Holy Roman Empire

Even though the Egyptian government was influenced by Western culture in this era, their enthusiasm for the land was not as high as that of later generations.The Egyptian government is also afraid of making concessions, which will trigger a chain reaction and be divided up by European countries.

……

On June 1855, 6, the Austrian colonists raised the flag of the new Holy Roman Empire on the Sinai Peninsula and swore sovereignty over the Sinai Peninsula.

After being strongly protested by the Egyptian government, Jonas directly used the meeting minutes as an excuse to complete a diplomatic blackmail.Finally, under the mediation of Britain and France, the Vienna government agreed to pay [-] Aegis as a ransom for the Sinai Peninsula.

Under the strong demands of Britain and France, the Vienna government made concessions, promising not to continue to seek expansion in the Egyptian region, and to immediately stop colonial activities in the region.

On July 1855, 7, Jonas signed the "Sinai Peninsula Land Transaction Treaty" on behalf of the new Holy Roman Empire and the Egyptian government. The next day, Britain, France and Austria signed the "Treaty of Cairo", and Austria officially withdrew from the colonial activities in Egypt.

The Sinai Peninsula has been taken, the tentacles of the Suez Canal are in place, and the Vienna government is satisfied.

Only paying a worthless Sinai Peninsula, Austria was successfully excluded from the Egyptian region, and Britain and France were also satisfied.

The only tragedy is that the Egyptian government lost a piece of territory in the Sinai Peninsula in vain.The nominal land ransom of [-] Aegis was only circulated in their hands, and it was handed over to the colonial team as compensation for the Arish incident.

This is also a bounty issued by the Vienna government to the colonial team as compensation for their risk of eating sand for half a year.As the leaders of the colonial team, Leo Haver and Andrea also received the title of Honorary Knight.

On the whole, things are well over.

Chapter 13 Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility

Vienna Palace

Prime Minister Felix suggested: "Your Majesty, the number of our colonies is increasing. It is necessary to set up a Colonial Department to manage colonial affairs."

After thinking about it, Franz suddenly realized that Austria had also become a colonial power, at least in terms of the size of the colony.

From 1854 to the present, in just over a year, more than [-] colonial strongholds have been opened on the African continent, and more than [-] immigrants have been transported.

Among European countries, Austria is the most active in developing the African continent.At this time, if there is no special department to manage it, it will easily cause confusion.

After thinking for a while, Franz asked: "Now we really need to set up a colonial department. Who does the prime minister think is qualified for this position?"

Prime Minister Felix suggested: "Your Majesty, how about Count Josip Jelachich as Colonial Secretary?"

Count Josip Jeracic, a Croatian, one of the three heroes who saved the Austrian Empire in history, led the Croatian militia to suppress the Hungarian rebellion.

With the passage of time and the advancement of ethnic integration, the Vienna government will inevitably employ senior officials of ethnic minorities to show the equality of all ethnic groups.

Against this backdrop, Josip Jeracic stands out as a loyalist of the Empire.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Then Josip Jelacic will be the Minister of Colonial Affairs. I remember that in the counter-insurgency war in 1848, he also made great contributions to the empire.

In recent years, he has also done a good job as a senior official in Croatia.Both road construction and economic development have achieved considerable results. "

It is impossible for the cabinet to be dominated by Germans all the time, which is not conducive to national unity.In Franz's view, as long as he has passed the test with loyalty and ability, no matter what his background is, he can be promoted and reused.

Josip Jeracic can be regarded as a typical existence. Franz just came to power a few years ago, and he still needs the support of the nobles in the German region, and it is inevitable to compromise with them.

Now that his position has been stabilized, it is naturally not a problem to promote some people according to his own will.

What surprised Franz was that Prime Minister Felix actually proposed it without waiting for him to act.In this way, the Prime Minister will bear the pressure from the Viennese nobles.

After thinking about it, Franz gave up this worry.Prime Minister Felix is ​​now a national hero in the eyes of the Germans, and he is no longer the butcher prime minister.

With this halo, no matter how dissatisfied the conservative nobles are, they cannot shake his position.

The better the new Holy Roman Empire develops, the more dazzling the halo on Prime Minister Felix's head will be, and it will be enough to suppress some opposition forces.

Grand Duke Louis hesitated to speak. Now that the reformers are in power, as the leader of the conservatives, his sense of presence in the cabinet is getting lower and lower.

Fighting against the emperor at this time will not do him any good, and his political life may end prematurely.

The Minister of War, Prince Wendisch Gretz, said with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, the Sinai Peninsula is a large desert, and there are only a few oases on the island where nomadic tribes exist.

We can't get anything here at all, and if we set up an administrative agency here, our taxes may not be enough to pay the tax collector.

It is too wasteful for us to station two infantry regiments on the island. The local people can't even support themselves with food, and the water source is a problem in the dry season. "

This is a headache. In this era, it is impossible for Franz to have the luxury of man-made fresh water for the garrison.

However, it is impossible to maintain local influence without a garrison.The strength of the two infantry regiments has been reduced and reduced.

