In March, East Africa ushers in the rainy season, with thunderstorms rumbling in the distance as torrential rains pour down fiercely. The raindrops are dense and impactful, washing over the sparsely vegetated, exposed yellow earth, quickly turning it into a murky mire.
The muddy rainwater gradually gathers, winding around the grasslands and hills, with thousands of tiny streams flowing along the depressions and gullies into the rivers.
The small Rhine River is no longer calm as it once was, becoming turbulent, with rolling waters carrying floating wood, weeds, and silt from upstream along the river channel at high speed.
In the paddy fields of the Second Town (Ruvu), the overflowing rainwater continuously pours into the river through the drainage channels, with rice plants swaying under the rain and strong winds. Houses made of grass and brick seem to shudder amid the storm, roaring as if to lift everything visible on East African land into the sky.
This kind of tempest, with heaven and earth working together, is common in the rainy season. During the dry season, Africa is like a stagnant pool, with no one for thousands of miles on the savanna. Occasionally, explorers and hunters observe hundreds to thousands of animals migrating across the vast, yellowing plains, and the entire African continent rests in a state of dormancy.
Once the rainy season arrives, the entire African continent seems to come alive, fiercely beating the continent with rainwater stored for more than half a year. But the more terrifying the natural spectacle, the more vigorous life becomes. The dry riverbeds on the savanna turn winding and tortuous, intricately interwoven.
Yellowed plants don green attire, wildebeests and antelopes chase the lushest pastures in herds, hippos frolic in lakes, and crocodiles roam around, waiting for their chance.
...
Life brims with vitality and exuberance.
However, this is not good news for the East African vanguard marching inland.
The leader of the fourth squad, Andre, is sitting calmly on a rock, holding a small knife and scraping the mud plastered on his shoe.
Advisor Zhou Wei commands his subordinates to inventory the supplies: "Remember to put the food and ammunition on top of the cart frame so they don't get damp from the ground."
"How did you pitch this rain tarp? What if water seeps through? Everything must be arranged strictly according to the procedures during training! We have a long way to go, and preserving the safety of food and ammunition is essential."
The sudden downpour earlier forced the vanguard to halt their march, and the team has temporarily rested on high ground.
"Zhou! We should not move further today, let's rest here for a day. We've been pushing forward for the last two weeks, and the team's morale has declined significantly. It's necessary to relieve the team's emotions," Andre told Zhou Wei.
Zhou Wei looked around, the rain slightly slackened, but it was still falling, with no end in sight. He nodded in agreement and said, "Mr. Andre, you're right. The time constraint has driven us to set out at the least suitable moment. We didn't expect such heavy rains here!"
Andre chuckled and said, "Seeing this rain reminds me of my days in the European battlefield. I was a rookie then, camping outside with the army for the first time. It started raining heavily suddenly at midnight. As we were on a forced march, our temporary camp was in a low-lying area, and the shelters we built were flooded. Many in the troops didn't even have a dry garment, yet the next day we fought Napoleon's army in wet clothes."
Listening to Andre's story, Zhou Wei, who had come across Napoleon in textbooks, indeed considered him a great hero. It surprised him that Andre had participated in the anti-French wars of that time. However, thinking about Andre's age seemed compatible. Although Andre never disclosed his age, Zhou Wei deduced from his outward appearance that he was at least over fifty.
"Mr. Andre, your past experiences are indeed remarkable!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Zhou. Your performance is what surprises me. I attended elementary school and had never seen anyone from the Qing Country, only in my teacher's illustrations. Our teacher said the Chinese all wore big braids, looked indistinctly male or female, and enjoyed smoking opium, appearing lethargic," reminisced Andre.
"After I retired, I was employed by the Heixinggen Company and came to East Africa. They paid my salary into my family's bank account. It was my first time crossing the sea, coming to such a distant place, and meeting Chinese people," Andre said.
"When they first disembarked from the ship, they indeed all had braids and were malnourished. But the first rule in the colony was to cut off the braid and keep short hair. After losing the braid, they looked different, especially after donning German military uniforms, and their spirits lifted. I noticed that clean-shaven Chinese looked more like the black-haired Italians along the Mediterranean coast."
"But soon you Chinese altered my impressions once more. In the early days of the East African colonies, during the First Town era, your hard work made me realize Italians couldn't match you because they are too indulgent. Back then, I still thought the Chinese were inferior to the Germans."
"Until I met you, Zhou, and you completely changed my prior thoughts. Your cultural knowledge, rigorous spirit made me realize the Chinese needed no comparison, being excellent, much like us Germans. Mind you, some of my former comrades, including seen French and English, were quite rude."
Andre continued with his reflection: "You Chinese, just like us Prussians, are natural-born soldiers and the world's best farmers."
Zhou Wei quietly listened to Andre's words and said, "Mr. Andre, I have to correct one thing first. I have already received the citizen certificate issued by the Heixinggen government, so I am also a German. Moreover, I believe these people before us will also be part of the German Empire in the future, as our principal, Herr Ernst, once said, regardless of where you come from, if your heart aligns with Germany and you are willing to strive for it all your life, you are a genuine 'German'."
Upon hearing Zhou Wei's words, Andre laughed heartily and said, "You are absolutely right, Zhou. I was narrow-minded."
...
Dusk approaches.
Within the temporarily erected camp, members of the vanguard, having rushed for days, fall into a peaceful slumber even though the rain continues outside, not disturbing the sleeping team members at all.
Sentinels remain vigilant throughout the rainy night, guarding against wild animals and other dangers. Zhou Wei occasionally steps out to inspect, while everyone else might fall into a slumber; Zhou Wei cannot, as an educated man from the Heixinggen Military Academy, the school's teachings constantly remind him that leading by example and hands-on involvement is a must-remember for a qualified soldier.
...
On the third day, the rested vanguard resumed their journey. The mud created by the rain made marching exceptionally challenging, yet they pressed on unswervingly towards Soron Lake (Lake Tanganyika).