Kayanja, located in the northwest of Burundi.
The capital of the Burundi Kingdom is located in Kitaga, which is the geographical center of the Burundi Kingdom, situated in the heart of the Central Plateau (Burundi).
During peacetime, as the national center, Kitaga naturally strengthens the Burundi Kingdom’s influence over the surrounding areas.
But when the Eastern Bantu Tribes surged like a tide from the south, the defenseless Kitaga became precarious.
If it were only a small-scale impact, the Burundi Kingdom could handle it, but the Eastern Bantu Tribes brought millions of indigenous people from the entire East African colonial territory to this narrow northwestern area.
Even if everyone stood still, it would take half a day to sweep them with machine guns, let alone the Burundi Kingdom that still relied on relatively primitive iron tools.
Thus, after the impact of the Eastern Bantu Tribes and unsuccessful resistance attempts, the Burundi Central Government fled northwest.
Kayanja, about seventy kilometers from Kitaga, has a slightly complex terrain, making it easy to defend, thus becoming the Burundi Kingdom’s temporary capital.
However, after eliminating the power of the Eastern Bantu Tribes with other kingdoms, the Burundi Kingdom had no time to return to the old capital before facing the aggressive German threat.
To fend off the Eastern Bantu, the Burundi Kingdom built numerous fortifications here, and a large population was temporarily relocated to this area.
This is one reason why the southern population of the Burundi Kingdom is sparse; without a sufficient number of people, it is impossible to resist the overwhelming tide of the Eastern Bantu tribes, so many nobles chose to huddle with the Central Government for warmth.
In any case, the land fertility in the northwest is about the same, and the rainfall conditions are essentially identical. A large number of Burundi nobles migrated to Kayanja with food and population.
Kayanja did not disappoint either, blocking the invasions of the Eastern Bantu and preserving the Burundi Kingdom’s vital forces.
"Ahead is Kayanja, the temporary capital of the Burundians. We estimate that the city’s population is at least over fifteen thousand, likely the toughest nut to crack in the Burundi region," Larry Antonio explained Kayanja’s situation to Arman.
Arman held a telescope, carefully observing the fortifications of Kayanja.
As a city expanded in a short time, Kayanja’s construction was very crude, with its walls built using many irregular stones, far inferior to Kitaga, which had already fallen into the hands of the East African colonial forces.
The stones of Kitaga mostly underwent simple polishing, making the city appear organized, but it never regained its former prosperity after being ransacked by the Eastern Bantu. Later, when the East African colonial forces tallied the population inside Kitaga, they only found 23 people.
Kayanja, however, was different. From the high ground, one could see the vastness of the surrounding fields, with many shanties for the poor outside the city, suggesting a larger population inside.
Besides stones, Kayanja also used a large amount of rammed earth and wooden strips to reinforce the city walls, which were about two meters high, and the city’s scale was even double that of Kitaga, which had been developed for many years.
"It seems we need more manpower. With just our people, it’s a bit difficult to deal with so many natives. If they scatter, we won’t know which direction to chase first," said Arman.
The East African army in front of Kayanja has only over five hundred people, enough to block one side, but to drive the natives north, the east and west directions must also be blocked.
"Larry Antonio, go and mobilize another six hundred people from other troops on the east and west sides, and tell them it’s my order," instructed Arman.
"Yes, sir!" replied Larry Antonio.
This time, the total number of troops dispatched by the East African colonial forces is just over ten thousand, yet the front extends nearly four hundred kilometers, so only two to three hundred people can be allocated per ten kilometers.
In this way, some natives will inevitably slip through the long snake formation of East Africa, but the East African colonial government has already made follow-up arrangements and will reorganize the occupied areas when new immigrants arrive.
Kayanja, such a large Burundian city, is worth Arman’s temporary redeployment of personnel from other areas. A city with over ten thousand people is rare across Africa, at least ranking as a second-tier city.
With the manpower gathered, Arman prepared for a strong assault.
The Burundian soldiers on the city watched Arman’s army vigilantly. Due to the previous impact of the Eastern Bantu, the Burundi Kingdom’s communication with the outside world was practically paralyzed. It wasn’t until the East African army arrived that the Burundi Central Government was informed.
However, the Burundians did not understand the background of the East African colonial forces, especially since the East African colonizers had a very fair complexion and wore bright clothing.
They were somewhat similar to Arabs, but the nobles recognized the Arabian attire, which was completely different from that of these people.
As for European explorers, they were like rare animals, seen by only a few northwest nobles, who were the upper echelons of the Burundi Kingdom.
The East African colonists hadn’t even been seen during early visits to these native nobles, which were mainly to survey the local terrain.
"Wulu, what do you think these strange people are doing?" Mop leaned on Kayanja’s city wall, watching the Germans digging simple fortifications in the distance.
Although digging fortifications seemed unnecessary for the East African army, since these natives only had bows, arrows, and thrown objects and had no long-range weapons to shoot back at East Africa. Just standing a bit further away could avoid the natives’ attacks.