Chapter 270: A Rookie’s First Call
Chapter 261 – The Rookie’s First Sound
Austria was located in the Adriatic Sea, and to conduct overseas trade you had to circle around the Italian Peninsula and then pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to leave the Mediterranean Sea.
This route was not very reliable, both in terms of distance traveled and safety. For the sake of future development, it is crucial to have a safe route out of the Mediterranean.
Four years earlier Franz had proposed the opening of the Suez Canal, and a team of experts had been sent to explore the site.
As for the owners of this area, the Egyptian government and the suzerain states regretted that the government of Vienna had forgotten to inform them.
After determining the technical feasibility, the Austrian government has strengthened the penetration of the Egyptian region, Franz is very self-aware, did not go to Cairo and Britain and France to grab the land, but instead aimed at the Sinai Peninsula.
Not to mention this era, even in the 21st century, the Sinai Peninsula is the most backward region of Egypt, and is now even more of a desert island in the eyes of the public.
Above the peninsula is arid and little rain, most of the area is desert, the local residents rely on raising camels for generations to make a living.
Before the age of navigation, this area was also connected to the Ottoman Empire and Egypt’s trade routes, relying on the sale of camels to the passing merchants, the local residents live a good life.
In the early 19th century, the Egyptian region became independent and cut off the trade routes with the Ottoman Empire, so the local community completely declined.
The 61,000 square kilometers of the Sinai Peninsula, the resident population of less than 30,000, the largest city of Arish than a small town in Austria, and even just opened the African colonial stronghold, are more prosperous than here.
What was once a city, to be precise, has now degenerated to the level of a village, the site of a nomadic tribe. It’s nothing but sand or sand, with the occasional small oasis, which is a precious resource.
The local poor, can not collect any taxes, the Cairo government does not pay attention to this place, the rights directly down to the nomadic tribes.
Against this background, the Vienna government opened colonization activities in the Sinai Peninsula.
……
Looking at the desert that could not be seen in front of him, Leo Haver said incredulously, “Andrea, are you sure that the order from home is for us to create an excuse here and take this barbaric land while we have the chance?”
What he saw in front of him was really beyond Reo Haver’s ability to accept. The terrain of the Sinai Peninsula was still good, everything else was good except for the lack of water.
Unfortunately, the whole of Egypt is only a Nile River, Sinai Peninsula, not to mention the river, streams are rare, which is destined to the local unsuitable for human habitation.
Before the discovery of oil, there is absolutely no economic value to be found here. The strategic value of the Suez Canal is also something after the opening of the Suez Canal, now this place can not see any value.
An equally perplexed Andrea replied uncertainly, “It seems so!”
The two men looked at each other strangely, then remained speechless for a long time.
After a few moments of effortless silence, Leo Haver suggested, “Why don’t we not bother making excuses and let’s just take Arish?
It’s just an indigenous tribe anyway, gather the people on the ship and occupy the place, there’s no need to wait for troops from the country.”
“That’s not a good idea, we have to have an excuse, otherwise it’ll be hard to do diplomatically.” Andrea objected
Leo Haver said indifferently, “What are you afraid of? Everyone is doing that, the British and French colonizers have done more shit than this.
Let’s take over this place, then move some cargo off the ships and consider it captured loot. If there are casualties, add them to the list.
Say that our caravan was attacked by the local nomadic tribes, and we only organized a passive counterattack.
Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs go and pull the wool over their eyes, anyway, this kind of small matter, no one will care, there is a saying on the line, true or false is irrelevant.”
After hesitating for a moment’s effort, Andrea said fiercely, “Riches and riches, dry up! Here is our first bucket of gold, hopefully we can seize something good.”
For the colonist daredevil team that was brave enough to open up the expansion, Franz was very generous, all the captures would be distributed by the colonization team, and the Vienna government would not be greedy for this bit of loot.
