Guinea

It was not developed in this era, and most of the area was tropical forest. It's the rainy season again, and the jungle is even more dangerous.

However, this can't stop people's enthusiasm for getting rich. The Austrian colonists had already begun to reach out to the interior, and they did not need government organizations, and the civilian armed groups who wanted to make a fortune had already taken their own initiative.

The Europeans of this era, as long as they took the initiative to go to the colonies, were all daring existences, and they were much more courageous than those who were forced to emigrate by the Vienna government.

This is also related to the proportion of young and strong refugees, affected by the Balkan wars, a large number of young and strong people died, and finally the refugees who went to the African continent appeared to have more women than men.

This was also a good thing for the Vienna government to develop the African continent, when the colonial activities were mostly carried out by men, and all countries were struggling with the imbalance between men and women in the colonies. Because of this problem, a large number of half-breeds appeared in the later colonies.

Now there is no need for a headache, a large number of female immigrants have solved this problem. Once they start a family, then it's basically stable.

Franz had already made a publicity plan, and he was close to discovering gold.

There is no way, the Europeans of this era recognize gold mines, and for most people, digging gold mines is the easiest means to make them rich overnight.

In order to attract immigrants, Franz reluctantly gave up his plan to dominate the gold mines. Of course, not knowing the exact location of the gold mine is also a major reason.

……

After the rain, Baron Fickney set out on the road with a colonial party. As a traditional German military aristocratic family, in this era of great changes, his father's generation was not able to keep up with the pace of the times, and the family business slowly declined.

The output of the land was not much, and after the abolition of serfdom, his income was even less. With the income from the fief alone, he could no longer continue to maintain his luxurious aristocratic life.

In order not to become a member of the bankrupt aristocracy, after the Vienna government opened up the African colony, Fikney mortgaged the fief to the bank and organized a colonial army of 200 people.

Unlike other colonial armies, all of his troops were well-known and private troops composed of hired peasants in their fiefdoms.

These people were the result of many years of operation by the Fikni family, and even after the abolition of serfdom, the local people remained loyal to him.

Although this team is only medium in size among all the colonies that have traveled to the continent, it is one of the best in combat.

This is the heritage of the aristocratic family, even if it is the capital left over from the decline, it is not comparable to the outburst households.

……

"Baron, the sentries have spotted the indigenous tribes hunting in front, numbering about one hundred and fifty people, and their weapons are mainly bows and arrows and bone spurs." A middle-aged man said solemnly

Fikney frowned, he very much did not like to deal with these purely indigenous tribes, and there was no way for the two sides to communicate at all.

He was not a slave trader and had little interest in capturing slaves. Although during this period, American slave traders had already appeared in colonial strongholds to buy slaves, and the bids were not low.

Fikni, who was born in the aristocracy, still couldn't pull his face and ran to work as a slave trader, which he thought was degrading the glory of the family.

He has always despised teams that have degenerated into making a profit by selling slaves.

The Viennese government also banned the slave trade, and soon after Franz succeeded to the throne, the Abolition Act was enacted, which was the legal basis for the Viennese government's emancipation of serfdom.

Of course, this law does not control the African continent for the time being, and as long as the slaves are not brought to Austria itself, no one will care.

The Americans and the Portuguese were slave traders, and the colonial government never asked or controlled them, and this is the African continent, and order is by fist.

The Austrian soldier of that battalion inside the colonial stronghold alone was probably no match for the slave traders.

The reality is so cruel, and overseas colonization also has to consider the cost. Austria opened more than twenty colonial strongholds on the continent, and the troops of an infantry division were thus dispersed.

In addition to the government army, the large and small colonial teams from the country are also an important part of the colonial armed forces, and a single armed team is inconspicuous, once all organized are two infantry divisions.

From the moment they entered the colony, they became part of the Austrian Army Reserve. In case of emergency, the colonial government had the right to recruit all armed groups.

Fikney asked, "Can you avoid them?" ”

He had come to make a fortune in search of gold, not to fight with the indigenous tribes, which would not bring him any glory, but would also consume valuable weapons and ammunition.

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid not, they are in our way, unless we are not advancing."

Otherwise, even if you avoid them, you are likely to be ambushed by them on the way back. There are already several teams in the stronghold, which have been attacked by indigenous tribes.

And these people have human skulls around their waists, most of them are cannibal tribes, which is not a good thing, and we don't need to be polite with them. ”

"Bang ......"

Before Fikney could give the order, the shots were already ringing out.

"What happened?"

"Baron, the enemy has discovered us and is attacking us." A soldier hurried to say

After learning that the enemy had launched an attack, without hesitation, Fikney immediately ordered: "Pooh, bring people up to kill them, solve them directly, don't be stupid to fight them hand-to-hand!" ”

"Yes!"

