15th of July, Jingshi.
The commotion caused by the surrender of Qin and Tang had gradually subsided, and the war in the Central Plains had come to an end.
The greatest benefit of conquering Zhou, Song, Qin, and Tang was that they had gained nearly 100 million people. Including the Kenyan countries that were conquered in the African battlefield, Great Xia's population had gone up another level, breaking the 500 million mark.
Be it in terms of population or territory, Great Xia had already surpassed any other dynasty in history.
The sudden influx of a large number of people had also placed a certain burden on the imperial court. Fortunately, the weather was favorable this year, and the first harvest of food was bountiful, finally alleviating the hunger situation that had occurred since last winter.
The natural disaster of last October had also brought about a sequela. Be it farmers or herdsmen, they had all subconsciously hoarded large amounts of food at home to prepare for the famine.
In the words of the commoners, "I don't want to experience that kind of cold winter again."
Following the unification of the Central Plains and the rise of peace, the commoners lived in prosperity and contentment. The indigenous population of Great Xia was about to usher in an explosive growth, becoming a new growth point for the population.
Children born in the first year of Gaia had already become adults in the seventh year of Gaia. Their generation had grown up with the dynasty, and they were the most loyal and the most active generation.
They were the cornerstone of the country.
Just like the Shadow Guards' Guardian Cui Tianqi, the youth who had come to Shanhai Village, had already grown into an unyielding young talent, becoming a sharp sword in the darkness of the night for Ouyang Shuo.
…
At ten in the morning, in the imperial study, Ouyang Shuo was discussing personnel arrangements with Jiang Shang, Kou Zhun, and Zhang Tingyu. This included the arrangements for the old officials of Qin and Tang, as well as the selection of the Guanxi Province's governor.
In addition, there were personnel related to the Protectorate of Africa.
In the past three months, Great Xia had launched a war of unification within the country, and the distant battlefield in Africa had not stopped. Under the command of Bai Qi, the four armies in the African theater of operations had won every battle.
On the 10th of April, they conquered Uganda, and on the 18th, they conquered Tanzania, completing the second tier of military operations. During this period, Bai Qi had also taken advantage of the time when the army was resting to destroy two small countries, Rwanda and Burundi.
Rwanda was bordered by Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south, Congo to the west and northwest, and Uganda to the north. It had many mountains within its territory, and was known as the "Country of Thousand Hills".
Although Rwanda's land area was smaller than Jingzhou Island, it had one million players. It was the most densely populated country in Africa, with about 83% of the population distributed in the villages.
Tungsten and forest resources were the specialties of Rwanda.
As for Burundi, which bordered Rwanda, it had a slightly larger land area than Rwanda. It had around 800,000 players, and it was also mainly farming.
In modern society, these small African countries did not have an industrial base, and their infrastructure was backward, so they were doing very badly. However, in the game world, the unique natural environment was a rare granary.
The Imperial Court decided to merge Uganda into the Kenya Province. At the same time, with Tanzania as the main body, it would annex the two small countries of Rwanda and Burundi to establish the Tanzania Province, which is also the fourth province of the Protectorate of Africa.
The position of Tanzania Province's Governor was temporarily vacant and was being taken over by the Protectorate of Africa.
After a short rest, in late May, the African theater of operations launched the third phase of military operations. This time, the targets were Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
Malawi was located in the southeast of Africa. It was a landlocked country surrounded by Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia. Its land area was about the same as the East Sea Province, with a total of 1.3 million players.
The country got its name from Lake Malawi, which was also the third largest lake in Africa. It had an area of 30,000 square kilometers, and the deepest lake could reach more than 700 meters. There were many species of freshwater fish that were unique in the world.
Malawi's economy was mainly based on agriculture. The main cash crops included tobacco, coffee, tea, cotton, and sugar cane. Tobacco was the most important cash crop in Malawi.
Mozambique, which was next to Malawi, also bordered Lake Malawi. It was once a Portuguese colony, and its land area was about the same as the Qinghai Province. There were a total of 2.5 million players.
In addition, Mozambique was a coastal country, located in the southeast of Africa. The Mozambique Channel between Mozambique and Madagascar was the world's longest channel, with a total length of 1,670 kilometers.
There were many rivers in Mozambique, and the climate was hot and humid. The annual average temperature was 194 ° C. There was an abundance of rain, and it was rich in marine, water, and forest resources.
