Holy Roman Empire

This supply can only guarantee survival, and don't expect anything else.Unless the British play sea desalination, it will not be able to meet the demand at all.

There is no way to detect the internal situation of Cape Town, but the number of ships entering the port every day cannot be kept secret.

The number of ships entering and leaving Cape Town has decreased every day. This is a math problem that is easy to calculate. Everyone knows that the number of transported materials is decreasing.

Without enough supplies, Cape Town will fall sooner or later, which makes the "Boer Republic representative" in the negotiation more confident.

Of course, this is only in theory. In fact, the "Boer Republic Army" outside the city would not dare to attack the city until the plague was over.

The Cape of Good Hope is important, but it is just as important to Austria, and it is not enough for Franz to win here at all costs.

The lack of supplies is not impossible to solve, as long as the number of garrisons is reduced, the plague is the best barrier anyway.

If you braved the plague to attack the city and occupied the Cape of Good Hope, the army of the Boer Republic would almost be wiped out.This "waste" does not only refer to casualties, but more to the morale of the army.

When soldiers are war-weary and unwilling to sacrifice their lives for the country, no matter how powerful the army is, it will instantly become soft-legged shrimp.

Seeing winter approaching day by day, the British still couldn't hold on and had to make major concessions.

On June 1871, 6, the two countries signed an armistice treaty in the barracks outside Cape Town, announcing the end of the war that lasted for more than a year.

Treaty content:

1. The war between Britain and the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State was a complete accident. For the sake of world peace, the two sides ended the war from the date of signing the treaty; (June 1817, 6)

2. The British side paid a ransom of 360 million pounds to buy back the land within a radius of 200 miles from Cape Town;

3. The two sides exchange prisoners of war with each other, and pay ransom for the excess number in accordance with international practice.The agreed price is: 180 pounds per person for soldiers, and 300 pounds to 20000 pounds for officers according to their rank and knighthood.

There was no accountability for the war, no mention of the outcome of the war, as if it was an insignificant skirmish, not worth mentioning.

The reality is so cruel, and Britain also wants to save face. It is not so easy for them to admit defeat in the war.Even if the colonial government in Cape Town is willing to accept it, the officials and gentlemen in London will not agree.

It is absolutely impossible to cede land and pay compensation. The London government cannot bear the political impact of the defeat of the war. On the contrary, the land ransom and the ransom for prisoners of war are more acceptable.

Anyway, most of the lost land belonged to the South African colonial company, not the British government.

If you have a thicker skin, let the colonial company fail and the London government buys back a colony from the Boers.

The ransom for prisoners of war is simpler, and European society does not reject this.If the number of captives this time is a bit large and the amount of ransom paid is relatively large, the sentence of exchanging prisoners will be covered.

If it's really shameless, it can be declared a great victory.Strategically, it smashed the enemy's plot to plot the Cape of Good Hope and forced the enemy to give up this unrealistic fantasy.

Politics has always been like this, including the Anglo-Boer war, which can be blamed on the South African colonial company.Anyway, this unlucky company went bankrupt during the war, and no one will come forward to defend it.

In fact, Governor Delphi has already started doing it.As a qualified politician, even if you lose a battle and sign an unfavorable treaty, you still have to minimize the responsibility for the war.

In any case, the Cape Colony was saved.Although it is a shrunken version, the British people will not know, and no one will care about the size of the Cape Town colony thousands of miles away.

Chapter 69 Working hard not to be a non-emperor

The South African War was over, and the victorious government in Vienna was not happy.The reality once again proves that in modern warfare, it is no longer possible to make up for losses by relying on war reparations.

Through the armistice treaty, the Vienna government received 300 million land ransoms, plus the captives' ransom, the total was 612.68 million pounds, equivalent to 1225.36 million Aegis.

It seems that this is a huge amount of money, but compared with the war expenditure, it is a drop in the bucket, and even a quarter of the cost has not been recovered.

This is still based on the secret contribution of the French, otherwise, the price paid will be even greater.

The loot obtained is a barren land.Because of the war, even the indigenous tribes could not find a few lands acquired from British South Africa, let alone immigrants.

If it wasn't for strategically opening up South Africa's estuary to the sea, compressing the British forces in a corner, and ensuring the safety of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, it would be a complete loss.