That was the reason why the two changed their plans, after all, they had taken the place themselves, and all the belongings here were now their personal belongings.
If they had followed the original plan and just messed around to create an excuse, then they would have gotten a bonus at most.
Fueled by profit, the fledgling civilian colonization team took the first step towards colonization.
……
The battle went on without suspense, as the two led a colonization squad of over a hundred people in a surprise attack on the indigenous tribes that ruled the place, and quickly won.
However, after seeing the casualties, the two men’s faces were immediately gloomy, three dead and seven wounded for this colonization team, it was already a great loss of vitality.
Andrea resentfully complained, “Damn bastards, they actually caused us so many casualties, they absolutely cannot be lightly spared!”
Leo Haver calmly said, “Alright, Andrea. If you set foot on this path, you have to be prepared for sacrifice, it is said that thousands of people die in the colonization movement every year in both England and France.
It’s better now to take stock of the loot and set up the scene to make the war look like they saw the money.
Then send someone to signal the military to come over and take over the place, or we won’t be able to hold our own when the Egyptian regulars come.”
Andrea regulated his emotions and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just a little hard to watch a few of the lads we brought out die.”
Leo Haver said calmly, “It’s good to get used to it, it’s impossible not to die in this line of work. People can’t come back from the dead, all we can do is go back and give their families an extra pension.”
This colonization squad was formed by the two of them in partnership, due to their limited strength, they did not yet have the ability to open up colonies overseas on their own, and their main business was to take orders from the military.
Specializing in doing some, dirty jobs that the military was not suited to do, and obtaining commissions as payment.
If their own strength is strong enough to occupy the overseas territory alone, Franz will not ask.
Obviously this is only theoretical, without the support of the state, even if one opens up an overseas colony alone, one does not have enough strength to keep it.
Now Austria’s overseas colonization activities have just begun, before seeing the results, the domestic big nobles will not put blood money into.
Now the folk colonial team, most of them are small organizations of one hundred and eighty people, neither have the strength nor the financial ability to support the operation of a colony.
Most of these small teams can only follow the government’s lead and participate in colonization activities, such as: exploring the African continent, rounding up natives that threaten the security of the colonial strongholds, or building a colonial stronghold of their own and selling it to the government.
Teams that have the strength to do so can also operate in partnership with the government. In other words, the government provides them with security protection, the colonization team manages the colony and pays taxes to the government, and the profits from the operation of the colony go to the team.
Those who contribute a lot to the colonization activities can also obtain a title and fief, except for paying a small amount of taxes, the internal affairs of the fief will be handled by the nobles themselves.
……
Obviously, these two rookie colonizers did not know how much of an impact their action would bring to the afterlife. Right now the two were still feeling indignant about the harvest being too small.
Leo Haver exclaimed, ”God, how come this native tribe is so poor, other than a herd of camels and sheep, there’s only a bunch of hides and skins.
Where have all the gold and precious stones that the natives used for rituals in the legend gone?”
Andrea said with deep sympathy, “I also want to ask where the gold and precious stones have gone! Just now I went over and opened the treasure that was tightly hidden by them, and inside were actually a few jars of table salt.
God, when did salt become a treasure? Didn’t they say that this place was originally a trade transit point between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, so how come there’s no treasure at all?”
Leo Harvard said in a bad mood, “Bullshit trade transit center, that’s all in the last century. Since the trade routes were cut off, the locals have all left, and now all that’s left is a nomadic tribe.
Not just here, it is said that the entire Sinai Peninsula is populated by nomadic tribes. Without the merchants, and with a severe lack of water to grow food, the area has degenerated to a primitive age!”
Primitive era, this was definitely an exaggeration. At least there were muskets among the nomadic tribes, albeit still flintlocks of an unknown age, and that had entered the era of hot weapons.
However, in terms of living habits, there was no difference from the primitive society. Still stuck in the nomadic era, no modernization at all.
(End of chapter)