If there is no garrison now, once the Suez Canal is dug, it will not be so easy to think about garrisoning the army at that time.

Franz asked: "The government has its own considerations about the cost. Food can be transported from the country. I never thought of being self-sufficient in the Sinai Peninsula. The only problem is the water source, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied Prince Wendischgrätz

The garrison of thousands of people consumes a lot of water resources for eating and drinking every day.The population growth on the Sinai Peninsula cannot increase, and the most critical problem is the lack of water.

If this problem cannot be solved, even if you want to deploy heavy troops, there is no way to do it.

Looking at the map, Franz continued to ask: "Prime Minister, how many aborigines are there on the Sinai Peninsula?"

After thinking about it, Prime Minister Felix really couldn't find an accurate figure, so he replied helplessly: "Your Majesty, the Egyptians have not conducted a population census of the nomadic tribes on the island. We can only initially estimate that there are about 5 to [-] people .”

Hearing this number, Franz smiled.

"The problem of water source is easy to solve. As far as I know, the local people live by raising camels and sheep, and rarely grow food.

These livestock are big consumers of water resources. If the hundreds of thousands of livestock on the island are gone, then the water source that everyone is worried about will not be a problem. "

Prime Minister Felix reminded: "Your Majesty, these livestock are the livelihood of the local people. If they are not allowed to raise livestock, the local people may find it difficult to make a living."

Franz said with a holy face: "This is a small problem, only a few tens of thousands of people. Ask the Egyptian government if they are willing to accept it. If they are not willing to accept it, they will move to colonize West Africa.

The local people have left. The water resources used by these tens of thousands of people should be enough for the soldiers of our two regiments, right?

The natural environment of the Sinai Peninsula has been destroyed by the locals. In history, it was once a fertile land full of trees and cattle and sheep.

If we don't protect it and let them destroy it, it won't be long before the local natural ecology will be completely ruined, and the once beautiful Sinai Peninsula will also become a dead island.

Now that the above-mentioned people have been relocated, agricultural production and livestock are prohibited, the precious local water resources can be saved.

Our garrison can plant trees or grass on the island in their spare time after training, continuously expand the oasis area, and do their part to beautify the earth. "

At this moment, Franz seems to have become an environmentalist.He definitely didn't want to emigrate to solve the water source problem for the garrison!

Hundreds of thousands of livestock are large water users and consume a large amount of water resources every year.

If these precious fresh water resources are used for afforestation, dozens of square kilometers of forests can be easily increased every year. If they are used for planting grass, the increase will be even more.

Although it seems so insignificant now, this is a virtuous circle!In theory, after hundreds of years of hard work, the desert oasis project on the Sinai Peninsula will be completed.

Seeing the opportunity, Grand Duke Louis flattered him: "Your Majesty, what you say makes sense. For the sake of the natural environment of the Sinai Peninsula, we must take immediate action."

Of course, no one would object to Franz's proposal.The development of the African continent requires a large number of people, and moving the people on the Sinai Peninsula to disperse them will kill two birds with one stone.

Of course, if the Egyptian government is willing to accept this group of people, then it will be even better, and the Vienna government can save another sum of money.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl said with a painful face: "Your Majesty, let's put aside the issue of immigration from the Sinai Peninsula for now!

Not all the refugees accepted by our Dalmatia region have been transported there. If we blindly increase immigration now, the logistical pressure on the colony will be too great.

Last year, the net loss of our colony was 58.8 Aegis. This year, the net loss of our colony is expected to exceed 120 million Aegis. Turning losses into profits as soon as possible is the top priority. "

There is no way, Austria's colonial activities are in the stage of net investment, and if you want to get a return, at least you have to wait until the colony enters a production state.

In the current African colonial strongholds, apart from opening up local farms, they can only go fishing in the sea, or go hunting to make up for the lack of food.

The lumber mill is already under construction, but due to the attacks of the local indigenous tribes, it is still being cleared and cannot be put into production in a short time.

As for the so-called cotton plantations, rubber plantations, and coffee plantations...they are all under planning, and not capitalists or nobles have sent people to investigate.

In the short term, these industries will not see benefits.If there is no mineral production, it will be difficult to achieve a balance of payments within three to five years.

This is also the reason why countries are unwilling to invest in colonies. The return on investment period is too long. If you have this time, it is better to find colonies with gold and silver minerals for development, or directly squeeze the local aborigines.

This is a difference in business philosophy. The main purpose of Franz's development of the African continent is to solve the shortage of domestic resources and reduce the outflow of domestic immigrants.

Although the African colonies were opened up during the time period, it is terrible that under the advocacy of the Vienna government, more than 3 people spontaneously joined the immigrant army in China.

These talents are the main force in the development of the African continent. Now as long as they sign up, they can be hired by the government, with a salary that is more than double that of the natives, and they can also serve as grassroots officials of the colonial government.

If you want to make a fortune, join the expansion team.All the trophies of the indigenous tribes will be owned by the individual, and a bounty can be received after completing the task.