When the war is won, regardless of the losses, rewards for meritorious service are indispensable.

But after all, it was fought with the vest of the Boer Republic, and the settlement of military achievements in the later stage will go around in circles, and the settlement will be made after Austria annexes these regions.

Originally, the dignitaries in the Boer Republic, except for a few smart people who made the right choice, were all lost in this round of reshuffle.

This is the difference in size. In the original Boer Republic, all the workers with hundreds of workers were the leading big capitalists. In Austria, this is the size of the township enterprises.

With the invasion of the British, their capital to negotiate terms disappeared.The pit was dug by themselves, and the armaments were abandoned. The British invaded and had to ask Austria for help.

Originally thought that Austria had to rely on them local snakes, but they guessed the beginning, but not the end.

The strength of the British is not as strong as they imagined, which greatly reduces Austria's dependence on them.Smart people adjust their mentality in time and immediately take refuge in the past, so naturally there will be no loss.

It will be a tragedy if the response is one step too late. Regardless of the economic loss, the right to speak politically will also be weakened.The original relationship in the government of the Boer Republic has been shaken to pieces.

The reality is so cruel, without a reshuffle of rights, how can people who are loyal to Austria be promoted to the top?

These aristocrats who brought their own dry food to fight the war were not without interest demands, and obviously wanted to get a share of the power reorganization.

Even if the foundation is not here and will not stay and develop, it is still possible to arrange a family child to come and develop.Tree big branches, this is the shelter of the veteran nobles.

These new interest groups will be the foundation for Austria to rule South Africa in the future.The original interest group, then I can only say sorry, who made them make a mistake in judgment?

The Treaty of Cape Town was signed, and the biggest obstacle to the establishment of the Anglo-French-Austrian Triple Alliance no longer existed. On July 1871, 7, representatives of Britain, France and Austria signed an alliance treaty at the Palace of Versailles, and the era of great power hegemony came.

Due to various reasons, the duration of this alliance treaty is only five years.It can be seen that the confidence of the three countries in this alliance is not enough, it can only be regarded as an attempt.

Whether to continue to renew the contract after five years depends on whether everyone can get more benefits within these five years.This is the reality between countries, and only interests can maintain this alliance.

Even so, the European world was still in an uproar, and this contradictory alliance still frightened many people.

For small countries that originally relied on the contradictions of the great powers to survive, life has become increasingly difficult. Dismantling this alliance has become the common goal of countless European countries.

In the Palace of Vienna, Franz is holding a cabinet meeting to discuss the plan for the African railway network.

Prime Minister Felix suggested: "Your Majesty, considering the operating cost, the African railway network plan should be postponed. At present, we only need to complete the two strategic railways, the East-West and the Southwest.

Blind construction of the railway network will bring a heavy financial burden.Take our local railway network as an example. Although the government has given many preferential policies, many railway companies still go bankrupt.

Affected by this, the capital market is no longer keen on railway investment.Today, there are not many domestic railway companies that can make a profit.

If the African railway network plan is to be launched, it is almost impossible to rely on financing from the capital market, and the burden will all fall on the government.

This huge railway project has exceeded our financial limits, and we may not be able to break even within 100 years. "

The bankruptcy of the railway company was Franz's fault.In order to popularize the railway network in Austria as soon as possible, he used the Internet development methods of later generations.

Launch a concept, draw a big pie, and attract capital to enter the market.The railway network exists independently, and it is naturally a monopoly operation. As long as the initial investment stage is passed, it is really not difficult to make profits later.

This big pie is much more conscientious than the virtual concept of later generations, and it is not impossible to achieve this goal.It's just that the investment in the early stage is relatively large, and the profit time in the later stage is relatively long.

This does not rely on the power of capital, Austria has built a railway network in the shortest time.As for the railway companies that fell down halfway, they all have one common feature-broken capital chain.

This is all due to his own poor management, and it is definitely not for the government to take over, Franz did it on purpose.

Investment is risky, and you need to be cautious when entering the market.In the capitalist market economy, if the economic crisis is not considered, it is all their own responsibility.

Don’t say this explanation. Franz has never stood on the stage, advocating that railway investment is an expert, and it is capitalists who bankrupted the railway company, and has nothing to do with the emperor.

