Chapter 268: West African Conflict
At the beginning of 1856, Franz received good news — the Empress was pregnant. Now the entire Vienna Palace was focused on Princess Helene’s pregnancy. Everyone in the House of Habsburg attached great importance to the new heir.
At times, Franz couldn’t help but wonder, “What if it’s a princess?” Not that he disliked having a daughter, but politically, he needed an heir.
Although there was precedent for a female ruler in the Habsburg dynasty, it didn’t necessarily mean that conservative Austria would readily accept another empress.
Ever since Princess Helene became pregnant, Archduchess Sophie became nervous. For women at that time, pregnancy was like walking through the door of death. They had to be extremely careful.
“Franz, now that Helene is pregnant, you must keep a certain distance from her. Being too intimate will affect the safety of the fetus. You know what I mean, right?”
In an awkward situation, Franz could only nod in agreement. He truly wanted to retort, “Do you think I lack a sense of propriety?”
There was no way around it. In his mother’s eyes, he was still just an immature child. Arguing back would only lead to a scolding.
Franz changed the subject and asked, “By the way, Mother, how are the preparations for Maximilian’s wedding going?”
Maximilian’s bride this time was Princess Carlota, daughter of Leopold I, King of Belgium. It was a purely political marriage, without any romantic considerations.
Franz took a serious approach to the affairs of his younger siblings, instituting a strict military-style management. Any deviation from the established principles was promptly suppressed.
Confidently, Archduchess Sophie replied, “Rest assured, I will handle it well. But after Maximilian’s wedding, how do you plan to arrange his responsibilities?”
In European royal families, the younger members were also expected to make a meaningful contribution, not just live a life of leisure.
Franz replied, “It depends on what he likes to do and the extent of his personal abilities.”
Franz wasn’t sure how to deal with this younger brother. In history, Maximilian had hardly ventured out before falling prey to liberal ideas.
While serving as viceroy of the Italian territories, he directly undermined the rule of the Habsburg monarchy in the region.
From a historical perspective, Franz believed that the most appropriate roles for Maximilian would be those of an artist or a botanist.
This is entirely determined by his personal abilities and interests. However, Franz didn’t dare to make this suggestion. In the eyes of Archduchess Sophie, Maximilian was still very outstanding.
If he doesn’t allow his younger brother to experience a few setbacks, he’ll likely end up being a coddled idler at home. People may even think that Franz is suppressing his brother.
Moreover, is Maximilian really willing to accept Franz’s arrangements? Remember, historically, he went off to Mexico to become an emperor.
Without ambitions, how could he possibly wade into such troubled waters? Franz is well aware of the situation in Mexico — it’s a country misled by liberalism.
As an emperor, you shouldn’t fear a country being conservative; what you should fear most is an excess of freedom, losing the most basic constraints.
Franz is not prepared to wade into such troubled waters. If Maximilian has exceptional personal abilities, possessing extraordinary talents, then investing in him might yield returns exceeding the costs.
To say nothing of Maximilian, even Franz himself didn’t believe that he could solve the internal conflicts in Mexico. Otherwise, the imperial crown wouldn’t have fallen so easily on Maximilian’s head.
……
Vienna Palace
Metternich expressed his concern: “Your Majesty, the situation in the Gulf of Guinea is becoming increasingly complex. Various forces from different countries are gathering, and armed conflict could erupt at any moment.
Two months ago, a Portuguese infantry battalion set out to confirm the ownership of some gold mines. Accompanied by more than 500 civilian militiamen, they all disappeared without a trace, and there has been no word to date.
Well, there are various speculations. Some say they discovered a super-rich gold mine and were silenced; others say they encountered supernatural forces and were all killed.”
The situation in the Gulf of Guinea was created by Franz himself. Without the extensive propaganda of the Austrian government, there would not have been such an influx of prospectors.
Order has yet to be established on the African continent. Within colonial outposts, a semblance of order can be glimpsed, but once beyond these outposts, control is completely lost.
