Chapter 819: Boers Are Also Human Beings

Franz nodded, but it didn't matter.

"Would you like to smoke?"

"Please give me a cigar."

Franz nodded, and Bordeaux took out a cigar and a box of matches and handed them to Joseph Loy.

The latter tried several times but failed to light the match. It was not because the Austrian matches were of poor quality, nor was it because Franz had done something to tease him, but because Joseph Loy's hands were shaking constantly.

Finally, with a crisp sound, the match was lit. Joseph Loy took a puff with difficulty, and then slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

"This cigar is good, French? Or is it a Cuban cigar from Spain?"

"This is a product from the Nicaragua region of Austrian Central America, and its quality is not inferior to Cuban cigars."

The quality of Nicaraguan cigars in later generations is indeed not inferior to Cuban cigars, but due to the long-term war, their reputation is far inferior to Cuban cigars.

This is also the case at this time, but one of the important reasons is that the Austrian Empire is not strong enough and has insufficient influence.

French cigars were considered the best in the world even though they were of poor quality. This stereotype did not disappear until after World War II.

Joseph Loy nodded, then smiled bitterly and expressed his doubts.

"When are you going to execute me?"

Franz shook his head.

"You have accumulated too much hatred. I will send you to a suitable place to judge you."

Franz will let Joseph Loy and Frei Holosai stand trial in Switzerland and Vienna successively, and then they will be sent to the Vatican to receive the final judgment of the Pope.

Arriving with them at the same time were two petitions in Switzerland and Vienna, as well as evidence of their crimes.

In fact, the Papal States had an irreconcilable hatred with these two people. Joseph Loy had swept away the Jesuit industries and monasteries in Switzerland.

Pius IX's confidant died directly in Switzerland, and this would not only ease the relationship with the Papal States, but also put the blame on His Holiness the Pope.

Franz prefers to repay favors rather than debts. But whether Pius IX would appreciate it is another question.

The trial of Constantine Sigwart and Ulrich Salis may be a troublesome matter for Austria, but it is definitely a sure-win business for the Papal States.

First, the church brothers suffered, and then the nuns were canonized. The trial of the two culprits at this time is definitely a shot in the arm for the precarious Papal States.

At the same time, the final solution of the Vienna Conference on Switzerland was also determined.

Austria got Aargau, France got Geneva and Vaud, Prussia got Jura, and the Kingdom of Sardinia got Valais.

The rest of the area except Fribourg was divided by the German Confederation. The Grand Duke elected in Fribourg was Count Chambord.

This caused quite a stir at the time, but Louis Philippe finally agreed because he felt that Fribourg was a piece of meat at his mouth.

And after Count Chambord had his own territory, would he give up his covetousness for the throne?

In fact, Louis Philippe had tried to force the other party to submit with this condition, but he was still very determined about his throne, Count Chambord.

As for the German princes, no one was willing to guard the border to face the French, so this hot potato was thrown to another French monarch.

Then the Ticino State that the Kingdom of Sardinia asked for was replaced by the Valais State, which was more desolate than the Ticino State.

At the same time, Carlo Alberto had to face the threat of France, and although he was reluctant, it was useless.

So an iron curtain from Jura to Valais fell, and the buffer zone composed of Prussia, Chambord, and the Kingdom of Sardinia separated France and the German Confederation.

This was of course within Franz's plan. After all, the thicker the buffer zone, the greater the room for maneuver.

This should have been a great victory, but when Franz returned to Vienna, he found that something was wrong. That is, the national sentiment in Germany did not ease, but was moving in a more extreme direction.

The Austrian upper class was in a panic, and some savvy bankers were even trying to exchange precious metals and run away.

All this originated from someone's wild words at the German Confederation Congress.

In fact, Old Coulder had set a bad precedent, and the Boers who were desperate in South Africa suddenly remembered that they might also be Germans.

So Andreas Pretorius came to Vienna, but the Boers were not as rich as the Luxembourgers.

Even the commander of the Boer militia had to borrow money from others to make up the travel expenses, because there was less than thirty pounds in their treasury.

Andreas Pretorius was one of the greatest leaders in Boer history, and the capital of South Africa, Pretoria, was named after him.

In order to get rid of the persecution of the British, Andreas Pretorius led the Boers to migrate inland.

After another leader, Retief, was killed by the Zulus, in order to protect the safety of the remaining people, he recruited 500 militiamen and eventually defeated the Zulus, who were dozens of times larger than him, in the Battle of Blood River.

At that time, the size of the Zulus may have exceeded 15,000 people, and finally left 3,000 bodies, while the Boers did not lose a single soldier.

However, being able to defeat the natives did not mean that he could defeat Britain, the most powerful country in the world at that time.

The British have always been good at being unkind.

The Cape Colony was once one of the many colonies of the Netherlands, but later it fell into the hands of the British for various reasons.

In order to shift its internal conflicts, the British chose to immigrate to the Cape Colony, and the local Boers occupied a large amount of land and had a tradition of autonomous parliament.

These were all things the British did not want to see, so they cut off the firewood from the bottom of the pot.

The British government declared the Cape Colony a royal territory, and no longer allowed Boer farmers to occupy and develop it for free, but implemented a land auction system, and the developed land had to pay back the land rent.

At the same time, British colonial officials also implemented a discriminatory system against the Boers, restricting the Boers from migrating north of the Orange River, and abolishing the slavery system on which the Boers depended for survival.

At that time, the Boers in the Cape Colony mainly relied on plantations and pastures, which required a large number of slaves. The abolition of slavery was equivalent to destroying their economic foundation.

As the number of British in the Cape Colony continued to increase, the contradictions with the Boers also increased, and the British officials held the weapon of law, making the Boers unable to fight against them.

As a result, a large number of uneasy and dissatisfied Boers abandoned their pastures and houses, left the land where they had lived for generations and migrated inland.

In 1838, the Boers established the Republic of Natal, but the British were not ready to let them go, and annexed the Republic of Natal in 1842.

After that, Andres Pretorius led his people to continue to flee inland to Orange, and in 1847, Britain expanded to Orange again.