The strongest fortress is always breached from within, and this simple truth was understood by Governor Delphi, who from the beginning was not prepared to fight the Austrians in Africa.

Perhaps the Royal Navy could hold down the Austrian Navy, or even blockade most of the ports, but they still had no chance of winning.

Don't look at the total population of South Africa is more than 2.5 million, most of them black, but in the mid-19th century there were more than 100,000 whites in the Cape Town, including the Boers.

Under the pressure of the Austrian immigration, the London government also accelerated the pace of immigration. Unfortunately, Britain had a small population and too many colonies.

There are too many places they need to juggle at the same time, first of all, Australia and Canada, where gold has been discovered, and secondly, there are regions such as New Zealand and India, and the number of immigrants is running out when it is South Africa's turn.

This was also the reason why the Governor of Delphi was worried, whether he wanted it or not, that the lack of immigration had become a major constraint on the development of the South African region.

It was in the late 19th century that the discovery of the world's largest gold mine attracted a large number of immigrants.

At this point in time, South Africa has little advantage over the rest of Africa, at least in the minds of the public.

Delphi asked earnestly: "Blair, how is the plan going, and are they willing to cooperate with us?" ”

Facing the expectant Governor of Delphi, Blair bowed his head and replied after a half-ring: "Unfortunately, Your Excellency, our plan has failed.

Austria had infiltrated the Transvaal and Orange more than expected, and soon after we came into contact with them, news appeared in the newspapers.

You know, our feud with the Boers is not something that can be resolved in a few words. After the news leaked, several friends who contacted us did not dare to act rashly. ”

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are many Boers who oppose cooperation with Austria. But that doesn't mean they can work with the British.

Originally, these Boers were forced to move inland because they did not want to be British, and naturally they did not have a good impression of the British who had seized their homeland.

Anti-British sentiment was already strong, and with the intervention of Austria, anti-British sentiment has become politically correct in both the Transvaal and Orange.

After the news was leaked, the people who were ready to cooperate with the British fell into the whirlpool of public opinion, and it was difficult to protect themselves, so they naturally did not dare to continue to act.

As for the threat of the British, it is a pity that Austria is the boss on the African continent. Both the Transvaal and Orange are landlocked countries, and no matter how powerful the Royal Navy is, it cannot go ashore.

The question of who threatens whom of the British in Cape Town alone needs to be carefully considered.

This result came as a surprise to the Governor of Delphi, who had intended to bribe the anti-Austrian faction among the Boers, stir up tensions between the two sides, and force the Transvaal and Orange to turn against them.

With the Boers as a buffer, British rule in South Africa was secured. Austria also froze, and in a short time it was simply powerless to retaliate.

What was going to come, that was a matter for the next term, and Governor Delphi didn't feel like he needed to think about it that much. Stabilizing the situation at the lowest cost is the top priority.

Governor Delphi complained: "It seems that we are in great trouble, and we will not be able to sleep well until we deal with the two threats of the Transvaal and Orenji."

Damn the Boers, wouldn't it be good to act as a buffer state, do you really think we are easy to bully, if you have to fall to Austria! ”

If the Boers knew what he was thinking, they would be very wronged, they had always been neutral!

It was normal to be close to Austria, and in addition to the feelings of the population, they also needed trade.

As a small landlocked country surrounded by Britain, Austria and Portugal, they are not close to Austria, can they run to hug the thighs of the Portuguese?

Explanations are useless, and the fact that they fell to Austria and endangered the British rule in Cape Town is more convincing than any reason.

Blair proposed: "Your Excellency, the internal severance of the relations between the Liebres and Austria has failed, and the only way to do this is to activate the backup plan as soon as possible.

Before Austria annexed the Boers, it was an opportunity to take action to interrupt their cooperation between them. ”

It was indeed an opportunity, but the African continent was so big that the Austrians were not able to solve the traffic problem despite their efforts to build the railway.

In Zimbabwe and Botswana, the forces available to the Austrians were also very limited. Not without a large army, the main bad traffic limited the number of troops.

This is the real reason why Austria has expanded to its limits. Don't look at the fact that Austria has a lot of immigrants on the African continent, once dispersed, there are not many in one region.

To find these settlements, it is enough to set off along the river. Areas without rivers are largely undeveloped.

Pulling out the two nails of the Transvaal and Orange before Austria could solve the traffic problem was the backup plan of the British.

"Hey!"

Delphi sighed and said, "Let's start preparing, the cabinet has agreed to our plan, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate with us." ”

……

Portugal, King Louis is now panicking. When a man sits at home, evil comes from heaven.

Britain and Austria are competing for South Africa, and now they need to take sides.

Don't look at Portugal as a small country with very limited influence in Europe. But when it comes to the African continent, especially in South Africa, the Portuguese also have a say.

They were able to hold Mozambique and Angola not only by flexible diplomacy, but also by their own strength.

Perhaps this little strength is not much on the European continent, but it should not be underestimated on the African continent. If they don't have the strength, no matter how good their diplomatic work is, they will be robbed.

His family knew his own affairs, and now Portugal could no longer compete with Britain, France and Austria for overseas colonies, and Louis I had been in a state of observance all these years.

With good relations with Britain and Austria, the Portuguese colonies on the African continent were not violated.

Now the British wanted them to take sides, and the government in London wanted to get the support of Portuguese African power to drive Austria out of South Africa.

Not to mention whether it could be done or not, just to directly confront Austria, Louis I was instigated.

As for their pink map project, connecting Angola and Mozambique, he has long since abandoned it. This is no longer the time of Portugal, and it would be nice to be able to keep the existing foundation.

Sandwiched between two empires, this kind of life is not easy, otherwise Louis I is strong in his heart, and he may collapse directly.

The promises made by the British, Louis was not at all interested.

Perhaps Britain and Portugal could join forces and suppress the Austrians in South Africa, but what if they were retaliated against afterwards?

Counting on the protection of the British, isn't that a sheep in the mouth of a tiger? Portugal was forced to fall to the British, and as a result, a large amount of colonial wealth was seized by the British.

Now the consequences are even more serious, and once it joins forces with the British, the Angolan region will be doomed. The Congo region, which had been run by Austria for many years, was now capable of supporting a war of 100,000 people.

The Mozambique region will not be any better. Portugal and Austria share too many borders, and once a conflict breaks out, Portugal will never be at peace.

Louis I did not think that the British, who had promised to protect the security of their colonies, would actually go to war with Austria for their sake.

Even if the conflict of interests in South Africa is so serious, both sides are exercising restraint and not directly fighting on the surface, which is enough to explain everything.

Moreover, Portugal and Austria also have friendships, and when Austria took the step of colonization, it received the support of Portugal. Franz made a public promise that he would not plot against any of the Portuguese colonies.

This declaration, Louis I still believed. After all these years, Austria really did not extend a hand to their colonies.

To break this favorable situation for the sake of the promise of the English seemed to Louis I to be completely more than worth the loss.

Moreover, even if Portugal did gain Zambia, linking Angola to Mozambique would not necessarily be a good thing.

The buffer between the great powers was not good, especially if they stood in line, they could only be tied to the British and bear the retaliation of Austria.

This was not what Louis I wanted, but it was not easy to reject the British, and with John Bull's style, how could he easily let them go as a pawn?

……