African Entrepreneurship Record

After the joint consultation between Bugival and Count Roberts, it was decided to relocate the Allied command, along with most of Mozambique’s administrative institutions, including the Governor’s Mansion, to the Shao Kui area.

Shao Kui is also located in what was formerly Mozambique’s Gaza Province. Currently, it is the size of a small town but already considered a well-developed administrative level in Mozambique, given the few Portuguese and the population concentrated mostly in several coastal cities.

The entire Mozambique coast is now unsafe, so an inland town like Shao Kui naturally stands out.

If only looking at Portuguese settlements in inland areas, Shao Kui is absolutely the best choice. Here, it stands out as one of the largest towns in all of inland Mozambique, especially after losing large amounts of territory.

Thus, there are not many options with the capacity to serve as the headquarters for the Allied command and Mozambique’s government offices. The combined personnel of the Mozambique government and the Allied command number in the thousands, and a small village cannot possibly support their needs for food, water, and shelter.

Bugival: ”Shao Kui is located in the plains south of the Limpopo River, an area known for its relatively advanced agriculture in Mozambique. Therefore, we can solve the food issues there. Most importantly, the lower Limpopo River offers reasonable transportation conditions, making logistics more convenient.”

Of course, the shipping conditions mentioned by Bugival can’t compare to Maputo. Maputo, with its natural harbor, is more conveniently positioned to receive aid from the mainland.

However, Maputo strays from the central area of Mozambique, instead lying at the southernmost corner, which is not conducive to concentrating Mozambique’s resources in Maputo.

In contrast, although the Limpopo River is a relatively large river in South Africa and has decent lower reach navigation conditions, its estuary is heavily silted with extensive shallows and mudflats, preventing the formation of a river port.

The Limpopo River only holds value in inland water transportation, but this is just right for the Allied forces, since having a seaport would mean East African warships could sail into the inland rivers as well.

The last straw that forced Count Roberts and Bugival to relocate the capital was the ability of East African warships to directly threaten the safety of Maputo, making Shao Kui in the Limpopo River basin a better choice for the Allied forces in terms of safety.

The Limpopo River basin is an important agricultural area in Mozambique, so even if East Africa cuts off Mozambique’s external resources, there wouldn’t be issues of food and water shortages.

”The Limpopo River is a hundred meters wide and offers military defensive functions, itself being one of our planned defensive lines. Even if the East Africans break through the Sawei River line, we can still maneuver against them using the Limpopo River. Moreover, Shao Kui is surrounded by the Limpopo River on three sides, presenting a favorable terrain similar to medieval Paris, so we only need to build defenses to the south and can easily complete the defensive work,” Count Roberts analyzed from a military value perspective.

Of course, Count Roberts was speaking hyperbolically. Although Shao Kui’s position is good, it doesn’t nearly meet the standard of ancient Paris, which was built on an island in the Seine River.

The Limpopo River also has similar terrain, but it is located downstream of Shao Kui, where its course is notoriously ”unruly.”

Much like the ancient Yellow River, it frequently changed course, leaving behind numerous abandoned river beds and oxbow lakes. However, the Yellow River’s changes were due to sediment issues, while the Limpopo River was influenced by rotational effects.

This is also an important reason why the Limpopo River basin has developed agriculture - extensive downstream alluvial plains with flat terrain, fertile land, and ample water resources.

The only pity is that Portugal’s development efforts in the Limpopo River basin are too weak. The entire lower Limpopo River area is natural river channels with large areas of undeveloped land.

If placed in the Far East Empire, the Limpopo River could be developed into an agriculturally advanced area like the Jianghan Plain, or even under East African control, it could become yet another grain base for East Africa.

In fact, East Africa has similar plans for Mozambique. The agricultural conditions of the entire region rival those in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa. As a natural agricultural base, in the hands of a nation like Portugal, known for shortcuts, it is somewhat wasted.

”Shao Kui can communicate more easily with the western front line and the main forces at the Sawei River line, as well as Maputo, which is now the front line. Additionally, East Africa has amassed a large military presence around New Hamburg Port City, thus putting unimaginable pressure on Maputo.”

”Shao Kui is only about 170 kilometers from Maputo, so relocating the command to Shao Kui won’t take too long. The only downside is Shao Kui’s low level of urban development, lacking the defensive advantages of Maputo, so we need to conscript a large number of Black slaves to build Shao Kui, which requires cooperation from the local government,” Count Roberts stated.

Currently, the greatest shortage for Count Roberts is military forces, so the construction of Shao Kui cannot be handled by the army. Of course, while they won’t do everything, the guidance and supervision still need to be completed by their own people.

If left unchecked, given the efficiency of the Portuguese, coupled with the laziness of the Black people, it’s likely that Shao Kui’s defenses would end up as ”jerry-built” projects.

Count Roberts is deeply aware of this. Of course, compared to his Indian subordinates, the Portuguese are much better, more reliable, and generally able to complete essential tasks, just like the strong and reliable fortifications of Maputo.

During the era of the Portuguese Empire, the Portuguese certainly wouldn’t have been like this, but as the Portuguese Empire declined, the entire Portuguese society became filled with a decayed and decadent atmosphere, and the same went for colonies like Mozambique.

The colonies of Britain and France weren’t as lifeless as those of Portugal. Take Britain, for instance, places like India, Canada, and even penal colonies like Australia were well-developed.

Bugival, unaware of Count Roberts’ internal complaints, was focused on assisting the ”Supreme Emperor” from Britain.

Portugal entirely relies on Britain for survival, and even Portugal itself cannot be an exception. Moreover, Britain is a reliable elder brother.

Like in the current South African war, without British support, Bugival estimated that Portugal might not be able to hold out for even half a month, as East African military power is so much stronger than Portugal’s.

So Bugival said, ”Even for Black people, we need time to capture them from surrounding areas. However, in a wartime situation, this task shouldn’t be too difficult, and under the oppression of East Africans, the number of Black people in Mozambique is more than before, making it quite cost-effective to enlist them for work.”

After East Africa occupied northern Mozambique (north of the Zambezi River), a large number of Black people were driven into southern Mozambique, increasing the density of Black people in the Mozambique colony.

Thus, requisitioning Black slaves from various tribes isn’t difficult. Although these Black tribes have grown stronger with increasing population, they still can’t withstand the guns and cannons of the Portuguese, and after centuries of Portuguese rule, local Black people have already been ”tamed.” Furthermore, compared to the East Africans, the Portuguese appeared ”kind and gracious.”

”Very well, we don’t have much time, so it’s best to lay the framework for Shao Kui by the end of the year. If we cannot break the East African offensive this year, our situation next year will be even more dangerous,” Count Roberts said.