"Alright, with your generosity, I won’t let you down, brother. I happen to know a restaurant in Saint Petersburg, the taste is quite good. Let’s go there today, and as for the remaining two meals, we’ll gather again when you come to Saint Petersburg next time." Maxim agreed to the arrangement cheerfully.
After finishing their work, the two left the dock to have a meal, while the Russian immigrants on the ship waited in anxious unease for their unknown fate.
As the black smoke billowed from the steam chimney, the ship left the dock of Saint Petersburg. The immigration instructors had already arrived early; this can be considered a special treatment for Russian immigrants.
"From today on, you will no longer be Slavic people. Forget your religion and ethnicity. I think you know that you were sold like merchandise by your own lords.
So starting today, you must forget everything about Russia, or else you won’t have good days in the colony. Only by becoming one of us can you achieve fairness," Achterman lectured loudly.
Achterman, in fact, was also Russian, but he was one of the so-called "Volga Germans," meaning Germans who migrated to Russia during the era of Yekaterina.
By employing these Germans living in Russia, the Heixinggen consortium saved the trouble of finding translators.
These Germans were attracted by Russia’s policies and retained their faith and culture, so many could communicate bilingually in Russia.
They were all recipients of graciousness from Yekaterina the Great, who believed that German peasants were more diligent and organized than Russians. Thus, Yekaterina provided favorable conditions, calling Germans to emigrate to Russia for agricultural development.
Coincidentally, Ernst thought the same way, and he played this same tactic in East Africa, the difference being that Yekaterina only attracted German immigrants to go to Russia.
However, Ernst not only attracted German immigrants but also cleared out the local natives.
After all, Russian peasant slaves were called gray livestock, much superior compared to East African natives. For peasant slaves, ’gray livestock’ was an insulting term, but for the rulers, it was a delightful term, representing a large amount of cheap and high-quality labor.
Originally, Alexandria II wanted to liberate the peasant slaves to change the existing social conditions in Russia, but he probably didn’t foresee someone like Ernst eyeing the liberated labor force.
By rights, Ernst should first target the Volga Germans within Russia, since they were tens of thousands of pure Germans.
However, East Africa lacked attraction for these Russian Germans. Influenced by Yekaterina’s policies, these Germans lived relatively well in Russia, especially previously, enjoying many privileges, though these have slowly been revoked in recent years.
It’s rather amusing to think about it: Germans to business with rigid principles, rejecting bribery, thus many high-ranking positions in the justice sector in Russia were held by those of German descent.
"Don’t complain! You are merely private properties of lords. Without Emperor Alexandria II, you would still be peasant slaves now. There is no place for you in Russian society; you are merely talking tools," Achterman continued indoctrinating these peasant slaves.
He first praised Emperor Alexandria II, a monarch! Of course, they can’t err, eternally benevolent, loving, and sacred, as Ernst cannot afford to undermine himself.
Subsequently, he sought reasons for these Russian peasant slaves not to consider their former selves as people; you think you are Russian? No, you don’t even count as human, so don’t expect the Russian way, subtly separating their identity from Russia.
Russian culture is relatively good, especially its religion and customs retain distinctive features, quite different from Europe.
Immigrants preserving their culture, the East African colony naturally wants to completely erase their ethnic traits; or else they become a future menace, especially considering Russia still holds a respectable status in the world like the paupers in slums of the British Empire, though poor, they have a powerful motherland.
East Africa ought to thank the Qing Government; the Chinese immigrants retain very little of their ethnic traits, barring various superstitions; besides these, the only knowledge Chinese farmers possess is the philosophy of not resisting authority and staying inconspicuous.
This cannot contend with European religion and culture; worldly wisdom hardly counts as culture, as it exists worldwide, even among some smart animals.
Additionally, in this era, the common people were never the cultural disseminators; only nobles and the wealthy paid more attention to this aspect.
The distinctiveness of Russian immigrants compared to Chinese lies in the influence of the Eastern Orthodox Church in all aspects of their life, thus Ernst treated Russian immigrants differently.
Wielding a teaching stick, Achterman approached, pointed at the diminishing figure of Saint Petersburg, and said to the immigrants, "Do you see that over there? That’s Russia, but starting today, it has nothing to do with you ever again; you will never return in your lifetime.
So dispel the fantasies; you and your descendants will never have any connection with Russia. Abandon all things related to Russia: language, clothing, even the Eastern Orthodox Church."
Achterman still hoped someone would step forward to resist him, to set an example, but clearly, no one dared to contradict him.
Perhaps Achterman spoke some truths; having fallen to the point of being sold by their lords, they most likely did not fare well in Russia.
Immigrants of this era, aside from those proactively going to America fleeing religious and political persecution, did not have much right to indulge in daydreams.
Upon boarding the carriage along with Giovanni and others, these immigrants began to speculate about their fate.
Now, Achterman’s education was negligible to these Russian immigrants; some were even prepared for a life of continued beatings and scoldings but were instead preached complexities which left the immigrants at a loss.
However, the immigrants understood Achterman’s intention approximately; isn’t it merely separating from Russia? Agreed, desirable.
Of course, in terms of religion, some immigrants indeed harbored discontent, but circumstances dwarfed them; change is inevitable; old Lord God will absolve them.
After all, severed from the church, the right to interpret religion returned to themselves; at this moment, there were no priests or clergy binding them with rules.
In truth, most people have their understanding of religion, especially those among this group of unschooled and unlettered peasant slaves.
Once leaving the church, their comprehension of religious knowledge comprised knowing God’s existence and a few famed deities, with all else essentially nil.