the Nigerian population exceeds ten million, or even twenty million; it’s not less than Abyssinia Empire or Egypt.

Considering the high level of civilization, extensive arable land, and proximity to the Bay of Guinea with longstanding exposure to European influence,

This implies that the indigenous people of Nigeria have frequent trade interactions with Europe, possessing hot weapons. Though not advanced, they certainly wouldn’t fight like the East African indigenous people using cold weapons against East African soldiers.

Therefore, Southern German Kingdom’s westward path is destined to be far from smooth, unlikely to be as successful as East Africa’s past endeavors, especially once the British recognize this emerging power as a threat to their Nigeria Colony.

After all, at least the setbacks experienced by the British in East Africa are unlikely to be repeated in West Africa. The British may likely arm the indigenous forces in Nigeria’s northwest region, thereby depleting the Southern German Kingdom to prevent the emergence of a monster similar to East Africa in West Africa.

Moreover, the religious forces in the Nigeria region shouldn’t be underestimated; although Nigeria is fragmented, these Green Sect nations are likely to unite against the Southern German Kingdom as an invader.

While the British engage in colonialism, they also ally with local sultans and emirs, whereas the Southern German Kingdom is purely after land and water resources, posing a significant threat to their governance.

Under these limiting factors, the East African Government believes while the Southern German Kingdom can easily expand its territory, annexing the entire Nigeria region is nearly impossible.