The small actions of the British did not hide from the Austrian minister in Portugal, and the news was transmitted back to Vienna as soon as possible. This time it was the turn of the Vienna government to be confused, and had no idea why the British had suddenly eaten explosives.

The crisis in South Africa was only potential, and now Austria was busy running new territory, and did not look for the bad luck of the British.

The Colonial Chancellor, Josip Jelačić, recently retired with honor, and is now presided over by Acting Colonial Chancellor Stephen.

Stephen is also a legend, and while still a lieutenant colonel in Austria, he was temporarily appointed mayor of Newbrook, and then the road to prosperity began.

He served as Governor General of West Africa and then of Congo, and was later transferred back to Vienna as Undersecretary of the Colonial Department, under which he presided over the post of Josip Jeracic after his retirement.

After so many years of development, the Colonial Department is no longer the dispensable department it used to be, but the department with real power after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of National Defense.

Colonial Chancellor Stephen explained: "Your Majesty, it has been verified that in recent times we have not had a major conflict with the British in Africa.

Just last month, the Governor General of West Africa communicated with the British about the British colonial strongholds in West Africa, and the negotiations made a breakthrough, and now they are only negotiating on the issue of prices. ”

Obviously, the Anglo-Austrian crisis in South Africa was not provoked by the colonial government of Austrian Africa. The colonial bureaucracy was not stupid, and even if it were to do something against South Africa, it would not be now.

Wouldn't it be better to wait for the railway to be completed, and then pay attention to the South African region?

Moreover, conflicts in West Africa can be resolved through negotiations, and conflicts in South Africa are not impossible.

There may be warmongers, but they don't choose the British as their enemies. This opponent is easy to clean up on land, but when it comes to sea, the victory and defeat are reversed.

In West Africa, because of the gold mining problem, everyone has been deadlocked for more than ten years, and now Austria has successively settled the Dutch, Portuguese, and French, and it is not coerced by force, mainly because the gold mines are exhausted.

To be exact, in the areas controlled by various countries, the gold deposits that have been discovered and have mining value have been mined.

Without economic interests and no strategic value, the rest of the problems will naturally be easy to handle. Colonies, as long as the price is right, you can sell it.

Franz didn't mind selling a few colonies if someone offered a high price. Austria's colonies all over the world add up to more than 17 million square kilometres, many of which are of little value.

Franz attached great importance to the African colonies, not because of their richness or high strategic value, but mainly because of their proximity and great development potential.

Asia and the Americas may have been more naturally advantageous, but distance meant that the Vienna government had weak control over those areas.

Transatlantic telegraphs were still being laid, and the Vienna government had to delegate power to the colonies until instant communication could be guaranteed.

It is enough to be able to obtain benefits, and now except for the Central American colonies, which have important strategic value and are a sharp weapon to restrain the Americans, all other regions are only economic interests.

Tragic ones such as Alaska have to put money back every year. Franz enclosed several more uninhabited islands near Canada, ready to use them to disgust the British.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg analyzed: "Based on the intelligence we have gathered, the British are doing very strangely. If they can win over the Portuguese, they can indeed dominate in South Africa.

In fact, although they do not have an alliance, the two sides have long stood together on the issue of South Africa. We expanded too fast and the Portuguese were always very wary and many times they were biased towards the British.

However, if they were to stand up against us, the Portuguese would not be so unwise.

Even if we were to expel our forces from South Africa, it would only be temporary. Once the two sides tore their faces, even with the support of the British, Portugal would not be able to keep the African colonies.

We can end the Portuguese colonial empire at any time if we wish. Against this background, I don't think Portugal dares to jump out.

We can think of it, and the British can think of it. I know that I can't do it, and I'm afraid there is a big problem here. ”

Wessenberg saw that there was a problem, and Franz saw it, but unfortunately it was not known what the problem was that prompted the British to do so.

It is not impossible to win over Portugal, and if the interests are large enough, the Portuguese are likely to be recruited.

However, Franz did not believe that the British were willing to give. Besides, even if the British were willing to promise, would the Portuguese dare to believe it?

It's not to brag, the reputation of the British in these years is a little better than that of the Russians.

Portugal is the ancestor of the great powers, and they have played these routines, and it is not easy to fool the past.

Could it be that South Africa's gold reserves were exposed, making the British desperate to take it down, even at the expense of Austria?

Franz dismissed the idea again. It was not so easy to find out the gold reserves, and the discovery of a few gold mines, even the discovery of the Rand mine, was not enough for the British to take risks.

It's not that the Rand mine is less tempting, the point is that no one will believe it. 60,000 tons of gold reserves, that's a joke, whether the gold that has been mined in the world adds up is a big question mark.

With the prospecting technology and mining technology at that time, the reserves were estimated at most two or three thousand tons, and it was impossible to have more.

More than 95% of the gold mines in later generations had no mining value in this era. Including a lot of rich minerals, because of the natural conditions there is no mining value.