Franz said confidently: "Don't worry, our colonies on the African continent are still in a primitive state and have never been developed.

According to geologists, alluvial gold deposits are likely to appear along the river.There are also trace gold elements in the river sand collected at present, and the probability of owning gold mines is very high.

As long as a large gold mine is found, all our investment will be recovered, and there will be a large piece of fertile land, no matter what, it will be a big profit.

There is no rush for immigrants from the Sinai Peninsula. We have plenty of time. We can wait two or three years before taking action, and the garrison can also be increased slowly. "

……

Chapter 14 Gold Mine

Guinea

This era has not been developed, most of the area is tropical forest.Now is the rainy season, and the jungle is even more dangerous.

However, none of this can stop people's enthusiasm for making a fortune.The Austrian colonists have begun to extend their tentacles to the inland, and they don't need government organizations. The civil armed groups who want to make a fortune have already acted spontaneously.

Europeans in this era, as long as they take the initiative to go to the colonies, they are all daring existences, and they are much more daring than those forced to immigrate by the Vienna government.

This is also related to the proportion of young and strong refugees. Affected by the Balkan Wars, a large number of young and strong died. In the end, there were more women than men among the refugees who went to the African continent.

This is also a good thing for the Vienna government to develop the African continent. In this era, most of the people engaged in colonial activities were men, and all countries were troubled by the imbalance between men and women in the colonies.Because of this problem, a lot of mixed-race children appeared in the colonies of later generations.

No more headaches now, a large number of female immigrants solved the problem.Once they start a family, they basically settle down.

Franz had a publicity plan in place and was just short of discovering gold.

There is no way, Europeans in this era recognize gold mines. For most people, mining gold mines is the easiest way to make them rich overnight.

In order to attract immigrants, Franz reluctantly gave up his plan to monopolize the gold mines.Of course, not knowing the specific location of the gold mine is also a major reason.

……

After the rain, Baron Fickney took the colonial team on the road.As a traditional German military aristocratic family, in this era of great change, his father's generation failed to keep up with the times, and the family business gradually declined.

Originally, the output on the land was not much, and after the abolition of serfdom, his income was even less.Relying solely on the income from the fief, it was no longer possible to maintain his extravagant aristocratic life.

In order not to become a member of the bankrupt nobles, after the Vienna government opened up the African colony, Fickney mortgaged the fief to the bank and organized a 200-member colonial armed force.

Different from other colonial armed forces, everyone in his team knows the basics, and they are all private troops composed of farm laborers in the fief.

These people are the result of years of management by the Ficney family. Even though serfdom was abolished, the local people still swear their allegiance to him.

Although the size of this team can only be considered medium among all the colonial teams going to the African continent, its combat effectiveness is at the forefront.

This is the background of the noble family, even if it is the capital left over from the decline, it is not comparable to the nouveau riche.

……

"Baron, the sentry found the indigenous tribe hunting in front, the number is about 150 people, and their weapons are mainly bows and bone spurs." A middle-aged man said seriously

Fickney frowned. He didn't like dealing with these pure native tribes very much, and there was no way for the two sides to communicate at all.

He is not a slave trader, and he has no interest in capturing slaves.Although during this period, American slave traders had already appeared in colonial strongholds to buy slaves, and the bids were not low.

Fickney, who came from aristocratic background, still couldn't hold back his face and ran to become a slave trader. He thought it would be a disgrace to the honor of the family.

He has always despised those teams that have degenerated to profit from selling slaves.

The Vienna government also banned the slave trade. Shortly after Franz succeeded to the throne, the "Abolition of Slavery Act" was promulgated, which was the legal basis for the Vienna government to liberate serfdom.

Of course, this law does not control the African continent for the time being. As long as the slaves are not sent to Austria, no one will intervene.

Americans and Portuguese were slave traders, and the colonial government never questioned or controlled them. This is the African continent, and order depends on fists.

The Austrian soldiers in the battalion inside the colonial stronghold alone may not be the opponents of the slave merchants.

The reality is so cruel, overseas colonization also has to consider the cost.Austria opened up more than 20 colonial strongholds on the African continent, and the troops of an infantry division were dispersed like this.

In addition to the government army, the large and small colonial teams from the country are also an important organizational part of the colonial armed forces. A single armed team is inconspicuous, and once they are all organized, they will become two infantry divisions.

From the moment they set foot in the colony, they became part of the Austrian Army Reserve.In case of emergency, the colonial government has the right to recruit all armed groups.

"Is it possible to avoid them?" Fickney asked.

He had come to find gold and make a fortune, not to fight the native tribes, which brought him no glory and cost precious ammunition.

The middle-aged man thought for a while and said: "I'm afraid not, they are in our way, unless we are not moving forward.

Otherwise, even if you avoided them, you might be ambushed by them on your way home.There are already several teams in the stronghold, which have been attacked by indigenous tribes.

Moreover, these people have human skulls on their waists, and most of them are cannibal tribes. They are not good things, and we don't need to be polite to them. "

"Bang bang bang..."