Chapter 725

On November 14, 1873, the Southwest African Railway was completed. With the completion of this artery from Guinea in the west to Pretoria in the south, Austria's rule in South Africa was completely consolidated.

From exploration to completion, this strategic railway took more than ten years of work. It was the longest, most difficult, and most expensive railway in Austria.

Of course, only the main road was completed. The branch lines along the way might not be completed even if they were to be repaired for another twenty years. The main reason was not the difficulty of the construction, nor the lack of labor, but the colonial government's lack of money.

The development of the African continent was relatively lagging, and the government's limited tax revenue was unable to support the construction of the railway. The construction of the main road was a strategic need and was funded by the central finance.

This railway with a length of 7,476 kilometers had a total cost of 74,286,000 DND. On average, the construction cost per kilometer was nearly 10,000 DND, which far exceeded the cost of the mainland.

And this was based on the premise that there was free labor. In order to build this railway, the colonial government had recruited millions of laborers and maintained a huge construction team of more than 200,000 people all year round.

After the main road was completed, the branch railways could only be built slowly. Railways with high economic and strategic value were prioritized, and railways with low value could be left as plans.

This Southwest African Railway set many records, such as: the largest investment, the most labor used, the longest distance, the most new technology developed and applied …

If labor was converted into money, one more could be added: the highest-cost long-distance railway.

Perhaps it would be easy to build such a railway in the 21st century, but in this era, it was a well-deserved world record and a reflection of Austria's comprehensive national strength.

Despite the significance of the Southwest African Railway, Franz still did not attend the opening ceremony. There was nothing he could do about seasickness. If he was unlucky and died on the way, it would be a tragedy.

In order to show the importance, Crown Prince Frederick The Great and Prime Minister Felix personally attended the opening ceremony. Frankly speaking, Franz was against it.

Prime Minister Felix was 73 years old. Although he was in good health, medical technology was limited in this era. If he caught a cold on the way, he might just die.

It could not be helped. The old man had the stubbornness of the Germans. He insisted on going to the African continent in person, and Franz could not stop him.

This was related to the "African localization strategy" proposed by Franz. Many people in the Government of Vienna were skeptical. In recent years, the government had been sending people over for field visits to reassure them.

No matter how good the information was, it was useless if they did not look at it truthfully. With a responsible attitude, Prime Minister Felix had always wanted to personally go to the site to investigate, but he was busy with other matters.

It was just that the Grand Dukes of the House of Habsburg were very busy. His two younger brothers were not in the country, and he could not make the railway wait.

It just so happened that the Habsburg Family's grand dukes were very busy. His two younger brothers were not in the country, and they couldn't let the railway stop running.

The only one who was free was Maximiliano, but after thinking it over, Franz decided that it would be better to send his son.

But after thinking about it, Franz felt that it was more reliable to send his son. Besides, Massimiliano was now the Emperor of Mexico and was no longer the Grand Duke of Austria.

It was not a big deal. Prime Minister Felix was there anyway. He could make decisions on behalf of him in the event of an emergency.

In fact, after so many years of teaching by Franz, Frederick The Great's ability was not bad, but he lacked experience.

Franz's health was still good. He had time to train the next generation, so he was not in a hurry to spoil things through excessive enthusiasm.

He himself had come this way, and even as a transmigrator, he found it a little difficult. If it were not for the assistance of the old ministers, Franz would not have been able to take power so easily.

After so many years, in addition to the continuity of politics, the friendship established in the critical moment was also an important factor.

The group of meritorious ministers back then, even if they were incompetent, were highly respected by Franz. In addition to friendship, there was also too much helplessness.

The Emperor also needed to buy people's hearts. It was true to keep the bow after the birds were killed, but it was also necessary to show it often and show its glory to future generations.

Franz could proudly say that he had never done something like "cooking the dogs after the hares are dead," and he still had to keep a dog to watch the house. In this world of great competition, there was no such thing as a horse letting go of the mountain.

…

In Paris, compared to Franz's calm and collected attitude, Napoleon Iii was a hero past his prime. Although he did not die of depression because of the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, his body could not lie.

The aftereffects left by the indulgence of his youth were now showing. If it were not for his good luck and Eugène, the crown prince, he would have worked hard all his life to make a wedding dress for others.

In Europe, illegitimate children could not inherit the throne. In his forties, Napoleon Iii began to suffer from various diseases, including kidney disease, bladder stones, chronic bladder disease, prostatitis, arthritis, gout, and obesity.

In the face of disease, there was no distinction between high and low. The ambitious Napoleon Iii was still knocked down by the disease, and now he was trying to instill his experience in his son.

This was not a brain-dead play. He wanted his son to grow up happily. As the heir to the French Empire, Louis XVI was a ready-made example if he did not have some skills.

In this regard, Napoleon Iii was worthy of pride. He could rise to the throne from the exiled royal family. His life was a legend.

There was another person after the original time and space, and he almost completed this great cause again. However, under the intervention of external forces, he chose to retreat at the last moment and did not forcibly restore the throne.

Napoleon Iii put down the newspaper in his hand and asked, "What do you think of the turmoil in the Balkans?"

After thinking for a moment, Crown Prince Eugène said, "The Greek coup and the Bulgarian uprising happened almost at the same time. It is too coincidental.

