Chapter 261

Austria is located in the Adriatic Sea, and overseas trade must circle the Italian peninsula and then pass through the Strait of Gibraltar before it can leave the Mediterranean Sea.

This route is not very reliable, both in terms of distance and safety. Mastering a safe route out of the Mediterranean is crucial for future growth.

Franz proposed the construction of the Suez Canal four years ago, and also sent a team of experts to conduct field exploration.

As for the owners of this area, the Egyptian government and the suzerain regret that the Vienna government forgot to inform them.

After determining that it was technically feasible, the Austrian government strengthened its penetration in the Egyptian region. Franz was very self-aware. Instead of going to Cairo and Britain and France to grab territory, he aimed at the Sinai Peninsula.

Not to mention this era, even in the 21st century, the Sinai Peninsula is the most backward region in Egypt, and now it is a desert island in the eyes of the public.

The peninsula is dry and rainy, and most of the areas are deserts. The local residents have lived on camels for generations.

Before the era of great voyages, it was still connected to the Ottoman Empire and Egyptian trade routes. By selling camels to the merchants in the past, the local residents could still get by.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, the Egyptian region became independent and cut off business with the Ottoman Empire, and the region completely declined.

On the 61,000-square-kilometer Sinai Peninsula, the permanent population is less than 30,000. The largest city, Arish, is not as prosperous as a small town in Austria, and even the newly established African colonial stronghold is more prosperous than here.

To be precise, the former city has now been degraded to the village level and is the resident of a nomadic tribe. In addition to sand or sand, a small oasis occasionally appears, which are all precious resources.

The local poor clanked and received no tax at all. The Cairo government did not pay attention to this place, and the power was directly delegated to the nomadic tribes.

In this context, the Viennese government started colonial activities in the Sinai Peninsula.

...

Looking at the endless desert in front of him, Leo Haver said in disbelief: "Andrea, are you sure that the domestic order is for us to create an excuse here and take the opportunity to take this wild land?"

What he saw in front of him was beyond Leo Havel's ability to accept. The terrain of the Sinai Peninsula is still good, except for the lack of water, everything else can be said.

It is a pity that there is only one Nile River in the whole of Egypt, not to mention rivers on the Sinai Peninsula, and small streams are rare, which is destined to be unsuitable for human habitation.

Before oil was discovered, there was absolutely no economic value to be found here. The strategic value is also after the opening of the Suez Canal, and there is no value to be seen here.

The equally confused Andrea replied uncertainly: "It seems so!"

The two looked at each other strangely, and then were speechless for a long time.

After a moment of silence, Leo Haver suggested: "If you don't bother to make excuses, let's just take Arish.

Anyway, it's just an indigenous tribe. If you gather the people on the boat, you can occupy this place, and you don't need to wait for domestic troops to send out. "

"It's not good to do this, we have to have an excuse, otherwise it will be difficult to do diplomatically." Andrea objected

Leo Haver said indifferently: "What are you afraid of? Everyone is doing that. The British and French colonists have done a lot of bad things, even more than this.

Occupy this place first, then remove some goods from the ship, and treat it as seized loot. If there are casualties, also add them in.

That is to say, our caravan was attacked by local nomadic tribes, and we just passively organized a counterattack.

Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs argue with them about the latter matter. Anyway, no one cares about such trivial matters. It is enough to have a rhetoric. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. "

After hesitating for a while, Andrea said fiercely: "We are seeking wealth and wealth at risk, do it! This is our first pot of gold, and I hope we can capture some good things."

Franz is very generous to the colonizer death squads who have the courage to expand. All captures will be distributed by the colony team, and the Vienna government will not covet this loot.

This is the reason why the two changed their plans. After all, they took it down with their own hands, and the goods here are their personal belongings.

If according to the original plan, they were just doing things to make excuses, then they would get a bonus at most.

Stimulated by profits, this nascent civilian colonization team took the first step of colonization.

...

There was no suspense in the battle. The two led a colonial team of more than 100 people to launch a surprise attack on the indigenous tribes that ruled here, and soon won the victory.

However, after seeing the casualties, the faces of the two suddenly turned gloomy. The three deaths and seven injuries were already a serious injury to the colonial team.

Andrea reluctantly complained: "Damn bastards, who have caused us such a large casualty, absolutely cannot spare them lightly!"

Leo Haver said calmly: "Okay, Andrea. If you embark on this road, you must be prepared to sacrifice. It is said that thousands of people die in the colonial movement in Britain and France every year.

Now it's better to count the spoils and set up the scene, so that the war seems to be their intention to make money.

Then send someone to signal the military to come and take over here, otherwise the regular army of the Egyptians will come, and we can't stand it. "

Andrea adjusted her emotions and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just watch

Several of the boys we brought out died, and I felt a little uncomfortable. "

Leo Haver said calmly: "Just get used to it. It's impossible to do this without dying. People can't be resurrected from the dead. What we can do is to give their families an extra pension when we go back."

This colonial team was formed by the two of them. Due to their limited strength, they did not have the ability to open up colonies overseas by themselves. The main business was to undertake orders from the military.

Specialize in doing some dirty work that the military is not suitable for, and get paid for commissions.

If his own strength is strong enough to occupy the land overseas alone, Franz will not interfere.

Obviously, this is only theoretical. Without the support of the state, even if it opens up overseas colonies alone, it does not have enough strength to keep it.

Austria's overseas colonization activities have just begun. Before seeing results, the domestic aristocrats will not invest all their money.

Most of the civil colonial teams that have appeared now are small organizations of 180 people, with neither strength nor financial resources to support the operation of a colony.

Most of these small teams can only follow the pace of the government to participate in colonial activities, such as: exploring the African continent, encircling and suppressing the indigenous people who threaten the security of the colony stronghold, or establishing a colony stronghold and selling it to the government.

A strong team can also operate in partnership with the government. In other words, the government provides them with security protection, the colonial team manages the colony and pays taxes to the government, and the profits from operating the colony belong to the team.

Those who contributed a lot to the colonization activities could also obtain titles and fiefs. Except for paying a small amount of taxes, the internal affairs of the fiefs were all handled by the nobles themselves.

...

Obviously, these two rookie colonists still don't know how much influence their actions will have on future generations. Now the two are still feeling resentful that they have gained too little.

Leo Haver exclaimed: "God, why is this indigenous tribe so poor, except for a group of camels and sheep, there is only a pile of furs.

Where did the gold and precious stones that the indigenous people use for sacrifices go? "

Andrea felt the same way and said: "I also want to ask where the gold and gems have gone! I just went over and opened the solid treasure that they had hidden, and there were actually several jars of salt in it.

God, when did table salt become a treasure? Didn't it say that this place was originally a trade transfer station between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, why is there no treasure at all? "

Leo Haver said angrily: "Damn trade transfer station, that's all about the last century. Since the trade route was cut off, the local people have left one after another, and now there are nomadic tribes left.

Not only here, it is said that the permanent residents of the entire Sinai Peninsula are nomadic tribes. There is no business travel, the local area is seriously short of water, and food cannot be grown. Now it has degenerated to the primitive era! "

In primitive times, this is definitely an exaggeration. At least muskets appeared in the nomadic tribes, although it is still unknown what era of flintlock guns, it also entered the era of hot weapons.

However, in terms of living habits, it is no different from the primitive society. Still staying in the nomadic era, there is no modern atmosphere at all.