Chapter 1197: Chapter 206: Taking All
In fact, the Sahara railway is a completely feasible project, at least, Ernst is very clear in his heart. After all, in the past life, the railway in Egypt and Sultanate was continuous, and in this timeline, East Africa has already extended the railway to Jezira City. So as long as Egypt and the United Kingdom are dealt with, there is no obstacle to completing this railway.
Connecting to the Mediterranean through Egypt is the easiest route, thanks entirely to the existence of the Nile River. If other regions are chosen, for example, construction in Libya, the difficulty and economic benefits would deter East Africa.
The distance is not only long, but the climatic conditions are harsher, and there is no densely populated area along the Nile River to recover costs.
Of course, if mineral resources are involved, it’s a different story. This is not without precedent; in a previous life, Mauritania built a railway deep into the Sahara Desert to develop its iron ore resources.
So Ernst did not completely dismiss the possibility of other routes. He told the government leaders: "Taking the Libyan route is also possible, but the premise is that Libya has resources that are tempting enough for us."
"Although the economic and population distribution in the Libyan region is mainly along the northern coast, this does not mean that the vast desert inland in Libya lacks resources."
"After all, the Libyan region covers over a million square kilometers. With such a large area of land, even if it’s a desert, it surely harbors rich mineral deposits."
In fact, Ernst’s assertion is entirely correct. Besides oil, Libya is also very rich in iron, potash, manganese, phosphate, copper, tin, sulfur, kaolin, and other mineral reserves.
It’s just that Libya’s oil resources are so prominent that many easily overlook other mineral resources in the Libyan region, of which Ernst was one.
Of course, the difficulty of exploiting these mineral resources in the desert is obviously much greater than in other areas. After all, mining requires a considerable population, and desert areas generally lack the water resources needed for the production and life of a large population.
Ernst continued: "Libya is a French colony, but France’s control over Libya is mainly concentrated in the coastal areas. We can send experts to explore the southern part of Libya and the area bordering the Southern German Kingdom, and maybe we will be able to utilize it in the future."
Libya does not border East Africa, but it borders the Southern German Kingdom, a vassal state of East Africa. Southern German Kingdom has even annexed much of the land that previously belonged to Libya.
So if East Africa plans to build the western line of the Sahara railway in the future, it cannot bypass the Southern German Kingdom. Choosing the Sultanate route is, of course, feasible, but there is also closeness and preference between countries, and East Africa would certainly be more partial to the Southern German Kingdom.
The discussion about the "Sahara railway" ends here. Given the current international situation, geopolitical, natural environment, and other factors, it is utterly impossible for the East African government to construct the Sahara railway.
Of course, Ernst still left some suspense for some people. After all, the Sahara Desert lies to the north of East Africa, and if East Africa wants to strengthen its influence on the North African region in the future, the Sahara railway plan may not necessarily be unachievable.
Although the Sahara Desert covers a vast area, the actual construction of the Sahara railway would only be three to four thousand kilometers long. It’s not too long, and if the Egyptian route, namely the eastern line plan, is chosen, the length would only need over two thousand kilometers to be resolved.
Back to the point, the introduction of the grand idea of the Sahara railway at the East African government meeting was mainly to avoid the British restrictions on East African and European trade.
So the current top priority for the East African government is to ensure the smooth flow of shipping routes and to safeguard the interests of the East African countries as much as possible.
Ernst said: "The Sahara railway cannot solve the problem. The railway’s transport capacity is limited, and the cost is too high. The maintenance cost of operating in desert regions is especially unimaginable, and even if we intend to build this railway now, it would probably take several years. By then, the European war might be over, so it’s entirely not worth it. So everyone should think of other ways."
After all, it is the British who are not doing right. This also demonstrates the advantage of a sea power nation. By controlling several key maritime routes, Britain can effectively implement a blockade on the supplies and trade of the majority of countries.
Take East Africa’s overseas colonies for instance. Britain only needs to cut off the Malacca Strait to isolate East Africa proper from its colonies in Nanyang, Alaska, the South Pacific, etc., and can also cut off trade between East Africa and the Far East Empire.
What’s more, Britain also has Gibraltar, the Cape of Good Hope, the English Channel, the North Sea, the areas around Drake and Magellan Strait’s Malta, and many other important islands like Malta, Cyprus, and Seychelles. Coupled with the Royal Navy, this is the foundation of Britain’s position as the world overlord.
Whereas strategic sea routes like the Suez Canal, Gibraltar, and Malacca—East Africa does not control even one of them, which is why East Africa is currently quite passive.
In the past few decades, East Africa did not target these British strongholds, such as the South African war involving the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, East Africa did not aim for a definitive strike.
If these British core areas were targeted, Britain would now be at war not with Germany, but with East Africa. After all, even if the European continent were unified, at most it would severely damage Britain. But losing these strategic overseas points would utterly collapse Britain’s hegemony.
Of course, East Africa does not want to confront a then-thriving Britain either. Britain still has vast resources at its disposal, and due to centuries of accumulated power, its overseas colonies remain loyal, such as South Africa, Australia, India, and Canada, all loyal to the British cause.
If Britain used all its strength against East Africa, East Africa would definitely suffer greatly. Besides, what East Africa cannot accept is fighting to the death with Britain only to benefit America, Japan, Germany, or France, Russia at the end.
Thus destroying the old system is easy, but if East Africa is not the ultimate beneficiary, it would rather allow that old world system to continue to struggle on its last legs.
And Germany is a typical case. Now Germany is a warrior challenging the old world order, but even if Germany wins in the end, East Africa and the United States will not gain any less.
If such a scenario does happen, East Africa would certainly be the first to add insult to injury for Britain, inheriting Britain’s legacy in Egypt, India, South Africa, Australia, and around the Indian Ocean.
That would mean East Africa directly controls Eurasian trade and holds the continents of Africa and Australia. Even if Germany unifies Europe at this point, East Africa would in effect become a new British Empire.
So as long as East Africa doesn’t intervene, no matter whether the Allies or the Allies win in the end, East Africa will be the greatest beneficiary, surpassing even the United States.
After all, America at most reaps substantial economic benefits from the European war, but it cannot advance politically or territorially, which was evident even in the early stage of the war.
As the war has developed to this point, apart from gaining substantial economic benefits, East Africa has rapidly expanded its overseas territories, successfully projecting military power into West Africa, the Persian Gulf, the South Pacific, and other regions, achieving dominance in economic, political, and military spheres.
Meanwhile, the United States cannot do this. It is determined by its geographic position, for America is ultimately too far from the World Island, while in fact, Africa can also be seen as part of the World Island, after all, Africa is contiguous with the Eurasian continent, and North Africa within the Mediterranean has always been an indispensable part of Western civilization.
So if East Africa can leverage its geographic position, it is not inferior to the Middle East, the crossroads of the world. After all, being at the world’s crossroads also means being in a land of four naysayers, with pros and cons for the influence of the Middle East region, while East Africa is relatively safe and has certain transport advantages.
After East Africa has integrated its domestic resources, East Africa stands in a position where it can advance and retreat freely. At least in Ernst’s view, East Africa’s geographic position is very advantageous.
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