February 24, 1862, Germany.
Late at night, the intoxicated moon emit a faint light in the black and cold sky.
Turning to the south of Germany, the cold wind of late winter blows the branches and leaves of the trees on the roadside of the city of Hechingen, and the leaves rustle.
Through the windows of the houses on both sides of the street, it seems that people can be heard whispering.
The citizens of Hechingen are enjoying dinner time, and the light and shadow of the candlelight sway left and right in the dark rotten wood window frames like natural dancers dancing freely.
Walking forward along the road, slowly leaving the block, a road leading out of the city suddenly opened up. Along the low slope, a luxuriously decorated carriage slowly drove out of the city and headed towards the hills in the distance. On the hills stood a solemn and majestic castle.
Soon, the carriage drove to the gate of the castle. After the armed guards saw the visitor clearly, they opened the gate and the carriage slowly drove into the castle.
The person sitting in the carriage was none other than the ruler of the Hechingen region, Prince Constantine of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Hechingen was originally a small country in south-western Germany, the birthplace of the Hohenzollern family, and now it is part of the Hohenzollern Province of Prussia.
The decision maker who pushed Hechingen to join the Kingdom of Prussia was this Prince Constantine, whose full name is Constantine von Hohenzollern.
After a day of hard work, Prince Constantine finally returned home and was about to go back to his room to rest.
Suddenly, a hurried sound of footsteps came from the corridor. The visitor was the old butler Keno.
"Master, it's bad, something bad has happened!" Keno reported to Constantine in panic.
"What happened, Keno, don't be anxious, tell me slowly?" Constantine said calmly.
"Today, the Prince suddenly fainted while riding a horse. The doctor is diagnosing him now. Master, go and see him!" Keno explained hurriedly.
When he heard that it was his son who was in trouble, Constantine's majesty as a superior could not be held back. He ignored his fatigue and followed the butler to the door of his son's bedroom.
The servants were waiting in front of the door, not daring to breathe, and cautiously waiting for the arrival of the master.
Constantine didn't know what to say, so he pushed open the bedroom door and walked in. He saw his son Ernst lying on the bed.
Seeing Ernst, who had "awoke", safe and sound, Constantine finally let go of his worries. Looking at the doctor waiting beside him, Constantine asked, "Doctor, how is the situation?"
The doctor did not dare to neglect him and replied respectfully, "Your Excellency, the prince is currently fine, but the cause of the fainting is still uncertain. It is very likely caused by excessive fatigue. We should ask the Prince later."
Constantine carefully came to the bedside, held his son's tender little hand and asked, "Ernst, how do you feel?"
...
Ernst felt confused and a little depressed. When he suddenly heard someone asking him a question, he did not dare to act too deliberately. He said in a low voice, "Uh, My head feels a bit fuzzy, and I'm still not fully awake."
"Then do you remember who I am?" Prince Constantine asked anxiously.
"Of course, father, it may be the sequelae of my fainting, it should not be a big problem."
Constantine turned his head to look at the doctor, and the doctor quickly replied: "Your Excellency, don't worry too much. The prince's physical condition has been checked before. He is very healthy. You can rest for a while and observe. If there is any situation, I will follow up with treatment in time."
Looking at the dark sky outside the window, Constantine thought for a while and said: "Well, okay, you all go down! Let the prince have a good rest."
Everyone quietly left the room. The old butler closed the door when he left. Constantine, who was relieved, found that he had a cold sweat behind him. Constantine put his hand on his chest and said devoutly, "Thank God for your protection!"
Prince Ernst, as the only seedling of the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern family, has been Constantine's favorite since childhood.
Constantine had this child when he was fifty years old. Not long after Ernst was born, his wife Eugenie de Beauharnais died of a tuberculosis, so Prince Constantine was particularly fond of Prince Ernst.
Of course, in history, Constantine had no offspring. From the moment Ernst was born, the timeline of history changed, and new branches sprouted from the main branch.
At this moment, Ernst did not dare to breathe, lying on the bed like an ostrich, because only he knew that he was actually being reborn. Today, he suddenly awakened the memory of his past life, so he fainted. In his past life, he was a . Not to mention working like a slave, but he was also dead. Occasionally, he read some novels to relieve boredom and vent his emotions in the group.
Of course, Ernst has been here for twelve years, and it was only today that he knew that he has being Reincarnated. Is this considered living a new life? It feels like virgin man dreaming of a pussy cat.
Fortunately, the knowledge and common sense learned in the previous life cannot deceive me, and historical events also provide evidence, such as the dead of Napoleon the Great, who was feared by the continent, the loose German Confederation, the still developing Prussia, the still powerful Austrian Empire, and my identity as a member of the Hohenzollern family...
