Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 431 East African Company Sets Sail
East African Company on the Red Sea

The East African company's headquarters is located in Asmara, more than 640 kilometers away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It is located in the heart of the Eritrean plateau oasis and is surrounded by large tracts of arable land with good natural conditions.

Asmara is located on a plateau along the Red Sea. The average annual temperature is around 18 to 24 degrees Celsius. The climate is mild, with an annual rainfall of 850 mm and sufficient sunlight, making it suitable for agricultural production.

Asmara is about 60 kilometers away from the Red Sea. The port on the sea is called Dinghai Port. It is an excellent port area with an environmentally friendly cape. The water is deep and the sea is wide, which is suitable for large ocean-going ships to berth.

this day

There are more than a dozen large ships moored at the Dinghai Port wharf and anchorage, and many small boats are coming and going. Vehicles loading and unloading cargoes are shuttling back and forth at the wharf, creating a busy scene.

On one side of the dock, thousands of black-clad laborers wearing dungarees were working hard. They were paving the dock square with gravel and stone powder, and finally laying large boulders on it, tamping and grouting the joints.

A long breakwater was built along the bay, and a reinforced concrete pier extended from the breakwater, extending far into the sea.

This piece of land, which belongs to the East African Company, has been under construction for more than a year and is still under construction.

The continuous construction of docks, piers, warehouses, roads and fortresses has created a port with a strong cargo handling capacity on the shores of the Red Sea, showing a majestic figure.

The East African Company mobilized more than 100,000 black people to participate in the construction, not only of Dinghai Port, but also of a wide and smooth road leading to Asmara. Roadside trees extending into the distance were built on both sides of the road, which was compacted with stone powder, loess and fly ash to allow heavy-loaded carriages to pass freely.

In the warehouse area deep in Dinghai Port, there are rows of tall warehouses. The foundations underneath are all made of solid stone slabs, and carriages can enter the warehouses directly through the slopes.

These infrastructures were built with huge investments from the Royal Fund, and the rights and interests of the docks also belong to companies affiliated with the Royal Fund.

On the other side of the warehouse area is the bustling Dinghai Town. Along both sides of the cross street in the town, there are many Chinese houses and shops, most of which are two- or three-story brick and stone structures, showing a clear Victorian style.

The shops are rich in goods and have a wide variety of products, attracting many merchants from the surrounding area wearing Arab robes to come and patronize them, and business is quite brisk.

Dinghai Port is located on the Eurasian shipping route, with frequent cargo ships coming and going. Bulk materials are often unloaded at Dinghai Port, making it the place where all kinds of commercial goods are transported from the south to the north, from food to drinks to daily necessities.

As a result, this place became a distribution center for goods from neighboring Yemen, Jeddah, Sudan, and Ethiopia, attracting merchants from all over the world and rapidly prospering.

There are about five to six thousand Chinese residents in Dinghai Port, and there are more than a dozen quarries in the surrounding area. There are many houses under construction, and the town is expanding rapidly.

In a large house in the town center
Corning, the Governor of the East African Company, summoned several key directors to discuss the recent turbulent situation in the Red Sea and how to deal with it.

Across the Red Sea is Jeddah on the Arabian Peninsula and Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, which was a frontier province of the Ottoman Empire and also a British protectorate.

Facing a full-scale siege by the Tsarist Russian army, the regional situation was inevitably turbulent, people were in panic, bandits and thieves were everywhere, and the public security situation became even worse.

Director Wang Xuemao was the main deputy. He was now a plump, white man with gold-rimmed glasses. He drank his tea slowly and said:

"Governor, Xuemao believes that the impact of the regional unrest has not yet affected our East African Company. As long as we handle it wisely, we may be able to turn a bad situation into a good one."

"Lord Wang, what you said makes a lot of sense. Let's talk about it."

"No matter how chaotic the situation on the other side of the Red Sea is, we will continue to do what we need to do. If you want guns, food, or oil, feel free to exchange them for real money. Arab women and horses are also acceptable. But if you act recklessly here, you will be punished with death."

"Hahahaha... Indeed. But the defense of Chinese villages and towns needs to be strengthened, and daily military training must not be relaxed, lest we allow the enemy to take advantage."

"Please rest assured, Governor. All Chinese villages and towns have organized militias to patrol and arrest any suspicious persons on a daily basis. It is impossible to survive outside of our Chinese settlements."

"Well, always being prepared is the best way to go."

Governor Corning was still very confident in the East African Company's preventive measures and nodded in satisfaction.

The leading figures of the East African Company were mostly colonial officials who were good at construction and development. In just over a year, the Eritrea region was built to a very decent standard.

The more than 60-kilometer stretch from Dinggang to Asmara is the main resettlement area for Chinese immigrants. Most of the Chinese villages and towns are located along the surrounding areas. They have begun to steadily produce wheat, sorghum, soybeans and some vegetables, solving the problem of food self-sufficiency.

