Holy Roman Empire

The French told the world with practical actions that the defeat in the last Mexican War was just an exception, and they are still the most powerful army in the world.

Naturally, the rebels were not wiped out, and Mexico is not a small place. As long as the rebels just find a place to hide, the French can't do anything.

The rule of Maximilian I was not stabilized because the rebels were hit hard, but became shaky because of successive social reforms.

If it weren't for the fear of the reaction of France and Austria, I am afraid that the powerful faction in Mexico would have launched a coup long ago, and replaced it with the little crown prince to make a rubber stamp.

On the surface, it has stabilized, but the undercurrent has been surging.Now there is only one spark left, and it can be detonated.

……

One wave just flattened, another wave rose again.

In 1860, a large amount of gold was discovered in several black emirates east of the Transvaal Republic. In 1867, the first diamond was discovered in Hopetown on the Orange River.

For the British who controlled South Africa, the two Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange were no longer poor but fat.

This is not the most critical, the bigger reason is that the Austrians have also reached out their tentacles.

The Boers were originally a mixed race of Dutch, Germans, and some French, and they naturally did not reject Austria of the same ancestry and origin.

Small countries need to hug their thighs, and everyone quickly became good friends.The Zulus acted as a bridge of friendship between the two sides. In the recent African melee, the two sides joined forces to eliminate this threat.

For the British, the fall of the Boers to Austria meant that a crisis was approaching.With Austria's advantages in the African continent, it seems that it is not difficult to assimilate the Boers who came from the same origin.

If it wasn't for the New Shinra Empire's inability to tolerate the Republic, the two sides might have merged by now.Even so, there are not a few Boers who support joining the Shinra colonial system.

This made the crisis-conscious British unbearable. They have not forgotten how they were kicked out of the European continent. Naturally, they do not want to see what happened in the European continent repeat in South Africa.

Although the opening of the Suez Canal has reduced the strategic value of Cape Town, it is still a battleground for military strategists.

This caused Governor Delphi a great headache. Since he took charge of the South African region, not to mention external expansion, his own sphere of influence has been continuously compressed.

Facing the menacing Austrians, they were able to hold their current sphere of influence, which was covered by the brand of the British Empire.

As for expansion?The expedition teams sent out all had no news, and occasionally a few people escaped, all pointing to the black aborigines.

Which indigenous tribe is so powerful that it has the strength to stop their progress?This situation has been going on for many years, and a few years ago they organized an expedition of 3000 troops in an attempt to break this situation.

Then, shortly after setting off, this highly anticipated army was blocked by a large number of natives.

They blocked and killed gods and demons all the way, beating the natives to the point of crying.I accidentally had too much fun, and when I walked a little far, someone cut off my back.

There is no total annihilation, and it is not far from that point.Over the next year, more than 150 million Aboriginals emigrated to their colonies.

It is true that there is great strength in numbers, but people also need to eat.The first thing these black tribes who were driven over here was to grab the territory.

Except for the cities which are still under the control of the British, the countryside is in disarray.At one time, the tax officials of the British were afraid to leave the city, and a large number of immigrants fled South Africa with their families.

The deteriorating situation made the predecessor take the responsibility and retired early to go home for the elderly.The governor of Delphi still solved the problem of overpopulation by introducing slave traders.

The main reason for these things to happen is that the Boer Republic cooperated with Austria's actions and directly released these natives, otherwise Austria would not have been able to do this.

Delphi has repeatedly proposed to the government to interfere with Austrian expansion, but to no avail.It's not that the London government doesn't want to interfere, the problem is that they don't have the strength to interfere.

In recent years, the supremacy of the navy has been impacted by France and Austria.The number of ironclad ships in France has approached three quarters of theirs, and the number of battleships in Austria has reached 60.00% of that of the British.

The two-strong standard, I don't know where to throw it into the ashes for a long time.The reality tells the British, don't pretend to be aggressive if you don't have money.

Of course, in terms of total tonnage, the British still barely achieved the two-strong standard. After all, no one can compete with them in the number of sailing warships.

Looking at the collected information, Governor Delphi felt that he should do something, otherwise the future rule of the British Empire in South Africa would be difficult.

If anyone finds the above, it won't feel like Delphi is making a fuss over a molehill.Impressively, it is the data of immigrants from the two Boer republics in the past ten years.

Among them, immigrants from the German region are particularly important, with a total of 80.00, more than [-]% of the total number of immigrants.

How many people are there in the Boer Republic?At this rate, it will sooner or later become a country of German descent.It is not surprising that the two Boer republics fell to Austria. The votes made the government pro-Austria.

Chapter 27 Tangled Louis

The strongest fortress is always breached from the inside. Governor Delphi naturally understands this simple truth. From the very beginning, he was not prepared to fight the Austrians in Africa.

Perhaps the Royal Navy can suppress the Austrian Navy and even block most of the ports, but they still have no chance of winning.

