Chapter 698: The Biggest Misunderstanding of the Century
Chapter 682 The Biggest Misunderstanding of the Century
April 19, 1880, the Austrian colonial forces in Central America to round up the territory of the “bandits”, all the way to the Panama area.
Because of the fog, and the Colombian defense forces had a misunderstanding, the outbreak of armed conflict, resulting in thousands of casualties.
The local people can testify that on April 19th there was indeed fog in the Panama area. Before the army entered the Panama area, the colonial government also sent people to communicate with the local government and decided to jointly send troops to eliminate this gang of “bandits”.
However, someone within the Colombian government colluded with the “bandits” and leaked the information, and the “bandits” cut off the local telegraph and robbed and killed the messenger in the middle of the journey.
The defenders did not receive the news in time, the two sides failed to communicate effectively, and with the foggy weather affecting their visibility, they mistook the other side for the enemy, resulting in an accidental firefight.
This is the “truth” published by the Austrian colonial government in Central America. Whether the Colombian government can accept it or not, their troops in Panama are finished.
The Austro-Central American colonial government was the first to take responsibility for the “4.19 Incident” when it broke out. It apologized for the deaths caused by the accident and offered to pay pensions for the casualties.
Such a positive and responsible attitude would have been speechless if the Austrian army had not remained on the ground.
Of course, the Austrian army also has a reason to stay in the area, although the main force of the “bandits” has been annihilated, there are still a lot of remnants roaming around.
For the safety of the Panamanian people, the Austrian army must eliminate these roving bandits, or wait for the Colombian government forces to come over, before they can withdraw from the area.
……
“After the news of the accidental exchange of fire on 4.19 came to Colombia, the people of Bogota, the capital city, were abuzz and took to the streets to demonstrate, demanding that the government send troops to recover the Panama region.
It must be said that President Rafael Núñez’s luck is really not good, just took office and encountered so much trouble.
The people asked for troops, President Rafael Núñez also wanted to send troops, early recovery of the Panama region, but also to carry out the aftermath, but unfortunately there is no troops can take on this important task.
“If there is a first misunderstanding, there can also be a second one. Whether or not the “misunderstanding” will continue to occur is based solely on Austria’s integrity.
The Colombian military is very concerned that the Austrians have said that there was a misunderstanding, and it is certainly not possible to occupy the Panama region for a long time. Why take the risk when you can get it back sooner or later?
Anyone with eyes could see that this was Austrian retaliation for the Colombian government’s blockade of Peru, and the defenders in the Panama region happened to be cannon fodder.
Whoever caused the trouble should be held responsible. As for retaliating against Austria and getting justice for the innocent soldiers of the garrison, this is not something that Colombia can do.
As a small country, the first thing to consider is to survive, as long as there is no loss of territory, the core sovereignty can be taken back, a little aggression is nothing!
Rafael Nunez can’t worry about the aftermath for now, he is now being questioned by members of Congress.
An opposition congressman, sneered, “Mr. President, due to the government’s erroneous foreign policy, which led to the fall of the Panama region, do you have anything you want to say?”
Without pressure, there is no motivation. If Austria were to take the Panama region by force, forced by external pressure, it is not likely that the Colombian parties would still be able to unite.
Unfortunately, this did not happen, and the Austrian colonial government in Central America has characterized the incident as a “misunderstanding”.
Since it was only a misunderstanding, there was no reason for the Austrian army to remain in the area for long. The Austrian Minister has already sent a diplomatic note asking them to send troops for defense as soon as possible.
Sovereignty could be preserved, the only problem was that the beating was for nothing. Not to the point of life and death, it was normal to take advantage of the opportunity to strike a rival.
The greatest virtue of politicians is their thick skin, Rafael Nunez said as if nothing had happened, “The Panama region has not fallen, there was just a misunderstanding.
The Austrian government has already claimed responsibility for the incident. We are discussing compensation with them, and it won’t be long before the Austrian army withdraws from the area.
The main reason for the misunderstanding is that someone in the government colluded with the bandits, and it has nothing to do with the government’s foreign policy.
Colombia is an independent country and we have the right to conduct our diplomacy freely and do not need to be influenced by third parties.”
Since Austria says it was a “misunderstanding”, let’s let this “misunderstanding” go on in!
Until we have the strength to retaliate, this kind of thing is just a “misunderstanding”.
Deep in his heart, Rafael Nunez just hoped that things would end quickly, and that there would not be any more problems later on.
A councilor questioned: “A misunderstanding and that’s it, did our people die in vain?”
Rafael Nunez waved his hand, “Of course they can’t die in vain. We will pursue the matter to the end and find the culprit who caused this conflict to face the law.
The dead have passed away, now what we can do now is to let the dead rest in peace and give comfort to the families.
The government will make sure that all those who died in this incident will get their pensions, so please give us some time ……”
After saying this, Rafael Nunez bowed to the crowd as if to apologize.
