In the Middle East, the Austrian army divided into two routes to attack the Osman Empire. One set out from the Sinai Peninsula, their target was Jerusalem; the other set out from the sea and went straight to Kuwait.
The natural conditions in Kuwait were harsh. It was a tropical desert climate with little rain and many sandstorms. The entire area was a desert, unsuitable for agricultural production.
Before the discovery of oil resources, no one paid much attention to it. In 1871, the Osman Empire set up a county in Kuwait. This was the credit of the Great Voyage Era.
There were good ports in Kuwait. In order to develop the domestic economy, the Government of Sudan was prepared to build a railway to directly enter the Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf.
However, the plan was still a plan. The railway only existed in the ideal. The Government of Sudan did not have the ability to implement it.
Due to the restrictions of natural conditions, Kuwait was still a poor and backward rural area. The domestic transportation had not been solved, and even if they wanted to carry out overseas trade, they did not have the ability.
Now, the Government of Sudan did not have to worry about these problems. The Austrians had made the choice for them. Faced with the sudden enemy, the Kuwaiti garrison was defeated in a confused state.
It was not that they did not work hard, but the difference in strength was too great. The Government of Sudan did not expect Kuwait to become the target of Austria's attack. There was only an understaffed garrison there.
From a political point of view, the strategic Kuwait area did not have much significance. However, looking at the map, it was clear that Austria was encircling the land.
Today, the world had been almost divided up. The rest were either hard bones or the convergence of various countries. It was not good to break the balance.
Although the Arabian Peninsula was a little barren, it was still a soft persimmon. There were fewer competitors.
Other than Austria, only the British extended their tentacles over. However, John Bull seemed to look down on these small rural areas and invested very little power.
In the Palace of Vienna, Franz was carefully reading the diplomatic note from the British. In summary, it was a protest against Austria's actions in the Middle East that harmed Britannia's interests. The Government of London was very angry.
After a while, Franz put down the document and asked with a smile, "The British came to protest. What do you think?"
The British protested. In Franz's opinion, this was a good thing. The fact that they did not send the Royal Navy was enough to prove that the Government of London did not place much importance on the Persian Gulf.
The formal diplomatic note looked very serious, but most of the time, it was nothing more than an exchange of interests. Under normal circumstances, as long as it did not involve the core interests of each country, everything could be discussed.
Foreign Minister Weissenberg: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the British want us to stop.
In Palestine, the Ottoman Empire gathered a large number of troops. The war had just begun. The Kuwait region was a small rural area, and there were not many benefits to speak of.
The so-called loss of interest to the British was not necessarily worth ten thousand pounds. Such a small amount of interest was not worth the British Foreign Office mobilizing so many people.
If they really wanted it, they could just compensate them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already communicated with the British, and we can be sure that they are not here for such a small matter.
Kuwait was just a small district in the Ottoman Empire. The population was only a few tens of thousands, and the area was very scattered. Restricted by natural conditions, how could he be poor?
The British Colonial Company had built a stronghold here and prepared to open up a colony. Later, they withdrew because of financial imbalance.
The original timeline was after World War I, when oil was discovered in Persia and Iraq, and the British colonized Kuwait.
Austria is now occupying the Kuwaiti region mainly for the port. Yemen was affected by the monsoon. Many ports could only be used for a few months and were not suitable as a naval base.
Of course, this was what Austria said to the outside world, and it was the greatest value of Kuwait. Whether people believed it or not was not Franz's concern.
Prime Minister Felix said, "If that's the case, we can talk to the British. As long as the interests are right, we can stop fighting at any time. We are not planning to destroy the Osman Empire now anyway.
But I don't think it's possible. The British want to protect the Osman Empire, but the current situation in Europe is changing. The Government of London has not taken action. I'm afraid there is a conspiracy behind this. "
It had become the habit of the Government of Vienna to speculate about the British with the greatest evil intentions. It wasn't that everyone had a lot of ideas, but it was the accumulated experience of dealing with the British for a long time.
If they didn't have a few more tricks up their sleeves, they could be tricked by the British at any time, especially when they were allies.
For example, in order to cling to the British, the Kingdom of Sardinia sent troops to fight in the Near East War, which had nothing to do with them at all, in order to please the British.
They thought that everything would be fine if they clung to the British, and then they could unify the Regions of Italy with the support of the British. In the end, they were sold out by the Government of London.
If one analyzed the reason carefully, they would find that the poor performance of the Sardinian army in the Balkans had stimulated the ambitions of the French to a certain extent.
Before the Austrian War, the Kingdom of Sardinia still had a certain amount of military strength. The fact that they could mobilize more than a hundred thousand troops was proof. Even though they lost the war, the European countries generally gave the Sardinian army good reviews.
The last Near East War was different. The Sardinian soldiers didn't want to fight at all, so they just slacked off.
When the French saw that their neighbor was so weak, it was hard not to have ambitions! There was no need to talk about what happened next. The patriotic youth provided an excuse for the French.
