Hearing the president's questioning, Cullen was shocked, quickly concealed his panic, and replied: "In general, a consensus has been reached, but there are still some details that have not been negotiated." ”

Little Pretorius said without changing his face: "I know, you go down!" ”

There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and it was clear that his heart was not at peace. Little Pretorius was not a saint, and he could not be at suffice in the face of interests.

Karen's expression did not hide his eyes, and if nothing else, his cronies had also been in contact with the Austrians, and it was even possible that he had betrayed them.

To be able to sit in his current position, little Pretorius is naturally a smart man. Whether Cullen betrayed or not, he wouldn't verify it.

At this point, it doesn't matter anymore. Even if they remained loyal to him, refused to accept the bribes of the Austrians, and even confessed it to him, what would it be?

Little Pretorius could not do anything to the Austrians, not even to protest to the Viennese government. If the two sides openly tear their faces, he won't even be able to keep the last preferential treatment.

If the negotiations between the powerful factions in the country and the Austrians do not go well, he can still play a role as president. Now that everything is going well, naturally he is not needed.

Initially, the younger Pretorius was ready to negotiate with the Austrians in the name of the government to gain a more favorable political position for everyone.

The reality was very slap in the face, and after the Vienna government began to divide and co-opt, they all changed their positions. The country has more benefits, how can it be compared to its own interests?

The merger of the two Boer republics and the joining of the HRE Empire in the name of the states did give them a better political status.

However, in this way, the benefits they can obtain personally are very limited. If you don't have any merit, if you want to become a nobleman, dream of it!

Despite the restrictions on privileges, the titles of nobility in this era were very attractive. After Franz offered the conditions, the mentality of many people changed.

Since the Viennese government insisted on taking out the republic, it couldn't bear it anyway, so why not sell the Boer Republic in exchange for a noble title and become the ruler of the HRE Empire?

As for the future of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, does that matter to them?

Everyone is either Dutch or German, who was once a member of the HRE Empire, and now is just returning to their homeland.

Even the president of little Pretorius is not prepared to fight Austria to the end, so how can he expect anyone else?

Not long ago, the British contacted the anti-Austrian forces, and then the pro-Austrian forces seized the opportunity to launch a political offensive and completely drove them out of the center of power.

If little Pretorius hadn't been smart enough to decisively reject the British, the president would have been replaced.

Now little Pretorius is looking forward to the British doing it the most, and only when the situation is out of control can he have room to play as a president, and by the way sell himself at a good price.

There is no way, now anyone can betray the country, but he is not the president. Otherwise, even if he became a nobleman, he would not be able to mix in the aristocratic circle.

Aristocrats also need fame, especially new nobles, if they want to integrate into the circle, the first step is to wash their hands and go ashore.

Little Pretorius didn't want to quit politics just like that, so naturally he couldn't take the initiative to get up. He could do nothing but secretly make his position clear to the Vienna government.

Under normal circumstances, after joining Austria, he would become the governor of Austrian South Africa, and when the transfer of power was completed, he could return to his homeland with a title of nobility.

If he wants to become a real governor, unless the British come over, the Vienna government needs him to stabilize the situation.

For his own benefit, little Pretorius was not unprepared. Ever since he defeated the Zulus, he had deliberately wasted his armaments.

On the one hand, he was showing his attitude to the Vienna government and proving that he had no ambitions; On the other hand, it showed a flaw to the British and tried to lure them into action.

The South African strategy proposed by the Governor of Delphi to the Government of London was based on this.

You must know that because of the relationship between Austria and the Boer Republic, the strength of the two Boer republics is far greater than that of the same period in history.

If they were fully armed, and Austrian power in South Africa, the British would have little chance of winning even if they united with the Portuguese.

……

On a manor house in Pretorius, the capital of the Transvaal Republic, former President Scoman is inviting Austria's representative, Viscount Fikney.

No one can take too much credit, and since the decision of the Vienna government to annex the two Boer republics, the aristocracy of the African continent has taken action.

Viscount Fikni, who made his fortune by opening up colonies, was naturally not far behind. Although he had just made the leap from hereditary baron to hereditary viscount, it was almost impossible to go further.

