African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 785 - 89: Mindset

"There are many areas in need of manpower right now, especially in a state of war, our labor shortage problem is becoming more severe. However, this is unavoidable. We can start with the graduates from recent years, encouraging them to create job opportunities in the west. Of course, for safety reasons, military assistance is necessary to avoid severe casualties." After thinking carefully, Ernst said.

Actually, East Africa's population isn't small now, but what's lacking is able-bodied labor, especially trustworthy able-bodied labor. Otherwise, East African Black people might have played a role, but it's clear that East Africa doesn't trust the Black population.

If it were a few years later, East Africa definitely wouldn't have this problem now, so some things require time to accumulate.

"How are the military preparations for the decisive battle in Mozambique?" Ernst leapt in thought and asked Felix and Sivert.

Angola needs to be cleaned up, but the biggest issue now is the Mozambican war. The war is far from over; the main force of the Allies is still in Mozambique resisting stubbornly.

"Significant progress has been made on all fronts, and some troops in Angola have already finished regrouping and are advancing eastward. Barring any surprises, we can launch a full counterattack against the Allied forces in Mozambique by the end of November." Felix said with a relaxed expression.

The war has lasted over half a year, and now, finally, it's fallen into East Africa's rhythm. As long as the main Allied forces in Mozambique are dealt with, the South African War can be basically declared over, which is why Felix, the Minister of Defense, feels relieved.

Since the war began, officials and officers in East Africa have been under considerable pressure, after all, the opponent was the world overlord. But as the war progressed, the mindset of the entire nation of East Africa has been reshaped.

By this point, some have developed arrogance—thinking that the world's strongest power is nothing much. Of course, Ernst is very clear that in this South African War, Britain hasn't exerted its full strength. Compared to the previous Boer War, the performance of the British army is much less intense in the South African War.

Even after this victory, Britain cannot be underestimated. A stable leader must suppress the spreading 'impatience' in East Africa.

As the world's strongest nation, it's not just about the apparent military data but the potential for war. Britain's industrial prowess and various statistics are well ahead. Although countries like the United States and Germany are rapidly catching up, only these two nations hold any special position. If Britain were to fully attack a nation, it could still achieve it, but that would only benefit a third party.

After the South African War ends, East Africa will merely become like America or Germany, a region that Britain cannot easily suppress, becoming a recognized player in international affairs but not truly possessing the capability to challenge Britain's limits.

After all, post-war East Africa still needs development. In the era of maritime hegemony, East Africa cannot afford to play the game of self-isolation; it has to integrate into the international order.

In previous world wars, the US only took over British hegemony after two global conflicts, while Germany, which chose to confront Britain head-on, ended quite miserably. This also shows that if Britain were truly to suppress opponents with full force one by one, this scenario isn't impossible, let alone the fact that East Africa is far from being as powerful as Germany was.

Ernst said, "The Mozambique War must be given our all, never underestimate the power and strength of the world overlord. At this time, Britain hasn't exerted its full strength. For example, a single move by the Royal Navy incurred serious losses to us. Regarding the army, Britain is fully capable of deploying more troops, but they haven't done this because, as a global strategic empire, Britain isn't just focused on Africa. So, never become arrogant and complacent; the gap between us and Britain is still enormous."

Of course, speaking like this also means that after achieving victory in the war, East Africa has stepped into the ranks of regional powers.

Just like the Ottoman Empire, although it's now in decline, it remains an important overlord; the Far Eastern Empire is the overlord of East Asia, the United States the overlord of North America, Germany a temporary overlord of Western Europe, and Russia the overlanger of Eastern Europe.

Europe is unique in that it's the most powerful of all the continents, so France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire cannot be ignored, especially with Britain as the global overlord.

South American countries do not face such conditions; bluntly speaking, they are ineffective. Before the rise of East Africa, the entire African continent was similar, with Egypt as the strongest. However, as the former strongest in Africa, Egypt was barely a semi-colony of the world powers, hence Africa lacked a regional overlord before.

After the South African War concludes, East Africa will represent the strongest force on the African continent and can participate in international affairs.

After Ernst mentioned the Royal Navy, the high-level officials in East Africa felt a sense of tension internally. They might be able to challenge Britain's army, but the power of the Royal Navy is not to be exaggerated. Even if all the navies of other countries united today, the British Royal Navy might still hold its own.

Therefore, even if East Africa wins wars on the African continent, there's no room for complacency. After all, it's not the ancient times when transportation relied primarily on land and one could opt for a solitary strategy; today, embracing the ocean is essential.

Ernst continued, "Of course, there's no need to be unduly self-deprecating. We must take each step one by one. Our national strength hasn't reached the level to vigorously develop the navy, yet the achievements of the army are legendary. East Africa has a long path ahead, not something a single or a few wars can change in the immediate term."

The navy is presently the service branch that best tests industrial strength. The ocean's conditions are far harsher than on land. The rise of ironclad ships and battleships, together with developments in various types of ships and the flourishing of maritime trade, have established the navy's status.

Britain's position as the world overlord wasn't achieved through an army, but through naval supremacy. Before Britain, the global overlords such as Portugal, Spain, France, and the Netherlands also achieved their status through naval power.

East Africa's navy might appear strong, but it hasn't reached the same level as other great powers. The main factor is the limitation in shipbuilding capacity.

In the last naval battle, East Africa fought Britain to a draw, but Britain's shipbuilding capacity can replenish these losses at any time, whereas East Africa requires more time and effort to compensate for such losses.

It can be said that the apparent strength of the British Royal Navy is far from Britain's limits. The potential of Britain's navy became fully realized only after the outbreak of the German navy in the past.

The foundations of East Africa's navy have been built with significant money and time. A single misstep could lead to ruin.

The military expenditure for the navy is much higher than for the army, so overly developing the navy could impact the domestic economy. Only a nation as wealthy as Britain could maintain the world's most powerful navy.

Currently, the only two nations capable of this might be the United States, but the US is a cunning nation, aware of the costs of opposing Britain. So, as long as Britain doesn't decline, it will continue to lie low and bide its time. This is precisely an advantage that East Africa should learn post-war.