CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 274 "OLD FRIEND

In a former life, within the Central African Republic, the Azande Plateau.

Mubre, a fortress built along the terrain, appears quite rudimentary, casually piled up with stones. However, passing through this place isn’t easy. A lone defender might not hold it against ten thousand men, but a single platoon could certainly manage it. If a few machine guns were mounted, perhaps seventy percent of African nations in a past life wouldn’t be able to get through.

Here lies a military outpost built by the East Africa Northern Road Army, and now a large group of African natives are passing through with their belongings.

Compared to the Southern Road Army, the Northern Road Army’s battlefield is quite lively, covering both the southern part of Southern Sudan and the Azande Plateau.

The Azande Plateau is located in central Africa, serving as a watershed between the Congo Basin, Chad Basin, and the upper basin of the Nile River. In the middle of the plateau is an east-west ridge-shaped mountain, over 800 kilometers long, with many passes forming crucial north-south transportation routes.

This matches perfectly with the former Central African Republic situated here. If Africa’s internal economy were developed, the Central African Republic could at least have earned the title of Africa’s crossroad. Even setting aside economic value, the Azande Plateau holds significant military value, threatening both East Africa and West Africa, the two regions with the best agricultural conditions in Africa.

The Azande Plateau itself is not lacking, with temperatures and rainfall slightly higher than those of East Africa. If Ernst were to evaluate it, it would be comparable to the Nanyang Basin.

Its strategic position is outstanding, crucial for north-south transportation, rich in gemstones. The Central African Republic has diamonds, and Nanyang boasts Asia’s largest reserves of red beryl, China’s top kyanite, and rutile deposits. Nanyang City within the basin is also renowned for its jade carving industry, being one of the Far East’s three carving towns. Both areas are abundant in gold, with rich forestry resources and arable lands, as well as oil and radioactive mineral deposits.

In short, while the two regions appear to have mediocre resource endowments, suitable for agricultural development, their strategic significance makes them indispensable parts of their respective areas.

The Central African Republic’s mineral resources seem promising, boasting both gold and diamonds. However, these are too common in Sub-Saharan Africa, found almost everywhere within today’s East Africa. Other than oil, other minerals lack significant value mainly due to their inadequate quantity. For instance, iron ore deposits in other parts of East Africa are measured in hundreds of millions of tons, while the Central African Republic has just millions, making it a resource-poor nation in both Africa and the world.

Of course, this might be due to insufficient resource exploration.

...

Watching the endless stream of people, Rhodes, a platoon leader of the East African Army, remarked, "These Burundians really have poor luck. They should have moved further west back then; otherwise, they wouldn’t be suffering twice now."

"Haha, according to our frontline intelligence, among the eight native kingdoms, only the Buganda Kingdom ran the farthest. It’s said they’ve re-established their kingdom near a Great Lakes Region in the southwest and seem to have connected with Libyan Ottoman merchants through caravans, procuring a significant amount of firearms and breaking new ground," Deputy Lieutenant Viss said.

The Great Lake that Viss mentioned is Lake Chad. Migrating from the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) to Lake Chad is indeed a challenge for the Bugandans, but now the advantage is evident: they don’t need to migrate a second time like the other native states in the Great Lakes Region.

"Muset I did have some strategic foresight. During the northwest campaign, he thought of fleeing west, while his eldest son, who sided with the Egyptians, is now unheard of. He is unlikely to reappear if nothing unexpected happens."

Muset I was the king of the Buganda Kingdom who fled, choosing a different path from the then-crown prince of Buganda.

The Buganda crown prince initially received preferential treatment from the Sultan’s local officials in Egypt, but after East Africa cleared the Bugandan population, his unified front value vanished. With no Bugandans left, the so-called Buganda crown prince became redundant. After the Egyptians looted the treasures he took with him, they drove him out to the Sahara Desert to survive on his own.

"The eight kingdoms of the northwest fared well. It’s just that the local natives they defeated were a bit foolish. Seeing our army, the people from the northwest eight would either surrender or flee directly, yet they dared oppose us."

"Though the northwest eight were defeated by our East Africa, they weren’t weak themselves; they could easily crush these native tribes on the Azande Plateau."

During their conversation, people from the Burundi Kingdom had already passed through, with a Black man trailing at the end, stepping forward to bid farewell to Rhodes and Viss.

"Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Viss, thank you for your care!" the Black man said.

"Hahaha, you’re welcome, Chief Romrom. Your Burundi Kingdom has been our old friend. It’s quite touching to meet old acquaintances here. As you head west this time, as a friend, I give you one piece of advice: the farther you go, the better. Keep heading in the direction of the setting sun, and if you encounter others like us with weapons in hand, don’t panic, immediately change direction and head northwest." Rhodes said, patting the gun in his hand.

Rhodes had participated in the northwest campaign, the first conquest war, and had dealings with the Burundians, claiming himself to be the Burundis’ "old friend" and giving a small recommendation to these new kings of the Burundi Kingdom.

Rhodes’ advice, albeit well-intentioned, frightened Romrom, who asked, "Are there more of your people to the east?"

"Of course not, but it’s close. However, they might be even more difficult to deal with than us in East Africa. If you encounter them, just run, head northwest. But don’t worry too much, as long as you don’t reach the edge of the sea, you won’t encounter them."

Rhodes was referring to other colonists on the West African coast, which was also a kind reminder, with the northwest indicating the West African hinterland.

"Mr. Rhodes, thank you for the reminder. I will lead the citizens directly northwest from here. Let’s part ways here!" Romrom replied, and indeed, he did as he said, migrating the Burundi Kingdom further west to the southwestern region of the former Niger, transforming from an East African into a West African country.

During the last war, the Burundi Kingdom had already perished, but its remnants gathered on the Azande Plateau and elected the third son of the former king as the new King of Burundi, Romrom.

At just 16 years old, Romrom led the Burundians across the eastern savannas of the Azande Plateau, raiding for women and wealth, and the Burundi Kingdom thrived once more.

But the good days didn’t last long. Before the Burundi Kingdom could enjoy its prosperity, the East Africans returned. Having experienced extinction, Romrom knew the Burundi Kingdom was no match for the East African Kingdom. Thus, he directly negotiated with the northern road army of the East African Kingdom, offering to yield land but asking for time for the Burundi Kingdom.

The East African Kingdom agreed, leading to the scene of the Burundians’ migration from here. Other native kingdoms fleeing the Great Lakes Region to the Azande Plateau followed suit.

Thus, the Northern Road Army’s region seemed bustling, witnessing a grand migration of natives, with these Black people retracing the routes their ancestors once spread out over the whole of Africa, returning to the West African homeland.

The migration of these kingdoms will cause significant historical shifts in West Africa. For instance, Burundi, Rwanda, and Buganda all became West African nations, which Ernst found fascinating, curious about these three countries’ trajectories once they reached West Africa.