African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 106: Chapter 101: Bluff, Keep Bluffing

”Sir, if East Africa is as good as you say, that’s not bad, but some people from the neighboring village went to America. That place should be alright too! I heard America has developed quite well in the past two years!”

Knows about America too! Eric Knight was somewhat surprised, it seems these villagers usually get to hear some news.

”America! If it was a good place before, now it’s far inferior to the East African colony. Did you know that America only just finished a war not long ago?” Eric Knight replied.

”I did hear a few years ago, there was fierce fighting in America, but doesn’t Germany also go to war? Recently Prussia and Austria just had a battle, and the kingdom (Württemberg) was in a state of panic,” a villager said.

”It’s definitely different. Wars in the German region are to unify our nation, so we won’t be bullied by outsiders in the future. But the war in America, maybe you don’t know the inside story, I’ll tell you!”

Eric Knight mysteriously analyzed the ”insider” news he knew with the villagers: ”In the past, America, like the East African colony, didn’t have many people, land was wasted. Of course, America had Indians, who were eliminated by the British. We all know the British are rich, so they’re lazy! They can’t do the work themselves, and when the Indians were eliminated too quickly, there was no one to work for them. So they recruited people from Africa and Europe to farm and mine coal for them.”

Eric Knight returned to his seat, poured himself a glass of water, took a small sip, and continued: ”These Africans, they’re so black that when they stand in the dark, you can’t see them at all.”

”Sir, does Africa have anything to do with this East Africa you’re talking about?” a villager curiously asked.

”Of course, this slave trade, I’m guessing you’ve heard of it. It’s when the British brought Black people from Africa to America to farm, so the land in Africa was left vacant. That’s why we Germans went to develop the East African colony.” Eric Knight said earnestly while talking nonsense.

”Pah, those British are really something else, but I heard that those Black people aren’t good either, they look like monkeys, dumb as rocks,” a villager said.

”Pretty much, pretty much,” Eric Knight chuckled.

”The British divided into two groups, one was the Southerners, who used Black slaves specifically for farming, the other was the Northerners, who had factories along with farming. The British factories aren’t fun at all; they’re all sinister! People work day and night, and the workers lived short lives. These workers were recruited from here, Italy, and Ireland, anyway, the British use them without care. How can that person have a way to survive?” Eric Knight dramatically warned.

”If all the factory workers are gone, what to do when they’re short of people? The factories can’t stop, otherwise how do the British have so much money? Isn’t that how it goes, so the Northerners targeted the Southern plantations’ Black slaves, wanting these Black slaves to work in Northern factories. But the British are stingy! They don’t want to pay the Southern British, so they want to use them for free. Tell me, in this situation, would you agree?”

The villagers listened to Eric Knight’s tall tales like a story, someone spoke: ”If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t agree.”

”Exactly! Not paying and still trying to get cheap labor, the Southerners definitely wouldn’t agree. So America went to war.”

”It was bad luck for the Southerners, they lost to the North, and these Black people ended up in factories in the American North, which is deadly. Even though there are a lot of Black people, they can’t endure being used like this! So they need to recruit people from here, I ask you, do you still want to go?” Eric Knight asked.

”Of course not!”

”Exactly, I didn’t expect Americans to be so ruthless, no wonder they’re descendants of the British.”

The villagers discussed animatedly.

...

”Alright, quiet down, if you want to go to East Africa for development, you can start signing up now!”

Eric Knight stopped the villagers who were talking.

”Sir, won’t the East African colony also open factories like the Americans?” a villager asked.

”No need to worry, the East African colony is a proper German colony, it’s the world of us Germans. We’re all compatriots, how could we treat fellow Germans like the British?”

Eric Knight spoke, at the same time using his final trump card: ”Everyone, perhaps my words are not convincing, next, let’s invite the village chief to verify.”

The village chief, who had been silently sitting on the side, spoke up: ”No need to worry, the East African colony is our German territory, going there is no different than being in Germany. Do you know which distinguished person’s domain this East African colony belongs to?”

The villagers shook their heads.

”You should know Prussia’s big name, right?”

”Village chief, I know, people now say Prussia is the big boss of Germany, and Austria didn’t win.”

”That’s exactly right, the East African colony is under Prussia’s Prince Heixinggen’s domain, all of it is our own Germans. Prince Heixinggen is a top noble, exceptionally reliable in reputation, and only considered that our German places were too small, too crowded, with not enough land, so he went abroad to establish the East African colony so that we Germans could live a good life. Those of you without land, hurry up and sign up, don’t miss the opportunity,” said the village chief.

”Village chief, is the information reliable?” a villager asked.

”Why would I lie to you? This information was personally told to me by Knight von Krey in town. He said this is confirmed by our Württemberg kingdom, the information is absolutely reliable and true.”

”Even Prince Heixinggen, with a kind heart, with consideration for us Germans, Prince Heixinggen is a top noble in Prussia who can talk to the King. His territory is adjacent to Württemberg, so he’s practically a local, that’s why he’s thinking of you with good opportunities,” said the village chief.

”You shouldn’t think about working in the city anymore. Do you have any craft skills or schooling? There’s no place for you in the city. As for America, if you have a way, it doesn’t matter if you go. But if not, don’t waste your effort. Would the British give you benefits for free? If there were benefits, they’d have gone to their own people first, not to you.”

”Going to the East African colony is different. If you go, you’ll still do the same work, a farmer doing farm work, nobody can deceive you. This farming, we’ve been doing it for generations, nobody can trick you. Alright, that’s all I’m going to say, anyway, if you’re just trying to earn a living, you definitely have to go to our German place, the difference is only that one is in Europe, one is overseas, but overseas is still our German land, equivalent to never leaving Germany. Those with ideas, sign up quickly, don’t waste time,” said the village chief.

...

After considering for a day and a night, most landless farmers chose to sign up, mostly young people, small households with no land to cultivate, choosing to venture overseas.

And those who originally intended to go to America gave up their plans and decided to head to East Africa amid the rumors spread by Heixinggen’s syndicate staff, after all, East Africa had official endorsement.

The same scene appeared in Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria... even in northern Austria bordering Austria.

The first large-scale migration of Germans to East Africa began.