Chapter 207: Changing the Sign
It was August.
A sea breeze from the southeast brought a heavy rain that lasted three days, leaving the city streets soaking wet. In places without paved roads, the ground became mud, and anyone passing through found their shoes thickly coated with sludge.
When the rain cleared, the streets filled again with people, carriages, and horses, bustling with noise. It was a scene rarely seen in East Africa, comparable only to the developed areas of Dar es Salaam or Mombasa.
In East Africa's cities, the police keep order. Before, it was the army doing that job, but after the reforms, some city soldiers switched to being policemen. So East African cities usually have decent public order, and even the countryside does too. The rural areas also have their own security staff—just a few people per village—under the direction of a nearby town or city police station.
Ships arrived at the port as usual, and a swarm of merchants and dock gangs fought over business. The merchants mainly offloaded goods, while the dock gangs were groups of workers from the same village, forming their own teams. The port was lively. Three years ago, no one would have believed it could become so prosperous.
Richard, from the "German Commercial Liaison Office," was thinking about this. Three years before, when he first came, this place was just a small town with few people and incomplete port facilities. The buildings were very "rustic," with some made of mud walls and thatched roofs.
One thing that hadn't changed was the appearance of the residents, who still looked thin and pale. Most seemed malnourished. Yes, this place was not East Africa—it was Jiaozhou, in the Far East.
Jiaozhou served as a transfer port for East Asia migrants heading to East Africa. Immigrants from northern China usually gathered here to be shipped out to East Africa. A small group from the northwest also came through here, but not many. East African officials could only influence areas as far as Henan Province. In the south, the current transfer port was Shanghai, where the Heixingen Consortium had a minimal presence. Even so, they competed with the British and Americans for "immigrant business."
One has to admit that German merchants weren't as smooth with words as Americans. When it comes to propaganda, the Americans were much better. Even though East Africa's conditions were more "real," plenty of people got tricked into going to America, working on railroads. Earlier this year, the United States finished its transcontinental railway, with countless stories of suffering known only to the Chinese laborers buried there. The local Chinese didn't realize any of that. Ernst couldn't expose the deception either, because America, at this stage, wasn't "the big U.S." we know, and East Africa couldn't afford to ignore the threat it posed—especially in the Far East. If the Heixingen Consortium wanted to keep its migrant supply and market there, it had to be careful.
If a unified Germany tried something, maybe the U.S. could only protest verbally. Anyway, returning to Jiaozhou, the city wasn't considered very important. Before the Heixingen Consortium arrived, it had been just a small town. After the Opium Wars, Western ships forced open China's gates, and Western merchants spread along the coast. Jiaozhou had only a few small fishing villages. The geography and resources were decent, so a few Westerners did some trading there. Not until 1865 did the Qing government set up a checkpoint to oversee shipping and collect taxes, showing how little Jiaozhou mattered to them.
And yet, in later history, Jiaozhou became one of the most energetic ports in Shandong or anywhere north. As of now, though, Yantai overshadowed it. That city was Britain's commercial port, and Jiaozhou was just a branch under Yantai's eastern customs. The Heixingen Consortium ran its immigration business here, and it had now begun commercial activity too. It sold its industrial products, and East Africa's rice and farm goods mostly shipped here. Their main advantage was low price. The ships that ferried immigrants to East Africa would load up with cargo for the return trip.
Heixingen also set up a few small factories here, mostly textile mills, but on a small scale. The reason was simple: East Africa and Germany weren't great places for textile production. East Africa lacked enough labor. Yes, it had "workers" who were basically "unlimited," but you couldn't expect African people to handle detailed textile work. Meanwhile, the German states had tested textile ventures before with poor results. Ernst didn't want to repeat that.
Thanks to the Heixingen Consortium and East African goods, Jiaozhou's economy advanced fast, especially in tax revenue, which got the Qing government's attention. They split Jiaozhou off from Yantai's East Customs and gave it separate management. The local Jiaozhou officials also received promotions.
…
While Richard was still lost in thought, the sign for "German Commercial Liaison Office" was taken down, replaced by a brand-new one reading "Heixingen Far East Commercial Liaison Office."
"Mr. Richard, why did you change the sign?" asked an official from the Qing government who worked with the Heixingen Consortium.
"Well, Mr. Wang, we received instructions from above that we don't need the old sign anymore."
"I know about Germany, but is this 'Heixingen' related to the new Heixingen Bank from two years ago?"
"That's right. Heixingen is a German state, so for you, this doesn't change much. The people who do business in Jiaozhou are basically from the Heixingen Consortium."
Mr. Wang Enke got confused. "Heixingen Consortium?"
"Yes. The Heixingen Consortium is one of Germany's most powerful major companies. You might say it like that."
"So what happened to Germany?"
"Germany still exists, but now we don't just represent Germany in trading with you. That's why we're not using the old name."
"Forgive me for asking, Mr. Richard, but who else do you represent?"
"The Heixingen East African Royal Territory."
"Huh?"
"A new country."
"And East Africa is where?"
"It's on the eastern coast of Africa. Africa is a big continent, larger than your Great Qing. East Africa is part of it."
"East Africa is that big?"
"I said Africa itself is huge. East Africa is just one important new country on it—like how your Qing is one important country in Eurasia. Its full name is the Heixingen East African Royal Territory."
…
Although the German Commercial Liaison Office changed into the Heixingen Commercial Liaison Office, its functions stayed the same. The name change signaled that with the Heixingen royal family moving to East Africa, in future, once the new state was formed, it would definitely send out diplomatic staff. At that point, still calling themselves "German" wouldn't work. People might think Heixingen had unified Germany or something.
Besides the Heixingen Consortium and East African commercial staff, there were other German merchants and missionaries here. Since Prussia hadn't completed its unification, it had no big influence here. Having the Heixingen Consortium act as "Germany" in Jiaozhou was natural. In practice, the lead role in German Far Eastern trade had long been the Heixingen Consortium, with other German merchants relying on them. The old "German Commercial Liaison Office" handled negotiations. After all, the Heixingen Consortium was an armed business group; its merchant ships carried cannons. That was quite persuasive.
However, because of Ernst, everything remained peaceful as long as nobody blocked his immigrant business. You could ignore it, but you couldn't oppose it. That was no great hardship for local authorities. Pulling a few thousand or tens of thousands of people out of the vast Qing population hardly affected anything. As for other matters, they were used to the British and French being rude. The Heixingen Consortium looked like gentle Westerners in comparison. If only they didn't carry guns, it would be even better.
To that, Ernst said: if you doubt my good intentions, I also doubt your honesty.
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