Chapter 591 The Horror of Sugar-Coated Bullets

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz had to admit that the British were shrewd and at the same time he was also reviewing his bad habit of relying too much on the experience of later generations.

Because in his memory, Liberia has always been an independent country. Although its economic development is a mess, it is a non-aligned country.

In fact, he was misled by some short videos and thought that Liberia has always been so tough.

Liberia's choice to ally with the British will directly threaten the security of Austrian Guinea. In fact, in addition to Austria, there are also forces from France, Spain and Portugal in Guinea.

Although the Liberians have received support from the British, there is no need to worry too much, because this country is still too weak to reach too far. At least they have to solve the local indigenous people before considering further north or east.

The Austrian Empire is the largest colonial force in Guinea at this time, with more than 4,000 people, but it is the worst of all Austrian colonies.

One reason is that there are too many countries coming here to colonize, and the other reason is the strong influence of the Tyr Cult, which makes the local chiefs reject and evade the Austrian Empire.

In addition, Guinea was considered a country lacking minerals at that time. Gold and diamonds had not yet been discovered, and the tropical rainforest also prevented the colonists from further exploration.

After all, the interior of Africa was still a death zone for ordinary white people at that time.

As a result, the Austrian colonists could only carry out hopeless reclamation activities without the help of local people. Although they signed land treaties with countless tribes in five years, the actual territory they controlled was less than one twentieth of the sphere of influence.

Franz knew that if he wanted Guinea to truly develop, he had to contact the Tyrian Order. Whether the two sides reached an agreement or completely eliminated it, the problem of colonial development could be solved.

However, with the medical level at that time, Franz did not think it was necessary for Austria to go deep into the interior of Africa to wipe out a feudal kingdom. After all, this was really not worth the loss.

So there was only the first way to choose, that is, negotiation, whether it was a promise of protection, cheap industrial products, or bribery with gold.

At this time, Guinea was most lacking in manpower. Franz knew very well that as long as the colony developed, it would be possible to get back what it had lost in a few decades or even a few years.

In fact, Franz had sent people to Bolivia to collect cinchona seeds, and they were widely planted in Chenla and Kalimantan.

Historically, it was the legend that quinine helped African colonists defeat the "white man's grave."

(The interior of Africa was once called the white man's grave.)

Although quinine was introduced to Europe as early as the 17th century, Europeans did not achieve quinine freedom until the mid-19th century.

It was not until 1860 that the British introduced cinchona to India, and ten years later Europeans finally had stable access to this anti-malarial drug.

It was precisely because of this premise that Europeans were able to start a wave of colonial division in the 1870s.

However, this time Franz began the planting experiment of cinchona in the warm and humid rainforests of Southeast Asia as early as 1836. I believe that it will not take long to get rid of the dependence on quinine from Brazil and other countries.

At this time, a kilogram of quinine in Brazil cost nearly 100 pounds, which was not affordable for ordinary people, and just like rubber, it was often out of stock.

The Austrian Empire could stop production, reduce production, and reform technology if it didn't have rubber, but people would die if it didn't have quinine.

Although Qinghao Biejia Decoction could be used as a substitute, Franz was not prepared to put the backup plan into use too early, after all, malaria resistance is a major issue for all mankind.

Back to the subject, Franz did have someone who could negotiate with the Tyr Order, and that was the Karamanli family who had been kept in Tripoli by the Austrian Empire.

After the Near East Crisis ended, the Karamanli family returned to Tripoli with the help of Friedrich, and the craftsmen who helped them get started were the craftsmen rescued from Egypt by Austria.

This group of people had a very high degree of loyalty to the Austrian Empire, and the reason why the Karamanli family was able to gain a foothold in Tripoli was because of the protection of Austria, so Britain and the Ottoman Empire would turn a blind eye to it.

At this time, when Franz made his request, the leader of the Karamanli family immediately agreed.

The negotiation process was very smooth, and the two sides quickly reached a consensus.

The Tyrians were actually very poor. They lacked everything. Weapons, clothes, food, salt, sugar, and tools could all be used for trading, but they only had manpower, animal skins, and ivory.

The Tyrians, like other Arabs, attached great importance to business and had no guilt for trading with pagans.

The reason why they were hostile to the Austrians and refused to communicate with them before was actually because they were afraid of being beaten and cheated by the Portuguese.

Although the number of Portuguese colonists was not large, only 500 people, they were a crushing existence for the Tyrians, who were still in the early Middle Ages.

Before, the Portuguese, French, and Spanish all regarded them as slaves, often cheating in transactions, and even directly robbing them by force.

Therefore, the Tyrians had special trust in Austria, an honest and reliable business partner. After all, their asking price was very low, and Franz was not going to engage in a slave economy in Africa. As for what other countries did, he had no control over it.

With the help of these locals, the development speed of the Austrian Empire's colonies will be greatly improved.

As for other countries that want to poach, they will find that Franz has kept the price of goods very low. He is not going to play the trick of short-term arbitrage.

What Franz wants is an economy that is dependent on the Austrian Empire, but the labor force in this economy is very cheap.

Moreover, after getting the support of Franz, the first thing the Tyrian Order did was to conquer those weak tribes to strengthen their own strength, and at the same time began to try to expel the forces of those colonists.

Among them, the most serious losses were Portugal and the tribes that depended on it, but in view of the poor strength of Portugal at this time, there was no intention of revenge.

The Portuguese governor here was a smart man. He quickly found the person in charge of the Austrian Empire in Guinea, and finally the two sides finalized the agreement to sell the colony at a price of 5,000 pounds.

Of course, the Austrian side needs to help the captured Portuguese. Although the bottom of the Tyrian Order is fiercely opposed, the top leaders are very clear about their weight.

In fact, in the transaction with the Austrian Empire, some of the high-ranking members of the Tyrian Order had begun to be corrupted, and they even began to convert to the Catholic Church in secret, and those Portuguese Christians were their token of allegiance.

Franz was surprised at the conversion efficiency of the Austrian Church, but Archbishop Rauscher said that those high-ranking members of the Tyrian Order had actively requested to convert, and he did not send anyone to contact them.

Therefore, Franz could only sigh at the horror of the sugar-coated bullet.