The surviving railway companies can prove that as long as their heads are not convulsed and they choose high-quality railway lines carefully, even if they bundle branch lines, they can still make profits.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you have enough money to survive the long investment period, and the rate of return in the later period is still relatively impressive.

Don't compare profits with stock prices, those things are all bubbles, and no company's profits can catch up with the rise in stock prices.

At its peak, the total market value of Austrian railway companies once exceeded the myth of 200 billion Aegis.Is Austria's railway network worth 200 billion Aegis?

There is no doubt that this is impossible.The 200 billion Aegis in this era is an astronomical figure, and the gold that has been developed all over the world is not enough.

If there is so much money, not to mention the local railway network, even if it is to lay a railway network for inhabited areas all over the world, it is almost enough.

We must know that the combined calculation of the Austrian railway network together has an annual profit of less than 500 million Aegis. To be precise, the net profit of [-] million Aegis is less than.

Of course, there is still a lot of room for growth. The railway companies that have stabilized and have not continued to build have basically maintained a growth rate of more than 30.00% in annual profits.

This is not because their profits are growing fast, but because the base is too low, and the growth is naturally rapid.For a one percent increase in freight traffic, the railroad's profits may increase by four or five points.

It's not a question of high or low freight rates, but a lack of business, which has caused many railway lines to lose money.It has increased the business volume and turned many branch lines into profits. In the case of insufficient total profit, it looks very impressive.

Taking the Draco Railway Company as an example, the profit in 1869 was 1.2 Aegis, and the total profit in 1870 was 138.6 million Aegis. On the surface, it seemed to have increased by more than 100 times, but in fact, the annual business volume also increased by 5. points.

This seemingly explosive growth is actually still negligible.You must know that the net assets of Draco Railway Company are 1.3 million Aegis, and the market value is as high as 5.3 million Aegis. At its peak, the market value once reached 16.8 billion Aegis.

Otherwise, the growth rate is fast, and the price-to-earnings rate is simply impossible to see.It is simply impossible to expect profits to recover investment costs without more than ten or twenty years.

The same method can only be played once, and capitalists are not stupid.To fool people with the African railway network, you need someone to believe it, right?

Counting on small private investors, it is a pity that these Filipino vegetables have not yet grown up, and they can't cut much if they want to.Unless it is to relax the financial management law and allow small capital to enter the market.

Obviously, this is impossible. If this is done, in case of a stock market crash, the scope of impact will be wider.

Life is not easy in this era. Ordinary people work hard every day to survive. These people have no ability to resist risks.If he was really tricked into it, wouldn't this be sending cannon fodder to the Revolutionary Party?

Those who poach their own corners are absolutely unacceptable.As for the construction of the African railway network, it will be better if it is later.

Why is the colony developing so well? It is enough to provide industrial raw materials and markets.Even if we want to develop greatly, we have to wait until after localization.

Franz nodded and said: "The construction of the African railway network is indeed too expensive. Now these two railways must be re-planned.

We already have some railways in Africa, and these cannot be wasted.The Southwest Railway can be considered to connect directly in the Congo region, and the East-West Railway can also be connected midway in the Southwest Railway.

In this way, the strategic goal can also be achieved. Perhaps in the long run, such a planning distance is a bit far away, but in the short term, the investment can be reduced to a minimum. "

This is not Franz's short-sightedness, on the contrary, there is still a deep meaning in doing so.Through this railway, the resources in the interior of Africa can be shipped out and shipped back to the country from the nearest seaport.

The strategic purpose has been achieved. As for the railway is not the shortest route, it increases the integration cost of resources in various parts of Africa. This is originally a means of checking and balancing the colonies.

Don't you see that the British built a bunch of messy railways in India, and the Indians didn't smooth them out in the 21st century, which is a means of checking and balancing the colonies.

Franz's approach has been very restrained, at least not unified track standards.No, it is not a completely unified standard, some railways that specialize in ore transportation, and there may be narrow gauge railways.

It is loaded on the ship when it is transported to the port, and there is no need to connect with the main railway road.At least the mines not far from the coast will build such railways.

Otherwise, by taking advantage of the local resource advantages, there will be a complete industrial system in Austrian Africa after more than ten or twenty years. If the localization is not completed in time, it will be in big trouble.

