Chapter 478: Each has his own plans

  Chapter 467 Each has his own plans

“Killing chickens to warn monkeys”, is not so easy to operate, first of all, the chicken to be killed will not agree. If the butcher is not skilled enough, it is not likely that the chicken will fly.

When playing politics, no one is a fool. We all hang out in a circle, who doesn’t have a few darkies ah?

The news of the Austrian delegation’s arrival wasn’t a secret at all, and since the Vienna government wanted to annex the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, it would normally have to pull in their powerhouses.

Don’t think that just because they are politically anti-Austrian, they really have a deep grudge against Austria and are going to fight to the end.

With the exception of a few middle-aged teenagers, the old guard being anti-Austrian is just a political necessity. There are people who can profit from joining Austrian Africa, and naturally there are people whose interests are compromised, and it is impossible to satisfy everyone’s interests.

It is natural for those whose interests are jeopardized to oppose the merger. The child that cries has milk to eat, the Middle East and the West are all universal, how can one gain benefits without crying?

In order to gain more benefits, the anti-Olympics camp was thus created. The pro-Olympics and anti-Olympics camps are inextricably linked, even to the extent of placing bets on both ends.

Not everyone could have predicted that the speed of Austrian expansion could be so fast. Without waiting for them to react, Austria was already at their doorstep, discussing the merger.

Wanting to turn around immediately, it was definitely too late, and the anti-Austrians also had a backstage, such as secretly hooking up with the British and the Portuguese.

The tragedy is that now the African continent Austria is powerful, the Portuguese completely dare not make a mistake, the British likewise do not have enough strength to suppress Austria.

The general trend is not an individual can be reversed, many people are ready to jump ship, just waiting for the Vienna government to make an offer.

The plan did not change quickly, leading the action of the Viscount Fikeni simply do not follow the rules, pulling together the pro-Austrian faction after, not in action.

Even in their indolence are delivered to the door, were rejected, Viscount Fikeni simply did not accept their intentions.

At this time, the situation in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State also changed, and the pro-Austrian faction suddenly launched a political attack on them.

Smart people knew that a storm was coming, and as an existence on the wrong side this time, danger was closing in on them. The pro-Austrian faction is not ironclad, and it is not unusual for a few anti-Austrian elements to be lurking among them, and the news leaked out.

Looking at the information coming from his hands, William, one of the political leaders of the anti-Olympic faction, was furious. Not just shouted a few slogans, as to so shouting to kill?

Although they are “anti-Austria”, but in fact have always stayed in the propaganda, in the work of no one dares to really mess with Austria.

Weak countries have no diplomacy, this common international law is also common in South Africa. “Anti-Austria” talk is almost the same, if they really face Austria in the end the bad luck is still theirs.

This time is different, not they want to fight against Austria, but Austria wants to borrow their heads to establish prestige.

William is now in a dilemma, jump against the past is too late, change political position also need time, obviously the enemy will not give him this time.

The Austrians want to kill to establish prestige, into the Austrian embrace of the people need to take their heads as a complaint. At the critical moment, William had to think about the way back.

At this time he remembered the British, who had contacted him not long ago, except that the situation was nowhere near as bad as it is now, and William was not willing to take the risk.

After hesitating for a while, William decided to try one more time, “Raul, immediately notify several old friends, such as Skorman, Fields, Lankes, and Tyrone, that we are having a banquet tonight.”

The Transvaal Republic was not big, and it was a newborn country, the circle of the upper class was even smaller, and the power struggle was far less intense than the outside world imagined.

Despite the different political stances, William and these pro-Austrian leaders were on speaking terms. Now that he wanted to get out in one piece, he needed the help of these people.

If he could get out in one piece, William didn’t mind giving up some of his interests as the price for standing on the wrong side.

Servant Raul replied, “Yes, Mr. William!”

While testing the waters, William was also planning for the worst, and after Raul left, he sent another person to secretly make contact with the British.

As a world power, the Vienna government wanted face, even if they wanted to kill to establish authority, they could not do it directly.

A crowned crime is indispensable, and the anti-Austrian faction led by Wilhelm is not without power, and even if there is a high-level government that defects to Austria to make a move, it will take time to collect incriminating evidence.

