Chapter 519: One Million Black Slaves
Over the next few days, students from Second Secondary School continued their labor program. According to schedule, East Africa's practical curriculum was divided into three categories: manual labor, draft-animal labor, and industrial labor, spanning one day, two days, and a half-day respectively.
Manual labor referred to work typically done by East African Black slaves—using primitive tools to carry out various agricultural tasks, relying entirely on human strength.
Draft-animal labor involved the use of oxen and horses, or hand tools. These methods significantly reduced human labor, though still centered around manpower.
Industrial labor referred to mechanized agriculture, though no country in the world had fully mechanized farming yet—so this part of the curriculum relied mostly on imagination.
That meant the final half-day was still a theory class, and since students would go home for break in the afternoon, this schedule made sense.
That afternoon, students returned to school, and their teachers summarized the activity.
"The stages of this course reflect the evolution of productivity—from human to mechanical labor—and demonstrate how technology greatly enhances agricultural efficiency…"
The aim was to give students a tangible appreciation for technological progress and inspire enthusiasm for science. Ernst's vision was for East African society to embrace scientific advancement as a core value.
In truth, East Africans weren't particularly enthusiastic about science—especially the older generation and new immigrants, many of whom came from underdeveloped or deeply religious regions. Compared to science, they often had more faith in spirits and deities.
…
While students enjoyed their practical training at the farm, East Africa's nationwide hydraulic infrastructure project was fully underway, and Mbeya City was no exception.
Situated on the northern shore of Lake Malawi, Mbeya had to participate in the centrally coordinated waterworks plan.
In the agricultural zone south of the city, over ten thousand Black laborers were digging three main canals stretching into the city's outskirts.
German hydraulic engineer Stephan watched them work and remarked, "This land, the ancestral homeland of Black Africans, is now conquered by the Germans. And the entire burden of East Africa's astonishing engineering projects has fallen on this massive Black workforce. I imagine the Central Railway was built the same way."
His colleague, Richard, replied, "Railroads don't actually require that many workers. But once you include related industries, sure, the numbers go up. From what I know, East Africa imported most of its steel from us and Austria-Hungary in previous years—including large quantities of railway tracks. Those were originally part of massive orders from European rail companies, but the economic crisis caused them to collapse. East Africa got it all on the cheap."
Stephan nodded. "You're right. Railway construction doesn't compare to this massive waterworks project. I heard they're planning to use over a million Black laborers—honestly, that sounds insane. Aren't they afraid of a slave revolt?"
Richard said, "You haven't been here long. You still see East Africa on the surface. In truth, its immigrant population is far larger than people think. I've worked in many regions, and some areas are densely populated—especially the big cities. But most people live in rural areas. I suspect East Africa's total population exceeds eight million—maybe even ten million. That's a lot, even by European standards."
Stephan asked, "You're not counting the Blacks, right?"
"Of course not. East Africa has enough white population to suppress any Black revolt. If the Blacks try anything, they don't stand a chance."
"So East Africa is built on full-scale racial oppression? Everyone's complicit?"
"Just like the early days of the United States."
"That's different. American Blacks are free now."
Richard countered, "They were only freed because white people allowed it. Without Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, those slaves could never have risen up against their Southern masters. In East Africa, it's totally different. Everyone accepts the value generated by Black labor as their rightful entitlement."
Stephan said, "That's because East Africa is trapped in a feudal mindset. Most of its immigrants come from pre-modern societies and don't care about freedom, democracy, or equality. They just obey their monarch—the Hechingen royal family. I dare say East Africa is the most autocratic, most feudal country on Earth today."
Richard joked, "So you want to be East Africa's Voltaire?"
Stephan chuckled, "No, I'm not that noble. I just want to collect my East African paycheck and go back to Europe in style. I wouldn't want to live under this kind of regime."
Richard nodded. "Exactly. Unless you're East African, once you've seen how Europe lives, most intellectuals would rather stay in Europe."
This massive water project had mobilized over 700,000 Black slaves across the country. Mbeya was also upgrading its irrigation along Lake Malawi's shoreline.
Despite their vast size and abundant freshwater, East Africa's three major lakes weren't easy to utilize.
Because the lakes were located in low-lying basins, their proximity allowed for short-range irrigation, but reaching distant farmland was much harder. It was a case of resources being concentrated in one area.
While abundant water was a good thing, you couldn't just look at the average—East Africa's three lakes contained most of the region's freshwater. But without electric pumps or plastic pipes, much of that water was unusable.
Thus, to make the most of it, East Africa had to construct lift systems and irrigation canals. The three main power sources were human labor, steam engines, and windmills.
Human power was inefficient and ruled out. Steam pumps were too expensive and fuel-hungry for widespread use—better suited to arid areas. So wind power was chosen for large-scale deployment.
Each lake had its own basin and inflowing rivers, and those rivers could also be used.
But rivers flow from high to low, while East Africa wanted to reverse that—pulling lake water uphill to irrigate farmlands. That meant the canals would have to be cut deeper and wider as they ascended, starting from the lakes.
In essence, this was a plan to dig artificial canal networks around the lakes—a colossal undertaking. Even with a million Black laborers, it was barely enough to make a dent.
If Ernst completed this plan, he could surpass even the great Emperor Yang of Sui. But unlike Yang, Ernst wouldn't lose his throne.
Emperor Yang fell due to clashes with aristocratic families and failure to suppress peasant revolts. But Ernst's backing came from immigrants. It was the East African Blacks who were suffering now—and their rebellion would amount to nothing.
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