Not discovering a gold mine is one thing, and even if there’s a skirmish, it usually doesn’t escalate too much. But once a gold mine is discovered, that’s when the real fighting begins.
When a small, armed colonial team discovers a gold mine, the first priority is to keep it secret and then sell the information to the colonial government. Openly mining is out of the question.
Without enough strength, if you were ambushed outside, you wouldn’t even know who the attacker was.
In the beginning, it would have been enough to send a few people from the colonial government to scout out the gold mine and establish ownership. Now, without a military escort, if their movements were discovered, it would be strange if they weren’t swallowed whole.
Attacking government forces is unprecedented, and unless you can ensure complete secrecy, even the slightest leak can have disastrous consequences.
Franz asked, “Could it be the work of a military force from another country?”
The fighting ability of the Portuguese army is not impressive. It’s easy to defeat a Portuguese infantry battalion, but it’s not so easy to wipe them all out.
As for the supernatural claims, Franz dismissed them out of hand. Austria had been involved in African colonization for so long, and no extraordinary creatures had been discovered. How could they suddenly appear?
Metternich replied, “I do not know, but there is certainly a traitor within the colonial ranks. Without internal collusion, it’s impossible for them to be completely annihilated.
The fact that so many people have disappeared without a trace and no bodies have been found points to a serious problem. Someone is covering up the truth.”
It didn’t matter to Franz what the truth was, the problem now was that the most likely suspect was Austria. There weren’t many armed forces in the Gulf of Guinea capable of doing this, and Austria’s local colonial troops had that level of strength.
Among the armed teams registered in the Austrian colonial outposts, there are twelve teams with more than 500 members each. These teams were formed by German states or collaborations of several nobles.
All these people had the strength to do this. With so many suspects under them, suspicion was unavoidable.
Franz does not worry about these suspicions. Without evidence, the Portuguese can’t do anything.
Also, just because troops disappeared didn’t necessarily mean they were completely annihilated; it was also possible that they got lost and turned into savages in the jungle.
While the likelihood of this is low, there have been precedents where some colonial teams have suffered heavy casualties due to getting lost in the jungle.
“The truth is not important to us, and the place where the Portuguese disappeared is not under our control. We have no obligation to investigate on their behalf.
The current issue is that we must quickly stabilize the situation in West Africa. If conflicts between various countries continue, it could likely escalate into larger conflicts.
In the event of a major conflict in the region that causes the situation to spiral out of control, many immigrants who originally planned to settle in the Gulf of Guinea may abandon their plans and decide to migrate to various countries in the Americas instead.
Without a sufficient population, it will be difficult for us to control the West African region. To quickly stabilize the local situation, we must work with the governments of various countries to establish the most basic order in the region.”
It’s not that Franz doesn’t want to find the real culprit, but he doesn’t dare to continue the investigation. Franz can only confirm that the Austrian government forces did not attack the Portuguese. It’s hard to say whether civilian armies were involved.
If a conflict erupted over a huge gold mine, and they resorted to killing to keep it under wraps, Franz wouldn’t be surprised. In the face of interests, people’s moral principles often take a back seat.
If the investigation led back to their own people, that would be a big problem. One misstep could trigger an even larger political crisis, and Franz had no interest in such self-inflicted hardship.
Apart from the Portuguese themselves, he guessed that the attitude of every government was the same — investigate seriously and you might get burned, better to play dumb.
Metternich replied: “Your Majesty, the situation in the Gulf of Guinea is extremely complex, with various national forces intricately intertwined. It would be very difficult to demarcate territories at the negotiating table.
The best solution is joint international administration. Everyone can help to form a colonial government together, and as for the gold mines, let the civilian armies compete freely, each using its own methods.”
Franz still wasn’t sure if this was the best choice, the only thing certain was that it was the best for Austria.
In free competition, the side with the greater number of people would naturally have an advantage. And this order would only exist in areas controlled by the colonial government anyway, once you’re out in the wilderness, who could enforce order?
Franz smiled and said, “Agreed. Regardless of the kind of order, having order is always better than having none.”
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