With the arrival of more Chinese immigrants, large tracts of land are being opened up and a wider variety of crops are being planted to meet the needs of local residents and the supply needs of ships.

These Chinese immigrants enslaved local black slaves, built roads and canals, and established villages, forming large areas of reclamation areas and bringing about earth-shaking changes to the local area.

Chinese immigrants in every village and town quickly adapted to the local climate and environment after arriving.

They organized themselves into armed village militias and cavalry units, which routinely searched the surrounding area, captured escaped slaves and strangers, and threw them into the quarries to perform hard labor. Apart from the Chinese who lived in the area on a daily basis, the rest were indigenous black tribal populations that needed to be suppressed.

As for the black indigenous tribal population wandering around the area, we caught them one by one, and killed them on the spot if they dared to escape or resist, without any hesitation.

An average Chinese family owned a dozen to more than 20 black slaves, who were used to cultivate the land, raise livestock, and build houses, working almost non-stop every day.

These Chinese families would also buy Arab women to start families and have children, forming a unique Chinese family structure in Eritrea.

As a result, Arab women and horses became hard currency in Eritrea and could be exchanged for food and other supplies from the Chinese, making them very popular.

Current stage
The number of Chinese in Eritrea is still relatively small. There are about 1.32 Chinese in the entire East African company. It is in a stage of rapid increase and the resettlement capacity has also been greatly enhanced.

Many cargo ships from the Chu State would carry some Chinese immigrant passengers on the Eurasian route, some with three to two hundred people, and some with four to five hundred people. This meant they could earn some fees along the way, which brought a steady stream of Chinese immigrants to the East African company.

Governor Corning waved his hand, and his men naturally brought up a wooden shelf with a map of the Red Sea coast on it. He summoned all the directors to study it.

Governor Corning pointed to the Red Sea coast southeast of Dinghai Port and said:

“Everyone, please look at the map.

Based on the recent field surveys by the geographical survey team, three locations along the Red Sea coast were selected as the best ones for the construction of new towns.

The Governor named them Mingyue City, Cape Bay Port and Djibouti respectively, which just cover the Red Sea coast of about 700 kilometers and will form a continuous Chinese city.

Relying on these new colonial cities, the prototypes of a series of new towns of our East African company will be formed, which will give us more comprehensive control over the Eritrea region and also help enhance the East African company's immigration resettlement capabilities.

These places are all located in oases, and the farming conditions in the inland hinterland are better, suitable for independent development.

In the initial stage, the focus will be on building coastal ports, connecting new towns through sea transportation, and implementing effective resource allocation.

Later plans include building a road connecting the towns, running along the Red Sea coast from Djibouti to Asmara, connecting all the cities along the Red Sea coast.

The long-term plan is to build a Red Sea railway, but that will be many years in the future.

If our East African company wants to grow into a large colonial company with more than 10 employees, it is imperative to continuously develop new towns and enhance the ability to settle Chinese immigrants.

Only when the population increases, the strength grows, and the new colonial towns prosper and develop, can the East African Company become truly powerful and become the forward base for the kingdom to colonize Africa.

Dear colleagues,
You and I want to accomplish something brilliant here, to be recognized and commended by His Majesty. The opportunity to make great achievements is right before our eyes."

Governor Corning was indeed a pragmatist who made his career in colonial affairs. The new town plan he proposed was highly feasible and necessary.

Just a few words excited the blood of the leading figures of the East African Company.

Wang Xuemao nodded directly and said, "Please rest assured, Governor. Since we have come to the East African Company to contribute our strength and achieve something great, we will naturally not lag behind others and will do our best. I like the name Mingyue City, and Xuemao claims this new town. If we do not do it well, I am willing to accept punishment."

"Okay, with Brother Xuemao taking action, this Governor is naturally relieved."

"Then I'll go to Jiaowan Port. I was originally in charge of the construction of Dinghai Port, so I'm familiar with the area. But the Governor-General, please don't be partial when it comes to material resources!"

"Hahahaha... Don't worry, we have the Royal Fund behind us. All the important construction materials, such as steel and cement, will be shipped from Europe. You won't be short of anything."

"That's good. Since they've claimed Mingyue City and Cape Bay Port respectively, I'll go to Djibouti. Other issues won't be a big deal, but we must have at least 2,000 people."

"Rest assured, my colleagues. This Governor will take care of the logistics for you. All new Chinese immigrants will be assigned to new towns first, and black laborers will also be assigned first. There will definitely be no shortage of labor."

Governor Corning laughed heartily and agreed readily. The atmosphere in the East African Company was very good. Everyone from top to bottom was actively working on their business and was full of energy.

The local government had no profit requirements for the East African Company and had ample construction funds. Many large companies under the royal fund invested in docks and ports, which greatly alleviated the financial pressure on the East African Company.

With such strong support, why worry about not achieving great things?

(End of this chapter)