African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 524: Chapter 202 Blood Transfusion

The yellow sand drifted endlessly across the ancient trade route, as an Arab caravan struggled under the scorching sun, forging ahead across the arid ancient riverbed.

Over a hundred camels trudged forward, leaving footprints with each step, seemingly tireless, unlike the merchants atop them who were constantly complaining.

”Mr. Andreev, why don’t you send these weapons to Afghanistan through Russia, instead of sneaking them in this way? Honestly, without Uncle Aimaiti leading us, we’d be lost.”

The man known as ”Andreev” rode atop a camel, speaking in fluent Russian to the caravan leader: ”Mr. Faruk, this is a clandestine operation. You must know that Russia and Britain are at odds, but both are world powers; thus, any conflicts must remain hidden. I consider you a friend, which is why I’m telling you this, so keep it to yourself.”

Hearing Andreev refer to him as a friend pleased Faruk. Wearing a small square cap, he smiled and said, ”Of course, Mr. Andreev, those who know, know. We will never reveal your secrets. Our caravan values its reputation highly. Lying is something Allah dislikes.”

Faruk couldn’t help but think well of Andreev, having noticed his respect for their faith, unlike previous Russians he had encountered.

”Mr. Andreev, your accent doesn’t sound like the Russian I usually hear,” Faruk inquired.

This innocent remark made the novice ”Andreev” nervous for a moment, but he maintained his composure and asked, ”Mr. Faruk, how did you figure that out?”

”I frequently deal with Russians and am quite familiar with Russian, yet your speech differed from other Russian merchants.”

Upon hearing this, ”Andreev” quickly understood the situation, feeling relieved.

He explained with a chuckle, ”I’m from Saint Petersburg, which might be why my accent differs slightly from southern Russians.”

”Oh, I see. I know Russia is a vast country, so it makes sense that there would be regional linguistic differences, similar to our Arabic faith, where each region has a distinctive accent.”

Hearing this, ”Andreev” felt completely reassured, confident that Faruk had accepted his explanation, knowing well that Petersburg was Russia’s capital at the time.

However, Faruk’s words reminded ”Andreev” of a lesson: agents abroad should learn more dialects. He planned to report this back to Saint Petersburg. It could prevent colleagues from being exposed due to accent issues in the future.

Unaware, Faruk had inadvertently helped a spy organization correct a flaw; but it’s not to say the East African National Defense Security Bureau was unprofessional. Having been established for only a few years, having no issues would be the real issue.

Much like during WWII when British Military Intelligence Six conspicuously failed, yet their skill was still considerable, albeit highlighted by their German counterparts. Later, when facing Soviets, the British intelligence agency became the monkeys, and the KGB the handlers.

As for Germany, Ernst definitely did not want the East African intelligence agency learning from them. Hence, from the start, East African intelligence aimed for professionalism and institutionalization.

Of course, while developing the intelligence agency, Ernst hoped they would learn from the German army in terms of non-interference in politics.

Although Germany adopted a militaristic approach, it was more a cultural attribute of the country—a rigid characteristic of the Germans. The military did military work without involving in government affairs, and vice versa.

But Germany’s entire system revolved around the military, so the German army had no need for conflicts with the government, as they were all one and the same. Comparatively, Japan exemplified real militarism, with insubordination reflecting extreme ideologies.

The East African military wielded less power compared to Germany. Though Ernst claimed to embrace German militarism, the government did not wholly align itself with military service.

The East African bureaucratic group resembled Soviet bureaucrats more, with good relations between the military and government. Many veterans transitioned to governmental roles, especially in early East Africa where many officials were from military backgrounds.

If East Africa emulated Germany, the army would need to triple. Although the non-Black population in East Africa was certainly less than Germany, the younger demographic structure and the abundance of Black laborers eased the burden. It was akin to the ancient nomadic regimes in the Far East, relying on Han people for agriculture while their own engaged militarily. Similarly, Black people filled this role, as did people in various countries.

East Africa contained a plentiful exploitable population, surpassing other nations. Black people there had no rights or status, and resistance proved futile. Ernst had many flaws but was ruthlessly pragmatic; compassion was costly.

Ernst often felt East African Blacks were relatively manageable, despite their lack of sophistication in tactics, a consequence of limited perspectives unrelated to intelligence.

East Africa’s colonization of Africa was too brief. These Blacks couldn’t respond to colonizers’ superior adaptations, and once they adapted and learned, East Africa expatriated them, cutting off any chance for revenge, leaving them to torment other nations instead!

After two days of travel, Andreev’s group finally reached a small locale called Yazdan, on Afghanistan’s western frontier, but this was not Andreev’s final destination.

The Shindand region to the east was Andreev’s real objective. The Shindand Valley was one of Afghanistan’s rare fertile areas—for Afghanistan, any land that grows crops is precious, especially with Shindand’s sprawling plains.

Shindand is crucial to western Afghanistan, mainly because it is distant from Kabul. Britain, nominally having occupied Afghanistan, barely controlled most areas, let alone the remote Shindand.

Historically, Afghanistan’s religious regimes were active here, and thus, Shindand harbored intense animosity towards the British invaders.

Andreev’s mission was to supply the Afghan resistance through Shindand’s local armed forces, vexing the British.

Once in Shindand, a businessman who had been trading locally for years received Andreev. Naturally, this person wasn’t associated with East Africa, but he had business with Zanzibar merchants. It’s undeniable Zanzibar merchants were incredibly resourceful, trading even in distant Afghanistan. This was unsurprising; with East Africa’s backing, Zanzibar merchants thrived. East Africa had goods, and Zanzibar merchants had channels—a win-win collaboration.

This shared interest explained Zanzibar merchants’ willingness to act as East Africa’s vanguard. Afghanistan shared religious ties with the merchant community, ethically justifying supporting brethren’s resistance. It was profitable and fostered good relations with Afghan local factions—an optimal trade.

Furthermore, East Africa had no vested interest in Afghanistan, avoiding compromising their cooperation, making the operation easier to accomplish.