Chapter 466 Attitudes of various countries

Whether there is a true alliance or not is not important to East Africa, because if it does encounter an enemy, it cannot be settled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, the only countries that can ignore the face of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are great powers.

"I think Austria is a little cheaper on this matter!" Ferdinand said very dissatisfied with the outcome of this negotiation.

"Don't worry, our goal has been achieved. Even Austria has a deterrent effect on ordinary countries. Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire is partially clear, in the eyes of others, Austria is the Austro-Hungarian Empire." Ernst said to his father-in-law.

As Ernst said, the news of East Africa's "alliance" with Austria still caused a certain reaction in the eyes of other European countries.

British Prime Minister Benjamin was particularly concerned about Austria's behavior: "This alliance between the Austrian government and East Africa shows that Austria-Hungary has ideas for Africa!"

"There may be reasons for this. After all, under the economic depression, there are not many ways to divert conflicts, and the importance of colonies has become more prominent." said the Foreign Secretary.

"We can't sit back and watch Austria's actions, and how is the intelligence of the East African Kingdom currently being investigated? I didn't expect that they would embrace the Austro-Hungarian Empire first."

Benjamin was very different from his predecessor Gladstone. As the leader of the Conservative Party, he was an active advocate and defender of British colonial imperialism, and vigorously promoted the policy of foreign aggression and colonial expansion.

And it is worth noting that Benjamin himself is a Jew, so he has a very close relationship with the Jewish consortium, especially the British Rothschild family.

In 1875, the Egyptian governor Ismail Pasha encountered a financial crisis and planned to sell his canal shares. However, the French were not greedy enough and planned to lower the price. After Benjamin heard the news, he privately borrowed money from the Rothschild family overnight and purchased all the Egyptian government's shares (approximately the entire canal) at a low price of 4 million pounds. 45% of the shares), plus some small shares, the UK thus controlled this lifeline of east-west maritime transportation.

Therefore, the Prime Minister of the British Empire, who has a good relationship with the Rothschild family, does not have a good impression of the Hechingen royal family behind East Africa.

But the good news is that the current focus of the British Prime Minister is still India. In 1876, his foreign policy focus was to continue to strengthen the relationship between India and the British mainland, and to promote Queen Victoria to become the Empress of India, thereby promoting the British Empire from oral habits to Completely turned into a textual "empire".

Therefore, for the security of the Indian colonies in recent years, the British government, with India as the core, has stepped up aggressive actions in its surrounding areas, including Southeast Asia, East Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran. The sub-direction of the colonial empire of the Benjamin government was to use South Africa as a springboard to invade the entire Africa.

The importance of India is self-evident. As for why the British government suddenly paid more attention to Africa, the actual reason is that the colonial strategy in other regions did not go well.

Britain was originally the world's number one colonial country, but the British's greed was never-ending. After the colonial activities in the Americas were completed unsatisfactorily, looking at the entire world, only the African continent still had vast land that had not been carved up.

Because of India, Britain currently does not have the energy to "take care" of Africa, but the Benjamin government has begun investigating African forces to facilitate the next invasion process.

East Africa happens to be stuck in front of Britain's most important colony in Africa (Egypt is a semi-colony).

"We sent out twelve expedition teams last year in an attempt to explore deep into the interior of Africa. Our operations in West Africa were relatively smooth, but we encountered trouble in southern Africa. The East African Kingdom prohibits any individual or force from entering the East African Kingdom to engage in exploration activities. So five expeditions were expelled and one remains unaccounted for.”

It is worth noting that this time Britain's exploration of the interior of Africa started from its own colonies, namely the British Gold Coast in West Africa and the Cape Town Colony in South Africa.

The progress in West Africa was relatively smooth, but South Africa suffered a setback. The East African Kingdom that controlled the north bank of the Orange River tightly blocked the border and did not give the British any chance.

Benjamin cursed angrily: "Gladstone, this bastard, should not have just sat back and watched the East African Kingdom annex the Transvaal Republic."

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we know too little about East Africa, so we should not let it go easily. Although the Transvaal Republic has been annexed by the Germans, the Orange Free State is still there. We should first find an opportunity to annex the Orange Free State. Incorporated into the Cape, the diamond resources of the Orange Free State would also be a valuable asset to the Empire.”

Benjamin: "Of course I know this. First find someone to lobby the Orange Free State government to get the Orange Free State to join. Also, intelligence work on East Africa must be strengthened. We must understand the population and land of East Africa. The scale, Austria’s unusual behavior shows that the East African kingdom is definitely not simple.”

"Yes, Prime Minister."

…

Berlin.

William I was also somewhat interested in Austrian solitary eating.

William I: "Austria still has the leisure to exert its influence in Africa. Is it really profitable to say that Africa is profitable?"

Bismarck: "This is impossible, Your Majesty. According to my speculation, the reason why Austria and East Africa signed the contract is mainly because the high-level relations between the two countries are relatively friendly. The Hechingen royal family just wants to find a human shield to ensure the security of their country. This is the case for many people in the world." The survival of a small country.”

William I: "But in this case, Prince Constantine should come to us. After all, the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen is also part of the empire."

Bismarck: "Your Majesty, to put it bluntly, the choice of the Hechingen royal family is the most appropriate in my opinion. Africa is in the southern hemisphere. The closest world power to East Africa is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There is only the Suez Canal between them. , the navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is also stronger than ours, so if I were asked to choose, I would definitely choose the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, it is impossible for Prussia to go from the Baltic Sea to the North Atlantic and then to the Mediterranean Sea, and then enter the Indian Ocean to take care of East Africa, and the citizens of East Africa are German The people share the same ancestry with Germany, and the culture is more Catholic. The royal family of Hechingen was historically closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It only briefly had a honeymoon period with Prussia after the 1848 revolution."

William I: "You are indeed right. The Imperial Navy is in an awkward position. Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy is not very good, the Mediterranean Sea is obviously much wider than the Baltic Sea."

Bismarck continued: "It doesn't matter if the Austro-Hungarian Empire affects East Africa. We can influence the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Anyway, the current Austro-Hungarian Prime Minister is pro-German."

…

Compared to Britain and Germany, France is not interested in East Africa at all. France even believes that an alliance between East Africa and Austria is beneficial to its African strategy.

France's strategic focus is on North and West Africa, so there is no conflict of interest with East Africa, and it is good that the East African Kingdom can provide eye drops to the British. The provincial British are making small moves in West Africa, but the real competition between the two sides is in West Africa. opponent.

As for East Africa's willingness to form an alliance with Austria, France doesn't mind. Is it possible that Austria still wants to build a triarchal empire? As long as it is not cooperating with the enemy Prussia, the French government does not have much objection.

Russia: "East Africa? I haven't heard of it. It just doesn't have to be the Balkans."

Portugal:"……"