……

One hundred and fifty meters away, gunshots rang out.

"Bang ......"

Without any suspense, the battle is over. It doesn't take much to deal with the natives of the Cold Weapon Age.

After defeating the enemy, Baron Fickney did not give the order to continue the pursuit, and he was not a slave trader and had no interest in capturing prisoners.

A soldier who stepped forward to check suddenly shouted in surprise: "Gold!" ”

"Baron, these natives have a piece of gold, and we're about to find a gold mine!"

The presence of gold means that there is a gold mine nearby. The indigenous tribes of this era had a limited range of activities, usually a radius of 180 kilometers.

Once the range is determined, it will not be difficult to find the gold mine. Everyone was pleasantly surprised, after working on the African continent for several months, there was no gain at all, and everyone did not despair before there was a problem.

For the sake of gold, Baron Fickney was in a good mood and said, "Father, go over for them!" ”

The priest was disgusted and said, "Sorry, Your Excellency, they are not believers in God. Besides, I don't think the evil cannibal tribes are qualified to go to heaven, their only destination is to go to hell! ”

Savage cannibal tribes, which are beyond the acceptance of normal people. Except for the Brainless Virgin, it is estimated that normal people cannot agree that "cannibalism is a culture".

Baron Fikney was only in a good mood and ignored the identity of the enemy, which did not mean that he had a good impression of the savage cannibal tribe.

"Well, let's go ahead and look for gold."

……

As if God had played a joke on him, the nearby gold mine had not appeared for a long time, but had been attacked by several bush killers one after another, and had paid the price of three dead and five wounded.

In the face of these jungle kings, Fikni's colony team was really a little tired of coping, and everyone's morale inevitably became low.

"We don't have much to offer, so if we haven't found a gold mine in the area, we'll go back to the base to replenish our supplies.

Now I start to live and cook, and after dinner, except for those who have arranged for the vigil, the rest of us have a good rest. If it doesn't come out tomorrow, we'll come back next time.

Don't worry, the gold mines are all underground, we can't run, this is an opportunity given to us by God, and now it's just a test! Baron Fickney reassured

After being appeased, everyone's mood stabilized a lot. Finding gold is never easy, and a little setback is not a thing.

The legendary man-eating flowers, man-eating dryads, and devil wizards, none of them have encountered them, but they have encountered some poisonous insects and beasts, which is already considered lucky, Fikni comforted himself.

He was running out of money, and if he couldn't find a gold mine, he would have to work as a mercenary, working for the colonial government for pay, or working for a slave trader to earn commissions to keep the team running.

After hesitating for a long time, in the end, the glory of the family prevailed, and he couldn't afford to lose that person for the slave trader's life.

Serving the colonial government is also serving the empire. Although the income may be less, the status is different!

As a nobleman, if you make a contribution, if you can't become a high-ranking colony, that's a problem.

At this time, a familiar voice sounded: "Baron, this is the river sand we found in the river water in front, and it seems that it contains gold. ”

With that, the man handed the golden river sand to Baron Fikney.

After looking at it, Fikni hurriedly said, "Ask Father Bartig to come over, we may have found a gold mine." ”

At this time, European priests also worked part-time as teachers, scientists, engineers and other side professions. There is no family drag, there is a lot of time to learn knowledge every day, and their level of knowledge is usually good.

Father Bartigue was fooled by Baron Fikni, who promised to fund a Catholic church and help him spread the Lord's gospel in the colony if he found a gold mine.

The camp was not very large, and Father Batigue, who was praying, was called in to discern whether the shiny substance in the river sand was gold.

Holding a magnifying glass and looking at it carefully for a while, Father Bartigue said, "God forbid, Your Excellency the Baron, you have finally found the gold mine.

However, I still need to go to the river to find out how much gold is in the sand. If it exceeds 5 grams, then it has development value.

Judging from the handful of river sand in a single cong, the gold content in this area should be very high, judging by my experience, it should not be less than 5 grams. ”

Fikney couldn't wait, "No problem, Father. It's getting late now, so let's rest for the night first, and we can go over tomorrow to explore the field. ”

It's not a secret that gold is present in the sand, but it's very impressive. After more than 100 tests, the content of gold in each ton of river sand does not exceed 3 grams.

This value may be considered a rich mine in later generations, and in this era, it is not even worth mining. Even if it is forcibly mined and refined, it cannot be profitable.

At first, Baron Fikney was keen to test the sands, but gradually he despaired. It wasn't until he saw the golden light in the river sand just now that he paid attention to it.

It is already visible to the naked eye, and this gold content is naturally not low. However, this handful of river sand is not representative, and it is only after field exploration that a definite gold content can be determined.

Father Bartigue replied: "Your Excellency, I have no problem. You can arrange these things. ”

……