As an ally, the British negotiated a deal with the French behind their backs after a symbolic effort and sold the Kingdom of Sardinia.
There were many cases like this, and they could casually look through the history books. With so many lessons, experienced politicians would naturally be wary of the British.
Carr, the Minister of Finance, said, "Could it be that the British want to make a deal with us? There are many places where the forces of our two countries intersect. Although major conflicts rarely happen, small conflicts happen every few days.
In order to deal with these problems, the foreign ministries of both countries are very busy, and many problems are still unresolved. It is also in the interest of the British to take the opportunity to make a deal with us at this time. "
Opening the world map, one could see that with the continuous expansion of the major colonial empires, the areas of intersecting influence had also increased. In recent years, the conflicts between the great powers had increased significantly.
The alliance between the British, Fao, and the three countries actually had the intention of dividing the colonial sphere of influence. After all, the rich areas were almost divided up, and the remaining leftovers were not worth fighting for.
There was a need to consider the cost of colonization. Everyone opened up colonies to plunder wealth. Blindly robbing, the cost alone could drag any empire to death.
The "Anglo-Boer War" in South Africa was an obvious example. Austria, who won the war, could slowly recover the cost, but the British, who started the war, lost everything.
The Government of London couldn't say anything. In order to reduce the political impact, they could only choose to deal with it as coldly as possible. The previous government also fell because of this.
After learning this lesson, the countries were very restrained in the battle for colonies. Not every place had a large amount of gold buried underground. Even if they won the war, they might not be able to recover the cost in the end.
Staring at the map on the wall, Franz carefully pondered for a while and finally looked at the Ethiopian and Sudanese areas.
The Suez Canal was very important, but the two countries, Fao, and the British didn't want the British to intervene. It was fine if they couldn't get the Suez Canal, but it was still necessary to maintain influence over the canal.
In this context, John Bull could only focus on the Mandeb Strait. The Yemen area was occupied by Austria, leaving them only the African side.
Unfortunately, the African continent had become the hunting ground of Fao and the British. At this time, the British had to pay for their negligence.
To make up for their mistake, the British launched the Ethiopian War and the Anglo-Boer War. The latter was a failure, and the former was only half successful.
The British army did defeat Ethiopia, but unfortunately, it took them a few years. Ethiopia was still in a state of chaos, and the anti-British forces were still growing.
There was no doubt that two of Fao's teammates were holding them back. If there was no support, the Ethiopian natives would have surrendered under their bayonets.
Franz used his hand to draw a circle on the map. It was the entire Arabian Peninsula. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British can talk slowly. No matter what their purpose is, as long as they want to achieve it, they will be exposed sooner or later.
They are not in a hurry, so we don't have to be in a hurry either. Dragging it out is a good choice. It would be best if we can drag it out until the end of the Near East War.
If the British want to exchange benefits, then let them give up the entire Arabian Peninsula. It's just Kuwait, there is no need to talk. "
After a pause, Franz drew a circle on the African continent, including most of Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia.
"These areas are the price we can pay. If the British want to talk, then slowly grind with them. There is no rush to reach an agreement."
The Colonial Minister Stephen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, we will lose a lot in this deal. The value of the Arabian Peninsula is limited, and the island's economy is still in the primitive era.
With nomadic tribes as the main population, there is not a single decent city. The benefits of colonizing the local area might not even be enough to cover the cost of ruling the area. "
Loss? It seemed to be the case in this era. If it wasn't for the fact that there was no value, Austria wouldn't have had the chance to make a move.
Franz didn't explain. In this era, it was impossible to talk about oil. The internal combustion engine was still in the laboratory stage, and it was far from being put on the market.
The biggest use of oil was to be used for daily lighting after it was processed. Unfortunately, Austria was vigorously developing the electricity industry, and daily lighting was a sunset industry no matter how one looked at it.
After thinking for a moment, Franz drew a line. "Build a railway from Jerusalem, extend it to the Gulf of Aden, and then extend it along the Arabian Peninsula to Kuwait. What do you think? "
There was no doubt that Franz was "not talking about the economy, only talking about strategy." Build a railway around the island along the Arabian Peninsula, and in the future, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf would not be free from Austria's influence.
If the Osman Empire collapsed, they could also take the opportunity to expand their power to the Euphrates River Valley, and Austria's hegemony in the Middle East would be confirmed.
Minister of Finance Carr said, "Your Majesty, we must consider the cost. The economy of the Middle East is not strong, and these investments may not be recovered in 30 years."
30 years was a very optimistic estimate. If they did not consider the underground resources, Franz believed that they would not be able to recover the cost in 100 years.
After hesitating for a moment, Franz said, "This is just a plan. Whether or not it can be implemented is a matter of the future. For now, let the British believe it is true.
Think about it, once the Osman Empire collapses, we will divide the Osman Empire with the Russians, and extend the railway from Asia Minor to the Arabian Sea. Doesn't it look very tempting? "
If Franz wasn't the strategist, he wouldn't be able to tell which part of his strategy was real and which part was fake.
