On September 1st, 1854, Constantinople fell amidst the sounds of killing. The Russians realized their century-old wish. The Russian Empire was in an uproar, and the European continent collectively lost its voice.
The day after the battle of Constantinople ended, the new Holy Roman Empire sent a diplomatic note to the warring parties, announcing the mediation of the war.
This responsible international attitude was immediately praised by France and Russia. The war in the Near East, which had lasted for more than two years, finally showed the dawn of peace.
The eyes of the world turned to London. The Osman Empire and the Principality of Montenegro had been ignored by everyone. Weak countries had no diplomatic relations, so it was better to be more obedient.
At 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister George threw the glass in his hand angrily. Constantinople fell just like that. Don't be too obvious, okay?
As early as a week ago, the Russians stopped attacking, and the French army began to evacuate the wounded and sick from the city. There seemed to be nothing wrong with stopping the attack when the plague broke out.
Two days ago, the French Minister had promised him that they would defend Constantinople to the death. 120,000 French troops were enough to stop any attack by the Russians.
Then, last night, he received the news that Constantinople had fallen. 120,000 French troops collectively broke through the siege of Constantinople, and on the same day, captured Tekilda, which was heavily guarded by the Russian Army.
Prime Minister George wanted to say, "Don't be too obvious, you guys are really making it difficult for me to do this!"
Foreign Minister Thomas said with a pale face, "Everyone, the French have unilaterally ended the war. We must act immediately, or we will be passive later!"
It was not "passive", but already passive ". No matter what agreement France and Russia had reached, it was very disadvantageous to the British Empire.
Once the two countries formed an alliance, the British strategy of balancing the European continent would be ruined. In this era, there was no such thing as a powerful allied country.
Minister of War Stanley said seriously, "The French have already withdrawn, and even sold Constantinople to the Russians. We can no longer fight this war."
The Government of London did not want to fight for a long time, but it was not easy to withdraw from the war. If they were not careful, their political opponents would use this against them, and they would be in big trouble.
Stanley was the most worried. If the French betrayed their teammates, the British troops at the frontline would be swallowed up by the Russians before the armistice negotiations.
Considering the feud between England and France, such a situation was not impossible. If such a thing really happened, the European countries would probably be happy to see it happen.
After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister George made a decision. "The situation is unclear now. We can only act according to the situation and accept the Austrians' mediation first. The rest will be resolved through diplomatic means!
Next, the focus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to find ways to isolate the Russians. We must not let France and Russia form an alliance. Otherwise, the situation will be completely out of control. "
Suffer losses? Who hasn't suffered losses in international politics? People who only wanted to take advantage of others and not suffer losses were not suited to play politics.
If he lost here today, he would find a way to make up for it tomorrow. Being able to adapt was the basic quality of a politician. A temporary loss naturally would not scare the British.
With the Government of London's statement, the Vienna Peace Conference was put on the agenda. After everyone's discussion, it was finally decided to officially convene on September 21st.
History had changed. The Russians did not lose on the battlefield. Instead, they had the upper hand. The peace conference naturally could not be held in Paris. The Tsarist government also wanted to save face.
…
The port of Conakry in Guinea, the largest port in West Africa in the future, was still a barren land.
Because of the existence of a natural port, it was fortunate to become one of the strongholds of the Austrian colonization of Africa and entered the era of civilization ahead of time.
Now, it was like a large construction site. According to the Government of Vienna's plan, the first step in colonization of Africa was to build a city.
No, it could not be considered a city. To be precise, it should be a small town. According to the plan, 8,000 immigrants would be settled here, and an Austrian infantry battalion would be stationed there.
Then, with the small town as the core, it would gradually expand to the surrounding areas until it completely occupied the coastal plains.
The port of Conakry was no longer called Conakry. Instead, it had a unique Austrian name — Neubruck.
This was just the beginning. If the colonization plan went smoothly, many cities in Austria would be named after this place in the future.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen, who was also the commander of the garrison, looked at the report in his hand and shook his head helplessly. The newly established Neubruck lacked everything, especially people.
Especially the lack of manpower, the plan was to settle 8,000 immigrants. So far, only 1,200 people had arrived. In less than two months, 56 people had died due to various reasons. There were still 37 people lying on the hospital beds.
