Chapter 559

In the Middle East, the Austrian army launched an attack on the Ottoman Empire in two directions. All the way from the Sinai Peninsula, the goal is Jerusalem; the other way to send troops from the sea, directly to the Kuwait area.

The natural conditions in Kuwait are harsh, with a tropical desert climate, arid, little rainfall, and frequent sandstorms. The whole territory is desert, which is not suitable for agricultural production.

Before the discovery of oil resources, it was not taken seriously by everyone. It was only in 1871 that the Ottoman Empire established a county in Kuwait, which is also a credit to the era of great navigation.

There are excellent ports in Kuwait. In order to develop the domestic economy, the Sudanese government plans to build a railway to directly enter the Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf.

However, the plan is always just a plan, the railway only exists in an ideal, and the Sudanese government has no ability to implement it.

Due to the limitation of natural conditions, Kuwait is still a poor and backward rural area. The domestic transportation has not been solved, and the overseas trade is too much to do.

Now the Sudanese government does not have to worry about these issues, the Austrians made the choice for them. In the face of the sudden enemy, the Kuwaiti defenders were defeated in a state of ignorance.

It's not that they don't work hard, it's just that the strength gap is too big. The Sudanese government did not anticipate that the Kuwait region would become the target of Austrian offensive, and there was only one dissatisfied garrison regiment there.

Politically speaking, the strategic Kuwait region now makes little sense. But if you look at the map, you will understand that Austria is in an enclosure.

Today, the world has almost been divided up, and the rest are either hard bones, or the forces of various countries converge and contain each other, and it is not good to break the balance rashly.

Although the Arabian Peninsula is a little barren, it is still a soft persimmon, with fewer competitors.

Except for Austria, only the British extended their tentacles, but John Bull seemed to dislike these small rural places and put in very little effort.

In the Vienna Palace, Franz is carefully reading the British diplomatic note, which in a nutshell is: protesting that Austria's actions in the Middle East have harmed Britain's interests, the London government is very angry.

After a while, Franz put down the document and asked with a smile: "The British came to protest, what do you think?"

The British protested, which in Franz's view was a good thing. Not sending the Royal Navy to block the door is enough to prove that the London government does not take the Persian Gulf very seriously.

The official diplomatic note looks very serious, which is often the case, and it is nothing more than a question of exchange of interests. Under normal circumstances, as long as the core interests of each country are not involved, everything is negotiable.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, from the current situation, the British want us to stop.

In the Palestinian area, the Ottoman Empire has gathered heavily, and this war has just begun. The Kuwait region is just a small rural area, and there is not much interest at all.

The so-called loss of interest by the British is not necessarily 10,000 pounds. Such a little interest is not worth the British Foreign Office's mobilization.

If you really want it, it's a big deal to pay them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has communicated with the British, and it is certain that they are not here for this trivial matter. "

Kuwait is just an ordinary small county in the Ottoman Empire, with a population of only tens of thousands, and its distribution range is still very scattered. Subject to natural conditions, what a poor word.

The British Colonial Company once established a stronghold here, preparing to open up a colony, but later withdrew due to the imbalance of revenue and expenditure.

The original time and space was still after the end of World War I, oil was discovered in Persia, Iraq and other regions, and the British colonized Kuwait.

Austria now occupies the Kuwait region, mainly for the port. The Yemen region is affected by the monsoon, and many ports can only be used for a few months, which is not suitable as a naval base.

Of course, this is what Austria says to the outside world, and it is the biggest value of Kuwait now. Believe it or not, this is not what Franz cares about.

Prime Minister Felix: "If this is the case, we can have a good talk with the British. As long as the interests are right, we can stop the war at any time, anyway, we are not ready to destroy the Ottoman Empire now.

However, I think it is unlikely. The British want to keep the Ottoman Empire true, but the current situation in Europe is changing, and the London government has not taken action. There may be a conspiracy behind this. "

It has become the habit of the Vienna government to speculate on the British with the greatest malice. This is not because everyone has a lot of ideas, but the experience accumulated from dealing with the British for a long time.

If you don't grow a few hearts, you may be accepted by the British at any time, especially when you are an ally.

For example, the Kingdom of Sardinia, in order to hug the British's thighs, had nothing to do with them in the last war in the Near East. In order to negotiate with the British, the Kingdom of Sardinia all sent troops to participate in the war.

I thought that if I hugged the British thighs, everything would be all right, and then unified the Italian region with the support of the British, but turned around and was sold by the London government.

If you analyze the reasons carefully, you will find that the poor performance of the Sardinian army on the Balkan battlefield stimulated the French ambitions to a certain extent.

Before the Australasian War, the Sardinian Kingdom still had a certain military strength, as evidenced by the ability to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops. Even if they lost the war, European countries generally gave the Sardinian army a good evaluation.

The last war in the Near East was different. The Sardinian soldiers didn't want to fight at all, and then they paddled all the way.

