In the Middle East, the Austrian army launched an attack on the Ottoman Empire in two directions. All the way from the Sinai Peninsula, the goal is Jerusalem; The other route sent troops from the sea to the Kuwaiti region.

Kuwait's natural conditions are harsh, with a tropical desert climate, drought and little rainfall, and many sandstorms, and the whole territory is a desert, which is not suitable for agricultural production.

Before the discovery of petroleum resources, it was not taken seriously. It was only in 1871 that the Ottoman Empire established a county in Kuwait, which was due to the Age of Discovery.

In order to develop the domestic economy, the Government of the Sudan was preparing to build a railway to provide direct access to the Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf.

However, plans are always plans, railways exist only in ideals, and the Government of the Sudan does not have the capacity to implement them.

Due to the constraints of natural conditions, Kuwait is still a poor and backward small rural area, and the domestic transportation has not been solved, and it is not enough to carry out overseas trade.

Now the Sudanese government had no need to worry about these issues, the Austrians made the choice for them. Faced with a sudden enemy, the Kuwaiti defenders were routed in a state of bewilderment.

It's not that they don't work hard, it's that the gap in strength is too big. The Government of the Sudan had no prior expectation that the Kuwaiti region would be the target of an Austrian attack, and there was only a disproportionately formed garrison.

Politically, the strategic Kuwait region now makes little sense. But if you look at the map, you will understand that Austria is enclosing territory.

Today, the world has almost been divided, and all that remains is either hard bones, or the forces of various countries converge and contain each other, and it is not good to break the balance rashly.

Although the Arabian Peninsula is a little barren, it is still a soft persimmon, and there are fewer competitors.

Except for Austria, only the British reached out, but John Bull seemed to look down on these small rural places, and the force invested was very small.

At the Vienna Palace, Franz was perusing the diplomatic notes of the British, and in general: the London government was very angry at the protest against the harm that Austrian actions in the Middle East had harmed Britain's interests.

After a while, Franz put down the document and asked with a smile on his face: "The British have come to protest, what do you think?" ”

The British protested, which in Franz's opinion was a good thing. The fact that the Royal Navy was not sent to block the gate is enough to prove that the London government does not attach much importance to the Persian Gulf.

The official diplomatic note looks serious, and many times it is just like that, it is nothing more than a matter of exchange of interests. Under normal circumstances, as long as the core interests of each country are not involved, then everything can be discussed.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the British want us to stop.

In the Palestinian region, the Ottoman Empire is heavily armed, and the war has just begun. The Kuwaiti region is a small part of the countryside and has little to offer.

The so-called loss of interests of the British is not necessarily 10,000 pounds, and such a small benefit is not worth the British Foreign Office's efforts.

If you really want to, it's a big deal to pay them back. The Foreign Office had already communicated with the British, and it was certain that they were not here for this trivial matter. ”

Kuwait was just an ordinary small county in the Ottoman Empire, with a population of only tens of thousands of people, and its distribution was very scattered. Subject to natural conditions, how can a poor word.

The British Colonial Company had established a base here to open up a colony, but later withdrew due to an imbalance in its payments.

After the end of World War I, oil was discovered in Persia, Iraq and other regions, and the British colonized Kuwait.

Now Austria occupies the Kuwaiti region, mainly for the port. The Yemeni region is affected by the monsoons, and many ports are only in use for a few months, making them unsuitable for naval bases.

Of course, this is Austria's statement to the outside world, and it is the greatest value of Kuwait right now. Whether everyone believes it or not, that's not what Franz cares about.

Prime Minister Felix: "If that's the case, we can have a good talk with the British." As long as the interests are right, we can stop the war at any time, and we are not prepared to destroy the Ottoman Empire now.

However, I think it is unlikely, the British want to keep the Ottoman Empire, but the current situation in Europe is changing, and the London government has not taken action for a long time, and there may be a conspiracy behind this. ”

It had become a habit of the Viennese government to speculate on the British with the utmost malice. It's not that people have a lot of ideas, but the experience accumulated over a long period of dealing with the British.

If you don't have a few more eyes, you may be willing to be accepted by the British at any time, especially when you are an ally.

For example: the Kingdom of Sardinia, in order to hug the thighs of the British, even the last war in the Near East had nothing to do with them, and in order to talk about the British, the Kingdom of Sardinia sent troops to the war.

thought that if he hugged the thighs of the British, everything would be fine, and then unify the Italian region with the support of the British, but he was sold by the London government in turn.

If we carefully analyze the reasons, we will find that the poor performance of the Sardinian army in the Balkan theater stimulated the ambitions of the French to a certain extent.

Before the Auss-Sa War, the Kingdom of Sardinia had a certain military strength, as evidenced by its ability to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops. Even after losing the war, the European countries generally gave the Sardinian army a good rating.

And the last war in the Near East was different, the Sardinian soldiers did not want to fight at all, and then they paddled all the way.

When the French saw it, it turned out that the next-door neighbor was so weak, it was difficult not to be ambitious! Needless to say, the death of patriotic youth gave the French an excuse.

