Chapter 466: Reversing Black and White
Hearing the president's question, Karen was shocked, and quickly covered up the panic, and replied: "Generally, a consensus has been reached, but there are still some details that have not been negotiated."
Little Pretorius said without changing his face: "I see, you go down!"
There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and it was obvious that his heart was not at peace. Little Pretorius was not a saint, nor could he be as calm as water in the face of interests.
Karen's expression did not hide from his eyes. If it is not unexpected, his close friend has also been in contact with the Austrians, and may even have betrayed.
Being able to sit in the current position, little Pretorius is naturally a smart man. Whether Karen betrayed or not, he will not verify.
At this point, it doesn't matter anymore. Even if he remains loyal to him, refuses to accept the Austrian bribe, and even confesses it all to him, so what?
Little Pretorius could not do anything to the Austrians, not even to protest to the Vienna government. If the two sides tore their faces openly, he would not even be able to keep the last preferential treatment.
If the domestic power faction and the Austrian negotiations do not go well, his president can still play a role. Now that everything is going well, he is naturally not needed.
At the beginning, Little Pretorius was also preparing to negotiate with the Austrians in the name of the government to strive for a more favorable political position for everyone.
The reality is very face-saving. After the Vienna government began to divide and win over, they changed their positions one by one. The country gets more benefits, how can it be compared to the benefits you get yourself?
The two Boer republics merged and joined the Shinra Empire in the name of a state, and the political status obtained was indeed better.
But in this way, the benefits that they can obtain personally are very limited. If you want to become a noble without taking credit, just dream!
Despite the limited privileges, noble titles in this era are still very attractive. After Franz's conditions, many people's mentality has changed.
Since the Vienna government insisted on taking away the republic, it couldn't bear it anyway, why didn't it sell the Boer republic in exchange for a noble title and become the ruler of the Shinra Empire?
As for the future of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, does it matter to them?
Everyone is either Dutch or German. They used to be members of the Shinra Empire, but now they are just returning to their homeland.
Even the president of Little Pretorius was not prepared to fight Austria to the end, so how could he expect others?
Not long ago, the British contacted the anti-Austrian forces, and were seized by the pro-Austria forces, who took the opportunity to launch a political offensive and completely drove them out of the center of power.
If little Pretorius was not smart enough, he decisively rejected the British, and now the president has been replaced.
Right now, what little Pretorius is looking forward to most is for the British to take action. Only when the situation is out of control will he have room to play as a president and sell himself a good price by the way.
There is no way, now anyone can betray the country, but the president cannot. Otherwise, even if he became a noble, he would not be able to get along in the noble circle.
Nobles also need fame, especially the new nobility. If they want to integrate into the circle, the first step is to clean up and go ashore.
Little Pretorius didn't want to quit politics just like that, so naturally he couldn't take the initiative to rely on it. On the surface he could do nothing but make a secret statement to the Vienna government.
Under normal circumstances, after joining Austria, he will become the Governor of Austrian South Africa, and when the transfer of rights is completed, he can return to the mainland with a title of nobility to retire.
If you want to become a real governor, unless the British call over, the Vienna government needs him to stabilize the situation.
For his own sake, little Pretorius was not unprepared. Since defeating the Zulu, he has deliberately abandoned his armaments.
On the one hand, it is showing its attitude to the Vienna government, proving that it has no ambition;
The South African strategy proposed by Governor Delphi to the London government was built on this foundation.
You must know that because of Austria's immigration to the Boer Republic, the current strength of the two Boer Republics may far exceed the historical period.
If they are fully armed, coupled with the strength of Austria in South Africa, even if the British are united with the Portuguese, they also have little chance of winning.
...
In a manor in Pretorius, the capital of the Republic of Transvaal, former President Skormann is inviting the Austrian representative Viscount Fickney.
No one can take too much credit. Since the Vienna government decided to annex the two Boer republics, the nobles of the African continent have taken action.
Viscount Fickney, who made his fortune by pioneering colonies, was not far behind. Although he had just crossed from hereditary baron to hereditary viscount, it was almost impossible to go further.