This creates an opportunity for the anti-Austrian faction, in the face of life and death crisis, people are often the most explosive potential.

Fikeni coldly watched this infighting that broke out between the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, whether the anti-Austrian faction would be desperate or not, he didn’t care at all.

As the earliest Austrian colonizer, Viscount Fikeni is not afraid of war, even if the anti-Austrian faction and the British hooked up and subverted the rule of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, he is also fearless.

The continent was not a peaceful place these days, and Fikeni was not unprepared for his role as Austrian representative.

In recent times, a large number of Austrian merchant caravans had entered the Transvaal and Orange Free State, not all of them coming to do business.

If people pay attention, they will find that the members of the caravan all have a murderous spirit, and the goods they are escorting are not ordinary goods, and in some sealed boxes there is a piece of artillery.

These people were partly the army stationed in the Austrian Central South Africa region, and more of them were still the private armies of the nobles. Like Viscount Fikeni this kind of mine boss started, if do not have a few hundred private army, good to go out to meet people?

Everyone is well-informed generation, the distance from the distant nobles can not reach, but the nearby nobles is different, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, how can not come over to join in the fun?

If the situation is resolved peacefully, it will be treated as an armed exercise. In case the situation gets out of control and has to be resolved by force, then it is a military honor that comes to the door.

Many people are looking forward to the British to fight over, to brush their war record. It’s not that they are arrogant, but they really have the strength.

Most of Austria’s African colonies were fought by these noble private armies. In the African jungles, the fighting strength of these armies was definitely the best in this era.

If they relied on the government army alone, even if they sent all of Austria’s army over, there was no way to short of controlling a small half of the African continent.

The sparsely populated African continent, Austria can not be everywhere to set up administrative institutions, feudal nobles is the cheapest way to rule.

Anyway, as long as the suppression of the big nobles on the line, this has a few hundred private army of small and medium-sized nobles, simply do not need to be afraid.

In addition to these troops, there are also a large number of German immigrants in the area, once the war broke out, the nobles can also recruit young men.

With a few thousand veterans as the backbone, plus a bunch of young and strong, they can quickly organize an army of tens of thousands of people. It would not be certain who would fight who at that time.

The fact that Franz gave up his plan to occupy British South Africa did not mean that the colonial aristocrats also gave up, and many were salivating over Cape Town.

The Emperor did not allow the war to start, people could not afford to start a war, naturally they could not take the initiative to launch an attack, but this does not mean that they could not induce the British to attack.

If it was the British who took the initiative to invade, then the responsibility for the war would not be theirs. Fighting to defend the interests of the Empire, Franz would only commend them.

Viscount Fikeni was one of the hawkish nobles, advocating the expulsion of all European countries and leaving Austria to monopolize the entire continent.

Not to mention whether it could be realized or not, it was always good to have a goal to strive for. Austria’s strength in the African continent gave them ambition.

Simply counting the military strength in the African continent, Austria has already exceeded the sum of all countries. Of course, this does not mean that Austria has an absolute advantage over all countries, and Austria is also in a disadvantageous position in the local area.

In South Africa, for example, Austria had nothing to fear from either the British or the Portuguese. If the British and Portugal joined forces, then the situation changed.

Many people have the heart of a rabbit dying, and once Austria launches an attack on the titled colonies, the countries are likely to put aside their conflicts and join forces.

The First World War in the original time and space is a classic case. After the rise of Germany’s second empire, it did not do a good job of diplomacy and acted aggressively, so that the contradictory Britain, France and Russia became allies.

While Franz suppressed domestic expansionism, there was no way to stop the people underneath from deliberately digging a hole to entice the British to attack.

It was sort of a flip side of the fishing expedition; if the power was exposed squarely, the British would surely not dare to send them to the door.

Not anymore, whether it’s the Austrian aristocracy, the little Pretorius with a heart of gold, or the anti-Austrians, they all need the British to attack.

All of these people were intent on covering up, and the pro-Austrianists were even less likely to run and tip off the British. Besides, many people just sensed that something was wrong without realizing that it was a trap for the British.

“Many people did not even dare to think about the idea of an Anglo-Austrian war. Viscount Fikeni is not ready to provoke a full-scale war between the two countries, they still have self-awareness, very clear that their own navy is really not the Royal Navy’s rival.

