Leopold II's actions were several years earlier than in history, and the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa had already set a model for him, so he was not as timid as in his previous life, and it is almost certain that the establishment of the Belgian Congo would not be difficult.

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The Belgian Congo is probably the entire territory of the former Congo (Brazzaville), plus the Luanda region of Angola in the previous century, most of Gabon, and a small part of southern Cameroon, eastern Guinea, and western Central Africa.

The area is at least 600,000 square kilometers, and as for how much the Kingdom of Belgium can get, it depends on how much resources Belgium is willing to invest.

The only factor that threatens the Belgian Congo is France, but in the next few years, it is certain that France will not trouble Belgium, and will even win over Belgium, people will grow, and so will the country.

After being beaten by Prussia, in the era of Napoleon III, the diplomacy pursued by France also had to change, and if it did not find allies, it would really be possible to destroy the country next time, and Belgium, which was between Germany and France, was one of the targets that France wanted to woo.

After losing Lorraine and Alsace, France lost both the coal and iron ore fields here, as well as the first largest cotton producing area, the second largest steel and timber producing area, and after the loss of Lorraine and Alsace, the closest coal mine and steel producing area to France is Belgium, and the most important thing is that Belgium has nearly half of the French-speaking population.

As for the traditional colony in the Congo River basin, the Portuguese colony of Angola, the Belgian government simply chose to ignore it.

Now Portugal is no longer the world's number one maritime hegemon in the past, and Portugal's decline is not a slow decline overnight, but an avalanche, and Portugal is currently inferior to Belgium in all aspects such as population, economy, and industrial level.

Belgium has not been independent for many years, but Belgium was previously part of the Netherlands, and even so, the Netherlands is still a part of the sea that cannot be ignored.

The Kingdom of East Africa also poses a threat to Belgium, the westernmost part of East Africa controls Bangui, the capital of the former Central African Republic, and the Ubangi River below Bangui is navigable all year round, which means that East Africa actually controls all the Congo Basin area east of the Ubangi River.

Although the Kingdom of East Africa did not colonize the Congolese rainforest, East African patrol boats cruised along the Ubangi and Congo rivers as far as Kinshasa, the former capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Leopold II knew this, so he took the Ubangi River as the dividing line between the Belgian Congo and the East African kingdom.

The most important point is that Leopold II was indeed very sophisticated, and after he made the plan to colonize the Belgian Congo, he conveyed the news to the East African kingdom through the channel of his sister Princess Charlotte, so Leopold II's plan was quickly sent to Constantine and Ernst.

For this reason, Archduke Ferdinand took a special leave to accompany Princess Charlotte from Bagamoyo to the First Town.

Archduke Ferdinand: "This is a letter from Charlotte's brother, King Leopold II of Belgium, Belgium's plan to colonize the coast of West Africa inland, will such a thing threaten the strategic security of the Kingdom of East Africa?" ”

The word strategic security has a special meaning for the Kingdom of East Africa, and the term strategic security is inseparable from the series of expansion wars launched in East Africa. It seems that under the influence of the Kingdom of East Africa, Archduke Ferdinand understood the essence of "strategic security".

Archduke Ferdinand was understandably in his position as the Kingdom of East Africa, and he supported any expansion in East Africa, except as commander-in-chief of the East African navy.

Every time the East African Kingdom acquires a piece of land, it represents the progress of the East African Kingdom's strength, and his daughter is the future mistress of the East African Kingdom, so Archduke Ferdinand is now thinking about the interests of East Africa first.

Ernst did not answer his father-in-law immediately, but first carefully read the letter sent by Leopold II, who even thoughtfully attached a map of the "Belgian Congo".

Ernst exclaimed: "Your Majesty Leopold, he is a natural genius for colonization, and he is very good at drilling, and he is able to perfectly avoid our sphere of influence in East Africa and other countries, and find a way for Belgium." ”

On the map, Leopold II used a red pen to strictly control the "Belgian Congo" on the west bank of the Ubangi River.

