Chapter 649 Exploration Log

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz looked at the two reports on the table with some regret, but he was not surprised.

At this time, the interior of Africa was still considered a forbidden area for white people. The Congo expedition and the East African expedition hired by Franz were wiped out again. In the end, only the guide brought back their expedition logs.

Poisonous insects, plagues, frequent wild animals, hostile indigenous tribes, complex terrain, and long-term mental and psychological pressure were all reasons for the repeated failure of the expedition.

Due to the sufficient supply of allicin and quinine, the number of extinctions caused by diseases was greatly reduced.

Historically, the price of quinine in the world before 1870 was still very high, and it would take until around 1900 for quinine to enter thousands of households.

But Franz had already planted quinine in Zhenla and Kalimantan, so the reserves of the Austrian Empire were still very rich.

As for why it was not planted in West Africa and East Africa, it was because the cinchona tree was very delicate and would die on a large scale if not carefully.

Given the level of agricultural technology at that time, it could only be compensated by a large number of skilled workers.

Franz simply couldn't find so many skilled agricultural populations in the West and East African colonies to take care of this delicate plant.

As for training African natives, the cost might be about the same as Franz's transporting people from his homeland, and the latter could be more reliable.

Even today, the crudeness of African agriculture is still outrageous.

What's more pitfall is that "oranges grown in the north of the Huai River are tangerines, while oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are tangerines." The quinine content of cinchona trees planted in Africa and India in later generations is seriously insufficient.

This is also the secret of why the Dutch were able to control the world's quinine for a hundred years in Indonesia (the output has long accounted for more than two-thirds of the world), and this bottleneck was only broken by genetic technology in the 1990s.

However, Franz is not an expert in genetic engineering. With the current scientific development speed of the Austrian Empire, he may not be able to wait until that day.

Let's get back to the point. In addition to the necessary mosquito nets and anthelmintics to deal with poisonous insects and beasts, Franz asked the Royal Society of Science to develop some pyrethrum sprays and derris sprays.

Pyrethrum is native to Europe and is the most widely used natural insecticide. It is not only effective, but also toxic only to insects, and the harm to mammals can be ignored.

As for derris, it is also a specialty of Southeast Asia. The toxicity of this thing is much greater than pyrethrum. Especially for relatively primitive creatures such as insects and fish.

As long as a small amount of derris is crushed and thrown into the pond, the fish in the entire pond will soon be poisoned. Generally speaking, there will be no problem for people to eat it, but there are also examples of people and fish dying together in folk legends in the early years.

However, the reason why Franz designed two insecticides is not to let them catch fish to eat, but to reduce the possible drug resistance of insects.

As for why he had to use pure natural insecticides, it was not because Franz paid attention to protecting the environment, but because the science and technology of this era were very limited, and DDT could not be made at all.

If Franz had DDT, he would not mind spreading it all the way from West Africa to East Africa.

As for the beasts on the African continent, in addition to bringing a flora and fauna expert, Franz also added professional hunters to the expedition team, who could also serve as soldiers to prevent native attacks when necessary.

In addition, Franz approved a strike plan to launch a cleanup of the natives who were close to the colonies and aggressive.

The Oman Empire in East Africa immediately expressed its support, and they were even willing to send troops to help the Austrian Empire with the cleanup.

In addition to the deterrence of the latter's powerful neighbor to the former, the Oman Empire itself also had a great demand for slaves.

Participating in this war killed two birds with one stone, and Sayyid was a smart man and naturally would not miss this opportunity. Although the governor of East Africa thought this might be a trick of the Omanis to destroy Guo, Franz thought it was unlikely.

After all, East Africa was not so fragile, and the Austrian Empire was not to the point of being insulted lightly. The intelligence bought from the merchants of the Oman Empire showed that Sayyid was very afraid of Austria and did not dare to do anything out of line.

However, for safety reasons, Franz still suggested that the army of the Oman Empire take the route designed by the East African colonial government.

Said had no such idea, so he naturally had no objection. However, the Omani merchants were somewhat dissatisfied with the temporary change of the route, after all, they wanted to make more money.

However, they had no complaints when they thought that they could capture a large number of slaves and sell them to the Americans and the French. After all, the slave trade was the most profitable business at that time.

As for the problem of food and water, Franz also had his own solution.

Compressed biscuits were a product that only appeared in the late period of World War I, but the technical content of this thing was really very limited.

So the hydraulic press of the Austrian Empire, in addition to oil pressing and making instant coffee, now has another job of compressed biscuits.

Some people say that the invention of the hydraulic press is a major progress in the history of the food industry of the Austrian Empire.

As for water, Franz thought of the siphon filtration method, which is also a very simple technology. As early as the first century AD, humans discovered the siphon phenomenon, but in history, the siphon water filtration method was not formally proposed until after 1850.

But for Franz, a later generation, it was not very difficult to design a siphon water filtration device, not to mention that he had enough talents under him, and it was enough for him to propose ideas and directions.

After all preparations were completed, Franz began recruiting explorers. Explorers must have strong psychological qualities, excellent survival skills, and sufficient experience. The rest can only be left to God.

"Archduke Franz, explorers who meet your requirements are almost dead. After several tragic failures, the rumor that the interior of Africa is a life-forbidden zone has been accepted by more and more people.

The French and the British have switched to exploring the Arctic. Do you want to join them?"

The recruitment of the expedition team has always been in the charge of Ajani. She is very confident in the manpower she recruited, but the outcome is not satisfactory every time.

Franz even developed some equipment for this purpose, and the investment is several times that of Britain and France. Ajani has been wondering if it is really worth it?

After all, it is considered impossible to go deep into the interior of Africa at this time. Austria's colonies are all built in coastal areas. The areas relatively far from the coast can only rely on the natives who are dependent on Austria.

Moreover, with the increase in the population of the colonies, the maintenance costs have also risen, and at the same time, the natives before have begun to stir again.

In Adjani's opinion, using the locals for colonial rule like the British seems to be a wiser choice, after all, that can reduce a lot of expenses for maintaining colonies.

There is no need to allocate a large amount of materials and population from China and Asia to support local construction. The money saved can be used to launch more wars.

In Adjani's eyes, Franz is a person who likes to invade other countries very much. It feels like the Russians have an endless desire for land.

"Why go to the Arctic? Do you think I am the same as my father?" Franz said impatiently.

Exploring the Arctic may be a big thing for all mankind, but it does not have much practical significance for the Austrian Empire at this time.