The ones who entered the Congress were all veterans of the political world, it was fine to take advantage of the opportunity to make things difficult for Rafael Nunez, and it was also true that they wanted to bring him down.
However, no one was ready to go to war with Austria. So there are some things that one can only selectively pretend to be confused.
While pacifying the country, Raphael Nunez did not forget to ask the British boss for help.
Out of such a big thing, if John Bull does not come forward again will not be able to say. No matter what, the Colombian government had invited the disaster by doing their job for them.
Downing Street, inside the Prime Minister’s residence. Prime Minister Benjamin gulped in smoke while looking at the telegram from the Colombian government asking for help.
Opposite him sat a middle-aged man in fancy clothes, holding a coffee in one hand, stirring with a spoon in the other, and gazing ahead with both eyes, as if in a trance, was none other than Edward, the British Foreign Minister.
After half a cup of tea, Prime Minister Benjamin put down the telegram, stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray, and exhaled the last mouthful of light smoke.
“Sir Edward, what do you think the Austrians are up to, it can’t really be just to kick Colombia’s ass out of anger, can it?”
Like Britain, Austria was an interest-centered nation, with every move revolving around national interests.
The Colombian government’s actions have certainly caused the Vienna government to lose face, and retaliatory action is inevitable, but it’s not to the point where they have to send troops to fight.
Don’t look at the Panama area military operation is very smooth, that is the Austrian government timely public “truth”, let everyone know that they are only temporary stay, will soon leave.
If the Colombian government had called on the local people to resist the invasion, the situation would not have been so optimistic.
The South American countries were able to exist independently, not because the European powers could not occupy them, but mainly because the cost of domination was too high, and the benefits were not proportional to the costs.
Edward put down the coffee in his hand and slowly replied, “Of course not. Based on the intelligence gathered, the initial judgment is that Austria is hitting the Panama region.
It was only because the Vienna government was concerned about its own reputation and felt that directly invading an independent country would be too bad and too costly that it intentionally created this ‘misunderstanding’.
After the Panamanian army was killed, the independent organization they supported was able to succeed. It is estimated that after Austria withdraws its troops, it won’t be long before the Panama region becomes independent.”
It’s impossible to keep a move of this magnitude completely secret. Austria’s approach might be able to fool ordinary people, but it could not be hidden from the British, who were also big rogues.
Something similar had long been done by John Bull, and the practice was very rich. Just from the clues on the surface, they could deduce the whole thing.
Prime Minister Benjamin nodded, “It seems that we have to mourn for the Colombians, up to now they still don’t know what kind of enemy they have encountered, at least this telegram for help doesn’t reflect it.”
“Allies”, it was a false proposition for Britain.
On the face of it, Britain and Austria were the only allies who had signed a covenant, and Colombia was not yet in a position to ally with Britain.
In reality, Britain and Austria as allies were the biggest rivals, and the weak Colombian government was the British’s new little brother, with the degree of closeness completely reversed.
Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head, “Sometimes ignorance can be a blessing, if we knew the truth, Rafael Núñez’s life would be impossible.
Of course, it’s also possible that he’s feigning ignorance. It was always easier to deal with the Panamanian rebels than with the Austrians.
The Austrians had already broken the rules this time, and as Franz the Great loved his honor, the same “misunderstanding” could not happen twice.
As long as the Colombian government can suppress the rebels in Panama, this incident will be over.
For the Republic of Colombia, there is still a chance of victory if it does not lift the lid; if it flips now, it will immediately lose the Panama region.”
Benjamin smiled slightly and lit a cigarette again, inhaling deeply and exhaling a light smoke.
“You’re right, sometimes you do need to play dumb. Since the Colombian government doesn’t mention it, then we’ll just pretend we don’t know about it.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should act as soon as possible, and send the Austrians away earlier, so that the Colombian government can feel our sincerity.”
The local is needed to serve the whole, and with the land blockade network against Peru and Bolivia already in place, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Chile would win the war.
Britain had the absolute upper hand in the South American competition, and the influence of France and Austria was so compressed into a corner that further pressing was no longer necessary.
The Panama incident became Austria’s final counter-attack, and Britain could not gain more from a hard top except by forcing France and Austria to come closer together.
After a little thought, Edward revealed a hint of a smile: ”Of course, we never treat our friends poorly. But before that, we still need to give the Austrians some trouble.
Such a big ‘misunderstanding’ must be known to more people. I’m sure the media will be happy to have more news and increase newspaper sales.”
The reason for the lack of direct confrontation is that Britain’s power in Panama is limited, and even if it wanted to intervene in Austria’s next move, it would not be able to do so.
The inability to intervene head-on does not mean that they will not take action. Attacking public opinion and discrediting Austria is equally a form of offense.
(End of chapter)