Chapter 713 Carrier Pigeon

Taffy was actually not too stupid, and he quickly thought of the problem.

“What if two assistants to the governor disagree?”

"You make the decision."

"I?"

"Of course! It will take at least two months for the information to be sent to Vienna and sent back."

A combination of pigeons and boats can be used to deliver information. If it is sailed only by boats, it will take at least four or five months to make the round trip if everything goes well.

In addition, the fastest method of communication at that time was by carrier pigeons, but the cost alone was actually much higher than shipping by ship.

First of all, in order to ensure safety and communication reliability, the distance between two pigeon stations should not exceed 1,000 kilometers. Ideally, it should not exceed 500 kilometers. Therefore, a large number of pigeon stations need to be established along the way, and they all require a lot of maintenance costs. .

Secondly, this requires a large number of trained pigeons, because in order to deal with emergencies, a letter usually requires five pigeons, which are released five times to ensure the safety of the letter.

At the same time, communication between sites also requires a large number of homing pigeons.

Usually the flying distance of homing pigeons is between 300 and 2,000 kilometers. Although there are some homing pigeons that can fly 2,700 kilometers and 3,000 kilometers (the race from Beijing to Hami), that is just an example.

The average flight speed of homing pigeons is 76 kilometers per hour, and they can fly in a straight line, which is much faster than a ship.

This method of communication is expensive, but it was already the fastest way before the telegraph line was laid.

As for maritime communication, it can also be shorter than the sailing distance, because the Tanzania colony can directly choose to go north to Egypt, and then directly entrust the Egyptian side to transport it to Austria.

Although there was no Suez Canal at that time, you could take a boat to the Sinai Peninsula. The distance on the road thereafter was only more than 100 kilometers and could be reached in a few days by riding a camel.

In theory, such communication distance is shorter and the speed is faster, and intelligence can be sent to Austria in about 15 days.

But in fact, the trade relations between Austria and Egypt are not close. As a means of communication, there will be great uncertainty. If it can be delivered within 30 days, it will burn incense.

There is even a possibility that not only the letter cannot be delivered, but also the person who sent it is gone. This is not alarmist. Both Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula were places where bandits were rampant.

Sometimes the officials will just go to the scene to rob, so even sending a well-trained team may not be successful.

Many expedition teams and archaeological teams in Egypt at that time disappeared.

(Generally speaking, it is safe but unstable. Only some confidential information will be transmitted in this way.)

Another pigeon letter that goes around the entire Africa. In fact, the British and Portuguese, as well as the colonists from various countries, have invested a lot of effort in this. The route is very mature, so some not-so-confidential intelligence Franz will choose this way. deliver.

The actual speed and cost of these two methods are similar. As for why not use pigeons to take the Red Sea route?

Good question! Because at that time, Sudan, Abyssinia, and Saudi Arabia (Najd) were all considered barbaric places that could not be communicated with. It would be very expensive to establish and maintain a site, and there would also be great instability.

In addition, except for the Austrian Empire, there was not much demand for this line from other colonists. So Franz can only open up this route by himself, and it will take several months to years to train the route.

The main reason is the limitation of the homing pigeon, because it only has the property of homing. It is unrealistic to use the same pigeon to reply after receiving the letter like in some novels and movies. Therefore, a pigeon station often requires several batches of pigeons, and There is a dedicated person to transport the goods back and forth.

In addition, you have to face the threat of war at any time. Even a group of barbarians can easily destroy a pigeon station.

Moreover, in ten years there will be a telegraph line between Egypt and the European continent, and in another twenty years the Suez Canal will be opened, so it is of little value for Franz to spend a few years building a pigeon station.

However, Franz still invested a large sum of money for this purpose, just in case, and to improve relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Closer to home, Franz needed a governor of Tanzania because intelligence and orders could not be conveyed in time.

Taffy asked in confusion: "But what should I do?"

"Do what you feel is right."

"The right thing?"

"Yes." Franz patted Taffy on the shoulder, "I believe in your character."

The latter was a little happy, but soon asked with a grimace.

"But there are many things I don't understand. What should I do if I'm cheated? I'm not afraid of being bullied, but what if I'm used against you?"

Taffy was once used by Maximilian. Although it had no impact, it left a psychological shadow on him.

Franz scratched the non-existent beard on his chin and said.

"Where are those canaries of yours?"

"At home, I don't want people to laugh at them."

Franz was speechless for a while.

"You fed them so fat, now it's time to put them to use."

After hearing this, Taffy said with a look of fear on her face: "Ah? You don't want to..."

"Do I look like an ogre?"

"It doesn't look like that."

"Then you are saying such stupid things?! I mean they can help you."

"Help me?" Taffy asked with some confusion.

"Yes, they have a lot more life experience than you. And they couldn't find a better master than you."

Taffy was a little happy to hear Franz say this, and then said a little embarrassedly.

"Is it really okay to do this?"

"Of course! Not only now, but also in the future. Don't you always feel that you are not as good as others? You can find more canaries to help you.

You can leave things you can't handle to them. These canaries will be more loyal than your retainers because you have something that others can't give you."

Taffy was still confused and continued to ask.

"I"

"Okay, I'll give you a month to prepare for your appointment. In addition, I suggest that you and your canaries train well, otherwise you may be sunburned to death in East Africa."

Franz pushed Taffy away. In fact, such an arrangement was also a protection for his friends. Because there are too many uncertainties in the future, it may be more dangerous to stay in Vienna than in colonies and armies.

After all, there were many nobles who were killed in the year of the storm. Although some people were involved in this torrent under compulsion, some things cannot be humane. Once you go wrong, you will be an irreconcilable enemy.

As for Richard Metternich, Franz was prepared to let his family solve the problem themselves, but in theory, he could avoid this disaster by being a diplomat wherever he went.

Richard Metternich was the fourth son of Prince Metternich, but the latter's first three sons had died, either prematurely or accidentally, so the former was now the eldest son and was well cared for.

Richard Metternich's biological mother died shortly after giving birth to him. Prime Minister Metternich may have been very indulgent to Richard out of guilt for his wife and the difficulty of having a son in his old age.

At the same time, he tried his best to instill all his own views into him, so Richard became a tragedy of the era in history.