Chapter 322: Chapter 5 Ideas of the Kingdom of Italy
The official medical personnel in East Africa were mostly from the East, with only Constantine bringing a private German medical team. Among other immigrants, there were some "doctors" from Europe, but most were unorthodox, practicing with Medieval Western medicine methods, often resorting to crude surgeries without sterilization. Who could endure such treatments?
Doctors remained the most scarce profession in East Africa. Most patients relied on fate, and many had their traditional remedies, unsure of their efficacy but ready to try nonetheless. Thankfully, people of this era were accustomed to such situations.
East Africa officially built a total of 108 clinics but not a single hospital, with 285 registered doctors. There was one Snake Venom Research Institute, considered the pinnacle of East African medical resources.
Overall, medical resources in East Africa were extremely scarce. The fortunate aspect was that East Africa was very suitable for cultivating herbs, with some indigenous traditions being preserved and mastered by East Africans.
For example, when bitten by a black mamba, East African natives would find a peculiar-looking plant from the surrounding area, grind it into a paste, apply it to the wound, and then wait to die.
Though this may seem laughable, the natives believed it deeply, which shows that they had their form of medicine, at least providing psychological comfort.
Of course, there were failed cases like this, but many successful ones too, mostly involving remedies for anti-inflammation, hemostasis, and pain relief. After all, natives have been contending with East African beasts for hundreds of years, inevitably getting minor injuries, and have thus developed a systematic medical experience. Essentially it is still in the state of intertwined with witchcraft, but there are always some right outcomes by chance.
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Austria secured Venice and immediately began their final purge of the area, leading to an exile of many intellectuals, merchants, and nobles to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Compared to Hungary in the eastern part of Lombardy, Austria’s actions were relatively gracious.
Lombardy, being the wealthiest region in all of Italy, greatly benefited the Hungarian nobility. Although they knew Austria was using Hungary as a shield, if Italians wanted to reclaim their lands, they had to first strike Lombardy. But Hungary was indifferent; what level do you think Italy is at! Even at its worst, Hungary was still one of the great powers, backed by a strong motherland.
Though Austria also expelled Italians, due to East Africa taking over, most had stable destinations. Hungary was not so polite towards Lombardy, directly expelling Italians from its territories as agreed, and relocating a large Hungarian population from the empire to occupy the land. The Hungarian government made dedicated efforts this time, as a single Lombardy could house many of their noble offspring.
The actions of Austria and Hungary led to a significant increase in refugee groups within the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Pope Country, even affecting the Kingdom of Naples.
At this point, the Kingdom of East Africa could emerge as the good Samaritan. As an agricultural country, East Africa’s grain production greatly exceeded its needs, still having a surplus even with large annual exports.
In the European grain market, East Africa could not act wantonly. Cutting off others’ financial resources is like killing their parents; thus, East Africa could only try to diversify its product offerings to expand its grain market. The food processing industry under Heixinggen’s management followed this strategy.
This time in Italy, there was no need to worry as much; tens of thousands of refugees flooded in, affecting all Italian states. Not addressing the food supply issue for these people would cost lives.
Florence.
Since the defeat in the war, Emmanuel II was perpetually gloomy, appearing much older. This time the Kingdom of Italy suffered both financial and military losses, losing nearly half its territory and reverting to its original state. However, the more dire the situation, the more indispensable Emmanuel II felt he was, so he continued to hold on.
With a worried face, Emmanuel II asked the Minister of Agriculture: "Is the grain issue still unresolved?"
The Minister of Agriculture replied helplessly: "This time we lost a lot of land in the Po River Plain and the southern grain-producing regions of Italy. Plus, the kingdom’s grain output was already well below that of European countries, making it even more unsustainable now."
Emmanuel II: "Can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs come up with any solutions by seeking help from other nations?"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: "Your Majesty, the Spanish Royal Family is willing to provide us with some free aid, but it is merely a drop in the bucket. Spain’s internal situation is not good either. Prince Amadeo can’t do much. Germany and France have reduced grain production because of the war, causing grain prices across Europe to rise."
Emmanuel II: "Isn’t there any solution at all? Knowing that tens of thousands of refugees from Lombardy and Venice can’t get food, they’ll ultimately direct their anger at the government."
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: "Your Majesty, there is some good news. The Kingdom of East Africa is willing to sell us a large amount of grain at low prices, primarily rice and corn."
Emmanuel II: "The Kingdom of East Africa? The one that was established last year?"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: "Indeed, Your Majesty. The Kingdom of East Africa was founded by Prince Constantine of Prussian Heixinggen in East Africa."
Emmanuel II said: "Hasn’t this Kingdom of East Africa emerged recently? Do they have the capacity for such a large grain export?"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: "Your Majesty may not know, but in recent years, our grain trade with East Africa has steadily increased. Even before the Kingdom of East Africa was established, East African colonies were always grain-exporting regions."
Emmanuel II: "Is the territory of the Kingdom of East Africa in Africa? Is Africa that affluent?"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: "Africa has poor climate conditions and rampant diseases, but land is presumably not scarce there. The African continent is vast, and since it’s a place that originally traded Black Slaves, labor is not lacking either. Presumably, this is why the Kingdom of East Africa became a grain-exporting nation upon its establishment."
Emmanuel II: "Are you suggesting that the Kingdom of East Africa achieves land development and vast grain cultivation by exploiting the natives, generating immense wealth for the Kingdom of East Africa?"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: "I suppose so; being Black people, they eat less, work more, are strong and robust, and don’t require pay. It’s hard for Prince Constantine not to profit."
Emmanuel II was suddenly intrigued: "What do you think about starting a colony in Africa to solve Italy’s grain problem?"
The Minister of Foreign Affairs was less optimistic: "Developing an overseas colony is indeed a solution, but Italy lacks the experience in this area, and our finances are currently a significant issue."
Speaking of financial issues, Emmanuel II was also troubled. The Italian government itself owed a large debt to Britain. If not for the fear that Italy wouldn’t pay back the debt, Britain wouldn’t bother with Italians’ fate, mediating war, and trying to preserve Italy’s core. Even the newly reinstated Kingdom of Naples was forced to inherit part of the debt from the Kingdom of Sardinia to repay the British.
Moreover, in this war, Italy also lost Venice and a third of Lombardy, both financially significant regions. In contrast, the Kingdom of Naples was not of much concern. Although Naples was large and populous, its economy was weak. Although it paid a lot of taxes, the Italian Kingdom had greater fiscal expenditures here. Now, shedding this burden might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Emmanuel II: "Given the situation, we should spend our money wisely, first importing grain from East Africa. As long as prices are low enough, never mind whether it’s rice or corn, the priority is to appease refugees. As for establishing colonies, we’ll consider that once we’ve recovered."
The Kingdom of Italy had no choice but to turn to overseas colonization. In any case, Italy wasn’t poorly situated in this aspect, not completely inexperienced. The Mediterranean is still a sea, and both Sardinia and Sicily are governed via sea routes. This time, they just needed to venture further to colonize more distant lands, as the homeland simply couldn’t support so many people.