Chapter 216: Chapter 204: "Collecting Junk
Constantine and Maximiliano I talked for a long time, in short, no money was available, but anything else was negotiable.
Faced with the thick-skinned Prince Constantine, the first naval commander of East Africa had no choice but to return empty-handed. Not only did he not gain support, but he also had to contribute a lot of resources himself.
Meanwhile, Ernst, who Constantine claimed was short of money recently, was conducting an inspection in the Ruhr area of Prussia.
...
Thick smoke filled the air, with dark clouds pressing down the sky.
This was the scene Ernst saw in the city of the Ruhr area. The Ruhr area is rich in coal resources but lacks iron ore.
Fortunately, transportation here is extremely convenient, with the Rhine River, Ruhr River, and Liper River converging, creating a dense river network and well-developed river transport. At the same time, Prussia has built numerous railways, which, aided by the customs union, can essentially cover the entire German region.
"The environment is really quite nice!" Ernst sincerely remarked.
"Your Highness, I think the environment here is far worse than in Berlin. The air in Berlin is not this polluted," said the accompanying Heixinggen Bank manager.
"I am talking about the industrial environment, not the natural environment. Remember, we are not here for tourism, but to survey the local industrial equipment and factories."
"By the way, how is your research on the local area?" Ernst asked.
"Your Highness, we have visited two-thirds of the local enterprises and factories. At present, many enterprises and factories are expanding. The German market has been booming in recent years, so they are busy with production and expanding capacity.
Many mechanical pieces of equipment are snapped up by related enterprises and factories as soon as they roll off the production line, and the prices of machinery are being speculated very high.
However, there is also an advantage. Some large enterprises and small workshops, in order to improve production efficiency, are hastening to eliminate old machines and equipment. Although these devices are somewhat outdated, the prices are also low, and there is a large quantity. If Your Highness’s requirement for machinery and equipment is not high, our suggestion is to purchase these second-hand devices as it would be better."
"My requirements are not very high, but you mustn’t be negligent. If you buy a heap of scrap metal, I will really be angry!" Ernst said.
This trip, Ernst was ostensibly here for an inspection, but in fact, he was here to collect scrap, which is considered an old tradition of the Heixinggen consortium.
Initially, collecting second-hand military uniforms and weapons from the Prussian army; now, purchasing second-hand industrial equipment from Prussia.
These obsolete industrial pieces of equipment have no real place in Prussia, but in East Africa, they are definitely a tool to enhance East African productivity.
Poor Mbeya City is still using a large number of "laborers," using simple tools like hoes and shovels, essentially carrying and lifting to produce coal for East Africa.
"Laborers" are also a resource. If some of them can be liberated from the coal mines, East Africa can allocate more manpower to other projects.
"Your Highness, rest assured, we have hired a group of professionals this time, who will conduct professional inspections of the equipment in advance, assessing whether they are still usable.
At the same time, we will actively cooperate with large enterprises like Krupp, as their decommissioned equipment should be more reliable."
Even scavenging requires professionals, otherwise, if Ernst ended up with a pile of scrap metal, all he could do is cry.
Even if it is scrap, the value will not be low, because Ernst’s procurement volume this time is quite large, or else it wouldn’t require the accompaniment of the Heixinggen Bank manager.
By political economy standards, East Africa is definitely a feudal agricultural country, but feudalism and agriculture do not mean there is no industry.
Even the Qing Government and Japan are now engaging in industrial construction, and naturally, East Africa cannot lag behind.
However, the foundations of these two Far East countries are very strong. Take Japan, for instance; it has a long history, a densely populated area, and everything it needs, just lagging behind the times. East Africa is merely slightly bigger in territory than Japan. Otherwise, it doesn’t really have any obvious advantages. It does have quite a lot of minerals, but they need to be developed first.
Moreover, Japan’s reform is not particularly difficult, as Japanese people are quite adept at enduring humiliation. As long as they are willing to give the green light to Britain and the United States, these two countries are willing to support Japan.
Historically, Japan has done exactly this. For the construction of the railway from Tokyo to Osaka, Yokohama, and Hyogo, the Meiji Government mortgaged the entire customs revenues of Japan to issue 1 million British Pounds in bonds in Britain.
Additionally, supporting Japan can help check the Far East and Tsarist Russia; strategically, Britain and the United States also need a stronger Japan.
East Africa, however, does not have these conditions. East Africa has not yet introduced foreign capital, nor can it do so. It’s not just a matter of Britain and the United States, even Prussia and Austria are not an option.
That would not be the introduction of foreign capital but rather inviting the end of the Heixinggen royal family, given that East Africa has no real value as a cooperative partner for any country.
On the contrary, it is a potential competitor. After all, there is no insatiable Tsarist Russia next to East Africa; East Africa itself is the "African Tsarist Russia."
Therefore, all trade in East Africa is operated only through the Heixinggen consortium, and the data is kept within its own hands, not disclosed to avoid attracting the attention of other countries.
There are downsides too, namely a large financial gap, as East African development relies entirely on the Heixinggen consortium, which is also why Ernst chose agriculture as East Africa’s foothold.
Agricultural investment is small, and the speed of capital return is not slow. Although it doesn’t make much money, it retains the population.
"This time, you need to focus on mining and ironworking equipment, aiming to complete the construction of a preliminary industrial city in East Africa." Ernst said.
What Ernst referred to was Mbeya City, located deep within East Africa. It has excellent resource conditions, including coal and iron resources, and the climate is suitable for industrial development, though the transportation conditions are not very good. However, East Africa’s industrial products are surely for domestic use, intended for internal consumption, with no need for export.
"Your Highness, acquiring the corresponding mechanical equipment is not difficult, but having machinery without professional workers is a problem that is not easy to solve."
"Rest assured about that; at the time, I will naturally have a way to solve it, and you don’t need to worry."
The solution Ernst mentioned was "paid work." Ernst planned to transfer a batch of immigrants from the Far East to the Ruhr area to "intern," with wages paid by himself, allowing them to gain some experience in the Ruhr factories before being directly sent to East Africa.
This amount of money, Ernst could still afford. Frankly speaking, how much salary do you plan to give the Far East immigrants? Just enough to maintain a subsistence level is enough; Ernst wouldn’t shell out a penny more.
Moreover, the German factory owners have no reason to refuse; after all, you are offering them "free labor" for some time—why wouldn’t they take it?
This way, the most basic industrial workers are resolved. The lower-end tasks are those without technical content—hard labor, which would be done by "laborers." For the high-end tasks, individuals would be recruited from Europe with high remuneration. It doesn’t require too high-level skills, just average tech personnel, primarily to handle the maintenance of those second-hand machines and ensure normal operation of equipment.
This scrap collecting operation was quite sensational, with the entire Ruhr area being the target of the Heixinggen consortium because the industrial equipment there is most complete, and the cities are densely packed, avoiding running all over Germany.
Moreover, once these pieces of equipment are acquired, they can be dismantled into parts, easily transported via rivers and railways directly to the North German Federation port for shipment to East Africa, which is very convenient.