This mortality rate was only slightly lower than the plague. If this situation continued, the average life expectancy of the new immigrants would probably not exceed 35 years old.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen asked with concern, "When will the next batch of immigrants arrive?"
Assistant Golder answered without hesitation, "I don't know!"
The African colony was different from the mainland. Communication here could only rely on ships. If it were not for the monthly supplies, they would have thought that it was abandoned.
Of course, in order to maintain communication between the colonies, Stephen had a few small boats that could communicate with other strongholds.
Within the 300-kilometer coastline of Guinea, the Government of Austria had set up three colonies. The first batch of colonists were distributed there.
Learning from the successful experience of other countries, the Austrian colonial army only stayed in the coastal areas. Going deeper into the inland areas was something for the future.
Several indigenous tribes in the plains had been cleaned up. For safety reasons, even the captives were handed over to the Portuguese.
The slave trade was still rampant in this era. The United States was the world's largest slave buyer. In recent years, nearly half of the population growth in the United States was due to the purchase of slaves.
The slave market was still at a stage where the supply could not meet the demand. After all, the African continent was not a good place in this era. There were poisonous insects and ferocious beasts everywhere.
Looking at the mortality rate of the immigrants, they were only staying in the stronghold to build their homes. If they wanted to go deeper into the inland areas, the mortality rate would increase significantly.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen said casually, "I don't know. Can't you ask?"
As soon as he said that, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen realized that he had done something stupid. This was a colony, not China. If they wanted to directly contact China, they would have to wait for another few decades!
Cable telegraphy was only popular in the cities in China. It was not even covered in rural towns, let alone the African continent.
The submarine cable laying technology had already emerged, but considering the high cost, the current African colony was obviously not worth the investment of the Government of Austria.
"Forget it!" Lieutenant Colonel Stephen added in time.
Golde said seriously, "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, I don't think we can continue to wait like this. If you don't want to be surpassed by other strongholds, you must take more active measures now.
Since there is a lack of labor, let's do it. You see, it has been more than two months, and we are still in the same place. There are no more peaceful colonists in the world than us.
Do we really have to wait for the enemy to attack us before we can launch a passive counterattack? Let's learn from our Portuguese counterparts. Even if we don't find precious minerals, we must find a way to recoup our investment.
If we follow the current progress, I highly doubt that we can recoup the cost of colonization within a hundred years. By that time, forget about being conferred a title because of merit, grass will grow on our graves. "
Unlike Stephen, who came from a military background, Golde, who took the initiative to participate in colonial activities, was not a peaceful person.
Originally, he came to the colony to make a fortune, but now he was building a stronghold here every day. The town was beginning to take shape, but he did not even see the shadow of making a fortune.
The plains in the coastal area were indeed good. If this was the Austrian mainland, it would be enough to make people fight for it. Unfortunately, this was the African continent, and the most worthless thing was land.
According to the Austrian colonial regulations, any Austrian citizen had the right to cultivate these lands, and the farm belonged to whoever cultivated it. The premise was that once the property rights were confirmed, it was prohibited to leave the land uncultivated.
It was difficult to become rich by farming in China, and Golde did not think that it was possible to become rich by farming here. These lands were mainly used to settle the immigrants.
If one wanted to make a fortune in the colony, the best way was to find mines, especially gold and silver mines, which were the easiest way to become rich.
As the first batch of colonists, they could report the discovery of mines to the colonial government. They could then receive dividends after the mining was developed, or they could sell the mines directly to the government for a large amount of cash.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen shook his head and said, "Golde, be patient. The emotions of the immigrants are not stable yet, and we need to keep an eye on them.
When the first batch of food is harvested, this situation will change, and then it will be time for us to start expanding.
Now, if you have time, you can organize the young and strong immigrants and do some simple training. These people are not good people, and they are perfect as cannon fodder.
Let me give you a piece of advice. The African continent is not a good place, and the danger in the inland areas is far from comparable to the coastal areas.
This is a colony, and there are many opportunities to make a fortune, but there is only one prerequisite, and that is you must be alive to spend it! "
One word — steady. From the start of the colonial plan, the Government of Austria did not expect to see returns in the first year, which was very unrealistic.
The South African colony established by the British was not even profitable, so how could Guinea recover its cost in a short period of time?
If it was so easy to make a fortune in the colony, it would have been overcrowded a long time ago. Never underestimate the passion of the European people to make money in this era.
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