It is naturally no problem to lie on the previous credit book and eat the old money, but he can't stand his son!
The eldest son naturally inherits the title and most of the family business, and the remaining two younger sons can only share part of the property, relying on the eldest son to become a side branch of the nobles, and the next generation is a commoner.
Of course, Baron Fickney, who loved his son, didn't want to see this happen. His Majesty the great Franz was merciful and thought of this in advance for them.
They are allowed to make contributions in exchange for several noble titles, and at the same time, they can also apply for these titles, which will be inherited by multiple heirs.
Of course, the heirs must be parents and children
female relationship. In other cases of inheritance, it can only be done in accordance with the original title inheritance law.
The main purpose is to crack down on the sale of titles. According to the new Noble Law, nobles can only sell titles to the Vienna government, and private title transactions are prohibited.
There is no way, there will never be a shortage of prodigal sons in this world. When a title auction is held, the impact on the aristocratic system can be imagined.
In order to avoid this worst situation, Franz cut off the hereditary title transaction directly from the source. Don't worry about the title of life-long nobleman, it cannot be inherited at all.
If there is a prodigal to sell, the Vienna government is also open to recycling, and the price is still very high.
The lowest-level hereditary knights are all fifty thousand divine aegis; the highest-level throne is even more expensive at ten million divine aegis.
Of course, this is only limited to the titles sealed by Franz, and must be reclaimed together with the fiefs. The empty titles must be discounted.
Prior to this title, it is necessary to price according to the actual situation. Basically, as long as Franz, who was sealed by the Habsburg dynasty, recognized that others were sealed, the price of cabbage was recovered, and foreign titles were not within the scope of recovery.
The gold content has been determined, and everyone is more enthusiastic about the title of nobility. The rights of the great nobles are restricted, and the vassal nobles they canonized are no longer recognized by the state.
Including the kings of several states, they also cannot indiscriminately ennoble nobles, and those who confer nobility do not have enough merit, and the empire will not recognize them.
From the initial quota limit to the current merit assessment, Franz successfully took the title from the king of the state.
Selling a title is not a simple matter, it requires the consent of all legal heirs, which is almost impossible.
The relatives of the nobles have a large group of relatives, no matter how low the ranking, as long as they have the right of inheritance, even if it is indirect inheritance, they are all heirs. It is not impossible for a title to have thousands of heirs.
This inheritance relationship is estimated to be able to collapse. If you want everyone to agree, it is better to expect them to collect the lunch together.
Viscount Fickney said gracefully: "Mr. Scoman, our speed must be accelerated. As far as I know, the British next door is training the indigenous army, and it is very likely that something will happen.
Your Majesty, we do not want to see a chaotic South Africa, so we must act in advance. Once the merger is completed, the British dare not make small moves. "
This is the rule of the game between the great powers. In colonial activities, everyone is deliberately controlling the scope of conflict.
Before the colony is actually controlled, it is considered an unowned land. Everyone can rely on their own means. Once they are included in the actual control of the other party, the nature of the attack will become an invasion.
Under normal circumstances, this situation will not happen, and if it happens, it means war.
If you don't want to face it directly, even if you want to grab the territory, you will usually just secretly attack and squeeze the opponent out.
If everyone hadn't exercised restraint, during the colonial activities, there would have been so many conflicts between countries, and the major colonial empires would have been in the dark.
Skorman has been the acting president of the Transvaal for a period of time. Although his personal reputation is not very good, his strength is not small.
Because of a business, I met Viscount Fickney unexpectedly, and the two were nodding acquaintances. Under normal circumstances, this relationship is not much different from a stranger.
However, as the situation changed, the two were brought together again.
Viscount Fickney needs to win over the powerful factions of the Transvaal and join the Austrian colonial system; while Skormann needs to get in touch with Austria in order to protect his own interests in the new era.
The two sides hit it off and instantly became "good" friends.
Now that he has decided to go with Austria, Skorman will naturally not hesitate, and after thinking about it, he replied: "Your Excellency Viscount, I will push it as soon as possible.
