"Your Excellency Count, in the eyes of Europeans these are two different things that they do not want to do at all, the French maintain their influence and territory on the European continent is one thing, and colonial expansion is another, which is related to resources and market dumping, and cannot be confused. In fact, the expansion of the French in Africa did not require much military force. ”

"Mr. Professor, what do you think of the Congo issue?"

"The land in the Congo River basin was not geographically important to the Europeans, and it was only for the sake of plundering resources that it should be a contest of interests, and the Anglo-Portuguese treaty fully embodied this characteristic, with the British supporting Portugal's territorial claims, while Portugal gave full freedom of trade and convenience, and both sides took what they wanted."

"The French and the Belgians are arguing so much on this issue, do you think there will be a fight?"

Faced with Li Fushou's question, Glenn Johnson shook his head and said after thinking about it seriously; "The Belgians have a very deep relationship with the French, and they are afraid of this powerful neighbor from the bottom of their hearts, at most they show their toughness with their teeth and claws, and they will still compromise in the end, they have no guts and no capital to go to war with France, even if it is far away in Africa, a small conflict will quickly deteriorate relations between the two sides, which the Belgians do not want to see."

The Congo issue ignited the enthusiasm of the European powers to colonize Africa, and they suddenly found that almost an entire continent was waiting to be sheathed, and Africa had little power to resist in the face of the imminent influx of Europeans.

Britain formulated the "Second C Plan" from Cape Town to Cairo in an attempt to establish a colonial empire across the continents of Africa, and South African gold, Egyptian cotton, and an inexhaustible labor force throughout Black Africa were all needed by Britain.

France has formulated the "Second S Plan" from Senegal to Somalia in an attempt to cross the eastern and western continents of Africa, and its appetite is not ordinarily large.

As a latecomer to the reunification of the German Empire in 1870, the German Empire had to cut a large chunk of fat on the continent, and the vital interests could not be taken over by the old colonial empires.

The Belgian Society, led by Leopold II, was trying to occupy the entire Congo River Valley, and he had long taken a fancy to this rich land, and he was unwilling to concede to the French for this.

Portugal and Italy also have their own expansion plans, with a territory of only 92,000 square kilometers, Portugal has its eye on Angola, Tanzania and Mozambique in southern Africa, which is a vast land area of up to 3 million square kilometers, and the appetite is really not small.

But the magical pasta looks at Ethiopia, the most powerful indigenous country on the African continent, with its own emperor and a strong army, but it still can't stop the greedy eyes of the pasta.

The European powers all wanted to realize their plans for expansion on the continent, which caused serious disputes and conflicts. These disputes and conflicts would become an important factor in the First World War

"Even if the British Empire is as powerful as the British Empire, it is impossible to monopolize the African continent, and Queensland deserves a piece of this feast, which is determined by our interest in safeguarding the ocean-going trade routes, and it is a matter of great economic security." Li Fushou pointed out the core topic of the interview.

His expression was solemn, his eyes fixed on Professor Glenn Johnson, and he said slowly; "The vast land of Africa is in the hands of primitive tribes and in the hands of Europeans, and we cannot afford to rely on the mercy of others for our economic security, which is a very ridiculous dream, Mr. Professor, I think you can understand my concern."

Of course I understand that Lord Count, the desire for possession in your bones has returned.

A highly learned botanist and historian of the Royal Society, Glenn Johnson owes allegiance to Her Majesty rather than to the ambitious young man in front of him, in a similar employment relationship.

To put it bluntly, he can get more money here in Li Fushou and maintain a good upper-class living conditions, that's all.

Professor Glenn Johnson did not rush to answer, but pondered for a moment and said; "I understand your concerns, but I need to know exactly what or how many lands in Africa you have planned?"

"Rest assured, Africa is big enough that it won't conflict with the plans of the British Empire."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Of course, there's nothing to hide."

Li Fushou readily agreed, and on any issue that did not conflict with the British Empire, Professor Glenn Johnson showed a very high standard, and as long as Li Fushou did not rebel, the interests of both sides would be the same.

"I'm looking at the Somali region, including Djibouti, Madagascar and Guinea, and if I can, Mozambique, a total of four African lands."

"Well......" Professor Glenn Johnson said, recalling in his mind the location and historical origins of these lands, and after a moment;

"Madagascar and Guinea are not big problems, Madagascar is just an island that no one cares about, and although it is not small, it has a very limited production, and it is not worth the effort.

Guinea is a small place, and I have the impression that the Spanish once established a colony there, and it may still be there, but it is not a big problem, and it can be bought for a little money, and the Count is not short of this money anyway.

There is neither gold nor ivory in Guinea, and the Spaniards do not value this place at all, I don't estimate that it will be more than 100,000 pounds, almost 50,000 or 60,000 pounds to the top. ”

Speaking of which

Professor Glenn-Johnson paused, carefully combed his thoughts, and said;

"The region of Somalia, known as the Horn of Africa, is barren and barren, mostly desert and Gobi, and the local African tribes are sparsely populated, mainly nomadic, with a total population of no more than 350,000, mainly concentrated in small oases along the coast, and it is not very difficult to take them down.

I have the impression that the Italians have always been very interested in Ethiopia, and once established a colony in the Eritrean region, which was later expelled by the Kingdom of Ethiopia, but the Italians have not given up and are likely to make a comeback.

Therefore, the colonization of Somalia may cause alarm and protest among the Italians, and the French may express concern due to geographical considerations.

The Horn of Africa region, the richest of the Ethiopian kingdoms entrenched in the highlands, has the most complete royal rule on the continent, has an army, a government, and even a royal police and tax collectors, with a population of nearly 10 million, the Italians have never hidden their greed for the region.

If you simply colonize the Somali region, you should not encounter much resistance.