Lying on the previous credit book and eating the old book, naturally there is no problem, but he can't stand his son!

The eldest son naturally inherits the title and most of the family business, and the remaining two younger sons can only share a part of the property, and rely on the eldest son to become a side branch of the nobility, and the next generation is a commoner.

Baron Fikney, who loves his son, naturally doesn't want to see this happen. His Majesty the Great Franz was merciful and thought about this issue for them in advance.

They are allowed to make meritorious deeds in exchange for several more noble titles, and at the same time, they can also apply for these titles to be inherited separately by multiple heirs.

Of course, the heirs must be a parent-child relationship. In the case of other inheritances, it can only be done in accordance with the provisions of the original title succession law.

The main purpose was to crack down on the sale of titles, and according to the new nobility law, nobles could only sell their titles to the Vienna government, and it was forbidden to trade titles privately.

There is no way, there will never be a shortage of losers in this world, and when the time comes, there will be a title auction, and the impact on the aristocratic system can be imagined.

In order to avoid this worst-case scenario, Franz cut off the hereditary title trade directly from the source, and the title of nobility for life was not to be feared, it could not be inherited at all.

If there is a loser to sell, the Vienna government is also open to recycling, and the price offered is very high.

The lowest-grade hereditary knights are all 50,000 Aegis; The highest-grade throne even offered a sky-high price of 10 million Aegis.

Of course, this is limited to the titles that Franz has given out, and they must be recovered together with the fiefdoms, and the empty titles will definitely be discounted.

Before that, the title will be priced according to the actual situation. Basically, as long as the Habsburg Dynasty sealed it out, Franz recognized it, and others sealed it out to recover the cabbage price, and foreign titles were not within the scope of recovery.

The gold content was determined, and everyone became more enthusiastic about the title of nobility. The rights of the great nobles were restricted, and the vassal nobles they had canonized were no longer recognized by the state.

Including the kings of several states, they also cannot indiscriminately title nobles, and those who are knighted do not have enough merit to be recognized by the empire.

From the initial quota limit to the current merit evaluation, Franz successfully took the knighthood from the king of the state.

Selling a knighthood is also not a simple matter, and it requires the consent of all the legal heirs, which is almost impossible.

The relatives of the nobility have a large gang, no matter how low the ranking, as long as they have the right of inheritance, even if it is indirect inheritance, they are all heirs. It is not impossible to have thousands of heirs to a title.

This inheritance relationship is estimated to be able to collapse. If you want everyone to agree, it is better to expect them to receive a boxed lunch collectively.

Viscount Fickney said gracefully, "Mr. Skoman, we must speed up. As far as I know, the British next door are training an indigenous army, and there is a good chance that something will happen.

Your Majesty, we don't want to see a chaotic South Africa, so we have to act ahead. Once the merger was completed, the British did not dare to make small moves. ”

This was the rule of the game between the great powers, and in colonial activities, everyone was deliberately controlling the scope of the conflict.

Before the colony is actually controlled, it is considered a terra nullius, and everyone can use their own means, and once it is under the actual control of the other party, the nature of the attack becomes an invasion.

Under normal circumstances, this situation does not happen, and if it happens, it means war.

If you are unwilling to face directly, even if you want to grab the territory, you will usually just secretly play a black hand and squeeze the other party out.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone was exercising restraint, there were so many conflicts in various countries in colonial activities, and the major colonial empires would have been fighting in the dark.

Skoman served as acting president of the Transvaal for a while, and although his personal reputation was not very good, he had a lot of strength.

Because of a business, he and Viscount Fikney met unexpectedly, and the two were nodding friends. Under normal circumstances, this relationship is not much different from that of a stranger.

However, as the situation changed, the two were linked together again.

Viscount Fickney needed to win over the Transvaal faction and join the Austrian colonial system; Skoman, on the other hand, needed to tie up with Austria in order to preserve its interests in the new era.

The two sides hit it off and instantly became "good" friends.