Although Ernst was not interested in the Congo rainforest, it had de facto control over the Congo rainforest since the occupation of the Azander Plateau.

This is all due to the Congo River and its tributaries, and East Africa controls the upper reaches of the Congo River and many of its tributaries, which has left the entire Congolese rainforest trapped in the pockets of the Kingdom of East Africa.

By controlling the upper reaches of the river, you can gain the strategic initiative, while the environment of the Congolese rainforest can only be developed along the river, and other forces entering here are within the firepower of the East African Kingdom.

Archduke Ferdinand said: "Ernst, you mean to allow Belgium to expand on the west coast of Africa?" ”

Nest nodded and said: "Since Belgium has this idea, then there is no need for us to oppose it, in fact, even if Belgium does not occupy it, it will be difficult for us in East Africa to exert our strength in Central and West Africa, the Congo rainforest is a moat, we occupy the Azande Plateau is a little reluctant, and even the closer White Nile Basin has not been effectively developed now." The Congolese rainforest, despite its large size, cannot accommodate many people, which is also a disadvantage, and we might as well think of ways to speed up the integration of South Africa with East Africa. ”

Konstantin also said at this time: "Ernst is right, we have just occupied so much land in South Africa, and the land area has increased a lot, and South Africa is obviously more important than Central and West Africa in terms of climate and importance. ”

After all, the Kingdom of East Africa is still a small and medium-sized country with a huge population, and its energy is limited, so it is even more necessary to be self-aware.

Ernst changed his words and said, "Father-in-law, when it comes to controlling South Africa, we have a plan that we need your help with right now. ”

Archduke Ferdinand asked, "What plan?" ”

Ernst explained: "Since the destruction of the Zulu Kingdom, we have also had access to the sea off the coast of South Africa, and in order to control South Africa, we intend to build a port on the coast of the former Zulu Kingdom. ”

Ernst took out a map from the drawer, put it on the table, pointed to Richard's Bay in South Africa in the past life, and said: "This is a bay in the territory of the former Zulu Kingdom, our people have already surveyed this place, it is very suitable for building a port, because of the need to develop and control South Africa, I intend to build a dual-use port here." ”

Archduke Ferdinand said, "You want the navy to control here?" ”

Ernst affirmed, "Yes." ”

This made Archduke Ferdinand very embarrassed, and he said: "Ernst, I think you should know very well the situation of the East African navy, you will not deliberately make things difficult for me, right?" ”

When it comes to naval issues, Archduke Ferdinand instantly became angry, the development of the East African Navy over the years is actually not slow, after all, the East African Navy did not have any foundation before, but as the former commander of the Austrian Navy, the East African Navy is not at all in Ferdinand's eyes.

No wonder Archduke Ferdinand said this, it was really too pitiful for the East African Navy, with a total of eight capital warships and thirteen gunboats.

Among them, the two warships of the Sultanate of Zanzibar are not even comparable to the merchant ships of the Kingdom of East Africa, the two sail warships from the Austro-Hungarian Navy are also decades old, and the other four newly built ones are barely said to be in the past, but they are also wooden hulls, and with the rise of ironclad ships, they will also lag behind the times.

As for the giant ironclad ship "Archduke Ferdinand", which was built at the expense of Ernst, it is still lying in the Royal Shipyard of Trieste, and its completion will not be until March next year, the main thing is that Archduke Ferdinand himself did not know about the existence of this battleship.

Archduke Ferdinand continued: "The coastline of East Africa is more than 2,000 kilometers long, and it is all maintained by these warships, and we are also responsible for the defense of Mayotte Island in the Mozambique Channel, which is completely insufficient. ”

Archduke Ferdinand's question of conscience caused Constantine and Princess Charlotte to laugh, and Ernst was indeed somewhat unkind in this regard.

Ernst said calmly: "Father-in-law, what about the situation of the East African Navy!" Of course, I know quite well that it has been a bit difficult for you over the years, but the conditions did not allow it before, and now I have earned some pocket money in North America, so I am planning to add some new ships to the East African Navy. ”

(End of chapter)