African Entrepreneurship Record

Constantine was not surprised by Ernst’s words; after all, his son had always been different from others, otherwise he would not have been able to carve out a realm for himself.

”Ernst, although there is some truth in what you say, without recognition from the International Community, the so-called throne in East Africa, like the British Queen’s throne in India, may be easily talked about behind closed doors by outsiders.”

Ernst joked with his father, ”If Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom moved her capital to Mumbai, wouldn’t her throne become more legitimate! Moreover, we in East Africa are completely different from Britain. East Africa is now stronger than most kingdoms, so an empire is more fitting for our current development.”

”As for the opinions of Europe, if we were contending for a European emperor, it would naturally be laughable, but here we are in East Africa, and the empire we establish is an unprecedentedly large country in African history, so it should naturally be called the East African Empire.”

The Heixinggen Kingdom is part of Europe’s political system, so the Heixinggen Kingdom cannot be crowned with an imperial title, as it was originally just a small principality under the Holy Roman Empire.

Certainly, Ernst envied the name Holy Roman Empire, but other German countries would never agree, especially Germany. If East Africa proclaimed itself the Holy Roman Empire, what would German be?

Of course, Constantine was dissatisfied with Ernst’s consideration: ”The name East African Empire is not good; although we are indeed in Africa, the name Africa has long been stigmatized. When Africa is mentioned, I can immediately think of poverty, backwardness, and barbarism.”

What Constantine said is true; although East Africa is developing rapidly now, European countries’ stereotypes about Africa have not changed at all.

The main reason is that North and West Africa are holding back, as these regions are colonies or spheres of influence of European countries, so they continue to use these areas as templates in their descriptions of Africa.

”Then father, what is your idea?” Ernst asked, as he felt the name East African Empire was actually quite good.

”Think about it; although East Africa’s main area is still the eastern part of the continent, with several expansions, East Africa now more generally aligns with the name South Africa on the map.”

Constantine said this, but of course, East Africa could not use the name South Africa, not only because it is still associated with Africa, but mainly because the British South African colonies have already occupied this geographical term.

After the South African War ended, Britain consolidated its colonies in the South African region, integrating the Natal colony and the Cape Town colony entirely, with the government collectively called the South African Colonial Government.

So now South Africa mainly refers to Britain’s colonial territory at the southern tip of Africa; East Africa naturally could not reuse this name.

”As I see it, it would be better to select from cultural elements from the German Region and use them as East Africa’s new national name; the ones I favor most are Rhine and Swabia.”

Rhine naturally comes from the Rhine River, while Swabia was the founding location of the Heixinggen Royal Family; the former Hexionggen Principality, now Germany’s Hohenzollern Province, is in the Swabia region.

Ernst suddenly realized, ”Yes! How come I didn’t think of using Rhine as the name for East Africa, it’s ready-made!”

Back when building Rhein City, Ernst hadn’t thought about this point; his father’s idea was more reliable.

As for the name Swabia, Ernst hadn’t considered it; although East Africa has a Swabia province, Swabia historically was indeed a country, the Swabian Duchy under the Holy Roman Empire. Nowadays, areas like Württemberg, Heixinggen, Sigmaringen, and parts or all of Bavaria are within its scope, and East Africa’s standard German collection site is in the Swabia region.

However, even though the name Swabia carries deep historical roots, compared to Rhine, it is entirely incomparable.

Ernst directly said, ”When the time comes, our East Africa will be called the Rhein Empire, and father will be the first emperor of the Rhein Empire.”

Constantine shook his head and said, ”I originally planned to abdicate and let you officially take over, so it should be you! Moreover, I do not wish to suffer through the crowning ceremony.”

Generally speaking, kings reign for life, but Constantine was unwilling to continually serve as East African king, having long been interested in a carefree life away from politics. Moreover, since Ernst instituted the retirement system for officials within the East African Government, Constantine’s desires became stronger.

Ernst disagreed, ”Father, you are the country’s stabilizing force. Even if you want to truly abdicate, it should be after the emperor’s title is finalized.”

Regarding Constantine’s idea, Ernst was not very willing, he continued to persuade, ”As for the coronation ceremony, I have said before that it won’t be as bloated and complex as in Europe. When the time comes, just hold a few grand events, you can casually walk through the motions, and the coronation is complete.”

”Simplifying the ceremony is not difficult for us; in fact, foreign guests do not even need to be invited, after all, East Africa’s transformation into an empire is a natural consequence of its strength, not necessarily needing other countries’ recognition, but more importantly, uniting the public at home.”

”Like carriages in Europe, we have no need for them. When the time comes, you can wave to the public while sitting in a motorcar; the roads we built in Rhein City are completely asphalt, not bumpy at all, and other processes can also be omitted and simplified.”

”After all, it is the 19th century now; Europe has undergone enormous changes, and related systems should also be adjusted accordingly.”

During British royal coronations, there are golden coaches, large stones (Stone of Destiny), which Ernst finds both painful and amusing; of course, now only Ernst thinks so.

Ernst continued, ”The coronation ceremony will certainly be as comfortable as possible; I also do not wish for cumbersome rituals to bind future successors.”

”And frankly speaking, the monarchy is showing signs of decline worldwide, so our Heixinggen Royal Family should also find ways to integrate into the nation rather than being completely detached from the people, especially in terms of class; it should at least not be too distinct. As technology and social thinking develop in the future, royal family members are best to act discretely to reduce troubles.”

Constantine nodded in agreement, he was fairly in tune with his son’s words. If it were in the past, as an old noble, Constantine would definitely not have thought this way. Yet with the development of the times, some matters cannot be ignored just because one pretends not to see them.

Even monarchs like William II and Nicholas II, striving to maintain royal authority, found it difficult to change this situation, as for Austria-Hungary, that was already stagnant. Although Austria-Hungary’s economy remains remarkable, its army’s combat effectiveness is rapidly declining, and this is a direct observation of East Africa in its military cooperation with Austria-Hungary.

Hence, Austria-Hungary is currently in a very precarious position; if the guns are not strong, Austria-Hungary faces the risk of disintegration at any time. Now Franz indeed has fallen to patching walls, stitching and mending an ageing empire.

Actually, the Austrian government is not unwilling to restore the glory of the Austrian Empire, but Hungary’s military prowess through parliamentary struggles, resolutely implementing Magyarism in Hungarian areas while continuously cutting military expenditures, resulting in Austria-Hungary’s army not getting new blood and inevitably declining.