The "misunderstanding" that occurred in the Panama region was too big. An accidental armed conflict could wipe out an entire division. No one would dare to believe such a thing if it was told to others.
Explanations were cover-ups and wouldn't work. Shortly after the incident, the Austrian Central American colonial government announced responsibility for the matter, which was actually the result of Franz's intervention.
Taking the initiative to stand up and take responsibility could also avoid the serious and focus on the trivial. They could try to restore their international reputation and minimize the adverse impact.
Naturally, there was no accountability. The Austrian Central American colonial government's approach was not wrong. This was the style of colonial empires these days.
It wasn't like similar things hadn't happened before. It was just that the impact wasn't this big. Colombia was not only an independent country, but more importantly, it was a white country.
The people of Europe had always been very sensitive to this kind of thing, especially the many small countries, who were even more sentimental.
In many people's view, if they didn't stand up for Colombia today, a similar thing might fall on their heads tomorrow, and no one was willing to stand up for them.
Similar to the Anglo-Swiss War in the original universe, Austria was also bombarded by public opinion. There were demonstrations in front of foreign embassies.
Of course, taking the initiative to take responsibility was still useful. It made the international image of the Government of Vienna not look so bad.
So be it. Which of the superpowers hadn't been scolded before? Anyway, everyone was just talking and it was impossible to really take action.
Compared to the calmness of the Government of Vienna, Franz's reaction was much more intense. If Austria was also isolated overseas, Franz wouldn't care about international reputation. Obviously, this was impossible.
The poor strategic position determined that Austria had to have a good international image in order to gain more diplomatic options.
…
"How are the preparations of the Panama government? When can we withdraw?" Franz asked with concern.
Colonial Minister Stephen, "Your Majesty, the Panama government has been formed and can declare independence at any time.
The problem now is that they lack the armed forces to protect themselves. Once we withdraw, it will be difficult for them to resist the Colombian government's counterattack. "
It wasn't that easy for Panama to become independent. In the original universe, the UA personally sent troops to intervene, and the Colombian government had no choice but to give in.
This wasn't without a price. The UA was willing to pay any price. That was because the Panama Canal was crucial to them.
Austria was different. The main purpose of seizing Panama was to cause trouble and make the Panama Canal inaccessible.
If the value was different, the price that could be paid would also be different. For the sake of Panama, the South American countries would feel sorry for the loss of the rabbit and boycott Austria together.
In this context, while instigating the Panamanian independence movement, Austria must minimize its presence as much as possible.
In other words, she was a whore, yet she still wanted to maintain her chastity.
Franz asked in surprise, "Aren't there plantation owners? Don't tell me they don't have the power to resist the Colombian invasion? "
Before Panama declared independence, Franz defined the Colombian government's military action to suppress the rebellion as an "invasion". The political significance was self-evident.
Stephen frowned and explained, "Your Majesty, the situation in South America is very special. Most of the immigrants came from the Civil War, and they lack the backbone of the nobles.
Austrian Central America has been under our control for a long time, and our shortcomings in this area have gradually been remedied. Our military strength is passable.
Panama is different. There are no large plantation owners or colonial companies there. It was not under our control before, so there was no way to organize military training there … "
Franz understood. Many of the immigrants during the Civil War fled to avoid the war, which meant that the local people did not have a strong desire to fight.
"Lack of the backbone of the nobles" in other words, there was a lack of officers.
No "large plantation owners or colonial companies" meant that there was no strong local armed forces.
No "organized military training" meant that the current recruits were farmers who had just put down their hoes, or workers who had just walked out of the workshop. They needed a lot of time for training.
With all these reasons added together, it meant that the military strength of the soon-to-be independent Panama was very weak and could not compete with the Colombian government in a short period of time.
The actual situation might be worse. The so-called brutal rule of the Colombian government and the exploitation and oppression of the local people were in itself a political necessity, but the truth was still to be verified.
The Panamanian independence organization was organized by Austria, and it was still unknown whether it could gain the support of the local people.
The information provided by the Austrian Central American colonial government was also mixed with personal emotions. They did not have the guts to completely fake it, but it was necessary to do some artistic processing.
This kind of thing belonged to the instinct of the bureaucratic group, and there was no way to eliminate it. Not to mention this era of constant communication, even in the era of the Internet, it was still prohibited.
"With the current international situation, it is not suitable for us to directly occupy Panama. The withdrawal of troops is a matter of time, and the sooner the better.
In response to this reality, what is the plan of the Colonial Department? "
Colonial Minister Stephen: "We are organizing immigration. Through the efforts of the colonial government, more than a dozen colonial teams have been persuaded to migrate to Panama.
These civilian armed forces will become the main force against the Colombian government in the early stages and help the Panamanian government through the most difficult times. "
Franz nodded. This was not necessarily the best choice, but it was the most suitable choice for Austria at the moment.
With the excuse of "immigrants", it was better than directly becoming a mercenary.
In any case, as long as these "armed immigrants" got the household registration in Panama, it would be a conflict between the Panamanian people and the Colombian government.
Of course, everything had its pros and cons, and the civilian colonial teams also needed to pay back. If they worked hard now, they would have to share a large share of the future benefits of Panama.