From the beginning they did not hang the Austrian flag, the main force of the battle is the private army of the nobility, the top of the Republic of Boer’s vest and the British PK on the line.

Even if things are exposed out, that is also the noble lord and the British war, does not equal to belong to the country also want to go to war with the British, which is very Shen Luo.

When the Emperor went to war with the French, the nobles of the Shinra Empire were able to neutralize the government, and now that the Noble Lords are at war with the British, the Imperial government can naturally be neutral as well.

The war is won, the Boer Republic occupies British South Africa, and then a reason is created for the Empire to annex the Boer Republic and inherit that legacy.

Without tearing their faces apart, the British would at most protest, or wait for an opportunity to retaliate, and the situation would still be under control.

It didn’t matter if the war was lost, it was lost by the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, what did it have to do with Austria?

The big deal is that the government of Vienna to mediate the conflict, the British to accept it is just, if refused, there are a large number of noble private army with dry food to run over and continue to fight with the British.

Of course, these military Franz must be recognized, the commendation should be given not less, the loss of the nobles of the Vienna government is also to make up for the last.

……

Cape Town, Governor Delphi is now very depressed, the London government has just announced the cancellation of the operation, the Boers sent to the door to cooperate.

As an aspiring governor, Delphi does not want to be a salted fish, he also wants to come up with a bright merit and enter the center of power in London.

“What did the Portuguese say, are they interested in the Transvaal?”

Governor Delphi asked with concern. Right now, Austria hadn’t completed the annexation of the Boer Republic, everyone was still using their own means.

In order to make sure that nothing goes wrong, he was also prepared to unite with the Portuguese to make the first move and divide the Boer Republic first, creating an established fact.

Marco, who was in charge of foreign affairs, waved his hand and said in a tone of love, “Unfortunately, His Excellency the Governor.

The Portuguese clearly rejected us, probably related to the recent situation in their country, the Portuguese government ordered the colonies not to stir up trouble without authorization.”

During this period, Portugal’s domestic situation had begun to destabilize. The liberal and republican factions were all growing in strength, and King Louis was on the verge of being unable to keep the scene down.

When there was an internal disorder, naturally, he did not dare to make any trouble. In case of failure, it is another political storm.

The Boer Republic looked good to deal with, just think of the Austrians behind the scenes, the Portuguese colonial government in the Mozambique region lost interest.

This answer made the Governor of Delphi very unhappy. Originally he was thinking of sharing the Portuguese favor and pulling them together to curb the Austrian expansion.

Now there was no need; since the Portuguese did not dare to go on, he did it himself. The London government only canceled the action against Austria, but did not say that the Boer Republic could not be fought either.

These two little peasants were not even on his mind. The Boers had leaned on Austria during the last two years, and had deserted their armaments.

“Swords and guns into the storehouse, the horse put South Mountain” is not yet, but the whole population military training is really not carried out, the largest armed forces of the Boer Republic is a group of police.

Standing army that thing, not a small country with a population of 100,000 to 200,000 people, can afford to raise, the war time that the temporary recruitment of young men.

Governor Delphi frowned, dissatisfied said: “Forget it, since the Portuguese do not know how to appreciate, then let them regret in the future to go!

For now we can just do it ourselves. Austria’s garrison in the Central South Africa region is just over a thousand men, and even if we do temporary conscription, it will only be three to five thousand at the most.

Even if the Austrians want to intervene, they will have to wait for reinforcements to arrive from the Congo region, and there is currently no sign of mobilization of the Austrian garrison anywhere.

From the time we take action, it will take the Austrians at least two months to gather enough troops to intervene.

Two months is more than enough time for us to defeat the Boers. If anything happens, the big thing is that we will immediately call it quits and join the Austrians in dividing up the Boer Republic.”

Looking imposing, in reality, Governor Delphi’s heart was still a little apprehensive. That failed expedition several years ago was still stuck in the depths of his mind.

Major General Friedman of the Colonial Garrison immediately assured, “Please rest assured Your Excellency the Total, we are one hundred percent sure that we will be able to defeat this group of bereaved dogs.”

The Boers had originally been expelled by the British from the Cape Town area, to the Transvaal and Orange Free State, and against the defeated Major General Friedman was naturally full of confidence.

……

(End of chapter)