Chapter 424: The Great Escape
In the end, the deal went through. Both parties reached an agreement—payment upon delivery. Once East Africa's ships docked and the Far Eastern officials inspected the goods in Jiaozhou Bay, the payment would be made.
The Dreyse needle gun occupied an awkward position in terms of military relevance. It was, after all, the first widely adopted military breech-loading rifle in the world. But times were changing, and countries were either developing or already equipping more advanced rifles.
The Dreyse's market was, realistically, limited to underdeveloped regions. Africa naturally fell into that category, but Ernst had no intention of selling weapons to his own colonial populations. That left only the Far East and South America as viable markets.
In the Far East, only the Far Eastern Empire met East Africa's requirements. Other nations were either foreign colonies or too poor to afford such arms. That was the reality for small nations—except Japan, which Ernst might consider dealing with for arms sales only. Involving Japan in the full military-industrial business was another matter entirely.
…
Night fell over the continent of black Africa. Apart from Dar es Salaam and Mombasa—the two cities that never slept—there was no light to be seen.
Deep in East Africa's interior, the outskirts of Bulawayo were equally dark. Outside the indigenous village of Bakora, hundreds of bright eyes scanned the darkness.
"Clalulu, is everyone here?"
"Chief, I've gone door to door. Everyone's gathered."
"You didn't alert the Germans?"
"Rest assured, the Germans never leave their fortress at night. They only patrol in daylight. As soon as night falls, they lock themselves inside without fail."
"Good. Everyone already knows why I've called you here. Just yesterday, the Germans came for more of our people."
"Damn those Germans! They shouldn't be coming again so soon. It's not time yet. Since last year, we've already lost so many—Bark, Momoyos, Karlrugu…" Clalulu didn't know math, but he remembered everyone who had disappeared.
Normally, East Africa conducted forced conscription (called "blood tax") at the end of the month. But this time, needing extra labor for railroad construction, they began earlier, issuing new quotas—triggering an eruption of resistance among the Shona people in Zimbabwe.
But with the fate of the Ndebele fresh in their memory, the Shona knew they had no chance against East Africa's military. Moreover, the East Africans had deliberately fragmented Shona tribal lands into smaller administrative units, making organized resistance impossible.
Thus, isolated villages like Bakora decided the only option was escape.
"Chief, which direction do we flee?"
"The Germans control the north and the south. We can only go west!"
The villagers didn't base this on logic—but on observation. The Germans had arrived from the north and pushed southward. So both directions were dangerous.
As for the east—Dar es Salaam and Mombasa lay in that direction. German supply caravans often came through Bulawayo. It was too risky.
"But chief, the west is barren. Hunters from our village have gone there before. They say it's even drier than Bakora."
"Dry is good. It means the Germans won't bother sending people there. We'll do the opposite of what they expect."
With their direction set, the villagers fled into the night. And early on, the escape went smoothly. Just as they'd guessed, East Africa had deployed very few personnel to the Kalahari Basin.
As East Africa began aggressively rounding up labor for railroad construction, Zimbabwe bore the brunt of exploitation. Already thinly populated—under a million people (3.69 million in 1960)—Zimbabwe now faced demands for 100,000 conscripts for a single infrastructure project.
Previously, East Africa had been rotating forced laborers monthly from Zimbabwe, referring to the conscription as "blood tax." But now that labor wasn't being returned, panic erupted among the Shona. Rumors swirled wildly through their communities.
Beginning in March, over a hundred escape attempts occurred. Nearly 90% of the Shona population joined in a massive exodus.
They surged across the plains like floods, traveling in masses of tens of thousands, mingled with herds of animals that became their food source.
It was a surreal sight—great migrations of beasts and men, both fleeing in all directions. At its peak, over 300,000 people poured into the countryside, heading northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest—anywhere to get away.
By the time East Africa realized what was happening, it was too late. Manpower was stretched thin in Zimbabwe. The region became a leaky sack—leaking people in all directions.
The east saw the largest exodus—over 100,000 fled toward Mozambique and other tribal kingdoms.
East Africa managed to recapture around 100,000, enough to fill its labor quota for railroad construction. The remaining escapees disappeared into Mozambique or trickled into the Kalahari Basin. Some wandered into other East African territories. Only a small number followed the Okavango River into Namibia or Angola.
The Shona "Great Escape" was triggered by more than just the "blood tax." The East Africans also imposed harsh agricultural policies—forcing the Shona to settle and farm.
For a people used to herding and hunting, this was disastrous. They lacked both tools and knowledge. Agricultural labor was physically demanding and mind-numbingly repetitive. Hunting was dangerous, yes, but it was free.
The mass escape awakened East Africa to the need for a larger strategy: relocating Zimbabwe's native population en masse, keeping them away from sensitive border zones like Mozambique.
And as for East Africa's supposed innocence regarding Mozambique—no one believed it. They simply hadn't gotten around to annexing it yet.
Mozambique (and the nearby tribal kingdoms) still had around two million native inhabitants. If East Africa eventually conquered Mozambique, it would need to "cleanse" the area of these populations.
That meant more work, and the Zimbabwean escapees entering Mozambique would only make future "cleanups" costlier.
Oddly enough, if natives fled west to Angola or further into West Africa, East Africa welcomed it.
Why didn't East Africa worry about Angola? Because from Angola, the natives could flee even further into West Africa—where they'd become someone else's problem.
Mozambique, by contrast, was surrounded on three sides by East Africa. Only its east opened to the sea. East Africa's preferred strategy was expulsion, not extermination. But there were limits—you couldn't just drive people into the ocean.
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