Similar things had happened many times during the Austrian colonial process, and the Colonial Department had a wealth of experience.
It was by relying on large and small civilian armed forces that Austria was able to establish a huge colonial empire in a short period of more than 20 years.
In this regard, Franz was very generous. It was better to let the ambitious people go overseas to fight for territory than to stay in the country to fight for territory. The nobles in the colonies, big and small, were the best of the best.
The actual situation was better than Franz expected. Although there were many feudal nobles, there were no kings or independent nobles.
That was enough. In his expectations, he had even made the mental preparations to allow the feudal vassals to establish their own states once they grew stronger.
But it turned out that he was thinking too much. The popular theory in Europe was based on bloodline. There was no such thing as "princes and marquises". Even if someone wanted to be a king or emperor, they had to first see whether the people supported them or not.
The expansion of the nobles was not as great as he imagined. After getting the fief, they started the road of farming one by one. They did not expand their territory all the way to becoming kings.
Of course, the lack of money and manpower were also the most important factors that limited ambition.
Expanding the territory was very costly. The early stage of the colonial operation also required a lot of capital investment. No matter how deep the family's wealth was, it could not withstand the torment of war. When the money in the pocket was used up, it was impossible not to stop farming.
Needless to say, no matter how big the nobles were, they could only mobilize a limited number of immigrants. At most, there were a hundred or two hundred thousand. With such a small population, they would not be honest in farming. Calling themselves kings and hegemons was a sign of being tired of living.
Fools might exist, but the nobles who could establish a foundation were definitely not fools. Without enough strength, how could they negotiate with the central government?
"The Panama issue will be carried out according to your plan. Other than the bottom line that active soldiers cannot appear on the battlefield, the Colonial Department will arrange other things according to the actual situation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will negotiate with the Colombian government as soon as possible and strive to reach an agreement on compensation as soon as possible. Then, the captives will be handed over to the Panamanian local government. The rest of the problems will be left to them and the independent organizations! "
The bottom line must be followed. This was the rule of the game. Not only did they have to take into account the international impact, but more importantly, they had to protect their own interests.
The current rules of the international political game itself were established by the United Kingdom, Fao, and Germany. The purpose of the establishment was to safeguard the interests of the three countries. If they blindly overturned the chessboard, Austria's losses would only be greater.
Not to mention other things, the maintenance costs of the colonies would increase significantly, and some remote colonies would even change hands.
The choice to deal with it as soon as possible was actually to calm the storm of public opinion. The current public opinion was very unfavorable to the Government of Vienna, and it would only get worse if it dragged on.
The payment of "compensation" was just to make the Colombian government admit that this was a "misunderstanding." The parties involved said it was a misunderstanding. If others continued to talk, it would be framing them.
Franz was still very experienced in guiding public opinion. In this era of constant communication, the newspapers controlled public opinion. It was too easy to distort the truth.
To some extent, the British stirring up public opinion at this time was actually a divine assist. They just had to lead the problem to the Government of London.
"The Government of the United Kingdom framed Austria, deliberately exaggerated, and distorted the truth." Franz almost believed this statement, let alone the ordinary people.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, if the British don't intervene, it's not difficult to convince the Colombian government.
However, looking at the current situation, the Government of London wants to take this opportunity to attack our international reputation.
I'm worried that the Colombian government will propose a sky-high compensation to deliberately embarrass us. "
This worry was not unnecessary. People were always easily lost in the face of interests. As long as the British fool them, the Colombian government's "sky-high compensation" was almost inevitable.
If they agreed, Austria would become a sucker. If they didn't agree, the public opinion would be bad, and it wouldn't be in line with the strategy of calming the dispute as soon as possible and quietly swallowing the Panama region.
After a little thought, Franz sneered, "If the total amount can't be reached, then we will take the initiative to offer a sky-high price. For example, the pension for each soldier killed in action will be increased to 1,000 SD, but the Colombian government will have to provide a death certificate.
As for the loss of property, we don't have to care too much about it. We can make appropriate concessions. Whether this money will be given or not, and who will be given to in the end, is still uncertain. "
The "death certificate" was a joke. The Panama region was in the hands of the Austrian army, and it was easy to destroy the evidence.
The Colombian government couldn't provide evidence, and the number of people who had to pay the pension in the end would be decided by the Government of Vienna.
If the total number of people went down, no matter how high the standard of payment was, it would actually be the same.
Since this incident was classified as a "misunderstanding," if the number of people killed in action was too high, it would not be convincing.
In contrast, the compensation for the loss of property was easy to discuss. This money could be paid to the Colombian government, or it could be paid to the Panama local government, or the independent Panama government.
The Panama region wanted independence, but the Colombian government would definitely not agree. War was inevitable.
After the war, there were a lot of things waiting to be done, and a lot of money was bound to be needed for reconstruction. The Panama government definitely couldn't provide this money, and in the end, it had to be paid by the Government of Austria.
In any case, this money had to be paid, and Franz didn't mind using it in advance to buy a reputation. When the Panama region was annexed in the future, these investments would be recovered.
Of course, the Colombian government also needed to be appeased, and some money had to be given in the early stages. Otherwise, they wouldn't cooperate.
…
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