Speaking of the Hohenzollern family, it is very famous, but the Ernst family is somewhat different from the famous Hohenzollern of Brandenburg, Prussia. My family is a branch of the Hohenzollern family, located in the southwest of Germany in the previous life. There is also a branch of the Hohenzollern family next to it - Sigmaringen, which belongs to the Swabian branch like Hechingen which I am. This Sigmaringen happens to be known to Ernst in his shallow knowledge.
In history, there was a plot to seize the Spanish throne, and in the future there will be a Romanian emperor. In this way, except for my family, they are all prominent families with names recorded in history books.
If you want to ask why there is no Swabian Hohenzollern-hechingen, well... because the Swabian Hohenzollern-hechingen line in history has died out, but Ernst's arrival changed history.
While Ernst was still sorting out his brain circuits and memories, Constantine had come back to his senses and began to ask: "Do you feel better, Ernst?"
"Yes, father, I think I can be full of energy again after a good sleep." Ernst responded with a casual look.
Sure! Here's a simpler version of that paragraph:
"It's good that you're okay. You'll inherit the title in the future, so don't stress too much. Even if you live a carefree life, it's fine. I don't expect you to achieve a lot—just grow up healthy. Make sure to get enough rest and eat well. And don't follow those spoiled rich kids who waste their lives."
Constantine said a lot, and he stopped talking, and tucked in Ernst's quilt, told him to have a good rest, and call the servants if there was anything, and then got up and left the room.
The candlelight flickered faintly, illuminating the dark walls, and the room fell into silence.
Ernst curled up in the quilt to keep his body warmer and began to sort out his thoughts.
In his past life, Ernst had a good job and was sent to Africa to work as an engineering consultant. Life there was dull, and he often had to move around with the construction projects.
His time in Africa changed the way he saw the world. He worked in Tanzania, a country in Africa.
The days working in Tanzania made Ernst re-understand Africa. Before he went to Africa in person, under the influence of the media and news, Ernst had the impression that Africa was synonymous with backwardness, poverty, harsh natural conditions and turmoil.
But when he really worked and lived there, Ernst overturned his previous ideas. Most of the information on the Internet was generalized.
From the perspective of the environment alone, the temperature and precipitation conditions in Tanzania are better than those in his hometown, the North China Plain.
Originally, Africa was considered to be hot and unbearable. The huge tropical rainforest, the endless prairie, and the vast desert of the Sahara were deeply reflected in Ernst's mind. But when he arrived in Tanzania, Ernst found that the temperature here was between 10 and 30 degrees, neither cold nor hot. There is also abundant precipitation in the rainy season every year, and the rain and heat conditions are excellent.
Tanzania is an unknown small country. Because of work, Ernst began to get familiar with it. By searching for information on the Internet and comparing it with the actual situation, he found that this country was unexpected.
Although it is located in the tropics, it has become a livable place because of its plateau terrain, similar to the Brazilian plateau.
The land is flat, the vegetation is dense, and savannas are the majority. This has also changed my cognition, because the grasslands in Africa conflict with the grasslands in my traditional cognition.
Before seeing the savannah with his own eyes, Ernst naturally imagined the grasslands all over the world to be like the Mongolian grasslands.
But when he arrived in Africa, Ernst saw a different view. The savannah can be said to be a unique landscape combining trees and grasslands. It looks very pleasing to the eye. The water and heat conditions are far better than the Mongolian grasslands. From childhood to adulthood, the Mongolian region has been described as a bitter and cold place in the north of the country, while the savannah in Africa is a real natural paradise.
Farmers here can generally have a good harvest, and it is based on a rough planting method. The biggest distress of local farmers may be that it is difficult to get water for irrigation, and there is a lack of water conservancy projects and basic farmland irrigation systems.
The living standards of the locals are not too bad, and the rough lifestyle can also make poor Africans happy.
Because it is located in the tropical savannah, fruits and meat can be supplemented to a certain extent. In addition, the crude small peasant economy makes the living standard higher than that of farmers in the late ancient East Asian dynasties.
Of course, life attitude is also an important factor. In the past hundred years of colonial history, Westerners have forced them to move from primitive hunting lifestyle to modern society.
Africans' concepts have not changed in time, and the complex, delicate and natural survival mode of East Asians is difficult to reflect in Africa.
Industrial conditions in Africa also have a major feature. The mineral resources here are not as superior as those said on the Internet. Take Tanzania as an example.
This is a country for mining and export, but many major mineral resources are actually not as rich as imagined. There are coal, iron, copper and oil, but compared with those real resource-rich countries, there are not many.
Many resources are not ranked in the world, but because of the extremely low level of industrialization, the mining resources are rich.