Since he had already decided to follow Austria, Skoman naturally did not hesitate, and after thinking about it, he replied: "Your Excellency the Viscount, I will push it as soon as possible."

However, it will take a little time, and now public opinion has just built momentum, and it will take a while to accumulate before it can reach its peak.

If it is in advance, there is a high chance of accidents, after all, there are still some flies that have not been cleaned up, and their presence is also a hidden danger. ”

Political struggles are rarely cut to the bottom, and this is clearly the exception. In order to create a grand picture of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State demanding a return to the HRE Empire, it is necessary to clear the hidden dangers.

This is about the face of His Majesty Franz, and the direct annexation of two independent countries will have too bad an impact. Using the people of the HRE Empire asking to return to their home country as an excuse, the food looks much better all of a sudden.

Anyway, the Boers trace their ancestors back to the HRE Empire, and their cultural traditions are also in the same line, so they are not afraid of being provoked. As long as they themselves insist on returning to their home country, the legal problem will be perfectly solved.

If it weren't for the problem of eating and drinking, the Vienna government would not have needed to spend so much effort, and it would have been more convenient to use force directly.

Even if the current Boer Republic wants to resist by force, it must first consider whether the German soldiers below will suddenly defect.

Viscount Fikney said solemnly: "These flies must be swatted to death, since they dare to collude with the British to betray the Empire, they will have to pay the price of blood." ”

On the issue of safeguarding the interests of the Empire, Viscount Fickney was very firm, and in his opinion any traitor deserved to die.

Although these people were not Austrians at all, there was no such thing as betrayal. But if you stand on the opposite side of the empire, you must die.

Now Austria needs to make an example of the monkeys, otherwise how to deter these newly surrendered grasses?

Fikni didn't think that these guys, who could betray their country, would have much loyalty to Austria. The best way, naturally, is to make them dare not betray.

Let them take it upon themselves to kill the anti-Austrian elements, not only to make them accept their votes, but also to make them understand the price to be paid for being an enemy of Austria.

Smart people will make the best choice for themselves, and Skoman is a smart man, knowing that this is Viscount Fikney's calculation, he still decided to pretend to be confused.

He immediately promised: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, we will find out all these spies lurking in the empire and bring them to justice!" ”

God knows when the anti-Austrians in the Boer Republic became spies for the British, and how they lurked in the HRE Empire.

If you want to discuss traitors, it seems that they are more like them. The Transvaal and the Orange Free State were directly packaged to Austria in exchange for benefits.

Viscount Fickney smiled slightly, raised the wine glass in his hand and said, "Then I will congratulate you in advance, the future Lord Baron Skoman." ”

After saying that, he touched Skoman's cup, and then drank it down, as if he was really happy that his friend had been knighted.

The scheming Skoman couldn't keep his composure any longer, and instantly smiled. In this era, it is not easy to step from commoners to nobility, let alone hereditary nobility?

Before that, the two sides had negotiated the conditions, and as long as a smooth handover was completed, Skoman could become a fiefdom baron.

Skoman's voice trembled and he replied, "Thank you, Your Excellency the Viscount!" ”

There is no way, the two were not real friends before, and politeness is a must.

However, the future is not certain, Viscount Fickney will not make friends with a commoner, but he will not be reluctant to be friends with a nobleman.

Identity determines how everyone gets along, and since Skoman is willing to cooperate, then he is his own person.

Fikni, who was in a good mood, for the sake of the meager friendship between the two, said: "Old friend, now you need an etiquette teacher."

When this side is over, he will have to go to Vienna to accept His Majesty's canonization before he can become a real nobleman.

There must not be the slightest mistake in the canonization ceremony of the nobles, otherwise you will become a laughing stock among the nobles, and you will never want to raise your head.

Although the government will arrange etiquette teachers, the time to learn is too short. To make sure nothing goes wrong, you'd better study ahead of time. ”

It is a fact that the consequences of being rude at the canonization ceremony of the nobility are very serious, and it will be considered a sign of unculture.

At the least, it will be embarrassing and become a joke in the aristocratic circle, and in serious cases, it may directly lose the title.

Skoman's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly thanked Viscount Fikney.

……