Regardless of the fact that the total population of South Africa exceeds 250 million, most of whom are blacks, the number of whites in Cape Town in the mid-19th century exceeded [-], including Boers.

Under the pressure of massive immigration from Austria, the London government has also accelerated the pace of immigration.It is a pity that Britain has a limited population and too many colonies.

They need to take care of too many places at the same time, first of all, Australia and Canada, where gold has been discovered, and then New Zealand, India and other regions. When it is South Africa's turn, the number of immigrants is not much.

This is also the reason why Governor Delphi is worried. Whether he likes it or not, insufficient immigration has become the main factor restricting the development of South Africa.

The original time and space developed in South Africa. It was in the late 19th century that the largest gold mine group in the world was discovered, which attracted a large number of immigrants.

In this period, South Africa does not have much advantage over the rest of Africa, at least in the minds of the people.

Delphi asked earnestly: "Blair, how is the plan going, are they willing to cooperate with us?"

Facing the expectant Governor of Delphi, Blair lowered his head and replied after a while: "Unfortunately, Your Excellency Governor, our plan has failed.

Austria has infiltrated the Transvaal and Orange more than imagined, and the news appeared in the newspapers shortly after we had contact with them.

You know, the grievances between us and the Boers cannot be resolved in a few words.After the news leaked, several friends who contacted us did not dare to act rashly. "

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are quite a few Boers who oppose cooperation with Austria.But this does not mean that they can cooperate with the British.

Originally, these Boers were forced to move to the inland areas because they did not want to be British. Naturally, they would not have a good impression of the British who had seized their homeland.

Anti-British sentiment among the people was already strong. With the intervention of Austria, anti-British sentiment has become the political correctness of the Transvaal and Orange.

After the news was leaked, those who planned to cooperate with the British fell into the vortex of public opinion and couldn't protect themselves, so naturally they dared not continue to act.

As for the British threat, it is a pity that Austria is the boss on the African continent.Both the Transvaal and Orange are landlocked countries, and no matter how powerful the Royal Navy is, they cannot go ashore.

Only the British in the Cape Town area need to think carefully about who threatens whom.

This result was beyond the expectations of the governor of Delphi. Originally, he was going to buy off the anti-Austrian faction among the Boers, stir up conflicts between the two sides, and force the Transvaal and Orange to fall to them.

With the Boers as a buffer, British rule in South Africa is stable.Austria is also struggling, and is simply unable to retaliate in a short period of time.

For the future, that is the issue of the next session. Governor Delphi doesn't think he needs to think so much.Stabilizing the situation at the lowest cost is the top priority.

The governor of Delphi complained: "It seems that we are in serious trouble, and we will not be able to sleep well if the two threats of the Transvaal and Orange are not resolved.

Damn Boers, wouldn't it be good to act as a buffer country? If you have to fall to Austria, do you really think we are easy to bully! "

If the Boers knew his thoughts, they would be very wronged. They have always been neutral!

It is normal to be close to Austria. In addition to the feelings of the people, they also need trade.

As a small landlocked country surrounded by Britain, Austria and Portugal, they are not close to Austria, so why don't they run to hug the Portuguese thigh?

It is useless to explain that they fell to Austria and threatened the British rule in Cape Town. This reality is more convincing than any reason.

Blair suggested: "Your Excellency, the relationship between the Liebers and Austria has failed from the inside, and now we can only start a backup plan as soon as possible.

Now is an opportunity to take action to interrupt cooperation between the Boers before Austria annexes them. "

It is indeed an opportunity. The African continent is really too big. Although the Austrians are working hard to build the railway, they still cannot solve the traffic problem.

In Zimbabwe and Botswana, the power the Austrians can use is also very limited.It's not that there is no army, the main bad traffic limits the number of troops sent.

This is also the real reason why Austria has expanded to its limit.Regardless of the fact that Austria has many immigrants on the African continent, once dispersed, there will not be many in one area.

To find these settlements, it is enough to start along the river.Areas without rivers are basically not developed much.

It is the backup plan of the British to pull out the two nails in the Transvaal and Orange before Austria solves the traffic problem.

"Hey!"

After Delphi sighed, he said, "Let's start preparing. The cabinet has agreed to our plan, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate with us."

……

Portugal, King Louis is panicking now.People sit at home, and disaster comes from heaven.

Britain and Austria compete for the South African region, and now they need to stand in line.

Don't look at Portugal as a small country with very limited influence in Europe.But when it comes to the African continent, especially in South Africa, the Portuguese also have a say.

They were able to keep Mozambique and Angola not only by flexible diplomatic means, but also by their own strength.

Perhaps this little strength is nothing in the European continent, but it should not be underestimated in the African continent.If they don't have the strength, no matter how good their diplomatic work is, they will be robbed.

My family knows their own affairs, and now Portugal is no longer able to compete with Britain, France and Austria for overseas colonies. Louis I has been in a state of keeping his business all these years.

