Greece’s Roman Road

Constantine and his squire, Schmidt, bid farewell to Sanford in a hurry, and returned to Europe on the cruise line from New York to London.

Constantine, who was upset because of the European countries' contention for the Congo River, stood on the side of the ship, blowing the cold sea breeze, looking at the vast ocean, hoping to calm his complicated heart.

Based on the information sent by the Greek ambassadors in London, Paris, and Berlin, these big countries have moved their minds about the Congo River Basin.

The Congo River Basin has a dense network of rivers and abundant rainfall. Although the length of the Congo River is not ranked in the world, the water flow of the Congo River is second only to the Amazon River in Brazil, ranking second in the world.

The tributaries of the Congo River, the Ubangi River, the Sanga River, the Lukuga River, the Luama River, the Elila River, the Ulindi River, the Lowa River, the Kasai River and many other rivers, are crisscrossed and densely packed. Ignoring those river sections that are blocked by waterfalls and cannot be navigable together, it is almost a natural inland waterway shipping network.

More importantly, the Republic of Congo is located in an important strategic position in the center of Africa.

If a European country with considerable strength occupies this land, then in the competition for European colonies, it can attack from all directions, nibble away step by step, gain an advantage, and let other countries be stuck in their throats.

The Congo River Basin, to the south, is French North Africa and French West Africa, the northeast is the British-controlled Sudan, Egypt, Uganda, the east is Tanzania, the south is Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe) and South Africa, and the southwest is the Portuguese-controlled Angola. .

The importance of its strategic location is evident.

Up to now, the so-called African colonies of various countries have only established colonial strongholds near coastal ports and deep inland rivers to facilitate commercial trade.

In other words, there is still uncertainty about who a certain piece of African land belongs to.

(In fact, from the colonization of Africa by European countries until the independence of African countries after World War II, most regions have not established effective rule from beginning to end).

Starting from the Congo and the watershed, attacking from all directions and eroding the surrounding African territory step by step is an obvious and effective strategy to compete for African territory.

This also determines that all countries that covet European colonies must seize the Congo if they do not want to be at a disadvantage in the future African big cake sharing feast.

The competition among countries for the Congo region is bound to focus on the mouth of the Congo River.

The reason is obvious. Many tributaries of the Congo River merge into the main stream of the Congo River and into the Atlantic Ocean. A Congo without the mouth of the Congo River has become an inland area.

No matter what resources and business opportunities Congo has, external commodities cannot be transported in, and internal resources cannot be transported out, and the value of Congo, which cannot be transported by shipping, is greatly reduced.

As long as you control the mouth of the Congo, you will control the Congo and the basin in disguise.

Facing the sea, Constantine pondered the decision and response of the Congolese Committee.

The cruise ship chopped waves and sailed all the way to the east. The red sun rose slowly at the place where the water and the light met, the seagulls burst into waves, swept the hull, the wind suddenly rose, and the flag on the mast flew high.

"Your Excellency, the wind is picking up, go back to the cabin to take shelter from the wind," Schmidt said with concern, standing behind Constantine.

"Yes, the wind is blowing"

........

Eight days later, the two, who had crossed the Atlantic to London, sailed non-stop to the port of Piraeus in Athens.

The Tatoi Palace in the north of Athens, the king's study.

King George and Queen Olga were delighted to see their son Constantine, who had been away for two years, successfully completed his two-year study trip in Germany.

"Constantine, I heard that your Congo committee is in trouble. How about it? Can you solve it?" King George was more concerned about his son's career.

"Yes, there are disputes between France and Portugal, and the British must understand it. Can your Congolese committee handle it?" Queen Olga also agreed.

Britain and France are both important powers in Europe. One is the undisputed hegemon of the world, with a navy that is the best in the world, and the other is a traditional power in the European continent. The strength of the army cannot be ignored.

In front of such a behemoth, the Congo Commission supported by Constantine is really not enough to see.

"There is nothing to worry about. In fact, for the Congo River Basin, the more interested countries and the more complicated the competition, the greater the chance of the Congo River Commission." Facing the increasingly severe situation, Constantine became more and more confidence.

King George nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with his son's statement.

Only Queen Olga couldn't understand what riddles the father and son were playing.

"How long will the high spending last? Even the royal family can't support such a large spending." Queen Olga frowned and complained dissatisfiedly.

"It won't be too long, the parties are about to showdown," Constantine comforted. After all, until now, the royal family has spent a huge sum of 7 million francs on the Council of the Congo, and the landlord's family doesn't have much leftover food.

These 7 million francs are not only the expenses of supporting the adventure team, but also the expenses of mobilizing newspapers and public opinion in various countries, the expenses of scholars to speak out in support of the Congolese Committee, the salary expenses of military personnel, and so on.

This huge expenditure, as of now, has almost nothing worth mentioning in return.

Fast-forward to January 1884.

Banning, who had returned from southern Africa, came to the Tatoi Palace to report the news of Africa to Constantine.

Banning went to Africa for three months. His cheeks became dark and thin, his face couldn't hide his tiredness, and his sharp eyes revealed a good spirit. It seemed that he suffered a lot in Africa.

"Thank you, Banning, how is the situation in Africa?" Constantine asked.

"The situation is good. In March last year, Stanley invited all the chiefs between the Kuilu River and the lower Nea River on the left bank (north bank) of the Congo River to Kinshasa and persuaded them to sign a joint protection treaty with the Congolese Commission. There are seven strongholds set up there." Banning replied.

As he spoke, he pointed to the map of the Congo River Basin on the table and showed it to Constantine.

After these strongholds were established, they cut off the passage from Brazzaville to the banks of the Congo River from the French stronghold.

At least in legal terms (if the two sides do not move and force), it is impossible for the French to threaten the mouth of the Congo River.

Constantine let out a sigh of relief. Under such circumstances, the Congolese Commission would have the legal advantage in diplomatic negotiations.

"Besides, is there any other news?" Constantine continued to ask.

"Recently I heard that a large amount of gold deposits have been discovered in South Africa, specifically in the Transvaal. This is the topic I heard the crew talking about when I returned to Europe." Said gold, Banning was very interested .

"According to them, the country is boiling over in the UK, and a large number of people who dream of getting rich overnight are flocking to South Africa, and now the whole of Western Europe is going crazy."

"They originally had 50 crew members on board, but when they returned from Africa, there were still more than a dozen people on board. In their words, if it wasn't for the strong request of the captain, I'm afraid there would be no manpower to drive the ship."

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