Otherwise, gold in West Africa would not have been mined in more than ten years. It's not that the gold mines have been hollowed out, it's mainly the gold mines that have economic value that have been mined out.

Since it is not for gold, it is naturally impossible for diamonds, and the current price of diamonds has not yet been speculated.

Most people are thinking about eating and can't afford to spend on this luxury. Rich people are not easy to fool, and they don't take diamonds too seriously.

"Keep an eye on what the British are doing, not just in Africa, but wherever our interests are at stake.

Whatever the British wanted, they just had to find a way to destroy it. Since they are courting Portugal, then let our people stir things up. ”

I didn't understand it, Franz simply didn't bother to think about it, and directly sabotage. In case it was just a false shot by the British, it was not impossible that the real target was someone else.

Franz also played this kind of thing. In many cases, false information is released in order to divert the enemy's attention.

If you are led by the nose, it will be a trick, and it is better to respond to all changes with inconvenience.

Anyway, even if Britain and Portugal really join forces, at most it will make Austria suffer a little loss in South Africa temporarily, and now the loss will come back in three or five years at most, and it will not threaten Austria's core interests.

……

Lisbon, the British and Austrian ministers all took action, and the atmosphere in the Portuguese government became tense.

This multiple-choice question is not easy to do, if Britain and Austria go to war directly, then Portugal will naturally be on the side of the British.

Anyway, there are France and Spain on land, and the British Royal Navy on the sea, and Austria's tentacles cannot reach Portugal.

It is a pity that the two countries are only a colonial conflict, and there are still 108,000 miles away from the outbreak of war, so it is dangerous to take sides at this time.

No matter who you support, you will offend the other. In the game of great powers, no one can help anyone, but revenge against Portugal can be done.

The tension in the government soon spread to the people. It is clear to many that the moment has come to decide the fate of Portugal.

Portugal was now divided into two factions, with the British generally supporting more, but Austria was less demanding and less risky.

It was just to make them neutral, and they did not need to directly participate in the confrontation between the great powers, so they won the support of the neutral faction, and now the two factions are evenly matched.

As a businessman engaged in overseas trade, Roston was also very concerned about international politics, and seeing that Britain and Austria showed their talents, he even pushed off the recent ocean shipping business.

There are many opportunities to make money, but definitely not now. When you go to sea at this tense time, aren't you afraid of encountering pirates?

There is no doubt that once the Portuguese government does not handle it properly, their chances of encountering pirates increase considerably.

The discipline of the great powers is so high, if you are unhappy, you will have a black hand behind your back. Britain and Austria are both world empires, and it is simply impossible to avoid their sphere of influence.

For the sake of safety, the frequency of Portuguese merchant ships going to sea has been greatly reduced in recent times, and the offshore trade is still so-called, and everyone is very cautious about the ocean trade.

Ransacked by pirates, there is still a chance to live; If you are unfortunate enough to be sacked by the navy, you will die.

Pirates shear their sheep, and usually do not kill passing merchants, who are their food and clothing; It's not the same with the navy, and you have to kill it for the sake of your reputation.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the navies of various countries will not visit the navies, and it is understandable that there are occasionally a few black sheep.

It's best not to bet on this luck, after all, the British and Austrian festivals are not high. In the event that the government takes sides as soon as they go to sea, and provokes the enemy's retaliation, they are in danger.

In this era, thousands of ships suffer accidents every year, and more than 200 ships go missing, and ocean trade is a real high risk.

As soon as he arrived at the Foreign Office building, Roston met an old friend. He doesn't need to ask him, he knows that they are all concerned about this Anglo-Austrian conflict.

"Julian, how's it going?"

Roston asked expectantly, if he continued like this, he would miss the best ocean season. This era is mainly sail power, and the sea monsoon is also a very important factor.

Julian shook his head and teased, "There is still no result, and these officials are still arguing, as if Portugal's position is really important." ”

Roston said with the same hatred: "Damn it, if it drags on like this, we will eat dirt this year!" ”

The Portuguese bourgeoisie had long been dissatisfied with the government, and Louis I, despite some reforms, failed to satisfy the capitalists.

The current hesitation of the government has aroused the discontent of the capitalists. In the eyes of most capitalists, it is a joke to take sides now.

Britain and Austria are indeed courting Portugal, the problem is that they attach great importance to it and do not give much benefit.

In that case, why take the risk of taking sides, isn't it good to be neutral? Participating in the Anglo-Austrian conflict, one bad thing is that the head is bleeding.

It's okay to think so, but it's not okay to do it. Portugal had long since declined, and they were able to hold on to large colonies by relying on diplomacy from left to right.

Louis I also wanted to declare neutrality and not get involved in the Anglo-Austrian affair, but it was not for him to have the final say.

The British were unwilling to let go, and Austria also wanted to see what kind of medicine was sold in the British gourd, and the Portuguese government could only accompany the performance.