The mainland could not suppress the colonies, and Franz did not want to move his capital to the African continent in his lifetime and become a non-emperor.Even if the strategic focus is shifted, the African continent can be unified and the largest empire in the world can be established.

Chapter 70 The Frenchman Who Wants to Stop Losses

The shrinking version of the African railway network plan has been released. In line with the principle of saving what can be saved, except for the construction of main roads, the central government allocates half of the funds, and the construction of other branch railways must be found by the colonial government.

The main road is a strategic need, connecting the colonies together can increase the ability to resist risks.Even in the event of a world war, Austria will be able to keep the African continent.

Among other things, the gold mines in South Africa alone need to build this railway.To block the prying eyes of other countries, one cannot do without strength.

The Portuguese did not dare to join forces with the British, because the benefits offered by John Bull were not large enough to make them take risks.If they discover that there are a lot of gold mines in South Africa, can they restrain their desire?

To put it bluntly, in this era of colonies, that is just a kind of wealth.For the Portuguese, as long as the benefits that can be obtained are large enough, it is worthwhile to lose the colonies in other regions under Austria's revenge.

Otherwise, why did Franz fight the British in South Africa?As long as the Vienna government announces the annexation of the Boer Republic, and the governor of Delphi is not stupid, how can he continue to wage war?

The greatest value of the Anglo-Boer war was to make the London government realize that they really couldn't fight on land.

As for the Cape Town colonial government, it is estimated that it will not be able to get out of the shadow of this war for decades.

Once the railway is connected, even if the gold mine reserves are exposed, the Cape Town colonial government will not have the courage to do something. This is the effect of the war.

Including the London government, also unable to arouse the desire to fight.Because Austrian Africa, which is connected in one piece, can mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops at any time, the price required to seize the gold mines from Austria is too high, which has exceeded their tolerance limit.

All in all, Franz paid more attention to the African continent than Europe, and in his view, this is the future of Austria.

There is no way, it is too difficult to expand in the European continent.If there was no colony in Africa, then the European continent would not have been so peaceful all these years. Franz had already made troubles.

Among other things, with the grievances between the Habsburg dynasty and the Ottoman Empire, they will definitely linger until now.

The original space-time Austria did not attack them because of its own lack of strength.Due to diplomatic mistakes and fierce domestic political struggles, the military failed one after another on the European continent. At this time, they can only barely protect themselves.

Because the Austrian African colony was opened up, and the resources in it had been enough for Austria to digest for many years, Franz gave up the idea of ​​​​initiating a war on the European continent.

This is a question of return on investment. In the original time and space, there was no victor in the First World War. All parties were seriously injured, and in the end it was easy for the fisherman.

The Second World War was even worse. The European countries participating in the war were no longer seriously injured. Almost all of them were wiped out. Only France, which was lying dead, barely survived.

The risks here are too great, and the benefits obtained are too small.After all, the territory on the European continent is not easy to digest, if you choke it, you will be finished.

If you look at the French, you will know that in order to digest the Italian region, they had to concentrate their energy, and even overseas colonial expansion activities were affected.

Originally, Fao, who was most likely to appear, collided on the African continent, but now there is no sign at all.Affected by the change in the strategic center of gravity, the expansion speed of the French on the African continent has been greatly reduced, and there is still enough buffer between the two countries.

The land on the African continent is also limited, and the expansion of the French is slow, so Austria will naturally not be polite.

Even if the two countries have divided their spheres of influence, there is no satellite map in this era, and the size of the African continent is so large, it is difficult to clearly define it even if it advances one or two hundred miles.

A line on the map, the error on the actual boundary is very large.Fortunately, the junction of the spheres of influence between the two countries is mostly a vast desert, otherwise the French territory has shrunk greatly.

It wasn't just Austria who took the opportunity to seize the territory, the British also stepped up their infiltration into the Sudanese region.If it weren't for the sudden outbreak of the Anglo-Boer war, which dragged down the energy of Britain and Austria, the interests of the French in Sudan might not be able to be preserved.

Of course, with the alliance of Britain, France and Austria, these problems will gradually fade, and everyone will exercise restraint as much as possible.

In Paris, as French politics decided to shrink the strategy, the power invested here was also weakened.Up to now, it has been impossible to suppress the situation in Mexico.