The British, who were allies, sold the Kingdom of Sardinia after a symbolic effort negotiated a deal with the French behind their backs.

There are many more such cases, open the history book and find them casually. With so many lessons learned, it is only natural that seasoned politicians will be wary of the British.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr: "Could it be that the British want to make a deal with us?" There are also many places where the forces of our two countries intersect, and although major conflicts rarely occur, small conflicts occur every once in a while.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries are busy to deal with these issues, and many issues remain unresolved. It is also in the interests of the British to take the opportunity to make a deal with us at this time. ”

If you open the world map, you can see that with the continuous expansion of the major colonial empires, the number of intertwined spheres of influence has also increased, and the conflicts between the great powers have increased significantly in recent years.

The alliance between Britain, France, and Austria actually meant dividing the colony's sphere of influence. After all, the area of Fushuo is almost divided, and the remaining scraps are not worth fighting for.

Colonization needs to consider the cost, and everyone opens up colonies to plunder wealth, blindly robbing and grabbing, and the cost alone can drag any empire to death.

The Anglo-Boer War, which took place in South Africa, is a clear example. Austria, which won the war, could slowly recoup its costs; The British, who provoked the war, lost all their money.

The London government still has no pain, in order to reduce the political influence, it can only choose to treat it as coldly as possible, and the previous government collapsed as a result.

After the lesson, in the colonial competition, all countries are very restrained, not every place has a large amount of gold buried in the ground, and if you win the war, you will not be able to recover the cost in the end.

Staring at the map on the wall, Franz pondered for a moment before turning his gaze to Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Suez Canal was crucial, but France and Austria did not let the British interfere at all. If you can't get the Suez Canal, you still need to maintain influence on the canal.

Against this background, John Bull can only hit the attention of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Yemeni region was occupied by Austria, leaving them with only the African side.

Unfortunately, the African continent has become a hunting ground for France and Austria, and the British have to pay for their previous negligence.

To make up for their mistakes, the British launched the Ethiopian War and then the Anglo-Boer War, the latter having already failed, and the former was only half successful.

The British did defeat Ethiopia, but unfortunately after several years, Ethiopia was still in a state of disarray, and the anti-British forces were still growing.

There is no doubt that behind this must be the two teammates of Fao to pull them back. Without their support, the natives of Ethiopia would have succumbed to their bayonets.

Franz drew a circle on the map with his hand, which happened to be the entire Arabian Peninsula: "The Foreign Office and the British talk slowly, no matter what their purpose is, as long as they want to achieve it, sooner or later it will be exposed."

They are not in a hurry, and we need not be in a hurry, and it is also a good option to drag it out all the time, preferably until the end of the war in the Near East.

If the British wanted an exchange of interests, they would have given up the whole Arabian Peninsula, just Kuwait, and there was no need to talk about it. ”

After a pause, Franz drew another circle on the African continent, including Ethiopia, Sudan, and most of Somalia.

"These areas are the price we can pay, and if the British want to talk, they should grind with them slowly, and don't rush to an agreement."

Colonial Minister Stephen hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, we will lose a lot of money in such a transaction. The Arabian Peninsula is of limited value, and the island's economy is still in primitive times.

With nomadic tribes as the main body, there is not a single decent city. The benefits of colonizing the local area may not even be enough for the cost of ruling the local area. ”

Is it a loss? In this era, it seems to be so. If it weren't worthless, it wouldn't have been Austria's turn.

Franz did not explain that it was a fantasy to talk about oil in this era. The internal combustion engine is still in the laboratory stage, and it is far from being put on the market.

The biggest role of petroleum is that it is processed and used for daily lighting. Unfortunately, Austria is vigorously developing the power industry, and daily lighting is also a sunset industry.

After a moment of contemplation, Franz drew a line: "Build a railway from Jerusalem to the Gulf of Aden, and then along the Arabian Peninsula all the way to Kuwait." What do you guys think? ”

There is no doubt that Franz is "not talking about the economy, only about strategy." "By building a railway around the Arabian Peninsula, neither the Red Sea nor the Persian Gulf will be able to escape the influence of Austria in the future.

If the Ottoman Empire collapsed, it could also take the opportunity to expand its influence into the Euphrates Valley, and Austrian hegemony in the Middle East would be confirmed.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carr: "Your Majesty, we have to take into account the costs, the economy in the Middle East is not strong, and these investments may not pay for themselves in 30 years. ”

Thirty years is a very optimistic estimate, and if you don't take into account the resources underground, Franz doesn't think it will be possible to recover the cost in a hundred years.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz flickered: "This is just a plan, whether it can be implemented or not is a matter of the future, now let the British believe that it is true."

Think about it, once the Ottoman Empire collapsed, wouldn't it seem tempting for us to divide the Ottoman Empire with the Russians and extend the railroad from the peninsula of Asia Minor to the Arabian Sea? ”

If he were not a strategist, Franz would not have been able to understand the strategy he had concocted, which was true and which was false.