But it was difficult in Mozambique, where the Portuguese established colonies at the end of the 15th century, which have lasted for more than 380 years.

At the end of the 15th century, Portugal came to Mozambique to open the European route to the East Indies.

In 1498, Vasco da Gama led a fleet of sailing ships to the coast of Mozambique, where he examined the hydrogeography in detail and prepared for colonization.

In 1505, the Portuguese expelled the Arabs in Sofala by force and established their first colonial stronghold, which was followed by the occupation of the island of Mozambique, gaining a foothold through the slave trade and gradually expanding the colony.

In the twenties of the 16th century, the Portuguese took control of several major ports along the coast of Mozambique. After that, the Portuguese occupied some inland parts of Mozambique and Seine and Tete in the Zambezi River Valley.

In order to consolidate colonial rule, the Portuguese set up a governorate in the area, with Lisbon directly appointing colonial governors, and invaded the indigenous kingdom of Mweni Matapa several times, eventually gaining dominance over the interior of Mozambique.

Mozambique is rich in resources, with 60,000 ounces of gold exported annually from Quelimane alone, as well as ivory and black slaves, which are the purse bags of the Portuguese.

It is for this reason that the Dutch attacked Mozambique several times, but they were pushed back by the Portuguese.

In 1869, a small force of the British tried to gain a foothold in the Zambezi River valley and had to give up after skirmishes.

This is the last conflict I know of in Mozambique, just 15 years ago.

So, while Britain and Portugal are close allies, London has always had ambitions for the Mozambique region.

Perhaps, this is a place that can be utilized. ”

Professor Glenn Johnson is quite thorough in his analysis, and as an expert in the history of world civilizations, he can be said to have a lot of knowledge of European colonial history, and he knows the inside story and historical origins very well, like a walking library.

The point he pointed out is very important, and it may be the fulcrum that has brought the situation in Mozambique into place.

No matter how much London is not welcomed, Queensland is, after all, a dependency of Her Majesty the Queen of the British Empire, much closer than the so-called close allies.

Whatever Queensland acquires in Africa, from trade to garrisons, the British Empire can fully enjoy it, and that's the essential difference.

A close ally sticks a knife in the back, the British don't do too much of this!

Li Fushou thought about it carefully and said in a cautious tone; "Queensland must get the Horn of Africa region other than the Kingdom of Ethiopia, which will help maintain the security of Queensland's ocean-going trade from Queensland to Europe, and should be the number one priority.

The Horn of Africa is a broad geographical name, also known as "Northeast Africa" according to its geographical location, which is located at the tip of northeastern Africa, a peninsular region in East Africa, jutting east into the Arabian Sea hundreds of kilometers on the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden.

It is the easternmost region of the African continent and the easternmost point of Cape Haphon is also located in this region. As a larger regional concept, the Horn of Africa encompasses the regions of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia and, more broadly, Kenya.

Li Fushou has no intention of getting involved in the Kingdom of Ethiopia, which has a population of up to 10 million, this is a hard nail, so leave it to the Italians to touch the head and bleed!

What he valued was Somalia's location, and what did the major powers build military bases in Djibouti for?

It is an extremely important geographical location, located on the west coast of the Gulf of Aden in northeast Africa, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the key point of the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean, bordering Somalia in the southeast, and penetrating into the Arabian Sea from Somalia to the east like a bull's horn.

In the present era, which has not yet been put forward in the Treatise on Sea Power, the importance of the region has been overlooked.

As long as he can occupy the region, just as France controls the Suez Canal and Britain controls Egypt, Li Fushou has the means to cut off the important trade routes from Europe to India and even the Far East, which will add a heavy weight to his identity and make the European powers have to pay attention.

Now, of course, this opportunity to pick up the leak should not be missed.

Why, are Europeans stupid and don't see the importance of the Somali region?

It cannot be said that the French already had a firm grip on the Suez Canal, the British in Egypt, and the Germans had only been unifying the empire for a dozen years, and they were too preoccupied with resolving the internal conflicts between the German princes, the Grand Dukes, and the Free Cities, and had no time to care about the outside of Europe.

The decaying Austro-Hungarian Empire never cared about anything outside Europe, and as for Tsarist Russia, no European country would allow the Russians to stretch their hands on the maritime trade routes, and Tsarist Russia's influence could only be limited to the east of the Balkan Peninsula.

The theory of sea power has not yet been born, Spain, the Netherlands and other maritime powers have declined, the American cowboy has not yet risen, in the current era of underdeveloped transportation and underdeveloped information, more than eighty percent of the entire African continent has not yet had the footprints of European colonizers, who cares about this barren desert and the Gobi region?

The Suez Canal, which was crucial for the trade between the two oceans, was located in the arms of the Ottoman Empire, and the French controlled the canal, and the British controlled Egypt on the Red Sea coast, which was enough for them.

It was like a slave whose ownership was owned by the Ottomans, the French were choking the slave by the throat (Suez Canal), and the strong British were standing by his side (Egypt) with a sharp dagger in his hand to the heart of the slave, and the control of the region was so full that there was no need to add to it.

What Li Fushou has to do is to hold on tightly to the *** (Somali region) below, which can also achieve the purpose of threatening the trade route between the two oceans.

Don't forget, Queensland is now the horse boy of the British bigwig, this status is enough to influence the decision-making level of the European powers, and before daring to do it, think about whether it will cause displeasure to the British.

Queensland had just been beaten in the East Indies War, and the Dutch, who were beaten and unable to take care of themselves, showed strong strength and were qualified to participate in the game of carving up Africa.

The French had just been deflated on the northern continent, and their ambitious plans for colonial expansion had been hit in the face, which made them more cautious and more important about the great Chinese powers.

All kinds of opportunities come together, so now is the best time to pick up the slack.