The "misunderstanding" that happened in the Panama region was so great that an unexpected armed conflict could kill a division, and no one dared to believe it.

Explanations are cover-ups and will not do anything. Shortly after the incident, the colonial government of Austria-Central America claimed responsibility for the incident, which was in fact the result of Franz's intervention.

Taking the initiative to stand up and take responsibility can also avoid the important and trivialize, save the international reputation as much as possible, and minimize the adverse impact.

Accountability naturally does not exist. There was nothing wrong with the colonial government of Austria Central America, and the colonial empire of the year did just that.

It's not like something like this hasn't happened before. It's just that the impact is not so great, Colombia is not only an independent country, but more importantly, it is a white country.

The European people have always been very sensitive to this kind of thing, especially many small countries, and it is even more harmful.

In the eyes of many people, if they don't stand up for Colombia today, maybe something similar will happen to them tomorrow, and no one will come forward.

Just like the Anglo-Boer War in the original time and space, Austria was also sprayed with blood by public opinion, and demonstrators surrounded the doors of foreign embassies.

Of course, the proactive approach to responsibility is still useful and makes the international image of the Vienna government look less bad.

Spray it, spray it, who hasn't been sprayed by the great powers in this year! Anyway, everyone just pays lip service, and it is impossible to really take action.

Compared with the Vienna government's calmness, Franz's reaction was much stronger. If Austria were also isolated abroad, Franz could also care about international reputation, which is obviously impossible.

The poor strategic location meant that Austria had to have a good international image in order to have more options diplomatically.

……

"How is the Panamanian government preparing, and when will we be able to withdraw our troops?" Franz asked with concern

Colonial Chancellor Stephen: "Your Majesty, the Panamanian government has been formed and can declare independence at any time.

The problem now is that they lack the armed forces to protect themselves, and once we withdraw, it will be difficult for them to hold back the Colombian government. ”

It was not so easy for the Panamanian region to become independent, and the original time and space were intervened by the Americans themselves, and the Colombian government had no choice but to back down.

It's not without a price, the Americans do whatever it takes, that's the Panama Canal is vital to him.

Austria was different, the main purpose of seizing the Panama region was to cause trouble and make the Panama Canal unnavigable.

The value is not the same, and the price that can be paid is also different. For the sake of Panama, to make the South American countries miserable, it would be more than worth the loss to boycott Austria together.

In this context, while instigating the Panamanian independence movement, Austria had to reduce its presence as much as possible.

In other words, in layman's terms: when you are a bitch, you still want to set up a memorial arch.

Franz was surprised and asked, "Isn't there a plantation owner?" Could it be that their strength is not yet able to withstand the Colombian invasion? ”

Before Panama had even declared independence, Franz first defined the Colombian government's military campaign to suppress the rebellion as an "invasion", and the political significance is self-evident.

Stephen frowned and explained, "Your Majesty, the situation in South America is very special, most of the immigrants came from the Civil War period, and there was a lack of noble backbones.

Austria Central America has been operated by us for a long time, and the shortcomings in this area have gradually been remedied, and the military strength is acceptable.

It's different in Panama, where there are no big plantation owners, big colonial companies, and they weren't under our control, so there's no way to organize military training there......"

Franz understood. During the Civil War, many of the immigrants ran away to escape the war, which meant that the local people did not have a strong desire to fight.

"Lack of the backbone of the aristocracy", in other words, lack of officers.

The absence of "big plantation owners, big colonial companies" means that there are no strong local armed forces.

The lack of "organized military training" means that the soldiers now are peasants who have just laid down their hoes, or workers who have just come out of the workshop, and need a lot of time for training.

All these reasons add up to the fact that the soon-to-be-independent Panamanian region has a very weak military force and is unable to compete with the Colombian government army in a short period of time.

The reality may be even worse, the so-called brutal rule of the Colombian government, the exploitation and oppression of the local population, itself is a political necessity, and the truth of the so-called Colombian government remains to be verified.

The Panamanian Independence Organization was single-handedly organized by Austria, and it is still unknown whether it will be able to win the support of the local population.

The information provided by the colonial government of Austria-Central America is also mixed with personal sentiments. They are not so bold to completely fake, and artistic processing is still indispensable.

This kind of thing belongs to the instinct of the bureaucracy, and there is no way to put an end to it. Don't say that this era of communication is unchanged, even in the Internet era, it is also repeatedly banned.

"In the current international situation, we are not suitable for the direct occupation of the Panama region, and the withdrawal of troops is a matter of time, and the sooner the better.

What are the plans of the Colonial Office in response to this reality? ”

Colonial Minister Stephen: "We are organizing immigration, and through the efforts of the colonial government, we have persuaded more than a dozen colonial teams to immigrate to the Panama region.

These civilian armed forces will become the main force against the Colombian government army in the early stage and help the Panamanian government through the most difficult years. ”

Franz nodded, this was not necessarily the best option, but it was the best option for Austria at the moment.

It is better to have the fig leaf of "immigrants" than to go directly to mercenaries.

In any case, as long as these "armed immigrants" get a household registration in Panama, it will be a contradiction between the people of Panama and the Colombian government.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything, and the civilian colonization team also needs to be rewarded. Now rely on them to work hard, and in the future, the interests of the Panama region will be divided among them.