When the French see it, it turns out that the neighbor next door is so weak, it is difficult not to have ambitions! later things

Needless to say, the death of the patriotic youth provided an excuse for the French.

As an ally, the British, after a symbolic effort, negotiated a deal with the French behind their backs, and sold the Kingdom of Sardinia.

There are many such cases, open the history books and find them casually. With so many lessons learned, seasoned politicians are naturally wary of the British.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr: "Could it be that the British want to make a deal with us? There are many places where our two countries intersect. Although major conflicts rarely occur, small conflicts occur every three or five times.

To deal with these issues, the foreign ministries of both countries are very busy, and many issues remain unresolved. It is also in the interests of the British to take the opportunity to do business with us at this time. "

When you open the world map, you can see that with the continuous expansion of the major colonial empires, the spheres of influence intertwined have also increased, and the conflicts between the powers have increased significantly in recent years.

The alliance between Britain, France and Austria actually meant the division of colonial spheres of influence. After all, the area of ​​Fushuo is almost divided up, and the remaining scraps are not worth fighting for.

Colonization needs to consider the cost. Everyone opens colonies to plunder wealth. Blindly robbing and robbing, the cost alone can kill any empire.

The "Anglo-Boers War" in South Africa is an obvious example. Austria, who won the war, can slowly recover the cost; the British who provoked the war will lose everything.

In order to reduce its political influence, the London government can only choose to deal with it coldly as much as possible, and the previous government also fell.

After learning the lesson, all countries are very restrained in the colonial competition. Not every place has a large amount of gold buried underground. If the war is won, the cost will not be recovered in the end.

Staring at the map on the wall, Franz pondered for a while, and finally set his sights on Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Suez Canal was crucial, but France and Austria simply did not let the British intervene. It’s okay if you can’t get the Suez Canal. It is still necessary to maintain influence on the canal.

In this context, John Bull can only play the attention of the Strait of Mander. The Yemen area was occupied by Austria, leaving them on the African side.

Unfortunately, the African continent has become a hunting ground for France and Austria. At this time, the British have to pay for the previous negligence.

In order to make up for their mistakes, the British successively launched the Ethiopian War and the Anglo-Boers War. The latter had failed, and the former was only half successful.

The British did defeat Ethiopia, unfortunately it took years for them, Ethiopia is still in a state of chaos, and the anti-British forces are still growing.

There is no doubt that behind this, the two teammates of Fao must be holding them back. Without support, the native Ethiopians would have succumbed to their bayonets.

Franz drew a circle on the map with his hand, which happened to be the entire Arabian Peninsula: "The Foreign Office and the British are talking slowly, no matter what purpose they have, as long as they want to achieve it, it will be exposed sooner or later.

They are not in a hurry, nor do we need to be in a hurry. It is also a good choice to drag on, preferably until the end of the Near East War.

If the British want to exchange benefits, let them give up the entire Arabian Peninsula, just a Kuwait, there is no need to talk about it. "

After a pause, Franz drew another circle on the African continent, including most of Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia.

"These areas are the price we can pay. If the British want to talk, let them slowly grind with them, and don't rush to reach an agreement."

The Colonial Minister Stephen hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, we will lose a lot of money in this transaction. The value of the Arabian Peninsula is limited, and the island's economy is still in primitive times.

With nomadic tribes as the main body, there is not even a decent city. The benefits of colonizing the local area may not even be enough for the cost of ruling the local area. "

Is it a loss? In this era, that seems to be the case. If it were not worthless, it would not be Austria's turn to start.

Franz did not explain that talking about oil in this era is a fantasy. The internal combustion engine is still in the laboratory stage, and it is far from being launched on the market.

The biggest role of petroleum is to use it for daily lighting after processing. Unfortunately, Austria is vigorously developing the power industry, and daily lighting is also a sunset industry.

After thinking for a while, Franz drew a line: "Build a railway from Jerusalem to the Gulf of Aden, and then along the Arabian Peninsula to Kuwait. What do you think?"

There is no doubt that Franz is "not talking about the economy, only talking about strategy." Building a railway around the island along the Arabian Peninsula, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf will not be able to get rid of the influence of Austria in the future.

If the Ottoman Empire collapses, it can also take the opportunity to expand its power to the Euphrates River Basin, and Austria's hegemony in the Middle East will be determined.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl: "Your Majesty, we must take into account the cost. The economy in the Middle East is not strong, and these investments may not be able to recover the cost after 30 years."

Thirty years is a very optimistic estimate. If the underground resources are not considered, Franz believes that the cost will not be recovered in a hundred years.

After hesitating for a while, Franz said flickeringly: "This is just a plan, whether it can be implemented is something in the future, and now let the British believe that this is true.

Think about it, once the Ottoman Empire collapsed, doesn't it seem tempting that we and the Russians carve up the Ottoman Empire and stretch the railway from the Asia Minor peninsula all the way to the Arabian Sea? "

when it's true

False and true, if not for the strategy makers, Franz would not be able to understand the strategy that he tinkered with, whether it is true or false.