As the largest customer of slaves in East Africa, the Ottoman Empire is in great demand, this is not a matter of liking or not, but the price of slaves in East Africa is too low, no one can resist this temptation of low prices, even if a part of the Ottoman Empire is consumed, so in the eyes of the Ottomans, the price of slaves is lower than that of livestock, and the amount of food required is also smaller than that of livestock, which is very suitable for large-scale popularization.

However, the number of blacks in the Ottoman Empire was a bit overflowing, so that they could be used to fight with Tsarist Russia and use them as consumables, which was also a headache for the Russians, but fortunately, the level of black combat effectiveness was not high.

The advantage of black slaves in East Africa is that they are very suitable for large-scale organization and use, which is the norm of slave life in East Africa, so the Ottomans can easily organize black slaves after taking over, even if they are rabble, gathering can greatly reduce the pressure on the regular army of the Ottoman Empire.

……

Colony of Mozambique.

"Your Excellency Governor Lyford! This is what you call the army? The French instructor said with some disbelief as he looked at the Mozambican armed forces.

The total number of the Mozambican army at present is only a mere 1,400 people, and it seems that it is not much more advanced than the army of the Middle Ages.

However, if Drès has seen the state of the Portuguese army, he will probably understand why Mozambique's army is like this.

Like the United Kingdom, Portugal also focuses on naval development, and now the Portuguese navy is in serious decline, and the army is not in the climate.

The good news is that Spain, next door to Portugal, is also not in good shape, so the pressure on defense is not great, and the former Iberian Peninsula continues to maintain a stable balance.

Lyford was a little embarrassed and said: "Most colonial armies are like this, such as some of your French colonies, which may not be stronger than us. ”

"It's not a question of whether it's strong or not, but I've heard that the East African army has at least tens of thousands of people, and it can fight with the white power of the Boers, which means that Mozambique is facing the same enemy as some weak countries in Europe, but the military strength of weak European countries in Africa is also an existence that cannot be ignored, your regular army is so small, the training is poor, and the equipment is even more indescribable, how to compete with East Africa in this case? It's no wonder that East Africa is holding you back from expanding aggressively, and it's clear that you're investing too little in the colonies' military. ”

Leford: "This is all the blame of the previous governors, they really don't invest much in the military, but this is also related to the lack of attention to the development of the colony at home, and we don't have much money to get, so the army can only barely make do." ”

Dereis: "Okay, now Portugal has to find a way to expand the number of its army, this kind of army to be honest, to be honest, to be in quantity but not quantity, quality in quality, no wonder the Germans, as latecomers, can achieve such a big advantage in Africa." ”

Saying this, the actual Dresses thought to himself, this Portuguese can't do it either? It was really cheap for the Germans, if they knew the situation of the Portuguese colonies, it would have been better for France to occupy East Africa in the first place.

Of course, Dreiser took it for granted that the Portuguese colonial forces had to be viewed separately, the regular army was small in number and not good in combat, but the strength of the colonies was actually scattered in the hands of various forces, including colonial companies, merchants, plantation owners and mine owners, and the private armed forces of these forces were also an important part of the Mozambican colony, but they were not subject to the jurisdiction of the kingdom.

Lyford: "But where are we going to find so many soldiers?" If there is this ability, then it will not make Germany so arrogant in East Africa! ”

Dress: "There is no shortage of blacks in Africa, so we can use blacks to build an army that can fight East Africa." ”

"That's not going to work!" Lyford objected: "If an army is made of blacks, what is the difference between it and a gray wolf giving his teeth to a sheep?" What if they learn to use firearms and turn on ourselves? ”

What Lyford said is a very real problem, Mozambique can control such a large area of land, and manage so many blacks by virtue of the superiority of weapons, in addition to saying how advanced Portugal is more advanced than the blacks, I am afraid it is difficult to say, Portugal, as a monarchy, may not be much stronger than some indigenous kingdoms in Africa.

Dryce: "Your Excellency, is there any other option for you now?" If you don't use blacks, where are you going to find so many soldiers? And the threat of the blacks is coming, and your biggest threat at the moment is the Germans in East Africa, as long as the Germans, the biggest enemy, are solved, everything else is a minor problem. ”

Lyford: "But even if Mozambique doesn't have a shortage of blacks, we also lack weapons?" As far as I know, the German army is equipped with Dreiser rifles and Mauser rifles, both of which are active equipment of the German Army, and the gap between us is too great. ”

"Well, that's really a problem!" "But you don't have to worry too much, we'll help you solve the weapons problem, and the blacks don't need too advanced weapons and equipment, we and the British can provide you with rifles and ammunition for 50,000 people, mainly Enfield and Mine rifles," said Dereis. ”

"Does it cost money?" Lyford asked a key question.

"No, this batch of weapons is provided jointly by us and the United Kingdom." "But you have to solve the food problem yourself," said Dereis.

In fact, the British had already paid for the purchase of weapons, and the British were more concerned about dealing with East Africa.

The strength of Portugal, the British are quite clear, Portugal alone is afraid that it will overturn in the hands of the Germans, so it is necessary to improve the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese.

Although the help provided by the British was not too great, the British believed that Mozambique did not need too good weapons, and that it was enough to fight with East Africa and test the true strength of East Africa, as long as East Africa showed a little timidity, Cape Town could leave the Portuguese behind.

"Even so, the gap between us and the Germans is still a little too big, not to mention the weapons, and whether the blacks can fight is also a question!"

"Your Excellency the Governor, you are too conservative, although the combat effectiveness level of the blacks is not good, but the army of the East African Kingdom is not all Germans, and they also use a lot of Far Easterners, so you are only half a catty and eight taels." Dresse said from his own experience.

Although France lost to Germany, France thought that it was a complete accident that it lost to Germany last time, after all, France did not even complete mobilization last time, and the overall quality shown by France in the last war was stronger than that of Germany, which was the conclusion that France came to when summing up the reasons for the defeat.

In addition, there are a large number of Far Easterners in the composition of the East African Army, and the Far Eastern Empire's achievements over the years are really unsightly, so it is inevitable that Deries is a little arrogant about the East African Army that has mixed with Far Eastern immigrants.

"This time, we have personally come to train your troops, and we will ensure that we will temper the combat effectiveness of the troops in a relatively short time, and with the advanced experience of the French Army, Mozambique will definitely be able to compete with East Africa," said Delais. ”

In fact, East Africa, as a German colony, was enough to make France unhappy, and the hatred of the French for the Germans has now been filled by Prussia, but Germany cannot afford to offend, so it is not bad to be angry with East Africa.

Moreover, if the Germans can be allowed to make a big comeback in East Africa, France may also have the opportunity to infiltrate the East African region in the future and make the French colonial map more complete.

(End of chapter)