Something like this has happened many times in the Austrian colonial process, and the Colonial Department already has a lot of experience.

It was thanks to the large and small civilian armed forces that Austria was able to build a huge colonial empire in just over 20 years.

Franz is still very generous in this regard, and it is better to let careerists go overseas to grab land than to stay at home to grab land, and the nobles of large and small fiefs in the colonies are among the best.

The reality is even better than Franz had expected. Although there are many nobles in the fiefdom, there is no king and hegemony, let alone independence.

That's enough, you know, in anticipation, he is also mentally prepared to wait for the princes to grow bigger, and then allow them to establish states.

Facts have proved that he thinks too much, what is popular in Europe is the theory of blood, there is no "prince and prince will have a kind of Xiangning", even if you want to be a king and emperor, you must first see whether the people support it.

The expansion of the nobles was not as strong as he imagined, and after getting the fief, they started the road of farming one by one, and did not expand their territory and build a country all the way to become kings.

Of course, lack of money and lack of people is also the most important factor in restricting ambition.

It is very expensive to expand the territory, and a large amount of capital is also required in the early stage of colonial operation, and no matter how thick the family foundation is, it cannot withstand the toss of war, and the money in the pocket is exhausted, and it is impossible to stop farming.

No one, let alone a limited number of immigrants that the aristocracy can mobilize, no matter how big they are. At most, there are only 100,000 or 200,000, just such a small population, and they are not honest in farming, and it is completely tired of being the king and dominating.

Fools may exist, but the nobles who can lay a foundation are definitely not fools. If you don't have enough strength, what can you do with the central government?

"The Panama question will go according to your plan. Except for the bottom line that active-duty soldiers cannot appear on the battlefield, the other colonial departments will make arrangements according to the actual situation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will negotiate with the Colombian government as soon as possible to reach an early compensation agreement, and then hand over the captives to the local government of Panama, and let them and the independence organizations slowly mess with the rest of the issues! ”

The bottom line has to be followed, that's the rules of the game. It is not only about international influence, but also about protecting one's own interests.

The current rules of the international political game themselves were established by Britain, France, and Austria, and the purpose of the establishment was to safeguard the interests of the three countries.

Among other things, the cost of maintaining the colonies alone will increase dramatically, and some remote colonies will even change hands.

Choosing to deal with it as soon as possible is actually to calm down the storm of public opinion. The current public opinion is very unfavorable to the Viennese government, and it will only get worse if it continues to drag on.

The payment of "compensation" was only made to get the Colombian government to admit that it was a "misunderstanding". The parties concerned all said that it was a misunderstanding, and if others were crooked, it would be framed.

Franz is still very experienced in guiding public opinion, in this era of constant communication, it is the newspaper that controls public opinion, and it is too simple to reverse black and white.

To a certain extent, the British provoked a public opinion offensive at this time, which was actually a divine assist, as long as the problem was pointed to the London government.

"The British government framed Austria, deliberately exaggerated and distorted the truth", Franz himself was about to believe this statement, let alone ordinary people?

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, it will not be difficult to convince the Colombian government if the British do not intervene.

However, judging from the current situation, the London government wants to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fuss and damage our international reputation.

I fear that the Colombian government will deliberately embarrass us by offering a sky-high amount of compensation. ”

This kind of worry is not superfluous, people are always easy to get lost in the face of interests, as long as the British flicker, it is almost inevitable that the Colombian government will propose "sky-high compensation".

If it agreed, Austria became the wronged leader; If you don't agree, public opinion will not be able to get through, and it is not in line with the strategy of quelling the dispute as soon as possible and quietly swallowing the Panama region.

After thinking about it for a while, Franz sneered: "If the total number cannot be negotiated, then we will take the initiative to make a sky-high price." For example, the pension for each fallen soldier was raised to 1,000 Aegis, but the Colombian government had to provide a death certificate.

As for the loss of property, we don't need to worry too much about it, and we can make appropriate concessions. Whether the money will be given or not, and to whom it will be given in the end, it is still uncertain. ”

"Death certificate" is a joke, Panama is in the hands of the Austrian army, and it is not easy to destroy the corpses.

The Government of Colombia could not produce evidence that the number of people who would eventually have to pay pensions was up to the Government of Vienna.

The total number of people goes down, and no matter how high the standard of payment is, it is actually the same.

Since this incident is characterized as a "misunderstanding", if the number of people killed in battle is too large, it will not be convincing.

In contrast, compensation for property damage is negotiable. This money can be paid to the Colombian government, but also to the local government of Panama, or to the government of Panama after independence.

If the Panamanian region wants independence, the Colombian government will certainly not agree, and war is inevitable.

After the war, the area was in ruins, and it was bound to require a lot of money to rebuild, and this money would certainly not be available to the Panamanian government, and in the end it would have to be paid by the Austrian government.

The money had to be paid anyway, and Franz didn't mind taking it out in advance to buy fame. After the future annexation of Panama, these investments were recovered.

Of course, the Colombian government also needs to be appeased, and it still has to give some money in the early stage, otherwise people will not cooperate.

……