Relying on good relations with both Britain and Austria, the Portuguese colonies on the African continent have not been violated.

Now the British want them to stand in line, and the London government wants to get the support of Portuguese African power to drive Austria out of South Africa.

Not to mention whether it can be done, just to directly confront Austria, Louis I was persuaded.

As for their pink map plan, connecting Angola and Mozambique, he had long since given up on it.Now is not the era of Portugal, it would be nice to be able to keep the existing foundation.

Caught between two empires, this kind of life is not easy. Otherwise, Louis I might have collapsed because of his strong heart.

Louis was not at all interested in the promises made by the British.

Perhaps the United Kingdom and Portugal can suppress the Austrians in South Africa, but what if they are retaliated afterwards?

Counting on the protection of the British, isn't that a sheep into a tiger's mouth?In the original time and space, Portugal was forced to fall to the British, and as a result, a lot of wealth in the colonization was seized by the British.

The consequences now are even more serious. Once they join forces with the British, the Angola region will soon be over.The Congo region, which has been operated by Austria for many years, is now capable of supporting a war of 10 people.

The Mozambique region will not be better off either.There are too many areas bordering Portugal and Austria. Once conflicts arise, Portugal will never have peace.

Louis I did not think that the British, who had promised to protect the security of their colonies, would actually go to war with Austria for them.

Even if the conflict of interest in South Africa is so serious, both sides are exercising restraint, and there is no direct fight on the surface, which is enough to explain everything.

Moreover, Portugal and Austria also have friendship. When Austria took the steps to colonize, it received the support of Portugal.Franz made a public promise that he would not plot any Portuguese colonies.

Louis I still believed in this declaration.After so many years, Austria has indeed never reached out to their colonies.

Breaking this favorable situation for the sake of the British promise, in the eyes of Louis I, is completely worth the candle.

Moreover, even if Portugal really gets the Zambia region, connecting Angola and Mozambique may not be a good thing.

The buffer between the great powers is not good, especially for those who have stood in line like them, they can only be tied to the British and bear Austria's revenge.

This was not what Louis I wanted, but it was not easy to reject the British. With John Bull's style, how could he easily let them go?

……

Chapter 28 It's all acting

The little action of the British did not deceive the Austrian Minister in Portugal, and the news was sent back to Vienna immediately.This time it was the turn of the Vienna government to be confused. They had no idea how the British suddenly ate explosives.

The crisis in South Africa is only potential. Now Austria is busy operating new land, but it doesn't seek the British's bad luck.

The Colonial Secretary, Josip Jeracic, retired with honors not long ago, and the acting Colonial Secretary, Stephen, is now presiding over the work.

Stephen can also be regarded as a legend. During the process of colonizing Austria, he was temporarily appointed as the mayor of New Brook as a lieutenant colonel, and then opened Qingyun Road.

He successively served as the governor of West Africa and the Congo, and was later transferred back to Vienna to serve as the undersecretary of the Colonial Department. After Josip Jelacic retired, he presided over the work.

After so many years of development, the Colonial Department is no longer the dispensable department at the beginning, but the real power department after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Defense.

Colonial Secretary Stephen explained: "Your Majesty, it has been verified that we have not had any major conflicts with the British in Africa recently.

Just last month, the Governor of West Africa also communicated with the British on the issue of British colonial strongholds in West Africa. The negotiations have made a breakthrough, and now they are only negotiating on the price issue. "

Obviously, the Anglo-Austrian South African crisis was not provoked by the Austrian African colonial government.The colonial bureaucrats are not fools, even if they want to attack South Africa, it will not be now.

Wouldn't it be better to call the attention of the South African region after the railway runs through?

Moreover, conflicts in West Africa can be resolved through negotiations, and conflicts in South Africa are not impossible.

There may be militants, but everyone will not choose the British as their enemies.This opponent is easy to deal with on land, but the outcome is reversed at sea.

Because of the gold mine issue in West Africa, everyone has been in a stalemate for more than ten years. Now Austria has settled down the Dutch, Portuguese, and French one after another.

To be precise, in the areas controlled by various countries, gold mines that have been discovered and have mining value have been mined in sevens and eighties.

Without economic benefits and without strategic value, the remaining problems will naturally be easy to handle.Colonies, as long as the price is right, they can be sold.

Franz didn't mind selling a few colonies if someone offered a high price.Austria's colonies scattered all over the world add up to more than 700 million square kilometers, and many of them are of little value.

You can tell by the degree of importance. Franz attaches great importance to the African colonies, not because of their richness, nor because of their high strategic value, but mainly because of their proximity and large enough development potential.

The natural conditions in Asia and the Americas may be more favorable, but the distance determines that the Vienna government has weak control over those areas.

The transoceanic telegraph was still being laid, and the Vienna government had to delegate power to the colonies before instant communication could be guaranteed.