In my impression, East Asia is a mineral-poor country. In fact, it is related to the high industrialization of East Asia, but compared with the actual mineral resource reserves, Tanzania is the younger brother.
In terms of coal, iron and oil, Asia has world-class mines, and even the worst oil has several well-known large oil fields.
Tanzania was also an oil-poor country before the discovery of oil on the eastern coast. But Tanzania is not a small country in people's traditional perception.
Tanzania is mainly a plateau, but the plateau is not too high, the terrain is relatively flat, and the equator passes through it, the temperature is suitable, and the precipitation is moderate, which has created a well-known agricultural country in Africa. Tanzania's comprehensive natural agricultural conditions are estimated to be second only to Nigeria in Africa.
In terms of population, Tanzania is also a standard populous country in the world. It has exceeded the 60 million population mark and is still growing rapidly. However, Tanzania still has a lot of uncultivated land, and fishery resources have not been fully developed, and the population limit is not limited to this.
As for industrial conditions, although the mineral resources are not very rich, it depends on who you compare them with. At least a group of small and medium-sized countries in Europe are far behind. If it meets the requirements of primary industrialization, it is completely sufficient. Africa's overall mineral resources are richest among all continents. The resources are concentrated in South Africa and West Africa, as well as North Africa, which has unique oil resources. Tanzania's mineral resources are also medium in Africa.
Tanzania is also good in terms of transportation. It is located on the traditional commercial route of the Indian Ocean. Dar es Salaam is one of the few well-known ports in Africa. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, it was an important world-class commercial node and the pearl of the Indian Ocean. The Oman Empire, which was on the rise in history, established a semicolon here-the Kingdom of Zanzibar.
From this, we can see that Tanzania's conditions in all aspects are not bad, so why is the level of development so low?
Before Ernst went to work in Africa, influenced by traditional media, he believed that there was only one reason for poverty in Africa: Africans were lazy and relied on the weather for food.
But after coming to Africa, Ernst found that this idea was one-sided and it was a superficial phenomenon.
A variety of factors are the source of poverty in Africa. Before the arrival of the colonists, the overall level of civilization in Africa was very low. The isolation of the Sahara Desert caused most of southern Africa to be a civilized desert. Only Ethiopia in West Africa and East Africa developed an independent civilization, which was greatly influenced by the Arabs.
The Bantu people in West Africa were the first to explore the south, but the Bantu people only developed the civilization characteristics of an early country, with extremely low technical levels. To migrate south, they had to cross the Congo rainforest and the Central African savannah, which was full of wild beasts. The expansion of the Oman Empire in the Middle East was limited to Zanzibar Island and the East African coast, and civilization did not expand to the interior of Africa.
In Central and South Africa, there are widespread tribal social forms based on hunting. The tribes on the Mongolian grasslands were influenced by the Central Plains culture and developed political power. But Africa is a desert of political power. The local indigenous people live a life of fighting against wild beasts.
The arrival of Westerners forcibly pulled this region, which is mainly in the form of primitive tribes, into the system of modern society.
According to Ernst's own experience, this destructive approach makes it difficult for local indigenous people to integrate into modern social forms. For example, the western mountainous areas of East Asia, the land of abundance, were still slaves when the Republic was founded. After nearly a hundred years of integration and support, it is still difficult to change some of the habits of the local people.
Moreover, Westerners who did not come to help alleviate poverty and the social form of Africa were not as good as the primitive tribal society of slavery.
In fact, the tribal system was already a very advanced system for Africans at that time.
At that time, many areas in Africa still had the most basic forms of families and villages. How to say it, even the lions on the African grasslands also exist in this form of family!
Therefore, the starting point of African civilization is very low, almost equal to nothing, and it is at the same level as prehistoric civilization.
Africa was forced to embark on the road of civilization under the guns of Westerners, which was also the inducement for the constant wars after Africa's independence.
Tanzania is certainly not affected by large-scale wars. In modern times, Tanzania's overall stability ranks among the best in Africa.
However, Tanzanians lack experience in governing the country, have no history to learn from, have a low starting point, and social rigidity has resulted in little overall progress. Although there has been some development, it is insignificant compared to the entire world, just like East Asia and the Middle East in later generations are far ahead of Africa.
But compared to other African countries, Tanzania can be said to be one of the most successful countries in Africa.
Ernst couldn't help but sigh when he recalled his life experience in his previous life. Working in an area with complete infrastructure to an area with basically no infrastructure was a disaster. Later, Ernst slowly adapted to that kind of life.
Of course, now is not the time to recall his past life. He has traveled through history and returned to modern Europe. A new life is beckoning to him again, and he is about to find his own place in the torrent of history.