Chapter 256 A strange combination of circumstances

Chapter 256 A strange combination of circumstances

Albrecht was a soldier with a strong sense of honor. If anyone else could achieve such a glorious victory on the Hungarian plains, they would definitely make people proud.

For Franz, this riot was just an opportunity. As a time traveler, he certainly understands what kind of crisis the Austrian Empire will face in the future.

An army that is loyal to oneself is very important to the ruler at any time. In order to survive the crisis of 1848, Franz must do everything possible to plump up his feathers.

"Hey, don't say such discouraging words, okay?"

Friedrich really couldn't stand the riddle between the two, but he knew very well that killing in war was a heavy topic. It's just that as a soldier, Friedrich was obviously not as sentimental as his elder brother. He was still at the age where "if violence is not for killing, it is meaningless."

"Uncle Friedrich. Do you have any good news that you want to share with us?" As far as Franz knows, the Imperial Navy has not made any big moves recently. If there must be any, it should be another one. The refit of the two battleships was completed.

The quality of the Egyptian battleships is really poor, and the cost of modification is very high, but compared with the price of shipbuilding, it is still very cost-effective.

If the Austrians were to build several warships themselves, although the quality would be guaranteed, it would take at least ten years, which is too long for a big country that is growing day by day and needs to keep up with the pace of colonization.

Speaking of which, thanks to the spoils of the Turkish-Egyptian War, otherwise Austria would have been able to organize a merchant fleet to colonize Africa.

However, in Friedrich's eyes, it seemed that it was enough to attack the natives with merchant ships.

"Franz, do you know the real culprit who attacked us?" Friedrich said mysteriously.

"Let me think about it. The British, the French, the Portuguese, the Dutch, or slave traders from a certain country?" Franz already knew that the attack on him was not that simple.

"It was actually a conspiracy between the French and Brazilian slave traders."

"How did you know?" After thinking about it for a while, Franz felt that he still needed to confirm the credibility of the source of the information. After all, this might also be a common conspiracy used by other countries to divert attention.

Even if the old colonial empires are in a saturated state and can no longer eat the remaining dinner, this does not mean that they want other countries to encroach on their sphere of influence. Provoking war between competitors is also a common tactic of these established empires.

Historically, France eventually captured West Africa, but this does not mean that other countries did not covet this land. For example, England may not have enough power to pass through West Africa, so it may want to use Austria to contain France.

From the Ashanti in West Africa, to the Cape Colony in South Africa, to the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, the ancient countries of the East, and even New Zealand in distant Oceania and Hawaii in the Pacific, this new empire on which the sun never sets can be said to be It spread wars all over the world, the most tragic of which was the money-burning Spanish Civil War.

The intensity of wars in Europe during this era was much higher than in other continents. Faced with this British octopus who often stretched out its tentacles unwilling to be left alone, Franz was always on high alert. After all, they had inserted several nails in the east of the Austrian Empire, and even secretly supported Prussia and Hanover.

"Recently, our merchant ships transporting ivory to and from Togo have been attacked. This is really strange. After all, there are British warships cruising in West Africa all year round. The pirates who are active at sea all year round are cunning people. They usually only dare to rob a few Private merchant ships are not stupid enough to attack large and medium-sized merchant ships with state backgrounds."

After listening to Friedrich's words, Franz felt a little incredible and blurted out.

"You mean they hired pirates to attack our merchant ships?"

"Yes, they were a group of desperadoes from Portugal. Of course, this information was provided by the French supply depot in Morocco. After that, I had people capture all the guys who were in contact with them."

Friedrich's words made Franz break into a cold sweat. Attacking supply depots in other countries for no reason was not a small crime. If it was not handled properly, it might turn into an unmanageable disaster.

"You didn't just send people to attack them, did you?"

"No, no, no. Of course, doing this kind of thing will not leave anything for the other party to catch. The ones who attacked them were pirates. You also know that Morocco is the nest of pirates. The French established supply depots there because they deserved it. We are impatient. We are innocent, not to mention those people are now buried in the belly of the fish, and the dead will not speak. "

After listening, he suddenly regretted talking about special operations with this star of naval hope, because the latter was now addicted to it and couldn't extricate himself.

"Is it to kill people and silence them?"

"Not only that, I also destroyed the body and destroyed all traces." Friedrich was obviously very proud of his actions.

""here you go! But don't act so easily next time, it's too dangerous. "Franz immediately breathed a sigh of relief. As long as no direct evidence was left behind, the French would not dare to provoke trouble rashly.

As for the French who died tragically, since they decided to join the pirates, they should be prepared to bear this anger.

"Let's get back to the topic. What is their fundamental purpose for doing this? Do they think that just a few indigenous African tribes or a few pirate ships can stop our colonization?" Franz asked with some confusion. road.

"These guys hope to provoke a conflict between us and the British because the Gold Coast is British territory and the so-called northern tribes actually refer to the Ashanti Kingdom.

Unfortunately, our intelligence preparations for West Africa were insufficient, and the indigenous survivors who attacked us did not explain clearly the ins and outs of their behind-the-scenes planning, so we would not connect the attackers with the British at all.

After that, we left Togo directly, and now the French hope to use piracy to evoke our memories. As for the main reason for the intervention of the Brazilians, it was purely because we disrupted their business.

Since our country supports the Brazilian government, as a separatist force, they will naturally dislike us. "

Franz scratched his head. It seemed that lack of intelligence was not a bad thing sometimes. Austria’s information about West Africa can be said to be extremely scarce, and Franz only knew about Ghana, but not about the Ashanti Kingdom. The local indigenous people in Togo also called the Ashanti Kingdom, Kabulenon.

Fortunately, we didn't directly crush the entire army at that time, otherwise the current situation would be difficult to deal with.

"This can only be blamed on the French conspiracy being so complicated that they confused themselves, haha." Franz said half-jokingly.

"Haha! You are so right." Friedrich couldn't help laughing.

After Albrecht heard the cause and effect, he could only sigh helplessly with a solemn expression on his face. This was obviously a conspiracy carefully arranged by an opponent, but the two protagonists, one of whom lacked geographical knowledge and the other did not understand the language, could not help but sigh. But he was extremely lucky. Not only did he escape unscathed, but he also thwarted the enemy's plot.

However, the light of the goddess of luck will not shine on them forever. Who can guarantee that good luck will come to them when something similar happens again in the future?

"The French are really hateful!" This is the consensus of almost all Austrians. After all, the hatred accumulated as neighbors for hundreds of years cannot be easily resolved.

"Do you have any good way to deal with them, Franz?" Friedrich asked, personally he admired this nephew. After all, even if he had sufficient intelligence as a guarantee, he couldn't think of an idea that would raise blood pressure more than snatching the entire Egyptian fleet.

"Pirates attacked a French supply point in West Africa. Do you think the proud Gallic rooster will give up?"

"Of course not! They will take this opportunity to invade Morocco!"

"Yes, even if this incident had not happened, the French would not have let Morocco go. So we should remind the Moroccans."

Historically, France has always hoped to turn North Africa into France's backyard. At this time, Algeria has been invaded. As long as the local resistance becomes weaker, the freed-up French will deal with the Moroccans.

"Yes! The French have established so many supply points and trading posts along the coast of Morocco. This must be their early preparation to invade Morocco. According to you, should we let the Moroccans strike first?"

"Yes, the French cabinet and military cannot come to a conclusion so quickly, and like the British, they have stretched the front too long. They have troops everywhere from Africa to the Americas. Although the French have already drawn up a plan to capture Morocco Okay, but it is not a wise strategy for them to take the initiative to start a war with Morocco when they are entangled in many wars at this time."