Chapter 311: The Kingdom of Italy's Perspective
Most of the existing official medical personnel in East Africa come from the East; only Constantinoo brought along a private German medical team. As for the immigrants, there are indeed some "doctors" from Europe, but most are untrained practitioners who still rely on medieval Western medicine. Since they come mainly from rural areas, their knowledge is usually passed down from older generations: they sometimes resort to knives and axes to open people up without disinfecting anything—nobody can endure that.
Doctors remain the rarest profession in East Africa. Most patients can only leave their fate to chance, and many have their own folk remedies—whether they work or not is anyone's guess. People at the time are used to this situation.
The East African government has opened a total of 108 clinics and not a single hospital. There are 285 registered doctors, and only one snake venom research institute stands out as the pinnacle of East African medicine.
Overall, East Africa's medical resources are severely lacking. The one fortunate fact is that East Africa is highly suited to growing medicinal herbs, and some local tribal traditions have been adopted by the East Africans.
For instance, if someone is bitten by a black mamba, the native people will look for a certain strange-looking plant, grind it into a paste, apply it to the wound, and then all they can do is wait to die.
Though it sounds laughable, the locals firmly believe it, showing that they do have their own medical practices—at least it brings psychological comfort.
Of course, that's a failed example. There are other remedies that succeed, mostly useful for reducing inflammation, stopping bleeding, or relieving pain. After all, for thousands of years, the natives have clashed with East Africa's wild animals and inevitably get injured. Over time, they've developed a system of treatment—still a fusion of sorcery and rudimentary medicine, but it occasionally yields decent results.
…
Once Austria took Venice, it initiated one last purge of that area, causing large numbers of intellectuals, merchants, and nobles to flee to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Compared to what Hungary did to eastern Lombardy, Austria at least appeared somewhat more lenient.
Lombardy, the richest region in all Italy, provided a huge windfall for the Hungarian nobility. While they knew Austria was essentially using them as a shield—Italy would have to reclaim Lombardy first before moving on—they didn't really care. From Hungary's perspective, Italy poses little threat; even a weakened Hungary still ranks among the great powers, backed by a formidable homeland.
Though Austria expelled Italians too, most found a stable destination in East Africa. Hungary, on the other hand, showed no mercy in Lombardy: as agreed, Italians were driven out, while large numbers of Hungarians moved in to occupy their lands. The Hungarian government took this matter seriously, for Lombardy alone could accommodate plenty of their noble families.
Austria's and Hungary's actions directly caused a surge of refugees in the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Papal States; even Naples was affected.
At this point, the East African Kingdom could step in looking like "the good guy." As a major agricultural nation, East Africa has a huge surplus of grain. Even though it exports vast quantities every year, there is still extra left over.
In Europe's grain market, however, East Africa cannot simply do whatever it wants—cutting off people's livelihoods is like destroying their very means of survival. East Africa can only focus on niche products to expand its grain exports. That's exactly what the Hechingen Consortium's food processing sector is doing.
But in Italy's case, there's no need to be too cautious. With hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring in, every Italian state is feeling the impact. If they don't find a solution to the food shortage, it will cost lives.
Florence.
Since losing the war, Victor Emmanuel II has worn a perpetually gloomy expression, and he looks far older than before. The Kingdom of Italy truly lost out in this conflict—nearly half of its territory is gone, practically returning it to its original state. Still, especially at times like this, the kingdom cannot do without him, so he must carry on.
Wearing a worried frown, he asks his Minister of Agriculture, "Is there still no way to resolve our grain problem?"
The minister can only say helplessly, "We've lost much of the Po Valley and also our southern grain-producing areas. Our kingdom's grain output was already far below that of other European nations, and now it's reached a desperate point."
Victor Emmanuel II then turns to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, "Is there no way to seek assistance from other countries?"
The Foreign Minister replies, "Your Majesty, the Spanish royal family is willing to provide us some free aid, but it's just a drop in the bucket. Spain isn't in great shape itself—Prince Amadeo can't do much. Meanwhile, because of the war, Germany and France have both suffered crop failures, pushing up grain prices all across Europe."
Victor Emmanuel II presses further. "No solutions at all? Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Lombardy and Venice have nothing to eat. If we can't feed them, they'll blame the government in the end."
The Foreign Minister offers a sliver of hope: "Your Majesty, there is one piece of good news: the East African Kingdom is willing to sell us a large amount of grain at low prices, though mostly rice and corn."
Victor Emmanuel II, surprised, asks, "The East African Kingdom? That country founded just last year?"
The Foreign Minister clarifies, "Yes, Your Majesty—the country in Africa established by Prince Constantinoo of Prussia, part of the Hechingen family line."
The king wonders, "That East African Kingdom hasn't been around for long—can it really export that much grain?"
The Foreign Minister explains, "Your Majesty may not be aware, but for several years now, our grain trade with East Africa has shown steady growth. Even before it officially became the East African Kingdom, that colony was already exporting grain."
Victor Emmanuel II says doubtfully, "And this East African Kingdom is in Africa, right? Is Africa that abundant?"
The Foreign Minister responds, "The climate is poor, diseases are rampant, but they do have plenty of land. Africa is vast, after all. And since it's also a source of black slaves, labor is plentiful. That's likely how the East African Kingdom managed to become a grain exporter from the start."
Victor Emmanuel II considers this. "So you're saying the East African Kingdom exploits the natives, develops the land heavily, and grows massive amounts of grain, creating huge profits for itself?"
The Foreign Minister nods. "I believe so. Africans supposedly eat little, work hard, and have strong bodies—and they cost next to nothing. It'd be hard for Prince Constantinoo not to get rich."
Intrigued, Victor Emmanuel II continues, "What if we also establish a colony in Africa to solve Italy's grain problem?"
But the Foreign Minister is less optimistic: "Overseas colonization is one way. However, Italy lacks experience in that area, and our finances are in disastrous shape."
At the mention of finances, Victor Emmanuel II feels the weight of the problem. Italy owes massive debts to Britain; if not for Britain's fear that Italy wouldn't repay its debt, they wouldn't have bothered to negotiate an end to the war that left the Kingdom of Italy mostly intact. Even the newly restored Kingdom of Naples was forced to assume part of Sardinia's debt.
Beyond that, in this war Italy lost Venice and a third of Lombardy—both prime tax-generating areas. By comparison, losing Naples doesn't seem like a big deal. Although Naples has a large territory and population, its economy is weak: while it does provide a fair amount of tax revenue, the Kingdom of Italy's expenses there are even larger. Shedding that burden might not be an outright disadvantage.
So Victor Emmanuel II concludes, "In that case, let's focus our limited funds on what's most urgent. We'll import grain from East Africa. As long as the price is low, whether it's rice or corn doesn't matter—we need to feed the refugees first. As for founding our own colony, we can revisit that once we get back on our feet."
At this point, the Kingdom of Italy has few choices but to pursue overseas colonies eventually. In fact, Italy's position isn't entirely hopeless; it does have some maritime experience controlling Sardinia and Sicily. The only difference is that this time it would be going farther afield for colonial expansion. Relying on the homeland alone simply isn't enough to feed so many people.
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