War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Chapter 694 Tanzania Colony

In East Africa, under Franz's personal control, the Austrian Empire's Tanzania colony finally got better.

With a large number of Indian Dalits being transported to the colony, the problem of severe labor shortage was finally solved.

Language barriers are fatal to most officials in the world. If left alone, administrative efficiency will be infinitely close to zero.

However, this situation is very common in the Austrian Empire, so even if there is a language barrier, it will not be to the extent that all actions cannot be carried out.

In fact, there are translators in the Tanzanian Governor's District, but the number is not large. Most of them are believers who have developed in India over the years, so the risk of being pitted by translators is minimized.

However, it is a bit nonsense to talk about ethnic equality in the colonies of this era. It is still the old routine of free people in theocracy.

These Dalits (untouchables) are not slaves, but they are in debt and need to use labor in exchange for food and freedom.

However, Franz still underestimated the impact of Hinduism and the caste system on these Indian untouchables. At first, these people worked very hard, so hard that they died of exhaustion directly under the hot sun in Africa.

These people had no objection to picking cotton on their knees, and some even didn't care even if their knees were rubbed bloody.

At first, the colonial officials in Tanzania reported to Franz with great enthusiasm that these "black slaves" were so useful! He had never seen such hard-working and cheap labor.

(Dalits have relatively dark skin, but their faces are Asian-style and very different from black people.)

But soon these Dalits began to die in large numbers, which caused panic among colonial officials.

In fact, Franz, who was far away in Vienna, was also very puzzled. He was actually ready to fight wits and courage with these Dalits.

Because the Japanese in California had taught him a lesson before, Franz couldn't help but think of Kikuchiyo's famous comment on Japanese farmers in "Seven Samurai":

"Japanese farmers are the most cunning. They don't give rice when asked for, and they say they don't have wheat when asked for. In fact, they have everything. Lift up the floor and take a look. If it's not underground, it's in the storage room. You will definitely find a lot of things, such as rice, salt, beans, and wine.

Go to the depths of the valley and take a look. There are hidden rice fields. They are honest on the surface, but they are the best at lying. They will lie about everything!

When a war breaks out, they kill the remnants and rob weapons. Listen! The so-called Japanese farmers are the most stingy, the most cunning, the cowardly, the bad-hearted, the stupid, and the murderous ghosts."

Franz originally planned to let the Japanese supplement the labor force of low-end industries. Farming is the main business of these guys.

Franz felt that there would be no problem with the professional match. Ask yourself, whether it is marine transportation or the supply of rations, these Japanese immigrants have never been treated unfairly.

And it's just farming, what else can go wrong?

It really happened. The yield of farmland managed by Japanese immigrants in California dropped by 70%, which was even worse than a natural disaster.

At first, the colonial government in California was still looking for excuses because the matter was too outrageous and was afraid that Vienna would not believe it.

Franz also had informants in California. After he got the news, he directly ordered the California government to search the houses of those Japanese immigrants.

As a result, a large amount of agricultural products and wine were found. During the period, some people even got muskets from nowhere to prepare for resistance.

However, the colonial army of the Austrian Empire was too experienced in dealing with such scattered soldiers and quickly eliminated the resistance forces.

At the same time, because the agricultural areas in California were all great plains, the Japanese could not escape even if they wanted to. They could only be chased up and killed by cavalry after they were exhausted.

In the end, the harvest season turned into a blood sacrifice. More than 15,000 Japanese immigrants were killed, but Franz found a new use for Japanese immigrants.

In East Africa, Franz also did not expect these Dalits to be much stronger than the Japanese. But the news from Tanzania surprised him.

Austrian colonists in Tanzania had no choice but to divide them into several groups and use the method of working half a day and resting half a day to reduce the death of laborers.

In the end, the church investigation team found out the truth. The working model of the Austrian Empire's colonies and the colonists' attitude towards Dalits are very similar to a promotion ceremony in the Hindu branch.

According to legend, if the lowest Dalits accumulate enough merits, they will have the opportunity to be taken across the Styx by Brahma's priests. They will have the opportunity to worship the gods, so that they can be reincarnated into a higher class after death to enjoy the prosperity of the world.

(Dalits are normally not allowed to worship gods.)

That's right, it's just that they get what they work for, so this group of people mistakenly regard Tanzania as heaven.

But not all Dalits have this belief, only the untouchables in the Karaka region have such legends.

However, Franz is not going to really use these people to death. Although it is convenient to transport from India to Tanzania, it is not in line with his philosophy.

These Dalits are easy to control and have no self-esteem at all. They do whatever the officials of the Tanzanian colony tell them to do.

In terms of learning ability, they are far better than the local blacks. If Hendri Vandermeer saw the work efficiency of these Dalits and was not paralyzed, he would have jumped up and cursed.

The Dalits soon got used to life in East Africa. It was hot here, and the sunshine was strong. If they were white people in Europe, they would easily get sunburned or even suffer from heat stroke and dehydration.

However, this was nothing for the Dalits who lived in harsh environments all year round. In fact, the temperature in southern India was much higher than that in Tanzania, and it was above 40 degrees all year round in summer.

In contrast, the days in Tanzania were as relaxing as a vacation for these Dalits.

The most important thing was the rice that they would never eat in their lifetime, and they could not finish it here.

Austrians rarely eat rice, and when they do, they eat it as a dish, so this is a bargain for the Dalits.

It was also very easy to manage the Dalits. Even if the colonial officials drew a circle on the ground, those people would sleep and shit in it directly, and would never leave for half a step, let alone escape.

But Franz would never let them sleep in the circle. The officials of the Tanzanian colony directed the Dalit workers to build a house for themselves.

Every morning, a whistle sounded, and the Dalits would get up. Then when the third whistle blows, they will be gathered together for dinner.

After dinner, these people will follow the colonial officials to work, and the specific work is completely determined by demand.

Of course, some people who show talent in planting do not have to run around, they are responsible for taking care of the farmland.

Another point is that although these Dalits behaved submissively when facing the colonists of the Austrian Empire, they always hit hard against the local black uncles.

Franz later analyzed that they may have finally found a guy who is darker than themselves.

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