Chapter 278: A 3,000-Kilometer Journey
In what was once southwestern Congo (DRC) in another era, along the Kwango River:
Under the command of General Merck, the West Army of East Africa, alongside Msiri's auxiliary forces, had arrived here without a hitch.
The Kwango River is a tributary of the Congo River, originating on Angola's Lunda Plateau, merging with the Kassai River, and finally joining the Congo. The Kassai is the Congo's largest left-bank tributary, with main branches including the Sankuru, Tshimbé, Tshikapa, Kwilu, and Kwango. This is a region dense in waterways, with significant altitude drops and abundant hydro resources.
But now, in this timeline, the Kwango forms the boundary between the East African Kingdom on one side and the Kongo Kingdom plus the Angolan colony's forces on the other.
"Having secured the right bank of the Kwango, our mission here is basically complete. Msiri, my friend, we appreciate your cooperation. We in East Africa will provide you and your people with the promised migration help," Merck said.
He held a pencil and, on his map, drew a red line along the Kwango River's course. Several other rivers flowing north-south were marked similarly. Kwango was the last one.
Msiri was well prepared for this. He didn't mind most of it, but there was one thing he couldn't help mentioning: "Mr. Merck, that's all fine, but can East Africa supply me with a few more cigarettes and liquor?"
Thanks to East Africa's deliberate grooming, Msiri had finally succumbed to alcoholism and chain-smoking.
"Of course! That's easy. We'll send you a free batch, though afterward you'll need to purchase more," Merck answered.
"No problem," Msiri agreed.
What East Africa called "payment" essentially meant precious metals, animal hides, and any local specialties of real value. For Msiri, that wasn't an issue.
"So, Mr. Merck, could you remind me where exactly you plan to settle us?" Though Msiri knew East Africa had a set route for his kingdom, he didn't know the exact location—only that it was up north.
"Take a look." Merck spread out his map for Msiri. "Here is East Africa; we're here right now. Your kingdom is down here. You'll move all the way eastward to this lake area (Lake Tanganyika), then travel by boat to Bujumbura. From there you'll swing northwest, crossing the north of East Africa, and finally reaching this place—we in East Africa call it 'Cameroon.'"
Msiri stared at the map with dismay. This wasn't at all what he'd imagined. It was so incredibly far. Normally, African tribal migrations weren't unusual, but typically they moved from their original locale to a neighboring region. Merck was showing a route that detoured around the entire Congo rainforest in a massive arc.
Although Msiri was unfamiliar with maps, he had been following Merck and watching him consult them often, so he grasped some basics. He had once asked Merck about his own kingdom's location, and Merck's finger on the map—no bigger than a thumb—indicated its entire territory, whereas East Africa itself was a huge palm-sized expanse. By now, East Africa was even bigger.
Seeing Msiri's concern, Merck reassured him: "Yes, it's a long way, but not too bad—only a bit over 3,000 kilometers. There's water transport part of the way, so it won't take forever."
Msiri wasn't sure how far 3,000 kilometers was, but he could see from the map that this route would be the distance of multiple circuits around his old Yeke kingdom. Still, if East Africa was covering food costs along the way, he could put up with it. He then asked: "Cameroon… what's the environment like there?"
"It's about the same as here—maybe a bit rainier, nothing drastically different. Plus, the natives there aren't strong. You can go back to being a king among them," Merck said.
Msiri looked doubtful: "If it's so nice, why didn't you East Africans take it over yourselves?"
Merck laughed. "East Africa's already at its limit. We still have huge amounts of land undeveloped, so we can't manage somewhere that distant. And I'll be frank: our goal is to clear out local tribes here. If you hadn't cooperated with us, you'd likely have ended up like the tribes we've already crushed. So migrating north is best—you'll be out of our hair."
Though the words were blunt, Msiri silently acknowledged the truth—he'd been wise to side with East Africa. One last question hovered: "Mr. Merck, you're sure the local natives up there are weak? You're not deceiving me?"
"Of course not, Mr. Msiri. You've traveled the East African grasslands before, so you know how those tribes were. By comparison, your Yeke kingdom was practically a symbol of civilization. Cameroon's basically at that same level. And you've got firearms now, whereas they're still using spears and bows. You won't be telling me that you, with guns, can't beat them."
"I see," Msiri said, regaining his confidence. With a thousand men armed with firearms, plus several thousand more fighters, his Yeke kingdom could surely subjugate the natives in Cameroon.
"Mr. Merck, just one more question," Msiri added. "Once my kingdom arrives in this Cameroon, how do we acquire your goods afterward?"
He noticed on the map that Cameroon looked pretty far from East Africa, practically cut off by intervening lands.
"That's easy," Merck replied. "You can send a caravan whenever you want and inform our border personnel. It's just trade—we in East Africa welcome that. And if you drop your name, Msiri, you might get a bit of a discount for old times' sake."
Unlike East Africa's seacoast "closed zone," East Africa practices free trade in the interior. Their advantage in industry is so great that through small manufactured goods from the Hechingen (East African) factories, they can obtain from African chiefs all manner of resources East Africa needs.
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