According to the information we gathered, just a few days before the incident, the Austrian police also destroyed a Balkan independence group in the Macedonian region.

Looking at these events separately, there was no connection between them, but looking at them together, there was a big problem. The preliminary judgment is that there should be someone behind this.

However, the person behind the scenes made a mistake and overestimated the Balkan independence group, so they were not able to start a rebellion in Austria. "

Napoleon Iii nodded and then shook his head, "Good analysis, so who do you think did this? Or who is the most suspicious, and what is the ultimate goal? "

Without any hesitation, Crown Prince Eugène made a judgment, "I guess it is the Osman Empire. Affected by the agricultural crisis, Russia and Austria have suffered heavy losses, and they need to transfer the crisis to the outside world.

The Osman Empire happened to be their common enemy, and the hatred between the two sides lasted for hundreds of years. Now that the Osman Empire has declined, it has become the meat of the two countries' mouths.

Some time ago, there was news that the two countries were going to join forces to take revenge on the Osman Empire. Austria did not make much movement, but the Russians were already preparing for war.

The accuracy of this news was as high as 80%. The Government of Sudan felt the crisis and took action in advance to cause trouble for them, to buy time for themselves.

However, there is something wrong. The hatred between the Bulgarians and the Osman Empire is as deep as the sea. Even if they want to fight for independence, they will look for us or the British for support. "

Napoleon Iii smiled slightly, "Yes, on the surface, the Osman Empire is the most suspicious, but in fact, the Government of Sudan is the least likely.

If they had this kind of strength, they would not have fallen into this situation. It is not easy to control the Greek coup, the Bulgarian uprising, and the Balkan independence group at the same time without leaving the slightest trace.

Without long-term preparation, it is impossible to do it. There are not many countries in the world that can do this, and we are one of them, but it is definitely not done by us.

There are also Britain and Austria, they are the experts. Remember, children, if there are such riots and revolutions in the future, more than 90% of them are done by Britain and Austria. Just keep an eye on London and Vienna. "

As he spoke, Napoleon III betrayed a look of deep dread. If possible, he wanted to get rid of these two greatest enemies and leave behind a stable empire.

Unfortunately, these two enemies were slippery and did not give Napoleon Iii a chance to make a move. As Emperor for 20 years, France was rejected by the European countries for more than half of that time.

The leaders were Britain and Austria. Napoleon Iii was sure that if he was not careful, the war against France would start.

In a one-on-one fight, France was not afraid of any enemy, but if the enemy wanted to fight in groups! This made Napoleon Iii cautious, for fear of another war against France.

As an emperor who loved military affairs, it was a pity that he did not have a war in his life.

Eugène asked doubtfully, "Why Austria? They are also victims of this Balkan turmoil. There is no reason for them to do this, right?"

"Cough, cough, cough …"

Napoleon Iii coughed for a while, and Eugène quickly patted his back. Then, he poured a glass of water and handed it to Napoleon Iii.

After taking a sip, he paused for a moment. Napoleon Iii said, "Think about it carefully. What did Austria lose and what did they gain?

If you want to deal with Franz in the future, you have to be more careful. Especially when it comes to interests, when it comes to benefits, you have to weigh the pros and cons before deciding. If you can't figure it out, just don't take it. "

This was the lesson that Napoleon Iii personally concluded. Since the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, France was forced to take the path of annexing Italy.

At first, Napoleon Iii did not find the problem, but as time went by, he gradually understood.

The Regions of Italy were good at everything, except for the lack of resources. It looked fertile, but in fact, the value was not as good as the land west of the Rhine River.

An overt conspiracy brought France into an awkward situation. Now, France needed to import a lot of resources, especially the coke used for steelmaking. The production of France's African colonies could not meet domestic demand, so they could only import it from England or Prussia.

In everyone's view, the annexation of the Regions of Italy was a great victory for France. Now, they could not let go even if they wanted to. They could only bite the bullet and digest it.

Before digesting the Regions of Italy, France needed to strategically retract. The pace of overseas expansion had slowed down, let alone the European continent, which was affected by a slight change in one part.

Looking at Eugène's thoughtful look, Napoleon Iii added, "The same is true for the British. You can't take dealing with them lightly.

Don't look at the fact that the UK, Fao, and France were allies. In fact, everyone wanted to stab each other in the back and kill each other.

Franz was not a fame-seeking person. He had never broken a contract for so many years. It was not because he had a good reputation, but mainly because the benefits were not big enough to make him break a contract.

Needless to say, the British are more vigilant to be allies than enemies. The Near Eastern War is an example. If they did not stab us in the back, we would not have lost. "

Even now, Napoleon Iii was still brooding over the failure of the Near Eastern War and recorded this account on the head of the British.

There was no other way. Who asked the French Army to make a mistake and be betrayed by the British and the Sardinians? Not to mention Sardinia, they had already paid the price and became a part of France.

The British, who seemed to be defeated, became the winner after the war. Napoleon Iii, who was tricked, naturally could not take it lying down.

…

(Note: Eugène's full name was Napoleon Eugène Louis Jean-Joseph Bonaparte. The first illegitimate child of Napoleon Iii was also named Eugène. He was not the same person.)