However, it will take some time. Now the public opinion has just started to build momentum, and it will take some time to accumulate before it can reach its peak.
If it is ahead of time, it is very likely that an accident will occur. After all, there are still some flies that have not been cleaned up, and their existence is also a hidden danger. "
Political struggles rarely kill them all, but this time was the obvious exception. In order to create a grand occasion in which the people of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State demanded a return to the Shinra Empire, hidden dangers must be eliminated.
This is related to His Majesty Franz's face, and the direct annexation of two independent countries will have a very bad impact. Using Shinra Empire's people's request to return to their motherland as an excuse, the food looks much better all of a sudden.
Anyway, the Boers traced back their ancestors to the Shinra Empire, and their cultural traditions are also in the same line, so they are not afraid of being picked on. As long as they insist on returning to their motherland, the legal issue will be perfectly resolved.
If it weren't for the issue of eating and drinking, the Vienna government would not need to spend so much effort, and it would be more convenient to use force directly.
Even if the current Boer Republic wants to resist with force, it must first consider whether the German soldiers below will suddenly defect.
Viscount Fickney said solemnly: "These flies must be swatted to death. Since they dare to collude with the British to betray the Empire, they will pay the price in blood."
On the issue of safeguarding the interests of the Empire, Viscount Fickney's position is very firm. In his opinion, any traitor should be damned.
Although these people are not Austrians at all, there is no so-called betrayal. But standing on the opposite side of the empire, you must die.
Now Austria needs to kill the chickens to warn the monkeys, otherwise how to deter the gangsters who just came over?
Fickney doesn't think these can be sold
How loyal a guy from his own country would be to Austria. The best way is to make them dare not betray.
Letting them kill the anti-Austrian elements by themselves not only made them accept their names, but also made them understand the price they need to pay for being an enemy of Austria.
Smart people will make the best choice for themselves. Skorman is a smart person. Knowing that this is Viscount Fickney's calculation, he still decides to pretend to be confused.
Immediately assured: "Your Excellency Viscount, please rest assured, we will find out all these spies lurking in the empire and bring them to justice!"
God knows, when the anti-Austrian factions in the Boer Republic became British spies, and how did they lurk in the Shinra Empire.
To discuss traitors, it seems that they are more like this group of people. Directly packaged the Transvaal and the Orange Free State to Austria in exchange for benefits for themselves.
Viscount Fickney smiled slightly, raised the glass in his hand and said, "Then I'll congratulate you in advance, the future Baron Scoman."
After speaking, he touched the glass with Skorman, and then drank it, as if he was really happy for his friend to get a knighthood.
The wily Skorman couldn't keep his calm any longer, and smiled instantly. In this era, it is not an easy thing to step from the commoners to the nobles, not to mention the hereditary nobles?
Before that, the two sides had negotiated the conditions. As long as the smooth handover was completed, Skorman could become a fief baron.
Skorman replied with a trembling voice: "Thank you, Your Excellency Viscount!"
There is no way, the two were not real friends before, so being polite is a must.
But the future is uncertain. Viscount Fickney will not make friends with a commoner, but he will not exclude being friends with a noble.
Identity determines how everyone gets along. Since Skorman is willing to cooperate, he is his own.
Fickney was in a good mood, and for the sake of their meager friendship, he pointed out: "Old friend, now you need an etiquette teacher.
When the matter here is over, he will have to go to Vienna to accept His Majesty's canonization before he can become a true noble.
There can be no mistakes in the nobility canonization ceremony, otherwise you will become the laughing stock of the nobility, and you should never want to raise your head.
Although the government will arrange etiquette teachers, the time to study is too short. To be sure, you'd better learn it in advance. "
It is a fact that being rude at the nobility canonization ceremony has very serious consequences and will be regarded as a manifestation of uneducated.
From light to shame, it becomes a joke in the aristocratic circle, and in serious cases, it may directly lose the title.
Skorman's face changed greatly, and he quickly thanked Viscount Fickney.
...