It was a heaven for eating tuna and seafood, and there were many species of sharks in the north.
It could be said that Mozambique was a treasure trove of natural resources. It was no wonder that it was coveted by the Portuguese.
Lastly, there was Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe was an important birthplace of civilization in Southern Africa. During the Middle Ages, there was a civilization established by the Shona people, and many cultural relics were left behind. The most important one was the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe, which was how Zimbabwe got its name.
The Muhumtaba Empire, which used this city as its capital, through trade with the Muslim caravans from the Indian Ocean coast, gradually became stronger in the 11th century. They used the gold, ivory, and copper produced there to exchange for raw products from the Persian Gulf region, such as cloth and glass.
In the 15th century, the Muhumtaba Empire had become the largest state in Southern Africa.
Zimbabwe was a country with a more developed industry in Africa. Manufacturing, agriculture, and mining were the three pillars of its economy. It was famous for producing high-quality crocodile skin, and was known as the "Home of the Crocodile".
Zimbabwe's land area was about the same as the Yunnan Province, and it had a total of 1.4 million players.
It was not difficult to find that, other than Rwanda, the countries in East Africa generally had low population density, and they were rich in natural resources. They had a history of colonization, and their industries were backward, but the climate was pleasant.
All these factors made it the best raw material production base.
As the first industrial revolution spread throughout the world, regions like this became a treasure land coveted by various tyrants. This resulted in the Seven Years of Gaia, where the global dynasties divided up the African continent.
By the end of June, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe had all been conquered by Great Xia. The imperial court decided to annex Malawi and Zimbabwe, with Mozambique as the core, to establish the Mozambique Province.
At this point, Great Xia's East Africa strategy had basically come to an end.
After conquering the last country, Zimbabwe, the African war zone would enter a relatively long period of rest and reorganization. They would focus on consolidating their internal defenses and would no longer wage war against other countries.
There were three reasons for this ceasefire.
Firstly, in a short period of half a year, the African war zone had consecutively conquered nine countries. The generals and soldiers were exhausted, and the provisions provided by the imperial court had basically been depleted. They could no longer sustain the war and had to rest and reorganize.
Even if they were an iron army, it was impossible for them to wage war all the time.
Secondly, the Protectorate of Africa had established four new provinces. The territory had expanded by more than four times, and the population had increased by more than 30 million. The rate of expansion was too fast, and they had to stop and digest it. Otherwise, there would be endless troubles in the future.
Don't forget, after conquering the nine countries, the players of the nine countries wouldn't be teleported to the training grounds. They would still remain in their own territories. This raised a higher requirement for Great Xia's governance.
The governors of the newly established Tanzang Province and Mozambique Province had yet to be decided.
Thirdly, there was no longer any place to conquer in East Africa.
To the south of the Mozambique Province was the Banto Dynasty, and it was temporarily inadvisable to clash with them. To the north and east of the Protectorate of Africa was the Indian Ocean. Apart from Madagascar, Mauritius, and other island countries, there was no other place to conquer.
The only target of attack could only be the west.
To the west, apart from Zambia, which shared a border with Zimbabwe, the Congo, Central Africa, and other countries belonged to the Central Africa region. They were the main targets of the Dawson Dynasty.
While Great Xia was conquering the countries in East Africa, the Dawson Dynasty had already conquered Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their next target would most likely be the Congo.
In history, the Congo had been divided into the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the game world, it was one country. Its territory was larger than ten Yunnan Provinces, and the total number of players was as high as 8 million.
Regardless of whether it was the Dawson Dynasty or the Great Xia, it wouldn't be easy to conquer the Congo. If both sides were to interfere with each other, the situation would become even more complicated.
The Congo would most likely become the first place where the two dynasties would clash.
It was precisely because of this that Ouyang Shuo had ordered a temporary truce in the African War Zone to reorganize their defenses. At the same time, he had to coordinate with the Protectorate to reorganize the internal affairs of the Protectorate and stabilize East Africa.
As long as the development of East Africa was on the right track, it would be able to support the consumption of the four armies by itself, and there would be no need for resources from the Protectorate. At that time, the African War Zone would truly be able to unleash their full strength and engage in a major battle.
Ouyang Shuo had summoned the three ministers to discuss personnel arrangements, and also to discuss how to provide unprecedented assistance to the Protectorate of Africa, and how to develop Africa.
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